Salt and Light

Intro:

AG: I came across an illustration of this as I was preparing this sermon this week. It’s a story written by Warren Hudson of Ontario, Canada. He writes, "One night at the end of a special Saturday night worship service a thunderstorm unleashed a bolt of lightning that plunged the church into darkness." With the congregation seated in total darkness, the pastor felt his way to the kitchen to find some candles. The pastor handed out the candles to everyone present. Persons lit their candles in much the same way as many churches do on Christmas Eve, each person lighting the candle of the person next to them. The worshipers then made their way through the church's winding hallways to the front door.

"Peering out, we could see the rain coming down in sheets," Warren remembers. With traffic snarled, people were running for the nearest shelter. Looking around they realized that the entire city was in darkness. "There in the darkness we stood," Warren writes, "a little band of Christians, each clutching a light, not sure whether to venture out into the storm or stay inside the church in hopes that the storm would soon blow over." Isn’t this an appropriate analogy for many of us in the church? We know there is a world out there enshrouded in darkness. There is world out there that is bland and in need of spice. Yet, what do we do about it? Do we face the storm and shine our light? Do we add some spice to the world?

TS: Jesus uses a metaphor about His disciples that is often quoted still today, yet many times misunderstood. Have you ever heard someone called the salt of the earth? That phrase is here in the sermon on the mount. The world uses it to mean a down to earth person. That is far from what Jesus meant.

RS: Disciples of Jesus are still called to be salt and light today. Let’s look closer at this teaching from the sermon on the mount.

Pictures of Disciples

Jesus uses two metaphors to illustrate what He expects of His disciples:

Salt

Matthew 5:13 ESV

“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.

Salt is an interesting compound

Both elements, Sodium and Chlorine, can be deadly on their own.

Yet combined they are stable and essential for life.

Properties of salt:

Salt preserves from corruption.

before refrigeration, salt was the method of choice to prevent spoiling

Salting is used because most bacteria, fungi and other potentially pathogenic organisms cannot survive in a highly salty environment, due to the nature of salt.

Salt preserves. It keeps things from going bad and decaying. It cleanses and disinfects. The Christian life being truly lived out before the eyes of people in the world will cause them to make a decision about the Christian faith. God has sent His Holy Spirit to call people unto Christ, who have been exposed to Christians who handle trials and deal with temptation under the direction of God's Word, the Bible. All who accept Jesus Christ as personal Savior and Lord will be preserved eternally.

We work to preserve the world from the contamination of sin and the corruption of Satan.

We fight to defeat it in our lives as we say no to temptation and grow in Christ

We fight it when we share Christ’s love and make disciples

They in turn grow to hate their sin and root it out of their lives.

The state of society makes the need for preservation obvious.

Apart from Christ it is corrupt.

People are dead in sin and under sway of Satan and act accordingly

They need to be saved and become disciples of Jesus

Salt is totally different from the food or object on which it is placed.

Believers are to be like salt, different from the world. The power of their lives and their testimony lies in their being different and distinctive. "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." (James 1:27)

Salt adds to and enhances flavor

Sprinkling a bit of sodium chloride onto other foods ensures that we’ll consume lots of other essential nutrients, too, because salt makes pretty much everything else taste better. Thanks to its chemical nature, salt has the amazing ability to intensify agreeable tastes and diminish disagreeable ones. What more could a cook ask for?

Perhaps you’ve heard that salt brings out the flavor of a dish. Well, the scientists at the Monell Center say it’s absolutely true. The reason: Some flavor compounds are too subtle to detect, but when you add even just a teeny amount of salt, neurological magic happens: Suddenly, our taste receptors can detect flavors they weren’t able to sense before.

Salt penetrates, spreads all about and flavors.

It inserts a new quality, substance and life. It can take bland, tasteless food and makes it enjoyable. A sprinkle of salt has a widespread effect. It changes that which it is put upon.

Obedient Christians likewise penetrate and so flavor the world for Christ. True Christians salt those in the world with God's Word, thus intriguing them to "Taste and see that the Lord is good..." (Psalm 34: 8)

We, like salt, enhance the flavors of life.

Specifically in spiritual things.

Sin and corruption in the world drowns out holiness.

Disciples of Christ, and our influence can dampen the effects of evil and open opportunities of the love of God to be on full display.

But even the “mundane” things are enhanced.

The Word of GOD instructs in in all areas of life, not just worship.

My marriage, parenting, work, hobbies, are ALL better when lived to the glory of God

Light

Matthew 5:14 ESV

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

Light illuminates.

It makes reality or truth visible.

Due to light, we have direction and guidance.

It is meant to be on display and highlighting other things.

Purpose

Matthew 5:14–15 ESV

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 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.

The Danger

Loosing taste

In eastern countries, however, the salt used was impure, or mingled with vegetable or earthy substances, so that it might lose the whole of its saltiness, and a considerable quantity of earthy matter remain. This was good for nothing, except that it was used to place in paths, or walks, as we use gravel. This kind of salt is common still in that country. It is found in the earth in veins or layers, and when exposed to the sun and rain, loses its saltiness entirely. Maundrell says, “I broke a piece of it, of which that part that was exposed to the rain, sun, and air, though it had the sparks and particles of salt, yet it had perfectly lost its savour.

Hiding light

Lamp under a basket

lost flavor and hidden light is worthless

Too many Christians overlook their purpose in God's ministry to people in the world. Thus they pay little attention to what is happening to people around them, their needs, their turning from bad to worse, their decay and corruption. Those controlled by the world, the flesh and the Devil are corrupting and foul, decaying and rotting. They are bland and tasteless to the Lord God.

“Too much salt is being stored up in the church building and not gotten out those in the world. Way too much money is spent on programs, buildings and Christian entertainment. This makes for fat lazy Christians feeding only themselves, bland and tasteless, unable to have an effect on those out in the world who are overcome by sin and its deceitfulness.”

Therefore, our Lord reminds Christians to not lose that characteristic in them that brings life to the world and prevents its decay. Jesus gives a solemn warning. If Christians lose their penetrating and preserving effectiveness, they will become worthless.

We will be unable to make an impact:

a) if we stay away

salt in a shaker and light under a basket does no good

b) If we become corrupt

If the world contaminates us with sin and worldly thinking, we will no longer preserve.

Sin in our lives hinders us from being effective disciples

The Point

The lofty goal for Christ’s followers to make an impact

Salt must come in contact with the thing to be salted.

We must make an impact on the world.

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.

We are called to make disciples

We must take that to heart and work to have an impact

That means we have to be intentional in our relationships with people. Especially with the lost

Paul said it this way:

Colossians 4:5–6 ESV

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Walk in wisdom

choose your words and actions carefully to ensure you continue to add flavor and shine the light

Do all you can to point people to the Lord

Make best use of time

We have limited time on earth

None of us are guaranteed a single day beyond the one we are living right now

We must act as if today is our last chance to influence the people in our circle of influence

Good answers

graciously seasoned with salt-

We speak the truth in love never condemnation.

We offer hope and a better life

Yes, that means calling them to leave sin and follow the Savior

When witnessing to the lost, they need to hear the gospel, not advanced theology and Biblical debates

They can grow as disciples and every are will be made clear in time.

Conclusion:

Flavor your world and shine the light of Christ in a dark world.