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Lessons and Sermons from the Longmire Road church of Christ in Conroe Texas USA
When the Lord gave a lesson on prayer recorded for us in Matthew chapter six, verses nine
through 10, he said the following.
He said, this manner therefore pray, our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
In the opening lines of this prayer, the Lord highlights two
main concepts of Christian ethics or divine ethics.
Two main concepts that are involved when we talk about the art of human behavior,
specifically as it relates to morality.
And those two concepts are duty and purpose.
The Lord first talks about duty, he says, your will be done.
May your will be accomplished.
That's what God desires from us.
He desires that his will
be done in all things.
That is our duty.
It is our duty to do the will of God.
But then also the Lord highlighted purpose in that statement.
He talked about thy kingdom come at the time, the kingdom may not yet come.
And so the Lord prays for the purpose of God.
He prays for that purpose to be fulfilled.
And so the second person of the Godhead is instructing them in duty, thy will be done.
but also in purpose.
But not only did the Lord instruct them in duty and purpose, he also lived this out in his
life.
When the Bible talks about the Lord, when the second person of the Godhead descended from
on high, the Bible says in Philippians chapter two and verse eight, and being found in the
appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even
the death of the cross.
And so what we have here is a highlight of the conduct of Christ while in human form.
He humbled himself and he was obedient.
How obedient?
Hebrews 4 and verse 15 tells us that the Lord was ethically sound.
He was morally sound.
That he committed no sin even though he was tempted by Satan himself.
He did not give in to that temptation.
And so he continued to do the will of the Father.
And so the Lord was given himself to duty.
But why did he do this?
Why did he give himself in that fashion to do the will of the Father, to do the duty that
was set upon him?
What was his purpose?
Because it wasn't just about Christ coming and living a sinless life.
There was a purpose behind it.
And in Matthew chapter 16 and verse 18, as we noted this morning, that purpose is clearly
stated.
The Lord says on thou art Peter and upon this rock that he is the Christ the son of God.
He will build his church in the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
Upon what rock the rock that he is the Christ.
But how is it that the Christ was proven the Christ was proven through his resurrection
and so Jesus did not come to die.
Jesus came to die for the purpose.
of setting up the kingdom in which man will be saved.
That was his purpose.
And so the Lord came and he was dutiful.
The Lord did that which the Lord has, which God the Father has commanded, but he also came
and did that which was according to the purpose of Jehovah God.
And so in Christ and by Christ the Father's will was done and his purpose was
accomplished.
So when we consider the concept of the art of human behavior, when we consider the concept
of what we're supposed to do, it's not just about doing the right things, it's about
accomplishing the right ends.
It's not just about going through the motions and doing those things, but rather it's
making sure that we're doing that with the right motivations for the right purpose.
In secular ethics, the ethics that man comes up with.
the morality and the codes that they set up for themselves, the ends are predicated on the
desires of men.
The purpose of their ethical conduct is the favorable results that it yields to
themselves.
Usually when man sets up a moral code, when he decides what is right and what is not, you
will often find that what is right is usually that which is pleasurable to him, that which
favors him.
Man does not set up moral codes that are contrary to them.
When man says, know what, I think this is right, you can set your clock by it that that
very thing is going to be in some form or fashion going to involve some pleasure, usually
sin.
And so when man decides how he should act and what is morally right, their code will be
heavily shifted to their own proclivities and ideologies.
This is not the same when it comes to God.
In eternal ethics, the art of human behavior,
in religious matters, in all things rather we should say, our purpose for doing the things
that we're doing is not self-centered.
We don't do what we do because of self.
We do morally in the Lord.
It may be beneficial to us, but it is ultimately not about us.
What we do in the Lord, the commandments that we keep will benefit us, but ultimately this
is not about us.
What we do is for the glory of god And the lord in his olivette discourse as we are in
matthew chapter 5 Has illustrated the mindset of kingdom citizens and he has illustrated
for us what their mindset is their mindset is one of joy It's one of happiness because of
the things that they received because of the way that they live and he is uh influenced by
their ethical conduct and now in the next section He's going to set forth
the purpose of our conduct.
He's going to tell us why it is that we should live the way he's going to instruct.
Now the Lord is going to tell us how to live.
The Lord in his Olivet Discourse in the Sermon on the Mount, he's going to instruct us on
how to live and what we should do.
