Text: Matthew 5:13-16
TELL THE WORLD: AS SALT & LIGHT
As we focus this month on our God-given mission to "Tell the World", we are thinking of how we can do this effectively. How can we tell the world in a positive and powerful way that God loves the world, sent His Son to die for the world and gives forgiveness of sin and eternal life to all who believe in Him? How can we tell the world that message? And as we read Scripture, we discover that our Lord has not given us a program. He has not given us a policy. He has not given us a promotional campaign, instead He tells us that we are to tell the world by being His people. It is as we submit to His Lordship in our lives, as He lives in us and we give expression to His love and grace and mercy that the world sees and hears the good news of the reality of God's love. Jesus makes this plain on our text this morning.
So Jesus uses two images to describe how He wants His church to influence and tell the world of His love. Two images - salt and light. You will notice that Jesus says, "you ARE the salt of the earth" and that "you ARE the light of the world." Not should be, or even try to be, but it says "you are". We say, "you have got to be kidding. How can I be the salt of the earth, the light of the world?" And the gospel says to us you are because the one who is the light of the world has taken up residence in your life. When Simeon took the baby Jesus in his arms, he declared Him "a light for revelation to the Gentiles" (Luke 2:32). John describes Jesus as "the true light that gives light to every man." (John 1:9). Now through faith that light dwells in you. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me" (Galatians 2:20). So we are the light of the world, not because we are imitating Christ but because we are deriving the light from Him who dwells in us. Just as a light bulb has no ability to shine on its own, of course it bears some of the responsibility. It can fail to give expression to the electricity that is flowing through it, but its ability to give light has its origin in the electrical source. It must be plugged into a source of electricity to shine. So, too, the Christian life. We are the light of the world not by our own strength, but because Christ is living in us. Now think of these two images for a moment. Salt and light, they are different from each other yet they are the same. I want us to think of their sameness this morning. They are the same, first, in their uniqueness. There is a distinct quality about salt, there is a distinct quality about light that makes them special and unique. And Jesus says you (that is, His followers) are distinct, unique in this world. You are different from everyone else. He is not saying that His followers are unique in that they are quirky or silly. But He is saying that they are unique in their character, their values, their goals, their priorities, their attitudes, and in the way they relate to other people. How they face death, how they deal with tragedy, how they handle conflict, how they spend their leisure time and their money. In all these ways, the Christian is to be distinct from those who are not Christian. It is a lie to believe that you can become a Christian and still have the same things, do the same things, think the same things as those who are not Christian. Have we experienced the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ? Then it must be practiced in our lives. Do we have the Spirit of God in our lives? Then there must be fruit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Do we have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ? Then there must be a difference in our habits and tastes and how we think from those who think only of this world. Let me put it more practically - how is the Christian to be unique? What are some of the characteristics that we are to possess that make us unique from the world? One characteristic is love - a genuine concern for one another and for other people. Jim Peterson writes of how Dr. Bob Smith, a godly and beloved professor at Bethel College at St Paul Minnesota, made a casual comment that made a permanent mark on him. He had just returned from two years of teaching in the Middle East and his mind was filled with fresh experiences of involvement with Muslims. He described how the people grasped at whatever display of personal interest or friendliness he would show them. Then he said, "You know, ninety percent of evangelism is love." 1 Oh, we know it to be true, for people in our world are hungry for acceptance, love and genuine friendship. And as love is practiced and displayed in the church, it probably would do more to attract others to Jesus Christ than any house-to-house canvass, evangelistic program or any new fancy facility. The truth is, if people don't find love and care from the people of the church they will not stay long to know the one who is Love. So it is suggested that people are not persuaded - they are attracted. Christians are to be unique in the love that we demonstrate. We pride ourselves in being a caring and loving church. That is good. But let's not take it for granted. We should continually be taking our pulse to be sure that it is pounding with the love of Christ and that we have not grown stale or stagnant in our love for one another and for those in our community. It can happen, we can lose our distinctiveness, our Christ-like qualities. This is what Jesus says in the second part of verse 13: "But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?" There is a danger of losing that which makes us unique. There is a danger that while we are in the world we become influenced and absorbed by the world and lose our saltiness. When we lose our ability to exhibit Christ-like qualities we lose our saltiness, our uniqueness, we are good for nothing in the Kingdom of God and might as well be thrown on the ground to be trampled by the crowd. So with Christ's followers. If we become like the world - in our hunger for self-promotion, self-adulation, self-preservation and self-pampering - we will lose our ability to make a difference in the world. We lose our saltiness. And then when that happens, people have every right to ask why would I want to join you when you are no different from the rest of the world? May I also suggest that we are to be unique in our generosity? In this you don't need much encouragement, for you are a generous people. I received two letters these past weeks. One from a single mom in our community who was in great need. Her living conditions were horrible. The deacons were made aware of it and we were able to help her in a number of ways. And she wrote a letter saying, "How I thank