2 Peter 1:16-21.                We can be sure???                                                          26/2/17

¹⁶ For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. ¹⁷ He received honour and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” ¹⁸ We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.

¹⁹ We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. ²⁰ Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. ²¹ For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Here this morning Peter is addressing an issue that often seems problematic with the Christian faith. As well as for occasions such as today as we remember the Transfiguration of our Lord. There is so much said that seems to be too far-fetched to be believable. It is an often made criticism, that much of what we have in the Bible is merely cleverly devised stories.

So it is easy for us as Christians to downplay these events and focus more on what we would like to hear and what makes us feel good. All too often we want to hear the feel good stuff; health, wealth and happiness; miracles; and the like. Tell us how to do it, is an often made plea. Simply focus on the here and now so that life can be not so complicated.

However, the more that we focus on these areas the more we find life difficult. The more that we try to find meaning and contentment in these other areas the more uncertain that life becomes. The more we look elsewhere than to Jesus Christ and the cross, and these seemingly too good to be true events, the more we are left wandering aimlessly through life, hoping that everything will work out okay.

On the other hand, as we look to God and his Word and take it seriously we find a freedom, hope and joy that is beyond earthly comprehension. As we simply receive what he tells us and gives us, without trying to explain it away, we find an easy, simple approach to life. In Jesus Christ and the cross, and all the other things that he has to say, we have something truly amazing and freeing.

In simply believing and following what we have in the Bible there is so much there that gives life and hope to us. As we live in a world desperately looking for real life and can’t find it, here we have that which gives certainty and a positive future. Here all the things that we need to know are given to us by a very reliable source; God Almighty himself.

Here let us recall what Peter himself says in this reading.  For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. Peter himself has seen all of this and testifies that all that we have is reliable and true. He saw it himself.

In those three years that he, along with the other disciples, physically walked with Jesus, they listened to and saw so much. This Jesus had the power of God working in him as he performed miracle after miracle, so that we could be sure that He was from God and not just some fake charlatan.

Then even more impressively they saw this amazing event up there on the mountain, that we are recalling today. Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

Peter then says years later again:  but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.  He received honour and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.

So he wants us to know that Jesus’ glory is revealed so that we can be sure. So that we can be very sure that Jesus is who he says he is and that what he has given to us in the Bible is vitally important for us. There is no need for us to have any doubts at all. Here we have that which we can rely on absolutely, without having to change it or water it down. We can take everything that is said as good and important for us, even if it does not fit our current societal views.

Jesus and his death on the cross for the forgiveness of sins is central to the Christian message. God’s Son himself comes into our world to die in our place so that forgiveness of sins, life and salvation can be extended to us all. His love for us is such that he does what is necessary so that we can be restored again into his family.

On top of that, three days after Jesus died on the cross he was raised to life again. All so that we can again know that what Jesus did on the cross and why, was as he said it would be. Also so that we can know for sure, just as he again said would be the case, we who believe and are connected to Jesus, have the assurance of life beyond death.

Again unbelievable, but it was for real; history tells of this. Legal experts today say, that if Jesus’ resurrection was taken to a court of Law today, it would be found to have happened. It was for real and those who take this message seriously, know and have a hope and joy that is there for them as a result. Again it happened just as the Scriptures told us it would.

Here we have then, that which is vital for us all. Here in Jesus we have him whom we can and must look up to now as that which is all important in our lives. He received honour and glory from his Father up there on the mountain. Now we too, surely will give him that same honour and glory. We will look to him, trusting that he has done everything necessary for our salvation. And we will seek to live in obedience to all that he tells us in his word.

This is where Peter continues on. We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

So we do not only have Jesus that we can look to with certainty, but also God’s Word. The Old Testament is full of prophecy that all point forward to the coming of Jesus and the importance of his death and resurrection. These prophecies were made hundreds and hundreds of years beforehand. This surely indicates very clearly that the Bible is completely reliable and true. It can be trusted in everything.

So we are strongly encouraged to pay attention to it. This is God’s Word to us, so we need to take it seriously. That means we will read it, listen to it, talk about it and heed what it says to us. This needs to be our first source of information in life. Not just something that sits on the shelf gathering dust, and taken down every now and again. Here we have something and someone who really knows what he is talking and who knows what life is about and what is good for us in our relationship with him and with one another.

Peter here reminds that this Word is like a light shining in a dark place. It helps us to see and understand what life is all about. It makes the point very clearly that the troubles, hardships, and death that we face is a consequence of our sin. Because we have not heeded and obeyed what he has told us is good for, we suffer as we do. But it also tells us what he has done to rectify the situation for us, through Jesus Christ, if only we would believe it.