But before he does that, he's going to tell us why.
He's going to tell us why it is that we need to keep His commandments.
Why?
Because He does not just want us to think duty, He wants us to think purpose as well.
And this is a very important lesson to learn.
Instead of focusing on what I am doing, a better approach is focusing on why I'm doing it.
Motivation, having the right motivation will foster greater determination.
When I have the right motivation for something, whatever it is, I'm usually more
determined because my motivation is right.
My desire, my drive is right.
And so it is when we think about the keeping of the commandments of God, when we think
about our duty in the Lord, it is critical that we also keep in mind the purpose of that
duty.
Why is it that I'm living the way that I'm living?
Why is it that I'm following the commandments of God?
It's not a fruitless errand.
And when we consider the commandments given in this discourse, it is certainly a powerful
motivator when we consider what the Lord says, the purpose of our ethical conduct in this
world.
The reason why God said live this way is twofold.
We'll only look at one tonight.
The first reason the Lord gives here in Matthew, chapter five and verse 13, he tells us
the reason we ought to live a certain way.
Our duty is
because of this purpose, because you are the salt of the earth.
And if the salt has lost its flavor or savor, some of your translations may say, how shall
it be seasoned?
It is good for nothing but to be thrown out, to be cast out, and to be trodden under the
foot of man.
He says, there's your purpose.
There is your purpose in the duties that I'm going to give you.
You are the salt of the earth.
Now there's a couple of things that we must understand about salt, specifically the salt
in this region.
There's a number of things that we have to understand where Jesus is preaching when he
talks about salt.
Number one, we need to understand that salt makes the food palatable.
Salt makes food palatable.
Adding salt to food, scientifically speaking, helps certain molecules in those foods more
easily release into the air.
It causes actually the food, the smell of the food, it causes it to release in the air,
thus helping the aroma of the food.
So a little bit of salt doesn't hurt, right?
Put a little bit of salt in there and it will actually release the molecules of the food
and so you smell it better.
Salt also has been shown to suppress a bitter taste.
That's why we put salt on.
on grapefruit, if that's your thing.
If you like grapefruit, you put a little salt on there, it will suppress the bitter taste.
And so that's just scientifically speaking that this is what salt does.
Salt makes food palatable.
But not only does salt make food palatable, salt is a preservative.
We understand this very well, that salt will preserve things from decay.
What salt does is salt absorbs water from foods, making the environment too dry to support
harmful mold and bacteria.
And so salt on something, you'd see people who live in places like Alaska or something
like that, trying to, they buy this or they catch this fish and they would salt it and
they would store it.
And the salt will keep it from going bad.
And so what salt does, it preserves, it protects the food from going bad.
So salt is, makes food palatable.
Salt is also a preserver.
But then what we have to understand is that salt has a premium.
Salt has a premium or a value.
This is what the Lord refers to in the text here.
The salt that we use is sodium chloride.
And what I mean by that is when we put salt in water and we stir it up, everything
dissolves.
There's nothing left.
But that's not the salt about which Jesus speaks that they used in that region.
In that region, the salt that they had, had impurities in it.
Meaning that if you were to take that salt and put it in water,
and you would stir it, the salt will dissolve, but there will still be some impurities
left in the water.
And so in Eastern countries, the salt is impure and it's mingled with vegetable or earthy
substances.
And so when that salt is gone, when it's lost its saltiness, those remnants are left.
And the Lord makes a statement here about those remnants.
He says, those remnants are good for nothing.
You can't use it for anything.
It's earthy substance.
And so what they used to do in those times and in those regions, they would take those
earthy substances and they would throw it out and it would usually be used as gravel.
It would be used to walk on.
That's why the Lord says it is good for nothing but to be cast out and to be walked on, to
be trodden under the foot of men.
That's all it's good for.
Because the salt no longer is present, the salt has lost its saltiness or its savor.
And so therefore it is good for nothing.
And so the Lord says here that salt has a premium.
It has a value and that when it is no longer there, then that value is obviously affected.
When salt has lost its premium, whatever is left cannot be used.
Whatever is left has to be cast out.
It is good for nothing, the Lord says.
Now, this is obviously spoken allegorically.
This is allegorically referring to kingdom citizens.
And so now we have to make the application to what we know about salt in relation to this
allegory.
And so what about citizens of the kingdom?
