Salt and Light

Introduction: (What?)

After teaching the disciples the characteristics of a person who is in the kingdom of God, Jesus then fleshed out how this looked from a practical application. He used two metaphors to which they could relate that would describe the behavior that He expected of those who would be His disciples. In this case “being” involved “doing”. They were to BE salt by DOING the things that salt did. They were to BE light by DOING things that light did.

Examination: (Why?)

You are the salt of the earth. (v 13)

Jesus did not say “You might be, or you should be...” Rather He said in Matt 5:13 ““You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.” After making this initial declaration, He then explained that there was good and bad salt. John McArthur notes that “Salt is both a preservative and a flavor enhancer. No doubt its use as a preservative is what Jesus had mostly in view here.”

Much of the salt in Jesus’s day came from the Dead Sea. The salt content of the Dead Sea is about eight times that of the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans. It is so salty that it is very easy for one to float without sinking. However, this salt is contaminated with gypsum and other minerals which may cause it to lose its distinctive taste or be useful as a preservative. It was mainly used to keep footpaths free from vegetation, McArthur notes.

Interestingly, the word salary is derived from the word salt. Often salt was used as currency. People paid for services or products with salt.

The salt that Jesus wants believers to be is distinctive in taste and enhances the flavor of life when applied. It is also a strong preservative which means that it preserves the truth of scripture through the lives of believers who live out the scriptures.

Some biblical references to the use of salt are:

Num 18:19 ““I give to you and to your sons and daughters all the holy contributions that the Israelites present to the Lord as a permanent statute. It is a permanent covenant of salt before the Lord for you as well as your offspring.”” The meaning of a “permanent covenant of salt” is that it is a covenant that will never go away. It has been preserved for all time. It is mentioned again in 2 Chronicles 13:5 “Don’t you know that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt?” This application so far as disciples are concerned means that for the Christ-follower, their word is their bond. They speak truth and do not change even if it is to their disadvantage. It means that if they say they will do something, they do it. It also means that they will speak the truth even if it hurts the one to whom they are speaking. In Eph 4:11-15 “And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness. Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head—Christ.” If you truly love someone there will be times that you must tell them the truth, even if it hurts them at first, so that later they will be better off because of what you told them.

As a preservative, salt keeps things from spoiling or decaying. It also cleanses and disinfects. In Bible times newborn babies were rubbed with salt to cleanse them and destroy any germs that would cause skin diseases. As disciples we are to be those who preserve the truth and heal society by our very presence, even if in doing so we may cause discomfort for a time.

Salt also has a distinctive taste. It alters and enhances the taste of food when it is applied. Believers are to be distinctive. They are to stand out in this world without being stained by the world. The power of our testimony, demonstrated by our lives, brings a distinctive flavor to those we meet. That is what Paul had in mind in Ro 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.” When we are transformed we bring enhanced flavor to the world. In Col 4:6 “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person.” He is not talking about “salty language” as some understand it. Rather Paul wants our speech to preserve the truth of God’s Word while at the same time bringing a bit of a sting, if necessary, to get the unbeliever’s attention.

To sum up, being the “salt of the earth” means that disciples should enhance any relationship they have while never wavering in standing firm on the Word of God. Jesus was welcomed into the homes of unbelievers even though what He said to them often stung. He never backed down from telling them that their way of life would lead to eternal separation from God, and neither should we. Don’t lose your saltiness.

You are the light of the world (vv 14-16)

Jesus further stated that disciples are the light of the world. Matt 5:14-16 ““You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are 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 in heaven.”

Years ago our family was in the Chattanooga area and visited Ruby Falls. As you may know this is an underground waterfall that is 1,120 feet deep in a cave. Before they turn on the lights that let you see the waterfall, they turn off all the lights along the path. The darkness is so thick that you can almost feel it. You can hold your hand 1 inch from your face and you cannot see it. This is what the spiritual darkness in our world is like. In Matt 4:16 Jesus quoted Isaiah 9:1-2“The people who live in darkness have seen a great light, and for those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.”

As followers of Jesus we are the reflectors of His light into our darkened world just as the moon is a reflector of the light of the sun. The moon only reflects 3-12 % of the suns’s light. What we call a “full moon” is when the moon is 180 degrees exposed to earth because of it’s orbit.

In John 1:4-5 we find that Jesus, when He came into the world brought with Him life which was light. “In him was life, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.” We are now the light that penetrates the spiritual darkness so that those who have never seen Jesus might see Him through us. As such we must penetrate the darkness by what we say and how we live. When I was in high school, an unsaved friend of mine attended our church and made a profession of faith. When I went through the line to welcome him into our church he said to me, “You are the reason that I made this decision today.” That shook me because I had never spoken to Paul about Jesus. I had never witnessed to him by word, but evidently I was “the light of the world” that showed him the way to Jesus. As John McArthur notes, “A godly life gives convincing testimony of the saving power of God.”

Again it is worth noting that Jesus didn’t say “You should be...’ or “You can be...” but rather He said “You ARE the light of the world.” Our responsibility as lights in a dark world includes;

Making sure that our light is not hidden, but is placed where it can illuminate the most area for the most people.

Making sure that we are ALLOWING our light to be seen. If we have surrendered to Christ, we will have to make an effort to hide His light and keep it from shining through us. Unfortunately many Christians go to great extremes to keep their light hidden.

Making sure that our lens is clean and the light source is lit or turned on. (read “A Lighthouse Keeper’s Duty”) The Bible says in Matt 6:22 ““The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light.” Your life must be full of light if you are to reflect the light of Jesus to the world around you.

Application: (How should I respond to this message?)

Salt is only effective when it comes in direct contact with what is to be salted. Just having salt in a shaker on the table does nothing to enhance the flavor of your food. By the same token, if you have little or no interaction with unbelievers, you will never to the “salt of the earth to them. Are you consciously building relationships with unbelievers so that you can be salt to them?

For a reflector of light to be effective it must always be in close proximity to the light source. Jesus is our light source. If we are to be “the light of the world”, we must be close to Jesus. We do that by spending quality time with Him daily. When I was a youth pastor we would often sing a chorus entitled, “Give Me Oil in My Lamp”. The first verse and chorus went:

1 Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning. Give me oil in my lamp, I pray. Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning. Keep me burning till the break of day.

Refrain: Sing hosanna, sing hosanna, sing hosanna to the King of kings! Sing hosanna, sing hosanna, sing hosanna to the King!

Choose today to BE what Jesus said that you ARE. Surrender to Him today. Bring preservation and flavor to those near you. Let your light shine for Jesus wherever you go.