You Are Who Jesus Says You Are!

You Are Who Jesus Says You Are!

Matthew 5: 13-16

Salt and Light

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. 15 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. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that[a] they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Let us pray:

Father, thank you for the instruction in your Word to who a believer is in Christ. A simple description with profound implications for us, and for the entire world. Simple, but extremely powerful!

Father, help us to interpret, understand, and apply this to our walk as Christians. Let the Holy Spirit be our teacher, and may the words I say today concerning Your Word, be Your Words and not mine!

Help us with the understanding what it means to be salt and light and live it for Your Glory! In Jesus Name, AMEN.

What you have in these very simple four verses is the picture that our Lord gives of the Christian in the world, the function of the believer in the world. And if I could reduce it down to one word, it would be the word “influence.” Our Lord is saying that the Christian who lives according to the Beatitudes is going to influence the world as salt and light. In all that a person does the sum total of our character, consciously or otherwise, affects other people.

Illustration:

Changing the Signs

William Barclay, a British theologian, tells the following story in his commentary on this Biblical text. He told a story about someone changing signs. That is, at an intersection of the road, one sign would point to the city of Seattle and another sign would point to the city of Tacoma. And the boy wondered to himself: How many people could I send down the wrong road if I changed the signs? Barclay comments that Your very life is a sign post with a sign on it. Are you sending people down the wrong road or the right road?

A well know little poem about the Christian life goes as follows: We are living a Gospel A chapter each day, By deed that we do, By word that we say; Men read what we live, Whether faithless or true, Say! What is the Gospel According to you?

By the mere fact of being a Christian, we are influencing the world around us whether knowingly or unknowingly. We will investigate this fact today from these versus in Matthew.

I have always been fascinated by these versus, as a new believer I would read this and want to understand, it can sound strange at first, we are to be salt and light? What could He possibly mean by this. It must mean more than the physical properties, more than the senses of taste and sight! This is another prime example of how Jesus would use metaphors to exact a deep and profound meaning of our Christian lives! Simple, yet so powerful!

In college I was a science major, and would study both salt and light in my chemistry and physics classes, to understood the properties of these substances. So this being brought up in scripture peaks my interest to understand. But how is our Lord Jesus who just delivered his first and most prolific sermon here on the mount relating this to who we are as a believer?

The final Beatitude in verses 10-12 is transitional. We see, in verses 10-12, the attitude of the world toward the believer, and in 13-16, the attitude of the believer to the world. The world is going to hate us, but we still have to be salt and light to influence them. The important truth is revealed that the people whom the world hates are the very ones that so desperately need to be influenced by. Did you hear that? The world may hate us and the world may persecute us, but the world is absolutely dependent upon us being the influence and the verbal manifestation of the gospel of God.

So God has chosen you!

I. You ARE here to Influence the world.

How am I salt? And, how am I light? And what is the implications of this in my life?

It is interesting what Jesus says here, and what is not said. He doesn’t say you could be, or might be, or should be, or will be, he says you ARE!

You ARE the Salt of the earth, You ARE the light of the world! So when you become a believer, this is who you become, no exceptions, no if’s, and’s or but’s, you ARE.

How are we to influence this world then? How can we be in it and not of it? How can we be sent to it and not love it? The solution comes in verses 13-16. We have to be salt and light. Salt, in order to be effective, has to interact with the substance it's affecting, and yet salt is distinct from that substance. Light, in order to dispel darkness, must shine upon the darkness, and yet is distinct from the darkness.

The effects of salt are penetrating! The effects of light are illuminating!

So let’s investigate together this morning what this means to us as Christians.

II) You Are the Salt!

13 “You are the salt of the earth

You are Salt! There are several opinions to the meaning of this in the commentaries about this so we will investigate several.

It is important for us to understand the context of what salt meant to the people of the first century.

a) Salt is Valuable:

Salt was a very valuable commodity in the ancient world, here are a few facts about it:

-We get the word SALARY from an ancient word meaning salt-money.

- Salt was so valuable that Roman soldiers were often paid in salt, If a soldier was not worthy of his pay, this is where we get the saying, “not worth his salt” comes from.

-It was considered a staple of life along with oil and wine and was often given as a reward for good service.

-An ancient Near Eastern custom still practiced among some Arabs today is that a pact of friendship is sealed with a gift of salt.

So Salt was valuable

b). Salt was also very Purposeful:

Salt had many uses: Used as a commodity-for trade or payment.

It was used for flavouring-to bring out flavor and taste.

It was used as a preservative.

Salt was recognized as having medicinal value as well. How many of us have had a cut and felt the sting of salt in it, it can have a disinfecting affect. It was even used to rub on babies after birth in the old testament which you can read in Ezekiel 16:4.

We read in Numbers 18:19 and 2 Chronicles 13:5 these scriptures record that the agreement between God and His people of Israel was termed a “Covenant of Salt.”

Saline solution is usually one of the first things give in an IV when we are in the hospital, we cannot survive without salt!