When it comes to citizens of the kingdom, we conclude from this that citizens of the
kingdom of Christ, their purpose is to make this world palatable for God.
To make this world palatable for God.
Have you ever considered or asked yourself the question, when God looks upon this world,
God right now is looking upon this world.
He views this world in its entirety.
He sees everything.
He is everywhere.
What brings God joy when he looks upon this world?
We know that God looks upon this world and we know in instances where God has looked upon
this world that there has not been joy and we'll look at that in the second here.
But what brings God joy?
What brings a smile to God's face, so to speak?
What causes him to have delight when he looks upon this world?
There's a couple of things that we can eliminate straight off the bat here, if you will.
Number one, it's not sinfulness.
God does not look upon this world and see sinful actions and sinfulness and smiles.
That's not a delight to him.
How do we know this?
Romans chapter one and verse 18.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness.
That's how God feels about sin.
There's a wrath of God against sin and ungodliness.
God does not delight in sin.
His face does not light up, if you will, when he sees sin.
He has a wrath for it for ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in
unrighteousness.
Romans chapter 1 and verse 18.
But then also consider Proverbs chapter 6.
verses 16 through 19, a couple of verses with which we are all familiar.
These things, six things, does the Lord hate.
Yea, seven are an abomination.
The word abomination means to extremely hate.
Six things does the Lord hate and seven things he says, I extremely hate.
A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked
imaginations.
Feet that are swift to running to trouble or mischief, a false witness that speaks lies
and he that soweth discord among the brethren.
And so we know it's none of those things.
Those are all sinful things.
And so we know when God sees that, he does not delight in those things.
Those things do not bring a smile to his face.
Contrary to worldly beliefs, God does not approve of any sinful behavior.
God does not sit back and look at the person's sinful behavior and still smiles upon them.
That's not how God views sin.
People who say that God is okay with that which is contrary to him, with sinful things and
sinful lifestyles and sinful ways, they don't know God.
They don't know the God of the Bible.
Because the God of the Bible does not look upon these things with glee.
But wait a second, there were people in the Bible who were engaged in sinful things, yes.
When we talk about the Jews, there are some who engage in sinful things.
Read Romans chapter two, because Romans chapter two clearly says that the Lord looked at
them and said that my forbearance was with you.
And that word forbearance there means a stay of punishment in view of later judgment.
It means I'm not doing anything about it right now.
I'll take care of you guys later.
That's what that word means in the book of Romans chapter two.
But we need to understand that God does not look upon the world in its sinfulness.
and then is gleeful about it or has delight in it.
So it's not sinfulness that the Lord looks upon.
And we can also eliminate it's not a sinful world.
It's not a world that is given to immorality.
It's not a nation and a community and society who murders their children in the womb, who
practices lifestyles that are an abomination to Lord.
How do we know this?
Well, consider it in Genesis chapter six, verses five and six.
Consider what the Lord says about the world and what they are doing.
And God saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the
thought of his heart was only evil continually.
Notice what it says.
And it repented the Lord that he had made man in the earth and it grieved him at his
heart.
God looks upon this world and he says, you know, it repents me.
It grieves me at my heart to see what they're doing, to see what they're engaged in.
When God sees our nation.
and he sees the rank immorality, the murder of babies in the womb and the destruction of
the nuclear family.
How does God feel about that?
He hates it.
It grieves him at his heart.
God doesn't look upon us and smiles and says, look at that wonderful world down there in
sin.
No, it is not sinfulness.
It is not a sinful world.
But brethren, we need to understand what does not bring a delight to God's face.
It's certainly not some of his saints.
Some of the members of the body of Christ.
How do we know this?
Revelation chapter three, verses 15 and 16.
As the Lord writes to his church, he says, know your works and that thou art neither hot
or cold nor hot.
I would that you were cold or hot.
God says, I wish that you would just make a choice.
Either go be in the world or be in the Lord.
Just make the choice.
Don't hold between two opinions.
But the Lord says,
Because you are lukewarm you're right in the center and neither cold nor hot he says I
will vomit thee out of my mouth That's how the Lord expressed how he felt about saints
about members of his own body Who were not fully committed to him?
They were in the world and they were in the church at the same time They were teetering
between the two the Lord says you make me sick
That's what the Lord said about those in his church.
