The World Would Be Mighty Dark Without God’s Light
(4th Great End Of The Church: Preserve The Truth
May 20, 2012
Part 4 of Great Ends Of The Church Series
Sally and I are certainly staying busy as we continue to unpack boxes and adjust to the “routine” here at Edgewood – and we continue to feel blessed to be a part of such an exciting and active Church! I am spending my first Sundays talking about things we may need to consider if we are going to be the Church God is calling us to be, and I have been using one of the first statements in our denomination’s Book Of Order – which has become known as “The Six Great Ends Of The Church” – as a guide for us to go by as we have considered things God might want us to be doing here at Edgewood.
Listen to what the Book Of Order says:
The great ends of the Church are:
the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind;
the shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God;
the maintenance of divine worship;
the preservation of the truth;
the promotion of social righteousness; and
the exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world. (F-1,0304)
These are great words, and they give us a vision for what it means to be the Church — what the Church is to be about – and what the Church is to be doing. You see – the Church is not about the building – it’s not about the Minister – it’s about God – it’s about Christ – it’s about people who are trying to fulfill these “Great Ends” the Book Of Order lay out for us. If Edgewood is going to be the Church God wants it to be, then we will have to be committed to living out these “Great Ends”.
We’ve seen how we need to be committed to the proclamation of the Gospel for the salvation of humankind – or evangelism. We have looked at our need to be committed to the shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God – or love. We have also seen how we need a commitment to the third Great End of the Church – the maintenance of Divine Worship.
But – there is more!
Not only do we need evangelism — love – and a heart for worship — but the fourth Great End – the preservation of the truth – is also needed.
Our Gospel passage for today – Matthew 5:13-16 – is a call to us to preserve the truth.
Several years ago Sally and I were at Long Beach with some friends. While we were there a Total Lunar Eclipse took place. We went out on the beach to see the eclipse – thinking that it would be a great place to witness this wonder of nature. It was a great place to view it, but some of the streetlights from the road kept the night from being as dark as it could have been. When we realized that the streetlights might interfere with our experiencing the full effect of the eclipse, one of us in the group made the statement:
“You know – it would be a lot darker if there wasn’t so much light out here.”
The rest of us laughed and teased them about making such an obvious statement. But you know what – the statement was really quite correct – even if it was obvious — it would have been a lot darker if it had not been for the light.
Jesus tells us: “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
The fourth Great End of the Church is: Preserving the truth. Jesus calls His followers “the light of the world” – shining His truth – His love – His will – into a world that would indeed be mighty dark if it were not for the Light of Christ. If Edgewood is going to be the Church God intends for it to be, we are going to have to be committed to the fourth Great End of the Church – preserving the truth. You and I are going to have to be committed to shining the light of Christ into the world.
And yes – the world would be very dark without the light of Christ.
“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
We’ve heard these words – Jesus’ call to be light for the world – to preserve His truth in the world – but too many times we might feel we are powerless to do anything about the evil we see in the world. We may feel the darkness is so great that we cannot overcome it. We may feel that even Jesus cannot give us the light we need to overcome the darkness of the world – so we give up and do not even try to make a difference by shining the light of Christ into the world around us. We may feel overwhelmed by the daunting task of trying to make a difference for Christ and preserve God’s truth in the world — so we don’t try to preserve God’s truth or make a difference. We may feel overwhelmed by the darkness that is in the world — so we don’t try to preserve the truth or shine the light of Christ. And the world is indeed mighty dark without God’s light.
But Jesus says: “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
How well do you do that?
How committed are you to shining God’s light to the world?
How committed are you to preserving God’s truth in the world?
How well do you shine the light of Christ into the world around you?
How well does this Church exert an influence in the community for Christ?
These are questions you have to answer.
Are you really powerless — unable to make a difference in the community and the world for Christ – unable to preserve the truth of Christ in the world – unable to shine God’s light into a dark and sinful world?
Is it really a losing battle to try to preserve some semblance of God’s truth in the world?
Or can you exert some influence in the world for Jesus Christ?
Can you do some things that will help preserve God’s righteousness and truth in the world?
Can you shine the light of Christ into a world that is mighty dark without the light of Christ?
