In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.Even so, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
17 sermons cite this verse
… not by your words, but by your spirit of excellence. Jesus said it this way, let your light shine before men that they may see your good work and praise your father in heaven. He's saying, if you'll develop what God's put in you and excel in your career, then when people see your accomplishments, your character, your worth ethic, that will bring praise to God. We hear the phrase a lot, glory to God. Glory means to make illustrious, to exalt to a higher position. The way we bring glory to God is not just with our words, not just with our praise, but when you excel in the workplace, you are exalting God. When you develop that new software for your department, you just glorified God. When you coach your team to a winning season, you glorified God. When you are the example that your company uses to train the new employees, you glorified God. The truth is, we should glorify God more during the week than we do on Sundays. …
… and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine to others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. We'll stop there. Notice that Jesus says, first we are to be salt, then we are to be light. First you're salt, then you're light. Why is it given in this order? Well, first the salt, I have a preserving effect. I create in others a thirst for God and then having acted as salt, I can function as light. And effectively, I earn the right to be heard. See, well, you know what? I admire your life, a nonbeliever says. Look at your family. How do you raise kids like that? In this world today, they ask, is their baby's looking at an iPad in their stroller? Or they're letting their kids behave in a crazy way with complete disrespect and total irresponsibility. or they ask you, how can you have a smile on your face when you're going through the hardship you're going through? …
… and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine to others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. We'll stop there. Salt and light. Why did Jesus use these two word pictures? Answer, because the world is a dark and corrupt place. And it needs salt and it needs light. You know, despite all of our advances in every field, from science and medicine and education and technology, we just go from bad to worse. Modern man has just found more ways to corrupt and destroy himself. We go from war to greater war, from crime to greater crime, from immorality to greater immorality, from perversion to greater perversion. We're just playing out the truth of the scripture that says the heart is deceitfully wicked above all things who can know it. You know, if you believe that man is basically good, you're gonna be very disappointed in life. But once you accept the biblical premise that man is not basically good, man, and when I speak of man, I'm speaking of all humanity, we are sinners separated from God. …
… The number of hairs on my head the word of the Lord says let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven the text says your light has come not your light is coming tell somebody has come tell them I already got it Tell her she's outside now. What does that mean? Every day, baby, you're going to get this light. you gonna get this light because I'm not dimming I'm showing what God did I'm not shrinking but I'm using what God gave me I'm not hiding what God revealed and I'm not apologizing for what God anointed some of us have mistaken humility for hiding you've mistaken servanthood for self erasure you've mistaken being graceful gracefulness gracious for voicelessness but can I tell you your humility does not require your invisibility you can be humble and still be brilliant you can be gracious and still have boundaries you can be compassionate and still be powerful you can walk in authority and not walk in arrogance at the same time you can be beautiful and be bold tell somebody i'm all the things because god made me that way i'm all the things hallelujah i was somewhere recently and we're sitting on this panel and everybody is in expert in their field. I hear my husband. I didn't say where I was. And so they're asking these questions. They get to me. Now, we're in a professional space. This is not the Baptist …
… And what does it practically look like to be rooted in Christ and live out that foundation? While they're thinking about it, Matthew, let your light so shine before men or before people that they may see your good works and glorify your father, glorify God, which is in heaven. So letting your light shine is what it looks like so that people can want to know and be in relationship with your God. Maybe it looks like again, like Matthew, like the Beatitudes, the blessed are the meek, blessed are the poor in spirit. blessed are those that hunger and thirst after righteousness so go back and read and see what those are that's what it means to live your life before christ and also um i was thinking about uh now pastor haynes that it's not the quotas from him and now i'm even paraphrasing but he he taught us about our theology and that based on how our theology is then we build our anthropology anthropology then informs your sociology and basically what he says is that if you have um a skewed or your theology is off or your theology is sick then how you build your how you construct your life how you construct your communities the systems will then inform how we treat people and so when you're talking about living your life rooted in christ it matters how we see God because if we see God as a forgiving God as a loving God as a God that called us to do …
