Being the salt and light
Matthew 5:13-17
Introduction-
We have been for several weeks in a study of the Sermons on the Mount.
Jesus sitting on the mountain teaching His disciples the way that they should be living their lives.
Blessed are those who mourn for others.
Blessed are those who show mercy, pure in heart, peacemakers.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for the kingdom of God.
All of these are characteristics of God that should be lived out in a believer’s life.
Then he continues his teaching with his followers. It is the text for this morning.
Matthew 5:13-17
As Christians, or believers, what is our responsibility?
Jesus answers that question here- We are to be the salt and the light of this world.
What does that mean? What does that look like?
Peter writing to a scattered persecuted congregation in Asia Manor says
“You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once you were no people but now you are God’s people; once you had not received God’s mercy but now you have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9-10)
In verse 13- Jesus tells us “You are the salt of the earth”
He doesn’t say should be, try to be, do your best to be. He says to be the salt of the earth!
Now you have to remember the times we are talking about. Salt was a very important commodity in ancient times.
It was a preservative. There was no refrigerators and meat was salted to keep it from spoiling.
Salt had value- The King would have a whole room filled with salt and it was actually used as money. They would pay the soldiers in salt.
It is where we get the term “He/She is worth their weight in salt”
So if we are to be the salt to where God has placed us, we have to think about a few things.
How can we act as a seasoning agent? Improve the quality of life of those we come in contact with.
Not enough salt and we are blah. Plain. Not changing anything.
Too much salt and we overpower them. Really don’t give them a chance to digest what we are saying because we don’t taste good.
Salt should make a person thirsty. Satisfied by water.
A Christian being the salt to those around them should make others thirsty for the things of God. Desiring for them to have what they have, a relationship with God.
Illustration-
A peanuts cartoon showed Peppermint Patty talking to Charlie Brown. She said, “Guess what, Chuck. The first day of school, and I got sent to the principal’s office. It was your fault, Chuck.” He said, “My fault? How could it be my fault? Why do you say everything is my fault? She said, “You’re my friend, aren’t you, Chuck? You should have been a better influence on me.”
To be salt, we do not have to be spectacular.
To be salt, we do not have to be sensational.
To be salt, we do not have to be successful. (by the world’s standard)
We just have to affect our little corner of the world that the Lord called us to.
We way we live.
Things we say.
The attitude we give others.
We produce positive or negative results to society. There is no middle ground.
Did you know that salt is irritating. We do not run around trying to irritate people.
Christianity will rub some people the wrong way.
Because we will irritate their wounds of sin.
John Hamby says
“Live like a zebra in a herd of horses.” A salty saint will stand out, get noticed, and make others long for something different as well.
Salt preserves- That is not saying much for our society, because it is rotting and decaying because there is less and less salt to preserve it.
50 years ago, one cuss word in the movie “Gone with the wind” had everyone up in arms.
Now we have spiraled downward! (comment)
What would this world look like if Christians played their part?
What if the world was not able to call us hypocrites?
Illustration-
Priest picks up the phone at the church.
Hello, is this Father O’malley? Yes it is.
This is the IRS calling, can you help us? I will try.
Do you know Ted Houlihan? Yes I do.
Is he a member of your congregation? Yes he is.
Did he donate 10,000 dollars to your church? He will.
To impact people the way that the Lord wants us to, we must influence people in a positive way that leads them toward God and not away from God.
Jesus goes on to say,
“But if the salt losses its saltyness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.”
Salt really does not lose its ability to flavor., but Jesus uses a illustration they would understand. Salt was put into tile ovens to enhance the flames. After awhile the salt losses that ability to increase the flame and they would take it out and throw it on the ground.
Countries that would take over other countries would throw salt down on the roads to signify that they were conquered and unable to defend themselves.
Grab these last thoughts of salt.
Salt is necessary for flavor- Christians might irritate the wound at first, but we are not called to be sugar. We are not called to be boring, blan, or tasteless.
Salt is white symbolizing purity. We are to be in the world yet live pure lives. We are citizens of heaven living in a rotten world to make a difference.
Salt is also a fertilizer. We must function so that we promote growth. We must oppose evil and promote good.
Salt should make people thirsty. We must make those around us thirsty for the things of God.
If we do not, Jesus says we are no longer good salt doing what we are intended to do.
Jesus also tells us that we are to be the light of the world.
Light takes away darkness. I don’t care how dark it is outside, a little light shows up and it dispels the darkness.
John 8:12
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Because we are made in the image of Christ. Jesus is the light, we are to be the light for those we come in contact with.
When you carry the Bible, Satan will get a headache.
When you actually open it, he collapses.
When you read it, he faints. When you live what you are reading, he has to flee.
Jesus gives us the power by the Holy Spirit living inside of us the ability to reflect the image of Christ in our lives. The power to change circumstances and the ability to see lives changed.
The metaphor of light is often used in the Word.
Isaiah 9:2
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light, those who dwell in a land of deep darkness.”
You Girl Scouts here this morning, and each one of us have a responsibility to let our light of Jesus Christ shine where we are.
Light shines on dark things and exposes what is there.
Having humility and servanthood within our character does not make us toothless and wishy-washy.
The light that we bring is not our own light, but rather the light of God shining through our lives as the Holy Spirit works through us.
Winding down:
Don’t hide your light
We hide our light when we stay quiet to things that are contrary to our beliefs.
We hide our light when we fail to conform to the teaching of Jesus.
We hide our light when we do not allow the Holy Spirit to use us where God has us.
Illustration (sermoncentral)
The story is told of a man whose job was to be on the railroad tracks and warn with his light the upcoming train of the bridge that had been damaged. That night as the train came the man showed his lamp but the train went right into the ditch. The man was taken to court because they wanted to know why the train did not pay attention to this man who was to warn the train of the danger ahead. The man was asked, were you on duty on the night that the train had the accident? The man replied yes sir, thee judge once again asked did you have your lamp with you? The man replied yes sir. The judge asked the last question did you wave your lamp to the train? The man replied, yes I did. So the man was not held responsible. Later as the man went home he told his friends. “I am glad the judge did not ask me if my lamp was on”
The time has come to be the salt of the earth.
The time has come to be the light of the world.
I know we have several denominations here this morning, but the message is the same for all of us.
Illustration
In the early 80’s I lived in Corpus Christi, Texas. I lived out on Padre Island. There is a bridge that goers from Corpus Christi to the island. I know that in 2001 that a boat hit one of the pillars at night and made it weak. Because it was dark and nobody knew the boat had hit the pillar, it collapsed and 9-10 people were killed.
What happen in the dark must be exposed by the light.
Illustration
A lot of trucks have a sticker on the back that says “How’s my driving”? Call XXX-XXXX to report. This is to make the driver accountable. If God were to place a sticker on your back “How’s my living, or how’s my attitude”, what would He find out.
A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on it’s stand, and it gives light ot everyone in the house. In the same way, ;et our light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
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