Sermon for Sunday, February 2nd, 2025 at First Presbyterian Church at Unionville, NY (BPC)
Old Testament Reading:
[Isa 60:1-3 ESV] 1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. 2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. 3 And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
New Testament Reading:
[1Jo 1:5-10 ESV] 5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Gospel Reading:
[Jhn 15:1-11 ESV] 1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
Sermon Text:
[Mat 5:10-16 ESV] 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Introduction
This section of Matthew’s Gospel is a call to endurance in your Christian life.
“Keep on going.”
It’s hard. It’s hard to keep on going. Somedays we wake up and, what is ahead of us? The same thing as yesterday. Not much to look forward to. Especially if trouble is afoot.
But this text tells us to keep on going.
It does so in two ways.
Keep on going even through persecution.
and
Keep on going to give glory to God.
So it is motivation for us.
This is end of the beatitudes and then the continuance into the next section of the Sermon on the Mount. And it is really a motivational speech of Jesus Christ. It is a call for endurance in good works; endurance for Christian living even through persecution and all to the glory of God.
We are to be reminded that everything has a purpose. Our days are a gift from God.
And He will bring us through the difficulty.
And he will use us for good things; even His glory.
So, keep on going. Have endurance in your good works, being salt and light to the world.
First, we look at this endurance despite persecution.
I. Keep on going even through persecution. (v. 10-12)
It is really one of the most frequent teachings of the New Testament that we should expect persecution, and that we will be blessed despite that persecution and (paradoxically) even through that persecution.
There are reasons for this call for endurance. Three reasons I’ll note.
A. Honored with the Prophets.
One, the prophets were likewise persecuted.
12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
So it is an honor to be included with such luminaries as the prophets and the apostles, even our Lord Jesus Christ who was persecuted to his death.
Similarly, Jesus says in John’s Gospel
[Jhn 15:20 ESV] 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
This is to prepare us for the reality and even inevitability of persecution coming our way. We are, after all, UNITED to Christ. And so we should not be surprised to get that same treatment in the world that he got.
But it is an honor to be included with Christ and with prophets and apostles. It assures us that we are truly living as Christians, for false believers are not persecuted. False believers bend to the ways of the world; they bend to the times so as to avoid persecution. We stick to principle. We stick to the truth and let the results fall as they might.
So let us endure, let us keep going in doing right, for such is the way of the Christian.
B. Rewarded in the end.
Then also we are to have endurance, to keep on going, even through persecution because we are promised a reward.
[1Pe 3:13-14 ESV] 13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled,
When things are going right in the world, there is a reward for good works.
Peter even says this of the government.. Not only are they to “bear the sword” to punish evildoers, but the only other function of the government he lists is that they are to “praise those who do good.” (1 Peter 2:13)
And good things are the natural result of hard word and living rightly.
So we are encourage to endured in doing good things.
But sometimes, perhaps quite often, even though we do good we are persecuted and the results are so great. But God promised that “you will be blessed.” There will be a reward in heaven. So we should look to that to help propel us to endurance on earth.
James says:
[Jas 1:12 ESV] 12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
So remain steadfast under trail. Keep on going.
C. Strengthened.
Then, the third reason encouraging our endurance is the promise that we will be strengthened.
That is, persecution will strengthen us.
That has been the case with the church through the centuries. Where it is persecuted, it grows.
When we are persecuted we too grow stronger.
If there is no opposition to our Christian living, we would grow weak.
But, being persecuted, we have to trust in the Lord; read His word to verify the truths, and go back into the world armed with the armor of God and the sword of his Word.
Without persecution there is a tendency towards weakness. Like the trees in the biodome. The story is that when they tried to create a world isolated from everything else under a glass biodome, the trees did not have any wind pushing against them. So they didn’t grow the strength necessary to push back against the wind. And when the dome was removed, the trees blew over in the first gust.
Wind, resistance, is good for trees.
And persecution is good for Christians.
James says:
[Jas 1:2-3 ESV] 2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
And Paul says:
[Rom 5:3-4 ESV] 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
So Keep on Going.
What does that mean though?
What should I do?
In the main, it means, do that which brings glory to God.
II. Keep on going to give glory to God. (v. 13-16)
We give glory to God in being what He has called us to be:
Salt and light in this world.
A. Salt
Jesus says: “You are the salt of the earth”
There have been many suggestions through the years about what this means. Various properties of salt are suggested as metaphors to fit the Christian life.
But the mean thrusts seems to be that being the salt of the earth is to be a good influence on the world.
Salt preserves food and makes food better.
As you live as a Christian, you make the world better.
Christians, like salt to meat, says one commentator “arrests the festering corruption of humanity.”
Without Christians, without the Lord working in this world, it would be a rotting, stinking place.
But you are a salt of the world. You are to keep the world from going down the evil and corrupt path.
It is Christianity on which the health of the world depends.
Your good deeds are meaningful.
Your good words are influential.
Your good prayers are beneficial.
Keep on going!
Jesus speaks a warning against “losing our saltiness.”
If we lost our saltiness, who would salt us?
“if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?”
Christians are used as instruments of God to bring His Gospel to others.
But if there were no Christians, who would bring the Gospel?
Who would pull us out of the pit of despair, of sin, and of depression in this corrupt world?
Where would we be without the prophets and apostles? If they were not salt, we would not have the Word of God recorded. It is through their work that the world is still here.
So we have an encouragement. Do not give up. For much depends on you.
Keep on going.
B. Light
Then, Christ calls believers not only “salt” but “light.”
This is shocking considering that he is the light of the world.
But the Holy Spirit works through us.
That is the only way that we can said to be light.
And whereas salt is essentially defensive, keeping food preserved,
Light is offensive; it goes forward into the darkness.
Both symbolize the life and words of Christians,
but salt is perhaps more about the life,
and light is more about our words.
So we are to proclaim the word of God.
As light we are to illuminate and give light to others.
Our words are to be about Christ, for he is the true light that came to give light to the world.
Then, just like the warning against salt losing its saltiness, Jesus tells us not to hide our light.
Don’t be slack in your Christian work.
People don’t put a lamp under a basket.
You are light, so let it shine.
That is the natural result of light.
A city on a hill cannot be hidden. If you are working and living for the Lord, IT WILL BE KNOWN. You will make an impact.
So keep on going.
Don’t put your light under a basket for fear that it might offend someone. But let your let shine before others, for the glory of God.
How can we break this down into practical terms? How do I be salt? How do I let my light shine.
Let’s look at it two ways in this application.
Application: Keep on going with your personal and interpersonal work.
Keep on going with your personal work.
Read the Bible. Pray. Come to church. Give with joy. Have a good attitude in life.
Keep on going with your interpersonal work. Keep inviting people to church. Keep listening to others. Keep encouraging others. Keep doing good to others.
Keep on going.
The Lord has you here to work for Him, and his Glory.
What a great boss. His burden is light. His reward is great. And he works in us both to believe and to work for his Kingdom and his glory. We are truly blessed.
So if you’re feeling burned out. This is a call to keep on going. You’re working for the Lord.
Find some new ways (or old ways) to be salt and to be light.
Let the light shine and give glory to God.
Let us pray.