Salt is very purposeful.

c). Salt was used for flavoring

The usage of salt in the ancient world gives us some insight about what Jesus meant by His analogy. One of the first things we think about is that salt adds flavor to food. Christians are to add a divine flavor to the world.

Job 6:6 6 Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt,

The goodness that it brought is seen in the figure of speech used in Colossians 4:6 that Paul tells Christians to “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer every one.”

So salt in biblical terms and times was valuable, it was purposeful, it added flavor, was a great preserver, and it was it was used for agreements and contracts.

With this in mind, we can understand that regardless if the people were Roman, Greek, or Jewish, those that were hearing Jesus say, “you are the salt of the earth” understood that He was talking about a very valuable and purposeful commodity.

But the main emphasis I think here is that salt is a good preserver. Salt keeps things from rotting and decaying.

d). Salt is a preservative, and stops decay.

Salt was used as an preservative- It would prevent food from rotting, and from decay. There weren’t any refrigerators or freezers in the first century so if you wanted to keep your food from going bad and decaying around you, you would us salt as a preservative.

Salt is needed where there is decay. Salt is used where there was corruption.

I don’t know about you, but does it feel like this world around us is just rotting away, it is in decay? Some days it just feels like it is almost completely rotten.

I love technology-it is very useful.

Technology has always been promoted as making our life easier, enhanced, better. And certainly there has been great things that have come about due to its advances. But now we have smart phone, an internet connection anywhere and everywhere, always connected. Social media 24/7.

Social media was promoted as a way for us all to connect, and it has, but now we are more connected to our phones than each other. How many of us have seen people out to dinner, and everyone is sitting on their phones and not even talking to one another. The phones and internet are actually separating us from one another. Providing endless distraction, keeping us from developing relationships.

The internet is decaying our society, it is estimated that as much as 50 percent of the content on the internet is pornographic in nature. No wonder they call it the DARK web. Listen to these stats:

-There are 42 million porn sites on the internet.

-The porn industry’s annual revenue is more than the NFL, NBA, and MLB combined

- 47% of families in the United States reported that pornography is a problem in their home.

- Pornography use increases the marital infidelity rate by more than 300%.

- 56% of American divorces involve one party having an “obsessive interest” in pornographic websites.

This Society is certainly in decay so what is answer to this problem?

Here in verse 13, "You are the salt," the pronoun is emphatic.

e). You only are the salt!

Nobody else! Literally translating verse 13 would be this: "The only salt of the earth is you." "The only salt of the earth is you." That's it.

You're it, and if you do not retard the corruption, there will be no retardation. We must live in the world, distinct from the world, if we are to fulfill the plan that Jesus set about to fulfill in the world. We cannot be corrupted by it; we cannot swallow its morality, or immorality, or amorality, or non-morality. We cannot swallow its materialism, we cannot swallow its self-centeredness, we cannot swallow its easy solutions, we cannot listen to its philosophies. We are the preservatives, we are the SALT!

And by the way, the “you” is plural. He's talking about the collective body of believers. No, you don't put one grain of salt on anything. You don't say, "Pass the salt," and then pick out one little grain and drop it on there. The flavoring only works in combination with other pieces of salt, other grains of salt. And the church, to influence the world, must be collective salt, you see. It's not enough to be all alone at it. We’ve got to be at it together, collective influence, its many grains of salt that affect a substance.

So the saved are the salt. The verb here, este, stresses being. The stress is on being; it’s on what we are and what we continue to be. And we are the salt, and we continue to be the salt, and we are the only salt in the world. Let me add this, it's not what we should be, it's what we are. Like it or not, you're the salt of the earth. By the way “of the earth” here implies the world, or all the earth. The only question is whether you're salty or whether you've lost your salt flavor. You are the salt. You either have a savor or you don't.

Jesus is not implying that an un-salty believer may lose his salvation. This is a warning, not a threat. Mixing our lives with too many impurities dilutes our witness.

Illustration: Silver-Removing bad influences

When silver is mined from the ground it is commonly mixed with a number of other elements. In order to get pure silver that can be used for commercial or industrial purposes, it must be refined. Silver has an extraordinarily high melting point—it must be heated to nearly 2,200 degrees in order to be refined to complete purity. Only when it has been through that process does the silver become useful for its intended function. Beautiful service pieces, high tech equipment, and collectible coins all become possible once the silver has been refined. Without that process, it is largely worthless.

Satan is delighted when we allow wicked influences to remain in our lives, because they keep us from fulfilling the purpose and will of God for our lives. One of his most effective lies is that such influences won’t really have any impact on us. Believing this lie has destroyed many believers as they fell prey to an influence they did not recognize and guard against. As Paul warned the church at Corinth, (1 Corinthians 15:33). Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.

The main point here is: Retain your gospel witness and testimony in the world; be a good example to others; have an impact on society; be different (in a good sense); seek to retard moral decay; seek to be a positive influence, do it in a tasteful manner!

So we ARE the Salt!

Jesus also says that the truly righteous are:

The Light of the World (Verse 14)

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 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. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that[b] they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

III). You ARE the light of the world.

