Salt and Light

Good morning everyone. Let me begin with a word of prayer.

Heavenly Father, just as Jesus was speaking to and teaching his disciples and the crowds in this Sermon on the Mount, the beauty of your Word is that you are also speaking to and teaching us today as well. Please help us to hear and understand what you have to say to us today, Amen.

Well as many of you would know, prior to moving into full-time ministry, I used to work for the Air Force. When I was going through my initial military training, I was exposed to this phrase… “being a grey man”.

Now a grey man was someone who did not stand out for either positive or negative reasons, they neither drew attention to themselves for excellence… or drew attention to themselves for failure. The grey man was someone who was in neither of these extremes, the black and the white, excellence and failure. They were always in the middle… in the grey.

And there were some people within the cohort who were the consummate professionals at being the grey man… people so good at not drawing any attention to themselves, positively or negatively, that their presence was almost anonymous. These people, we called the ‘Ultimate grey man’.

However, being a grey man was discouraged by the staff who were training us. The training staff of course encouraged us to pursue excellence in all that we did and stand out for positive reasons. And naturally each of us new recruits wanted to do our best, but among a peer group who are as motivated and intelligent as you, to stand out as maybe we had previously done before was a new challenge. Plus, there was a great decree of safety in being a grey man… especially when considering the consequences that awaited those who stood out for negative reasons.

Well… the encouragement I have for you all today, it’s the same encouragement my training staff had for me in those early days of my military career, and the same encouragement Jesus had for his followers in this excerpt from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5. And the encouragement in this… don’t be a grey man. Be distinctive… because that is who you have been called to be… as followers of Christ.

Followers of Jesus are to live distinctive lives. That’s the big idea that I want you to come away from today with. And two metaphors, two images, are used in this passage to communicate that distinctiveness. Firstly salt, and secondly light. Let me read verses 13 through to 16 again.

Matthew 5:13-16

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. 14 “You are the light of the world.  A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Teaching Point 1 - Salt & Light - Distinct and Observable

The two images of salt and light; each is essential but has its necessary effect on its environment ONLY if it is both distinctive from it and yet fully involved in it. Distinctive, yet fully involved in it. Let’s look at salt first. Salt has two primary functions when it comes to its use with food, to act as flavour, and to act as a preservative. Salt in complete isolation from food performs neither of these two functions. For salt to act as either flavour or as a preservative, it must be fully involved and integrated into the food which it is either adding flavour to or preserving.

And the presence of salt is easily observable, it is unmistakable, it’s either there or it’s not. Back to the illustration that I started with… with salt, it’s either black or white, there is no middle ground, there is no grey. Food either tastes salty… or it doesn’t. And in the ancient world before the presence of refrigerators, food was either preserved by salt, or it wasn’t and it went nasty and off.

And not only must salt be distinctive, standing out from the shadows of the grey, it must also REMAIN distinctive. There is an instruction and an encouragement here to persevere and endure. Verse 13 tells us that salt is only useful for so long as it retains its saltiness. If it loses its saltiness, it loses its distinctiveness and its function is lost, it becomes worthless and therefore it may as well be thrown out or trampled into the ground. So then, with Jesus’ declaration that you are the salt of the earth comes an instruction and an encouragement to persevere, and to endure. As the salt of the earth, we must be distinctive and observable and we must endure and remain this way.

So then, salt and its presence are distinctive and observable, yet salt must be fully involved in its environment in order for it to be effective. And it is likewise with the image of light. Here Jesus provides us with the illustration. In verse 15 he says that “neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.”  We see that light only has its full effect when it is fully integrated with its environment. To light a lamp, and then hide it away, completely defeats the purpose. Light is starkly distinctive from darkness, yet it is only effective in illuminating the darkness when it is not shielded from it.

And just like salt, the presence of light is easily observable and unmistakable. If the lights were not on this morning when you walked into church, my guess is that you all would have noticed that very quickly! Therefore, both salt and light, their presence is easily observable and unmistakable, distinctive from their environment, yet they both only have their necessary effect on their environment when fully involved in it and they remain fully involved in it.

