Salt & Light

Last week, we completed our study of the Beatitudes, Jesus’s introduction to His sermon on the mount. This morning, we begin digging into the body of the sermon.

vv13-16 as the “heart” - when you got saved, Jesus made you a new creation, but he didn’t take you out of the world. Why not?

The world is desperately in need of blessing, and you’ve got it

Note for Life Groups: When you share your needs, joys, and you receive Gospel-shaped responses, hospitality, love, wisdom and truth, note:

Non-Christians don’t have that. Maybe friends to play basketball with, and a small group of real friends, but even their close friends have no real life-giving answers, because they don’t have a connection to the source of life and truth.

Let’s say you lose your job. Your marriage is in crisis, or your kid is in crisis. Where can you go for the kind of help & answers you need?

Those of you who have found those things in your life group, or Bible study, or Sunday School, or Youth Group - if you didn’t have Christians in your life, where would you go to figure out how to live a life of wisdom and meaning?

Where would you go for real help in figuring out what it means to live out a life of wisdom and meaning?

Those of you who have found those things in your life group - truth-telling, life-giving help and answers - if you didn’t have Christians in your life, where would you find those things?

Most people don’t have anyone who’s pointing them to God.

Think about this: Name someone significantly older than you, that’s not related to you, who you know you can go to if you need advice.

Here’s a shocker for you: Name someone significantly older than you, that’s not related to you, who you know you can go to if you need advice.

Now name someone you know you can trust to be honest with you about things even if it’s uncomfortable, and they’re not just going to give you an opinion - they have a standard that’s outside of them.

These are all things that the world desperately needs, and the Church is the only place you can get the genuine article, and many of us here today can testify to how God has worked through His Kingdom People to do that.

So what are we waiting for?

That’s the question of our text today - what are we waiting for?

When Jesus saved you, he left you here in the world. Why? What are you here for? The Beatitudes tell us that if we belong to Him, we’re blessed. OK, so why do we have to be blessed here and now, in this world that’s still so broken and full of sorrow?

You might ask the question:

Point out that the very things that might get you killed might get someone else saved

Q. What did Jesus save me for?

Three points: First, to bring the flavor

Point out that the “righteousness” of Christ working its way out in your life is the “good works” in v16, but without the clarity that it’s Jesus doing it, nobody’s gonna get saved and nobody’s gonna get persecuted

Point out Pastor Han again - the reason Sang Chul got saved was the reason Pastor Han got killed

Note that his behavior (helping Sang Chul by selling mushrooms in China & bringing the money back to him) was matched by his Gospel proclamation

Get people excited about changing the world around them

Q. OK, now what? // Why are we still here? // What am I saved for?

I. Bring the flavor of God (v13)

Look in verse 13. He says “You are the salt of the earth.”

Illust: Potatoes - I want you to imagine

Potatoes - 1st thing you do - taste one to see if they have enough <<??>>

Salt - a treasure in the ancient world

Scholars say salt served at least 11 purposes

Focus: Flavor, preservation, purity

Meat - no refrigeration - cured & preserved

Two Towers - “coneys” section

Salt comes to the table and saves a bland dinner, right?

, , , ,

Salt comes to the table and saves a bland dinner, right?

Illust: Hackney’s

Jesus says, “You are the salt of the earth,” because you’re blessed. You carry the favor of God wherever you go. Did you know that? The saving presence of Jesus Christ is in you, and you’re walking around in the world.

Remember in , (QUOTE), we looked at Jesus’s words in ,

John 7:37 ESV

37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.

John 7:37–38 ESV

37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”

And in , he told the woman at the well that the water he gives becomes a spring of water welling up to eternal life? He doesn’t just give enough to survive, he gives enough to change the world around you.

Now he says you’re the salt of the earth, carrying around the flavor of God’s favor with you wherever you go.

Psalm 34:8 ESV

8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

When salt brings flavor, it also brings preservation. I probably don’t have to tell you that in the days before refrigerators, they didn’t have refrigerators. So that cow you slaughtered had a very short shelf-life. The two primary ways to preserve it were to cure it with salt or smoke it - and by the way, those are still the best ways. And if you combine them, you get pastrami, which is the best of all, but I digress (digest).

And then there’s the purifying power of salt. According to , every offering had to be seasoned with salt. It purified the offering.

