Salt, Light & The Righteousness We Wear

This Gospel is written by Matthew, also known as Levi who was a former tax collector. It was most likely written between AD 50-60. Matthew left everything behind to follow Jesus. Matthew wrote primarily to Jewish believers—people who knew the Old Testament well. Matthew had one goal: to prove that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, the King of Kings, and the fulfillment of God’s promises. Connecting the Old Testament prophecies to the life of Christ, proving that every word God spoke was coming true in Jesus. The key themes of the Gospel include Jesus as King, The Kingdom of Heaven, Fulfillment of Prophecy and discipleship.

Biblical Text -

Matthew 5:13–20 NKJV

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. “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. “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

-[Prayer]-

Life Principle - We Are Armed With The Righteousness Of Jesus & We Must Be Salt & Light, Walking That Righteousness Out In Our Lives.

Life Point- Be Salt & Light

Exegetical -

Matthew 5:13–16 NLT

“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

Homiletical -

Just like the beatitudes are considered your state of being so is this section of the sermon on the mount.

Notice it says you “are” that is a state of being. It is what you are as a believer.

You are the salt of the earth. They didn’t have table salt as we are used to it. often the salt was more like sea salt would be. it had more than just salt that would dissolve it had other minerals with it too. so you see salt could indeed lose it’s saltiness and no matter what you would do with the leftover minerals the one thing you can’t do is make it salty again so you would throw it out.

You see salt that wasn’t salty was useless. It wasn’t good for anything.

Salt was a great thing to have in the first century. It enhanced flavor but it also prevented decay of foods. So to are Christians supposed to prevent moral decay in our society.

Dr. McGee liked to say that the churches are filled with people that aren’t salt and aren’t pepper either. The have no flavor and no pep in their step.

Now we have another you are statement of being.

You are the light of the world. What does light do?

It brings the things that are hidden in the darkness out of darkness so that all can see it. If you are the light of the world then and men are in darkness this is going to cause some friction isn’t it.

John 3:19 BSB

And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil.

This is why Christians are persecuted. Because people love their sin and they don’t want your light exposing sin for what it is.

No it’s not just sharing your truth, it is the sin of gossip.

No it’s not an alternative lifestyle, it is sin.

No it’s not just accepting people’s choices, it is condoning sin.

Sin needs to be dealt with in order for peace to come between God and the individual.

Sin was and is dealt with at the cross of Christ.

It is the work of the cross that cleanses us from sin. It is Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and His subsequent resurrection that brings man hope.

You are like a city on a hill that cannot be hidden.

Not only can you not hide large cities, but Jesus says you are also on a high point of the earth. You can’t be hidden.

Jesus continues with the metaphor of light as He says we are like a lamp that gives light. A good equivalent is you are like a car’s LED Head Lights. What use is it to have them if you don’t use them. Likewise you wouldn’t want to bring light into your house and put a basket over it. What use would that be.

In other words, if you are a Christian and you are light what use would you be if you’re not sharing that light with others? What good is a Christ Follower who does not share the Gospel of Christ. If God didn’t want you to share Christ with others He wouldn’t have left you on the earth after you got saved.

God could have chosen to write the Gospel in the clouds like sky writing, but that isn’t how He decided to do it. He left it up to you and me to share the Gospel. So do so.

As your good deeds shine and your sharing of the Gospel shines you are not to get the glory but God only gets the glory.

James 2:14–18 BSB

What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you tells him, “Go in peace; stay warm and well fed,” but does not provide for his physical needs, what good is that? So too, faith by itself, if it does not result in action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.

Illustration -

As the Roman Empire was crumbling, early Christians were often persecuted for their beliefs. Yet during this darkness, they became known for their acts of kindness, helping the poor and caring for the sick. They brought light into a world filled with despair and chaos, preserving the essence of human compassion. Their legacy illustrates how our faith can not only withstand trials but also impact culture for the better. Will you let your deeds so shine before everyone you meet?

