Salt and Light

Introduction

As we return to Matthew’s gospel this morning, let us be reminded that Christ has been describing for us the characteristics that mark and define the citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. Each of these characteristics, the poor in spirit, the mourners, the lowly, the hungry and thirsty for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and the persecuted, show that the citizens of the kingdom stand out from the world because they differ from what the world would applaud. These citizens recognize that they belong to that kingdom only because the King has set His saving grace upon them.

Now, beginning in verse 13, the Lord does not leave those kingdom graces hidden in the heart as though they were never meant to touch the world around us. He moves from character to calling, from what His people are before God to what His people are in the midst of men. The same ones who are reviled and persecuted are now called the salt of the earth and the light of the world. The teaching here is not for us to pridefully practice righteousness in order to be noticed by world. What Christ is teaching us it that there is a kind of visible righteousness that must not be hidden, one in which we as Christians live in such a way that through our good works, the Father is glorified. There is a difference between displaying ourselves and displaying the works of God’s grace; between seeking praise and living in such a way that the Father alone receives that praise.

So the question before us is plain: What does Christ intend His people to be in the world? He answers with two images: salt and light. Salt restrains corruption and gives savor. Light exposes darkness and gives direction. Both are distinct from what they touch. Both are useful only when they remain what they are. Both remind us that the Christian life is never merely private. We are not called to be absorbed into the world or retreat from all contact with the world, quite the opposite, we are called to a holy distinction from world for the glory of the Father. With that in mind let us turn to our text for today.

Text

Please stand for the reading of God’s holy, inerrant, infallible, authoritative, sufficient, complete and certain word:

Matthew 5:13–16 LSB

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out to be trampled under foot by men. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Our Father in heaven, as we come before Your Word, we confess that apart from Your Spirit, we are dull of hearing and slow to believe. Open our hearts now to receive the words of Christ with humility, faith, and obedience.

Teach us what it means that Your people are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Keep us from empty profession, fear of man, hidden discipleship, and worldly compromise. Search us by Your Word, strengthen us by Your grace, and make us faithful in the place where You have set us.

Above all, show us Christ, the true Light of the world and the only Savior of sinners. Convict, comfort, and conform us to His image, so that our lives may bring glory to You, our Father in heaven. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

I. Christ Declares the Identity of His People

Notice first that Jesus begins with identity, not with aspiration. He does not say, “You should become the salt of the earth.” He says, “You are the salt of the earth.” He does not say, “You may one day become the light of the world.” He says, “You are the light of the world.” The force of the statement rests on what Christ has already done in His people. As believers we are not self-made moral reformers. We are, however, those whom, by the grace of God, have been radically transformed as a result of the new heart we have received.

This passage must be understood as gospel-shaped command, not as frail, weak humanistic efforts to attain moralism. As we look at the structure of Christ’s teaching from the beginning of chapter 5 we see that this rests on the foundation of what has been affected in the life of believers as a result of grace. Those marks, as you may recall are not the efforts of us as individuals but exist in believers only by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus . Likewise, salt and light are not costumes that unbelief can put on for religious appearance. They are the calling and evidence of those whose hearts have been changed. The poor in spirit have nothing in themselves, but they have Christ. The mourners have seen the ugliness of sin, but they have been comforted by mercy. The pure in heart have not cleansed themselves, but they have been washed by God. These are the ones Christ now sends into the world as salt and light.

John Calvin, commenting on Matthew 5:13, wrote, “men have nothing in them but what is tasteless, till they have been seasoned with the salt of heavenly doctrine” (John Calvin, Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Vol. 1, trans. William Pringle, Edinburgh: Calvin Translation Society, 1845, on Matthew 5:13). Calvin is right to place the emphasis on heavenly doctrine, because the preserving power of the church is the work of the Holy Spirit illuminating the truth of God’s Word to His people. We do not salt the earth with cleverness, personality, entertainment, or political calculation. The church is made useful as we are seasoned by the truth of God and as we bear that truth faithfully before all of mankind.

This identity is corporate as well as personal. Jesus is speaking to His disciples as the people of the kingdom. Certainly each believer must live as salt and light, but the witness envisioned here is not merely individual. The church gathered and scattered bears testimony to the world. A congregation that believes the Word, worships according to the Word, loves one another in the truth, practices holiness, receives sinners through the gospel, disciplines sin, shows mercy, and proclaims Christ crucified is a preserving and illuminating presence in a dark and decaying world.

We must take care that our distinctiveness is not confused with being eccentric for the sake of gaining attention. The issue is not that we must be odd, loud, abrasive, or contrary in personality. The issue is that grace makes us different at the level of heart, allegiance, worship, speech, desires, conduct, and hope. J.C. Ryle wrote, “True Christianity is something more than being baptized and going to church” (J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: St. Matthew, London: William Hunt, 1856, on Matthew 5:13–20). Those are the externals and as we have discussed many times external association with religion is not the same thing as spiritual life. Salt must be salty. Light must shine. The kind of faith and transformation that is on display here is not on that leaves a man indistinguishable from the unbelieving world; that is not the kind of Christianity Christ describes.

