SALT AND LIGHT
Matt. 5:13-16
Intro: Make connection between the beatitudes and us being salt and light.
1) We need to be salty (vs. 13). There was a time when salt was a much more precious commodity than it is today. “On October 2, 1864, one of the worst battles of the American Civil War was fought. 2800 Confederate soldiers squared off against 4500 Union soldiers. The battle is forever recorded in American history as one of the worst atrocities that has ever occurred on US soil. After a day of intense fighting, shots continued throughout the night muffling the cries of wounded Union soldiers. This intense fighting and great loss of life was all over salt. One of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War was fought over Saltville, VA--the largest supplier of salt to the Confederate army. Salt was so valuable that more wars have been fought over it than gold.” Historical facts about Syracuse, the salt city. Salt museum. The salt industry has a long history in and around Syracuse going all the way back to 1654. Onondaga Lake was once known as Salt Lake. In 1784 the region came to be known as the "Onondaga Salt Springs Reservation" and provided the basis for commercial salt production from the late 18th century through the early 20th century. The majority of salt used in the country in the 19th century came from Syracuse. In many societies salt was so valuable that it was used for money. The English word salary is derived from the Latin word Salarium which refers to the payments made to a Roman soldier with salt. Pretty valuable stuff. Jesus calls us salt. Why would he refer to his evangelistic disciples this way? How are we like salt? One way is that salt is a preservative. They obviously didn’t have refrigerators back then so salt was the means by which they preserved their food. The salt was rubbed into the meat before it was stored. The salt hindered or stopped the process of decay. Therefore we are called to hinder or stop the decay of the world. We are called to preserve the gospel; we are called to preserve the image of Christ. Another purpose of salt is flavoring. Salt can make a bland food tastier; more appealing. Some people aren’t interested in the gospel. As the salt of the earth we can help to make the gospel more appealing. We can show them how flavorful life can be if they come to Jesus. Salt also helps to motivate people to become thirsty. Like the saying goes, “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink. No, but you can put salt in his oats.” We are the salt whose intended purpose is to make people thirsty for the living water. Titus 2:9-10. By living a more appealing way we can make the teaching about Jesus attractive to people. Paul said in Col. 4:6 that our conversations with people are to be seasoned with salt. Part of being the salt of the earth is found in how we are talking with others. We are to be having conversations that are wholesome and beneficial. By the way we live, speak and act we can draw others to Jesus. “There was a business owner who had employed many Christians in his company. He would watch them closely. "You know, I was naturally drawn to God by observing Christian workers who were conscientious and kind and thorough and aggressive on the job," he said. "But I’ll tell you what really impressed me. One day a guy who I knew to be a fresh convert asked if he could see me after work. I agreed to meet with him, but later in the day I started to worry that this young religious zealot might be coming to try to convert me. I was surprised when he came in my office with his head hanging low and said to me, ‘Sir, I’m here to ask your forgiveness. Over the years I’ve worked for you I’ve done what a lot of other employees do: borrowing a few company products here and there, taking some extra supplies; I’ve abused telephone privileges and I’ve cheated the time clock now and then. But I became a Christian a few months ago and it’s real. In gratitude for what Christ has done for me and in obedience to Him, I want to make amends to you and the company for the wrongs I’ve done. So could we figure out a way to do that? If you have to fire me for what I’ve done, I’ll understand. I deserve it. Or, if you want to dock my pay, dock it whatever figure you think is appropriate. If you want to give me some extra work to do on my own time, that would be okay, too, I just want to make things right with God and between us.’" Well they worked things out. And the business owner said that this conversation made a deeper spiritual impact on him than anything else ever had. It was the single most impressive demonstration of true Christianity he had ever witnessed.” We are to be the salt of the earth. Salt losing its saltiness. Salt can literally lose its saltiness. There’s an interesting description of this by a man named Maundrell. “In the land of Judea there is a place known as the Valley of Salt. On one side of the valley, toward Gibul, there is a small precipice about 12 feet long, occasioned by the continual taking away of the salt; and, in this, you may see how the veins of it lie. I broke a piece of it, of which that part that was exposed to the rain, sun, and air, though it had the sparks and particles of salt, it had completely lost its savor. However, the inner part, that which was connected to the rock, retained its savor." Maundrell discovered that the salt that had become disconnected from the rock had eventually lost its saltiness but the salt that had stayed connected to the rock hadn’t. That’s the formula for us as well. Stay connected to the rock which is Christ and we will not lose our saltiness. Mark 9:42-50, Luke 14:25-35. We can become unsalted through ignoring the beatitudes and not pursuing godly attributes (Matt.), through giving ourselves back over to sin (Mark), or through not persevering (Luke). Losing our saltiness is losing our effectiveness. Losing my saltiness is losing my value, my worth (it is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled by men). Losing my saltiness is like when Jesus cursed the fig tree because it wasn’t bearing any fruit. It’s not a happy ending if that happens. Jesus is warning us. He’s telling us to be on the alert. It’s as if he’s saying, “You are the salt of the earth. You have been given a great privilege but also a great responsibility. But be prepared because you will encounter troubles. I am sending you to heal wounds. And what happens when salt enters the wound? It hurts? It’s helpful but it’s not pleasant. Some will not understand and will react unfavorably toward it. I’m telling you this so you will be forewarned and persevere through it. Also, watch out for the enemy; the devil. He hates you because you bear my name and are spreading my message of salvation. He wants to steal your saltiness through things like deceit, sin, fear and apathy. Don’t let him! I am with you. Cling to me and you will not fail. Be diligent and remain salty so you can escape the consequences of being unsalted.” We are the salt of the earth.