And so it's not the case that it's the sinfulness.
It's not the case that it's a sinful world.
The Lord says it's not the case that it's the same.
We see the same principle in Amos chapter five, verses 21 and 22.
The Lord says, I hate, I despise your feast days.
Wait a second, isn't God the one who said they were supposed to have feast days?
Yes, he is the one.
But the Lord looks at their practices and he says, I hate it and I do not savor.
I do not savor your sacred assemblies.
Though you offer me burned offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, nor
will I regard your fatted peace offerings.
The Lord says, you come to me in worship, but I hate it, the Lord says.
I have no delight in it.
Why?
Amos chapter five, verse seven.
Notice what it says.
You who turn justice to wormwood and lay righteousness to rest in the earth.
The Lord is so beautiful.
You know, I always say the Lord is the best homiletician.
When you talk about homiletics, you talk about the art of sermon preparation and sermon
delivery.
And here the Lord uses such colorful language in order to express how he feels.
He says, this is what you do.
You turn justice to wormwood.
You cause justice to rot.
That's what you've done.
Justice has not been employed.
It has not been employed so much that it's rotting away.
You lay to rest righteousness.
You have buried righteousness.
You have put righteousness to death.
You've put it in the ground and put a tombstone on it.
The Lord says, that's why I hate and despise your feast days.
And so we see God is not pleased with sinfulness.
God is not pleased with the world living in sin.
God is not pleased with people who live in sin, even with his children who continue in
sin.
That is not what brings God the light.
That is not what makes this world palatable to him.
So who then?
Who in this world is a sweet saver to the Lord?
Who makes the world a pleasant thing to look upon?
To where God can go, look at that and have a smile on his face.
Is there perhaps an example for us?
Yes.
Go to Job chapter one, verses six and eight.
Job chapter one, verses six and eight.
Notice what the Lord says here.
Now there was a day,
When the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan came among them
and the Lord said unto Satan whence cometh thou and Satan answered the Lord and said from
going to and fro in the earth and from walking up and down in it.
And the Lord said unto Satan has thou considered my servant Joe that there is none like
him in the earth a perfect and upright man one who fears God and eschews evil.
What high praise out of all the people in the world.
Satan presents himself before God.
And what does God say?
Have you seen Job?
Have you seen Job?
God is heaping high praises upon Job.
He says this is what Job has done of all the people in the world.
The Lord singles out Job for commendation and for recognition.
And what is the criteria for this commendation?
The Lord says he is perfect, sincere, fears God and rejects evil.
Okay, well how does that relate to kingdom citizens?
Well, the Lord says he is perfect that word there means wholesome He's wholesome Matthew
chapter 5 and verse 8 we talked about this last week blessed are the what?
the pure in heart Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God that's
wholesomeness What causes God delight?
Well, joe was wholesome and that caused God delight
Kingdom citizens are supposed to be wholesome and that's going to cause God the lie.
But not only does the Bible says here that he was wholesome in that, he also calls him
that he had uh moral integrity.
That word also means to be upright, to have moral integrity, to be pure in heart, to be
righteous in the sight of God.
But not only is he wholesome and has moral integrity, the Bible also says he shuns evil.
That's what causes God to delight in Job is that he shuns evil.
What does Matthew chapter five in verse six say?
Blessed are those who do what?
Hunger and thirst for righteousness.
For they shall be filled.
God says, I look at Job and I boast about him to Satan and I tell Satan, have you
considered my servant Job?
Look at what he's doing.
He's living a wholesome life.
He's living an upright life and he hates that which is evil.
When we get to kingdom citizens, the Lord says this is what kingdom citizens are.
They're wholesome, they're pure, they have moral integrity and they follow and thirst
after righteousness.
Brethren, what brings God delight?
When God looks upon this world, the entire thing is made palatable by the fact that
Christians exist in it.
This entire world is made palatable by the fact that we are in it and we are living
righteously.
What would this world smell like to God without Christians in it?
What would it look like without those who walk uprightly and fear God?
1 John chapter 3 verses 22 says, whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him.
Why?
Because we keep His commandments and do those things which are pleasing in His sight.
This world is made palatable because you and I are doing what God has required us to do.
We are the salt of this earth.
When we go to Genesis chapter eight verses 20 and 21, notice what the Bible says.
