Salt & Light
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Jesus sums his ministry up as preaching repentance and the Kingdom of God.
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
And this kingdom, this powerful kingdom of which the prophets spoke, comes in such a countercultural way
that its citizens will be persecuted for proclaiming and walking in the righteousness of this kingdom.
Who is it that is favored by God? It is those who have been made low; those whose hope is in God alone: The poor in spirit, the mournful, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for the righteousness of God, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers.
And for all of that. For their hope in God, they are persecuted.
What then? Shall they escape this persecution by coming out of the world?
Wouldn’t it be easier to abandon the world… maybe retreat to the mountains or the desert to form their/our own “ community of the faithful?”
They must live in the midst of the world though they be persecuted for it.
This is the identity their Savior confers upon them. This is the mission for which he sends them out.
Not at all. If his disciples’ thoughts were tending in this direction, Jesus' next words (5:13) reorient them:
That they should be a display [a world-embedded experience] of God's grace in the midst of an unbelieving generation. That in this way others - poor in spirit, mourning over sin, meek, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, might see in the citizens of this kingdom the proclamation of the grace of God.
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.
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.
They/we must live in the world even though they/we are persecuted:
- This [5:13] is the identity our King confers upon us. This is the essence of discipleship.
- Shows our purpose and our obligation before the world as the people of God, which is to be an influence for God.
- Positive Influence.
God’s rule in the lives of His people is revealed in individuals whose commitment to God enables them to serve him influentially as society’s salt and light.
Inward and true righteousness is to be expressed in our actions. [Faith without works is no faith at all.]
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
These words of Jesus must have seemed ridiculous when they were first spoken...
These words must have seemed ridiculous when they were first spoken...
[why]
Jesus…of Galile
Followers… on low esteem.
But two important truths:
I. First, then, the high task of Christ’s disciples.
“You are the Salt of the Earth”
- Importance of Salt in Ancient Society… necessary for life… Roman soldiers were even paid in Salt… (salary), (not worth his salt)...
“You are the Salt of the Earth”
- [No man makes salt. It is provided by God alone. Jesus says here all believers are salt. Their relationship to Christ makes them salt and it is implied if they are not salt, they are not believers.]
Preservative
Flavor
The statement of Jesus involves two things: (A) a serious judgment as to the actual state of society, and (B) a lofty claim as to what Christ’s followers are able to do to it.
A) it is corrupt and tending toward more corruption…
This statement of the Savior shows us that man lacks something spiritually and morally to preserve himself.
(our great innovations make greater our corruption) consider the Internet… a great achievement for technology and communications and information… but
greatest amount of traffic?
greatest number of emails?
societal effect of social media?
even yet unknown effects on loss of privacy.
… seems that the greater potential for good, the greater the potential for evil… and the whole of humanity tends toward corruption...
Consider: You do not salt a living thing. You salt a dead one that it may not be a rotting one. [as for preservation]
As bacteria at work in meat causes it to spoil and stink, so Satan and sinful humanity are at work to ruin all societies unless God is brought into the picture through Christ.
Examples:
17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
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.
B) and you, faithful handful, who have (at least) partially apprehended the meaning of My mission, and have caught something of the spirit of My life,
[you are to be rubbed into that rotting mass to sweeten it, to slow or stop decomposition, to arrest the corruption, to give flavour to its dullness, and to save it from falling to pieces of its own wickedness. Ye are the salt of the earth.’]
History is littered with civilizations judged for their wickedness. Assyrians, Persians, Babylon, Egypt, Rome,
But individuals: Not unlike Noah, Abraham, Moses… Sarah, Rahab, Esther
people of faith that Hebrews writer says “of whom the world was not worthy” … show God.
11:38
We are called for that purpose. To be salt. To be light.
God is very keen on increasing his influence...
No life ever lived on this planet has been so influential in the affairs of men like the life of Jesus Christ. From that brief life and its apparent frustration has flowed a more powerful force for the triumphant waging of man’s long battle than any other ever known by the human race. By it millions have been lifted from illiteracy and ignorance and have been placed upon the road of growing intellectual freedom and control over the physical environment. It has done more to allay the physical ills of disease and famine than any other impulse known to man. It’s emancipated millions from chattel slavery and millions of others from addiction to vice. It has protected tens of millions in exploitation by their fellows. It’s been the most fruitful source of movement to lessen the horrors of war and to put the relations of men and nations on the basis of justice and of peace.
That said, our main responsibility is to signpost people from out of the kingdom of the world, into the kingdom of God. [Not to change the world]
14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
Hab.
/11 every knee bow, every tongue confess.
That said, our main responsibility is to signpost people from out of the kingdom of the world, into the kingdom of God. [Not to change the world]
II. The grave possibility of the salt losing its savour.
Remember this, ‘you are the salt of the earth,’ and if you do not salt the world, the world will rot you.
Is there any difference between your ideal of happiness and the irreligious one? Is there any difference between your notion of what is pleasure, and the irreligious one? Is there any difference in your application of the rules of morality to daily life, any difference in your general way of looking at things from the way of the ungodly world?
‘Wherewithal shall it be salted?’ says the Master. That is plain enough, but do not let us push it too far. If the Church is meant for the purifying of the world, and the Church itself needs purifying, is there any power in the world that will do it? If the army joins the rebels, is there any force that will bring back the army to submission? Our Lord is speaking about ordinary means and agencies. He is saying in effect, if the one thing that is intended to preserve the meat loses its power, is there anything lying about that will salt that? So far, then, the answer seems to be—No.
Only Christ.
Resolve to Stand up for Jesus. [Be the change?] [Be the salt!]