Biblical Strategy 2: Accurate Portrayal of Christ
The Healthy Christian • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 3 viewsJesus has called us to be His witnesses. He has commissioned us to help the world see Him. We do this by being Salt & Light. In this sermon, we will explore the strategy I describe as an accurate portrayal of Christ. After all, the world sees Jesus through His church. Thus, we must: BE who we profess to be. DO what we are commanded to do. And TELL of Jesus so that He will receive the glory.
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Possible explanation of authenticity?
INTRO: ILL: I wonder if anyone here has ever been cat-phished. I’m not talking about going down to the pond and trying catch a catfish. Cat-phishing is when someone uses a a fake profile, name or pictures to scam someone.
This happens through online dating sites where people pretend to be someone they are not so they can swindle others out of gifts, money, etc.
This can even result in blackmail
It can happen over the phone where someone pretends to be a bill collector, IRS agent, or other threatening force with the intent of getting something out of you.
The practice of cat-phishing is awful, don’t you think? Poor unsuspecting people get tricked and then when they find out the truth, they are full of doubt, distrust, and suspicion.
Well, for many unbelievers in the world, the church appears to be a giant cat-phishing scheme. They hear about this Jesus who loves them and wants a relationship with them, but when they get into a church, the picture of Jesus they see does not match the one they believed.
You know, the biggest complaint against Christians is hypocrisy. Now, to be fair, some of this is unwarranted because of unrealistic expectations, false pretenses, and unclear gospel messages.
BUT, the reality is that If the lost world is going to experience Jesus, it will be through His church (remember, that’s me and you, not a building!), for we are the hands and feet of Christ.
Therefore, we have an immense responsibility to accurately portray Christ to the world and to each other.
Of course, that is an easier statement to say than to live. How can we, as imperfect as we are, help others to see Jesus as perfect as He is?
In our time together today, I aim to show you not only what Jesus said, but what it means for you and for me as we seek to be healthy Christians.
Now, we’ve been working our way through a sermon series called The Healthy Christian.
In it, we’ve explored the mission of the church as God has designed and commanded.
We’ve looked at 4 perspectives of a healthy disciple: The internal components, the external fruit, the value-driven life patterns, and the ongoing growth process.
Last week, we began to look at a biblical strategy for accomplishing the mission of the church, which is to make disciples of all nations. This begins strategically as we authentically pursue holiness in our personal lives and in the life of this body.
If you remember, I gave you action steps and I pray that you are implementing them in your life. If you were not here, then I urge you to go onto our App or FB page and watch the message, download the sermon guide, and begin taking those steps.
Today, we take another strategic step > Biblical Strategy: Accurate Portrayal of Christ. That’s the title of the message. I invite you to use the sermon guide in your bulletin to follow along.
Let us open our Bibles together and read from Matthew 5:13-16.
13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;
15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
READ/PRAY
Many of you are wise to note that this teaching of Jesus us directly following the Beatitudes that we spoke of several weeks ago. The internal transformation that we experience as Christians changes our identity. Therefore we have a new name and a new purpose.
We are, as Christians, representatives of our King, Jesus. So, How do we accurately portray Christ? The first step to accurately portraying Jesus is:
BE What We Profess to Be! (13)
BE What We Profess to Be! (13)
Jesus said, “You ARE the salt of the earth...”
You have a new identity. Remember, you have been transformed. You were dead! A beggar! An enemy of God! So, if you were a seasoning, you’d be rat poison.
But, now you are SALT! Now, this might blow your mind, so hang on: Salt is supposed to be salty. It’s supposed to enhance the flavor of food. In preservation, the salt prevents microbial growth and other chemical reactions that cause meat to go bad.
But if the salt is not salty, it doesn’t work for either taste or preservation! Can you imagine having a big bowl of mashed potatoes and the salt you shake out on it isn’t even salty?!?!
BTW, you know what that means, don’t you? It means it’s not real salt. A whitewashed tomb looks pretty, but it’s full of death!