Digging in even further, the temptation when we read these verses and read that YOU are the salt of the earth and YOU are the light of the world is to think individually. You… meaning me… individually… am the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Yet, the word used here is actually the plural you… so you’se as some Aussies might say, or y’all as some Americans would say, are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

And the effect you’se or y’all have is far greater as a community than a single individual could ever have. The collective effect of the combined lights of individual disciples all shining together represents a brightly lit city on a hilltop which cannot be hidden.

Let’s practically demonstrate this, shall we? I’m sure the majority of you here today have a smartphone here with you and are able to use it as a torch. Just like this. Everyone grab yours out now. So, if we’re able to turn off the lights, and I shine the torch on my phone, it does make some difference, shining a little bit in the darkness. But if all of us all together shine our lights in the darkness, see the much greater effect it has!

Teaching Point 2 - Salt and Light in the world

How then, practically, can we be distinctive from our environment yet fully involved in it? First thing I’ll say is that we must be fully involved in our community, we cannot be segregated from it. To be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, we must be in amongst the world!

In amongst the world of people who do not know Jesus yet… our family, our friends, our colleagues, our neighbours, all of them. Our church community that we have here, as wonderful as it is, cannot be inward-looking and exclusive. As we heard in the sermon last week, blessed are those who have received mercy and grace from God and go on and extend that same mercy and grace onto others. We must be outward-looking and inclusive.

However, just as we are to be involved in our community and the people in it, as salt and light we are also called to be distinctive from our community and the people in it. How can we achieve this? What ought to make followers of Jesus distinctive from others? The answer… their purpose in life. What then is the purpose of being the salt of the earth, or the light of the world? In verse 16, Jesus provides the purpose behind why his followers are to live distinctive lives as the salt of the earth, and the light of the world.

In Matthew 5:16, Jesus says “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

There is a clear link between the cause and effect here. Let your light shine before others… that’s the cause… that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven… that’s the effect. Therefore, bringing glory to our Heavenly Father is the ultimate purpose of living distinctively as a follower of Jesus.

This way of thinking, this causal link between good words and the outcome being the glorification of someone else, this is so counter-intuitive to the regular way of thinking, isn’t it? Our normal way of thinking, whether it be with studies, or with work, or anything else, is that you put in the work, put in the hard yards, pay your dues and then the rewards and accolades and maybe even the glory will come back to… you.

Whether we’re studying or working or even just doing things around the house for our family, we normally hope that people will see our good deeds and praise us for a job well done. More often than not, this is not something that we are willing to admit to externally, but internally, our natural intuition is that we love it when we receive encouragement and praise for a job well done… and it can be frustrating and even infuriating when your efforts and hard work go unrecognised or unappreciated.

So, on the surface this relationship between OUR good deeds leading towards glory for someone else feels counterintuitive to us. And yet, when we consider the character of God, consider his mercy and his compassion, how he cares for us and loves us as our Heavenly Father, we see just how worthy of praise and glory he is and how unworthy of praise and glory we really are. And so, living distinctive lives in this world, letting our lights shine so that others may see our good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven, it becomes far more intuitive.

So then, are you all encouraged and motivated to go out into the community this week living as the salt of the earth and the light of the world, living with the purpose of bringing glory to your Heavenly Father? Stepping out from being a grey man, and being noteworthy, and distinctive, as a follower of Jesus. I certainly hope so!

Teaching Point 3 - The fear of persecution

But… it’s also not an easy thing to do, is it? There are challenges and fears that can hold us back when we step out from the crowd and be distinctive for Jesus. And here in this passage, Jesus speaks about one of the great challenges that can hold us back from living as the salt of the earth and the light of the world. And that challenge is persecution, or even the fear of persecution. Let me read verses 10 to 12 again.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.  Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Persecution, or even just the fear of persecution, can be the reason why we are tempted to remain in the shadows, remain in the grey, rather than step out and be distinctive as followers of Christ.

And so, this teaching on blessings for the persecuted is a very necessary part of Jesus’ teaching. For Jesus himself would go on to encounter severe persecution throughout his ministry. In bringing in his new kingdom, the kingdom of heaven, Jesus challenged and called out the pride, the greed, the hypocrisy, the overall sinfulness of the people of his day.

