Salt & Light Living Series

Matthew 5:13-16 [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. [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. (ESV)

Imagine the following social experiment: You divide up (people) into two groups. Those who agreed to live by traditional moral values live in certain (locations). Those who reject traditional values take up residence in other (locations) that would allow them to do whatever they pleased, morally speaking. After 20 years, which (locations) would be better off—economically speaking? The traditional values locations would be far better off, because the (morally) liberal (locations) would be spending $500 billion dollars every year dealing with the economic costs of their moral decisions. Jim DeMint and David Woodward outline those costs in their book, titled: Why We Whisper: Restoring Our Right to Say It's Wrong. As the authors note, "As elected officials and judges continue to throw traditions overboard from the ship of state," conspicuously absent from the political debate "is the mounting cost in dollars [and] debt." …the quest for unfettered moral freedom has come at a very steep price—a price we all pay, whether we engage in these behaviors or not. And at the same time as we pay—more and more each year—we are being told (by media outlets, provincial human rights commissions and others, that (we are narrow-minded bigots if we speak out against the destructive behaviors that are causing the increased costs. (http://www.breakpoint.org/listingarticle.asp?ID=7820)

In Matthew 5:13-16 the Lord summarizes the function of believers in the world. Reduced to one word, that function is influence. Whoever lives according to the Beatitudes is going to function in the world as salt and light. Christian character consciously or unconsciously affects other people for better or for worse. When we live the life of the Beatitudes some people will respond favorably and be saved, whereas others will ridicule and persecute us. Though Jesus was speaking before a great multitude of people on the hillside, His teaching about kingdom life was primarily for His disciples, for those who believed in Him. The principles He teaches here are appropriate only for believers, for they are impossible to follow apart from the power of God’s own Spirit. Here is a mandate for Christians to influence the world. The Beatitudes are not to be lived in isolation or only among fellow believers, but everywhere we go.

There are two poor reactions that we can come to in response to general moral corruption in society. We can be either surprised as to the persecution and we need to get our heads out of the sand. Or, we think there is nothing we can do, and bemoan the moral state of society. God doesn’t want either for His people. He calls us to be salt and light.

The figures of salt and light emphasize different characteristics of influence, but their basic purpose is the same. In Matthew 5:13-16 we are to have an impact on society and in this section of God’s word we can see how God enables us for 1) Being Salt & Light (Matthew 5:13a, 14), the problem if we are 2) Not being Salt & Light (Matthew 5:13b, 15), and 3) The Benefit of being Salt & Light (Matthew 5:16).

Living in this world, God enables us in:

1) Being Salt & Light (Matthew 5:13a, 14)

Matthew 5:13a [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. (ESV)

• We will spend most of our time in this first point in order to flesh out the concept and implications.

In both verse 13 and verse 14 the pronoun you is emphatic. The idea is, “You are the only salt of the earth” and “You are the only light of the world.” The world’s corruption will not be slowed and its darkness will not be illumined unless God’s people are its salt and light. The very ones who are despised by the world and persecuted by the world are the world’s only hope. The grammatical structure gives a very important clue on the condition: The you in both verses is also plural. It is His whole body, the church, that is called to be the world’s salt and light. Each grain of salt has its limited influence, but it is only as the church collectively is scattered in the world that change will come. One ray of light will accomplish little, but when joined with other rays a great light is created. Jesus thus calls his disciples to arrest corruption and prevent moral decay in their world (Blomberg, C. (1992). Matthew (Vol. 22, p. 102). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)