[Pastor Ralph]

Q3. (Matthew 5:14-15) In the parable of "the light of the world," Jesus notes the stupidity of lights being hidden under bowls. Concerning what danger in the life of a Christian disciple does Jesus warn us in this parable?

[Tabatha]

Q3. (Matthew 5:14-15) In the parable of "the light of the world," Jesus notes the stupidity of lights being hidden under bowls. Concerning what danger in the life of a Christian disciple does Jesus warn us in this parable?

Can you hide a city that is sitting on top of a hill? Its light at night can be seen for mile. If we live for Christ, we will glow like lights , showing others what Christ is like, We hide our light by (1) being quiet when we speak, ( 2 ) going along with the crowd .( 3 ) denying the light. ( 4 ) letting sin dim our light. ( 5 ) not explaining our light to others, or ( 6 ) ignoring the needs of others. Be a beacon of truth-- don't shut your light off from the rest of the world.

Many Judean cities were founded on the summits or sides of mountains, and travelers could see them afar. Perhaps Jesus pointed out such a city, telling His disciples that they were like it. The city built on a important location can be seen by many eyes over a wide area, representing a disciple's far ranging and widespread exposure to others.

Jesus' illustration of a shining lamp illuminating the home suggests a disciple's more intimate influnce. By design, a Christian's action cannot be hidden from the eyes of either our families or the world at large. This being the case, he must live a righteous, Holy, humble, and pure life, letting his 'light' so shine before men ( and thus )........glorify your Father in Heaven.

We Glorify the Father by bearing the fruit of the Spirit and doing good works. by correctly praising and honoring Him, and by being led to worship Him properly in obedience. We provide a witness to the world when they see in our lives excellence of God's way and the power and purity of the truth. We learn five principles in this parable.
(1) God's truth cannot be concealed.

(2 ) Where light is not manifest in our lives, we make no witness.

( 3 ) Those who profess Christianity yet live worldly people prove that they are truly not converted.

(4 ) Attempting to hide our Christianity betrays God's trust, injures the cause of goodness, and renders our lives useless.

( 5 ) Good actions will be seen, leading people to honor God.

No sincere and humble Christian lives in vain, for at midnight even the feeblest light is of use.

[UncleBlake]

Q3. (Matthew 5:14-15) In the parable of "the light of the world," Jesus notes the stupidity of lights being hidden under bowls. Concerning what danger in the life of a Christian disciple does Jesus warn us in this parable?

The danger that Jesus is talking about here, I believe, is that by not letting others see our "light", we are indeed being ineffective, and thus of no use to God. By allowing others to "see our light, so shining" it serves as an example of what the Glory of God is, and what God can do in a person's life. This is one form of witnessing to others. In letting the light shine forth, as it were, we could possibly be used by Jesus to bring others to Himself. By hiding that light, we are really telling Jesus we are not going to cooperate, and are not going to allow Him to work through us. If this is so, then the Holy Spirit does not dwell within us. If that is true, then we indeed are of no use to God. We would need to repent, come back to Him, and dedicate ourselves.

[Elwood C O'Dell]

Q3. (Matthew 5:14-15) In the parable of "the light of the world," Jesus notes the stupidity of lights being hidden under bowls. Concerning what danger in the life of a Christian disciple does Jesus warn us in this parable?

He is warning about our spiritual lives becoming dull or fading completely out by being hid from the view of others. He is warning of our witness for Him being ineffective. He is speaking of one being useless to the Kingdom of God because others cannot be guided to Him due to the dullness of their spiritual life.

[Munki]

Q3. (Matthew 5:14-15) In the parable of "the light of the world," Jesus notes the stupidity of lights being hidden under bowls. Concerning what danger in the life of a Christian disciple does Jesus warn us in this parable?

