You Are Salt and Light

If you would open up your Bibles to Matthew chapter 5,

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

we're going to be looking at verses 13 through 16 this morning,

and let me read for you this morning these words of our Lord and Savior Jesus.

He says,

You, you are the salt of the earth,

but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?

It's no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.

You, you are the light of the world.

A city set on a hill cannot be hidden,

nor do people light a lamp and put under a basket,

but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.

In the same way, let your light shine before others

so that they may see your good works

and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Amen.

Blend in or bail out.

Sooner or later, as a Christian, you're going to have to figure out

what God is calling you to

in terms of your relationship to the world.

Now, the world, biblically understood,

is not so much the planet,

though the Bible does talk about the planet,

but in passages like in 1 John 2,

when we learn about the world,

here's what is being said.

It's the group of non-Christians

who are living their lifestyles,

and it creates currents.

Currents of ungodliness.

And so we've got to figure out,

as Christians called out from the world,

how are we to live in relationship to the world?

Because we used to be numbered with them.

And the classic polar opposites are blend in or bail out.

And both are mistakes.

So the blend in approach is this.

Hey, you know, in the name of relevance,

I'm just going to kind of blend in with the world

and look like them and talk like them

and do what they do,

you know, with the hope of having some kind of influence.

But Jesus doesn't allow that.

He's going to call us this morning

to be distinct from the world.

And when we're distinct from the world,

we're able to make a lasting difference

for Christ in the world.

But if you blend in,

you're not going to make a difference for Jesus.

So mistake number one is blend in.

Mistake number two is bail out.

And that's the idea like,

okay, I'm a Christian.

I don't want to have anything to do with the world.

I don't want to have any dealings with the world.

So I'm cutting out.

I'm going to call my best Christian friends

and we're going to find a beautiful place

in the valley and the Rockies

and set up a little compound with big walls

and not let anybody in.

Bail out.

Jesus doesn't allow that either.

He calls us to be distinct from the world,

but to remain in the world

so that we can make a lasting difference

for Him in the world.

And this morning,

the words that we just read out of Matthew,

He guides us.

He shows us how to live in this world

for the glory of God.

He shows us how to be distinct from the world

yet remaining in the world

and making a difference for Him.

And so right here in this passage,

Jesus is going to help us to see

how we're to be in this world

as Christians.

He says,

you are the salt of the earth.

You are the light of the world.

Our distinctly Christian,

Christ-like lives

are to be salt and light

in a decaying and dark world.

And I want you to see it

in the words of Jesus.

I want you to see this

in Jesus' words.

So this morning,

we're going to look at four words.

I pulled them right out of this passage.

It's the word you.

We've got to be clear on who that is.

You,

salt,

light,

and the word that.

Jesus is getting at purpose.

You,

salt,

light,

that

they may see

your good works

and

glorify

your Father in Heaven.

So,

let's turn our attention

to the word

you.

We see that in Matthew

Matthew 5:13

chapter 5

verse 13.

That first word,

you

are the salt

of the earth.

And then look at verse 14.

You

are the light

of the world.

Remember those iconic

recruiting posters

from World War II?

Uncle Sam,

I want you!

Remember that?

Jesus is basically

saying to us this morning,

you.

You!

I've called you to something.

You.

This word is

emphatic,

which means like

in the original language,

it's glowing.

It actually means

you and you only.

So,

Jesus is talking

to His disciples

and He's saying,

you guys

are the light

of the world.

You guys

are the salt

of the earth.

Not the Roman

government.

Not the religious

leaders here.

Not the police.

Not the school

system.

You are

my salt.

You

are my light.

So,

we've got to be clear

on who He's talking about.

So,

if you remember,

this is the Sermon

on the Mount.

And if you turn

and you look at

Matthew 5,

Matthew 5:1

verse 1,

it starts giving you

some clues.

Jesus is on this

mountainside

talking to

His disciples

who have

come to Him.

Now,

who are His disciples?

If you look at

the end of

Matthew 4,

He's already

called some.

