Giving America a Little Taste of Heaven

One of the things we have to be careful about as Christians is forming an unbiblical perspective based on a reaction against an equally unbiblical viewpoint. One example would be to recognize that it is legalistic, and flies in the face of the gospel, to attempt to achieve salvation by good works. So in order to emphasize that one is saved by God's grace through faith, a person might throw the baby out with the bath water and disregard the moral code all together. This is what the Apostle Paul dealt with when he reprimanded the Romans by asking "Should we go on sinning that grace may abound?" James expanded on this in his letter to the church by giving a balanced view of good works resulting from salvation.

 

I believe there is a similar issue. There is a term called the social gospel. It is a world view that focuses on the physical and social aspects of God's kingdom, and some believe it to be to the detriment of the more important spiritual aspect.

 

The idea of the social gospel is based upon what is called the cultural mandate in Genesis 1:28 in which God commands mankind, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

The cultural mandate is the belief that we are to bring God's truth to bear upon every area of human society, from arts and literature, to politics, to government, to economics, to the schools, to scientific progress, and so on. There is a theological view called post millennialism that believes that we will succeed in this progress through the power of Christ.

 

Many have reacted to this worldview with sour taste in their mouths. They recognize that the Gospel consists of spiritual matters and that is the most important thing. Souls are at stake. The social Gospel can feed people all day, they carry on in the corporate world, they can seek to instill Christian values as much as they want, but if the Gospel is not spoken, the world will literally go to hell in a hand basket. The Bible is clear that it will take the return of Jesus Christ to right all of the wrong in this world. We are commissioned to preach the Gospel.

 

This view is true… to an extent. This is where the problem lies. The social and cultural aspects of the kingdom are thrown out all together. At best they are severely overlooked in order to uphold the Great Commission.  This morning I want to focus on Jesus' words in the greatest sermon ever preached, The Sermon on the Mount.

 

In Matthew 5:13-16 He states, "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."

 

What context does Jesus say this in? Jesus began preaching in chapter 4 by declaring that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand. In chapter 5 He begins the Sermon on the Mount by describing what the Kingdom of Heaven looks like. They are poor in spirit, meek, merciful, peacemakers, etc. He is telling this to his disciples. He not only describes the kingdom, but applies it to the very ones He speaks to as He shifts from blessed are those to blessed are you! Why? Because Jesus has brought the Kingdom to them. If you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ then God's kingdom has begun to reign in you as well.

Salt

He tells His followers, "You are the salt of the earth…" Salt had many qualities during the time of Christ as it does today. It was used as a preservative. It was used as a flavoring for food. It was also used as a healing agent. Jesus tells His disciples that they are the salt of the earth. They are the healing agents in the world. They are to preserve God's ways in the world. They are to give the world a little taste of what heaven is like.

 

However, salt can lose its taste and its effectiveness. The Jews had an abundance of it being near the Dead Sea. They would store salt in the temple to use in the courtyard after a rain just as it is today on slick roadways. Thus it allowed people to walk without slipping or falling. So literally, the salt was trodden under foot. Jesus said that salt that has lost its taste (effectiveness) is only good for such uses.

 

For Jesus, it was not just a matter of preaching the Gospel, but living it out socially and culturally!  When Jesus came He preached the Gospel, but He also healed, he had compassion, he taught and live by good morals, he defended the law of God. This was because the Kingdom was not just something future, no Jesus came to say that the Kingdom was at hand. The transformed lives of His followers attested to it.

 

Light

He goes on to declare that His disciples "are the light of the world." He specifically states that good works are what constitutes light. They were not to put those works under a basket. They are to stand out in the way they work within the culture. This is done in order that others may give glory to their Father in heaven.

Competing Directives

The question is how do others see their good works and give Glory to God without the gospel? The answer is that they don't. The problem is that we make two commissions compete that are meant to work together.

 

Matthew 5:16 is a key verse to the point I'm trying to make.

"…let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

 

I believe one issue is that we try to make the Great Commission the chief end of our existence. It's not! God's glory is! The problem is that when you make the Great Commission the main focus then all of these other ideas begin to compete with it. However, when we understand that God's glory is the chief end of Mankind's existence, then everything finds its place; The Great Commandment, The Cultural Mandate; The Great Commission, the call to be holy and sanctified and so forth. Obeying God glorifies Him. He's called us to love God and love people. Out of that comes a desire to live out the Kingdom life; to be salt and light; to glorify God in all we do because we love Him, we desire to reach others, and because we are new creations being sanctified by the Kingdom of God within us. When our sanctification is lived out it gives opportunity to fulfill the Great Commission! Look at verse 16 again. The desire is that they will give glory to your Father in heaven. The tool used is your good works, but the missing ingredient is the Gospel. Do you see that our works prepare the way for the Gospel?!?