So you cannot just pretend to be salt. You can’t just look like salt. You can’t just identify as salt…
You are salt. Ok, now let’s think about this. If Jesus has changed you and you are salt, then:
You have been placed right here in order to change the flavor of this community. You have been joined with other salt so that when we are all together, the salt flavor is more pronounced and anyone who comes into this building should be overwhelmed with how Christ-like this church is!
IF you have no taste to change the flavor of the world, then what use are you to God’s mission? Jesus said, “If salt becomes tasteless, then how will it become salty again? It is not good for anything.
If you are salt, it also means that you are different than the world! If you are confessing to be a child of God, but you don’t want to stick out, then you may not have received the memo about being Christian. You have been set apart! You have been sent out- people ought to come to you often to taste the joy that you exude.
People should be drawn to you because you seem to make things better because that’s what salt does. You must BE SALT because you are salt.
(Video- Francis Chan)
This connects well with our first strategic move of authentically pursuing holiness. Simply put, we are Christians, and our lives should look like it. Yes, we’ll stand out. Yes, people will notice- they might even poke fun at you. But, as Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel!” I am not ashamed to be called a Christian! I will live it, and if you are truly transformed, then you will too!
We profess Jesus as Savior and Lord. We say that we believe the Bible and that we love God and we love our neighbor. That we believe in forgiveness, we believe in integrity, we believe that the power of God is real and He has overcome. We believe that the Gospel saves and that one day Jesus is returning!
AND so, in order to accurately portray Christ to the world, we must be what we profess to be. Be salty. Next, we must:
DO What We Are Designed to Do! (14-15)
DO What We Are Designed to Do! (14-15)
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Why do you have lights in your home? So you can see, right? When it’s dark, it’s difficult to see. Jesus said, “You are the light of the world..”
You are the light so that those in darkness can see! They are blinded by darkness, so God put you and me here so that we would SHINE in the darkness; to illumine the path so that people can see and come to know God!
You know how the more time you spend with someone, you see beyond the public image? For you and me the closer people get to us, they should see Jesus even better because we are shining His light.
And when unsaved people come into a group of Christians, it ought to be so bright that they cannot not see God in the midst!
Jesus said, “A city on a hill cannot be hidden.” IOW, it’s impossible to hide such a city. In the Galilean region where Jesus was teaching, there was the city called Hippos that He may have pointed to while making this statement. The city was perched in such a way that it caught the sun’s light, magnifying its position on the hilltop.
And that was the point. The Romans built this city, and others, on hilltops so that people would see them and know the glory of the Roman Empire. The city could not be hidden nor was that its design.
Switching metaphors, Jesus declared that you do not light a lamp and then put it under a basket, but instead on a lampstand so the light is disbursed throughout the room.
OK, this is kind of funny…and maybe a bit pointed. Jesus is declaring the absurdity of trying to hide a city on a hill or a lamp under a basket. Nobody does that because that’s ridiculous nonsense. It is equally ridiculous for followers of Christ to try to camouflage the Holy Spirit; for believers to blend into the backdrop of the world. You were made to SHINE!
You were designed to be a temple of the Holy Spirit. Your life should look different and you should live in such a way that the light- the power of God in you - shines forth, invading the darkness of this world.
Jesus’ immediate audience recognized the inference here to Isaiah’s prophecy in (Is. 2:2-5) speaking about God’s city being lifted up. But what you need to see and I need to see is that if we are true followers of Jesus, we constitute the genuine people of God and we will be witnesses to all the nations who will stream to us because we are visibly displaying the glory of God’s rule and reign. That’s what God has designed us to do as His people.
ILL: So, I want you to think about it this way: imagine putting a lamp in a room and when you went to turn it on- NOTHING. That would be pointless, right? Or imagine buying a coffee maker, but it doesn’t make coffee. Now imagine hiring an employee to answer phones and respond to customer inquiries and they want to work from home and still refuse to do the job. Pointless, right?
