Extinct or Distinct (NIV)

Introduction

There is a story in Greek mythology of a beautiful princess who was given as a gift to a certain king. She had an atmosphere as sweet-smelling as the garments of Aphrodite. She seemed as beautiful and pure as if fresh from a bath of dew, and her breath was as sweet perfume of the richest rose.

But, strange enough, in the atmosphere that she carried about her was the contagion of death. From infancy, this beautiful princess was given only poison for food. She had been raised on it and had become so saturated with it that she herself had become the very essence of poison. She would breathe her fragrant breath into a swarm of insects, they would drop dead at her feet. She would place the loveliest flower upon her chest, and it would fade and fall apart. Into her presence came a hummingbird; it fluttered, hovered, shuddered, and fell dead.

This beautiful but poisonous princess is an accurate picture of the world we live in. Ever since the fall, in Genesis 3, mankind has been in a constant condition of decay and darkness.

Simul Justus et Peccator

In Genesis 6:5, Moses writes something that modern society and many Christians, will strongly disagree with, something that should have a sobering and humbling effect. In these verses we find the reason why Jesus came, and from these verses, we understand why Christians are called to be the salt and light of the world. Genesis 6:5, “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.”

When all the checks and balances are in, the only verdict to be offered to mankind is that our heart is only evil all the time.

Sin has infected every part of our person. Our body and our soul - the heart, the mind, and the flesh -are all tainted with sin. Simply put, we are not perfect.

There is a second story from Greek mythology. This is the story of a goddess who moved about unseen but was always known by the blessings she left in her pathway. Trees blackened by forest fires put forth new leaves as she passed by. In her footprints at the brook side, violets sprang up. The stagnant pool became a spring of sparkling water, the parched fields blossomed like the rose, and every hillside and valley blushed with new life when the goddess passed by. This story is a beautiful picture of the Christian who lives by kingdom standards, in this decaying and dark world.

Christians are people who have been saved from this corruption and darkness into God’s blossoming life and brilliant light. We have been justified. Our filthy rags are replaced with the righteousness of Christ. We are given forgiveness and adopted into God’s family and become citizens of the kingdom of Heaven.

In John 17 we are given Christ’s High Priestly prayer, I will begin at verse 14. He says, “I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”

Why are we sent into the world?

What has Jesus sent us into the world to do?

He says, do whatever you want. Do as the world does. NO, instead, we, as Christians, are to live in this world, yes, but live according to God’s Word. Jesus prays to the Father that He protect His people from the evil one, from Satan’s deceits and schemes, his way of doing things, the world’s standards of behaviour. Jesus asks the Father to separate His people from the world.

But He isn’t telling us to give up on or leave society altogether. Not giving us permission to go and hide as hermits, or in Christian only communities. But to be the salt and light in this world.

Salt as a seasoning is only able to do its job if it is taken out of the cupboard and comes out of shaker. Light is only beneficial if it isn’t hidden. But live according to God’s truth. What is God’s truth? God’s Word is truth; the Bible.

Salt of The earth

We see the standards of the kingdom in practice throughout the New Testament letters. But Jesus puts it very clearly right here in Matthew 5:13ff. In our passage Jesus treats us with 2 ways Christians should be making a difference in this world.

In verse 13, “You are the salt of the earth” Christians are to be like salt. We all know what salt is, and when we hear the word salt our minds think of flavouring our food. But, well before refrigeration people used to use salt on meat to preserve it. In fact salt was so important in the ancient world that in some parts of the Greek world salt was seen as almost divine.

Roman soldiers were often paid with salt, and if they didn’t do a job particularly well they wouldn’t be ‘worth their salt’. Jesus teaches His disciples that they, and all Christians, are to be a positive influence for God, in the world. Jesus is telling us that the we interact and affect the world, as Christians, is significant.

Salt isn’t just Salt

In first century Palestine salt was a little different from our modern table salt. Table salt is about 85% sodium chloride, but Dead Sea salt has only about 30% sodium chloride. The rest of the salt mixture is made up of other forms of salt and minerals. Table salt will not lose its flavour as it is a stable compound.

Dead Sea salt, on the other hand, can lose its flavour, especially when it was exposed to water, . We too can lose our effectiveness of influencing the world when we begin to take on their ideals, their standards. Verse 13, “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.”

