The Influence Of God's Community

马太福音第5章：13-16节
sermon on Matthew 5:13-16

Introduction
As followers of Jesus, we live today in the midst of a world that can be characterized by two things: moral corruption and spiritual darkness. Those two, horribly destructive dynamics describe the normal state of things all around us. But by grace, God has chosen to place His love upon us and save us from the destructive course of this world through the blood of His Son. And now, though we once went along with the flow of this world, we ourselves have been redeemed from the moral corruption and spiritual darkness that characterizes it; and today, we live on this earth as people who are destined for eternal glory in heaven. How we should praise Him and thank Him every day for His grace to us!
But do you realize what this passage from the Lord is telling us? This passage is teaching us that we are not saved by God's grace for ourselves alone. It teaching us that God has saved us in order to make us into something that this fallen world desperately needs; and that He then leaves us in this world to be, in the very midst of it. God saves us to be His children, his people, a community of faith, to be different and be an influence to the world.
The world may very often view the church with frustration and anger, because it stands in the way of what it considers to be 'progress'. It may even maliciously hate the Church and seek to destroy it. But don't let the hostility of the world make you feel unimportant or irrelevant, dear brothers and sisters in Christ; because the truest thing that can be said of us is not what the world says, but what God says. The world may reject Jesus' church of redeemed people; but the whole time long, His church is the very thing that the world most needs to have living on it. The church's existence on this earth is God's merciful gift of grace to the world; because the Church is the only "salt" He has provided for its moral corruption and the only "light" He has provided for its spiritual darkness.
Do you know why the world views the church, God’s community, this way? There are many reasons why this is so, but one reason stands out above the rest. The church has lost its influence because Christians have neglected their responsibility to be salt and light in the world. As we have neglected to be what God has called us to be, the world has decided to ignore us. And the flip side of that is also true. When Christians decide to be salt and light, the world pays close attention to what we say and do. Let me say it simply: When we are salt and light, the world listens to us. When we aren’t, they don’t.
The Salt of The Earth
This is the Word of the Lord from the Gospel of Matthew. “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 by men.” (Matthew 5:13)
What did Jesus mean? Salt was one of the most common substances in the ancient world. Roman soldiers were paid in salt and would revolt if they didn’t get their ration. Indeed, our English word “salary” comes from the Latin salarium which literally means “salt-money.” And our expression, “That man is not worth his salt,” is a reminder of the high value that salt had in biblical times.
Let’s go a step further. Salt has two primary uses. First, it is a seasoning. Just pick up any modern cookbook and count how many recipes include salt. Almost everything you will eat will have some salt in it. Without salt, food can be tasteless. If you don’t believe me, try eating McDonald’s French flies without salt? It is tasteless.
Second, it is a preservative. This is no doubt its main use. Salt retards spoilage. It doesn’t prevent the process of decay, but it slows it down and prevents its spread. Meat left to itself will spoil. Cure the meat with salt and it will last a long, long time. Third, salt strings. We speak of pouring salt on an open wound. “We are called to be not the honey of the world but the salt of the earth. Salt stings on an open wound, but it also saves one from gangrene.” (Donald Bloesch in “Theological Notebook, Volume 1). Fourth, salt gives strength. You can’t live with sodium in your diet. Without it, your body quickly weakens. That’s one reason the Romans gave their soldiers salt. They knew that putting salt on their vegetables would give them needed strength. (The word “salad” is related to the Latin word for salt.) Fifth, salt creates thirst. That’s why they put it on potato chips and pretzels. It creates thirst and causes you to crave something to drink.
In what sense does this apply to the followers of Jesus Christ? We are to be the salt that flavors a tasteless world and we are to be the salt that preserves a decaying world.
Jesus had no illusions about this world. He knew its true character. It is like a piece of rotten meat, putrefying more and more each day. On every hand we have the most advanced technology. Every day brings new breakthroughs in medicine, science, communications, and mass-production. And yet at the same time, the moral climate grows darker and darker.
