The Kingdom Manifesto - 8b

The Kingdom Manifesto – 8

Salt of the Earth/Light of the World

Introduction

In his book To Change the World, author James Davidson Hunter writes about two ways which Christians have attempted to react to the world around us. The first is that Christians try to conquer the world. Either through military might (think Crusades) or political expediency (still happens even now), Christians at times have desired to rule the world, to govern it with our morality, to even punish those who disagree. The other way Christians have reacted to the world is to withdraw from it. The world is broken, it’s evil, it’s sinful. Therefore, it is reasoned, the best thing Christians can do is have nothing to do with it. So, we don’t participate in any of their holidays, we don’t read their books or watch their movies/shows, we cloister ourselves off into our holy huddles until Jesus returns.

Both strategies have been tried multiple times and in multiple ways throughout history. Both methods have been massive failures all around. James Davidson Hunter, through his research over all the eras of Christian history, presents that Christians are most faithful to Christ and most impactful in the world when we have what he calls “faithful presence.” Since Jesus neither calls us to social revolution nor becoming a hermit, the balance is found in faithful presence in the world. We are to be present in the world, but our presence is to be marked by simple, quiet, faithfulness to the Lord.

An example he gives of this is the historical period when the Vikings invaded Europe and enslaved the Christians. What was the Christian response? They did not seek legislative action. Nor did they attempt to overthrow their captors. They were simply faithful to the Lord as slaves of the Vikings. And it was wildly successful. One of the tasks the Vikings gave to their Christian slaves was to teach their Viking children. The Christians were educated, could read and write, while the Vikings were uneducated. So, when the Christians taught the Viking children, they taught them how to read by teaching them to read the Bible. They taught grammar by teaching them the grammar of Scripture. They taught them to write by writing Bible verses. What was the result? Within 2 generations, the Vikings had become completely Christianized!

As God’s Kingdom people, how do we live in a world that is not characterized by his Kingdom values? Do we conquer by force or by politics? Do we withdraw and live in caves (real or figurative)? After laying out the Beatitudes, the character qualities of his people, Jesus now shows us how those people live in a world that is unlike them.

Matthew 5:13-16 - 13 “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.

14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

Jesus uses two very distinct, glorious images to define and describe the role of the Christian in a non-Christian world. Each image, salt and light, carry a positive declaration and a negative warning. Let’s take a look at each one:

1. SALT – TRANSFORM THE WORLD

By its very nature, salt is transformative. Once it is applied, whatever it is applied to is never the same. I think this is the ultimate point Jesus is making by using this image of salt. In Jesus’ day, salt had many uses that we are largely unfamiliar with today. While we use salt to flavor food, it was much more utilitarian then. For example, salt was so useful that Roman soldiers were regularly paid their wages in salt. This is where our word ‘salary’ comes from.

With this image, Jesus could have meant a few things:

- Medication – salt was often used in medicinal ways in the ancient world due to its antiseptic properties. It cleanses and purifies. Even today, some Middle Eastern cultures will rub a baby down with salt immediately after it is born. The salt will clean out any scratches and keep them from becoming infected. So, Jesus could be talking to us about having a purifying effect on the world around us.

- Thirst Creation – salt obviously creates thirst; we know this well. So much so, that salt will cause you to retain water. It is a known fact in the medical world that if your body does not expel salt through perspiration, it will retain water and become bloated/unhealthy. So, Jesus could be saying that we are in the world to create a thirst for that which satisfies. During the Jewish Feat of Tabernacles, each day the priest would walk to the pool of Siloam and return with large containers of water, which they would pour over the altar. They did this for 7 days. On the 7th and final day of the Feast, they would pour the containers over the altar 7 times. It was on the 7th and final day of the Feast of Tabernacles when Jesus said this:

John 7:37-38 - 37 On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! 38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”

- Irritation – salt is a natural irritant. If you get that in your eyes, or in an open wound, you know the pain it causes. A.W. Pink notes that Jesus did not call us the “sugar” of the earth. Salt brings water to the eyes, not laughter to the lips. Now, is Jesus really calling us to be an irritant to those around us? Sort of. Not an irritant in the sense that we are personally irritating. But the fact of the matter is that the message we proclaim, the Gospel, is naturally offensive, fundamentally abrasive, and irritating to a lost and dying world. People don’t like to hear they are sinners. People don’t like to hear that they can’t save themselves, that they will never be good enough. People don’t like to be told that they must trust in Christ’s finished work on the cross because their works are insufficient.