Simon,

Peter,

and Andrew

who are fishermen.

And then He also

calls James

and John.

You see that

in Matthew 4,

Matthew 4:18–22

verses 18-22.

And they

followed after Him.

So,

here we have

Jesus talking

to His

early disciples.

Ordinary

Joes.

Just like you

and me.

These guys

were Galilean

peasants.

Seriously,

there was nothing

impressive about them.

We've got a lot

to relate to them.

I hope that wasn't

an insult.

It's just kind of

where we are,

isn't it?

Just ordinary people

following after

an extraordinary

Savior.

And so,

what I want to

remind you of

is that

these are real

people Jesus

is speaking to

back in the

first century.

This is a real

sermon spoken

on a real

mountainside

to real disciples

of His,

His first

disciples.

And what He

just got done

saying at the

beginning of the

sermon out is

what we've been

talking about.

The Beatitudes.

And so,

what He's been

saying is this.

These are the

kingdom traits

of my citizens.

These eight

Beatitudes are

to mark in

increasing measure

my followers.

Christians.

These eight

beautiful traits

in God's eyes

are true of

those people

I've called

out of the

domain of

darkness

and brought

into the

kingdom

that I

am bringing

about.

The kingdom

of heaven.

Who is

this you?

Early

disciples

and Jesus

already covered

the ground

of you're

to be

beautiful

in God's

sight.

All eight

of these

Beatitudes

are going to

be true of

you.

And here's

why He's

saying this.

The Beatitudes

have an effect.

If you are

living out

the Beatitudes,

if you're

living them

out,

you're going

to have

an influence

on the world

around you.

It's automatic.

It's going

to happen.

If you are

growing in

Christlikeness

as the Beatitudes

are a profile

of,

you are going

to influence

others around

you.

And Jesus

says,

if you live

like this,

if this is

your character,

you're going

to be salt

and light

in the people

around you.

You can't

hold it

back.

And so

what Jesus

is doing

here is

saying,

hey,

if these

Beatitudes

are true

of you,

and they

are if you

belong to

Jesus,

it's all

by His

grace.

grace,

you can't

make yourself

beautiful in

God's eyes.

Only His

grace does

that.

But as

He does

that in

growing measure,

it makes

you stand

out in

a world

that's

decaying

and dark.

You.

He's telling

His disciples,

you are

the salt.

You are

the light.

Don't look

around you.

Nobody else

is going

to be that.

You will

be that for

me in

this dark

place.

So now

the question

we've got

to ask

is,

okay,

Jesus is

talking to

His disciples

in the

first century.

Okay,

He's on

a mountainside.

How does

that apply

to us?

Who likes

roller coasters?

I have

some friends

who are

going to

go on

a roller

coaster

fest

here pretty

soon.

They're

really

excited.

I personally

don't like

roller coasters.

I don't like

paying for

getting jostled

around.

It's just

old man

disease,

I guess.

Have you

been driving

down 94

and you

see the

screaming

eagle,

six flags?

That's an

impressive,

impressive

roller coaster.

This morning

I want to

talk to you

about another

roller coaster.

It's called

the roller

coaster of

discipleship.

And on

this roller

coaster,

there's two

tracks.

And they're

Jesus'

words.

follow me

as a

disciple

and go

make

disciples

of the

nations.

And Jesus

leads us

on this

track of

discipleship.

We go

up and

down.

Loop

de loop.

Highs,

lows,

stomach in

your throat,

down through

the dark

tunnels,

all the way

out.

So here's

what I want

you to

imagine

with me.

We're all

on the

platform of

the roller

coaster called

discipleship.

And we're

waiting for

the car to

come in so

we can get

on.

And so we're

looking down

the line and

here comes the

car.

And you know,

you've seen

this.

They come

really fast and

then they slow

down real quick

and people's

hair goes in

front of them

and then they

look kind of

dazed.

Do you know

what I'm

talking about?

This car comes

in and we're

noticing that

there's a whole

bunch of

Galilean peasants

on board.

