Salt and Light
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
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 they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
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.
Jesus is talking to a specific group of people in this passage.
When he says, “You”he is specifically talking to those that he had just identified in the beatitudes just prior to this passage. Those that are poor in spirit, mourners, meek, starving for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and persecuted for righteousness sake.
If you are Blessed by Jesus, You are called to be Salty
If you are Blessed by Jesus, You are called to be Salty
“You are the Salt of the Earth”
Jesus uses an object lesson to explain to his disciples how they should exist in the world. The first example that he used was one that everyone is relatively familiar with: Salt.
We are Salty…that is what Jesus says.
Now, this doesn't mean that we should be disgruntled people…im obviously using this as a play on words...
When Jesus says that the church is to be like salt…
Salt in the ancient world had many qualities: It was a purifier, a preservative, and it enhanced.
Before the age of refrigeration, butchers would pack their meat cuttings in salt in order to preserve the food and keep it from rotting. Medical doctors would pack wounds full of salt in order to kill germs and protect patients from infection. And chefs would add salt to food in order to enhance the taste (we are familiar).
So when Jesus says that we as his people are to function like salt, what he is saying is that we have a responsibility. We are to preserve, purify, and enhance where we have been placed.
We are to preserve those things that are true and right.
We are to resist and purify evil.
We are to enhance the lives of those that God has put around us.
This means that we are not to be a people who ever become tolerant toward sin. Sin is an impurity, it is a disease, and salt is a purifier. Therefore, if we as the church are going to be worth our salt…we must do the difficult but necessary and life giving work of killing indwelling sin. We must never be tolerant toward sin, even though we are very accepting toward sinners. We never excuse sin, because we know that sin brings forth death.
And because we are people that have been born again, made right, and recieved life through the Spirit…we seek out ways to put to death the deeds of the flesh, by the Spirit, in order that we would live. (Romans 8:13)
When it is found in our own lives, we are to purify it. We are to kill sin, or sin will be killing us. To not kill sin, is to lose our saltiness, and therefore it is good for nothing, it must be thrown out because it is worthless.
We are called to be Lit
We are called to be Lit
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Salt in a Bland World
In a world full of hate…we are to be a community of love.
In a world that is focused on self…we are to be a community that is focused on others.
In a world that is
We are to be Visible
The Church is a God Glorifying Community
