Agents of Change

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” – Matthew 5:13-16 ESV

Here, having completed His discussion of the beatitudes, Jesus begins to use the personal pronoun “you” for the very first time. But to whom was He addressing it? Was He talking to His disciples? Or was He speaking to the more serious-minded followers within His crowd? Did He have in mind the Jews in His audience because they were chosen people of God?

It would seem that Jesus was speaking to the “blessed,” or all those who would be approved by God and experience His kingdom life. Jesus has just finished explaining what the life of the blessed will look like, now He will explains what the goal of that life will be: To influence and impact the world. But in a radical and revolutionary way that is focused on the kingdom of heaven, not earthly kings and physical realms.

In a world in which selfishness and self-centeredness reign, Jesus brings a message that promotes a selfless lifestyle, where emphasis on “me” gives way to a passion for “Him.”

In a world in which selfishness and self-centeredness reign, Jesus brings a message that promotes a selfless lifestyle, where emphasis on “me” gives way to a passion for “Him”. The goal becomes God’s kingdom and the message of His Son. The mindset of those who are approved by God moves from a me-centered, inward focus to an outward, other-oriented one where the mercy received from God is shared with all those around them. In other words, the kingdom life of which Jesus is speaking becomes about giving and influencing the world around you, rather than trying to see what you can get out of it. The kingdom life, the life of the blessed, is not individualistic and isolated, but designed to witness to the world around it. It is intended to make an impact.

To make His point, Jesus uses two metaphors: Salt and light.

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.” – Matthew 5:13 ESV

Is Jesus insinuating that everyone in His audience is already salt? Is this His expectation of the Jews in His audience? To further complicate the issue, Jesus switches metaphors, using light as a illustration of the kind of impact Kingdom-dwellers should have.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” – Matthew 5:14-16 ESV

Is He really inferring that everyone in His hearing is, at that moment, the light of the world? Do they already have the light of Christ within them? It would appear that Jesus is speaking prophetically, referring to those whom God would give Him as His followers. The apostle John would later recall the words Jesus prayed in the garden on the night He was be betrayed.

“I have revealed you to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me.

“My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are.” – John 17:6-11 NLT

There would be some who followed Jesus who truly believed in who He claimed to be, but their number would be small. The vast majority of those who were in the crowd the day Jesus gave His message on the hillside would later leave Him. They would refuse to accept Him as their Messiah. They would deny their need for Him as their Savior. But there would be those who truly believed Him to be “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16 ESV). Those would be the ones who had the unique pleasure and thrill of seeing Him appear in their midst in His resurrected form. They would be the ones He told to return to the upper room and wait for the arrival of the Holy Spirit. This small group of men and women would be transformed into salt and light, agents of change, who would powerfully and radically influence the world around them. The kingdom life, the life of spiritual poverty, meekness, mourning, mercy, purity and peacemaking, will set them apart from the world around them.

Two kingdoms:

The salt (the Church)                  The earth (the world)
Preserves                                           Prone to decay
Seasons                                               Spiritually bland
Disinfects                                            Diseased
Influential                                           Infectious

The light (the Church)                The world (sinful man)
Exposes sin                                        Loves darkness
Reflects the light of Christ       Marked by darkness
Lights the way to Christ            Blinded by darkness

Jesus is describing the church age, the era that will follow His death, burial, and resurrection, and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. This is the period in which we find ourselves living. When the Holy Spirit came, the church was born. The disciples were empowered from on high, just as Jesus had told them. They were transformed into salt and light, agents of change in a world filled with decay and darkness. They spoke with power. They began to preach the message of salvation made possible through faith in Christ alone. And later on, the apostle Paul would take that same message to the Gentiles, revealing the truth that Jesus came to redeem men from every tribe, nation, and tongue.

Salt was a staple in that day. It was essential for life. It preserved meat. It prevented decay. If added flavor to what would have otherwise been bland and tasteless. Jesus is saying that the blessed will have influence in the world. But He warns against losing your saltiness. But can salt really become un-salty? No. But it can become diluted and contaminated. It can lose its effectiveness. And the apostle John tells us how.

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. – 1 John 2:15 NLT

Our distinctiveness as followers of Christ can be diluted and diminished by this world. We can allow our love for the things of this world to overwhelm our effectiveness. We can lose our influence and find ourselves trampled down or overcome by the ways of this world.