Genesis chapter eight verses 20 and 21, then Noah being instructed by God, built an altar
to the Lord and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered a burnt
offering to the altar.
Notice it, and the Lord smelled a soothing aroma.
Then the Lord said in his heart, will never again curse the ground for man's sake,
although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth, nor will I again destroy
every living thing as I have done.
You contrast that statement with Genesis chapter six, where God looked upon the earth and
he was disgusted by what he saw, where every imagination was only evil continually.
It grieved him that he made man.
And look at this situation where God says it went up as a sweet smelling aroma.
Have you ever smelled a burning animal?
It's nasty.
We're not talking about steak cooking on the grill here.
We're talking about flesh burning, hair burning.
That's not a pleasant...
That's not what the Lord is referring to.
The Lord is not saying that I love the smell, the physical smell of a burning animal.
The Lord is talking about righteousness.
The Lord is talking about the fact that He is being worshiped in truth and in spirit by
this man who found grace in His sight.
The Lord looks upon Noah and it pleases Him.
In a world that reeks of unrighteousness, rotten with ungodliness, kingdom citizens are
the sweet smelling savor of God.
Kingdom citizens, you and I make this world palatable to the Lord.
But not only do we understand that kingdom citizens make this world palatable, number two,
the citizens of the kingdom preserves this world.
What do I mean?
Well, salt keeps food from going bad.
And the christian keeps this world from being destroyed Well, how do you know?
Well, it is the righteousness of the citizens of the kingdom That makes this distasteful
wickedness bearable to the lord We have this principle straight throughout scripture This
is seen in god's revelation about noah if you stay in genesis chapter 6 verses 5 and 8
notice what the bible says Then the lord saw the wickedness of man that it was great in
the earth
and that every intent of his thought was only evil continually.
And the Lord was very sorry that he made man on the earth and he was grieved at his heart.
So the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I've created from the face of the earth, both
man and beast, both creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I've made
them.
Notice it, but.
What's stopping God from destroying the world?
From completely wiping everyone off the face of the planet.
The Bible says, but.
Something stopped God.
Who is it?
Noah.
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
Now these are the generations of Noah.
Noah is a perfect man.
He was a righteous man.
Why was the world saved?
Because there was righteousness still in the world.
Why did God not destroy everything in that fashion and burn it all and bring it all down?
Because there were still righteous people in the land.
Noah found grace in the sight of the Lord.
But this is not just seen in Noah.
This is also seen in his response to Abraham.
When the Lord said that he was going to come and destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for their
wickedness.
We know how wicked they were and what they have done, not just Sodom and Gomorrah.
There were actually five cities around them, five regions around them.
So Boiam, Adma was one of them.
And so the Lord says, I'm going to destroy all of them.
Sodom and Gomorrah being the chief focus.
And Abraham came near to God and the Lord, as he told the Lord in verses 23 through 26 of
Genesis chapter 18, would you also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
Would you destroy everyone, God, even though there are righteous people there?
And notice the Lord's response here as Abraham asks him in verse 24.
Suppose there were 50 righteous within the city.
Would you also destroy the place and not spare it for 50 righteous that were in it?
Far be it from you to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the
righteous should not, should be as the wicked.
Far be it from you, shall not the judge of all the earth do right.
So the Lord said, if I find in Sodom 50 righteous within the city, I'll spare it.
All the place for their sakes.
For whose sake?
For the 50 righteous.
I will spare it.
Preserve it why for the 50 righteous all right and and and as Abraham looked around he's
like okay That's not gonna work.
What about 45 Lord.
What about 45?
I don't have 50.
What about 40 Lord and he gets all the way down to 10 and God says Abraham find me 10
people in Sodom Find me 10 people that are righteous and I'll save the thing and He
couldn't find 10 people.
He couldn't find one
The Lord says, I'm going to destroy it.
Ten righteous people would have preserved Sodom, Gomorrah and the surrounding cities.
Ten righteous people.
But not only do we see it in Noah, not only do we see God's the righteous preserving
power, if you will, in Abraham, you visit Jonah.
Jonah is sent to Nineveh and Jonah is told that he needs to go preach repentance to
Nineveh.
But Jonah has other plans.
He decides to go the opposite direction because he doesn't want them to be saved.
And when the Lord finally talks to Jonah in his rebuke in Jonah chapter four and verse 11,
the Lord asked Jonah this rhetorical question.
