This Is The Primary Responsibility Of A Christian

Plant the seed, and let God carry it on, after all, Salvation is of the Lord. Is it not?

What is the point of having light in us and not sharing that light with others? That is, what is the point of having Christ in us and not sharing about Him with others?

Matthew 5:16 states: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

What is the “light?” – God is light

Scripture tells us in 1 John 1:5 that God is light: “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.”

According to 1 Peter 2:9 God is a “marvelous light” to us, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (the purpose clause). We are chosen for this purpose – to proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness!

What is light? – Christ is light

John 1:9 states: “That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.”

In 1 John 8:12 Jesus calls Himself “the light of the world”: “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ’I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’”

In John 9:5 Christ spoke of Himself saying, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

In John 12:46 He said, “I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness” (Christ).

What about Christians? How are we Related with the light?

We are the Children of Light (God), and we are expected to be seen as lights in the world. In Phil. 2:15 Paul says, “that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.” Moreover, Eph. 5:8 states: “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.”

Craig L. Blomberg says:
[blockquote cite=”Craig L. Blomberg, NAC, 103″ type=”left”]Of the various possible uses of light, Jesus obviously has in mind the bringing of illumination through the revelation of God’s will for his people. Since Jesus is the Light of the world (John 8:12; 9:5), so also his followers should reflect that light. Like lights from a city illuminating the dark countryside or a lamp inside a house providing light for all within it, Christians must let their good works shine before the rest of the world so that others may praise God.[/blockquote]

What we have in this verse is a MANDATE and Two purposes:

Mandate: Let your light shine – We have the “light” in us – that is Christ.

Purpose 1: That they may see your good works – that is, see God in us.

Purpose 2: That they may see good works in us “and glorify” our Father, who is in heaven.

How do the Mandate and purposes go together?

1. If we have the light in us, which we do, we will show forth the good works – that is, showing Christ in us
2. If we have the light and show good works, then they (unbelievers) will see that, and that may bring glory to God.

R.T France, regarding “good works” says that the “good works” are referring to
[blockquote cite=”R.T. France, The Gospel of Matthew, 117″ type=”left”]the qualities set out in the beatitudes, and especially the “righteousness” of life which is to be characteristic of disciples (cf. vv. 6, 10, 20); the phrase and the concept are echoed in 1 Pet 2:11–12.[/blockquote]

Christ commands us to be a “light” to the world so that they can see our good works and glorify the Father.

The question is, are Christians walking as the children of light? Are we sharing the light that is “in us” (Christ Himself) with others who do not know Him.

We know that we are responsible for sharing the Gospel; we are responsible for sharing the “light.” But many Christians are caught up in things that are unnecessary; things that do not bring glory to God.

For example, theological debates, arguments; whose theology is right, who theology is wrong; what denomination is good and what denomination is bad; my arguments are better than their arguments; who is better, who is terrible and so forth. Yes, theology is important and we have to be strong in our theological beliefs. Yes, denominations are somewhat important; people choose a denomination based on their tradition or convictions. But still these are secondary (by secondary, I mean, that this must come later). The primary focus of a believer MUST be sharing the gospel. This is what a Church lacks now.

The general thought of many Christians seems to be that we are content, we have hope, we are safe, we have Christ, we have the promise of eternal life, we have eternal security, we will be in heaven praising the Lord forever, etc., etc., etc. Is this all that should matter to us? No.

This way of thinking is self-centered and no, God will NOT be glorified with this kind of mindset!

Look around you, in your city, in your town, in your country! People NEED the Lord. They NEED hope! The ONLY hope there is, is Jesus Christ!

Today’s Church is missing the important element of Christ’s teaching: sharing the gospel; letting people see our good works. Why are we missing this? We are missing the part of sharing the gospel because we are not giving any importance to it! We may think that it is a pastor’s responsibility or a missionary’s responsibility. No, it is not. It is every believer’s responsibility.

[tweet_box design=”box_02″ url=”https://bit.ly/2mVBsw3″ float=”none”]Today’s Church is missing the important element of Christ’s teaching: sharing the gospel[/tweet_box]

The world is mocking Christianity not because of what it is, but because of those who call themselves Christian and live an utter nominal life. This lifestyle is what brings disgrace to God!

Every Christian is accountable to answer God when they see Him face to face. What would you answer Him when you see Him face to face?

I encourage you as a believer, as a Church, to share the light that is in you to the world.

If you are not able to share the gospel, I believe that God will understand your circumstance. But, what if you are able and not sharing the gospel, then, this is your call and you are accountable to answer God. Sometimes, we take God, His provision, His protection, His love, His grace, His mercy for granted; we do not fear, we do not revere Him. This is because we do not understand His nature. Sometimes, we fear to share the gospel. Why? Because we wonder what might happen to us. But, we should not fear. If we put our TRUST in God, we know that He will be with us. In fact, Christ said this in Matthew 28:20 in His own words, “‘lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen.”

Plant the seed, and let God carry it on, after all, Salvation is of the Lord. Is it not.

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