A City On A Hill
Matthew 5:13-16
OKAY – so we are in this message series, a chapter by chapter, verse by verse… in depth study, of the Gospel of Matthew.
TODAY – is week 16.
NOW – some may wonder, why we are spending so much time on just this one Gospel.
WELL – the answer is pretty simple.
YOU SEE – the goal of this study is for us (His people @ 3210 Proffit Rd) TO…
Know better, and to follow more closely, The One…
who gave His life for us, and whose name we bare.
QUESTION – is anyone out there or listening online good with this goal?
NOW CURRENTLY – we are unpacking the Sermon on The Mount (Matthew 5-7), which is the longest recorded sermon that Jesus ever gave.
AND – as we have been saying for weeks, this sermon given on the Northern slopes of the Sea of Galilee…
WAS and STILL IS – Jesus radical, counter-culture manifesto about what life in “His Kingdom” is all about…
UNDERSTAND – His Kingdom Is About…
•Being poor in Spirit, acknowledging our brokenness (our broken mess)… admitting that we are bankrupt before God and need His help… ‘God, please help me with…’ my worry, my family, my marriage, my addiction, my depression…
•Mourning… our loss, our sin and for this lost world…
•Being meek… keeping our power and strength under control for the good of others and the glory of God.
•Stopping all of our pretending, faking and spotlight performing… taking off our masks and getting real, cleaning the inside of our cup, aligning both our public self and private self, it’s about integrity
•Showing mercy…
•Hungering and thirsting to be right with God and to live right for God. It’s about hungering for His justice to roll on like a river and His righteousness like a never failing stream
•Being a peacemaker, actively seeking to reconcile people to God and to one another. It’s about breathing truth and righteousness into conflict
•Being persecuted because of the life we live and the Lord we love.
AND B/S- His Kingdom Is About…
•Being blessed, Inheriting the earth, being satisfied, receiving mercy, seeing God, being comforted, experiencing the kingdom of heaven, rejoicing in our great reward and being called a son of God.
AMEN?!
OKAY – here’s the deal…
Jesus opens up His radical, counter-culture Kingdom Manifesto, by describing… the character… the lifestyle,
of those who follow after Him and live
in His kingdom (in His church),
AND THEN – in Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus uses 2 metaphors to underscore the influence and the impact that those who live that way will have on the world around them.
AND UNDERSTAND – this is the only time in all four Gospels that Jesus uses metaphors to describe who His followers are.
SO MAYBE – it would be a good idea to lean into the Word today… What say you?
AMEN?!
NOW – I am pretty sure that most of us have heard this passage and these metaphors before…
BUT – I want to encourage you to hear them again, as if for the first time.
You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
You are the light of the world. 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 its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. – Matthew 5:13-16
MGCC…
WHEN - Jesus uses these two metaphors, ‘SALT’ and ‘LIGHT’
IS HE – saying that, “I want your faith to be private and personal.. and to go unnoticed?”
QUESTION…
CAN - SALT go unnoticed, when it flavors food?
CAN – LIGHT go unnoticed, when it dispels darkness?
UNDERSTAND B/S – in these 2 metaphors (salt and light)
Jesus is giving us/you/me… a mandate for us to live out our faith in a way that positively impacts and influences the world around us.
JESUS – is calling those who are following after Him, those who live in His Kingdom…
• TO - make a difference in the world.
• TO – not be silent and passive
• TO – not be hidden or embarrassed.
MGCC JESUS – is calling us…
• TO – be engaged with our culture
• TO – promote biblical values
• TO – speak the truth in love
• TO – live for Him, and…
• TO – share Him wherever and whenever we can.
AMEN?!
OKAY – here is how I want to attack our conversation this morning… By unpacking these two statements.
1. The Earth/World Is…
2. You Are Salt/Light…
HOWEVER – before we do that, I want to talk a little about SALT and LIGHT, and
• ‘
Pray
SALT
You are the salt of the earth… - Matthew 5:13
OKAY - let me give you some thoughts about salt.
UNDERSTAND – in Jesus’ day, salt was a very rare and precious commodity.