- Preservation – this is before the days of refrigeration. The only way to preserve meat was to coat it in salt. This was the most common usage for salt. Meat naturally rots. So, if you wanted to hold the rot at bay, to lengthen the life of the meat, you had to use salt. Plutarch, the Roman historian and philosopher, wrote that because salt keeps meat fresh, salt was like a new soul put into a dead body. By calling us Salt, Jesus is making a clear declaration about the world…it’s dying. While it may have signs of life at times, it is spiritually dead and rotting. The Christian presence in the world holds the rot at bay and gives more time for the Gospel to go to more people.

2 Peter 3:8-9 - 8 But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. 9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.

- Fertilization – finally, salt was also used by farmers. When spread over a field, it aided the root system in absorbing water. Its presence made the field more receptive to the crop and the nourishment it needed. So, Jesus could be teaching that our faithful presence in the world helps others be more receptive to the Gospel. For example, this church supports missionaries from Pioneer Bible Translators. These faithful nerds (term of endearment) go into a culture and learn its heart language. Then they translate the ancient Hebrew and Greek scriptures into that language. It is a beautiful work. But before PBT sends in a translation team, they send in a field team. That team serves the village, meets the needs they have, cares for them. Then, when the translation is finally done, the people are far more likely to welcome the Gospel because they have seen, and been blessed by, Christians faithful presence in their community.

Whether Jesus was meaning one of those applications of salt, or all of them, the ultimate point is still the same. Christians have a transformative effect on the world in which they live. Your faithful presence in and among unbelievers makes an eternal difference. But with this comes a warning:

2. DO NOT BE CONFORMED TO THE WORLD

Notice the back half of v. 13 – “But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.”

What is Jesus talking about? Know that Jesus is not giving a chemistry lesson, as Sodium Chloride is a stable compound and does not “lose” its flavor. Salt loses its saltiness when it gets diluted. When it is mixed with other elements, its distinctiveness is forever lost. It cannot be used for any of the previously mentioned purposes if it is mixed with other stuff.

That is Jesus’ point. Christian, you are to be distinct. You are to preserve this world against its continuing rot. But if you are compromised, if you are mixed with the world, your purpose is lost. You can’t be salt if you are not salty.

Case in point: over the last several decades we have watched as churches in America have caved to liberal theology. In the name of being liked by the world, being relevant to the world, churches have watered down the Gospel, edited/reinterpreted the Bible, to show the world how cool and accepting they are. And do you know what happens to those churches? All of them are in decline. Entire denominations are in decline. The very world they hoped to attract isn’t attracted to a church that is just like them.

Craig Blomberg – “Believers who fail to arrest corruption become worthless as agents of change and redemption. Christianity may make its peace with the world and avoid persecution, but it is thereby rendered impotent to fulfill its divinely ordained role. It will thus ultimately be rejected even by those with whom it has sought compromise.”[1]

Romans 12:2 - 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Back to that verse in 2 Peter that we read earlier that our saltiness holds back the rot and decay of this world to give the Gospel more time to spread. As we do that, how is that we are supposed to live as we wait for God’s countdown clock to run out?

2 Peter 3:8-13 - 8 But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. 9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.10 But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.

11 Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, 12 looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. 13 But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.

3. LIGHT – SHINE BRIGHTLY TO BE USEFUL TO THE WORLD

You are the light of the world. Just as the image of salt implies that the world is dying, the image of light implies that the world is dark. And in the darkness of the world, you are to shine.

Philippians 2:14-15 - 14 Do everything without complaining and arguing, 15 so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.

Just as with salt, light has a number of different purposes. Light brings health. One of the treatments for seasonal depression is light therapy. God wired us to need light. Light brings life. God has designed that the very sun itself provide life on our planet. Light brings safety. Leaving lights on in your house while you are away, or safety lights on at night, dramatically decreases the likelihood of safety issues at your home.

But we are spoiled. We live in a culture that is inundated with light. We aren’t familiar with true, utter darkness. Still in some parts of the world, far away from civilization, you can experience such darkness that you cannot see your hand in front of your face. This was the normal reality for people in Jesus’ day. No electricity, no lights on the roads, no lights in the house once the fire goes out.

So, when he says that we are “like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden” he means it. This is likely a reference to the city of Jerusalem which sets upon a high hill. Again, there are no highway lights or directional signs. You would be able to see the lights of the city for miles and miles. Kind of like driving down the interstate at night…you can see the orange glow of a city from miles away. In this sense, light is a guide to bring the weary traveler home.