Why would one wants to hide the only truth, the only way to the Heavenly Father? There is no life other than living the life through Jesus Christ. If we hide the truth, the answer to our salvation, there is no hope. And without hope, there is no reason for being in this earth. It is our privilege to be different, to share that light, to be the light of the world. We need to celebrate with joy and not be afraid that we will get judged for what we are.

[swordwoman]

Q3. (Matthew 5:14-15) In the parable of "the light of the world," Jesus notes the stupidity of lights being hidden under bowls. Concerning what danger in the life of a Christian disciple does Jesus warn us in this parable?

The danger is you've been given the gift of Life in Christ...The true Light. If you hide this precious gift, you are of no value to the cause of Christ. How dark is dark? Darkness is simply the absence of light. If you've got light, let it shine.

[Stan]

Q3. (Matthew 5:14-15) In the parable of "the light of the world," Jesus notes the stupidity of lights being hidden under bowls. Concerning what danger in the life of a Christian disciple does Jesus warn us in this parable?


16.Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
the danger of not letting your light shine, if it doesn't shine you will be in danger of letting it go out and if it goes out you would be lost to the darkness of the world. But if your light shines, if it stands out in your life where others can see it then the Father will see and be glorified and you will be blessed.

[charisbarak]

The dangers of not letting your light shine are that you would get burned or lose the light completely keeping it so close to yourself--refusing the let it shine is selfish & disobeying God.

Breathing in that smoke would be hazardous to your health--when you should be breathing out your testimony to the world.

Joy would certainly be missing from your life and you would make it easier for yourself to compromise with Satan--king of the darkness!

[JanMary]

Q3. (Matthew 5:14-15) In the parable of "the light of the world," Jesus notes the stupidity of lights being hidden under bowls. Concerning what danger in the life of a Christian disciple does Jesus warn us in this parable?

I think the danger Jesus was talking about was what Paul exhorted us about in I Thess:5:19, "Do not quench, suppress or subdue the Holy spirit". That was a sobering thought when I realized I had the potential to do such a wicked thing.

The oil is a symbol for the Holy Spirit. The lamps would go out when the oil ran out, so they had to be filled on a regular basis and the wicks trimmed. God's promise is that He will not quench a smoldering wick. As long as there is His life in me, He will do His part to fan it into flame. My part is to be filled with the "oil" of the Holy Spirit, and to let Him shine....rather than quenching His work and His Light in my life.

[jwwalker]

Jesus told us to let our lights so shine, much like the city on the hill, where the highest point of visibility could be observed. As Christians, we are to be highly visible to the world, in our Actions, speech and lives. Walking in the Light of Jesus should be a noticeable character trait to both family, friends and the stranger we meet in our everyday lives.

Shining the light also is a confession of Jesus before men in our lives. Remember when he said, that If You deny me before men, I will deny you before the angels and my Father which is in heaven. The same goes with our confession, if our confessional light is shining for the world to see, and our actions line up with God's word, then our confession will be before men of the Light in our lives...which is Jesus.

[Bonnie Nelson]

Christ warns us that if the light goes out, then we are in darkness. If we allow the world to dictate what we should do, and how we should do it, then we miss opportunities for witnessing. I remember the song, “This Little Light of Mine”…what is the next line?—I’m going to let it shine! If we let our beliefs shine through the darkness of this world, then people will notice—they will wonder what is it about that person. They are always laughing, smiling, or doing things for others. People normally are curious. They will ask and when they do we can Let it Shine.

[Rosemary NoVA]

I admit I didn't see any warning at all in the "Light of the World" analogy.

Salt that has lost its saltiness is cast down. Just so, I began to think about what would be the use of a city set upon a hill that is not shining forth light... it is even more vulnerable in its apparent lifelessness because although it is occupying desirable high ground, it's not making USE of it and its occupants attacked and cast out. Darkness is Satan's dominion. Jesus is the Light of the world. As a Christian, I am a "Child of the Light". To hide my LIGHT under a bowl is doing the enemy's work. It's forgetting WHOSE I am. It's not knowing who I am in Christ Jesus.

