Good Preservatives

In modern dietary rules, there is no such thing as “good” preservatives. With the help of chemical engineers, we have discovered a host of things that will make foods last longer, but are not necessarily healthy for you.

Preservatives currently used in food production are either extracted from natural sources or synthetically produced.

Natural preservatives can also be sourced from plants, animals, fungi, and algae.

Furthermore, common kitchen staples like salt and sugar can also be used to naturally preserve food in certain cases, for example when making pickles or sauerkraut.

Many of the preservatives, like the sulphites used in wine and nitrates used in meat, can be good and bad.

I just heard last night that Chicken McNuggets have 30 ingredients! How can that be!?

But we continue to read labels that say, “organic,” “no additives or preservatives,”

But are there certain preservatives that are good? The answer is yes, as it pertains to this world and faith.

The Sermon on the Mount is one of five blocks of teaching in Matthew. It is a classic statement of ethics in the Kingdom of God.

It addresses an inward disposition versus outward conduct. It addresses motives and behavior. We first discover that...

YOU ARE A PRESERVATIVE IN A SPIRITUALLY DECAYING WORLD.

Jesus said some challenging things in the Sermon on the Mount, as He addresses believers. Matthew 5:13 states:

Matthew 5:13 ESV

13 “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.

One commentator states:

“The primary value of salt was not as a flavoring but as a preservative. Disciples are to hinder the world’s corruption. The salt can become good for nothing when the rain washes out its saltiness over the years.” (NGSB, 1511)

Jesus is addressing how we must live. This includes speech, behavior and attitude. Someone once said: “Live in such a way that those who know you but don’t know God, will come to know God because they know you.”

The things listed in verses 3-11 are the opportunities in your life to trust God. And people see that. They notice that! Things like, the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness; the merciful; the pure in heart; the peacemakers; the persecuted for the sake of righteousness, these are the things that people see and wonder how you will handle such things. By trusting God and following Jesus, you are the salt of the earth.

John G. Butler states:

This statement is to emphasize the value of the godly. Salt is a most valuable commodity. Because of its abundance and cheapness today, we often fail to realize how valuable it is. Salt has been vital for preservation and seasoning of food for ages. Barbarious tribes have sometimes made a bag of salt worth more than a man. Jews valued salt for preservation and its use in sacrifices (Leviticus 2:13). We cannot live without salt.

The opposite is true; and unfortunately, it is too often true in the church. There are those that profess it love the Lord, but their words, behavior and attitude deny Him. Paul told Titus of some of these in Titus 1:16

Titus 1:16 ESV

16 They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.

We must be careful of the effects of sin in our own lives. Butler goes on to state:

“Once salt has lost its saltiness, it cannot be renewed. It is finished; it will never be good for anything. This pictures the disabling work of sin in regards to Christian service and testimony. When a believer falls into sin, he risks losing his testimony completely. A Christian cannot lose his soul, but he can lose his savor, and many do because of their falling into great sin.”

Most recently I was introduced to a category of believer called the “Dones.” these are ex-members that are done with church. They are also known as the “de-churched.” They are several factors, according to Sociologist Josh Packard: becoming bored, few opportunities to serve, being lectured to, etc.

And so we need to recover our saltiness towards one another. We do that by love, service, encouragement, etc. And the way we live out our faith. We must be careful not to come across as hypocritical.

Each of us have a calling to be different than the world, relying on God, and unique in our behavior and devotion to the Lord. We also see that...

AS CHRISTIANS, YOU AND I ADD LIGHT TO A SPIRITUALLY DARK WORLD.

Matthew 5:14–16 (ESV)

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 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. 16 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.

Jesus is speaking in metaphor here, which was a common teaching device. He did this in other places, like John 8:12

John 8:12 (ESV)

12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

So, the Christian is a light which reflects Jesus, the true light of the world. How can you be light? I must admit, this is something that I have struggled with. I firmly believe that Christians ought to be different than the world. We ought to tell different jokes. We ought to be clean and wholesome. If the world goes one way, we should go in another.

But then we ought to be approachable. We ought to live in such a way that people do not feel judged, yet we must maintain our sense of goodness and wholesomeness. But people judge themselves.

