Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Today we will continue to talk about our purpose in the kingdom of God, to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Salt effects change; it is a preservative to the decaying, an antiseptic to the infected and an inducer of thirst to those that are in need of drink. Light reveals truth. In the revelation of truth deceit is often exposed but we can never be fooled into believing that the exposure of deceit is the calling and purpose of light. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life . . .” He is truth, it is not simply in Him, He is the embodiment of truth, and there is no truth outside of Him or without Him. If Jesus is the truth and the purpose of light is to expose truth that means our calling as the light of the world is to reveal Jesus, to show Him forth as He is: beautiful, glorious, perfect, faithful, trustworthy, loving and kind. To expose sin without revealing Jesus is to cause condemnation. Sin without Jesus creates hopelessness; He is the God of hope, the remedy for sin and the only cure for the disease of rebellion and the only answer to the spots and wrinkles of the church. Light reveals Jesus as the truth, that revelation is shone as a reflection of Him through intimate relationship. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, we all shine with unveiled faces, we reflect the glory of God, “we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” We are the reflection of Jesus through the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. Like a garden, as we tend to the relationship the fruit increases, in this case, the fruit is the reflection of Jesus to the world we live in. The question we have to answer today is “How is the revelation and reflection of Jesus through us seen by those around us?” Jesus answers this question for us very definitively in verse 16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” The revelation and reflection of Jesus is seen in our good works. This morning we are going to look closely at good works, we are going to try to address some misconceptions and to see that while we are not saved by works we are saved for works, that our works are not our ideas, plans or pursuits but rather that they have been prepared for us and that, contrary to popular belief, it is our works that bring God glory. Good works are God’s plan, God’s purpose and God’s provision for His glory through His people.