And emblazoned

on the side of

this roller

coaster car is

a three letter

word in bright

red called

you.

You.

And it

pulls up

the safety

bar goes

up and all

of these

first century

disciples get

out.

They get out

on the platform

on the other

side and they

turn around and

you know who

they're looking

at?

They're looking

at us.

Do you know

why?

Because it's

our turn to

get into the

you.

to get into

the you.

You are the

salt.

You are the

light.

This is part of

following Jesus

and for

generation to

generation,

faithful Christians

before us have

been on this

coaster.

They have

followed Jesus

faithfully.

They have run

their course and

now it's our

turn.

it's our

turn to get

into this

roller coaster

car in this

city of

Kenosha and

to be salt

and to be

light.

You are a

citizen of

heaven,

brother,

sister in

Christ.

God's grace

has busted

into your life

and he's

radically changed

you.

You were dead

and he made

you alive.

You were in

the domain of

darkness,

now you're the

kingdom of

light.

You were

living for

the world,

now you've

been called

out of the

world yet to

remain in the

world for

Jesus' sake.

So make no

mistake,

brothers and

sisters,

Jesus today

is calling

you to

follow him.

To be salt

and to be

light in our

little slice

of the

darkness.

us.

He's calling

us to live

distinct lives

for the glory

of God.

So let's,

we looked at

the word

you,

and I hope

you're feeling

the weight of

that.

You are the

salt of the

earth.

You are the

salt of the

earth.

salt of the

earth.

If they're the

essential marks

of a Christian,

salt and light

are the metaphors

that describe our

impact.

salt.

You are the

salt of the

earth.

What's the

primary function

of salt?

Anyone?

Anyone?

Anyone?

Anyone?

Bueller?

Bueller?

Bueller?

Did someone say

dessert?

Preserve.

That's right.

Now remember,

Jesus is speaking

to a people back

in the first

century in the

ancient Near

East, and

Jesus, on his

itinerant preaching,

he didn't stay in

Super 8's.

He wouldn't walk

in from the

heat, turn on

the air

conditioning, and

open up his

little mini

fridge.

They didn't have

refrigerators.

So how did they

preserve meat?

They packed it

in salt.

And that salt

served as a

preservative.

It kept it from

decaying.

It slowed down

the rot process.

The primary

function of salt

in the first

century was to

be a preservative.

We use it for

flavor.

And throwing

on ice, they

used it to

preserve meat.

I hope you see

what Jesus is

implying about

the world.

You see it?

Jesus is saying

that there is a

moral decay among

the inhabitants of

the earth.

A moral decay.

A spiritual decay.

A spiritual rot.

And at its heart

is called sin.

Now, if you left

this building today

and you pulled

somebody aside on

the street and you

asked them,

hey, what's the

source of all the

world's problems,

you might get

something like this.

Well, it's

ignorance, so we

need to educate.

Or you might hear

something like this.

You know what?

There is some

socioeconomic

inequality.

So we need to

spread out what

the haves have

to the have-nots.

What Jesus is

saying here is

this, and he's

not pulling any

punches.

Jesus is saying

that the problem,

the source of

this decay is

in the heart

of every human

being that

walks the earth.

This problem

in the human

heart is the

equivalent of

decaying meat.

The problem is

sin.

You all

experienced the

rot-out,

decaying effect

of sin.

whether that's

in your own

character, or

in your

relationship with

your spouse, or

in your family, or

with your

friendships, or

in a city, or

in a county, or

in a state, or

in a nation.

Sin rots

stuff out.

It brings

decay.

It

disintegrates.

Jesus is

implying

something very

serious here

about the

real source

of human

problems.

And so what

Jesus is calling

us to,

he's saying

this,

I have made

you beautiful

by my

grace.

I've called

you out of

darkness into

the light.

You were in

the devil's

kingdom, now

you're in my

kingdom.

And now that

I've saved

you, I've

positioned you,

and I am

packing you

into your

city like

salt.

