Sermon on the Mount: Matt 5:13-14 Salt and Light Part 4

Light

Salts

BELIEVERS IN WORLD VIEW

FOREWORD

When Jesus had finished characterizing His disciples, or followers, He immediately called their attention to the fact that they, in the form of the church, so to speak, were on display before the world. This did not mean that they were to “show off” but rather, they were to BE what God had purposed. They would be seen for what they were, and they would be judged—believed or condemned—on the basis of what the observing world saw in them. Along with this, there would be an evaluation of the effect or impact of their pres­ence in the world. Jesus presented these distinctions under the analogy of salt and light. They would be greatly responsible to the whole world, and fearfully accountable to God.

KEY TEXT: “For nothing is secret, that shall not be made mani­fest; neither anything hid, that shall not be known and come abroad” (Luke 8:17).

I. THE MORAL TONE FOR ALL MEN

Matthew 5:13

13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

A. Salt With Savour: Jesus begins with an abrupt positive state­ment: “Ye are the salt of the earth.” “Ye” left no doubt as to whom He was addressing. “Are” left nothing to choice. As children of God, they already were what God expected them to be. It was up to them to live up to His expectations. “Salt” may have perplexed them at first, but He hastened to explain the analogy.

In what way are we “salt”? Consider the qualities of the chemical substance: Salt is seasoning [savor], preserving, purifying, and preserving. Translating these qualities into the spiritual, it may be said that Christians, and certainly the church, sets the moral tone for the whole earth. The unsaved element may not be aware of this, but God makes His people to serve His purposes in being this moral tone. Despite the world’s seeming indifference to, and even its ha­tred of, the things of God, His people have always been a restrain­ing influence against evil among the millions. And they will be so until God moves His church out of the way of the coming Antichrist (II Thess. 2:6-12). This “moral tone” will be absent from the earth for some seven years, but the “preserved” and “purified” will be enjoy­ing the bliss of heaven!

B. The church’s Moral Responsibility: If the church should lose its savor, its purpose and ministry would become ineffective. It would forsake its responsibility to God and man. Apparently, this has hap­pened during periods of apostasy. At such times, like salt that has lost its seasoning, preserving, purifying and healing effect, the Christians have momentarily become “good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.”

It is worthy of note that the early church maintained its witness under almost three centuries of persecution, but apostatized within fourteen years after the tyrannical reign of the Roman Emperors came to an end. Perhaps that coming apostasy was in the mind of our Lord when He promised His “blessing” upon the persecuted. It seems that the pungency of the “salt,” or the church, lost its savor under the easier life. They turned their thoughts inward and forsook christ’s commission to carry the gospel into all the world.

II. ILLUMINATION FOR THE WORLD

Matthew 5:14-16

14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

A. The church, a Visible Witness: The listening disciples, and the attentive multitude, hardly had time to ponder their “saltiness” be­fore Jesus made another revolutionary declaration: “Ye are the light of the world.” “Ye are” once again alerted them to their responsi­bility; and, as He proceeds, accountability looms high! Our Chris­tian experience is not something to be kept secret, as though was are ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Later, Jesus made public con­fession a requisite for acceptance by the Father (Read Matthew 10:32, 33 and Mark 8:34-38).

The church belongs to God. He sent His Son from heaven to es­tablish it in this world and to purchase it with His own blood. Jesus declared that He would build it. Here He indicates that this “city,” made up of the “blessed,” is built on a hill, where it can be seen from every direction. In fact, He declared that it CANNOT be hid! Whatever goes on there, good or bad, is seen by the whole world! He shows the foolishness of trying to hide a light, the purpose of which is to dispel darkness. Farther along in the same sermon, un­der a different analogy, He made a statement which is also relevant here: “If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matt. 6:23). It is like the bushel measure being sud­denly placed over the burning candle. There is no darkness so dense as that which prevails immediately after a light if turned off. And how terrible the thought of the church knowingly covering the light of sound doctrine because of a lust for the “darkness” of worldli­ness and ear-tickling “fables”! (Read II Timothy 4:1-4.)

B. The church Admonished to Shine! Jesus said, “LET your light so shine.” In view of the noble characteristics of the believers as set forth in the beatitudes, shining is an innate virtue of the church, or of each individual member of that body. Relating this to the possibly of hiding the light, we arrive at the responsibility to LET out light shine. It need not be MADE to shine, since it is the nature of light to shine. Any deliberate obstruction of the light of truth is preposter­ous and can result only in the chastening of judgment of God.

Take close note of the purpose for the “good works” of the children of light. It is not that the lamp or candle be seen, but that they may illuminate the surrounding area so that GOD will be glorified as the Source and Result of all “good works” worthy of mention.

LIVING THE LESSON 4

Some spiritual virtues are relatively silent, like the salt in our food The absence of them is what demands attention. Since God has placed us here to “season” the world, our presence should be sensed as God has intended. A godly life always speaks for itself, even though this does not replace the necessity of verbal witness. The sensing of our presence in turn draws attention to our conduct and conversation. “Light” reveals that which is sensed.

Since the enemy or our souls cannot prevent our being “salt” and “light,” he must do his evil work by other means. We must not allow him to extract the savor from our “saltiness,” nor to render our “light” dim and smudgy. The church must beware of turning inward; of “falling in love with ourselves” to the neglect of our love for our Lord and the other souls whom He loves also. A church can become so obsessed with its own image in the mirror that it is oblivious to “the

regions beyond”!

We must beware of the hypocritical works of Pharisaism. Jesus said “they do to be seen of men.” (Read the 23rd chapter of Matthew.) Jesus indicated that they had their priorities confused. The “weightier matters” were being ignored, or left undone—judg­ment, mercy, faith and the love of God (Matt. 23:23, 24; Luke 11:42). These things should first have been done, not leaving their misplaced priorities undone.

If we would “leave a good taste in the mouth” of our beholders, and if we would give precedence to the glory of God rather than our own, all we need do is BE the “salt” and “light” which God says we ARE!

If you have never accepted or if you have fallen away from Jesus Christ here are three steps you need to take to be saved:

You must admit you are a sinner, confess your sin to Jesus, repent (turn from all you know is wrong), ask Jesus to come in your heart, and begin to follow Jesus by reading and obeying his word and go to a bible believing church that teaches his word. And tell someone what Christ Jesus Has Done For You (Rev 12:10)  

May God through Christ bless you!

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