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Being ਍ഀ salt and light, rich in good works

You ਍ഀ are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, ਍ഀ how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, ਍ഀ except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of ਍ഀ the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people ਍ഀ light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its ਍ഀ stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same ਍ഀ way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good ਍ഀ deeds and praise your Father in heaven (Matt 5:13-16).

For ਍ഀ you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live ਍ഀ as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all ਍ഀ goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the ਍ഀ Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but ਍ഀ rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the ਍ഀ disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes ਍ഀ visible, for it is light that makes everything visible (Eph 5:8-14a).

Do ਍ഀ everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become ਍ഀ blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and ਍ഀ depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe ਍ഀ as you hold out the word of life (Phil 2:14-16a).

Dear ਍ഀ friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain ਍ഀ from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good ਍ഀ lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, ਍ഀ they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits ਍ഀ us. Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted ਍ഀ among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to ਍ഀ governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and ਍ഀ to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing ਍ഀ good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. (1 Pet ਍ഀ 2:11-15).

For ਍ഀ we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, ਍ഀ which God prepared in advance for us to do (Eph 2:10).

਍ഀ Hating evil, loving good, and pursuing ਍ഀ justice

This ਍ഀ is what the LORD Almighty says: “Administer true justice; show mercy ਍ഀ and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, ਍ഀ the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each ਍ഀ other.” (Zech 7:9-10)

Follow ਍ഀ justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the ਍ഀ land the LORD your God is giving you (Deut 16:10).

Do ਍ഀ not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice, or take the ਍ഀ cloak of the widow as a pledge. Remember that you were slaves in ਍ഀ Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there. That is why ਍ഀ I command you to do this (Deut 24:17-18).

Religion ਍ഀ that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look ਍ഀ after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from ਍ഀ being polluted by the world (Jam 1:27).

Woe ਍ഀ to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give ਍ഀ a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected ਍ഀ the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. ਍ഀ You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former ਍ഀ (Matt 23:23).

਍ഀ Preaching repentance

The ਍ഀ words of Jesus:

“The ਍ഀ time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and ਍ഀ believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15)

From ਍ഀ that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of ਍ഀ heaven is near.” (Matt 4:17)

It ਍ഀ is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come ਍ഀ to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Luke 5:31b-32).

Now ਍ഀ there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans ਍ഀ whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, ਍ഀ “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the ਍ഀ other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! ਍ഀ But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen ਍ഀ who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them--do you think they ਍ഀ were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell ਍ഀ you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” (Luke ਍ഀ 13:1-5)

. ਍ഀ . . there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents ਍ഀ than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. ਍ഀ . . . there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over ਍ഀ one sinner who repents (Luke 15:7, 10).

This ਍ഀ is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead ਍ഀ on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be ਍ഀ preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You ਍ഀ are witnesses of these things (Luke 24:46-48)

But ਍ഀ I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. ਍ഀ Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, ਍ഀ I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world ਍ഀ of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard ਍ഀ to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, ਍ഀ because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; ਍ഀ and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now ਍ഀ stands condemned (John 16:7-11).

਍ഀ The words of Peter:

Repent ਍ഀ and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for ਍ഀ the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the ਍ഀ Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all ਍ഀ who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call (Acts 2:38-29).

Repent, ਍ഀ then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that ਍ഀ times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send ਍ഀ the Messiah, who has been appointed for you--even Jesus (Acts 3:19-20).

God ਍ഀ exalted [Jesus] to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that ਍ഀ he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are ਍ഀ witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has ਍ഀ given to those who obey him (Acts 5:31-32).

The ਍ഀ words of Paul:

In ਍ഀ the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all ਍ഀ people everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30).

I ਍ഀ have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God ਍ഀ in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus (Acts 20:21).

First ਍ഀ to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, ਍ഀ and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and ਍ഀ turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds (Acts 26:20).

Godly ਍ഀ sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, ਍ഀ but worldly sorrow brings death (2 Cor 7:10).

਍ഀ Overcoming evil with good

You ਍ഀ have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” ਍ഀ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute ਍ഀ you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his ਍ഀ sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous ਍ഀ and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward ਍ഀ will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if ਍ഀ you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? ਍ഀ Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly ਍ഀ Father is perfect (Matt 5:43-48).