To be a

preservative

presence.

To slow

down the

moral decay

happening all

around us.

I'm not sure

if you guys

notice this, but

there's a bit

of a warning

here too.

You are the

salt of the

earth, but

if salt has

lost its

taste, how

shall it

saltiness be

restored.

It's no

longer good

for anything

except to be

thrown out and

trampled under

people's feet.

That word

if is a

huge clue.

Salt losing

its taste.

Do you know

what Jesus is

saying for

us?

It's when a

Christian loses

his or her

distinctiveness.

When a

Christian strays

from the

beatitudes.

When there's

no longer a

hunger and

thirst for

righteousness that

governs all

things.

When a purity

of heart means

nothing more to

you anymore.

What Jesus is

saying here is

if we lose our

distinctiveness,

it's like salt

that's lost its

taste.

It becomes

useless.

And in that

day, useless

salt was

thrown into

the first

century garbage

heap, which

was the

street, and

got trampled

on.

How does a

Christian lose

his or her

saltiness,

distinctiveness?

Because it does

happen.

maybe you're

sitting there

right now and

the heat's

starting to

turn up.

And I'm

not talking

about the

temperature here.

When we

start blending

in with the

world, that's

when we start

to lose our

saltiness, our

distinctiveness.

Instead of

becoming more

and more Christ-like,

instead of day

after day making

choices based on

God's word, I'm

going to believe

this, God.

I'm going to

trust you for

this, God.

You're telling me

to live this way,

God, and I'm

going to because I

want to bring

glory to your

name, God.

Instead of that,

what happens is it

becomes one

compromise after

another.

And you

compromise into

being indistinguishable

from the decay

around us.

According to

Jesus,

our witness

rises or

falls on

being distinct

from the

decay of

our culture.

Our impact

on the world

depends on

the saltiness

of our

presence.

We cannot

blend into

the decay of

the world.

We've got to

be distinct

from it.

That's why

he called us

to himself

to begin

with.

Now, if you

know you're

sitting here

and you're

like, I've

professed Christ

but I am, I

know it, I'm

indistinguishable

from the rest

of the world, I

blend in great.

If you know

that's you, you

know what Jesus

would say to

you?

He'd say this,

blessed are the

poor in spirit

for theirs

is the kingdom

of heaven.

Blessed are

those who

mourn

their sin

for they

shall be

comforted.

Come to

me.

Come to

me.

Turn from

your sin,

turn to

me.

And I will

make you

salty again.

when a

Christian

slips into

worldliness,

they become

very acute

of their

own

unhappiness.

But what I

need to tell

you today,

if you're

in that

spot,

there's much

more riding

on your

character

and on your

witness than

just your

happiness.

Your life

is making

a statement

about the

kingdom of

heaven,

about what

Jesus has

done.

Turn to

him.

I'm not

sure if this

is a

confession,

but I

like DC

talk.

I grew up

listening to

them.

In the

90s,

they released

an album

called

Jesus

Freak.

And in

one of the

tracks called

What If I

Stumble,

Brennan

Manning,

who is a

Christian

speaker at

the time,

he's

recorded.

And this

is what

he said.

The greatest

single cause

of atheism

today is

Christians who

acknowledge Jesus

with their

lips,

but walk

out the

door and

deny Him

by their

lifestyle.

And then he

says,

this is what

an unbelieving

world simply

finds

unbelievable.

people.

There's more

riding on

your witness

than just

your happiness.

So now the

question becomes,

how does a

Christian stay

salty?

You stay

close to

Jesus.

You get in

close to

Him.

You come

real close

and you

abide in

Him and

He bears

His fruit

through you.

Are you

lacking

salt?

Go to

Jesus.

He'll make

you beautiful

again.

What should

you expect?

if you're

living for

Jesus and

you're living

out the

Beatitudes

by faith,

trusting in

Him and

growing measure,

what should

you expect?

How does

this salt

actually show

up?

What will

happen?

Well, you

probably already

experienced.

I tried to

point out some

of them.