The salt of the earth is meant to make a specific difference in the world. Without a relationship with Jesus Christ, the world has no flavor. And it’s also perishing - it needs the preserving power, the saving power, that comes from a life-giving, purifying connection to God. The world needs Jesus.

Look at the rest of verse 13 - he says, <<READ 13>>

Matthew 5:13 ESV

13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

What does unsalty salt of the earth look like?

Purposelessness. If Bethel isn’t bringing the flavor of God to the world, then we don’t have a purpose. Unsalty salt is good for something, Jesus says - it’s good for being trampled.

Which is to say unsalty salt is kind of a joke. It doesn’t preserve, it doesn’t flavor, it gets walked all over for no good reason.

If you live out your faith - if you’re merciful, pure in heart, striving for peace even when it’s costly - loving your neighbor and bearing witness to what Christ has done in you - then you very well may find the boot of persecution on your back sooner or later

A Christian who isn’t living out their faith is still likely to get stepped on, but there won’t be any point to it. It won’t get anybody any closer to God, but you’re still in the mud.

Jesus says you have a purpose, so bring the flavor of the favor of God to the earth

If you’re here to bring the flavor of God to the world, and you don’t, Jesus says

Apply:

APPLY? OR GO ON?

So we’re here to be the salt of the earth, to help the world taste and see that the Lord is good, to bring the flavor.

II. Bring the flash (v14-16)

Now, in verses 14-16, he’s going to change the metaphor. He says

Matthew 5:14–16 ESV

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 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.

Jesus gives us two truths to think about in verses 14-15. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. It’s not just a bad idea, it’s an impossibility. Torches and lamps in windows and set on the walls were beacons in the night. If I took you outside at night into a field and put a blindfold on you, and spun you around ten times, and took off the blindfold, you would have no trouble telling me which way Denver was, even if you couldn’t make out where you were. You’d look for the lights.

But first, he gives us two truths to think about. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. It’s not just a bad idea, it’s an impossibility. In the ancient world, a hill was one of the best places to put a city, because the elevation made it easier to defend. Jerusalem, Samaria, and Masada were all set on hills. It’s pretty obvious why a city on a hill can’t be hidden - torches and lamps in windows and set on the walls were beacons in the night. If I took you outside at night into a field and put a blindfold on you, and spun you around ten times, and took off the blindfold, you would have no trouble telling me which way Denver was, even if you couldn’t make out where you were. You’d look for the lights.

Now, think about being lost in the dark. You’d just pull out Google Maps and follow your phone, but in the wilderness, without a map or a phone or anything else, if you needed to find safety and help, and you saw the lights of a city, that’s where you’d go.

So I ask: In this darkened world, are we a beacon for lost souls? If we’ve got the light in us, it shouldn’t be possible for it to be hidden.

But then Jesus says “neither does someone light a lamp and put it under a basket.” So the first one is impossible, this one is foolish. We’re not talking about an electric lamp, we’re talking about an open flame. If you stick it under a basket, not only did you miss the point of a lamp, but you also just lost your fire safety merit badge.

The actual Scouts among us are saying, “It’s not a merit badge. It’s the Fireman’s Chit."

It’s useless to have unsalty salt, it’s impossible to hide a city on a hill, and it’s foolish to hide a lit fire under a basket.

So you’re the light of the world. And you should let your light shine before men. What does that mean?

What is the light of the world

The impossibility of city hidden, the foolishness of a light under a basket

Illust: Road trip lamp?

Once or twice, we’ve grabbed a lamp off the night stand or the desk and stuck it under the table or behind the little chair - you know the little chair they always have in hotels, with the little ottoman? So you plug in the lamp and shove it behind the chair so it doesn’t give light to the whole room. It doesn’t work very well, but maybe everybody sleeps and nobody wakes up scared in the middle of the night.

But if you want to see what you’re doing, you have to put the lamp some place where it can shine.

And then he brings it on home in verse 16.

So you’re the light of the world. And you should let your light shine before men. What does that mean?

Light is a metaphor for the presence of God over and over again in the Bible.

Numbers 6:24–26 ESV

24 The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Psalm 27:1 ESV

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 4:6 ESV

6 There are many who say, “Who will show us some good? Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!”

Light points to God’s direction and help:

Psalm 119:105 ESV

105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Isaiah 9:2 ESV

2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.

