Matthew 5:13-16 13 "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. 14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 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. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
The central idea of the Sermon on the Mount for John Stott is as evidenced by the title of his commentary on the Sermon: Christian Counter-Culture (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1978; subsequently reprinted under the Bible Speaks Today Series). Stott states and believes that if the church accepted Jesus’ standards and values as stated in the Sermon, it would be the alternative society he always intended it to be, and it would offer to the world an authentic Christian counter-culture (p.10).
As much as I’m a fan of Stott’s, I’m not fully convinced that Christian counter-culture serves as the exegetical idea of the Sermon i.e. counter-culture was what Jesus had in mind as he spoke these words or even what Matthew had in mind as he wrote the words of Jesus down. I still stand persuaded that the central idea of the Sermon is discipleship (being followers of Jesus) and what that will look like in the Kingdom of Heaven which He has inaugurated. Nonetheless, I admit that Christian counter-culture will be one of the implications of discipleship i.e. as disciples live out the life of the Kingdom and the way of following Jesus, they will be a counter-culture in this world we live in. In another words, I agree with Stott’s proposal that counter-culture forms as a good central idea for homelitics.
To that end, here’s some brilliant thoughts from Stott as to why salt and light form such an ideal metaphor for his argument that as Christians we cannot withdraw but must engage with society and culture. He states four things we can learn as Christians regarding social engagement and involvement from Jesus’ usage of the metaphor:
1) Christians are fundamentally different from non-Christians. The world is dark, but we are its light. The world is decaying, but we are to be its salt and hinder its decay.
2) Christians must permeate non-Christian society. Although Christians are (or should be) morally and spiritually distinct from non-Christians, we are not to be socially segregated. We are not to remain aloof from society, where we cannot affect it, but we are to be immersed in its life.
3) Christians can influence non-Christian society. The function of salt
is to preserve, the function of light is to dispel darkness. This means that as Christians, we can hinder social decay and dispel the darkness of evil. We should not be bewailing the world’s deteriorating standards with an air of rather self-righteous dismay, but rather we should be asking, ‘Where is the church? Why are the salt and light of Jesus Christ not permeating and changing our society?’ It is sheer hypocrisy on our part to raise eyebrows, shrug shoulders or wring our hands. Stott goes on to say, ‘The Lord Jesus told us to be the world’s salt and light. If therefore darkness and rottenness abound, it is our fault and we must accept the blame.
4) But in all this, Christians must retain their Christian distinctiveness. On the one hand, we have to permeate non-Christian society, and immerse ourselves in the life of the world. On the other hand, while doing so, we have to avoid becoming assimilated to the world. We must retain our Christian convictions, values, standards, and lifestyle.
(the above four points are adapted from Jeffrey P. Greenman, ‘John R. W. Stott’, in The Sermon on the Mount Through the Centuries (Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2007),275. Image is from flickr.com)
The central idea of the Sermon on the Mount for John Stott is as evidenced by the title of his commentary on the Sermon: Christian Counter-Culture (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1978; subsequently reprinted under the Bible Speaks Today Series). Stott states and believes that if the church accepted Jesus’ standards and values as stated in the Sermon, it would be the alternative society he always intended it to be, and it would offer to the world an authentic Christian counter-culture (p.10).
As much as I’m a fan of Stott’s, I’m not fully convinced that Christian counter-culture serves as the exegetical idea of the Sermon i.e. counter-culture was what Jesus had in mind as he spoke these words or even what Matthew had in mind as he wrote the words of Jesus down. I still stand persuaded that the central idea of the Sermon is discipleship (being followers of Jesus) and what that will look like in the Kingdom of Heaven which He has inaugurated. Nonetheless, I admit that Christian counter-culture will be one of the implications of discipleship i.e. as disciples live out the life of the Kingdom and the way of following Jesus, they will be a counter-culture in this world we live in. In another words, I agree with Stott’s proposal that counter-culture forms as a good central idea for homelitics.
To that end, here’s some brilliant thoughts from Stott as to why salt and light form such an ideal metaphor for his argument that as Christians we cannot withdraw but must engage with society and culture. He states four things we can learn as Christians regarding social engagement and involvement from Jesus’ usage of the metaphor:
1) Christians are fundamentally different from non-Christians. The world is dark, but we are its light. The world is decaying, but we are to be its salt and hinder its decay.
2) Christians must permeate non-Christian society. Although Christians are (or should be) morally and spiritually distinct from non-Christians, we are not to be socially segregated. We are not to remain aloof from society, where we cannot affect it, but we are to be immersed in its life.
3) Christians can influence non-Christian society. The function of salt
is to preserve, the function of light is to dispel darkness. This means that as Christians, we can hinder social decay and dispel the darkness of evil. We should not be bewailing the world’s deteriorating standards with an air of rather self-righteous dismay, but rather we should be asking, ‘Where is the church? Why are the salt and light of Jesus Christ not permeating and changing our society?’ It is sheer hypocrisy on our part to raise eyebrows, shrug shoulders or wring our hands. Stott goes on to say, ‘The Lord Jesus told us to be the world’s salt and light. If therefore darkness and rottenness abound, it is our fault and we must accept the blame.4) But in all this, Christians must retain their Christian distinctiveness. On the one hand, we have to permeate non-Christian society, and immerse ourselves in the life of the world. On the other hand, while doing so, we have to avoid becoming assimilated to the world. We must retain our Christian convictions, values, standards, and lifestyle.
(the above four points are adapted from Jeffrey P. Greenman, ‘John R. W. Stott’, in The Sermon on the Mount Through the Centuries (Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2007),275. Image is from flickr.com)
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