[sisterlily]

Good morning, the rsults of hidden light coming from Our Lord is not using what Our Lord gave us. What person would refuse to acknowledge a beautiful gift let alone the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus did not note "stupidity" and I personally dislike the word and I don't see how or why you used it??? Jesus just gave an example, you have light use it, be thankful and a Christian can not hold it back anyway. Like the song says: "every blessing you pour out turns back to praise" also in the form of letting your light shine so men can see and glorify God in heaven. Pray for purity and chasity in our youth. Thanks

[JustJeff]

I recall a movie called the "Music Box". The box contained a light that represented the Holy Spirit. The man who owned this music box wanted to keep it all to himself so he hid it under his bed.
When he opened the box a band of angels would appear to him and sing, bringing him great joy. Eventually he became convicted and realized that this gift was not his to keep for himself but to share with the world.
So it is. The Holy Spirit is meant to light the whole world and when we do not share it we are doing our part to keep the world in darkness.

[masika]

Q3. (Matthew 5:14-15) In the parable of "the light of the world," Jesus notes the stupidity of lights being hidden under bowls. Concerning what danger in the life of a Christian disciple does Jesus warn us in this parable?
What Jesus is telling us in this parable is that, when the light of truth about Jesus illuminates us, we have the duty to share that truth to help others. Our witness for Christ should be public, not hidden. We should not keep the benefits for ourselves alone but pass them on to others. In order to be helpful, we need to be well placed. Seek opportunities to shine your light when unbelievers need help to see.
If we live for Christ, we will glow like light, showing others what Christ is like.

[Loisb]

Q3. (Matthew 5:14-15) In the parable of "the light of the world," Jesus notes the stupidity of lights being hidden under bowls. Concerning what danger in the life of a Christian disciple does Jesus warn us in this parable?

What good is a light if it is hidden under a bowl? It does him or anyone else any good if the light does not shine where it can be seen. We are to be witnesses for Christ and show the world what He has done for us. Our praise shows others how good God has been to us and how we love and appreciate Him. When we show others how blessed we are and tell them how good God has been to us, it encourages them to want to try God for themselves.

[jjj]

Q3. (Matthew 5:14-15) In the parable of "the light of the world," Jesus notes the stupidity of lights being hidden under bowls. Concerning what danger in the life of a Christian disciple does Jesus warn us in this parable?

A light has to connect with a main source to shine. If we are not ignited by the Spirit we are hiding under a bowl. This is a danger in the life of a Christian disciple because we miss the opportuntity to follow Jesus into the dark world. To miss being led by the Spirit means that our spiritual gifts are not used to God's glory.

[DZION]

Q3. (Matthew 5:14-15) In the parable of "the light of the world," Jesus notes the stupidity of lights being hidden under bowls. Concerning what danger in the life of a Christian disciple does Jesus warn us in this parable?

Being a light in this since means that we live our lives as Christ did. We are not ashamed of being Christians and we do not fear speaking about Christ and God. The Bible tells us to spread the Word everywhere so that the light will shine even in the darkest corners of the world.

If you put a candle, or lamp under a bowel it will not get air. If it does not get air it will go out. I believe if the Christian does not shine, spread the word, his light will go out.

[tom.nabors]

A light put under a bowl is worthless. If we hide the light of our Christian life, we may be considered worthless.

[Sherylle Ladner]

Q3. (Matthew 5:14-15) In the parable of "the light of the world," Jesus notes the stupidity of lights being hidden under bowls. Concerning what danger in the life of a Christian disciple does Jesus warn us in this parable?

Cities are usually situated on hilltops for protection against attack. It is much more difficult to storm a walled city running uphill, and defenders have always know that victory must be claimed by capturing and holding the high ground. The point is not a city's defense, but its visibility because of its elevated position. To be "the light of the world," Christians must be elevated so that the world around may follow the light. Many people don't hide a light a under a bowl, but to let the light shine to everyone that is in the house.