And looking forward to Christ’s return and the end of all sorrows, and eternity in God’s presence,

Isaiah 60:19 ESV

19 The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.

Isaiah 60:19–20 ESV

19 The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. 20 Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended.

And in the New Testament,

1 John 1:5 ESV

5 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.

The things that

And in , we read this about Jesus -

John 1:4–5 ESV

4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

john 1.4-5

John 1:9 ESV

9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

john 1.9

In , we even read this:

John 8:12 ESV

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.”

So gather up all these truths about light in the Bible - God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. No lostness, no sin, no evil - He’s holy, perfect, good, true, loving, just, merciful, righteous, and there’s no shadow of change in him. The light of God is His presence, his salvation, his protection, his direction.

To walk in the light is to follow Him, to pursue Him, to have fellowship with Him.

So take all of those things back to verse 14. “YOU are the light of the world.” Is that surprising?

If Jesus is the light of the world, how can YOU be the light of the world?

You remember how we said the Beatitudes are the introduction to the Sermon on the Mount? They’re going to come back up again and again. They’re going to help us understand the rest of Jesus’s teaching in . And what does it mean to be blessed? It means that you are promised the favor of God and His saving presence.

To be BLESSED is to have the LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you, and give you peace. To be blessed is to have the light of life.

Kingdom people are lit up with the blessing of God in order to bless the whole world. To change it for His sake.

So if you’re the light of the world, who lit you up? The Lord did. He didn’t do it in order to hide you from the world. He did it in order to bless the whole world. To change it for His sake.

When He called you out of darkness and into His marvelous light, He said, “

To take the Kingdom with you out there. To take the comfort of the Gospel out there. To take the satisfying righteousness of Christ to the world. To take mercy to the world. To take the promise of inheritance, reconciliation, adoption, salvation to the world.

He lit you up in order to fill His whole house, the whole world, with light. To everyone who’s been called “Blessed” in the Beatitudes, to everyone who bears the name of Christ, Jesus says, “You’re still here because there’s a whole world out there lost in the dark. You’re my lamps in the dark. You’re the city on the hill, the beacon of blessing.

You’re here to light up the night. So that the whole world will see. Christian, YOU are here for one purpose only: To take the blessing you’ve got and bring it to the world. To bring the flash of God’s favor to light up every dark corner. That’s point two.

Who is the one who lit the lamp? And who puts the city on the hill? And who puts the lamp on the lampstand?

Jesus, the light of the world, lights us up so that we carry that light in the world.

Connect to the BEATITUDES

III. Bring them home to God (v16)

Now in verse 16, we see the reason for it all - to bring people home to God.

Matthew 5:16 ESV

16 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.

The light you’re supposed to shine is what makes your good works make sense.

This is where we stop and clear the air.

Generations of people have looked at this verse in isolation, looked at it really superficially, and missed the point completely. Completely.

So here’s a couple questions about the text.

What’s the light you’re supposed to shine?

So what’s the light you’re supposed to shine?

Is it good works? Does that work? Let your good works so shine before men that they see your good works? Or how about this - let your light so shine that they see your light? That doesn’t work at all. He says the light enlightens everything in the house in verse 15. The light is supposed to light up something else.

The light you’re supposed to shine is what makes your works make sense.

You’re the light of the world. Your light is the blessing that comes from knowing God. In the Kingdom, message and ministry have to go together. Jesus wants us to see that your good works are already assumed - if you’re blessed, you should be pursuing peace and mercy and purity - but if we don’t put Jesus on display in the world, then all our faith, all our Christian living is in the dark. It absolutely will not be seen clearly.

So Jesus says you’re the light of the world. Your light is the blessing that comes from knowing God. He says let the blessing of knowing God shine before men so that they see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Jesus wants us to see that your good works are already assumed - if you’re blessed, you should be pursuing peace and mercy and purity - but if we don’t put Jesus on display in the world, then all our faith, all our Christian living is in the dark. It absolutely will not be seen clearly.

In the Kingdom, message and ministry have to go together. Jesus wants us to see that your good works are already assumed - if you’re blessed, you should be pursuing peace and mercy and purity - but if we don’t put Jesus on display in the world, then all our faith, all our Christian living is in the dark. It absolutely will not be seen clearly.

There’s an old saying that’s falsely been attributed to St. Francis of Asissi, “Preach the Gospel: When necessary, use words.” It’s not really from St. Franci, but even if it were, we should ask that good old Berean question: What saith the Scriptures?

