You are Salt and Light

Introduction: I was recently having a conversation about our mission statement. What we call our mandate.

Love God, Serve Others, Change the World.

Now it is very common for a church to have the first to.

So many churches have some variation of Love God, Love people.

We are different in that the framers of our mandate added a result. A way in which we would know that we truly love and God love people.

Change the World.

You see, our mission is world change. Or better yet, Christ’s mission is to change the world and He has chosen to do it through us.

If your love for God and others doesn’t change the world, you aren’t doing enough.

Because even Jesus said, if you love me you will keep my commandments.

And what were His commandments?

Love God, love your neighbor

And Matthew 28:19-20

Matthew 28:19–20 ESV

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

In other worlds, Jesus has called us to go and change the world.

So today, as we continue our study of the sermon on the mount, we are going to see what changing the world really looks like.

Transition to the Text: Turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew 5:13-16. We’ve finished the beatitudes which were general attitudes that the citizen of the kingdom of heaven should have. We are now entering a section that can pretty much be summarized with the word “perspective.”

Perspectives on our purpose in this world.

Perspectives on our relationship to God’s Word and the Law.

Perspectives on our relationships with those we claim to love and those we acknowlege that we don’t like so much.

Today we look at a broad picture of our purpose as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven.

And to summarize, we can say this…

Introduce:

Big Idea: Our mission is to REFLECT Jesus in a world gone CRAZY.

Read: Matthew 5:13-16

Matthew 5:13–16 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. 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.

Big Idea: Our MISSION is to REFLECT Jesus in a world gone CRAZY.

Now Jesus is going turn His attention to the people in the crowd. Up until this point He spoken of the attitudes of those in the kingdom of heaven. verse 13 begins a jarring switch to “you.” And the “you” he is talking about are those who have the attitudes outlined in the beatitudes.

And He starts with “You are the salt of the earth.”

So the first part of our mission is to….

1. Be SALT to a world in DECAY. (Matthew 5:13)

Explanation: For most of us when we think of salt, we have a very recent view of it. It’s a common household seasoning. We have a salt shaker.

We waste it because it is so prevalent and cheap that it’s practically worthless.

We’ve gone back and forth over the last few years about whether or not it’s good for you or not.

We have table salt with iodine. We have sea salt.

We have Himalayan pink salt.

It’s so common we don’t even think about it.

So when we come to this passage, many if not most of us, immediately import our understanding of salt in this.

And for many of us we assume that our role in the world is to be flavorful and season the world.

Salt had a very different purpose and value in the days that Jesus walked the earth.

It was not at all common. And it was often expensive. And it had a very specific purpose. To ward off the decay in butchered meat so that it could last more than a day.

No refrigerators and no ice. Salt was the ancient refrigerator. It preserved the meat and slowed it’s decay and rotting.

This should change our understanding of what it means to be the salt of the earth.

We aren’t just seasoning the world, we’re slowing it’s decay….and keeping it from God’s wrath.

Let me give you a biblical example of this.

Genesis 18:22–33 ESV

22 So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. 23 Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” 26 And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” 27 Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. 28 Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” 29 Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” 30 Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” 31 He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” 32 Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” 33 And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

Now what’s interesting is that God didn’t find 10 people worth saving in Sodom and Gomorrah.

In fact, we know that later there were only 4. Lot, his wife, and their 2 daughters. And God directed them to leave immediately.

When we look at the world, as we follow Christ and are salt in a world that is decaying, we slow that decay with our good works and obedience to Christ.

People often ask, why doesn’t God act now to deal with the wicked? Where is His justice?

The church is restraining the wrath of God, because he won’t destroy it on account of us.

But it’s not merely our presence that keeps God’s wrath at bay, but it’s also our mission to take the Gospel to the nations. As the church expands and the church is still expanding and growing even today, the saltiness of the church is evident.

So we have a responsibility to be salty to a world in decay.

Application: English is in some ways a inferior language because of the word “you.”

You can be plural or singular. So it’s sometimes difficult for us to know who Jesus is talking about it.

This is where my southern family has it up on many of us…becuase when they want to refer to you plural they use ya’ll.

And the point is that it is the community of faith that is collectively the salt of the earth. It’s the genuine followers of Jesus.

Not the hypocrites or simply those who claim Christ but those who are walking in beatitude faith.

Who have embraced being poor in spirit, mourning, meekness, hunger and thirst for righteousness, mercy, peace, and persecution.

It is these who are salt.

Understanding this changes our understanding of saltiness.

Now Jesus goes on to ask the rhetorical question…

If salt loses it’s saltiness, how shall its saltiness be restored.

First of all true salt never loses it’s saltiness. It may be watered down but it’s still there. Even if you mix it with water, when the water dries out the salt will reappear.

So this idea of unsalty salt would be rediculous.

But let’s assume that salt could lose it’s saltiness…it becomes worthless.

Look what Jesus says about salt in Luke 14:34-35

Luke 14:34–35 ESV

34 “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? 35 It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Unsalty salt is so useless that would ruin manure. That should tell you something.