Dear friends, let there be no mistake. We are living in a morally decadent society. It is like a piece of meat left all day in the sunshine. The decay is slow at first, and then suddenly the whole thing is rotten.
A Little Salt Is All You Need
What does it take to arrest the spread of evil? Salt. That’s what Jesus was talking about. Salt stops the spread of moral evil and preserves society from total corruption.
Here’s the exciting part. It’s doesn’t take much salt to do the job. Just a little bit in the right place will do the trick. Do you remember the story of Abraham praying for God to spare Sodom because his nephew Lot lived there? He said, “Lord, if I can find fifty righteous people, will you spare the city?” And the Lord said yes. So Abraham said, “Well, Lord, if I can find forty-five righteous people in the city, will you spare it?” The Lord said yes again. So, he tried forty, and the Lord said yes. Then he tried thirty, and the Lord said yes again. The problem was, Abraham didn’t think there were thirty righteous people in the whole city. So he tried again, “How about for twenty?” And God said, “I will spare it for twenty.” Then Abraham took a deep breath and said, “Lord, what if I can only find ten?” “I will spare it for the sake of ten righteous people.”
Think of it. A whole city saved because only ten people were righteous. Remember, Sodom was a thoroughly wicked place. It was evil through and through. Yet God would have spared it for ten righteous people. As it turned out, Abraham couldn’t even find ten people who were righteous.
So God prepared to destroy the city. But before He could do anything, Lot and his wife and his two daughters had to leave. Even God wouldn’t destroy the city while the righteous were still there. I repeat. It doesn’t take much salt to do the job. We need Christians to continue to make an impact in this world.
Here is a simple definition: Being the salt of the earth means acting as a purifying agent to hinder the spread of evil. We who follow Jesus Christ are to be a “moral disinfectant” stopping the spread of evil. We are to be the conscience of the community, speaking out for what it true and right.
Now, this leads us to an important matter when it comes to our role as "salt" on this earth. As we read on, we find that Jesus asks a question: ". . . 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 by men." This underscores for us the fact that, if we are to be effective as "the salt of the earth", we must not lose our distinctiveness and purity as "salt".
My understanding is that, as a chemical compound, sodium chloride, is very strong and stable. It doesn't really lose its quality as "salt" in and of itself. But it can and does lose its "salty" impact - its "flavor" - when it becomes mixed with impurities that contaminate it. Then, it no longer has the effectiveness of salt. Apparently, this is true of much of the natural salt that is found around the Dead Sea - not far from where Jesus spoke these words. The salt around that area is so mixed with other minerals and contaminants, that it is little more than useless white powder. And what can you do with it? You really can't 'salt' salt! You'd not only fail to 'salt' the bad salt, but you'd also end up contaminating the good salt!
As believers, we are always "the salt of the earth" - no matter what. We are, in fact, the only "salt of the earth" that there is. So long as we are in Christ, we will never 'not' be salt. But we lose our effectiveness as salt when we become mixed up and contaminated with the elements of our culture. We end up becoming indistinguishable from the people of the culture themselves - the very people God has saved us to serve as "salt"!
Sometimes, as believers, we are pressured to become as much like the unbelieving people of our culture as we can be. We watch the same shows on television. We listen to the same music. We pick up the same talk. We wear the same sorts of fashions. We visit the same places. We spend our money in the same ways. And to the degree that the sinful elements of our culture have taken up so much of a residence in us that we are no longer distinct from its moral corruption and decay - to the degree that the values and priorities of the world dictate our own life-style conduct and our beliefs - then, to that degree, we've become 'contaminated salt'. We've become impure. We have lost our flavor and our effectiveness; and we no longer make the impact on this world that God has left us here to make.