There’s an old saying that’s falsely been attributed to St. Francis of Asissi, “Preach the Gospel: When necessary, use words.” It’s not really from St. Francis, but it waxes and wanes in popularity. And it burns me up inside. Even if it was really from St. Francis, or Pope Francis, or Augustine, or John Wesley or John Calvin or any other famous preacher named John, we should ask that good old Berean question: What saith the Scriptures?

There was a

Romans 10:14 ESV

14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

The light that shines on our good works is not the works themselves. It’s the saving presence of God in the Gospel - taken to the world - that makes the difference.

The light that shines on our good works is not the works themselves. It’s the saving presence of God. It’s the Gospel - taken to the world - that makes the difference.

And my friend shared the Gospel with that guy. He grabbed a cocktail napkin and just jotted down the Bridge to Life, if some of you are familiar with that. He found out decades later that that young man gave his life to Christ that night, and carried that napkin with him from then on.

I said people have missed the point on this verse. They take it by itself and think it’s all about how you live. But the light that shines on our good works is not the works themselves. It’s the saving presence of God. It’s the Gospel - taken to the world - that makes the difference.

Why am I here? Why are you here? Why did God save you and then leave you on earth? Why does Bethel Baptist Church exist?

To bring the flavor of God’s favor to the world! To bring the flash of God’s presence to the world.

SO that we can bring people home to God.

That phrase “your Father” implies so much. Nobody’s going to give glory to your Father unless they

Blessed are you, the Beatitudes say, in order to bless the world. So that the world will taste and see that the Lord is good. So that the world will see that God is light, and come to the light.

Christian, you are here to bring them to Him. To shine the Gospel in their presence and to show them what the Gospel does - so they can see, really see.

This last part really rises from that word “Father.” They will only give glory to your Father as their Father if they too come to know His favor, His saving presence.

Christian, you are here to bring them to Him. To shine the Gospel in their presence and to show them what the Gospel does - so they can see, really see.

Illust: Stucco - I remember as a kid, laying in bed with the lights off, and our walls were a sort of really aggressive stucco, with really clear, sharp edges.

So when I turned off the lights, I’d look at the walls and build pictures. There was the lion in one spot, and the map of Louisiana, and the underbite guy wearing a skillet for a hat, and skateboarder without arms.

The thing is, I could see the wall in the dark. But I couldn’t see it clearly. And I had all kinds of interpretations for what I was looking at. But in the light, I saw the wall for what it was.

If you live out your faith as Kingdom People, until you bring the flavor and the flash of the Gospel to bear, people will fill in the blanks for themselves with all kinds of nonsense. Your exceptional integrity will just be an anomaly, a nice perk in a darkened world. If we don’t take the light of the Gospel into Greeley when we leave these doors, all your good neighboring will be like the blued-out shadows of a darkened house. Lost people don’t come to the light unless it’s shining.

So here are some ways for us to think about being salt & light so that we can bring people home to God.

So here are some ways for us to think about bringing the flavor of God to the world, and bringing the flash of God’s presence to the world so that we can bring them home to God. Some of them are for us as individuals, and some of them are for us as a community.

First, consider Bethel’s ministries. How are they structured not just for us, but to bring others into the family of God?

Pastor Steve and I got to celebrate with the Campus Outreach staff about a brand new Christian who gave their life to Jesus this week. And do you know how it happened? They didn’t just come here on Sundays. They went across the street and salted the campus.

One way we can fulfill Christ’s calling as individuals is by growing in our desire and ability to share our testimony and have meaningful, Christ-centered conversations with others. Think about the reality that faces people every day - the challenges and trials and joys and sorrows. And without the light of Christ, they’re facing those things in the dark, without real hope and without God in the world. You bring the light of life with you into every conversation, every single interaction, every single day.

You can bless every single person you encounter because you’re blessed. One of the best ways I know of to engage anyone in a meaningful conversation that points to Christ is to ask, “What really matters to you right now?” And then keep asking.

Did you know, I think I’ve had more Gospel-oriented conversations with people just for asking, “What really matters to you right now?” You’ve got people in your life that you’ve known for decades and don’t know how to have a conversation about Jesus with them. Why not just say that? “You know I’m a Christian, and we’ve known each other for years, but we’ve never really talked about that. It just occurred to me this week that that doesn’t really match up with how I really feel.” I’ve asked neighbors, “What do you think about spirituality and religion?” and just kept praying in my mind, “Holy Spirit, give me words” until we eventually got to the Gospel.