2) We need to let our light shine (vs. 14-16). Wait a minute? Jesus said of himself in John 8:12 that he was the light of the world. Here he is saying I am the light of the world. Which is it? Jesus is the true light of the world. He gives us his light so that makes us the light of the world. We have no light of our own but we are reflectors; reflectors of Christ. We are to be a moon and reflect the Son. How brightly do I shine? How well do I stand out? How well do I show others that I am a disciple of Jesus? If I were on trial for being a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict me? “The Definition of a Saint.” A young boy went with his parents touring around Europe one summer. Part of their tour included visits to the great old cathedrals of the past. As he visited cathedral after cathedral, he was impressed by the massive stained glass portraits of the disciples and other saints as he stood in their great empty halls looking through the beautiful stained glass windows. Upon returning home, he was asked by his Sunday school teacher about what he liked the most. He thought for a moment of those great churches and their grand windows and he said, "I loved the sense of awe and the hugeness of who God must be, and I loved the stained glass windows with their images of the saints." "And what is a saint?" his teacher asked. His mind went back to those beautiful windows and he said, "A saint is a person the light shines through." That is a good definition of what a saint of God is supposed to be. We are to reflect the light of Jesus to a lost and dying world. “A city on a hill cannot be hidden”. Jesus wants us to be fulfilling the purpose for which his light was placed in us. He wants us to be exposed; he wants us stand out. Jesus wants us to be recognized as his followers. A city on a hill draws attention. That’s what we’re supposed to be doing-standing out and drawing attention-in a good way! A city on a hill can be seen far and wide. Jesus wants our light to shine far and wide. He wants our influence to be talked about and spread around. Light a lamp and put it under a bowl. This sounds pretty absurd, doesn’t it? Who lights a lamp and then covers it up? [dramatize]. That’s what we can have the tendency to do as Christians, though. God has placed his light in us for a purpose but sometimes instead of fulfilling that purpose and letting our light shine we hide it. Matt. 6:19-24. If we have the light of Christ and allow something to hide that light; if we allow some form of darkness to overshadow the light how great is that darkness! It’s one thing to have nothing but darkness in you. But what’s worse is when we have the light of Christ in us and instead of letting it shine through we allow the darkness of the world to overshadow it. Children’s song-this little light of mine. Hide it under a bushel? No! The kids scream this word. We should be like this. Are we going to allow a bushel of pride to hide our light? Are we going to allow a bushel of lust, greed, addiction or gossip to hide our light? Are we going to put the bowl of fear or apathy over our light? Hopefully we’ll answer the way kids do-with a loud and strong-NO! And as salt can lose its saltiness, what happens when you cover a candle (oil lamp)? It goes out. Jesus mentioned that persecution is coming our way. So it makes sense to caution against us becoming unsalted and hiding our light because that’s the danger of handling persecution in the wrong way-it will drive the salt right out of us and it will cause us to hide our light. We are told in 1st Thess. 5:19 not to quench the spirit’s fire. Satan’s got the hose; God’s got the wood. We need to make the right choice. Sometimes our fire dies down; sometimes we may just have some embers burning. We need to allow God to get his poker out and stir them around and rekindle the flames before they die out. Our light may get dim, sometimes it flickers but it can come back-just make sure you don’t let your wick get snuffed out. Jesus wants us to shine. All this shining we do is not for our own glory but for his-‘that they would see your good deeds and praise God’. 1st Pet. 2:9-12. We are to cast off the darkness and embrace the light. We have been called out to stand out. We are to live as children of the light bearing the fruit of the light; part of which is when those who don’t understand the light see our shining example and in turn are changed and come to glorify God because of it.
CONCLUSION: “In the Canadian province of New Brunswick there is a church building on Deer Island that for many years has served as a physical light house to the fishermen of that community. It is not that the building has any unique architectural design that would resemble a nautical lighthouse. It fact, it resembles the style of many church buildings built a century ago. It is the location of the building that makes it ideal as a lighthouse. The Worship House for the Church of Christ in Lord's Cove is elevated a few hundred feet higher than the Cove below. For many years the fishermen returning to port could see the steeple of that Church building for miles from the water. In days before electronic equipment to guide them home the fishermen would aim for the Church building when returning to port. From miles away, the men would aim for the church, or the light in its steeple. That course of direction would guide them past all the ledges and shoals, and safely back to the home port. In the 1960's the government installed navigational lights for the fishermen, but prior to that the church building had served as the Lighthouse. Just as the physical light of that building was a light that led many safely home, so also the Light of Jesus Christ leads all who will follow his light to their heavenly home. May we also serve as a light for Christ to guide others to the home port of heaven.” Jesus referred to the seven churches in Rev. as “lampstands”. Cornerstone is a lampstand that burns bright in the darkness of Syracuse. We need to keep it burning so people can be drawn to the light of Christ.
