Being Salt Series

Intro

We have found in our study of the Beatitudes that a certain kind of person is blessed (approved

and favored by God). This follower of Christ has the same characteristics developed in him that

we see in Christ. He is poor in spirit, mournful of anything that does not glorify God, meek, etc.

It is this kind of person who influences the world around him in a positive way.

Jesus does not end his discussion of the Beatitudes without explaining the influence of these

Christ-like people. So, in Matthew 5:13-16 he says,

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be

seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot

by men. 14 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be

hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand,

and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before

men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven”

(Matt. 5:13-16).i

In both verses 13 and 14 the pronoun is emphatic and contrastive; humeis este (you are) the salt

and the light.ii Only Christ’s followers, as described in the Beatitudes, qualify as salt and light in

this world.

Designed for Influence

God’s purpose in transforming people to fit the mold of the Beatitudes is not fulfilled

until those people are influencing other people. Our understanding of the Beatitudes must not be

confined to what we become. That is essential. Our doing must always flow out of our being.

And the kind of being that rightly influences the world is described in the Beatitudes. But this

kind of devoted follower of Christ does not live unto himself. We are not called to hunker down

in a holy huddle and congratulate ourselves on spiritual progress. We are to let our light shine in

a dark and needy world. Just as each person of the Trinity goes out toward the others in love, so

Beatitude-described believers live for the wellbeing of others: the wellbeing of other believers

and the wellbeing of all humanity.

The language of love is always dominated by the word “others.” On Christmas Eve 1910,

“General William Booth, the founder of The Salvation Army was an invalid and near the end of

his life—it was impossible for him to attend the Army’s annual convention.iii But he sent a

telegram that was read to the thousands of workers in attendance. It contained only one word, a

word that summarizes Jesus’s message in our text today: “others.”iv If the spiritual development

in our lives does not point us to others, that development cannot be the authentic work of the

Holy Spirit. God’s sanctifying work of grace in believers is to deliver us from self-absorption

and orientate us in love toward others.

Paul understood this when he wrote,

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing” (1 Cor. 13:1-3).

It is no wonder that Jesus spoke our text in Matthew 5:13-16 immediately following his declaration of the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes fall short of their purpose without these disciples functioning as salt and light in the world. Commenting on the metaphor of salt, Luther wrote, “Salt is not salt for itself, it cannot salt itself. But it is used to salt meat and other things in the kitchen so that they keep their taste, stay fresh, and do not rot.”v

Transformation Essential for Proper Influence

Why did Jesus teach the Beatitudes before stating our text? To be salt and light in the world, one must be the people described in the Beatitudes. Immeasurable harm is done by unconverted preachers who present themselves as messengers of righteousness but are preaching “another gospel.”vi They declare themselves as God’s peacemakers, but it is not the gospel of peace that they preach. Nor do they represent the God of peace who sent Christ into the world to provide genuine peace in the hearts of men and women. They are the blind leading the blind off the cliff into spiritual destruction (Matt. 15:14). “Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8). Spiritual sight must begin with the new birth, as Jesus said in John 3:3, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” The seeing must precede the leading. The new birth gives the person eyes to see. It is foundational to the sanctifying process that develops increasingly clear sight through purity of heart. Only those who are under the tutorship of the Holy Spirit as described in the Beatitudes are fit to function as salt and light in the world. Those who climb up some other way do more harm than good.