What about light? It is intended to illuminate the darkness that surrounds it. Light exposes what is invisible to the eye in the dark. That is why Paul later wrote:

Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, for the light makes everything visible. – Ephesians 5:11-14 NLT

The lives of those approved by God will impact others. And the result will be conviction. That conviction will lead some to salvation, while others will respond in anger and resentment, resulting in persecution, reviling and slander, just as Jesus warned.

We are not to hide our light, in an effort to escape suffering. We are not to prefer darkness to the light, by hiding our light under a basket. We are to set it out for all to see.

We are not to hide our light, in an effort to escape suffering. We are not to prefer darkness to the light, by hiding our light under a basket. We are to set it out for all to see. The apostle Paul tells us:

For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.  – 2 Cotinthians 4:6-7 NLT

The unique thing about light is that it cannot be overcome by darkness. Darkness is nothing more than an absence of light. Jesus came to bring light into a dark world, and we are to be His agents, His representatives, allowing His light to flow from us into the darkness that surrounds us. Once again, the apostle Paul gives us some powerful words of exhortation:

Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. – Philippians 2:15-16 NLT

We are to be salt and light. We are to be agents of change, forces for good in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Our beliefs should change our behavior. The presence of the Spirit of God within us should make a lasting impact on the world around us. But has our saltiness become diluted? Have we allowed our light to become hidden and ineffective? The Kingdom life is meant to be a radically different life. It is meant to make an impact and leave a mark on the world around it. You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. If you have been approved by God because you have placed your faith in His Son, you are a citizen of His kingdom, and a child in His family. You are to live like a child of that kingdom while you find yourself temporarily having to exist in this one.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Divine Discontentment.

Philippians 3:12-21

I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. – Philippians 3:12 NLT

Paul is the one who wrote, "godliness with contentment is great gain" (1 Timothy 6:6 NIV). He knew that discontentment was a dangerous thing in the life of a believer. The context of that verse is important to understanding what Paul was saying. He was addressing the love of money and the mistaken understanding of some in the church who believed that a life of godliness was going to bring them financial gain. Paul was telling Timothy that godliness should produce contentment in the life of a believer, not an insatiable desire for worldly goods. If you have something to wear and food to eat, that should be enough to keep you content and satisfied.

But there was also a part of Paul that was constantly dissatisfied. He displayed a divine discontentment, but it had nothing to do with material things. His discontentment was spiritual in nature. Paul was never willing to rest on his laurels or grow content with and complacent about his spiritual maturity. He was always striving toward a deeper and greater relationship with Christ. He wanted to know Him more intimately, conform to Him more completely, and reflect His holiness more readily. Paul was far from content when it came to his spiritual life, and he expected other believers to share his passion for ever-increasing perfection. Paul knew he had been justified completely by Christ and would one day be glorified with Christ. But in the meantime, his attitude was, "I press on to possess the perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me" (Philippians 3:12b NLT). The Greek word Paul uses that is translated "press on" is dioko, and it means "to pursue, to seek after eagerly, earnestly endeavor to acquire." It is an active verb that was used of a runner competing in a race who runs swiftly to reach a goal. Paul knew that he would one day be made perfect in Christ when he experienced glorification with Christ. But that was a future event that would take place at his death or with the Lord's return. So in the meantime, Paul pursued perfection. He was not content to remain as he was. The goal for Paul was always Christ-likeness – ever-increasing conformity to the character and nature of Christ. He knew that the goal would only be achieved at the end of his life or at the return of Christ, but he kept his eyes focused on the end line.

Paul says, "I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14 ESV). The Greek word for goal is skopos, and it means "goal marker, the object at the end of the course on which the runner fixes his gaze." For Paul the goal was not heaven, but complete knowledge of Christ and conformity to His image. Paul wanted all believers to share that same goal. He didn't want them to get distracted by the things of this world. His desire was that their lives would be possessed by a holy discontentment, not a worldly one. That's why he described some "whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth" (Philippians 3:18-19 NLT). There were a growing number of individuals outside and inside the early church who were "anti-law." They believed that it really didn't matter how a Christian lived their life because they were saved. There was no law. They took the idea of freedom from the law to an unhealthy extreme. These people were driven by their passions. They were shameless and obsessed with the things of this life. Their satisfaction was based on earthly, temporal things. Any discontentment they experienced was only because they wanted more of what this world had to offer.