This does not mean we are perfect, nor is it a call to perfection. Verses 3-12 should have already destroyed that notion. This is however the understanding that the believer is truly changed. The direction of his life is altered. Our hearts have a new Master. Our conscience has a new authority. Our affections have a new treasure. Our works do not earn his standing before God, but they do show that grace will transform.

II. Christ Warns Against Useless Profession

Jesus continues, “but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again?” This is a solemn warning. The Lord does not flatter empty profession. Salt that is not salty has contradicted its own nature. Its usefulness is gone. It is “no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out to be trampled under foot by men.”

We must be careful here. Jesus is not teaching that a truly regenerate person can be finally severed from Christ. The Scriptures teach that those whom God foreknew He predestined, called, justified, and glorified. Christ’s sheep hear His voice, He knows them, they follow Him, and no one will snatch them out of His hand. The preserving grace of God preserves. But Scripture also teaches that there is such a thing as empty profession, temporary attachment, outward religion, and false discipleship. There is a kind of salt that appears to be salt, yet proves useless because the savor is gone. There is a kind of religious life that has form without power.

Spurgeon, with his usual directness, said, “A professing Christian with no grace in him...what is the good of him?” (Charles H. Spurgeon, The Gospel of the Kingdom: A Popular Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew, London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1893, on Matthew 5:13). That question cuts deeply because the danger is not merely out there among obvious unbelievers. The danger sits in pews, sings hymns, learns vocabulary, debates doctrine, and yet may have no living union with Christ. Orthodoxy without grace is not salt; it is a label on an empty container.

The warning is especially searching because the church’s usefulness in the world depends upon her faithfulness to Christ. When we, as the church, lose confidence in the Word, trims truth to avoid offense, baptizes worldliness and calls it relevance, refuses to confront sin, neglects discipline, abandons prayer, clouds the gospel, or treats holiness as optional, we loose our savor and we do so in an effort to be well received by the world and under the ruse of being more welcoming, however, there is a strange irony here. Jesus says that salt which loses its savor is trampled underfoot by men. Compromise does not earn lasting respect. A tasteless church is not loving the world; it is failing to be the very thing that the world needs it to be. If we loose our savor we offer no preserving truth, no warning against judgment, no call to repentance, no proclamation of Christ, no picture of holiness, and no hope.

This warning also comes to each soul. Are you only near the salt, or have you been salted by grace? Do not rest in proximity to the church. Do not rest in family heritage, baptism, confessional accuracy, religious service, or moral respectability. These things, rightly ordered, may be blessings, but they cannot save. The question is whether you have been brought to repentance and faith in Christ. The question is whether the King has made you new.

III. Christ Requires Visible Holiness

Jesus then says, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” The image shifts from salt to light, from preservation to illumination, from hidden influence to visible witness. Light does not exist for concealment. A city on a hill is not invisible. A lamp is not lit so that it may be smothered under a basket. It is placed on the lampstand, and “it gives light to all who are in the house.”

This visibility is not rooted in human exhibitionism. It is rooted in the nature of light. If Christ has made His people light, then concealment contradicts their purpose. A.W. Pink wrote, “only true preaching conveys the light of spiritual knowledge to the heart and leads souls to God” (A.W. Pink, An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount, on Matthew 5:14). Pink applied this especially to ministers, and rightly so, for those who preach must never hide the truth through fear of man. But the principle extends across the life of the church. Truth is not given to be buried. Grace is not given to be disguised. Holiness is not given to be hidden under the basket of cowardice.

There are many baskets we can use to hide our lights. Some hide it under fear. They know what Christ has said, but they tremble before the faces of men. They fear being thought narrow, strange, judgmental, or out of step with the age. Some hide it under worldliness. Their Christianity is kept carefully sealed away from their business dealings, entertainment choices, friendships, politics, speech, and home life. Some hide it under false humility, saying, “I do not want to draw attention,” when in truth they simply do not want the cost of being identified with Christ. Some hide it under laziness, neglecting the ordinary duties of prayer, hospitality, mercy, evangelism, worship, and good works.

But Jesus says the lamp belongs on the lampstand. This means the Christian life must become visible through ordinary obedience. It must be seen in honest labor, truthful speech, marital faithfulness, parental instruction, submission to God’s providence, love for the brethren, patience under insult, mercy toward the needy, refusal to join sinful laughter, reverence in worship, and readiness to speak of Christ. These are not spectacular works designed to build our reputation. They are the steady fruit of a heart under the rule of Christ.

The 1689 London Baptist Confession states that good works are “the fruits and evidences of a true and lively faith” (The Second London Baptist Confession of Faith, 1689, Chapter 16, Paragraph 2). That is exactly the balance we need. Good works are not the root of justification. Christ alone is the ground of our acceptance before God. We are justified by faith alone, because Christ’s righteousness alone is counted to us. Yet the faith that receives Christ is never dead, empty, or fruitless. This is because the same grace that justifies also sanctifies. We are both united to and conformed to Christ by the workings of the Holy Spirit.

IV. Christ Directs All Glory to the Father

Verse 16 gives the controlling purpose: “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” This is the great safeguard of the passage. The goal is not that men may see us and admire us. The goal is that they may see works produced by grace and glorify the Father. Christian witness becomes corrupt whenever the self becomes the destination of attention.