Here's one.

Conversations.

Have you ever

experienced this?

You're among

non-Christians

and they start

opening

cans of

cuss.

It's all

over you

and they

realize

they're

cussing in

your presence

and they say

things like,

oh, I'm so

sorry.

I'm so

sorry for

swearing.

I'm so

sorry.

I'm so

sorry.

I'll try

not to

swear around

you.

You're being

salt.

You're having

an effect.

The cleanness

of your

speech is

having a

salt effect

on their

decaying

speech.

or another

kind of

conversation

salt.

This is

when you

walk into

a group

of people

and they're

obviously

talking about

something

and when

you walk

in,

their faces

drop and

they're looking

at their

feet and

they start

talking about

the weather.

Your salty

presence has

brought about

a topic

change in

conversation.

who knows

what they

are talking

about.

That's

good.

That's

being salty.

They might

not like

it,

but you're

being salty.

Entertainment.

When was the

last time you

walked out of a

movie?

Because it

was just

rank.

When was the

last time you're

driving with your

kids and you're

like, I've got to

turn this off or

turn the station

because this is

just decay.

Mom, dad, be

salty.

Be salt in your

family.

Workplace.

Jesus is

calling us

to speak

truth.

To work

hard.

To not

cut corners.

To speak

the truth in

love.

In the

workplace,

your salt

shows up

big time.

When you

don't gossip,

when you

don't lie,

when you

don't cheat,

when you

insist on

doing it

the right

way,

and when

you work

hard.

Just a

quick word

about

politics.

Jesus

isn't going

to bring

in the

kingdom

through the

Republican

or Democratic

party.

Can we

all agree

on that?

You

are the

salt.

You

are the

light.

It's

us.

And so

we will

work

through

the

democratic

process

to be

salt

and

light.

But here's

how I

want you

to help

you think

in terms

of the

presidential

cycle that

we're in.

Think about

it this

way.

You

are a

citizen

of heaven

with

American

voting

rights.

That's

who you

are.

So vote

your

conscience.

Live

for

Jesus.

Make

the

most

of the

opportunities

we have

to

influence

politics

for

Jesus'

name.

We

are to

be a

preservative

presence

for

Jesus.

You

are the

salt

of the

earth.

You

are the

light

of the

world.

You

see this

in

14.

You

are the

light

of the

world.

What's

the

primary

function

of

light?

Let me

tell you.

It's

to help

people see

in

darkness.

That's

it.

Light

helps

people see

in

darkness.

When

it's

dark,

you

can't

see.

When

there's

light,

you

can

see

in

darkness.

Jesus

uses a

couple

illustrations

here.

He

says,

you

are the

light

of

the

world.

A

city

set

on

a

hill

cannot

be

hidden.

The

picture

there

is

an

elevated

city,

maybe

even

the

city

of

Jerusalem

on

Mount

Zion.

A

city

set

on

a

hill,

elevated,

and in

the windows

lit up

with oil

lamps.

They

didn't

have

light

switches,

Edison

not

yet,

no

LEDs,

oil

lamps.

But a

city

at night

elevated

with oil

lamps

lights

it up.

You'll

see it.

It

gives you,

it helps

people in

darkness

to see.

You don't

light a lamp

and put

under a

basket,

no.

You put

on a

stand,

elevated,

distinct,

so everybody

can see.

Light

enables people

to see in

darkness.

And so what

is Jesus

implying about

the world?

The world

is in

darkness.

darkness.

darkness.

What does

he mean by

that?

Well,

it's decaying

because of

sin,

right?

Darkness

is a nice

cover for

decay.

And if you

were to open

up your

Bibles to

John 3,

would you

just go

over there

real quick?

John 3.

You know

John 3.16.

Look at

verse 19.

And this is

the judgment.

The light

has come

into the

world and

the people

love the

darkness

rather than

the light

because their

deeds were

evil.

For everyone

who does

wicked things

hates the

light and

does not

come to

light lest

his deeds

should be

exposed.