NOW TODAY - we take salt for granted, we have it on our tables, in our pantries and on the store shelves.
I MEAN – we even are told to cut back on our salt intake.
BUT AGAIN – salt was rare and precious in the ancient world.
IN FACT – the Greeks considered ‘salt’ to be divine, and the Romans said, nothing was more valuable than sun and salt, because in a day without refrigeration, the only way they could preserve meat was to salt it.
And they would literally rub the salt in.
Salt was so valuable that Roman soldiers were often paid with salt. And their monthly wage was called, their ‘salarium’ where we get our English word salary.
AND IF - you were a lousy soldier, you weren't worth your salt. YEAH - that's where that phrase came from.
Salt has also been used to express promises and friendship between people. AND EVEN TODAY – in many Arab cultures, if two men partake of salt together they are sworn to protect one another—even if they had previously been enemies.
In some cultures, people throw salt over their shoulders when they make a promise.
NOW – the salt industry claims that salt has over 1400 uses…
LIKE – that salt…
• Rises the boiling point of water, Lowers the freezing point of ice, Removes rusts, Puts out grease fires
• Makes candles dripless
• Keeps cuts flowers fresh, Kills poison ivy
• Treats sprains, sore throats and ear aches
WARS – have been fought over salt.
IN FACT – during the civil war… Salt mines were something both the Union and Confederate armies tried to attack.
December 1864 the Union Army attacked and dismantled a salt mine in a town in southwest Virginia (Saltville)…
Cutting off the major source of salt in the south.
WHY - was this such a strategic thing. Salt was used to preserve meat and cure leather for making shoes. Hard to fight a war without food and shoes. Many historians believe that if the south was able to maintain it’s salt supply the outcome of the war could have been different.
LIKE - who knew sodium chloride was so important?
In the ancient world, ingesting salt was a way to make an agreement legally binding. If two parties entered into an agreement, they would eat salt together in the presence of witnesses, and that act would bind their contract.
King Abijah’s speech in 2 Chronicles 13:5 mentions just such a salt covenant: “Don’t you know that the LORD, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt?”
AND BECAUSE – sharing salt was both a sign of friendship and covenant… To spill salt was often seen as a ‘shameful act of betrayal.’ Which is probably the reason why when Leonardo Da Vinci painted the Last Supper, he depicted Judas knocking over the salt shaker and spilling the salt onto the table.
IN – Leviticus chapter 2 we read…
Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings. – Leviticus 2:13
Job 6:6 talks about how salt was used to season food.
Can that which is unsavory be eaten without salt, or is there any taste in the white of an egg?"
Job says, "You don’t eat an egg without salt."
So salt is used to season and add flavor to things.
AND IN - Ezekiel 16:4, we read of a practice where a newborn baby after the umbilical cord was cut, and after the newborn baby was washed with water… they would rub them down with salt. Why? Seems kind of odd.
WELL – the reason they did this was because during the process of birth, there may have been some nicks, or scratches, or wounds that occurred to the baby, and this would act as a healing agent. AND – we get that right?
SALT – can heal wounds.
NOW - I know that is a lot of stuff about SALT.
BUT LISTEN – here’s the question when Jesus said to those gathered on the hillside 2000 years ago…
“You are the salt of the earth…” What did Jesus mean?
LIKE - what was the primary thought that came into the minds of the men and women gathered on that hill?
NOW – most scholars agree (I am concur) that the point that Jesus was driving home… when He told them and us, that we are the salt of the earth, is that…
His Followers, those who live in His Kingdom, His church are a preserving agent.
Get It?
UNDERSTAND B/S – it is Jesus’ intent that we (His followers) impede, hinder, inhibit, retard, counter, hamper, block, thwart, obstruct and put an end to the decay and corruption that is taking place among the people on this earth.
MGCC… B/S. You are the salt of the earth.
LIGHT
You are the light of the world… - Matthew 5:14
NOW – just a few thoughts about light.
For one – without light, there would be no life on the earth.