Life Point - Jesus’ Righteousness Is Put On Our Account

Exegetical -

Matthew 5:17–18 NKJV

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.

Homiletical -

Through Jesus fulfilling the law and prophets in His life on earth that righteousness is imputed to us through the cross of Christ. It is as if we did it simply because we believed in Jesus.

Romans 4:23–25 BSB

Now the words “it was credited to him” were written not only for Abraham, but also for us, to whom righteousness will be credited—for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our trespasses and was raised to life for our justification.

You and I cannot under any circumstances keep the law perfectly. It is not possible. The law is our school master to show us how utterly sinful we are. But Jesus kept it perfectly and because of our salvation through Jesus our accounts are credited with His righteousness.

Galatians 3:18–29 BSB

For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God freely granted it to Abraham through a promise. Why then was the law given? It was added because of transgressions, until the arrival of the seed to whom the promise referred. It was administered through angels by a mediator. A mediator is unnecessary, however, for only one party; but God is one. Is the law, then, opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come from the law. But the Scripture pronounces all things confined by sin, so that by faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe. Before this faith came, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law became our guardian to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.

Illustration -

In the 19th century, a renowned missionary traveled to a remote village where people did not know the message of Jesus. He shared the Gospel, and the villagers were amazed by the concept of grace. They lived under strict laws where every error brought heavy penalties. On learning that Jesus's righteousness could cover their faults, they rejoiced. This powerful shift shows us how we, too, can put aside our burdens. When we embrace Jesus, His righteousness becomes our own, allowing us to stand unashamed in God's presence.

Life Point - Walk Out Jesus’ Righteousness

Exegetical -

Matthew 5:19–20 NKJV

Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

Homiletical -

Jesus is talking about the commandments written in the Old Testament. He says that if you teach men to break the commandments you will be least but if you teach others not to break them and you do them yourself you will be called great.

What are these commandments?

Matthew 22:37–40 NKJV

Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

Can you do both of these commandments perfectly?

The answer is NO! You and I on our own cannot do this perfectly. This is why we need Jesus righteousness imputed to us. His righteousness put on our account.

Now Jesus says that our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and pharisees.

Why would He do that?

Well, we need to think about it from their point of view. The scribes and pharisees in their time were considered the most righteous out of anyone.

But there is a problem with them. They are hypocrites. They came up with all kinds of ways to circumvent the law of God in order to increase their wealth.

An example comes from

Matthew 23:13–17 NKJV

“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’ Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?

This passage goes on to list their other sins as well.

To the average Israelite to hear that their righteousness must exceed the scribes and pharisees they must have been pretty dejected. Because if they have no way to enter the kingdom of heaven how can the average Israelite?

Let me ask you a question?

Does Jesus’ righteousness exceed the scribes and pharisees? Of course His does.

And do we rely on Jesus’ sacrifice and His righteousness to get us into the Kingdom? Yes, we do.

So the True Believer does not rely on his own righteousness, but on Jesus. So we can be assured that we can enter the kingdom of heaven because of what Jesus did for us.

But we aren’t done there. We are actually given a responsibility. To share this good news with others and to teach people how to walk righteously with our God. Because if we have been saved from sin, we should want to do what is right out of the abundance of love that is granted to us by the Holy Spirit.

Illustration -

In ancient Rome, a wealthy benefactor could pay someone's debts, thus transferring their obligations to his own account. When Jesus died on the cross, He took our sin upon Himself, paying the debt we could never repay. Just as the benefactor's wealth erased the debtor's burdens, Jesus' righteousness is credited to us, freeing us from the weight of our sin and granting us everlasting life. His sacrifice not only clears our account but enriches us with grace we do not deserve.

Life Principle– We Are Armed With The Righteousness Of Jesus & We Must Be Salt & Light, Walking That Righteousness Out In Our Lives.

Call to Action – altar call….

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