Nathan E. Lewis

Listen to the audio recording of this first of three presentations at Westminster Seminary in California, April 21, 2009 or read my manuscript following.

Lecture One
The Church Good for the World:
Salt and Light Metaphors Inform Church Planting

In his sermon Jesus offers two metaphors to describe the Church as good for the world: “You are the salt of the earth…. You are the light of the world.” Both these metaphors describe the same function of the Church. She exists with a purpose extending beyond her own good. We know from general revelation of salt’s dual benefit: It preserves and it enhances flavor. Jesus clearly alludes to salt enhancing flavor. He says, “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?” Were we on the Oregon Trail in the 19th Century, we would shoot a buffalo and salt the meat to preserve it for a season of subsistence. Today, when we apply a salt crust to a prime rib, we do so to enhance the flavor of the meat. Jesus has in mind the delectable flavor, this most pleasing result of applying salt.
Jesus says, “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.” What a waste! Unsavory salt is worthless. God has designed and established the Church to enhance this world. If the Church fails to do so, then she loses her divine purpose and value in this world. “It is no longer good for anything!” As we consider these words of Jesus, we must ask the question, “How does the Church enhance the world?” In answering this question we could launch a boisterously creative brainstorming session listing hundreds of ideas. The rules of a brainstorming session include the cardinal rule that none of us may be critical of any idea offered. If we respond at all it must be to say, “Your idea is most interesting.” The value of the brainstorming session is to discover how many ways the Church can and does enhance the world. The danger of the brainstorming session is that in our excitement and creativity we forget the bread and butter fare God has supplied the Church.
There were once two brothers. One was rich and the other poor. The poor brother was a farmer. One harvest he pulled up a turnip of unusually large size, so large that it took two oxen to pull it in a cart to market. At the market the villagers agreed that he should present the turnip to the king. The king marveled at the gift and in return gave the poor farmer the turnip’s weight in gold. When the rich brother heard of his poor brother’s fortune he schemed to do better. On his estate he raised pure bread dogs training them to do tricks and he raised dancing ponies. The rich brother with much fanfare entered the presence of the king displaying his gifts of dogs and ponies. The king was humored by the dog and pony show and gladly received the gift saying, “I possess nothing rarer or better to give in return but this unusually large turnip.” It is sadly true that we overlook the simple and over-rate the sensational.
The primary means by which the Church enhances this world are the preaching of the Word and the administration of the sacraments. These two means are God’s gifts to the Church and they are also the Church’s gifts to the world. With our airwaves cluttered with conflicting messages and demonic voices, the preaching of the Word projects with unusual distinction. The gospel cuts through the deception, the doubting, the delusion, and the delirium. With our mountain scarred by multiple paths to the summit, littered with relics, rituals, formulas, incantations, and superstitions, the sacraments present a powerful simplicity, perfectly augmenting the gospel proclaimed.
The Church is good for the world as it breaks down the unhelpful distinction between evangelism and edification. The gospel is good for professing members of the church as well as for the lost sheep wandering in the world. Dr. Edmund Clowney in his book, Living in Christ’s Church, in his chapter titled, “The Ministry of the Church,” dismisses this unhelpful distinction: “The calling of the church to minister directly to God, to the saints and to the world is one calling. Paul witnesses to the world of the Gentiles so that they may sing praise to God. Nurture and worship go together too: we sing in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, but as we do so we teach and admonish one another. When our hearts are filled with praise to God our very worship becomes a testimony to the world. At Pentecost the disciples praised God in many languages and their praise was a witness to those who heard. Evangelism is doxological.”
It is possible for the Church Planter to preach the gospel to Christian and non-Christian together. Every text points to Christ and so every sermon is a presentation of the gospel. The covenantal language of the Holy Scriptures makes sharp distinction between the righteous and the wicked. But Jesus rightly teaches us in his parables of the wheat and the tares and of the sheep and the goats, that we do not have the divine vantage point nor the divine right to make the distinction between “Us and them.” When we preachers mount our pulpits on Sunday mornings we are facing a field of wheat and tares not knowing the hearts of those who faithfully sit under the preaching of the Word. In 20 years of my personal ministry there have been few corporate worship meetings that have not included visitors and strangers. Please do not misunderstand my words concerning the preaching of the gospel. I do not mean that every sermon must conclude with an altar call or some formulaic invitation. There are so many points of contact in every text constraining the preacher to manifest Christ, to cameo at least one aspect of his Person and Work as the Redeemer of God’s elect. Does your text connect to the cross, or does it better connect to the resurrection or to the ascension? Does your text lead to atonement of sin or does it lead to freedom from the sin unto a holy life? As a Minister of the Gospel, the same diligence you apply to employing the primary languages to your exegesis should also be applied to finding the Christ connection, that particular facet of the gospel gem that believers and unbelievers sitting side by side desperately need to hear. As you trash the unhelpful distinction between evangelism and edification to take up this faithful preaching of the gospel to believer and unbeliever alike, the Church will begin to be good for the world. Preach assuming that in every setting unbelievers will be listening and that believers in every setting need the gospel more than anything else you can offer. In the 1980’s I was living with my parents and teaching High School English, searching for the right seminary. My college classmate, Michael Horton invited me to visit Westminster Seminary in California where he was planning to study. We were warmly received on campus by Elaine Memelar (sp?) who introduced us to Dr. Dennis Johnson. He spent several hours with us answering our questions and supplying me with a reading list. I returned home and several months later my father told me that he had been reviewing the tall stack of seminary catalogs on my desk. He said, “I don’t know much about the Reformed faith, but there is this little seminary that will not waste your time with fluff. It will train you to be a preacher and a pastor.” My first thought was: “If my father and Michael Horton agree, then God must be calling me to go to Westminster.” My second thought was, “The real reason is Dr. Johnson.” A much later thought was, “Do not overlook the basics, the simple gifts. Take the simple gifts of God and dispense them to the world.”
