Proclamation:
"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.”
Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV)
Explanation:
These are the words of Jesus, The Christ, which He spoke during His Sermon on The Mount, as recorded by the Apostle Matthew. Jesus was speaking to His disciples, and indirectly to the believers in the crowd which had gathered around them. After He taught them the Beatitudes, He told them that they were the salt of the earth. Then He told them that they were "the light of the world." Jesus is The Light of the world. (John 9:5) The Light came into the world, but mankind preferred the darkness because they were evil and sinful. (John 3:19) Because the disciples were believers, He was within them. They were to let the light of Christ that was within them shine forth so that men could see their good works and glorify God. (John 17:21 and 23)
Application:
As believers we have the same charge and the responsibility to behave and speak in a Christ-like manner so that the light of Christ within us can shine and so that men can see The Christ in us. By living a godly life, we have a convincing testimony of the saving power of Christ. We are the only “Bible” that some people ever see so our behavior needs to be above reproach. People will make inferences regarding all Christians by what they see in us. Therefore, not only should we to obey His Holy Word, to do good works, and avoid that which is evil, we should also avoid even the things which have the appearance of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:22) All that we say and do should give God glory, and those who see our good works should glorify God, and not us. We are the present day light on the pathway to Christ for a world lost in darkness. So, let your light shine.
Explanation:
These are the words of Jesus, The Christ, which He spoke during His Sermon on The Mount, as recorded by the Apostle Matthew. Jesus was speaking to His disciples, and indirectly to the believers in the crowd which had gathered around them. After He taught them the Beatitudes, He told them that they were the salt of the earth. Then He told them that they were "the light of the world." Jesus is The Light of the world. (John 9:5) The Light came into the world, but mankind preferred the darkness because they were evil and sinful. (John 3:19) Because the disciples were believers, He was within them. They were to let the light of Christ that was within them shine forth so that men could see their good works and glorify God. (John 17:21 and 23)
Application:
As believers we have the same charge and the responsibility to behave and speak in a Christ-like manner so that the light of Christ within us can shine and so that men can see The Christ in us. By living a godly life, we have a convincing testimony of the saving power of Christ. We are the only “Bible” that some people ever see so our behavior needs to be above reproach. People will make inferences regarding all Christians by what they see in us. Therefore, not only should we to obey His Holy Word, to do good works, and avoid that which is evil, we should also avoid even the things which have the appearance of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:22) All that we say and do should give God glory, and those who see our good works should glorify God, and not us. We are the present day light on the pathway to Christ for a world lost in darkness. So, let your light shine.
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