Jesus says: “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
There is a great deal of pessimism around today that grips and even paralyzes people – even Christians. Many Christians wring their hands in a holy kind of dismay. “Society is rotten to the core”, they say. “Everything is hopeless” they lament. “There is no hope but the return of Jesus Christ” they say. Some have suggested that people are rubbish – and we can do nothing to save them – we can do nothing to shine the light of Christ into such a dark world – we can do nothing to preserve the truth in the world.
Friends – these are nothing but excuses that we might give for not acting like the “salt” and “light” Jesus says we are. Regardless of how people may feel – regardless of the ideas that the world is beyond help and that it is fruitless to try to preserve any truth and shine the light of Christ into the world – regardless of the idea of many that people are rubbish – the truth of the Gospel is that people are not rubbish. The truth of the Gospel is that people are men and women who are made in the image of God. Yes — we are fallen – we are sinners — but the image of God has not been destroyed. Yes – it is not easy to preserve God’s truth in the world or shine God’s light in the world – but it is possible – and we cannot give up trying.
Our Old Testament lesson for today is the story of Elijah fleeing from Jezebel and feeling that all was lost. He had just won a wonderful victory on Mount Carmel – but he was afraid for his life. Jezebel had promised to kill him – and he knows she could make good on that promise, so he runs away and even wants to die. He thinks that trying to preserve God’s truth in the world is a losing battle. But God comes to him in a powerful way and lets him know that the battle is not lost – that over 7,000 people in Israel were still following God – and God will bless his efforts to shine His light to the country and the world.
Like Elijah, we can sometimes feel the “battle” for preserving God’s truth and shining God’s light in the world is lost before we even begin. That’s not a very Christian way of looking at things! If we can develop a Christian mindset and not concentrate exclusively on how bad things are in the world we can begin to see that regardless of how bad things may seem, God is still good. If we can develop a Christian mindset we can begin working for God’s goodness – preserving God’s truth – and shining God’s light in the community and the world.
The fourth Great End of the Church is: Preserving the truth.
Jesus calls us, as His followers, “the light of the world” – and calls us to shine His truth – His love – His will – into a world that would indeed be mighty dark if it were not for the Light of Christ.
Friends — it’s ludicrous to say Christians can have no influence in society.
It’s biblically and historically mistaken.
Christian churches have had an enormous influence on society down its long and checkered history. Kenneth Latourette in his work on the history of the expansion of Christianity has written:
“No life ever lived on this planet has been so influential in the affairs of men like the life of Jesus Christ. From that brief life and its apparent frustration has flowed a more powerful force for the triumphant waging of man’s long battle than any other ever known by the human race. By it millions have been lifted from illiteracy and ignorance and have been placed upon the road of growing intellectual freedom and control over the physical environment. It has done more to allay the physical ills of disease and famine than any other impulse known to man. It’s emancipated millions from chattel slavery and millions of others from addiction to vice. It’s been the most fruitful source of movement to lessen the horrors of war and to put the relations of men and nations on the basis of justice and of peace. Christ and his church have had an enormous influence. And if only we were out and out for Jesus Christ in the fullness of our commitment, then we would have far more influence than we do.”
So – we need to put away the pessimism that says the world is too bad – things too grim – and there is nothing we can do to preserve the truth and shine the Light of Christ in the world.
We are not powerless.
I’m afraid what we are, rather, is often lazy and unbelieving and disobedient to the commission of Jesus.
You are the salt of the earth.
You are the light of the world.
In both these metaphors of the salt and the light, Jesus teaches about the responsibility of Christians in society. He is teaching us our responsibility in our community and in the world. The world, Jesus says, might be compared to rotting meat — but Christians are to be the world’s salt. The world, Jesus says, might be compared to a dark night – but Christians are to be the world’s light. Like salt in putrefying meat, Christians are to hinder social decay. Like light in the prevailing darkness, Christians are to illumine society and show it a better way.
It’s very important to understand that we as Christians have something to offer the world – we have the truth that can preserve the world and the light that can shine in the world’s darkness. It’s also very important to see the need to offer the truth that can preserve the world and shine the light of Christ in the world. Too many Christians understand that we have something to offer the world – but fail to offer it! But we have to offer it. We are not just called to be different from our environment. We are called to have a powerful influence on our environment. Salt has to be rubbed into the meat in order to stop the rot. Light has to shine into the darkness to dispel the darkness.
