Salt & Light

Matt 5:13-16 ““You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

Intro: In 1858, scottish missionary, John G. Paton launched his Journey to the island of the NEW HEBRIDES. He described the people on this island as uncivilized savages. In His early years as he was building his house he had to take shelter because a war broke out between tribes. The victors of the battle took the bodies of the dead into the river to wash them and then cook and eat them. The native men would carry clubs and revolvers always to use against their wives if they did something they didn’t like. Men would beat their wives without repercussion and often even kill them.

Parents would stop caring for their children once they could walk. Their cannabalism lead them to dig up the recently burried to eat the flesh that remained. They would kill women and children to offer sacrifices to their false Gods.

John Paton early on in his missionary career witnessed the death of his young wife and new born Son due to malaria.

BUT he never waivered and he never left - he continued in his mission he was obedient to Christ and began to make a differnce in this corrupt community BEFORE he could even speak the language. The people already learned of His God because of his faithfulness to pray and to have integrity. So much so that when He could finally speak their language they were eager to hear what made him the way he was. The Gospel was received by the canabals and their world changed.

They changed from uncivilized, sacrilegious savages to humble, bible loving believers that you may meet in Heaven.

What is it about Christians that makes their presence SO INFLUENTIAL? We are studying the SERMON ON THE MT. which is constantly reminding us that Christians MUST BE DIFFERENT! But what makes them useful and influential like John Paton?

Need: How can we impact the world? What is your responsibility as A Christian living in the world? What relationship are you to have with the world, unsaved friends, family? How are we to conduct ourselves in society? We are told to be in the world but not OF the world BUT how? THIS PASSAGE answers these essential questions.

Prop: The G.S.E.P continues to remind us of the truth that Christians Must Be Different BUT tonight the passage we will study begs us to ask the question, Are you useful or useless?

Thesis: 4 requirements to be a useful Christian in this world… 1) Be Aware 2) Be Salty 3) Be Lit 4) Be Unashamed

1. Be Aware v.13

Be aware of the state of this world.

Verse 13 is not just a description of the Christian but by implication, the non Christian as well.

Christians are salt (Which we will dig further into next) but that carries qualities of PURIFICATION, PRESERVATION & PREVENTATIVE. It works as a cleansing antiseptic.

The world therefore is opposite, not filled with an element that preserves it from rotting.

The world is presented by Jesus to be like a piece of meat, unsalted, left out on the kitchen counter for flies to swarm.

The world is a breeding ground for impurity, corruption, evil and the disease of sin to run rampant.

The world in which we live is fallen and will always get worse and worse if God does not act.

Ever Since Adam and Eve sinned in the garden the effects of sin have been at work.

Gen 6:5 “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

So God PURIFIED the earth by flooding and killing ever person except for Noah and His family.

But like left out meat it again went bad - Sodom and Gomorra exemplifies this best with unspeakable and GROSS sin so bad God destroyed the cities.

So do not be surprised with the state of our world today

War all around and civilians dying

Over 400,000 homicides every year

800,000 suicides every year (1 every 40 seconds)

Over 450,000 cases of rape every year

1 Million babies killed in abortion every year in the U.S. alone

Theft and Riots are practically permitted

Yet the brightest minds cannot figure out how we got here - in fact the world has said that as time goes on things will get better. Evolution requires humans to grow and morph into better people - scientist of the 19th century hypothesized that by the 21st century there would be no more war, less crime, less poverty, less suffering.

The world you and I live in is growing more and more rotten and dark - and if we are to be useful we must be different we must not be rotten but pure, not dark but light and unashamed about it.

Don’t be surprised when the world hates you for your faith, BE AWARE

2. Be Salty v.13

Salt has many uses

FLAVOR - Job 6:6 ““Can something tasteless be eaten without salt, Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?” It is possible that Jesus meant we are to add flavor to life - if anyone is to be happy, energetic, to have purpose it is def the Christian. I think he definitely means that we are to be NOTICABLE

PURIFICATION - Exodus 30:35 ““With it you shall make incense, a perfume, the work of a perfumer, salted, pure, and holy.” Salt is white and could be an illustration of purity that makes sense with the use of light, which is also white when completely pure. Jesus may have meant Christians are to be pure, undefiled and holy if they are to impact the world and be useful to The Kingdom of Heaven

Kill plants - Deuteronomy 29:23 “‘All its land is brimstone and salt, a burning waste, unsown and unproductive, and no grass grows in it, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in His anger and in His wrath.’” - Did Jesus mean we are to destroy the world with salty Judgement?