Peter also makes the point that this Word is important for us throughout life; until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. It always has been relevant and important and it will be all the way through to Jesus second Coming and Judgement day. 

Here he also then counters the common argument these days that the Bible is only the writings of men, and so it is subject to errors and paternalistic views and more. Peter however says: Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things.  For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

So the point is clearly made here in this reading, that we can rely on Jesus Christ and his Word. He is powerful and majestic; he is God’s very own, loved Son who came into our world to do what was necessary for our salvation. He dies and rises again so that forgiveness of sins, life and salvation can be extended to each and every one of us.

Also just as reliable and true as Jesus Christ is, so is his Word. We can trust it and live in accord with it. So we have every reason to get on with life with confidence and certainty. So again to our Lord Jesus be all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish

1 Corinthians 3:10,11,16-23.                         Built on Christ alone!!                    19/2/17

{10}  By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. {11} For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

 {16} Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? {17} If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple. {18} Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. {19} For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness"; {20} and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile." {21} So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, {22} whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future--all are yours, {23} and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

This morning we are reminded of the importance of having a good foundation for our lives. Now this was brought home to me again this last week, as the manse has had a cracked wall repaired. As the soil under the manse is unstable and the foundation were not built strong enough, the cracks appear from time to time.

At times there are buildings with very poor foundations that have even collapsed as a result. The sad thing is, that we know this very well when it comes to building a home. But when it comes to our personal lives we seem to think that it doesn’t matter all that much. Then when it comes to our spiritual lives we are even less concerned. Jesus Christ and him crucified is very quickly neglected in favour of what I think and do.

Even as Christians, we all too often fall into this same temptation. We look to ourselves and the world around us to be the source of what is good and right. We determine what truth and life will be for us, often by how things look and are perceived, rather than on Jesus Christ and him crucified. And it gets us into all sorts of trouble.

God through Paul, here in this reading, seeks to remind us, just as he had to remind the people of Corinth, of what is important and necessary. He has to point us to Jesus Christ and the unity and truth that we have in him rather than ourselves and our thinking.

In this reading Paul begins by saying: By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. He established the church in Corinth through his preaching of the centrality of Jesus’ death and resurrection for their salvation and life. He understood very clearly that this knowledge came from God himself and was in full agreement with God’s Word in the Old Testament, the Gospels, and by Jesus’ revelation to him.

So God and his Word alone was the source and substance of his preaching, teaching and the foundation for the new church in Corinth. So Jesus Christ and him crucified was the centre and focus of this congregation at the beginning. But then as Paul moved on to establish other churches, other leaders came in to continue building this new church up.

Apollos and Cephas were two of these leaders, probably at different times. They too had an impact on the people and the growth of the young church. We know Apollos was a gifted speaker and Cephas was most likely the apostle Peter. They built on the foundation that Paul had laid, as he goes on to say: For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. But others also came with other ideas and focus’ and turned the people from this centre of Jesus Christ to focus on self, and gifts, and feelings, and the like.

With that he then explains what he means. Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?  If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.

So the people had been taught that God’s Spirit had enabled his presence to dwell in each of them. This was only possible through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. In connection with him alone was the assurance of eternal life in heaven.

So if the focus of life is shifted from Jesus Christ and him crucified, then there is the attempt to build one’s spiritual life on another foundation and the spiritual person is no longer a temple of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is there to focus us on Jesus Christ and the cross. Whereas a focus on self, and gifts, and what I think is good, is disastrous. Here it is made quite clear that they in the end will be destroyed.

So here God is spelling it out quite clearly, that those who do not keep Jesus Christ and him crucified as that which is all important, are not a part of God’s Church. In fact, they are destroying God’s Church and in the end they will be destroyed. So it is again important that we take God and his Word seriously.

Here, take note, of what he then goes on to say in this reading.

Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. Here then he is pointing to each one of us personally and all of us as a collective. Be careful that you do not deceive yourselves. Do not let yourselves be caught out; and do not lose what is important and in the end be destroyed.

This is vital for us at this point in time as we are surrounded by, and are encouraged to, look to ourselves and make up our own minds. We are an educated, smart society, that has a much better understanding of life and what is important. We can through education and a lot of ‘spin’ greatly improve life for ourselves. If we leave God out of the picture, or at least keep him out on the periphery of our lives, then we will be able to go ahead.

So the view is; and all too often in the church also, is that we need to be wise by the standards of this age. We must be accepting of every other view going, even if it is ridiculous. Except of course if it is Christian or right wing thinking. We can see this wisdom coming through in issues such as abortion, homosexuality and women pastors.