Which is why when the earth was still…
empty, formless and dark…
The first thing that God did (because He is the Maker of Heaven and Earth) was, He said.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. – Genesis 1:3-5
NOW – that was the first time of the 200+ times that the word ‘light’ was used in the Bible, and here is the last time.
And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. – Revelation 22:5
In John 1:5 we read that God is light…
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. – 1 John 1:5
AND – Jesus says of Himself in John 8:12
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” – John 8:12
IN…
• Psalm 43:3… we read that God’s truth in light
• Psalm 119:105… says that God’s Word is a lamp to our feet and light to our path.
• Psalm 27:1… the Lord is my light and my salvation
• Psalm 119:130… the unfolding of Your Word gives light
AND – in Matthew 4:16, Matthew quotes that great coming of the Messiah prophecy in Isaiah chapter 9, letting everyone one know that this prophecy has been fulfilled in Jesus.
The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. – Matthew 4:16
QUESTION – when Jesus told those sitting on the northern slop of the Sea of Galilee… that they were the light of the world…
WHAT – thoughts came into their mind?
Thoughts of the Messiah and of God’s truth.
OKAY – that’s some background on the terms salt and light.
NOW – for that first statement.
I. The Earth/World Is…
UNDERSTAND B/S…
Jesus in His statement about His followers being Salt and Light… NOT ONLY – is Jesus saying something about us.
BUT HE IS ALSO – saying something about the earth and the world, THAT…
• The earth is decaying and that is why it needs salt.
• The world is in darkness and that is why it needs light.
UNDERSTAND - just as meat cannot preserve itself, and just as darkness cannot expel darkness.
• The earth left to itself will rot, corrupt and decay, and
• Darkness left to itself will remain in darkness.
QUESTION
What happened when God left the world to itself after the fall of Adam? WELL - several centuries pass, and then we come to Genesis 6…
Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. - Genesis 6:5
AND THEN – after they were given another chance man fell into total depravity again, leading to the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah (in Genesis 19) which God again condemned.
UNDERSTAND - history has proven the point, again and again THAT – society if left to its own devises, continually tends towards decay, rot and corruption.
IN FACT - Paul wrote about this very thing in the opening chapter of his letter to the church in Rome.
NOW – in this chapter, Paul writes about how people (thinking that they were wise, smart and all that) became foolish and turned away from God and wanted nothing to do with Him or His Word (kind of like our society today).
AND THEN – Paul writes the following…
Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones.
In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.
They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful;
they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. – Romans 1:24-32
OKAY – that’s… rough… B/S…
• The earth, is decaying, and that is why it needs salt.
• Our world, is in darkness, and that is why it needs light.
I MEAN – it really is a mess out there.
• Over 100,000 people died of a drug overdose last year
• There were over 46,000 suicides
• Every 68 seconds an American is sexually assaulted, and every 9 minutes that victim is a child
• ~ 403,000 people are being trafficked in the US
• Since 1973 ~ 63 millions whom God was knitting in their mother’s womb, lost their lives.
• The past memorial day weekend… Chicago 51 shot, 9 killed, Philadelphia 40 shot, 14 killed… Across the US, 156 shot and killed and 412 injured
• I went on a news sight for like 15 seconds…
San Jose, California Librarian sexually assaulted a 13 year old girl, Another couple in California were arrested for torturing the 5 nieces and nephews that were left in their care.
I MEAN – our society thinks it is appropriate to teach 5 year old children in school, about sex and sexuality.
NOW – unfortunately I could on…
BUT – I am confident I have made my point.
THE EARTH - is decaying, and that is why it needs salt.
OUR WORLD - is in darkness, and that is why it needs light.
One of the commentators (John Stott) that I read this week wrote the following…
"WHEN - society does go bad, we Christians tend to throw up our hands in pious horror and condemn the non-Christian world; but should we not rather condemn ourselves?
IF - a house is dark at night there is no sense in blaming the house, that’s what happens when the sun goes down. THE - question to ask, is where is the light?
IF – meat goes bad there is no sense in blaming the meat, that’s what happens when bacteria is allowed to breed unchecked. THE – question to ask, is where is the salt?