The Lord noticed what the Lord asked.
Should I not spare none of that great city?
Wherein are more than six score thousand persons that cannot discern between their right
hand and their left hand?
Who's he talking about?
He's talking about the innocent.
And also much cattle is God concerned about the physical things?
Yes.
Why would we think that God is not concerned about the physical blessings?
He's the one who gave it.
It belongs to Him.
He says it's a great city.
There's a lot of cattle there, but there are also innocents there.
God is not randomly and arbitrarily trying to destroy nations.
His desire is to save, but what is the criteria?
I want to save them, Jonah, but what do they have to do in order to be saved?
They have to repent.
That's why I sent Jonah.
You need to preach to them so that they can repent, so that I can save them.
Because if there is righteousness, they can be saved.
Brethren, who keeps this world afloat today?
Who preserves it today?
Considering the principles discussed in these examples, if one were to analyze a scenario
where judgment was imminent, what factors might delay the coming of the Lord?
What factors would today delay the coming of the Lord to where the Lord looks upon the
world and said, you know, I'm just going to destroy it all.
The factor is that there still hope for the world.
Why?
Because God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Second Peter chapter three and verse nine.
Yes, but how shall they call upon the Lord except they believe and how shall they believe
except they hear and how shall they hear without preachers and teachers of righteousness?
God wants man to be saved and man has an opportunity to be saved, but how is he going to
be saved?
Look around you.
We are the hope of this world.
God has but one plan to save man and that is the gospel of Jesus the Christ.
And he has but one group of people whom he has said to go preach that gospel.
There is no plan B.
There is not another group that he has in the back if you will on the backboard just
waiting till we fail Then he's gonna bring out.
No, we're it brethren.
It doesn't get any itter We are it god has told us we are supposed to go so there's hope
in the world.
Why?
Because we've been chosen by god in his son to preach his glorious gospel abram's
discussion with god regarding the fate of sodom and gmora
illustrates this relationship of righteous people to their human environment and the
survival benefit afforded nations when sufficient numbers of good men dwell in its
borders.
The world is preserved because there are still more than 10 righteous left.
I firmly believe that's why this nation is still standing.
250 years is a long time.
The most powerful nations in the world have an average lifespan of 200 years and that's
being over the course of human history.
200 years, that's how most powerful, how much time many powerful nations have.
We've got 250.
God who rules in the kingdom of man.
Why are we still standing?
Why is it that we're standing and yet other nations have fallen over the time, even the
course of our lifetime?
Why are we still standing?
I firmly believe that is because there's still righteousness.
There is still hope.
Society benefits from people living righteously and living righteous lives and this world
is preserved by people living righteous lives.
Salt preserves.
And God says we are the salt.
We make this world palatable to God.
God says you are a preserver.
Hence the Lord cautions then the citizens of the kingdom last and in no wise the least.
He says, Christian, you need to understand that you have a premium.
Salt has a premium.
Christianity, Christians are the salt of the earth.
And that salt has a value.
We bring a righteous value to this world.
We make it palatable in our presence.
aid it in its preservation but that value can be lost the Lord says if we lose our savor
we become useless in the service of God
There are many, or there may come to a point, or there may come a point better, that
instead of leaving a savory taste in the Lord's mouth, you leave a bitter taste.
As Christians, we could leave a bitter taste in the Lord's mouth.
Why?
By becoming like the world.
The entire sermon on the Mount is about how different we're supposed to be from the world.
The entire sermon on the Mount,
focuses on how this is what the kingdom citizen is like and this is what the world is like
and when we do that what kingdom citizens are like we are going to be that salt in this
world but if we lose our saltiness if we become like the world what are we good for?
When we become like the very people that we're supposed to be influencing, what are we
good for?
When we become like the people that we're supposed to be asking to change their lives,
what are we good for?
James chapter four and verse four says, friendship with the world is enmity with God.
Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
Who's James writing to?
To the world?
No, he's writing to Christians.
He's reminding Christians that you cannot be a friend of the world when you go back into
the world, when you want to be like the world.
You want to talk like the world.
You want to go the places the world goes.
You want to dress like the world.
You want to act like the world.
You want to be like the world.
The Lord says you've lost your mind and you've lost your usefulness.
I can't use you in that state.
When you stop being salty, you start being shameful.