Christian Education is a perfect opportunity for the Church to enhance the world. Review the curriculum of your church assessing it by asking the following two questions giving each equal weight: Will this particular curriculum be good for the members of our church? Will this particular curriculum be good for those who have yet to profess faith in Christ? Make sure that the light of the gospel shines upon every lesson and lecture. Make sure that the language communicates and that Latinized terms are explained. Make sure that the tone and presentation are not “in-house.” Offer and announce your classes to an audience wider than the membership of your congregation. Make sure that the titles in some way communicate that the Church is good for the world. Leslie Newbigin writes in his book, Foolishness to the Greeks: The Gospel and Western Culture, “The church is the bearer to all the nations of a gospel that announces the kingdom, the reign, and the sovereignty of God. It calls men and women to repent of their false loyalty to other powers, to become corporately a sign, instrument, and foretaste of that sovereignty of the one true and living God over all nature, all nations, and all human lives. It is not meant to call men and women out of the world into a safe religious enclave but to call them out in order to send them back as agents of God’s kingship.” Newbigin continues by applying this kingdom focus to the church protesting large social problems, but his good words can be also humbly applied to a local congregation’s Christian Education program.
Alongside the ministry of the word, the administration of the sacraments is a gift to the world. At a baptism make it clear that the recipient is moving from the darkness of this world into the Church present in the world. Call others who observe a baptism to also be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Don’t turn baptism into some dull reading of the Book of Church Order cluttering and confusing the simplicity of the sign and the power of the seal. At the font pray with passion. Heartily welcome everyone into the presence of God inviting them to hear the very voice of God in the application of the sign. Encourage the person scheduled to be baptized along with his family to invite as many unbelievers as possible. A significant section of our community will attend a baptism but would be hesitant to attend a Sunday morning worship meeting. Make the most of it and make sure that these visitors know that the Church is good for the world. Check all of your rhetoric ridding it of language that would make them to feel dirty and assume that everyone else is clean. Make it clear that all of us gathered are in need of the spiritual cleansing powerfully communicated in baptism. All of us may enjoy the blessed union with Christ, by his Spirit, through baptism.
Celebrate the Lord’s Supper as often as you are able. The fencing of the Table is good for the Church and for the world. Along with fencing we must also call people to the Table, inviting them to repent of their sins and to freely “taste and see that the Lord is good.” Administer the Table in the context of the gospel that has been preached. Make sure that the gospel informs and sets the context, making space for unbelievers to observe others partaking of the sacrament administered graciously. Our observance is reverent and covenantal. It is at its core gracious. The Holy Spirit powerfully present works upon those who partake and those who refrain, freely and powerfully applying the gospel to our hearts and obedience.
Jesus offers a second metaphor, “You are the light of the world,” describing the Church as good for the world. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 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. 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.” As Jesus interprets his metaphor we discover that the Church is the light and the city on the hill whose light cannot be hidden. The Church is the lamp in the house. The house is the world. And so Jesus concludes, “So let your light shine before others.” The Church is good for the world. From this second metaphor we learn about the position of the Church in the world and her engagement of it.
The Church is visible in the world for the good of the world. It is a matter of position and engagement. Just as a city set on a hill cannot be hidden so the Church is to be visible in the world. Just as a lamp is put on a stand so that it gives light to all in the house, so the Church is to be visible in the world. It is a matter of positioning. But it is also a matter of engagement. In Jesus’ words, “it gives light to all in the house,” we discover not only the visibility of the Church but also her usefulness. She is not only visible in the world but she is helpful to the world.