This is what the Bible means when it says in Psalm 119:105 – “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” One of the many solutions to the utter darkness of their day was to put little lamps on their feet as they walked. This was the only way for the path before them to be lit up without stooping down with a torch. The Scriptures are the light for our path. God uses it as light to guide us along the path of life. In the same way, we are the light that dispels the darkness in our world. We help light the way home. We show people the light of who Jesus is and how to get to him.

Danny Akin – “Christians are God’s plan to stop death and stamp out darkness.”

4. DO NOT BE USELESS FOR THE WORLD

This is the negative command that accompanies this truth. The inherent truth found in both the salt and light images in this: they are useless if they aren’t applied. Salt does no good if it stays in the container on the shelf. It has to be applied. Light does no good if it’s hidden away.

v. 15 – “No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.”

People tend to like to keep matters of faith on a personal level. You don’t talk about religion or politics, right? Listen…your faith is absolutely personal, no doubt about that. But while it is personal, it is never private. There are no secret Christians. We deny who we are as salt and light when we try to hide who we are and what we do. Salt that isn’t applied is useless salt. Light that is hidden is useless light. “Hide it under a bushel…no!”

Notice that these two images come right on the heels of the beatitudes. Friends, if those are the characteristics of God’s Kingdom people…you cannot live those secretly! Those are to be put on display. And notice what Jesus said was the result. V. 16 – “In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”

Ephesians 2:7 says that our lives are examples of God’s grace that he can point to for all future ages. We are on display. Now, that is not so that we get all the attention and people see how awesome we are. That’s never the point. And Jesus will correct any misunderstanding of this in chapter 6 about being careful to do our righteous acts for the Lord, not for attention.

William Barclay – “Christians never think of what they have done, but of what God has enabled them to do. They never seek to draw the eyes of others to themselves, but always to direct them to God. As long as people are thinking of the praise, the thanks and the prestige which they will get for what they have done, they have not really even begun on the Christian way.”[2]

The fact of the matter is this…if you live out the values of God’s Kingdom, you can’t help but for this to be done in public. You won’t be able to stop people noticing a difference in your life. And that’s the point! You are the salt of the…earth (not heaven). You are the light of the world (not church). Salt only preserves that which is dying. Light only makes a difference in the darkness. Our role in this world is to point people to Jesus.

James Montgomery Boice – “God uses the small things and the small people. God uses you and me that he might do his work in the world. As a matter of fact, the smaller you can become, the more effective his work in you will be. Do you know what we are to be? We are to be picture frames within which Jesus Christ is to be seen. God is not interested in its being a gold frame or a beautifully carved frame. He is just interested in its being an empty frame, because he knows that when you come to him with that, he can put Christ there. And when people look at you, they will see Jesus.”[3]

Conclusion

Notice the contrast Jesus offers here…if you live like this, people will see that and praise God. Didn’t he just say in 5:10-12 that people will persecute people like this? Yes he did. Here is the reality…some people will see the winsomeness of your Christian life and reject it. They will hate you, mock you, persecute you. Christians die every day for living like this. But others will see your life and be drawn to the Lord who transformed you.

2 Corinthians 2:15-16 - 15 Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. 16 To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?

Who is adequate for this? None of us. But the Lord has changed us. And he empowers us to be transforming salt on the earth. He, as the Light of the World, lives with us and causes us to shine brightly in the darkness.

Ion Keith-Falconer (1856–1887) was a Scottish missionary and Arabic scholar who died at the age of thirty-one. He won the world cycling championship in 1878 at the age of twenty-two but would leave all that behind and go to Egypt and later Yemen as a missionary for Jesus. He died from malaria after being married to his missionary wife Gwendolen for only three years.

What was it in this man that would cause him to give up all for the glory of King Jesus and the lost among the nations? I suspect it was this conviction buried deep in his heart that settled the issue: “I have but one candle of life to burn, and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light.” As was true of Ion Keith-Falconer, may it also be true of us: “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine!”[4]

[1] Craig Blomberg, Matthew, vol. 22, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 102.

[2] William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Third Ed., The New Daily Study Bible (Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 2001), 145.

[3] James Montgomery Boice, The Sermon on the Mount: An Expositional Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2002), 66.

[4] Danny Akin, Exalting Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2019).