The darkness

is the

sinful

concealing

of the

decaying

sin.

Jesus

doesn't

pull any

punches.

Not only

is the

world

decaying,

the world

is in

darkness.

It likes

its own

rot.

It keeps

it hidden.

It keeps

it out of

sight.

And if you

were recently

converted or

converted as

an adult,

you know

what he's

talking about.

You know

what it was

like to

hide your

sin.

You know

it.

You didn't

want to

be exposed.

And so

what is

Jesus

calling us

to do

here?

We are

to stand

out.

We are

to be

his light.

You know

that elevation

theme?

A city

on a hill,

a light

on a

lampstand?

That simply

means being

distinct

from yet

present in.

If we're

living out

the beatitudes,

our presence

is going

to have

a shining

exposing

effect on

the sin

of people

around us.

We're not

trying to be

self-righteous.

We're not

trying to be

the police.

It's going

to have an

effect because

it's a real

change that

he's affected

in us.

People will

know.

People will

feel it.

And so

there's this

moral dimension

to our

shining as

lights.

darkness.

But there's

more here.

Not only

do our

lives

light up

the darkness

and expose

people's sin

which they

may not

like,

but some

may

appreciate it.

We are

to be

shining the

light of

the gospel

so that

when a

sinner's

sin is

exposed,

we get

to point

them to

the light

of life.

Jesus.

The

light of

the world.

John 8.12.

Do you know

what a marquee

sign is?

If you

drive out

50 and

you're like,

I wonder

what's showing

at Tinseltown

tonight.

And you

look on

top of

the building,

there's a

big lit

up sign

that says

all the

movies being

shown,

that's a

marquee.

And it's

lit up at

night to

shine in

the darkness.

You are

an incarnate

living marquee

for Jesus.

Your life

says something.

It points

to something.

It lights

up the

darkness

for Jesus.

You're a

living marquee

sign.

And might

I add,

you and

you only.

We can't

expect the

Kenosha

Unified

School District

to be a

light shining

in the

darkness

for Jesus.

We can't

expect that.

We can't

expect the

Kenosha

Police Department

to do that.

Jesus has

called us

to that.

And so

we'll work

within these

things to

be salt

and light

for Him.

Now

there's a

warning here.

this little

light of

mine,

I'm going

to let it

shine.

This little

light of

mine,

I'm going

to let it

shine.

Don't put a

bushel over

it.

No.

No.

That's the

warning.

You don't put

baskets over

lights.

Why not?

Because that's

not what they're

meant for.

They're meant

to shine.

So here are a

couple baskets

that we put

over our

light.

we are

blending into

the world.

It's like a

dimmer to

our light.

It makes us

less and less

brilliant.

And then

there's the

fear.

You know

what I'm

talking about?

Fear.

You don't

want to open

your mouth and

tell other

people about

Jesus because

you're afraid

of something.

And what are

you afraid of?

It's what I'm

afraid of.

It's afraid of

rejection.

That I'm going

to say something

about Jesus and

they're going to

turn around and

walk out of my

life.

life.

It's a

basket.

Don't put that

basket over your

light.

Remember, Jesus

has already told

us about that.

Blessed are

those who are

persecuted for

righteousness sake.

Blessed are you

when you're

reviled and

persecuted and

charged with

false things on

account of me.

He's already

covered that.

It may happen.

But we're to be

rejoicing and

being glad for

our reward is in

heaven.

There's one other

basket.

Unbelief.

That's a

snuffer.

Here's what

happens.

You're like, I

want to let my

light shine, but

that guy is so

smart, there is no

way he would ever

believe in Jesus.

He's too smart

for that.

That's unbelief.

He's not.

He's not.

Or, oh man, this

guy is so just

mired in addictions,

there's no way he

was going to ever

believe in Jesus and

be pulled out of

that.

Unbelief.

Do you remember

Romans 1.16?

Paul says, I'm not

ashamed of the

gospel, let your

light shine.

Why?

Because it is the

power of God unto

salvation for all