Matthew 5 Salt And Light

I)       “What the World Needs”

A)    File:  matthew 5 salt and light.doc

B)    Audio:  What the World Needs

C)    Series:  Matthew

D)    Preached:  November 25, 2007

II)    Introduction:  Matthew:  The Sermon on the Mount:

A)    The requirements for becoming a citizen of His Kingdom.

B)    The characteristics of Kingdom citizens.

1)      Part one:  Spiritual Poverty – The citizens’ focus on God:

2)      Part two:  Spiritual Overflow – The citizens’ ministry to others:

C)    Part Three:  Spiritual Overflow continued:  Salt and Light – What the World Needs.

III) What the world needs:

A)    The World Needs Salt

1)      Emphasis on Preservation

(a)    Righteousness a major theme of sermon on the mount.

(b)   Not flavor in the sense of being interesting, making the world easier to swallow.

(c)    Flavor in the sense that it is obviously present.  Distinct.

(d)   Righteousness is dominant theme – therefore salt’s ability to preserve is more in view here.

2)      The World is in decay

(a)    Turning away from scriptural roots

(b)   Increased acceptance of alternative lifestyles

(c)    Increased tolerance of dishonesty

(d)   Increased tolerance of broken families

(e)    Increased violent crimes – murder and stealing

(i)     To spite our general prosperity.

3)      Proper Biblical worldview supports this idea

(a)    Garden – perfection to sin

(b)   Conscience – jealousy and murder, polygamy.  Flood.

(c)    One world government – tried to be like God and reach heaven.

(d)   Then nations – wars began, empires spread.

(e)    Promise – lied, tried to fulfill promise with Hagar

(f)    Law – disobedience

(g)   Perfect land conquered – idolatry and exile

(h)   returned remnant – legalism

(i)     Christ:  crucified

(j)     Church age:

(i)     Doctrinal disputes

(ii)   Denominations

(iii) Union with government

(iv) syncretism

(k)   What the world needs is preserving – something to stop the decay and corruption

4)      What the World needs is salt

B)    The World Needs Light

1)      Light – representative of God’s truth shining in a dark world.  Light = truth.  God is the solution to all world problems.

2)      Real truth:  All the world’s reactions to the decay sends us in an ever-downward spiral.

(a)    Drugs – natural cures left untested,

(b)   Internet – largest single use – pornography.  Money.

(c)    Welfare – no amount of it cures poverty.

(d)   High-tech – numbing ourselves with entertainment.

(e)    Global communication – world-wide voyeurism.

(f)    All our technology, knowledge, thought, expression, ends in meaninglessness.  We still have the same old problems.

(i)     War, Crime, Genocide, poverty, abandonment, lying,

(g)   There must be another source of information.

(h)   All these achievements have failed to produce real truth – meaningful change to our lives.

(i)     No matter how much we seem to advance – it only shows more clearly who we are.

3)      The World Needs Light – God’s truth shone on every problem – lighting the way to true change, true solutions.

IV) Salt and Light Influence the World:

A)    Salt – To prevent corruption.   

1)      Natural preservative.

2)      Prevent decay.

3)      Rotting meat is poisonous.

4)      Distinctly different from what it preserves.

B)    Light – To provide God’s truth.

1)      expels darkness.  Informs.

2)      Biblical imagery – light = truth, goodness, life.  darkness = ignorance, sin, death.  All of these meant here.

(a)    Again, distinctly different from what it preserves.

3)      Jesus’ followers are to reflect His light.

C)    You – plural:

1)      v1 – speaking to disciples.

2)      All followers of Jesus are to partake.

D)    Are – continuous sense.

1)      Emphasizes being not just doing

2)      Salt and Light are Inherent traits.

3)      Not a command – a statement of fact.

4)      Salt and light are what our world needs, so our King has declared that we are those very things!

V)    Both Salt and Light Can Become Ineffective:

A)    By losing its saltiness.  How can salt lose its saltiness?  Two ways salt could ‘lose its saltiness’ in the New Testament world.

1)      Background:  mixture – Dead Sea Salt, gypsum, calcium, etc.

2)      Rubbed on meats to preserve.  Its work dependent on concentration!

3)      First, continually using the good parts, leaving impurities in the container.

(a)    What’s left in the container is saturated with salt but because of the contaminants, that salt is unable to be used to preserve something else.

4)      Second, Salt stored on the ground.

(a)    salt leaches out into the ground leaving behind mostly salty dirt – useless to put on your fish.

5)      Neither way does the salt become different – it simply becomes so diluted with contamination that it is no longer effective.

6)      Either way, now it is only good for being thrown out.

(a)    Thrown out to be trampled – shows that Jesus meant it was still salt – not thrown on the field.

(i)     No good but to throw out on the path

(b)   still salt – has not changed it’s nature but has taken on enough corruption it is diluted and has lost influence

(c)    Not talking about losing salvation but making oneself ineffective in their witness.

7)      This is filling up the Christian life with contamination like sin, worldliness, non-Christian behavior, thought, beliefs. – it is unfaithfulness.

B)    How can light lose effectiveness?

1)      Being covered up.

2)       Jesus’ example – a basket/peck-measure – not enough room in there to enjoy it yourself – completely useless even to the owner.

3)      This is failure to let the light shine because of

(a)    indifference – a lack of compassion

(b)   fear – of offending

4)      It is also unfaithfulness

VI) Invitation – Mentally check one:

A)    I need to purify myself:

1)      Take away the impurities that mask my saltiness

2)      Take away the things I have put in place to block my light.

3)      James Kelley – “I’d rather light a candle than curse the darkness.”

B)    I need to join with this body of believers

1)      Prayed about it and found this is where I should serve.

2)      Maybe had a basket over your light – need to be involved.

C)    I need to join with Christ

1)      I see truth in what was said about the world and I recognize that I am part of the problem, not the solution.

2)      Step into the blessings of Kingdom Citizenship.

3)      Flee the wrath to come – recognize Jesus as the only source of true righteousness, needed to enter the Kingdom.

4)      Become part of the solution.

5)       

VII)           

A)    What you won’t hear:

1)      50th Wedding Anniv:  pornography, lying, secrets

2)      Hall of Fame:  laziness, television, abuse,

3)      Retirement:  Complaining,

November 25, 2007,

“What the World Needs”

Matthew 5:13-16 (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. “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. 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. Mt 5:13-16

The World Needs:

1. The world needs _________________ and ______________. 
2. Salt and Light ____________________ the world.

□       To __________________ corruption.

□       To __________________ God’s Truth.

1. Salt and Light are __________________ traits.
2. Salt and Light can become _______________________.[1] 
3. Invitation:  I recognize my need

□       To purify myself.

□       To join with this body of believers.

□       To join with Christ

Matthew 5:1-16 Word Find:

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[1] 1) Salt…Light; 2) Influence; 2a) prevent; 2b) provide; 3) Inherent