And there is great Significance of light: illumination.

a). Light causes illumination.

Light dispels the darkness, light show the way, light reveals the truth, etc. While salt has a negative function (preventing decay), light has a positive function (showing the way).

Light is a common symbol in the Bible. It represents purity, truth, knowledge, divine revelation, and God’s presence all in contrast to their opposites.

Again here in verse 14, "You are the light of the world," the pronoun is emphatic. You only are the light, nobody else "The only light of the world is you." That's it.

b). Light dispels the darkness.

I think we can all agree, this world is in desperate need of light.

We would all agree that bad things happen in the dark. My mom would always say, nothing good happens after midnight! Most crimes are committed after sun down. You never hear people say they are scared of the light, right, you always hear scared of the dark.

Evil hates the light, evil hates the Son, evil hates the believer, Evil does not want to be exposed by the light. You AREthe light!

So what is the state of the world, we all know John 3:16, but what comes in the verses following this verse is so eye opening.

The State of the world: Let’s turn to:

John 3:16-21 For God So Loved the World

16 “For God so loved the world,[a] that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

So very interesting, so telling of the state of this world. Isn’t true though, if your doing something and you know it’s wrong you don’t want it out in the light! Wicked things hate the light, because it is exposed in the light.

Verse 21 “BUT”

Don’t you love the but’s in the Word.

But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

What ever is true!

c.) Light reveals the Truth!

God is truth, we wouldn’t ever know it without him!

Romans 1:18-22-let’s turn there.

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,[g] in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

The unrighteous suppress the truth, and their foolish hearts are darkened. And claiming to be wise they became fools!

This is a dark, dark world that is desperate for light!

Jesus tells us he is the light!

John 8: 12-14 I Am the Light of the World

12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true,

Pretty descriptive here, Jesus is the light, if we follow him, we will not walk in darkness, Jesus is truth.

Truth to live by!

Point of comparison: a light is visible, obvious, and noticeable; it shines forth. Citizens of the kingdom are “the light of the world.” They must be obvious, visible, and noticeable. There can be no such thing as a secret or invisible Christian.

-We are to be Positive examples

Again the “you” in you are the light is plural. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. So it is the cumulative effects of many lights together that make a city glow in the night. So together as believers we collectively light up this world.

A city situated on a hilltop cannot be hid; it is visible, obvious, clearly seen from a long distance, especially at night.

A lamp5 on a lampstand gives light to all in the house. You don’t light a candle and put it under a basket, that’s absurd, illogical. When the power goes out at night, you don’t turn on a lantern, and throw a basket over it, makes no sense!

A lamp it to be displayed, so it can shine forth it’s light!

The command: “let your light so shine before men.” Those who possess the light must transmit or shine the light. What a lamp is in a room, disciples of Christ are to be in the world. Followers of Christ are both visible and radiant.

[Believers] are the light lighted. He is the sun. We resemble the moon, reflecting the sun’s light. Apart from Christ we cannot shine.

Illustration: We must be plugged in. The electric bulb does not emit light all by itself. It imparts light only when connected and turned on, so that the electric current generated in the power-house is transmitted to it. So also as long as Christ’s followers remain in living contact with the original light they are a light to others.

John 15:4 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

Friends, Let’s get plugged in, let’s be who Jesus says we ARE! Jesus doesn’t turn the light on to just hide it under a basket.

If we know who we are in Christ, and what he commands, we will live by faith, not by sight.

John 13:17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

The results: Are up to God, not us

People see your good works.

One should not do good works to gain personal prestige or status but to be a good testimony. So one’s Christian testimony should be plainly visible, but one’s private religious duties should be done very quietly, not to boast.

People glorify God. This is no guarantee that unbelievers will turn to God based on your good works, but it does suggest that the believer’s good works may be helpful in leading others to Christ. Read Ephesians 5:8-9 and Philippians 2:15.

Ephesians 5:8-9 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true),

Philippians 2:15 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

So we are to be obedient, and the results are up to God

1 Corinthians 3:6-9

6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. 9 For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.

God decides, God gives the growth

You ARE the Light-“Brighten the corner where you are.”

Conclusion: Let’s commit ourselves to being salt and light in our community. As salt, we want to be a force against moral decay and a source of “flavor” to our world. As light, we must shine forth brightly in a dark world with the gospel message and with a positive Christian testimony.

Friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, You ARE who Jesus says you ARE, no exceptions, if you’re a Christian, by virtue it’s who you ARE!

If you haven’t committed your life to Christ, I have to say, don’t delay, accept the free gift of eternal salvation! The gift of eternal life with our Lord. It is an easy exchange, our sin, for His forgiveness!

In conclusion:

Let us be an effective influence! Be Salty, Be bright, we ARE SALT AND LIGHT!

Let us Pray!

Father, help us to be salt; help us to be light. Help us to so live that the world can see who You are and that we belong to You. Father, help us to be obedient to the things that are needful, the things that belong to Your kingdom, and to be separate from the world for Your glory, in Jesus' name, amen.