And this was the problem with the people of Israel…they stopped being salty.

We as the church need to be salty in our city of Vallejo.

There are over 100 churches in the city of Vallejo. Yet it is still one of the darkest cities in the bay areas.

Which brings us to the second part of our mission….

2. Be LIGHT to a world in DARKNESS. (Matthew 5:14-16)

Explanation: I’ve recently heard it said that darkness doesn’t exist but is merely the absence of light. And according the internet that is a scientifically accurate statement. Darkness is the absence of light.

That’s profound from a spiritual standpoint. In sense you could say the the spiritual darkness so prevalent in our world is simply the absence of God.

That’s not to say that evil isn’t a real thing. Evil is real. And evil is personified in Satan. But evil in itself is a rejection of God.

Spiritual darkness is the absence of God because of the rejection of God by the people in the world.

Paul writes about this in Romans 1:18-25

Romans 1:18–25 ESV

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

Living in darkness is a choice.

John emphasized this contrast between the darkness and the light in talking about the effect that Jesus had when He came into the world.

John 3:19 ESV

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

And Jesus said that His mission was to bring light to the world.

John 8:12 ESV

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 here Jesus says, “I am the light of the World” as part of Jesus’ 7 “I Am” statements in John.

But I thought he said, “You are the light of the world…” So which is it.

Jesus repeats Himself and clarifies something in John 9:5

John 9:5 ESV

As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

But what will happen when Jesus returns to heaven?

He still shines in the world, but not through His church. Through us.

So Jesus didn’t give us a new mission, but calls us to continue His mission.

And this gets the heart of being light in darkness.

You aren’t supposed to hide your light. In fact, if you truly are light, you can’t hide it.

A city on a hill cannot be hidden. So if you are in Christ you are going to shine whether you want to or not.

Christians will always do Christlike things because Christ is in them doing those works.

We will always have compassion on a world that needs Jesus.

We will always share the gospel no matter the cost.

We will always have mercy and pity on the least of these and move to alleviate their despair.

In fact this is the evidence that we are in Christ.

But we shouldn’t have to do them alone.

Christ will always work through us individually and collectively as the church.

But let’s assume that you could hide your light. Hide it under the basket. Jesus says don’t do that.

Matthew 5:16 ESV

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.

Notice the distinction here.

Let your light shine before others.

So that they may see your good works

And who do they give glory to?

And give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

When our attitudes are right and we are in line with Christ, people will see what we do and know that it is Christ doing it through us.

Illustration: I love Acts 4:13 for this very reason.

Acts 4:13 ESV

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

What a beautiful testimony!

Does anyone look at your works and take note that you have been with Jesus?

Would anyone mistake your works for you?

Application: May I never rob God of His glory.

Now if you get used to darkness. Light will be painful.

Many of us who get up in the middle of the night to get a drink of water, would rather fumble around the in the darkness than to endure the pain of turning on the light. When the light comes on we cover our eyes. We shield ourselves from the light.

This is why the world hates Christ and Christians. This is why persecution comes. Because the light of Christ is painful. Especially if you’ve lived your entire life in darkness. Light is blinding. For one, you see Christ in His perfection and beauty which shows us our sinful natures.

But as your eyes get adjusted, you see the beauty of the light. That you can see where you are going. And the way is lit which takes us and others to the cross of Jesus.

Our mission is to continue the mission of Jesus to be salt and light.

Response: How are you being SALT and LIGHT in the world around YOU?

Summation:

Be Salt to a world in decay.

Be light to a world in darkness.

There are 3 audiences for this message.

First there are those who are outside the faith that are beckoned to come and embrace Jesus and the way. The call is to open your eyes and stop walking in darkness. To see the beauty of Jesus and acknowledge our sin.

I’m a sucker for those videos on line where someone has been blind their entire lives and they have a cornea transplant and as they remove the bandages and the person is able to see for the first time. And their reaction is priceless. My allergies usually act up in times like that. And when it’s a little kid who is usually seeing their mom and dad for the first time. Wow.

That’s what it’s like to see the light of Christ after living in spiritual darkness.

The second is for Christians who have lost their saltiness and tried to hide their light. For fear of persecution or rejection by society. Jesus is calling us to repentance and a renewed sense of doing what He has called us to do. Be salt and light in the world.

Salt is useful for many things. I also learned that the Roman’s used salt as currency. The Latin word for Salt is salarium which is where we get our English word salary. We are called to be useful.

Thanksgiving is coming up. My favorite holiday. I remember growing up and going to my grandmother’s house. I’d immediately go and sit in front of the TV to watch the Detroit Lion’s lose. But my grandmother wasn’t having it. She’d call me over and tell me to make myself useful. Set the table. Open the can of cranberry sauce. Let the dog out.

As Christians we are called to be useful to Christ and to the world. So make yourself useful.

The third audience is to the church. Are we as a church being salt and light in our community? If not, we must corporately repent and get back to business. If we are, great, but how can we be better?

There is work to do, so let’s get busy doing it for Christ!

Let’s pray.