 But in many other areas as well we can see this wisdom of the present age coming through. Where feelings and health, wealth a happiness theology is promoted. Or, where Christianity is touted as simply about being good moral people. Or that God loves us and so we are free to do as we please. And more.

Yet God here tells us to be a ‘fool’ so as to be truly wise. We are to take God seriously even though our world around us tells us we are fools for doings so. The same goes when we accept God’s Word as the divinely inspired, written and inerrant Word, that he tells us it is. We are wise when we take Jesus Christ and him crucified as of utmost importance, even though it seems to be foolish, and we are told by the world around us that it is foolish.

Paul goes on and says: For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness"; and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile." So instead of true Christianity being foolish it is the so called worldly- wise that are the fools. Without much of a look around us we can readily see this as being the case if we are honest. The cracks in our society are growing deep and wide.

In our western world we are seeing a great deal of thinking that wass seen as so important as now being futile and even stupid. Their clever ideas and inventions create more problems than they solve. Their craftiness has caught them out time and time again, but it is very quickly hushed up. Just as we are hearing of ‘fake news’ and half-truths being put forward by big news services. And more.

So then, no more boasting about men! Be careful about the boasting of human achievements and human possibilities. Especially for us as Christians, we surely can see that we all have a sinful human nature, that gets us into trouble over and over again. The cracks in our own lives, as well as our societies, surely indicates that our foundations are very poor indeed.

We surely have something far more stable, strong and life-giving than the foolish attempts of our world around us. Because of Jesus Christ and his death on the cross we have been given everything that is truly important. We have the absolutely certainty of forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. In him we have the truth that enables us to live happily with God and each other. In him we are united with our Lord; we are loved, we have a sure and certain future.

This same Jesus Christ who was crucified for our salvation, also was raised again three days later so that we can be absolutely sure that everything that he has said and done for us is for real. So there is no need for us to have any doubts what so ever. We can look to Jesus Christ and know that as we stay close to him it will all work out for good. He alone is our sure and solid foundation.

Together with Jesus Christ we are told that:

All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future--all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God. So we are a part of and have every certainty that all will work out for the good of those who are in Christ Jesus.

So even though we live in a foolish world, and all too often, we ourselves are foolish, and so all kinds of trouble and hardship are there in life for us, we can get on with life with confidence and hope. We can ever look to Jesus Christ and him crucified and know that there alone is our hope and our future. So let us ever seek to keep close to him who has come close to us, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him alone then be all glory and honour, now and always. Amen.

Pastor Roger

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish

Matthew 5:21-37.                                            But I tell you!!!!                                                12/2/17

²¹ “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ ²² But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

²³ “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

²⁵ “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. ²⁶ Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

³¹ “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³² But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

³³ “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfil to the Lord the vows you have made.’ ³⁴ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; ³⁵ or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. ³⁶ And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. ³⁷ All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

Don’t tell me what I have to do! I’ll do it my way! So what if I bend the rules or ignore them altogether? Yes, we don’t like being told what to do. We don’t like following orders. At the very least we don’t want those rules to be too stringent. Keep it all very ‘low key’ please.

So here today Jesus is addressing an issue that we don’t want to hear. As he continues his Sermon on the Mount he lays it on the line for us all. There is no ‘beating around the bush’ here. There is no going soft so as not to offend anyone; especially the self-righteous religious people. Strong stuff; that we must listen to and heed, or we are in big trouble.

Here again remember this is not me saying this. This is Jesus Christ himself speaking. So if it is God speaking, then we had best sit up and listen. Here he gives us no room to sit back, like the people of Jesus day, and say; I have not murdered anyone so I am okay. Or I have not slept with another person; or any of these other commandments. So all is well.

Jesus says: But I tell you ….. and he pushes each of those commands to the extreme. With him there is no ‘wriggle room’ so we can bend these rules to suit ourselves; so that we can lessen our guilt; so that we cannot take Jesus very seriously. He is making it very clear as to what God has in mind for you and me.

So at a time when so much of what we do as Christians has been watered down, ignored and changed to suit our current whims, we have a message that must not be ignored. It is time for us to take God and what he says seriously once more. His continual, But I tell you.. surely means that if we are not careful we facing God’s disapproval and rejection.

Sure God loves us, deeply, and has done everything necessary for us to be made acceptable to God once more. But that love does not mean that we are free to turn our backs on him and what he has to say, so that we can live and do as we please.

Instead he has given us these commands because he loves us. He knows what is best for us, and because he has our welfare and good in mind, he gives us these commands. He tells us, all these things, quite strongly, because he wants all to be well for us. He doesn’t want us to hurt or harm ourselves and others.