Amen.
You start being shameful to God.
He can't use you in that state.
1 Peter chapter two and verse nine, the Lord would tell us you are a chosen generation, a
royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises
of Him who have called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
Colossians chapter one, verses 12 and 13, it says, giving thanks to the Father who has
qualified us.
to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.
He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the son
of his love.
God took us out of the world and put us into his kingdom.
But why?
Galatians chapter three, verses one and three.
If you then be risen with Christ.
Seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Set your mind on things that are above and not on the things of this earth.
Why?
Because you are dead in Christ.
Your life is hid in Christ with God.
We are called to be different.
And this entire lesson is going to be about being different.
This entire lesson is going to be about us living a different life.
And he will preach and highlight those differences.
And so God says to us, you need to be careful because there's a premium on salt.
I can't use you if you become like the world.
If you lose that saltiness, that savor, you're supposed to be palatable.
You're supposed to be a preserver.
I'm supposed to look at this world and look towards you to make it palatable.
But if we lose our saltiness.
When the righteous become unrighteous, the Lord says you're good for nothing.
Now why would the Lord say that?
That just sounds harsh, preacher.
To say that someone is good for nothing?
What is your purpose?
Your purpose is to bring flavor to a distasteful and wicked world.
Can an unfaithful person bring glory to God?
No.
Can he edify his brethren?
No, how could he?
He's unfaithful.
Can he influence others to godliness?
Why would they listen to him?
He's not walking in godliness.
Can he save his own soul?
No, he cannot.
He has no benefit to God.
He has no benefit to the world.
He has no benefit to the brethren.
He's got no benefit to himself.
Being a Christian who has walked away from God is the most wretched state in which to be.
Because you serve no purpose for God whatsoever.
You cannot even help yourself.
That's why the Bible speak, it's like a dog returning to its vomit.
That's a very nasty illustration.
But the Lord is trying to impress upon our minds.
That's the state in which you are when you leave the Lord.
I can't use you.
When you practice wickedness, you lose your purpose and subsequently you will forfeit
paradise.
Ephesians chapter three, verses 20 and 21 will close with this scripture and the sermon
will be yours.
Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think,
according to the power that worketh in us, to him be glory, to God be glory, where?
In the church.
By whom?
Jesus Christ.
Until when?
all generations forever and ever amen.
The entirety of humanity has a purpose and that is to fear God and keep his commandments
Ecclesiastes 12 and 13 but the Christian has a special purpose and that purpose is because
of their location in Christ.
We are supposed to be living our lives in a certain way duty because we have this purpose
to be salt.
to be the salt of this world.
And so I want to encourage us as we go out this week to remember just that, that we are
the salt of this world.
That when we see the actions and things happening around us, that we will say to
ourselves, I'm a Christian, I need to be better.
Irrespective of what they do, God expects me to be better.
I need to look at this world and recognize that God wants people to be saved.
And He has given me a purpose, and that purpose is to help people to come to a knowledge
of the truth.
I need to recognize that this world stands because of God's patience, but God's patience
has a plan attached to it, and that plan is the spreading of the glorious gospel of Jesus
Christ.
Speak to someone this week.
Invite them to services.
Hand them a track.
There plenty of tracks back there.
Hand them something, talk to someone about the gospel of Jesus the Christ.
Why?
That's our purpose.
And let's start thinking in that fashion, duty and purpose.
If you're not a child of God tonight and you desire to become one, you desire to enter
into this duty and this purpose that we have, allow us this evening to tell you that the
Lord loves you, wants to save you.
He wants to save you from the clutches of sin and death.
And if you don't get out of sin, the Lord says you're not going to be with him for
eternity in heaven.
You got to get out.
And he's made a way for you to get out.
You don't even have to worry about it.
He sent his son to die upon the cross and he was buried.
He entered into the Aden realm and on the third day he walked straight out.
He defeated death so that you don't have to worry about it.
And that's the glorious gospel of Jesus the Christ.
If you believe that tonight and you're willing to repent of sins and you're willing to
confess the good name of Jesus, we will immerse you in water.
for the remission of your sins and so that you too can be one of those who are the salt of
the earth.
Maybe it is that you're a Christian here tonight and you recognize that you've not been
that salt.
Well ask God's forgiveness tonight and start doing better immediately leading into this
week while we stand and as we