If ਍ഀ it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with ਍ഀ everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s ਍ഀ wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” ਍ഀ says the Lord. On the contrary:

਍ഀ “If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
਍ഀ if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
਍ഀ In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Do ਍ഀ not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Rom 12:18-21).

਍ഀ Speaking the truth in love

Let ਍ഀ your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so ਍ഀ that you may know how to answer everyone (Col 4:6).

And ਍ഀ the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to ਍ഀ everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he ਍ഀ must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance ਍ഀ leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come ਍ഀ to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken ਍ഀ them captive to do his will (2 Tim 2:24-26).

All ਍ഀ Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, ਍ഀ correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God ਍ഀ may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. In the presence ਍ഀ of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, ਍ഀ and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: ਍ഀ Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, ਍ഀ rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction ਍ഀ (2 Tim 3:16-4:2).

Do ਍ഀ not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly ਍ഀ so you will not share in his guilt (Lev 19:17).

਍ഀ Quotes from Christian Leaders

[Commenting ਍ഀ on Matt 5:13, “You are the salt of the earth”] The point is that, ਍ഀ if Jesus’ disciples are to act as a preservative in the world by ਍ഀ conforming to kingdom norms, if they are “called to be a moral disinfectant ਍ഀ in a world where moral standards are low, constantly changing, or ਍ഀ non-existent ... they can discharge this function only if they themselves ਍ഀ retain their virtue” (D. A. Carson, quoting R. V. Tasker).

[Commenting ਍ഀ on Matt 5:14-15, “You are the light of the world”] Light is a universal ਍ഀ religious symbol. In the OT as in the NT, it most frequently symbolizes ਍ഀ purity as opposed to filth, truth or knowledge as opposed to error ਍ഀ or ignorance, and divine revelation and presence as opposed to reprobation ਍ഀ and abandonment by God. . . . A lamp is put on a lampstand to illuminate ਍ഀ all. (D. A. Carson)

[Commenting ਍ഀ on Matt 5:16, “. . . let your light shine before men . . .”] Jesus ਍ഀ drives the metaphor home. What his disciples must show is their ਍ഀ “good works,” i.e., all righteousness, everything they are and do ਍ഀ that reflects the mind and will of God. And men must see this light. ਍ഀ It may provoke persecution (vv. 10-12), but that is no reason for ਍ഀ hiding the light others may see and by which they may come to glorify ਍ഀ the Father--the disciples’ only motive (cf. 2Cor 4:6; 1 Peter 2:12). ਍ഀ Witness includes not just words but deeds; as Stier remarks, “The ਍ഀ good word with out the good walk is of no avail.”

਍ഀ Thus the kingdom norms (vv. 3-12) so work out in the lives of the ਍ഀ kingdom’s heirs as to produce the kingdom witness (vv. 13-16). If ਍ഀ salt (v. 13) exercises the negative function of delaying decay and ਍ഀ warns disciples of the danger of compromise and conformity to the ਍ഀ world, then light (vv. 14-16) speaks positively of illuminating ਍ഀ a sin-darkened world and warns against a withdrawal from the world ਍ഀ that does not lead others to glorify the Father in heaven. “Flight ਍ഀ into the invisible is a denial of the call. A community of Jesus ਍ഀ which seeks to hide itself has ceased to follow him” (D. A. Carson, ਍ഀ quoting Dietrich Bonhoeffer).

As ਍ഀ the lights of the world, [the disciples] are illustrious ਍ഀ and conspicuous, and have many eyes upon them. A city that is set ਍ഀ on a hill cannot be hid. The disciples of Christ, especially ਍ഀ those who are forward and zealous in his service, become remarkable, ਍ഀ and are taken notice of as beacons. They are for signs ਍ഀ (Isa. 7:18), men wondered at (Zec. 3:8); all their neighbours ਍ഀ have any eye upon them. Some admire them, commend them, rejoice ਍ഀ in them, and study to imitate them; others envy them, hate them, ਍ഀ censure them, and study to blast them. They are concerned therefore ਍ഀ to walk circumspectly, because of their observers; ਍ഀ they are as spectacles to the world, and must take heed ਍ഀ of every thing that looks ill, because they are so much ਍ഀ looked at. The disciples of Christ were obscure men before ਍ഀ he called them, but the character he put upon them dignified them, ਍ഀ and as preachers of the gospel they made a figure; and though they ਍ഀ were reproached for it by some, they were respected for it by others, ਍ഀ advanced to thrones, and made judges (Lu. 22:30); for Christ will ਍ഀ honour those that honour him. . . .

