The Similitudes

Salt and Light: Living Out Our Purpose

Bible Passage: Matthew 5:13–16

Summary: In this passage, Jesus teaches His followers about their identity and role in the world, using the metaphors of salt and light to illustrate how they are to influence and reflect God’s glory in a world that often lacks flavor and guidance.

Application: This sermon encourages Christians to embrace their calling to impact their communities positively, emphasizing that even small actions can have significant effects when aligned with God's purpose. It also serves as a reminder for believers to examine their faith and the visibility of their witness in everyday life.

Teaching: The sermon teaches that Christians are called to be proactive participants in the world, not isolated from it. By being salt, they preserve and enhance the goodness around them, while as light, they reveal truth and hope in dark times. This underscores the necessity of living a life that points others to God.

How this passage could point to Christ: These themes reflect the overall biblical narrative where Christ is the ultimate light of the world (John 8:12) and fulfills the role of the one who preserves and brings the flavor of redemption, thus calling believers to follow His example and extend that influence to others.

Big Idea: Christians are called to be the salt and light of the world, demonstrating God's presence and love through their actions, influencing others by their faith, and bringing hope and truth into darkness.

Recommended Study: As you prepare, consider utilizing your Logos library to explore the cultural significance of salt and light in ancient Israelite society. Look into how these metaphors could have been understood by Jesus' original audience. Additionally, reviewing commentaries on Matthew 5:13-16 may provide insights into the theological implications of being 'salt' and 'light' in a contemporary context, especially regarding the mission of the Church.

1. Persevere with Purpose

Matthew 5:13

V13 - “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled under peoples feet.”

A. Jesus uses an interesting metaphor here, He likens the believer to salt.

What is salt? Salt is mostly sodium chloride an edible earth mineral, that is found throughout the world in great abundance. It can be found in large deposits on land where it is mined like any other valuable material, and its found in the oceans of the world where it can be harvested from shallow salt flats or in inland bodies of water with a high salt content like the Dead Sea or the Great Salt Lake.

What is salt used for? Salt is used for a variety of things. Salt is commonly used for flavoring food or food preservation. Salt can prevent corruption of food by bacteria that would make it rot, thereby preserving foods without refrigeration. Salt is used medicinally to make IV solutions, compresses, and many other drugs that we use today. Salt is required in our bodies because salt regulates water throughout the body. Water movers in the body from an area of low salt concentration to an area of high salt concentration to even out and create homeostasis or balance in the body. Which is one reason why salt makes us thirsty when have to much on our food, the body is trying to dilute the higher salt concentration in your mouth to a lower concentration with spit and water. Salt draws water to itself.

We cant live without salt, salt is crucial in our metabolism and our diet. It not only makes things taste better and last longer, but it is an essential fluid balance regulator in every living thing on earth, salt doesn't give life but helps to balance it.

B. If we look back at Genesis when God created us in His image, He made us the metaphorical salt of the earth.

We believers through our relationship with Christ are the flavor that enhances life on earth. When we become salt of the earth through our relationship with Christ we move from dead to life. Without us spreading the gospel to the world, the world would be dead and lifeless.

The gospel we teach and the lives we live are like the salt in our bodies, it draws those who need Christ to us to hear the gospel and to draw more and more people to Christ. A church full of believers is like a high concentration of salt and lost people are drawn there to be balanced out and made new by Christ. People are drawn from death to life.

C. The last half of this verse says, “But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled under peoples feet.”

“If the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty?” what Jesus is saying is if we lose our desire and drive to tell others about Christ, to spread the gospel, to live for Christ and all that that means how can we be useful to the Kingdom of God? Its a rhetorical question, if you aren't spreading the gospel, if you aren't using your life to share Jesus with others, if you arent living for Christ, through Christ, you aren't the salt of the earth, you look like salt, you smell like salt, people see you as salt, but you have no flavor, Jesus isn't in you, you are not salty, or rather godly anymore. The New Bible Dictionary writes this about salt full of impurities, “because of impurities and the occurrence of chemical changes, the outer layer was generally lacking in flavour. The reference in Mt. 5:13 is to this latter, much of which was discarded as worthless. When salt is to contaminated by impurities or the believer by sin, they both lose their flavor salt become worthless and ultimately discarded and the believer is lost to sin and death because they never truly believed. This is not to scare you into submission to God, but rather a reminder that we are to be the flavor enhancers to the world and to draw people to Christ, not to be worthless and discarded, but sought and revered by all. If you feel like you have been slipping and like the Lord has abandoned you, you’re wrong, He is still with you awaiting your return, but the impurities have built up and made you less flavorful, less like who God made you to be, less like the disciple He intended and more like the world who wants to drag you back into death. God isn’t going to trample you or abandon you, but He is going to discipline you with hopes of your returning to Him and not to the world. This scripture isn't a threat, its a reminder that we don’t want to become like unflavored salt that is worthless, to be trampled on, because we have Christ we are priceless, God gave everything to redeem us, couldn’t we give everything back to Him in return, cant we strive to be the salt He has ordained us to be? Jesus continues in verses 14 through 16 with another similitude for us about light. Lets look at them together.

2. Shine with Boldness

Matthew 5:14–16 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

A. “You are the light of the world.”

John 8:12 “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” If you follow Jesus, you have the light of life that He reflects through you, and you become the light of the world! That’s what Jesus said, not me! In Galatians 2:20 Paul writes, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” That passage sums it up, I am no longer alive in myself, but in Christ who lives in me, I am now a conduit for the light of the God of the universe; and when God the Father looks down at me, He sees the righteousness of His Son, the light of man and not a sinner, and when the world looks to me they see the light of the world, Jesus, not a wretched sinner, but rather a man saved by grace through faith.

You are now a beacon of light, Matthew 5:15 “Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.” God didnt intend for you to be saved and to be put on a shelf until its time for Christ’s return. Because you reflect the light of the World Jesus Christ, you are to be seen, and seen from far away in the darkness. Christ tells us we are a light to the whole house, meaning you will bless your house with knowledge of the truth of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Because of that, others in your home will be also be saved through your witness, not only that but friends and visitors alike will be saved. And in turn each one of them will be a light to their house and their friends and their visitors, and so on, and so forth until the light of Christ illuminates the whole world!

3. Reflect to Glorify

Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

A. Not only will your friends and family see the light of God in you, but others, strangers will be drawn to it, because God is drawing them to you to hear the gospel and to believe that they may also be saved by grace through faith. And when others see the good works you do in the name of Jesus, it will glorify God in Heaven and we will give all glory to God the Father who is worthy.

4. Applications

We must persevere with purpose, if we are to be the salt of the earth then we must work day and night, rain or shine, in the hot and the cold to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ lest we become flavorless and worthless.

You are the light of the world and therefore must be seen. Do not upon receiving your salvation shrink back into the shadows of darkness and obscurity, embrace Christ and the good works He puts before you.

Finally as the salt and light of the earth we must not become prideful and arrogant in our salvation, but give all glory to God in Heaven who’s grace sustains us for eternity.