… of the world a city set upon a hill cannot be hid nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a lamp stand and it gives light to all who are in the house so let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father who is in heaven. So that's what he is saying is that fruit bearing is noticeable. You are to make it plain. You are to make the announcement clear. You are to reveal. Now you might say, well, then what's the point of verse 22? There's nothing hidden which shall not be revealed or anything kept secret, but that it should come to light. well in the first parable remember he talked about seed that was sown on rocky soil and seed that was sown on weed infested soil so that at first both of those soils look good they're growing stuff but the real nature of them is hidden at first eventually however it's going to be revealed and it will be revealed to these fake believers on judgment day when Jesus will say, depart from me, I never knew you. And their house will come crashing down. As Jesus said, great will be the fall of that house. So back to this main point, if the life of God is in you, then the light of God will shine through you. If there is spiritual life inside of you, then you will shine your light so others can get out of their darkness. The easiest way you can tell if somebody is on …
… Matthew 5, 16. In the same way, let your light shine before me that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. That's, oh, when you wake up tomorrow morning to say, yes, what I want to do today is live before my family, before friends, before co-workers. I want to live in a way that people see my life and glorify my Father. Glorify Him. We imitate Him. Ephesians chapter 5, verse 1 says, be imitators of God as His beloved children. Imitate Him. We obey Him. 1 John 3, 10 says, By this it is evident who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil. Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. You want to tell who the children of God are? Look at their lives. They're obeying him. We reflect him. That's what we talked about earlier. Remember, this is why we adopt. This is why we do foster care. …
… five through seven, the most concentrated portion of Jesus' ethical teachings. So today we're going to focus, we're going to start Matthew chapter five, verses 13 through 16. And this is where Jesus gives two metaphors for what we are to be and do as individual Christians, but he uses the plural you. So he's really talking about us together. And it's really emphatic. He says, you yourselves are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world. So we're going to unpack those, and then we're going to go into six of the hard sayings or teachings of Jesus as found in the Sermon on the Mount. So let's start with you are the salt of the earth. Now, you've no doubt heard people describe this way. You know, somebody's the salt of, they're just salt of the earth. Usually that means they're just really good, solid people, right? But this phrase comes directly from the Sermon on the Mount. And so we have to ask, what did Jesus have in mind by salt of the earth? …
… Matthew 5, 16. Jesus says, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. That you and I are to live our lives in such a way that the rest of the world sees Jesus in us. The problem was that Ephesus had drifted from affection for the Lord, and at the same time they were drifting from effectiveness for the Lord. so in his letter to the same church about 30 years earlier Paul actually commanded them to remain in the light look at Ephesians chapter 5 verse 8 and keep in mind Paul is writing to the same church that Jesus is writing to about 30 years earlier he says for you were once darkness but now you are light in the Lord walk as children of light he says right now in this moment the whole world hears about your faith. You guys are shining forth the truth of the gospel everywhere. Those of you who were once darkness, I hope you could say that, by the way. I hope that as you look back on your life before Christ, you can say, I walked in darkness. But now you're light. …
… And next week, we're going to talk about Matthew chapter five, verses 13 through 17. This is where Jesus says, you are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. I don't want you to miss it. It's gonna be a powerful weekend of worship. And these messages will speak directly to your heart and to your friends' hearts. So I wanna encourage you to do that. I wanna invite you to go to core.org slash next and you can download there the Beatitudes as your wallpaper. So I have it now on my phone. And every day when I pick up my phone, I can say those again. I can pray those. Lord, help me to be poor in spirit. When I'm poor in spirit or mourning, be with me, help me. Help me to be meek and hunger and thirst after righteousness and all the rest. They're right there. They could be on your phone. I'd like to encourage you to do that. You'll also find more information about something I mentioned in the sermon, and that is the chance to sponsor a classroom of children in Honduras, in Malawi, in South Africa, in Uganda. …
… I love this verse. You know, we're all familiar with Matthew 5.16. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. That's awesome. This verse is similar. I mean, Peter takes an adaptation of that and uses and adds this idea of in the day of visitation. What is that? Well, the day of visitation refers to the day that someone will stand before God. and it will be our witness on that day of being both prudent and pure, wise and harmless that will stand the test in time and God will use it to bring even greater glory to himself by our lives. That is amazing. That is awesome. Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves all for his glory. Let's pray. Father, we come before you this morning and we're grateful, Lord, that you have prepared us for the moment. Lord, we really don't know what's ahead of us this day. We know that throughout these doors, we do enter the mission field, that we don't have to get on a plane and go overseas, that right here in our town, in our nation, in our state, Lord, you have called us to be faithful. …