This guards us from two errors. On the one side, we must reject legalism, which turns good works into the basis of our standing before God. On the other side, we must reject antinomianism, which treats good works as unnecessary to the Christian life. Jesus will have neither. He does not say, “Let your light shine so that men may see your good works and conclude that you saved yourself.” Nor does He say, “Since grace saves, it does not matter whether light shines.” He says that visible obedience is the appointed means by which others are made to glorify the Father.

Spurgeon said it well: “Do not shine by proud pretensions, but by real holiness” (Charles H. Spurgeon, The Gospel of the Kingdom, on Matthew 5:16). That is the difference between Pharisaic display and Christian witness. The Pharisee wants to be seen as righteous, use religion to build a name, and perform holiness for applause. The believer wants the Father to be seen as glorious, gladly loses his name if Christ is magnified, and practices holiness because he has been loved, redeemed, and brought into the household of God.

Thomas Watson wrote, “The glory we give God is nothing else but our lifting up his name in the world” (Thomas Watson, A Body of Divinity, London, 1692; repr. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1958, “Man’s Chief End”). That sentence helps us understand Matthew 5:16. We do not add to God’s essential glory. God is not made more glorious by our obedience, as though He lacked some perfection until we supplied it. He is eternally, infinitely, immutably glorious in Himself. But we do ascribe glory to Him. We lift up His name. We magnify Him in the eyes of others. We live so that men may see that He is worthy.

Here we must take care to keep Christ Himself at the center. We are light only because we belong to Him who is the true Light. John tells us that in Christ “was life, and the life was the Light of men.” Jesus later declares, “I am the light of the world.” Therefore the church’s light is not independent light. It is reflected light, derived light, borrowed light. The moon does not shine by producing its own glory; it reflects the sun. So the church shines only as she abides in Christ, proclaims Christ, obeys Christ, and reflects Christ.

This also means our works bust be good works, as defined by God in His word. The world can appreciate philanthropy, admire kindness and praise morality at the same time that it rejects the gospel, despises Christ, and detach itself from the authority of God. But Jesus speaks of works that cause men to glorify “your Father who is in heaven.” These works are not merely civil niceness. They are the works of those who confess God as Father through the Son, walk by the Spirit, and live under the Word. They are works adorned with humility, dependence, repentance, and gospel clarity.

There will be times when the world sees those works, agrees with those works and still hates us. Jesus has already said that His people will be persecuted for righteousness’ sake. We must not twist verse 16 into a promise that faithful witness always wins immediate approval. The outcome belongs to God. Our calling is faithfulness. Which means that we can not measure obedience by visible results. Salt does not always receive thanks for restraining decay. Light is not always welcomed by diseased eyes. Yet Christ has spoken. The church must be what Christ says she is. Parents, let your light shine in your homes. Workers, let your light shine in your labor. Children, let your light shine in obedience and truthfulness. Members of the church, let your light shine in love, service, and holiness. Pastors and teachers, let your light shine by refusing to hide any part of God’s counsel. Suffering saints, let your light shine by rejoicing in Christ when the world cannot understand your hope.

Conclusion

We are not called to blend into the decay or hide within the darkness. We are called to be salt and light. If we are salt, then we must not surrender the savor of truth and holiness. If we are light, then we must not hide what grace has made visible. The world does not need a church that imitates its corruption. It needs a church that belongs to Christ, speaks His truth, displays His holiness, and holds forth His gospelt.

But let us be clear: If you are outside of Christ, you are not salt and light by nature. You are part of the decay and darkness. No amount of religious polish can change that. You must come to the One who saves sinners. Christ lived the perfectly righteous life we have not lived. He died under the judgment His people deserved. He rose again in victory. He gives new life to all who repent and believe. Come to Him.

And believer, do not despise the place where God has set you. A lamp does not choose its room; the Master places it on the stand. Be faithful where He has put you. Be distinct without pride. Be visible without vanity. Be useful without seeking applause. Let the world see works that cannot finally be explained by nature, personality, or self-interest. Let them see grace at work. Let them see truth adorned. Let them see holiness with humility. Let them see mercy with conviction. Let them see a life that points beyond itself.

The question that remains is this: when men see your life, your home, your church, and your works, are they given reason to glorify your Father who is in heaven?

Closing Prayer

Our gracious Father, we thank You for the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. You have made Your people the salt of the earth and the light of the world, not because of anything worthy in us, but because Christ has redeemed us and Your Spirit is at work within us.

Forgive us for the ways we have hidden the light, feared man, softened truth, excused compromise, and sought comfort more than faithfulness. Keep us from religion that has a name but no savor, and from works that seek the praise of men rather than the glory of God.

Make us useful where You have set us. Make us distinct without pride, visible without vanity, bold without harshness, and faithful without self-reliance. Let our homes, our church, our speech, and our conduct point beyond ourselves to Christ.

For any outside of Christ, shine the gospel into their hearts and bring them to repentance and faith. Send us out under Your Word, dependent upon Your Spirit, and eager for Your glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.