They ਍ഀ must shine as lights, [1.] By their good preaching. ਍ഀ The knowledge they have, they must communicate for the good of others; ਍ഀ not put it under a bushel, but spread it. The talent must ਍ഀ not be buried in a napkin, but traded with. The disciples of Christ ਍ഀ must not muffle themselves up in privacy and obscurity, under pretence ਍ഀ of contemplation, modesty, or self-preservation, but, as they ਍ഀ have received the gift, must minister the same, Lu. ਍ഀ 12:3. [2.] By their good living. They must be burning ਍ഀ and shining lights (Jn. 5:35); must evidence, in their whole ਍ഀ conversation, that they are indeed followers of Christ, James 3:13. ਍ഀ They must be to others for instruction, direction, quickening, and ਍ഀ comfort, Job 29:11. . . .

Note, ਍ഀ The holy, regular, and exemplary [lifestyle] of the saints, may ਍ഀ do much towards the conversion of sinners; those who are unacquainted ਍ഀ with religion, may hereby be brought to know what it is. Examples ਍ഀ teach. And those who are prejudiced against it, may hereby by brought ਍ഀ in love with it, and thus there is a winning virtue in a godly [lifestyle] ਍ഀ (Matthew Henry).

I ਍ഀ believe we have come to a place where the thinking of [Christians] ਍ഀ must change, and it must change now or the church will become a ਍ഀ little cult in the corner. I am not interested in following a religion ਍ഀ that does not impact the world in which we live. . . . Jesus was ਍ഀ a rebel, and He has called us to join this rebel movement, and change ਍ഀ the world together.
਍ഀ Nevers Mumba, Zambian Christian leader

As ਍ഀ we turn to the evangelical leadership of this country in the last ਍ഀ decades, unhappily, we must come to the conclusion that often it ਍ഀ has not been much help. It has shown the mark of a platonic, overly ਍ഀ spiritualized Christianity all too often. Spirituality to the evangelical ਍ഀ leadership often has not included the Lordship of Christ over the ਍ഀ whole spectrum of life. Spirituality has often been shut up to a ਍ഀ very narrow area. And also very often, among many evangelicals, ਍ഀ including many evangelical leaders, it seems that the final end ਍ഀ is to protect their own projects. . . . I am again asking the question, ਍ഀ why have we let ourselves go so far down the road?
਍ഀ Francis Schaeffer, A Christian Manifesto

We ਍ഀ Christians have given Calvary to the Communists. They accept deprivation ਍ഀ and death to spread their gospel, while we Christians reject any ਍ഀ gospel that does not major on healing and happiness.
਍ഀ George E. Failing

If ਍ഀ a so-called religious belief is not radical, we must suspect that ਍ഀ it is mere superstition. The profession of a religious belief is ਍ഀ a lie if it does not significantly determine one’s economic, political ਍ഀ and social behaviour.
਍ഀ M. Scott Peck, The Different Drum

. ਍ഀ . . our expectation of [God’s] kingdom cannot be a passive waiting, ਍ഀ a sweet, soft occupation with ourselves and our likeminded friends. ਍ഀ No; if we truly expect God’s kingdom we will be filled with divine ਍ഀ power. Then the social justice of the future – with its purity of ਍ഀ heart and divine fellowship – will be realized now, wherever Jesus ਍ഀ himself is present. Our belief in the future must bring change to ਍ഀ the present!
਍ഀ Eberhard Arnold, God’s Revolution

The ਍ഀ kingdom of God is a new order founded on the fatherly love of God, ਍ഀ on redemption, justice, and fellowship. It is meant to enter into ਍ഀ all life, all nations, and all policies till the kingdoms of this ਍ഀ world become the kingdom of the Lord.
਍ഀ Eric Liddell, Olympic gold medal winner and missionary to China

A ਍ഀ holy life is a voice; it speaks when the tongue is silent and is ਍ഀ either a constant attraction or a perpetual reproof.
਍ഀ Archbishop Robert Leighton

A ਍ഀ Christian who . . . becomes a revolutionary will serve as a revolutionary ਍ഀ catalyst in the Church; and by the multiplication of revolutionized ਍ഀ Christians, the Church will become a revolutionary catalyst in society; ਍ഀ and if society is sufficiently revolutionized, a revolution of violence ਍ഀ will no more be needed than a windmill in a world of atomic energy.
਍ഀ Vernon C. Grounds, Revolution and the Christian Faith

