Salt And Light Christians Series

SALT AND LIGHT CHRISTIANS

Matthew 5:13-16

Intro: When my sister was in high school, boys were naturally drawn to her. She was a pretty girl, very funny and very outgoing. One boy that wanted to date her came to see her and talked about his love for her. He was kind of lanky, awkward, and a little goofy, but a really nice young man. That night he told her that she was like a bright flame and he was the moth that was drawn to her.

She made the mistake of telling us about this. We teased her so much that she told him she would not go out with him. He went on to become a doctor. Who knew??

** Our job as believers is to draw people to Jesus Christ.

How do we do this? Jesus gives us some insight by talking about 2 things– salt and light.

1. BEING SALT IN A THIRSTY WORLD.

Mt 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth”

A. The Value of Salt. As Jesus spoke this, the people conjured up various images about what it meant to “be salt”. They probably thought about its various qualities, but one thing was it’s VALUE. Salt is cheap today, but 2000 yrs ago very valuable.

* Body contains 4oz salt- without it our muscles + heart couldn’t work.

* Healing wounds- Napoleon men died on Moscow retreat-lack of salt.

* More wars fought over salt than gold in ancient times.

* Salt is called the “essence of life” and Jesus called us “salt of the earth.”

* Roman Soldiers were partly paid in salt.. A Bad soldier was "not worth his salt."

* I think people realized Jesus was calling them something necessary and valuable.

B. The Qualities of Salt.

(1) Salt Creates Thirst.

It has been said that you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. True. But if you feed it some salt then it will get thirsty and drink.

* We can’t force someone to become a Christian. Like salt, though, our testimony and life can make them thirst for what’s missing in their life that they see in ours– Jesus Christ.

(2) Salt Enhances Flavor.

** PRANK- As kids we would prank our Mom and Dad by putting salt in their coffee when they weren't looking. The faces they made cracked us up. They began to watch us and their coffee carefully and demanded that we didn't put salt in their coffee anymore. We were crafty, though, and figured out a way to obey their demand but still prank them. One night, we replaced the sugar in the sugar bowl with salt so that they would put the salt in their Coffee instead of us. Their was a sudden disturbance in the force the next morning. We explained that we didn't put salt in their coffee, they did. But, no amount of debate would convince them that we hadn't disobeyed them.

Salt in coffee is awful, but it makes other foods wonderful.

Salty popcorn, salt/chocolate, salty bacon.. Makes your mouth water to think about it. Even cakes have a pinch of salt.

* On our first date, my wife and I went to the movies. She asked for M&M's and popcorn. When we sat down, she poured her M&Ms into the popcorn bucket. I thought that was kind of weird...... until I tried it. It was awesome!

* Imagine how bland our foods would be without salt.

* Christians must enhance the world around them. We should share the joy of Christ with the whole world.

(3) Salt Preserves/Purifies.

In the old days most people had no refrigeration. Meats would spoil quickly. So, they would make bacon, hams, jerky, etc. out of their meats. Salt would be used to cure the meat so bacteria wouldn’t cause it to spoil.

* Many medicines are made in a saline solutions to decrease bacteria.

* our purpose as believers is to preserve morality/purity in the world. As we share Christ with lost people, we introduce purity to them.

2. BEING LIGHT IN A DARK WORLD.

Mt 5:14 14 “You are the light of the world.

The Benefits of Light.

(1) Light Makes the Darkness Flee.

Jn 1:5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. {overpower it}

We live in a dark world. The Gospel brings light and salvation. We are the bearers of the Good News of Jesus Christ.

(2) Light Exposes Flaws/Imperfections.

LED Skin Scope- I read about this being introduced at the Chevy Chase Cosmetic Center. This is used to examine the skin to diagnose cancers and other skin problems that cannot be seen with normal light. Once these issues are exposed, the person realizes they need to be treated.