Who Are We To Say, "This Is Important - And That Isn't"?

We're called to be "salt for the earth" and "light for the world" (Matthew 5:13-14). How can we be "salt" and "light" in a world that has turned its back on the things that matter most in life? Can we do this by "setting aside Moses' teaching or the Prophets" (Matthew 5:17)? No! Jesus says, "No." He says, 'This is what we must never do. We cannot preserve true Christian living, if we set aside the Word of the Lord. A stripped-down ethic, which changeable from one generation to another, is no substitute for a Christian that is grounded in the Word of God, which is unchanged, unchanging and unchangeable. Who are we come to the Word of God with the attitude that we can decide that there are some things that are "unimportant" (Matthew 5:19)? When God calls something important, we must also say, 'This is important.' It's not to be changed because it doesn't fit in with our modern outlook. Sometimes, people disregard what God's Word says because they think that they have the right, to say, 'This is important. That is unimportant.' When we say this kind of thing, what are we really saying? We're saying, 'I am more important than God. I know better than God." Such an attitude can have no place in the hearts of those who want, through their lives, to "praise their Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).