… are. So in the gospel today, what does Jesus say? He doesn't say, hey, one day you're going to be the light of the world. He doesn't say, hey, one day you're going to be salt of the earth. He looks at his disciples and says, you are the salt of the earth. Right now, you are the light of the world. you do not have to wait for this this is this is the reality that this is your who you are not what you might be you know it's fascinating I've talked about this before but in the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles to the scene is this that Jesus has already lived he's died he's risen from the dead he spent 40 days with his apostles teaching them living with them and at the first chapter of Acts he walks up to the city of Bethany and in Bethany you can see all of Jerusalem. Like you can see the upper room where Jesus gave us the Eucharist. You can see Golgotha where he crucified. You can see where he rose from the dead. You see it all. And the apostles at this point, they ask Jesus one question. Because they know who he is. They know he's the Messiah. They know he's the king. So they say, Jesus, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now? They said, when are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel? And Jesus says two things. …
… Instead, they put it on a stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. I love Wingstop. Thank you. to know me is to know I love wing stock I get about that honey barbecue that Korean barbecue that lemon pepper I might skip the 1215 just go get wing stop I love me some wing stop but what is it about the what is Jesus talking about he's talking about the flavor and there is a unique flavor that God has given you there is a unique flavor that he's wired you with and he's given you this so that you can walk in the calling that he has for your life, the purpose that he has for your life, to do the things, to love your family, to love your coworkers, to love your neighborhood and your community in the way that God has wired you to do it. …
… so that they would make much of him. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good deeds and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Bear much fruit that your Father may be glorified. You were bought with a price. Glorify God in your body. Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. I don't think there's any question from cover to cover that the dominant way that the Bible talks about the purpose of God in providence, in salvation, in creation, in redemption, in consummation, is that he aims for his glory to be known and loved and praised. and what we love to emphasize here at Bethlehem College and Seminary is that he created us that we might enjoy his glory. knowing his glory. Yes, essential. Loving his glory, delighting in his glory. Now, if you believe what we believe about this, it raises the affections, not just the thoughts, but what happens in your heart, not just your head, your affections, it raises them to the highest possible level because we argue that God is not glorified as he ought to be until you are satisfied in him as you ought to be. …
… go glorify God it's not about the what it's about the why and the purpose of life is to glorify god in the same way let your light jesus talking shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your father in heaven that's why passion is built on this idea yes lord walking in the way of your laws. We wait for you, for your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. Our hearts beat to give you glory. And from day one to today, passion exists to see a generation do a 180 and their thinking from where most people live, which is, it's all about me. And God is welcome in my orbit because I need him, but it's all about me. I'll let him know when I need him. I'll let him know what I need from him. I will be grateful when I feel like it. And I like the way things worked out because it's all about me ultimately. And we're looking for a generation that has a revelation and wakes up to this vast shift, which is the most powerful, beautiful thing that can happen to a human being, and all of a sudden realizes it's not about me. …
… SEEN OF MEN, BUT YOU'RE NOT ASHAMED TO BE SEEN OF MEN. FOR JESUS SAID, LET YOUR LIGHT SO SHINE BEFORE MEN THAT THEY MAY SEE YOUR GOOD WORKS AND GLORIFY YOUR FATHER WHICH IS IN HEAVEN. WE HAD A LITTLE BOY, PHILIP, WHO DIED. I TOOK PHILIP TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM WHILE JOY STAYED HOME TO PRAY. PHILIP WAS ONE OF of those little infant crib deaths. I wrapped him in my coat and drove through blinding tears to the emergency room of the hospital where Joyce stayed with our two other little children. I cannot tell you the agony that was in my heart as I burst through those hospital doors and beat on the door to get somebody to come and take that little baby and see if they could revive the life of that child. And I don't mind telling you, my dear friend, that there in that busy hospital corridor as they left me on the outside, I got on my knees in that CORRIDOR. I DIDN'T CARE WHO SAW ME ON MY KNEES. I WAS DOWN ON MY KNEES PRAYING. I DIDN'T CARE IF THE WHOLE WORLD SAW ME BECAUSE I WAS NOT ASHAMED TO BE SEEN PRAYING IN PUBLIC BECAUSE I HAD A NEED AND I WASN'T DOING IT TO BE SEEN OF MEN. THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT KIND OF PRAYER. BUT WHAT OUR LORD IS SAYING, MY DEAR FRIEND, IS THAT YOU DO NOT PRAY, YOU DO NOT PRAY TO BE SEEN OF MEN. NOW WHAT OUR LORD HERE IS …
I DON'T KNOW OF A, OF A PASSAGE IN THE BIBLE THAT impinges more on Matthew chapter 5 and verses 14 through 16 than First Corinthians 1. Now look, if you will, in First Corinthians 1, talking about man's enlightenment, man's wisdom without the Lord, uh, God says in First Corinthians chapter 1 verse 20, he asks a rhetorical question, where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where WHERE IS THE DISPUTER OF THIS WORLD? WHEN HE'S TALKING ABOUT THE WISE AND, AND THE, THE DISPUTER OF THIS WORLD, WHAT HE IS REALLY TALKING ABOUT IS THE, IS THE INTELLIGENTIA. WHAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT HERE ARE THE PHILOSOPHERS. HE'S TALKING ABOUT THE, THE THINK TANKS OF THIS WORLD. HE'S, HE'S TALKING ABOUT ALL OF THE DISTILLED WISDOM. HE SAYS, WHAT DOES THAT AMOUNT TO? WHERE IS IT ALL? WHAT HAS BEEN THE RESULT OF IT? THAT'S WHAT HE'S ASKING. WHAT HAS IT REALLY, REALLY DONE? NOW THE EMPHASIS I'M MAKING IS THE DARKNESS OF THIS PRESENT WORLD. I WANT TO ASK YOU A QUESTION. IS TODAY'S AGE, IS IT AN ENLIGHTENED ONE OR IS IT A DARKENED ONE WITHOUT THE LORD JESUS CHRIST? I, I WAS THINKING ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGY OF THIS AGE. THE, THE TECHNOLOGY OF TODAY IS THE SCIENCE FICTION OF THE, WHEN I WAS A BOY. I MEAN, THE THINGS THAT WE DO TODAY, IT'S INCREDIBLE. UH, I, UH, I WAS THINKING ABOUT MY AUTOMOBILE. …