But – how can we preserve the truth?
How can we be salt and light for the world?
Jesus gives us power to do this – if we will use it.
First of all we need to use the power of prayer. Prayer is an indispensable part of the Christian’s life and of the church’s life. Our first duty towards society and the people in our community is to pray for them. If you feel there is – in the world and in the community — more violence than peace, more indecency than modesty, more oppression than justice, more secularism than godliness, then you have to commit yourself to praying about these things.
A second power we must use is the power of truth. God’s truth is powerful. God’s truth is much more powerful than the lies the world tries to make us believe.
Do you believe that?
Or — do you think the world’s lies are stronger than God’s truth?
As Christians we have to believe that truth is stronger than lies and the power of God is stronger than the power of the world. God’s truth is much more powerful than bombs and tanks and weapons. When you feel overwhelmed in your efforts to preserve the truth of God in the world over against the powers of sin, remember — we have the truth – others don’t.
If we are going to preserve God’s truth and shine God’s light, we are going to have to be committed to the power of prayer and committed to power of the truth.
Third — we are going to have to be committed to the power of example. Truth is powerful when it’s argued, but it’s more powerful when it’s lived. People need not only to understand God’s truth – they need to see it. It’s hard to exaggerate the power for good that can be exerted by Christians doing what they can to touch others with God’s truth and love. One Christian nurse in a hospital who is doing what they can to touch people with God’s love, one Christian teacher in a school, one Christian young person, one Christian in a shop or in a factory or office who are doing what they can to share God with others can make a big difference.
Christians are marked people. The world is watching. And God’s major way of making a difference and changing the world is to implant within it His people with their different values and different standards and different joys and different goals so that people see them and be attracted by how they live.
As Jesus said, “They see your good works, and they give glory to your Father in heaven.”
If you want to make a difference for God in the world – if you want to help God preserve His truth and shine His light – you are going to have to be committed to the power of prayer — the power of the truth – and the power of example. You are also going to have to be committed to the power of the group. The power of a dedicated minority.
It has been said:
“We should not underestimate the significance of the small group of people who have a vision of a just and gentle world. The quality of a whole culture may be changed when two percent of its people have a new vision.”
That was the way of Jesus.
He began of a small group of only 12 dedicated people, and within a few years Roman officials complained they were turning the world upside down. There is a great need for dedicated Christian groups committed to one another, committed to the vision, and committed to Christ who will pray together, think together, formulate policies together, and get to work together in the community.
The power of prayer – the power of the truth – the power of example – and the power of the group are some of the tools Jesus gives us for preserving His truth and shining His light in the world. We have to be committed to doing everything we can to preserve the truth of God and shine the light of God to those around us, regardless of how small it may seem that our efforts are.
A man was walking down the beach one evening and noticed that there were many, many starfish along the shore. He knew that starfish died if they stayed out of the water for too long – but felt that there was nothing he could do with so many starfish out of the water. He continued walking – and noticed a man walking towards him along the share. He could tell the man walking towards him seemed to be stooping down and throwing things into the water.
Surely he’s not trying to save the starfish he thought.
But that’s exactly what he was doing.
As he came close enough to talk to the man, he said:
“Don’t you know there are too many starfish for you to save? You’re wasting your time!”
The man stooped down and picked up another starfish and threw it back into the water.
“I just saved that one” he said.
The fourth Great End of the Church is: Preserving the truth. Jesus calls His followers “the light of the world” – shining His truth – His love – His will – into a world that would indeed be mighty dark if it were not for the Light of Christ. If Edgewood is going to be the Church God intends for Edgewood to be, we are going to have to be committed to the fourth Great End of the Church. We are going to have to be committed to preserving the truth. We are going to have to be committed to shining the light of Christ into the world – the world that would be might dark without the light of Christ. We are going to have to be committed to the power of prayer, the power of the truth, the power of example, and the power of the group.
We are going to have to be committed to shining God’s light and preserving God’s truth by doing whatever we can – wherever we can – and whenever we can.
We are going to have to be committed to preserving the truth and shining the light of Christ into a dark world.
That’s the fourth Great End of the Church. Amen.