God for generous people like yourselves. Your Christianity has been amply demonstrated by your acts of kindness." It is said that Francis of Assisi when sending his men out to evangelize would say something to the effect, "By every possible means preach Christ as you go. If necessary use words." Or take this other letter I received from Laurie Fraser. The only connection that the family had with our church is that Kyla went to our Explorers group. Kyla was very sick and passed away last month. And during that time of illness a number of you reached out to the family in love and generosity. This is what the letter says, "What a wonderful congregation you are! We have been overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of the congregation's gifts of food, prayers, and phone calls of support. It has been such a wonderful help to us." That's it. That's what Jesus is talking about. You are salt and light - in the midst of a hurting and needy world you bring the love and generosity you have experienced from Christ and they see that His love and generosity is real. Jesus says you are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world. These elements are the same not only in their uniqueness, but also because they are both pervasive. You introduce light to darkness and darkness goes running. You introduce salt to food and it seeps in and brings flavour to the whole dish you are preparing. That's what Jesus is saying here. My people are as salt and light, pervasive in the world bringing a unique divine quality of love and forgiveness and grace to whatever situation we are in. That is a different image of the church then what we sometimes think. We often think of the church as a building, we think of a place. When Jesus speaks of the church, He thinks of a people. When Jesus speaks of the church it has nothing to do with institutions or buildings or structures or dark pews or darker pulpits. It has everything to do with a people permeating society with the grace and goodness of God himself. In fact, latter in Matthew's gospel he uses a Greek word we translate as church, "Ecclesia." It literally means "called-out ones." We are called out of darkness into the light of His grace and love. We are called out of the world to live for Him. We are called out of the world to be sent back into the world pervading the world as salt and light. O may God forgive us if we ever associate the church with buildings and furnaces and kitchens and carpets and walls - thinking that these are what matter. This is not the church. No, no, my church, says Jesus Christ, is a people who belong to Me and who are called out to live in the world bringing revolutionary change for purity and righteousness and justice and grace. One of my favorite preachers from England, Michael Quicke, speaks of a time when he was the pastor of the Baptist church in the centre of Cambridge. It is a church that was often described as a flint-covered building. And sometimes when people met Michael Quicke for the first time they would say, "Ah you are the minister of that church - that flint-covered building. That's your church is it? The one next to the cinema, the one with the restaurant attached to it." And he longed to say to them. "No my church is a subversive, dangerous people scattered all over the place working day after day infiltrating and influencing society as God's salt and light. They are Christ's people who happen on a Sunday morning to worship in a flint-covered building next to the cinema with the restaurant attached to it." Stuart Briscoe tells of how he met one Christian woman for the first time and asked her, "What do you do?" And she said, "Pastor I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ cleverly disguised as a machine operator." Yes, she has it. You are the salt of the earth, and the light of the world. Pervading the world with the distinct love of Christ, the unique grace of Christ. So it is that we are in the world living as his followers, that we tell the world of his love. And so Jesus does not call us so much to implement a plan or organize a program as much as be a people who are devoted to him. There is another warning - we are not to retreat from the world. This is what Jesus says in verse 14 and 15: "A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl." Often we think of the church as this great fortress where we can go to take refuge from the world. And that is a true image to an extent. We do come together as His church to encourage and reset our priorities and sort out our thinking. But we must beware, because fortresses often have moats to keep people out, and often they have drawbridges that are lifted to keep people out. And often there are guns on the walls to keep people out. That's not the proper image of the church. We need to realize that before salt can do its work, it must come in contact with the food. Before a light can do its work, it must be taken and placed on a stand so that it can give light to everyone in the house. And too often the church has been guilty of isolating itself from the world for fear of contamination. Instead our Lord says that we are to be living messages that people can read. And when they do, what does the last part of verse 16 says happens? When we do let our light shine before the world and they see our good deeds? They give praise to your Father in heaven. Because His light is shining in us, people see what we do in His name and say, "What you are doing is not humanly possible." and we say - "That's right, it is God at work in us." And He gets the praise. He gets the recognition and people turn their hearts and lives to Him. Do you know the name Charles Colson? He was involved in the Watergate scandal of the 70's. He was known as Nixon's henchman. He was a hard man, caught and imprisoned. And through it all he turned his life to Christ. Now he has a prison ministry throughout the world. Mike Wallace when interviewing in Colson in Connecticut, was asked by Colson, "I don't know how you can hold on to your atheism while you look at all this beauty." Mike Wallace replied, I"m having a hard time holding on to my atheism looking at you." How are we to tell the world? Jesus tells us it is not through a program, it is not through policies or even promotional campaigns, it is through us, His people who are filled with His life, invading all areas of life with their Christ-like uniqueness. Not becoming like the world, or isolated from the world but being in the world so that all can see your good deeds and seeing that there is at work within you one who is greater than you. Copyright MBC and Tom Cullen - April 2002
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