Matthew 23 Research Paper

Matthew 23:15 states “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.” This verse tells how people should not proselytize. Its translated meaning is stated as this: “What sorrow awaits you teachers or religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are!” Members of the Catholic faith should not proselytize, but they do. Instead of proselytizing, Catholics should be witnessing and attracting others to the Catholic faith, not trying to convert them. Instead of proselytizing people should be ambassadors for Christ like it says in 2 Corinthians 5:20, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

It is Matthew 5:13, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” Jesus uses the concept of salt to refer to the role of His followers in the world. During the first century, salt had to specific purposes in the Middle East. The first was to preserve food, because they had no refrigeration. Believers of Christ are like salt because they are preservatives to the world, preserving it from the evil inherent in the society of ungodly men whose unredeemed natures are corrupted by sin (Psalm 14:3; Romans