IF – society becomes corrupt like a dark night or a stinking fish, there is no sense in blaming society, that’s what happens when fallen human society is left to itself, and human evil is unrestrained and unchecked.
THE – question to ask, is where is the church?"
You are the salt of the earth.
Understand – the word ‘You’ is emphatic in the original text. The idea is, “You, and no one else, is the salt of the earth.”
But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
You are the light of the world.
AGAIN - the idea is… “You, and no one else, is the light of the world.”
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 its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. – Matthew 5:13-16
NOW – for our second statement…
II. You Are Salt/Light…
AND NOTICE – Jesus He does not say, “You will be” or “You can be.” INSTEAD – He says that you are salt and light today, right now.
OKAY – so what does it actually mean to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world? NOW – I thought long and hard on this very question this week.
LIKE – what good does it do us or the world that God so loves… for us to know that we are to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world… if we don’t really know what it means or how to become more effective with both.
AND SO – here is what I came up with…
• Being the salt of the earth is about the life that we live, and
• Being the light of the world is about the truth that we share and the Savior that we point to.
SALT – ‘The life that we live’
UNDERSTAND – this is about…
• Living out our faith as consistently as we can.
• Living out as best we can the Fruit of The Spirit
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. – Galatians 5:22,23
QUESTION – do you think that a life lived consistently more and more with this fruit would have a positive impact and make a difference?
One of the commentators I read this week wrote…
The impact of salty Christians has effected entire countries. Consider impact of the First Great Awakening (revival) on England at a time when the rest of Europe was embroiled in political upheavals.
Even secular writers acknowledge that it was because of the impact of salty Christians like John Wesley and George Whitefield that England was spared the effects of the horribly bloody revolution that swept through France in the late 1700's.
Salty believers really do prevent from corruption and decay!
NOW – he went on to say that more frequently it will happen on a smaller scale. LIKE…
We all know there are certain people in whose presence a filthy story is naturally told, and there are others before whom no one would think of telling such a story.
The salty Christian is not self-righteous or condemning,
Nevertheless his or her life makes ungodly conversations seem inappropriate.
I believe such Christians exert an incalculable influence on society! Their mere presence reduces crime, restrains ethical corruption, promotes honesty, quickens the conscience, and elevates the general moral atmosphere.
The presence of such people in the military, in business, in education, in a fraternity or sorority will amazingly elevate the level of living.
And their absence will allow unbelievable depths of depravity. Believers, salty believers, are the world's preservative. The question we must ask ourselves is, what happens when we get to know people without Christ? Does it make a difference in their lives? Are we salt?
President Woodrow Wilson (28th) told the story of being in a barbershop one time.
"I was sitting in a barber chair when I became aware that a powerful personality had entered the room. A man had come quietly in upon the same errand as myself to have his hair cut and sat in the chair next to me.
Every word the man uttered, though it was not in the least didactic, showed a personal interest in the man who was serving him. And before I got through with what was being done to me I was aware I had attended an evangelistic service, because Mr. D. L. Moody was in that chair.
I purposely lingered in the room after he had left and noted the singular affect that his visit had brought upon the barber shop. They talked in undertones. They did not know his name, but they knew something had elevated their thoughts, and I felt that I left that place as I should have left a place of worship.
Perkins Example…
• For the most part I did a lousy job of being Salt while in the Navy
• Determined to do a better job when I waited tables for 4+ years while in Bible College.
As A.T. Pierson said,
We are not responsible for conversion, but we are responsible for contact.
NOW – Jesus does give us a warning about being salt…
You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
- Matthew 5:13
Technically salt cannot lose its saltiness.
You see sodium chloride is an extremely resilient chemical.
Now the word Jesus uses here would be more literally translated as the defiled.
Although salt cannot become unsalty, it can be contaminated with other substances. For instance, it was likely that around the Dead Sea, the natural salt in the water dried on the ground along with other chemicals and white dust.
The mixture could be scraped up and pawned off as salt.