We might think that abortion, or anger, or calling someone a fool, or sex outside of marriage, or divorce, or homosexuality, or women pastors, and more, are okay, or even a good thing. God however tells us what he knows is good and right. Here he calls for total obedience to his Word.

You would have noted and perhaps even been shocked at the fact that Jesus calls anger towards our fellow human being equal to murder; and looking lustfully at another person equal to adultery. To call someone a fool is to be in danger of going to hell.

Now if you haven’t got the picture yet; left to our own devices we are in serious trouble. Every one of us has fallen way short of what God expects of us. Every one of us. We all deserve God’s anger and judgement of hell.

Interestingly this judgement is not just there in the future, but also here and now. Just think of the serious troubles and hardship we have brought on ourselves here in this life by ignoring these commands of God. Adultery, divorce, and abortion alone has brought untold misery on our society. In every other area where God’s commands are ignored we can see the same results over and over again. And the further we go down the track of doing as we please, we can see it getting worse and worse.

This brings us to Jesus’ whole point in this Sermon on the Mount. There is no hope and no future for us if we try to do life on our own apart from God. We will continually struggle and be frustrated if we think that we can ignore what he has to say, or to twist it to make life easier for ourselves. Or if we self-righteously think we can do a pretty good at keeping them and thereby be acceptable to God. When we look to ourselves and what we think we are in big trouble.

So we need to take Jesus Christ and both his Law and Gospel seriously if we are to receive and be a part of the kingdom of God. He and what he says is to be of first importance in our lives. Interestingly, the other day, I heard the statistic from America, that only 15% of the population believed that the Christian faith was their highest priority. Only 15%! Now in Australia I would think they we would not even be close to that. Is it then any wonder that life is fast falling apart for us in the western world.

Surely we here would want Jesus and what he says to be of first importance for us. After all he is Lord God Almighty himself. He alone is our, Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. He alone is where we can find true life, instead of the rubbish that we are trying to convince ourselves is life.

In this regard, remember that inbuilt into every one of us, there is this knowledge that God is for real and that we are ultimately answerable to him. We all know, even if so many are trying their damnest to deny and reject this realty. He is for real and he is to be taken seriously; very seriously. To do otherwise is to put our salvation and eternal life in jeopardy.

At the same time remember that this God loves us dearly, despite our waywardness. He wants what is best for us and that which will enable us to live at peace with himself and one another for all eternity. In fact, he has done everything necessary for us to be forgiven and accepted back into God’s family.

But at the same time he is a holy and just God; and if we choose to reject him and what he says to us, then he also tells us that he will have to reject us. So judgement and hell are also realities when it comes to God dealing with his wayward creation.

Since we can’t live up to God’s expectations, and the reality of judgement is there, we surely will now take him and his love and forgiveness seriously. Because he has freely and fully forgiven us we will turn to him and seek everything that he has made possible for us. Since we are unable to do what is necessary for us to be acceptable, and even to believe as we should, we will turn to him in repentance; seeking his forgiveness and help.

Knowing he loves us and has salvation for us, we surely now will want him to do what is necessary for us to be his people once more. We will look to him alone and hold him up as that which is all important for us. We will want to be where he wants us to be and do what he wants us to do.

We will hold his Word up as the divinely inspired, written and inerrant Word that it is. His commands we will want to take seriously and not want to change, ignore or reject what he sees as important. We will take him seriously when he says: But I tell you …..

We surely then will not reject his Spirits attempts to lead us and guide us in all matters. We will recognize our weakness and failures, and so let him and the Word, the Bible, which he works with, to be our source for all things good and worthwhile.

To conclude, let us then in light of what Jesus says here when he says: But I tell you …..; seek to go from here seeking with his help to take him seriously. As we are living in a godless, self-centred, society, and a church culture that has moved away from taking God seriously, let us be ever careful.

Remember always, that he is all important and what he says needs to be taken seriously. To him then be all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish

Matthew 5:13-20.                              Salty Christians??                                              5/2/17

(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. {17} "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. {18} I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. {19} Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. {20} For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Here in this reading today Jesus continues his hard-hitting sermon to the people of his day and us as well. Here again there is another vital element to the Christian life that we need to take seriously. When we do we find the most glorious, freeing, and uplifting message that we could possibly receive.

Suddenly the Christian life comes much easier and simpler. We find Good News, instead of the dread of trying harder in order achieve the impossible. We find certainty, instead of the constant seeking to change and simplify God’s Word in order to fit the culture of the day and our own whims and wishes.

