Matthew 5:14-16

Please turn with me to Matthew 5, verse 14. Now He says the world is in darkness apart from Me, and He is the only light the world can ever receive. Everything else is just an attempt by people trying to find light, and they inevitably fail. There is no light or dignity apart from Christ, but notice what He says about us in

So you are the light of the world. In other words, because He is what He is and because of our relationship to Him, we also become the light of the world. It is challenging for us to realize and comprehend this miracle, but it has to do with dignity. We are just a small group in this pagan world and sadly sometimes we are ashamed of ourselves and sin leads to shame.

The state of mind of being embarrassed or ashamed of God's way of life manifests itself in a feeling of inferiority and unworthiness. We are restrained by shame in a way that interferes with our commitment to Jesus Christ and His teachings.

When Christ used the phrase ashamed of Me and My words, He was contrasting the willingness to lose one's life for His sake. But the truth about us is this we are the light of the world. Jesus Christ said that about us. This dark evil world knows no light and has no spiritual light apart from the light from Christ that we are reflecting.

Considering our dignity, what Christ is and what He makes us, is inevitable because of our relationship with Him. Now hear what Christ reveals to the Laodiceans and the rest of the church in the book of Revelation. I am going to just read this to you very quickly.

So we must overcome our problems, and if we do have any sense of shame, we should certainly overcome that as fast as we can.

Matthew 5:14-16

The lampstand is what gives light. It can symbolize the witness that is made before men. But that witness is fueled by Christ’s activity in the life of the group or the person. The symbol of a lampstand in the early chapters of Revelation points more to groups, but Matthew 5:14-16 shows there is an individual responsibility to let one’s light shine so God is glorified. So, as mentioned, the most rigorous way to look at this is personally.

The critical point is that Christ is the source of the fuel that enables the lamp to burn. But if Christ is being neglected, as this letter shows, there won’t be oil for the lampstand, and its light will be so feeble that it is basically useless, or it will go out altogether. The group or person no longer represents Christ as He wants to be represented, and the lamp is removed.