But Paul reminds his readers, "But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior" (Philippians 3:20 NLT). Paul reminded them to remember who they were and what the real goal was. They were to never forget about their future glorification and perfection. And in the meantime, they were to live with a healthy sense of divine discontentment, keeping their eyes on the goal and running towards it with everything they had in them.

Father, it is so easy to make this life and all that it offers, the goal. We can so easily become transfixed by the things of this world and end up seeking them more than we do our relationship with Christ. Paul was never content to stay where he was spiritually. He was always striving, pursuing, eagerly seeking, and working his way toward the final goal. He was not content to wait for his future glorification, but made knowing Christ and conforming to His image, his lifelong obsession. May that be true of me as well. Amen.

The Mind of Christ.

Philippians 1:27-2:11

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. – Philippians 2:3-5 NLT

Paul starts out this section with a reminder to "live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ" (Philippians 1:27 NLT). But because this statement could be taken in a thousand different ways, Paul clarifies what he means. For one thing, it entails "standing together with one spirit and one purpose fighting together for the faith" (Philippians 1:27b NLT). Living as a citizen of heaven involves living in unity as part of a community and sharing a common cause. There is to be a mutual care for and dependence upon one another as together we do battle against those forces that would oppose the Good News of Jesus Christ. And because we are in a war for the faith, Paul tells us not to allow ourselves to be intimidated by our enemies. They are real, but so is our God, who will stand beside us, fight for us, and ultimately save us. The battle in which we find ourselves is proof that our faith is real. Jesus Himself told us that we would suffer in this life. He also told us that the world would hate us. The battle is part of the cost and the privilege of following Christ. But we are to do it together, not alone.

Paul asks a series of rhetorical questions designed to accentuate the value of our relationship with Christ. "Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate?" (Philippians 2:1 NLT). The obvious answer to each of these questions is, "Yes!" But we experience the encouragement, love, fellowship, and tender compassion in the midst of community. That is how God has chosen for this to work. The body of Christ is the context in which the love of Christ is lived out. It is the environment in which we are to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News. And Paul gives us a very vivid description of just what that should look like. It is to be characterized by a single-minded, unified expression of love, focus and purpose. While the local church is a unique blend of different individuals from diverse backgrounds, with a variety of gifts, talents, and personality types, it is to reflect a Spirit-enabled unity that is not of this world. To conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News is to live together in such a way that our actions and attitudes toward one another reflect the change that has taken place within us. Our new lives are to be characterized by selflessness rather than selfishness, humility rather than pride, a senses of mutual care rather than individual concern. The attitude or mindset that we are to have is the same one Jesus Himself displayed when He walked this earth. And Paul carefully and eloquently describes just what that mind of Christ was like.

Jesus, though God, willingly demoted Himself to the position of a man by taking on human flesh. He did not become any less God, but He left His place at the right hand of the Father and allowed Himself to be born as a human baby, the most helpless, dependent, weak and non-influential form He could have taken. Not only that, when Jesus was born, His whole intent was to become a slave to all men, to serve all men by giving His life as payment for their sins. "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45 NLT). He came in order to take "the humble position of a slave." And in His human form, His life was characterized by complete and total obedience to the will of His Father. "For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will" (John 6:38 NLT). "My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work" (John 4:34 NLT). And the obedience of Jesus was so complete that it resulted in His death on the cross as a substitute payment for the sins of men. That was God's plan and Jesus fulfilled it willingly and completely. Humility, selflessness, obedience. Those attributes represent the mindset that Jesus had and are to present in the lives of those who call themselves His followers. Paul tells us we are to have the same attitude or mindset. We are to reflect His character, and the most logical place for this to show up is within the body of Christ, the church. We are to live as citizens of heaven, which is where we will all spend eternity together. But we are to live that way here and now, conducting ourselves in a way that is in keeping with the life-changing, heart-altering power of the Gospel. We have been saved by Christ in order that we might live like Christ. Our greatest testimony is not just what He has done for us, but what He is doing through us as we live out our salvation in mutual love, selflessness, sacrifice, humility and unity. We truly are the hands, feet, heart, and voice of Christ on this earth. May we live as He did. May we love as He did. May we impact lives as He did. Together.

Father, give us the mind of Christ. May we learn to live our lives in such a way that they reflect His presence within us. Oh, that we would allow His Spirit to empower and direct us, causing us to live increasingly more selflessly, instead of selfishly. Show us how to live as citizens of heaven, where we will one day spend eternity together. Bring these verses alive in our daily lives in a real and tangible way. Amen.