Salt & Light:

Matthew 5:13–16

Introduction

Now, imagine this with me.

I’ve got a bright flashlight. Brand new batteries. Nothing wrong with the light.

When I turn it on, the beam is strong. It’s powerful. It works exactly the way it was designed to work.

But now watch this.

I place my hand over the front.

The light didn’t stop working. The batteries didn’t die. The source didn’t change.

But you can’t see the light— because something is in the way.

And that’s the truth God has been teaching me.

The problem is not the light. The problem is the blockage.

Light doesn’t create shadows.

Personal Confession

There were seasons in my life when I was shining—but not clearly. When God was using me—but something felt off to the people around me.

I loved God. I believed the Word. I was serving faithfully.

But there were places in me that had not yet been healed.

I could control my words, but my body language told another story.

I could say “I forgive you,” but my heart was still holding court.

And it didn’t mean I didn’t love God. It meant I had unaddressed places standing in front of His light.

I wasn’t fake. But I wasn’t finished.

And here’s the truth God showed me:

What you don’t deal with internally will show up externally.

You can shine and still cast a dark shadow.

WE — We Love the Glow, But Fear the Exposure

We love sermons about purpose. We love being told we’re called and choosen. We love the language of salt and light.

But we don’t always love inspection.

Because inspection costs us something.

We want the blessing without breaking. The Platform without the pruning. The Visibility without vulnerability.

We want God to use us publicly without God searching us privately.

But light doesn’t just illuminate. Light investigates.

And many believers aren’t struggling because they lack faith. They’re struggling because they’ve never slowed down long enough to let Jesus heal what’s hidden.

We see in the beatitudes in Matthew chapter five what the blessed life looks like.

It’s not fancy cars or diamond rings. A blessed life is in a relationship with God.

We all make an impact in the world and have an influence. Now that influence can be good or it can be bad.

This is precisely what Jesus is teaching in Matthew 5:13–16; He is talking about influence, about how you and I affect the world.

Let’s go ahead and Read Mathew 5:13-16 together

Matthew 5:13–16 NIV

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.

This comes immediately after the Beatitudes.

That matters. Because Jesus always works inside out, never outside in.

In the Beatitudes, Jesus describes the heart of a Kingdom citizen:

Poor in spirit

Mourning over sin

Meek

Hungry for righteousness

Merciful

Pure in heart

Peacemakers

Only after shaping the heart does Jesus talk about influence.

Because Influence without formation produces distortion.

And Jesus defines identity before responsibility.

He doesn’t say, “You should try to be salt.” He says, “You are salt.”

Right now. Today. Wherever God has scattered you.

That’s who are you. That’s your identity!

WHY JESUS CALLS US “SALT”

Throughout Scripture, God gives His people names that reveal both who they are and how they are to live.

We are called sheep, brothers and sisters, servants, children, and little ones. Each name carries meaning. Each name carries responsibility.

Unfortunately for some of us, we have been called some other names, that aren’t very good.

Some of the deepest wounds we carry aren’t from what happened to us… they’re from what we were called.

Names have power. Labels shape identity. And if you’re not careful, you’ll start living out of what hurt people named you, instead of what God called you.

Some of us have been labeled…

“Too much” – too loud, too emotional, too passionate

“Not enough” – never smart enough, spiritual enough, successful enough

“A disappointment” – because you didn’t meet someone else’s expectations

“A failure” – because one mistake became your whole story

“Broken” – like you’re damaged goods, not worth fixing

“Unlovable” – because the people who should’ve stayed… left

“Problem child” – so now you expect rejection before acceptance

“Weak” – because you cried, needed help, or asked questions

“Difficult” – because you wouldn’t stay silent about your pain

“Invisible” – overlooked, ignored, never chosen

“Dirty” – ashamed of a past God already forgave

“Behind” – like everyone else is ahead and you missed your moment

And sometimes the worst names aren’t the ones people spoke out loud… they’re the ones we whisper to ourselves.

“I’m a mess.” “I’m always the problem.” “I’ll never change.” “This is just who I am.”

But hear me: God never calls you by your wound. He never names you by your failure. He never identifies you by your lowest moment.

People may call you what they did to you. People may call you what they did through you. People may call you what they couldn’t handle in you.

But God calls you:

Chosen

Beloved

Forgiven

Redeemed

New

Whole

So today, something has to break. The false names. The old labels. The lies that survived longer than the pain itself.

Because you cannot shine God’s light while living under a name He never gave you.

So when Jesus calls us salt, He is reminding us that we exist to influence the world around us.

Salt never exists for itself. Salt always exists for the sake of something else.

And it is no accident that this teaching follows the Beatitudes. When Beatitude character is alive in us, we naturally become a positive influence.

We don’t have to announce it. It shows up.

We are also called “Light” which is external. It allows others to see.

Just as a bright city on a hillside cannot hide its reflection, a believer who reflects Christ cannot remain unnoticed.

Your testimony will get out on you. People will see it. And they will be touched by it.

YOU ARE THE SALT OF THE EARTH

Salt in the ancient world had many uses:

For Purity

For Preservation

For Flavor

For Healing

For Creating thirst

But the primary ideas Jesus emphasizes are purity and preservation.

Salt preserved because it first purified.

Before meat could be kept from decay, corruption had to be drawn out.

That’s why God required salt in covenant offerings. Salt symbolized faithfulness, permanence, and holiness.

So when Jesus says we are salt, He is saying:

You are meant to slow moral and spiritual decay by living faithfully in a broken world.