 

So what does this all mean for us?

 

• Live the kingdom life here and now
• That you may glorify God
• That others may glorify God

 

Glorify God in all that you do. We are to give this world a little taste of heaven. Not because we think that we will actually bring heaven to earth in its fullness. That will only happen by the return of Christ Jesus! You will not be fully sanctified either until the Lord returns, but does that stop you from seeking sanctification? Of course not! The Kingdom is at hand (or near), because you have heaven inside you. Use it for the sake of the Gospel and to the Glory of God, exhibiting your love for God and your love for people. Let this world know you are a new creation and begin the work of restoration in our culture.

 

The Right Perspective

 

You don't have to separate the two. You don't have to view your work as simply a means to pay the bills so that you can do what you really are called to do. You are called to be where God put you. If you think that we are all supposed to be preachers or missionaries in the sense that the world defines them today then that is a grave mistake! If Christians throughout history simply looked at their jobs as a means to pay the bills, where would we be now? Do we want to leave law enforcement to the world? Do we want to leave government to the ways of the world? Should only the lost be passionate about medicine or art or agriculture?

 

Example of Paul's Congregations

We've got to stop having a narrow perspective when it comes to our calling; especially the Great Commission. Everybody is called to proclaim the Gospel and to disciple others, but not everybody is called to go overseas or to be street preachers. Observe the Apostle Paul. He was a missionary. Even more so he was an Apostle. That was his main vocation so to speak so I will say that for Him making tents paid the bills. However, I'm sure he made tents to the Glory of God. But what about the Christians in the churches that Paul established? Did they travel all over the known world preaching in synagogues and on the streets? Did Paul ask them to? No, they were blacksmiths and fishermen and farmers and government officials and whatever jobs people did back then. All Paul ever asked for was their prayers and money to help other churches and the spread of the Gospel. When Paul said to imitate him as he imitated Christ, it was because he expected them to live sanctified lives and to be witnesses of Christ, not to all be what Paul was as a missionary and Apostle.  Some are goers and some are senders. The Great Commission was fulfilled corporately as some went to new towns and some went into their own town.

 

Your Mission Field

Maybe you are called to go overseas and if you are don't resist the calling of God. My point isn't to water down the calling of missionaries or evangelists. However, maybe you are called to be a teacher or a videographer or an accounting assistant or auto body shop technician or a grocery store clerk or a stay-at-home mother. That is your mission field. It is also your field in which God ordained you to glorify Him in. So where ever you are, get knee deep. Be salt. Bring healing to a broken workforce. Raise Godly children amidst a world of ungodly parenting. Preserve Godly principles in your lifestyle, in the workplace and in this country. Give people; give America a little taste of heaven! Let your light shine for all to see, or as my dear friend Brian Thetford says, "Let your freak flag fly!" (Jesus freak that is). Make it Crystal clear that you are a Christian and show them how the Kingdom inside of you changes everything. They may desire what you have. They may be appalled. Some people don't like light because their deeds are evil. Either way God is pleased with you and to Him be the glory! Jesus said there would be persecution and it is in this context that He says, "Don't let your salt lose its taste! Don't put your light under a basket because people don't like it!"

 

This isn't a call to grow more apathetic than the church already is. It is a call to be radical where you are. It is a challenge to live out the Christian life. Stand up for what is right as did Martin Luther King. Show people that you can be a business man or woman and you don't have to lie or cheat or manipulate. You don't have to play it the world's way. You are the light of Christ. Samuel Truett Cathy, owner of Chik-fil-A, closes his restaurants every Sunday. People might not like it, but they take notice. He says that his business exists "to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us and to have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A." You can use your work to touch others lives and as a tool for the Gospel message. People only notice lights if they are displayed for all the world to see. That light is inside of you. It's up to you to take it out and set it on a stand. Radically live out the Kingdom life without compromise for the Glory of God. In that you will find your purpose in life.

--
Scott A. Hescht

Life Spring Church  <)))><
(832) 217-9278
http://www.lifespringfamily.org

Psalm 22 Ministries
GOD has not forsaken you
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"By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." - Jesus