PASSAGE: Matthew 5:13-16
SERIES SUMMARY
As Jesus steps onto the scene of history, Matthew paints a picture of him that invites our participation in what Jesus is doing. The portrait is that Jesus is the True King who is bringing the kingdom of heaven to earth. This good news is not reserved for especially religious people in a distant future; it’s good news, right now, for ordinary people who come to Jesus in faith.
And while Jesus inaugurated the kingdom among us through teaching and serving in dozens of ways, he ultimately brought heaven to earth by embracing the cross as his throne and wearing thorns as his crown. In doing this, he broke the powers of the kingdom(s) of this world and opened up God’s new world through his resurrection. Now, because of these things, discipleship to Jesus is about praying and living “Your kingdom come, Your will be done.” It is about whole-life transformation and embodying kingdom realities. It is about becoming people who naturally live out what Jesus taught. Today, because of Matthew’s witness and Jesus’ ministry, the kingdom is coming in our own lives, “on earth as it is in heaven.”
PASSAGE GUIDE
There’s a tension every follower of Jesus must navigate: how to live as kingdom people in a world that doesn’t recognize the King. We’re called to be distinctly different yet meaningfully present breathing “heavenly air” in an earthly landscape. When we get this wrong, we either isolate ourselves from the world or conform to it, and both options betray our calling.
Matthew frames Jesus as the True King bringing the kingdom of heaven to earth not only someday, but already breaking in now. So repentance is a whole-life reorientation around God’s reign. That immediately presses the core question: who are we (identity) and how are we to live (mission) as citizens of King Jesus? In the Kingdom, identity includes mission, and faithfulness requires wisdom.
Church history and our own habits show how unwise “faithfulness” can get: shaming outsiders, demanding unbelievers live by Christian standards, drawing arbitrary lines, and congratulating ourselves for being “right.” Even leaders can absorb the surrounding culture without noticing, and when the church isn’t at odds with the dominant culture, it stops being salt and light.
Jesus’ answer in Matthew 5:13–16 is not simply a metaphor but an identity declaration: you are salt and you are light. Salt points to covenant faithfulness that becomes a real, preserving, purifying, healing influence in the world; if it loses its distinctiveness, it becomes useless. That raises the uncomfortable test: if your church vanished tomorrow, would your community tangibly miss anything?
Light means visible, purposeful good works that lead people to glorify the Father. The path forward isn’t isolation or assimilation but wise covenant faithfulness being fully present in culture without being shaped by it. Kingdom people live differently (money, sex, power, relationships) because they belong to a different King, and their distinctiveness exists so others see Jesus through them.
"When the church is not at odds with the dominant culture, it is deeply influenced by it. Such a church has ceased to be salt and light in the world. Therefore, we must ask, How can we return to a place where 'what influences us the most' is our Kingdom mandate?"
*We are a church located in Greenville, South Carolina. Our vision is to see God transform us into a community of grace passionately pursuing life and mission with Jesus.
SUGGESTIONS FOR COMMUNITY GROUP QUESTIONS
Remember, these are “suggested” questions. You do not have to go through every single one of them. You do not need to listen to both sermons at both campuses to participate in the discussion.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS (Read Matthew 5:13-16)
- What were your main takeaways from the text or the sermon?
- What aha’s did you have or what was challenging to you from the sermon or text?
- In what ways might our individual lives be more influenced by the dominant culture around us than by the Kingdom of Heaven, and how can we identify those blind spots?
- How do we balance being distinct from the world's values while still being accessible and engaged with people who don't follow Jesus, avoiding both complete isolation and complete assimilation?
- The sermon challenges Christians who demand that non-believers follow Jesus' standards. How can we speak truth in love without falling into the trap of simply yelling across the street at unbelievers?
- If your presence as a follower of Jesus disappeared from your neighborhood, workplace, or family, would anyone notice a difference? What specific impact are you having as salt and light?
- Where in your life is it challenging for you to embody God’s kingdom rather than draw moral lines in the sand?
- What does it look like for heaven to come to earth through your life this week, and how might you participate more fully in the overlap between God's Kingdom and the world around you?
- Jesus uses both salt and light as metaphors for our calling in the world. What does it mean practically for you to be a permanent, transformational presence in your specific community or workplace?
- What is one mindset shift you need to make to ensure the Kingdom influences you more than the culture does?
RESOURCES