It ਍ഀ is true that Jesus never called for a political, revolutionary transformation ਍ഀ of Jewish society. Yet the repentance which he demanded as a consequence ਍ഀ of his preaching of the reign of God sought to ignite within the ਍ഀ people of God a movement in comparison to which the normal type ਍ഀ of revolution is insignificant.
਍ഀ Gerhard Lohfink, Jesus and Community

Our ਍ഀ expectation of the future must mean certainty that the divine will ਍ഀ conquer the demonic, that love will conquer hate, that the all-embracing ਍ഀ will conquer the isolated. And certainty tolerates no limitation. ਍ഀ God embraces everything. When we trust in him for the future, we ਍ഀ trust for the present. When we have the innermost faith in him, ਍ഀ this faith will prove valid for all areas of life.
਍ഀ Eberhard Arnold, God’s Revolution

਍ഀ Throughout the Montgomery [Alabama] campaign, critics complained ਍ഀ about the ordained clergy’s involvement in “earthly, temporal matters.” ਍ഀ [Dr. Martin Luther] King, [Jr.] however, believed “this view of ਍ഀ religion … was too confined.” He saw his civil rights activity as ਍ഀ an extension of his ministry: “The Christian gospel is a two-way ਍ഀ road. On the one hand, it seeks to change the souls of men, and ਍ഀ thereby unite them with God; on the other hand, it seeks to change ਍ഀ the environmental conditions of men so the soul will have a chance ਍ഀ after it is changed.”

I ਍ഀ must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish ਍ഀ brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have ਍ഀ been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost ਍ഀ reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling ਍ഀ block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Councilor ਍ഀ or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted ਍ഀ to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is ਍ഀ the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence ਍ഀ of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you ਍ഀ seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who ਍ഀ paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another ਍ഀ man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly ਍ഀ advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.” Shallow ਍ഀ understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than ਍ഀ absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance ਍ഀ is much more bewildering than outright rejection.
਍ഀ Martin Luther King, Jr., “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”

Along ਍ഀ with many African-American theologians, I believe in the tremendous ਍ഀ importance of preserving religious communities not only as centers ਍ഀ of difference—that is, places where one grasps the meaning of the ਍ഀ world as different from what you find in the dominant culture—but ਍ഀ even more so as centers of resistance. These centers of resistance ਍ഀ do not simply proclaim “We don’t believe what the rest of you believe,” ਍ഀ but say, “We are willing and ready to sacrifice, to lose something ਍ഀ material for the sake of that difference in which we believe.” . ਍ഀ . .

Indeed, ਍ഀ radical transformation will demand a sacrifice. But a fundamental ਍ഀ demand for sacrifice will not arise in politics. It will have to ਍ഀ arise from the church, which is really the only contemporary, genuine ਍ഀ source of resistance to the existing order. Nobody else can do it. ਍ഀ Nobody was ever persuaded to go out and risk life and limb be cause ਍ഀ of reading a smart article on philosophy and public affairs. No ਍ഀ people ever said they were going to organize a march and be beaten ਍ഀ by the police because of something they read in The New York Times ਍ഀ op-ed page. It is only religion that still has the power, at its ਍ഀ best, to encourage sacrifice and resistance.

Yet, ਍ഀ one should have no illusions. All too many pastors today, black ਍ഀ and white, are so worried about filling the seats. Clergy deliver ਍ഀ brilliant sermons that preach up to the edge of asking people to ਍ഀ do something, and then they will pull back. Some pastors display ਍ഀ prophetic leadership and call for sacrifice, but their numbers are ਍ഀ small. . . .
਍ഀ Prof. Stephen Carter

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The ਍ഀ Coalition of Conscience is a network of Christian leaders and believers, ਍ഀ currently based in the greater Charlotte, North Carolina area, who ਍ഀ are working together for moral and cultural change through the gospel. ਍ഀ

Dr. ਍ഀ Michael L. Brown is the Director of the Coalition and serves ਍ഀ as its voice to the local and national community.

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Dr. ਍ഀ Michael L. Brown
਍ഀ ICN Ministries
਍ഀ PO Box 1446
਍ഀ Harrisburg, NC 28075
਍ഀ 704-782-3760
਍ഀ e-mail: ministry@icnministries.org
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