That means there will be times when you will have to choose to please God rather than please people.

There will be times when you will have to stand up for your faith

Where we will have to stand out rather than fit in.

We are called to a life of purity and holiness which means it’s a life that is different and set apart for God.

The Warning: Salt Can Lose Its Integrity

Salt is good as long as it maintains its integrity.

in the ancient world, salt could become contaminated. It could lose its taste. it became bland. And once lost, it could not be restored.

Jesus says salt like that becomes useless not because it never was salt, but because it no longer functions as salt.

Compromise is a deadly cancer to our witness.

Not loud rebellion. Not instant collapse.

But slow contamination.

When we are seduced by materialism, apathy, worldly attitudes and foolish choices.

The beauty and attractiveness of the Christian life is lost.

We’re still present. Still visible. But no longer effective.

There are a lot of people who claim the name of Christian, but they don’t really follow Christ.

Compromised Salt and the Loss of Witness

Jesus says compromised salt is trampled underfoot.

That doesn’t mean salvation is lost. It means credibility is lost.

The world stops tasting godliness through us.

Salt hasn’t disappeared— it’s just been mixed.

Along with calling us salt we are told that.....

YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

Light in Scripture represents truth, revelation, and God’s presence.

In Genesis, God speaks light before He brings order.

Israel was called to be a light to the nations. Jesus declares Himself the Light of the world.

And then—shockingly—He looks at flawed disciples and says:

“You are the light of the world.”

Not because they are perfect, but because they are connected to Him.

Light is not self-generated. It is reflected.

God Did Not Save You to Hide You

He didn’t pull you out of darkness just so you could blend back into the shadows. He didn’t deliver you from chains just so you could keep your freedom quiet.

He didn’t light a fire in your soul for you to cover it up with fear, shame, or comfort.

The Bible says a city set on a hill cannot be hidden. That means if God raised you up, it was meant to be seen. If He healed you, it was meant to be testified.

If He changed you, it was meant to be evident.

Some of us are saved—but silent. Delivered—but discreet. Free—but fearful of offending somebody.

But hear me: your life is somebody else’s breakthrough. Your testimony is somebody else’s permission to believe again. Your obedience is the evidence that God still transforms lives.

Stop hiding your praise. Stop muting your witness. Stop shrinking your faith to fit into rooms God called you to shift.

God didn’t save you to be invisible. He saved you to be a light. He saved you to stand out. He saved you so when people look at your life, they’d have to say, “Only God could’ve done that.”

So shine. Speak. Live it out loud.

Because God did not save you to hide you— He saved you to show His glory through you.

God says you are the light of the world

and Light doesn’t create shadows.

Shadows are formed when:

Light exists

Something blocks it

The beam is interrupted

So a shadow is not proof that the light failed.

It’s proof something is in the way.

And the brighter the light, the sharper the shadow becomes if the blockage remains.

Alot of Christians live defeated lives because they live in the shadows that block the light and glory of God

COMMON SHADOWS THAT BLOCK GOD’S LIGHT

1. Unhealed Pain

Unaddressed wounds show up in so many different ways. It causes us to respond to the things in the moment, because we are really reacting to a memory.

Unhealed pain looks like…

Forgiveness you talk about—but haven’t practiced. You say you’re over it, but the name still triggers you.

it looks like Walls you call wisdom. You say, “I’m just protecting my peace,” but really you’re protecting a wound.

It looks like Anger that shows up fast and leaves slow. Small things set you off because big things were never healed.

It looks like Isolation disguised as independence. You don’t trust anyone—not because they failed you, but because someone once did.

It looks like Control issues masked as responsibility. You learned if you don’t stay in charge, you might get hurt again.

It looks like People-pleasing that comes from rejection. You’re afraid if you say no, they’ll leave—because somebody already did.

It looks like A smile that works harder than your soul. You’re exhausted from pretending you’re okay.

It looks like Fear of being seen, even by God. You serve Him—but you won’t fully surrender to Him.

It looks like Replaying old conversations in your head. The moment passed, but the pain stayed.

It looks like Spiritual activity without emotional honesty. You serve—but you never really rest in God.

It looks like Distrust that bleeds into every relationship. You assume betrayal before love gets a chance.

It looks like Avoidance of silence. Because quiet brings back memories you’ve tried to bury.

THE GOSPEL — JESUS INVITES US INTO THE LIGHT

Jesus is not afraid of your shadows.

Light doesn’t come to shame you. Light comes to heal you.

“If we walk in the light…” That doesn’t mean perfection. It means honesty.

The shadow disappears when the obstruction is removed.

YOU — Let the Light Do Its Work

Stop replacing health with hurriness.

Let God search you before He shows you.

Because the brighter the light, the shorter the shadow.

WE — A Church That Shines Clearly

Imagine a church that:

Tells truth with love

Walks in humility

Lives with integrity

Some of us aren’t distant from God because we’re rebellious— we’re distant because we’re hurting.

But hear me: Jesus is not intimidated by your pain. He’s not offended by your questions. And He’s not asking you to be strong— He’s asking you to be honest.

Because unhealed pain doesn’t just affect how you feel… it affects how your light shines.

And today, God isn’t trying to expose you— He’s trying to heal you.

CLOSING

Jesus says:

“Let your light shine…”

So don’t just ask, “Am I shining?”

Ask, “What might be blocking the light?”

Bring it to Jesus.

And when He heals it—

You won’t just shine.

You’ll shine without the shadow.