PRESERVATION - you ever considered that freezers didn’t exist until the 1940! So meat would be throughly rubbed with salt to preserve it from bacteria and disease. Jesus meant we are to preserve the world from reaching its MOST rotten extent. That does naturally happen right? We know in the end times when the rapture happens ALL Christians will be gone and the world will no-longer be preserved from God’s wrath, from the second the Christians leaves it takes 7 years until everyone ends up in Hell.

Think of the way salt is used as a preserving antiseptic on wounds. If you rub salt in a fresh open wound it does much good in cleansing and preserving BUT it causes much pain.

Salty Christians WILL sting the world, the world needs the salt to prevent it from completely rotting but it will hate the salt because it hurts.

YOU will never be useful to Jesus in this world if you do not OFFEND the world - because truth is offensive - Jesus didn’t call us the honey of the world but the salt. When we see issues, sin, lies - we aren’t told to enter smooth and sweet like honey BUT TO BE SALT that stings but works! Gracious, loving, stinging salt.

You are the salt of the world - your presence alone is preserving element.

Let me ask you how SALTY are you?

When your friends are in a conversation making crude jokes for which your saviour died, will your presence alone make them uncomfortable? Does your presence change the attitudes, words and thoughts of others?

Does the way you conduct yourself in the classroom affect other people positively? Does it make them ask questions?

Does anyone ever ask you why you are different? Why you don’t cuss, don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t cheat, don’t lie, can’t hang out on sunday mornings, why you pray before you eat, why you’re so kind, helpful, WHY YOU ARE SO DIFFERENT? That is saltiness

Being Salty is being a living testimony of Jesus Christ, it is preaching the Gospel without talking, it is who Christians ARE.

Look at what Jesus says about unsalty salt - v.13b - it is good for nothing

How can salt be unsalty you ask?

ILLUS: Carl Lentz - Justin Biebers Pastor creating HUGE interest in Christianity and the church, and although theologically soft - we would say he is in a sense bring morality and Christianity to the WORLD and making them talk about it.

But Carl Lentz lost his saltiness in 2020 when allegations had surfaced. It was confirmed that he had indeed morally failed and when interrogated was found to be unrepentant and bragging about his ability to lie and decieve.

Let me ask you, to whom is Carl Lentz useful?

Clearly not to Christ - he did nothing but brought dishonor to his name

But also not to the world - he finds no exception there, the world persecutes him for his hypocrisy

It is for this reason that Jesus says “It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.”

There is forgiveness for every sin found in Jesus Christ and although he eliminates the VERTICAL consequence, you will still feel the horizontal ones

When you RUIN your testimony in front of the worlds eyes, what use do you have? We must remember that the ROTTING world is watching the “salt” closely and we must be careful to keep are saltiness.

Be Salty and then Be Lit

3. Be Lit v. 14-15

I don’t mean that in the way the world has or does (DRUNK/ EXCITING)

In order to understand what it means to be light we need to look at THE light

John 8:12 ““I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.””

When we come Jesus we receive the light of the Gospel but we also become light

Eph 5:8 “for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light”

It is for this reason that Jesus says “YOU” are the light of the world - he emphasizes that YOU, Christian and YOU ALONE are the light of the world.

Like the moon which has no light unless the Sun shines on it, so are we Moons to the God {who} is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.”

You are the only hope, there is no other light, there is no other salt. We are God’s plan A to bring the message of salvation to the world and there is no plan B.

Let that sink in for a moment - the world is DARK - they may as well be blind. Even the “BRIGHTEST” minds are blind Matt 15:14 they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.””

Think about the MOST FAMOUS BRILLIANT MINDS in WORLD HISTORY - surely they were some sort of light to the world right? Plato, Aristotle and Socrates ALL lived, taught and died - centuries before Jesus said that “You and YOU ALONE” are the light of the world.