Because we never know what God is doing in someone’s life. A friend from high school just texted me this past week, of how he overcame his addictions. I was so proud of him and praised God for his work in Mike’s life. After 36 years, he said:

“For years I was in my addiction but I got clean about three years ago and got on my knees and asked Jesus into my life. I’m no saint but I love Him with all my heart and try to be obedient to Him at all cost. I’ve come a long way, but I still have a long way to go. I’m involved in church. The things in this world, we will leave behind so the only that that matters is getting right with the Lord while we are here.”

That ministered to me. It spoke of the power of the gospel and that God is drawing others to Himself in all kinds of circumstances.

Next, I think this passage shows that you must...

HANDLE YOUR ATTITUDE, SPEECH AND BEHAVIOR WITH CARE.

Now it used to be that people were known as Christians, for how they spent their time on Sunday morning.

Church attendance back in the 50’s, after WWII, was close to 50 percent.

But recently, with the pandemic and shifting values in our society, that number has changed to just 28% for those 39 to 51 years of age. That is down from 41% in 2020.

Baby boomers are at 38% and people over 77 are at 53%.

This is according to a survey conducted by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University.

Clare Ansberry states in the Wall Street Journal: “Church attendance levels have been declining for decades across generations, with less than half of U.S. adults belonging to houses of worship in 2020, compared with 70% in 1999, according to Gallup. (Ansberry, “Why Gen Xers Aren’t Going Back to Church,” WSJ, 3 August 2023).

And so, in order to be salt and light in this world, there needs to be more than a commitment to your church, but also a commitment to inviting people to your church. A commitment to serving others, regardless of the pay back. Did you have an opportunity to shovel snow this weekend? Did you do it for your neighbor? When is the last time you had a conversation with your neighbor?

Justin and Sara Gibides, live in our neighborhood. They are devoted Christians and attend Cornerstone Church down the road. A few times a year, especially at Christmas, they make it a point to go to each home in our neighborhood just to say hello, drop off a card or a jar of apple butter and let you know they care.

Paul wrote to fellow believers in Philippians 2:14-16

Philippians 2:14–16 (ESV)

Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life, ...

But Christians ought to pay attention to their reputation more and consider the hard things. For instance, the willingness to suffer injustice if Jesus’ name would be exalted. Bishop Robert Barron of Word on Fire Ministries stated in a graduation address at Hillsdale College in Michigan:

“All of us who believe in God and are disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ have a common enemy in the agnosticism, atheism, and nihilism that are deeply affecting our culture and especially the minds of young people. (One of the greatest truths) articulated over and over again in the great Western intellectual tradition: What kind of person we ought to be. Do we hunger and thirst for righteousness? Or do we seek our own advantage? In a way, there is no question in the moral and spiritual order more fundamental than that.

Socrates’ argument for his position is simple: surely suffering injustice is terrible, but what is worse is the corrosion of soul that takes place when one commits injustice.

So there’s the question, young graduates. What kind of soul will you have? What kind of person will you be? Will you do whatever it takes to get what you want? Or will you accept even great suffering in order to do what is right? Everything else in your life will flow from your answer to that question.” (Bishop Robert Barron, “The Most Important Decision in Life,” Imprimis, June 2023)

The reason for this? You never know who is looking or listening.

CONCLUSION

R. Kent Hughes, in his book Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome, tells the story:

Ira Sankey, who for years led the music for D.L. Moody’s evangelistic meetings, was traveling by steamboat on Christmas Eve in 1875. He was recognized by some of the passengers, and they asked him to sing. Sankey agreed, and began singing “Saviour Like a Shepherd Lead Us.” When the song was done, one of the listeners stepped forward and asked, “Did you serve in the Union Army?”

“Yes,” Mr. Sankey answered.

“Can you remember if you were doing picket duty on a bright, moonlit night in 1862?”

“Yes,” Mr. Sankey said again.

“I was serving in the Confederate army. When I saw you standing at your post, I raised my gun and took aim. I was standing in the shadow, completely concealed, while the full light of the moon was falling upon you. At that instant, you raised your eyes to Heaven and began to sing that same song. ‘Let him sing his song to the end,’ I said to myself, ‘I can shoot him afterwards.’ I heard the words perfectly: ‘We are Thine; do Thou befriend us. Be the Guardian of our way.’ I began to think of my childhood and my God-fearing mother who sang that song to me. When you finished, it was impossible for me to take aim again. I thought, ‘The Lord who is able to save that man from certain death must surely be great and mighty.’”

Matthew 5:16 “...let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”