The Church Planter and Minister of the Gospel must ask, “Is the Church visible in my community? What must we do so that the Church is visible?” It is a matter of positioning. The location of worship and other gatherings is an important matter. In Psalm 48 the Sons of Korah connect the powerful and loving presence of God to the physical location and visual presentation of the city of God. In these last days, Jesus Christ is the temple and we are a spiritual house of living stones. Nevertheless, God has placed us in particular physical locations spread throughout the world so that we might be visible. None of us are quite prepared to become the virtual church online, are we? More important than the physical location is the message of positioning we repeatedly offer to the community. Are we a church good for the world? Are we a church positioned in the community for the good of the community? Perhaps the greatest apologetic challenge of our day is presenting the Church as good for the world. Most non-Christians view the church to be combative, destructive, and at best irrelevant. The majority of my community believes that the Church gathers members for financial gain, political power, and ecclesiastical fame. Many North Americans believe that the Church is an end in itself, self-serving, polarizing, and heavy-handed. Though few people have ever heard a sermon on hell or for that matter on any topic, millions of Americans will say today, “I don’t go to church because I choose not to listen to any more hell fire and damnation sermons.” How will you position the church in such a community? You must develop a repetitive and persuasive message communicating that the Church exists to serve and to enhance the community at large. The Church is good for the world. Were this metaphor proper to apply at Plymouth Rock, then it is proper to apply it at the End of the Trail.
If you are interested in Church Planting or in the ministry of the gospel, then become a student of the descriptions and messages of the Church we present. I have discovered that most of these distinguish us from other sects and persuasions within the Church. Few communicate that the Church is good for the world. I am not against distinguishing within the Church. Nevertheless, I am supportive of descriptions and messages that communicate that the Church exists to serve the gifts of God beyond its present membership to the world. In North America, we can no longer use words like “Church” without definition and apologetic explanation. This is true as we speak to non-Christian and Christian alike. It is a matter of positioning.
The metaphor moves us to consider how the Church is to engage the world. This is the thrust of Jesus’ conclusion: “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.” I would expect Jesus to say, “In the same way let your light shine before others, so that they may hear the gospel and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” But instead Jesus commands us to live according to the gospel. Once we are properly positioned in the world we are to engage the world by living according to the gospel. The world around us sees that we are busy doing good works to enhance, improve, build, and expand the community in which God has placed us. The world discovers that the Church is concerned to protect and properly use the environment and that we not only care about the unborn child but that our care continues through the born child’s life. The world discovers that we serve the God of the poor and the oppressed as we show mercy to the victims of genocide, divorce, famine, and unemployment. The world sees the church enrolling non-Christians and disadvantaged children in her private Christian schools. The world sees church members volunteering in the public school system and serving on city commissions and code reviews. The world discovers that the Church can paint more than crucifixes and design beautiful buildings.
As the Church engages the world, we do our good works in the name of God. As the world sees our good works it glorifies our Father who is in heaven. God is receiving not only glory from the Church on Sunday mornings; he is also receiving glory from the whole world. The Church is designed and purposed to evoke this glory from the world around her. In Oregon, the vast majority of volunteers in our county run Hospices are Christians. The vast majority of volunteers in AIDS clinics and homes are Christians. Tigard, Oregon is headquarters for Medical Teams International, the premier provider of doctors, nurses and supplies to hot spots on the globe. The Church is good for the world and it is a matter of engagement. If you are interested in Church Planting then you need to get out to see what the Church at large is doing in this world. You will discover much activity that makes your skin crawl but you will also discover that in spite of ourselves the Church is much better for the world than the world admits. Join those who are doing good works visibly in the world in the name of God.
The work of the Church Planter is to bring glory to God. The purpose of the Church is to multiply God’s glory throughout the world. The fastest growing sector of our North American community is made up of senior citizens. The Church needs to be visible in every Assisted Living Community and every RV Park. There is a vast army of discarded, wandering senior citizens who could join us to do good works toward the world glorifying God. There are millions of American teens subconsciously weary of mindless entertainment. They are living in fantasy worlds wasting away time they would rather invest in mission work and community service. Put them to work letting their light shine before others. Some of the more delightful members of the congregation I serve are mentally challenged and physically disabled. Does our community know that we value these precious people made in God’s image? Does the world know that our secondary standards insist that these precious sisters and brothers can understand and embrace the holy gospel? Have you ever seen these mentally challenged and physically disabled people do good works evoking the glory of God from the world around them? I have seen their good works and I have glorified our Father in heaven.
There is no need to be overwhelmed thinking of the many groups of people to serve and the many ways to serve them. Church Planters must pace themselves and think in terms of life-long calls. If God gives you five talents to invest, then invest them. If he gives to you one talent to invest, then invest it. All of us have been given talents. If the city set on the hill seems too large a goal, then think of the lamp in the house, and plug it in and set it on as high a stand you can arrange. Over 20 years of church planting I have often headed for a solitary place to pray and often I pray, “Father, make your church good for the world. I am resting in you. Give to me opportunities to do your work. I am overwhelmed and exhausted. I know what you have called me to do. Show me how to do it. Give to me the courage and the humility to do it. Amen.”

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