Though it contained an element of salt, it was so contaminated that it's lost its preserving ability. If you bought a batch of this salt you could do nothing with it but pitch it.
The analogy to Christian is obvious. When we become mixed with the world, and start looking like and living like the world we lose are preserving influence in the society.
If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness – Matthew 5:13 MSG
Light
‘The truth that we share and the Savior we point to’
You are the light of the world. 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 its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. - Matthew 5:14-16
UNDERSTAND – while being salt is about living the life of faith… being light is about sharing the message of faith.
AND LISTEN – we are called to be both, ‘salt’ and ‘light.’
QUESTION – what is the truth (the light) we are to share with the world?
THAT…
• God so loved the world, that He gave…
• Yes, they are sinners… and yes, the wage of sin is death… but the gift of God in Christ Jesus is grace, mercy and forgiveness… and a full satisfying abundant life, the life they’ve always dreamed of.
• God is not against them, but for them
• He wants to call them home
• He wants them to be His sons and daughters
• satan is a liar and God’s Word is truth
AND – who is the Savior we are to point the world to…?
The One who…
• loved them enough to die for them
• touches the lepers and outcasts
• eats with sinners
• frees the captives
• brings healing to the broken
UNDERSTAND – if our light is not pointing people to the hope, love, grace and truth that are found in Jesus it not the light that Jesus’ intends.
NOW – will those in the world always appreciate it when our light shines?
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. – John 3:19,20
SURE – some may hate the light…
BUT B/S – some will receive it.
MGCC…
The earth is decaying and that is why it needs salt.
The world is in darkness and that is why it needs light.
YOU…
are the salt of the earth
are the light of the world
AND…
the life you live,
the truth you share and the savior you point to
CAN…
In his book Courageous Leadership – Bill Hybels tells a story of how in a San Juan airport he encountered a violent 10 year boy who literally was smashing a younger boys head into the concrete… He stopped them, but then had to board his plan.
As he sat on the plane the Spirit prompted him to not let go of that picture, but to try to figure out what in the world could possibly change the direction of this boy’s life;
He thought about the government – but decided it couldn’t do it. YOU SEE - Government can’t change a human heart, it can’t turn hatred into love. It can’t bring about repentance and forgiveness, reconciliation and peace. The he writes;
I scrolled through every other option I could think of, considering what they had to offer.
Business can provide sorely needed jobs.
Wise educators can teach useful knowledge of the world. Self-help programs can offer effective methods of behavior modification. Advanced psychological techniques can aid self-understanding.
AND all of this is good.
But can any of it truly transform the human heart?
I believe that only one power exists on this sorry planet that can do that. It’s the power of the love of Jesus Christ, the love that conquers sin and wipes out shame and heals wounds and reconciles enemies and patches broken dreams and ultimately changes the world one life at a time. And what grips my heart every day is the knowledge that the radical message of that transforming love has been given to the church.
That means that in a very real way the future of the world rests in the hands of local congregations like yours and mine. It’s the church or it’s lights out.
Without churches so filled the power of God that they can’t help but spill goodness and peace and love and joy into the world, depravity will win the day, evil will flood the world. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Strong growing communities of faith can turn the tide of history – they can! Don’t bother looking elsewhere the church is it.
There is nothing like the local church, when it is working right. It’s beauty is indescribable. It’s power is breathe taking. It comforts the grieving and heals the broken in the context of community. It builds bridges to seekers and offers truth to the confused.
It provides, resources for those in need and open its arms to: the forgotten, the downtrodden and the disillusioned.
It breaks the chains of addictions, frees the oppressed and offers belonging to the marginalized of this world.
Whatever the capacity for human suffering; the church has a greater capacity for healing and wholeness.
Still to this day, the potential of the local church is almost more than I can grasp. No other organization on earth is like the church, nothing comes even close.
AMEN?!
OKAY… as we wrap up I want to point out something that is extremely important… and that is that, the…
“You” – is plural.
UNDERSTAND - if we are to become the City of a hill that God desires it is going to take each of us.
LISTEN - we are not the salt of the earth or the light of the world individually, but collectively.