We have seen this losing of our saltiness in recent years where Christian’s, both individuals and whole churches, have sided with the world when it came to changing the nations laws. Notably in same-sex marriage, abortion, and gender fluidity. I was discussing with a grandmother about the same-sex marriage vote Australia had a couple of years ago. She claimed that her grandson was gay and that although she told me she was Christian she was voting for the change.

Why?

Because she just wants her grandson to be happy. This is what happens when we don’t regularly fill up on the Word of God. We lose our saltiness. This “losing our saltiness” is guaranteed to happen if there isn’t solid Biblical truths in our minds and hearts.

Christians, instead, are to be hindering the downward spiral of this corrupt society, not helping it along. The World is increasing in scientific, medical, educational, psychological, and technological knowledge at an amazing rate. We are able to see below the microscopic level, we can see distant objects in space, and heal many types of diseases. The human race went from horse travel to motor vehicle.

Even now we are seeing petrol powered vehicles slowly dying away as electric powered vehicles become more common. We could be totally fooled into thinking that mankind is eventually going to produce utopia on earth. We have mobile telephones, electronic books, electric cars, video calls, and it goes on and on. The problem is that as our knowledge gallops forward, the world finds more and more ways to revolt against God, destroying itself and those around them.

Just like the beautiful princess has the contagion of death, which effects those around her, so too do the inhabitants of this world. In their attempt at finding harmony apart from God, they instead find only decay and corruption.

Light of the World

In Matthew 5, Christians are called not only salt, but also the light of the world. Verses 14-16, ““You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 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. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Within the first 5 verses of John’s Gospel we are told that Jesus is the light of the world. As Christians we are to reveal to the world who Jesus is. Mirror’s reflecting His glory upon mankind. In this way we are the light of the world. There is 2 parts to our being light.

Firstly, we are to show who Jesus is by proclaiming His Gospel. We simply tell others what the Bible says. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

And sprinkle the truth of Christ with what He has done in your life. We don’t have to win an argument against those outside the church. We are called to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Secondly, we show who Jesus is by possessing His Gospel. This involves prayer, prayerful study the Bible, prayerful meditation on the Word and prayerful application to our lives. Possessing the Gospel is the hardest part because it is one thing to know what is right, but another thing to do what is right.

I may know that it is right to show grace and patience while driving my car on the road. To show God’s love and mercy to that person who just cut me off on the overtaking lane. But, if I don’t put it into practice. If I am not graceful, patient and merciful toward that person, then I am, at best, a light hidden under a bowl, but at worst, a lamp running on empty.

Unfortunately, that is how many Christians live their lives. We need the constant refueling that only comes through personal contact with God.

Objective Truth v Subjective Truth

As you know, one of the problems is that the world does not distinguish between what is right and what they do. The world thinks that a same-sex couple is normal, so what happens? marriage gets redefined. A woman is first and foremost queen of her own body and so abortion becomes legal. You don’t feel like a man, or you a woman, so gender reassignment surgery is lawful.

Truth is no longer God centred, but individual centred. We, as God’s light in this world, display His truth by both proclaiming and possessing the Gospel of Christ.

Start living the Blessed Life of God.

It seems almost impossible, doesn’t it? We have trouble keeping ourselves from sin.

How can the Church influence this corrupt and lightless world?

In the beatitudes, the Lord Jesus gave us some great principles and qualities that make Kingdom citizens distinct from the world. We are those who have are poor in spirit, despise sin while at the same time being gentle with others. We hunger for righteousness. We reflect God’s mercy, His purity, and His peace in this troubled world. And because of this, we are persecuted. These are kingdom traits and signify an outlook on life that is radically different from that of the world.

The downfall is that, though we are called to preserve and bring light into the world, we can never change mankind’s basic nature. The world is spiraling down toward judgement. Many people have an opinion on what is wrong with the world and how to fix it.

We hear many people give advice on the best way to save the planet and humanity, on how to “fix” the problem. Some, rightly, go so far as to name the problem to be humanity. Christians can either be extinct in the way we operate in this world, not being the salt or light of the world. Or, we can be distinct from the world. We can demonstrate the corrosive way or the life-giving way.

When we stop worrying about things like how the world views, the Holy Spirit will emboldened and empower us to both proclaim and possess the Gospel. We will live distinct live as the Holy Spirit enables us to live as we really are - people who are saved and are citizens of the kingdom of God.