You’ve got people in your life that you’ve known for decades and don’t know how to have a conversation about Jesus with them. Why not just say that? “You know I’m a Christian, and we’ve known each other for years, but we’ve never really talked about that. It just occurred to me this week that that doesn’t really match up with how I really feel.” I’ve asked neighbors, “What do you think about spirituality and religion?” and just kept praying in my mind, “Holy Spirit, give me words” until we got to the Gospel.

Many of the best evangelists I’ve ever known have been baby Christians who can’t stop thinking about the fact that they were in the darkness and lost and needed the light of the city on the hill, and now their friends need the same thing! They expect that every day has opportunities for the Gospel, and they pray about it. They ask God for opportunities, and courage to speak the truth, and then they share their testimony.

If you ask, “What sets me apart from a fruitful evangelist,” the spiritual gift of evangelism is probably not at the top of the list. Eloquence is way down the list. You know what? Theological understanding isn’t at the top, either. Many of the best evangelists I’ve ever known have been baby Christians who can’t stop thinking about the souls of their friends, can’t stop thinking about the fact that they were in the darkness and lost and needed the light of the city on the hill! They expect that every day has opportunities for the Gospel, and they pray about it. They ask God for opportunities, and courage to speak the truth, and then they share their testimony.

YOU are lacking nothing when it comes to salting the earth, or bringing light to the world. You just have to decide, “Christ lit me up for a purpose. I just need to stand up on the lampstand.”

Families, I want you to grab your kids around the table this week and beg the Lord to make that table a place where more than french fries get salted. There’s probably no force more powerful for the expansion of the Kingdom of God than a godly home in a dark neighborhood. So look out your window and say, “I want to bring them home to God. So Lord, help us bring the flavor and the flash of the Gospel. I surrender this home to your Kingdom.”

Consider Small Groups again for a moment. Many of us have experienced a level of fellowship, friendship, and closeness in our small groups that we’ve never found somewhere else. We can trust our small groups to listen without rushing to judgment, to care when we’re in need, to lift us up when we’re down, and to do it all in a way that reflects God’s design for fellowship and growth.

There is nowhere else in Greeley where people will experience that, except in small groups in local churches.

So when you think about the makeup of your Life Group, and it’s become such a special place for you, such a place of home, and healing, and a family, and you’re afraid of anything that might change that, afraid to invite people in,

Don’t be a lamp under a basket.

Do you really think that this amazing thing was meant to be kept to yourself?

Let that light shine. Guess what - if you start inviting everybody to your small group, it’s going to change, but that’s part of the deal. It’s what you’re here for. It’s not all about you. It’s about the Kingdom and the King that saved you in order to take His light out there!

How can we be the salt of the earth and the light of the world here on this particular hill, in 2019? How can we be a beacon for college students across the street, and professionals who commute to Fort Collins every morning, and folks who are out-of-work, and kids at Jackson Elementary? How can we bring the blessing we’ve received to a perishing world?

How can we be the salt of the earth here on this particular hill, in 2019? How can we be light today, a beacon for college students across the street, and professionals who commute to Fort Collins every morning, and folks who are out-of-work, and kids at Jackson Elementary? How can we bring the blessing we’ve received to a perishing world?

It starts with a commitment. Every ministry, every Bible study, every family, every individual says, “Why am I here? I’m here to bring the flavor of God to a perishing world. I’m here to bring the flash of God to a darkened world.”

My purpose is that people would taste and see that the Lord is good. For believers to taste and see more and more fully, and for the rest of Greeley, and the whole world, to taste and see what we’ve already begun to experience.

Paul says we are the aroma of Christ to the perishing and to those who are being saved.

So make the commitment to bring the blessing to the world. Ministry leaders, ask the question: Do I see my ministry as a way to bring the flavor and flash of the favor and presence of God to this place, and Greeley, and the world? Everything from nursery to sound to music to Women’s ministries to facilities to finances to Missions to membership to Kids Hope to Trunk or Treat to Sunday School - Jesus says you’re the salt of the earth. So bring the flavor to the earth. You’re the light of the world. So bring the light to the world. So we can bring them home to God.

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