OK, As Christians, we have been called out of darkness to light and then commissioned to share the light with the world. Our mission is to make disciples of all nations. To take the light of the gospel into the darkness because that is what we are designed to do. But If we do not do what we are designed to do then something is wrong; because if God has truly transformed us, we cannot not shine. And as we shine, we must look to
A secret disciple is of no more use to the Kingdom of God than a candle placed under a basket. Instead, we want our lives to be leveraged in every way possible so as to shine forth and dispel darkness.
If you and I are called to be ambassadors of Christ, then we must Be who we profess to be and do what we are designed to do. But finally, as we look to v. 16, In order for us to accurately portray Christ, we must:
TELL About Jesus! (16)
TELL About Jesus! (16)
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This statement underscores the urgency and purpose of the instruction Jesus has given. Therefore, Jesus says, and this is an imperative or command. We might read it this way, “You are a new creation with a new purpose, therefore SHINE your light before men!”
People need to see God in your life. Not just good things, God things! And that’s going to mean that we use our words to demonstrate the source of our light. It’s going to mean that we speak the power and compassion of our King!
You see, your existence as a witness is for the benefit of others and for the glory of the Lord! Candles do not exist except to put forth light for the sake of others. A candle does not shine so it can see, it shines so others can see!
You must shine! It’s a command from God and the reason for your form and function. All that we are is for the pleasure and glory of Jesus! And let me suggest something to you: If you are unsatisfied with your life, then maybe it’s because you are a candle under a basket!
Shine. But look here- Jesus said, Matthew 5:16 “16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
We shine in such a way that when people see our light, they give glory to God. That necessarily means that you direct people’s eyes from you to Him.
John the Baptist said it this way, “I must decrease, and He must increase.”
ILL: Have you ever wondered why people flocked to Jesus? Why crowds came from far away and would linger long past reasonable hours just to hear Him speak? They were attracted to His teaching; it was different. It was authoritative and full of grace and truth. His kindness and compassion oozed out at every turn, as he healed the sick, cast out demons, and washed the feet of His disciples. Only those who loved the darkness were not attracted to Him.
God has gifted His followers with His Holy Spirit; He’s given us talents and abilities so that we might draw the world to our light like a porch light attracts a moth. Through our lovingkindness, our selfless service, our humble attitude, and out gracious generosity we demonstrate a transformed life that sticks out from the rest of the world.
We are salt that makes the world thirsty for the Good News of Jesus! We are the flavor that brings the world to salivate for the Gospel!
We are the light that invades the throes of sin and darkness to bring HOPE! We SHINE so that the truth of Jesus Christ is visible. And when others are near enough, we tell them about Jesus- The perfect Son of God, Holy and Righteous, who put on humanity, stepped into His creation and paid the price for our sin and shame.
We tell them about His compassion and forgiveness and about His Kingdom that never ends.
We tell them about the love of God and the Holy Spirit who brings about the change in our lives!
We tell them about God’s mission that He has invited us into and extend an invitation to them to repent and believe; to join us in God’s family.
Friends, as Christians our second strategic step in being a healthy church is to accurately portray Christ to the world. For some of you, that might mean that you have to reckon with the hypocrisy in your life. Are you pretending? Do you change the flavor when you are around lost people? Can they tell that you are different? Or are you putting your light under a basket? A chameleon Christian?
Maybe you are here this morning and you realize that you need to get real. You need to repent, cry out to God and take the step to surrender your life to Him completely. Jesus said, Revelation 3:20 ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.”
Won’t you answer His call this morning to be the salt & light?
[PRAY]
Discuss: Jesus says that if salt loses its saltiness, it is "good for nothing" (v.13). What does this imply about the importance of maintaining our distinctiveness as followers of Christ?
Discuss: What does it mean to be a "light" in the darkness? How does this relate to the way Christians should influence the world around them?
Discuss: What does it mean to "shine" in a way that leads others to glorify God? Can you think of examples where showing good works could point others to God?