And this distinctive way of living, living for God’s kingdom, attracts a lot of negative attention and persecution. For the sinful heart does not like having its pride exposed. The sinful heart does not like having its greed exposed. The sinful heart does not like having its hypocrisy exposed. The sinful heart does not want to yield its power and authority to another. And so, the sinful heart of humanity fought back and persecuted the distinctive son of God.

Foreknowing all that lay ahead of him, Jesus here teaches his disciples and the crowds, that those who are seeking to be his disciples and follow him in his new kingdom; they too must be prepared to encounter persecution because of him. And in the face of this persecution, followers of Jesus are to endure and remain faithful, continuing to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

Friends, to illustrate this point, let’s consider a lighthouse for a moment. A lighthouse is placed on a headland in an area with dangerous seas in order to provide safe and secure passage to any boats that may pass along. And therefore, a lighthouse shines not for its own benefit, but for the benefit of others. And what’s more, a lighthouse shines day in and day out, regardless of whether there are any boats in the water or not. And when it is windy, and rainy, and being engulfed in a furious storm, this is the time when the light of the lighthouse is needed most, and the lighthouse must hold steadfast and endure the elements and continue to shine its light, for the safety of those boats caught in the stormy seas.

Friends, as the light of the world, we are called to be like lighthouses, which means that there will be times when we must endure the storms of life. When we are being battered and bruised by the wind and the rain of life. But this must NEVER stop us from shining our lights for Jesus. For we do not know who will see our lights shining in these storms, and potentially be saved from disaster.

Teaching Point 4 - Heavenly blessings and rewards

And friends, we can live our lives in this way because not only does Jesus teach that persecution will come to his followers, but also that there will also be great blessings and rewards for those who encounter persecution on Jesus’ account.

The blessings and rewards which Jesus speaks of are not earthly blessings, food on your plate, clothes on your back, a roof over your head or figures in your bank account. For although these things are in fact blessings, their value is limited, and as the old saying goes, you can’t take them with you when you’re gone.

Rather, the blessings and rewards which Jesus speaks of are eternal, heavenly blessings. There are at the level of spiritual experience and an eternal relationship with God, enjoying his good and holy presence. A reward of unlimited value… a heavenly inheritance for those who encounter persecution on account of Jesus now. And so, knowing this, we can in fact rejoice and be glad in the face of persecution.

The question then that we all must consider is… are we seeking these blessings and rewards? Seeking an eternal relationship with God and the heavenly inheritance that comes with being one of his children? Are we prepared to stand out as distinctive followers of Jesus and encounter the persecution that will inevitably come with it?

Unfortunately, all too often, the reality for us in the west is that persecution is something which is avoided at all costs. Comfort and personal safety and security are qualities that are held in an extremely high regard. We smell a hint of persecution on the wind, and we’re tempted to hastily run back to the safety of being grey men. I know this from personal experience… and I suspect you all do as well.

In this area, we in the west have a lot to learn from Christians in other parts of the world. Over the past few years, Christians in Egypt have suffered increasing levels of persecution with church bombings and violet attacks becoming an increasingly sad reality. In these circumstances, naturally our first response to hearing this news would be to pray for these people and for the intense persecution they are experiencing to stop.

Yet many of us in the west were shocked by the words of one Egyptian Christian when he said that when people pray for persecuted Christians, they SHOULD NOT pray for the persecution to stop.

I’ll take a few moments to read what he said because it’s powerful stuff. He says,

“Rather, I would ask my brothers and sisters to pray for the Church of Egypt to stand strong through those persecution winds, to shine for Jesus more than any time in our history,"

"Persecution is actually a part of the journey of anyone Christian who wants to live for Jesus Christ. There is a large community of Christians who are hopeful, who are taking the journey of forgiveness and love, showing the love of Christ to the community in many ways."

“The most important prayer request for the Church in Egypt is for perseverance and courage so they can speak boldly about Jesus to change hearts and bring about hope.”

What a truly amazing request for prayer in the face of significant persecution. This is clear evidence of a heart which rejoices and is glad in the face of persecution because it desires for blessings in heaven and longs for the glorification of the Heavenly Father.

May we indeed pray for persecuted Christians as they have so asked, and may we learn much from them, rejoicing and being glad in the face of persecution as we go out to be the salt of the earth and light of the world, living distinctive lives for Jesus and bringing glory to God the Father.