He begins this section with a very good analogy of God’s people. He is saying to his disciples and all these people who are chasing after him to receive his miracles and hear if this is the possibly great Prophet that was promised. He says, if you consider yourselves to be my people then remember that: You are the salt of the earth.

Now the question needs to be asked what does he mean when he says: You are the salt of the earth. Well, what do we use salt for? The two main reason salt is used is to give taste and flavour to one’s food, or it is used to help preserve food so that it does not go bad and can be kept for longer periods of time.

Now both of these aspects could be what is being referred to here. As God’s people we are helped to see and know how good God and his Word really is, and also to stop the Christian faith from being corrupted and going bad. Both of these aspects are important for all of God’s people.

Here also take note of the fact that he says you are salt. Not ought to be, or to work at it or whatever. You are the salt of the earth. Either you are or you aren’t salt. In fact, the next sentences are very telling here. 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. Serious stuff!

The same applies when he says that: "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. You are light. A light is not hidden, and it is no good if the batteries have gone flat.

So with this in mind we then need to ponder as to what Jesus point is here, and what it is that makes us salt and light.

Interestingly and importantly in today’s context he goes straight on and says the following.

 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

So to be salty salt, we need to hold fast to God’s Word as it is given to us in the Scriptures. In a Christian culture that is playing fast and loose with God’s Word this is vitally important. Where the idea is that God loves us and nothing much else matters this text is quite telling.

I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.

Twisting and changing God’s Word to suit the culture of the day is thereby taking the saltiness out of the salt. Saying the Bible can be ignored when it speaks of homosexuality and women pastor’s, or sex outside of marriage and much more, is to take the effectiveness out of God’s Word. To say that the Law is no longer relevant to God’s people is to also say that the Gospel is irrelevant. So life then, simply becomes living as I see best, and everything will be alright.

Yet that is not what Jesus is saying here quite clearly. Not one word of God’s commands are to be done away with. In fact, he goes on and says: that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Now that is a huge call for us. Here remember the Pharisees were very good living people. They prided themselves in keeping God’s Law. So already they are way beyond us in terms of being good enough for God. Yet Jesus says that that is not good enough. In fact, perfection alone is all that is acceptable.

Jesus’ whole point in this Sermon on the Mount is just that. God’s expectation is way beyond what we can do. There is to be no lessening this point, or a ‘watering of it down’. God’s Law is to be taken seriously in its entirety. Our aim is to live as he is outlining for us. As difficult and impossible as that is us for us to do, that has to be what we earnestly seek to do.

Then since we can’t do that, we have to have help from outside of ourselves. Our only hope is to look to God, first and foremost for forgiveness for our failure to do so. Then to seek his help to then live as his Law commands. It is absolutely critical for us to receive and have this forgiveness and help.

Instead of trying to justify our position or to lessen the severity of it, we are to acknowledge our failure to be the people that he would have us be. Instead of having the simple view that God loves us and accepts as we are, so none of this matters, is to not take Jesus and what he says seriously.

However, we can be honest and ‘fair dinkum’ about our failure to be the people. We can accept what Jesus is calling for here, from us. We can aim to fully keep these commandments and teach others to do the same. Even though we know that we will fail by our own efforts, we can now set out to do what he is calling for.

We can do so when we look to God and the help that he has provided for us. As we trust him we know that with the help of his Holy Spirit it can be done. As we rely totally on him it is possible. Unfortunately, however, we still have a sinful human nature that continues to get in the way.

But even here as we look to God and trust in him, we find that he has made possible the forgiveness of sins for us. So when we fail to live this perfect life we can look to him and the help that he has provided in this regard.

Here remember that Jesus went on from here to eventually go to Jerusalem for the very purpose of being put to death on the cross. He willingly took the punishment on himself, that we deserve for our failure to have our righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. He died so that forgiveness could be extended to each and every one of us.

So now we can get on with life with boldness and confidence. Not in ourselves and our abilities, but in Jesus Christ and what he has done for us. Not with a false sense of security, thinking that it doesn’t matter how I live and act; Or that by changing or ignoring what his law commands, that it is not all that bad.

But as we face life as God expects of us, and our failure to live up to it. We can now trust that Jesus Christ has done what is necessary for us to go forward positively. Forgiveness is there for us, so we can trust him implicitly, and thereby to seek to live and be the people that he would have us be. We also find the most glorious, freeing, and uplifting message that we could ever possibly receive.

So as we take seriously, both his Law in all of its severity, and the sweetness of his Good News of forgiveness, we are the salt that he is speaking of here. In this way people can see and taste both the rich flavour of his Word and that which enables us to be preserved and kept from going bad and rotten.

So let us all remember and take seriously his message here.

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.

To him alone the be all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish