One Master

Matthew 6:22-24

November 10, 2002

           

A Christian, in common parlance, refers to anyone that has an association with religious organizations identified with Christianity - regardless of doctrine or practice - or anyone that has an affinity for the Christian religion in deference to other religions. That is pretty broad! Yet it is quite common in our day to think of a Christian more in terms of associations and affinities rather than single-minded devotion to Jesus Christ.

 

We often identify certain countries as being Muslim or Hindu or Buddhist, but that same type of identity is applied to the United States, the United Kingdom, and other nations - in which we are called "Christian countries." Every one of us would argue that we are not a Christian nation in the way that we understand biblical Christianity. Yet most of the world does not hold to that narrow, biblical definition of Christianity. It looks at associations and affinities, and in this respect, we join a number of Western nations as "Christian." With such a broad definition it is no wonder that there is great confusion in our world about our fuss over the gospel, regenerative church membership, holiness, and world missions. The world has many ideas of the faces of Christianity. But we cannot allow the world to define what it has not created.

 

He that knows what is in the hearts of men has given us an unequivocal picture of a Christian. That's what we find our Lord doing in the Beatitudes, as He explains the character of kingdom citizens. But some confuse mere religious practices for kingdom citizenship, so Jesus explains the difference by identifying hypocrisy. The Sermon on the Mount erases any gray areas when it comes to understanding what it means to be called a kingdom citizen. Broad definitions make people feel comfortable with Christianity. But Jesus Christ never sought to make us feel comfortable in our sin. He liberates us from smug comfort unto love for Him alone. Such love for Christ burns in us with single-minded devotion - a type of devotion that the world disdains and cannot comprehend.

 

True Christians have but one Master - Jesus Christ the Lord. Can your life be explained in terms of single-minded devotion to Jesus Christ? Consider with me how our Lord explains this truth.

 

I. Seeing as a kingdom citizen

 

The previous pericope (vv. 19-21) explains that those things that he values most can identify the Christian. Rather than finding material goods, public honor, prestige, or attention to be most valued, the Christian values his relationship to Christ above all else. He finds his greatest pleasure in those things that are pleasing to God. His heart can be found in love, devotion, obedience, and worship of Christ.

 

Now the metaphor shifts but the same basic theme remains: Christ as our all in all. "The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!" As we analyze these words, we must consider the meaning that Christ gave to the eye as a lamp and to the contrasting ideas of light and darkness.

 

1. Clear eyes

 

Christ begins with the general statement that explains both pictures. "The eye is the lamp of the body." In this case the "eye" takes the place of the "heart" from the previous verse. So he is not shifting subjects but looking from a different angle at the same idea of the focus of our values and treasures. The "eye" is the heart, "fixing the eye and fixing the heart amount to the same thing - focusing our attention and concentrating all our energies on something" [Sinclair Ferguson, The Sermon on the Mount, 139]. Sometime this is called the soul or the spirit or the mind as distinguished from mere intellect - in each case it refers to that point of our being in which we see or think spiritually. It is the point of our understanding. "The eye is the lamp of the body," so it is the gateway that affects how we view life, eternity, God, and ourselves.

 

But the eye can be either clear or cloudy. "So then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light." The word "clear" can be translated as clean, pure, single-minded, and even generous as opposed to stingy. It seems that the meaning in this case is single-mindedness that affects purity and generosity in the whole of our lives. Such single-mindedness means devotion to Jesus Christ. By that I do not mean merely having devotional time with Jesus Christ, but passionate, focused, burning, unalloyed love for Jesus Christ. Maybe I should put it another way: you have eyes for Jesus Christ alone. Your love and loyalty is not set upon the world but upon Christ.

 

Here is where we can be quite presumptuous. As long as we show up for church now and then, and drop a little money in the offering plate, and whisper an occasional prayer, we may think that is adequate. Meanwhile we carelessly indulge our minds and energies into whatever our desires might set before us. But that is not a "clear" eye, and that is not kingdom citizenship. The clear eye functions properly as the organ that receives the truth of God for the whole of life. The clear eye is not interested in masquerading as a Christian but only in steadfast devotion and obedience to Christ.

 

It was the clear eye that opened the understanding of William Tyndale to the gospel so that he turned from the opportunity to be a scholar in King Henry VIII's court - in order to give himself to translating the Scriptures into the English language so that the simplest person could read the Word for himself. He spent fourteen years of being hunted like a wild animal for the sake of the gospel because of his single-minded devotion to Jesus Christ.

 

It is the clear eye - the single-minded devotion to Christ - that causes a Christian in the workplace to stand upon that which is ethically right even if it means he gets a demotion or loses his job. It is the clear eye that emboldens a student to stand for Christ in school even if he has to stand alone.

 

How does this work? Notice that when the "eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light." "Light" in this sense refers to understanding, the comprehension of gospel truth that affects everything else in your life. Everything in your life is ordered by your understanding of Christ, and that understanding is affected by your single-minded devotion to Christ. Calvin calls this God-given reason that does "the work of a torch to show the way ahead" [Calvin's New Testament Commentaries, I, 217]. The lights are on within the mind so that the way you think, your interests, your passions, your attitudes, your affections are governed by your understanding of Christ.

 

Please don't miss the implication. Being "full of light" does not mean that you are really smart, and have amassed great quantities of knowledge. Some of the most misdirected, miserable, and despondent people in the world have lots of knowledge but they have little light. We can make do with little knowledge but we cannot do with little light. As important as it surely is, knowledge of Christ in a purely academic sense cannot replace being "full of light" by your understanding being informed and enlightened by single-minded devotion to Christ.

 

2. Cloudy eyes

 

The contrasting picture explains this further. "But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!" The word "bad" is the common term often translated as "evil." In this context it refers to the poor condition or sickly condition of the eye. The Hebrews used the term, "evil eye" to refer to the greedy, stingy, miserly person. Kent Hughes points out, "The rabbis said that an evil eye indicated a grudging, cheap, ungenerous heart" [he Sermon on the Mount, 212]. The term is still used today in parts of Italy, referring to the person that is bent toward doing harm to another or someone that has bitterness or unforgiveness or rancor in his heart toward someone else. The bad eye is out for himself. It has no single-minded devotion to Christ because of embracing the pursuits of one's own desires apart from Christ. Consequently, the understanding is corrupted.

 

Jesus' assessment is that if the "eye is bad," then every part of one's being will be affected. If the light of understanding that comes through the gospel and steadfast devotion to Christ is clouded or corrupted, then every part of that person's understanding is influenced. The way he looks at life, circumstances, tragedies, disappointments, relationships cannot be done with godly understanding. His "whole body" is "full of darkness." It is certainly not that such a person is non-religious or that he is unintelligent. He may be very religious and extremely bright, but his heart is set on the wrong kind of treasures. He is earthbound, and has no consciousness of storing up treasures in heaven. His heart is found treasuring his own sinful desires, and he probably does not even recognize that anything is wrong with the condition of his heart.

 

3. Light being darkness

 

This is where Jesus sets forth a most interesting oxymoron: "If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!" Keep in mind that "light," in this context, refers to understanding that governs one's life. If the "eye is bad," if that part of the person that should be single-minded in devotion to Christ has mixed motives and double-minded desires, then the whole understanding is "darkness." Jesus did not say that the understanding was 'in darkness', but rather it "is darkness." Sin affects the motives and desires and pursuits of life. Such a person's life is governed by sin and not by Christ.

 

What makes it worse is that this person is convinced that he understands the gospel, Christianity, and righteous living. You cannot tell him anything. His understanding is "darkness," but he does not know it. He is totally blind to truth. He may know lots of facts and may have the ability to discuss theological issues, but his understanding is "darkness" so that he does not profit by what he knows in terms of how he behaves or deals with life-issues. He has embraced a form of Christianity that Christ does not approve. He has sought to straddle the fence of the gospel and the world, or he has created his own form of religion that satisfies him, and he does not realize that everything that he sees is bound by darkness. Like the hypocrites that Jesus has already exposed, he does his religious duty with selfish motives - to be noticed by others. He thinks he sees. He is convinced that he understands. But Jesus declares that the light of his understanding is darkness.

 

I talked with a pastor this week that told me about preaching a sermon recently on what it means to think like a Christian. He applied this to the lottery issue that our state voted on last Tuesday. In doing so, he pointed to what the Scriptures taught regarding games of chance, and how the Christian's mind is informed by the Word of God, so that he acts in obedience to the light of God's revelation instead of the influences of the world. It was clear and simple. But, as he told me, one hundred people left his church because of that application of thinking like a follower of Christ. The light in them was darkness, so the darkness governed their reaction to the simple teaching of Scripture.

 

Do you see the issues of life with a clear eye or a cloudy eye? Quite possibly, if you have a cloudy eye, you do not even realize that you are governed by "darkness." You probably are a complainer that appears never to be satisfied with the teaching of Scripture. You delight in finding something wrong in everyone else but you cannot see that your own understanding is darkness. Why has it happened? You have embraced a form of Christianity that the Bible does not teach. You are double-minded. You have never known the single-minded devotion to Christ that comes through recognizing your own sinfulness and trusting in Christ alone as your Redeemer and Lord. Therefore, you cannot see as a kingdom citizen until you cast yourself upon the saving mercy of God.

 

II. Serving as a kingdom citizen

 

As has been the case throughout the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord probes each subject of this sermon from every angle. He looks at our values, and declares that the things that we treasure reveal the condition of our hearts. He looks at our vision - the way we understand the issues of life and obedience, and declares that either we have the light of single-mindedness or the darkness of double-mindedness. Now he looks at our service - who or what we pledge our unfeigned devotion.

 

1. Shocking impossibility

 

I do not use the word shocking lightly. Hear the words of Christ. "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." In the current atmosphere that seems to delight in duplicity and half-heartedness and non-commitment, the words of Jesus Christ are shocking! He states an impossibility: you cannot serve two masters; you cannot serve God and wealth. It cannot be done. He will not have it. The nature of the God that created us will not tolerate mixed devotion and strange love.

 

We must not try to understand this verse by substituting "serve" for employment. Some of you have more than one employer, and you are able to function quite efficiently in that arrangement. But that is not the case between master and slave. That is one thing that makes Christianity and the gospel message so radical. The world is comfortable with dallying in Christianity but Christ will not accept it. As long as you do not draw an exclusive line in your discussions on the gospel and the Christian life, then the world will accept you. They did that with the godly Stephen until he drew a clear line in declaring man's sinfulness and his only hope in Christ alone. Then they stoned him to death. The same thing happens to tens of thousands of Christians every year across the globe. Even without opening their mouths - by their very lifestyles - they draw a clear line in the sand that declares absolute loyalty to Christ, and the world reacts vehemently.

 

"No one can serve two masters.... You cannot serve God and wealth." Jesus does not give room for dabbling in Christianity. My observation is that many are satisfied to be dabblers. They want Christianity by convenience and on their own terms. But Christ is master, and we are the slaves. Do you recall the men that came to Christ and stated their desire to follow him?

Then a scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You will go." Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head. Another of the disciples said to Him, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father." But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead" (Matt 8:19-22).


They would follow, but on their own terms. They wanted to set the conditions, to turn the relationship around so that Christ did their bidding. But what may seem to be austerity by Christ is the reality that being a Christian allows no room for dabbling or pretending. Christ is master - we are slaves.

 

But I think it is important that we see the distinction Christ gives in this passage. He is not so much talking about embracing two religions as the ancient Samaritans attempted to do with their animism and worship of Yahweh. He goes back to the arena of treasure - "wealth." The transliteration used in the King James Version, "mammon," was an Aramaic term that personified material things as objects of worship. There is probably no greater distraction to knowing Christ as Lord than this matter of loving things and trying instead to use Christ to further one's own agenda. Instead of our possessions being instruments and tools for service as Christians, we may find ourselves embracing and cherishing them as the love of our lives. But Jesus calls that "two masters." And he declares that he brooks no rivals to his Lordship over our lives.

 

John Frame has written, "The first thing, and in one sense the only thing, we need to know about God is that he is Lord" [The Doctrine of God, 21]. That is precisely why we "cannot serve God and wealth." When the focus of our heart is upon possessions or positions in life, then our love and loyalty is really toward ourselves and not on the Lord as Lord of all. The use of the figure of serving a master is not hyperbole. Being a kingdom citizen means that you gladly submit to Christ's mastery over your life.

 

2. Single-minded loyalty

 

The nature of the master-slave relationship calls for single-minded loyalty. Jesus explains that dual loyalty is impossible, "for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other." Judas Iscariot attempted to straddle this fence, to acknowledge Christ as master but also to cling to his own passionate love for money. But the longer he walked that road the more intense the distinction became, so that eventually his hatred for Christ and love for money led to his betrayal of Christ. "No one can serve two masters." Jesus describes the same problem in the parable of the soils (Matt 13:18-23). In the seed that fell among the thorns, the person professes to be a follower of Christ - and by the immediate evidence it seems that he is of a serious mind. But Jesus says that what happens to this man who has heard the Word and made a response to it is that "the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful." For a while the person tries to walk the road of two masters but soon discovers that these roads are distinctly different paths so that he is devoted to one and despises the other.

 

It is true that some have misunderstood these verses to the point of becoming virtual hermits out of fear of being encumbered with material things. We must face the reality that living in this life means that we will have to face the material world. The Bible does not take a Gnostic approach that calls all material things evil. Material things are for the most part (a few exceptions in the moral and legal realm, of course) neither good nor evil. The evil comes when we place the wrong kind of value upon them - when we begin to make them our treasures. That is when material possessions become mammon - objects of worship and devotion, another master.

 

We still have to live in the world, maintain jobs, have a place to live, spend money, etc. Christ is not calling for escapism but single-minded loyalty to him alone. So as we look at the reality that we cannot serve two masters, how do we see this working out in our daily lives as kingdom citizens? How do we keep our single-minded loyalty to Christ while still having a bank account, owning a house, receiving a salary, and going about the normal functions of life in our culture? How do we keep those things from becoming master over us?

 

First, we must find dissatisfaction with the world, possessions, selfish ambition, and worldly honor by seeing devotion to them as a contradiction to loyal love for Christ. They are only means to serve Christ. As we saw in our previous study (Matt 6:19-21), these things are temporal, and on their way out. So we need not become enamored with them any more than we should fall in love with a snowman in Memphis. If we will but realize that our lives are but a vapor, here for a moment and gone the next, then we will hold the things of this world lightly since we will not carry them with us into eternity.

 

Second, we must find our delight in Christ that springs from understanding his work for us on the cross. There are many people that admire Jesus Christ, his sayings, and his kind deeds toward the needy. But they are not followers of Christ. They admire him but they do not delight in him because they deny the necessity of his death on the cross. They see no need to know him as Redeemer from sin. The cross is foolishness to them. But the kingdom citizen lives in the light of the cross. The death and resurrection of Christ mean everything to him. He delights in the One that bore eternal judgment on his behalf. With Paul we echo, "But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (Gal 6:14). Such delight in Christ affects the way we hear and obey the commands of God's Word, the way we pursue spiritual disciplines, the way we worship and serve, the way we use our money, and the way we treat others.

 

Third, we must order the priorities of our lives to give first-love to Christ. This has to do with our sanctification and perseverance as Christians. We cannot cruise through life on automatic pilot. Priorities reflect our affections. In what we love most we devote our thoughts, time, energy, emotions, resources, desires, and ambitions. Kingdom citizens have but one master - Jesus Christ the Lord - and to him belongs our all.

 

Conclusion

 

Are you seeing as a kingdom citizen with the brilliant light of gospel understanding? Are you serving as a kingdom citizen with loyalty to one master - Jesus Christ?

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