Philosophers, Scientist, Politicians or Experts are the LIGHT - YOU here tonight who know God are the light

Let me come back to this in a moment - we see that we are THE ONLY LIGHT - but what is a useful light?

Well if SALT was preaching the gospel without a word, LIGHT is preaching the GOSPEL with them

It is for this reason Jesus placed salt before light and not VICE VERSA.

We are to build a platform with our lives - allow our saltiness to grab the attention of the dark world and then LET our light filled words SHINE bright into that darkness.

The truth will expose the utter sinfulness of those around, it will brighten the words of Scripture so they can read them and will GUIDE the path to salvation.

We must take every opportunity to be a light in this dark world. In fact Jesus says for the Christian it is inevitable, v.14b - 15

You and you alone are light

ILLUS: Valet Story - giving a drunk person the keys

Connection: I was the last line of defense, if I didnt say anything they would go and kill someone or themselves or both and I’d be guilty

May it never be said that a group of young people in Murrieta - had the light of the gospel but didn’t let it shine. That they had the answer, the solution but kept it secret while the world, classmates, teamates, friends and family went to Hell.

Spurgeon “If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for.”

Write down the name of that person who NEEDs the gospel and give it to them TONIGHT

If you have never evangelized before begin now, print out gosepl tracts keep them in your binder and leave them on your desk for the next person

TALK to the friend you invited tonight

Go home and beg and plead with your unsaved mother, father, brother, sister - to come to Christ

Don’t be a dim USELESS light covered with a basket but be a USEFUL lit one AND FINALLY be unashamed

4. Be Unashamed v.16

Lights do SHINE

Salt is SALTY

The only way you can disobey this command is by being the man who puts a basket over the light.

Its completely and utterly foolish it makes no sense at all

And I believe that is precisely Jesus’ point

ILLUS: What would you do if you came over to my house for dinner, Brooke is placing food on the table and I say “We need a little more light’” So i turn on the light and then put a blanket over it? You’d say you are actually insane, stupid, crazy and foolish.

When a professing Christian HIDES the fact that they are a Christian, when a professing Christian HIDES what they actually believe, when they fail to SALTY and they fail to be light - we must begin to ask are they really salt and light to begin with? Because if they are they WILL let it shine SO THAT people don’t say look how great they are but v.16 they see your good works and say HOW GREAT GOD IS.

Christians inevitably influence the world - Do you?

If you are consistently putting a basket over your Christianity, if you’re trying to be more like honey than salt, if you shy away from sharing your faith or from obey the Lord because of fear of small persecution, loss of reputation, loss of friends I beg you to consider if you really have faith at all?

There is no one more useless to God then a person who is a Christian by name only. Meaning they call themselves a Christian but don’t have the quality of a Christian. They want to appear as Christians but not function as one, salt without flavor, light without light.

They know enough about Christianity to not be worldly but doesn’t know enough to be actually useful.

They have no belonging - they aren’t worldly enough to be completely accepted by the world but they are actually a believer so they don’t have real fellowship with the church or with the Lord. They have Christianity without the joy, peace and life.

These people are the MOST USELESS because Jesus says they are v. 13 “The only things they are good for is to be TRAMPLED on”

and in Revelation 3 Jesus says that they are so disgusting to Him that He will SPIT them OUT OF HIS MOUTH.

You who have been flirting with Christianity, who have a superficial faith, you the fence sitter, the lukewarm, the worldly Christian - I beg you tonight to come to Christ - he has died for the punishment of your sins, he has risen defeating sin, and has ascended to heaven.

Confess your sin & turn from it.

Luke 19:10 ““For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”” You who are lost, there is nowhere else to turn but to Him who is already looking, who is inviting you tonight. Come to Jesus and find forgivness, find mercy, grace, love. Find joy and peace, satisfaction, light and life.

Come to Jesus and be saved - and transformed from ROTTEN to SALT, from DARKNESS to LIGHT, from USELESS to USEFUL.

Conclusion: John G. Paton - at the end of his Salty and Light filled life said this “Life, any life, would be well spent... in bringing one human soul to know and love and serve God and His Son” There is no higher, no nobler PURPOSE than to be salt and light in this world.

Will you be useful to Lord?