Let me ask you; are you living a life that is distinct and separate from the sinful things of this world? Do you live a distinctive life in your home, in school and in your neigbourhood? Are you the same at home as you seek to be perceived at church? When people put the pressure on you in the workplace to compromise with respect to God's holy standards for you and in your obedience and devotion to Christ, to you stand firm? Does your conversation with your friends reflect the speech of the Savior, or does it reflect the influence of the world? Are you distinct in what you watch on television, or in what you pay to see in the theater, or in what you read? And when it comes to the matter of standing up for righteousness in our culture, do you conform yourself with the word of God, or with the values and priorities of this world? Have you lost your effectiveness as "salt" because you've tasted too much of the world's "sugar"?
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ; to be effective as "the salt of the earth", we must be "pure salt" - not mixed with the contaminates of this world. To be “pure salt”, we must let Christ have rule over every area of our lives. We must be distinct. May God search our hearts and our lives; and show us where we are not pure before Him! And may we repent of the sin He reveals in our lives so that we may be useful to Him in this world.
But just as the secret to effective salt is "contact", the secret to the effectiveness of the next thing is "contrast". This leads us to Jesus' next affirmation of what we are . . .
The Light Of The World
But that is not the whole story. Listen to the next three verses from Matthew 5: “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 men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)
What do these words mean? The dictionary defines light as “a source of illumination.” That provides the key to our definition. To be the light of the world means illuminating the darkness so that others may see reality.
One of the most frightening things in the world is to be alone in the darkness. You lie in bed trying to go to sleep when suddenly you hear a creak, a little odd sound in the darkness. You strain to see through the darkness but all you can see are vague shapes. Darkness distorts reality. Everything looks different. It is only when you turn on the light that you see things as they really are.
This Little Light Of Mine
Notice the simple application in verse 16. “Let your light shine before men.” The key is in the little phrase “before men.” You can turn on a light in an empty room. It will dispel the darkness and no one will see it. Likewise you can live the Christian life in secret, but no one is going to be helped. If your light is going to shine, it’s going to shine before men. Somebody has to see it before it will do any good.
Jesus said two things would happen when you shine your light:
1. Men will see your good deeds.
The word for “good” is kalos. It means attractive or beautiful or lovely. It is that which is pleasing to the eye. Jesus is saying that people will be attracted by the beauty of your life. Others will be drawn to you by the way you live. When you say a good word for Jesus, that is a good deed. When you stop and smile at a friend, that also is a good deed. When you help your friend with the school work, that is a good deed or when you stop by the hospital to see how a friend is getting along, or when you donate money to the needy, that too is a good deed. It is beautiful, attractive, lovely. It is evangelism backed up by a winsome personality.
Men will see the quality of your life. And if the light is shining brightly they are drawn to you and to your Lord.
This is the most important thing. Jesus said, “When they see your lovely ways.” He could have said, “When they hear your great preachers, or when they sit in your lovely sanctuaries, or when they hear your wonderful praise team, or when they read your Statements of Faith. He could have said that. But he didn’t. He simply said, “When they see the way you live.”
Illustration: Do a good deed.
I’d Rather See a Sermon
Perhaps you’ve heard this poem. It’s called “The Living Sermon.” (By Edgar Guest) It drives the point home with crystal-clarity.
I’d rather see a sermon
than hear one any day.
I’d rather one would walk with me
than merely tell the way.
The eye’s a better pupil
and more willing than the ear.
Fine counsel is confusing
but example’s always clear.
The best of all the preachers
are the men who live their creeds.
For to see good put in action
is what everybody needs.
I soon can learn to do it,
if you’ll let me see it done.
I can watch your hands in action,
your tongue too fast may run.
The lectures you deliver
may be very wise and true.
But I’d rather get my lessons
by observing what you do.
For I might misunderstand you
And the high advice you give.
But there’s no misunderstanding
how you act and how you live.
There’s a second thing that happens when you shine your light before men:
2. They give God the credit.
Verse 16 says, “They praise your Father who is in heaven.” Did you notice that the word “your” is used three times in this verse? Your light … Your good deeds … Your Father in heaven. When you let your light shine before men, they glorify your Father in heaven. What begins on earth ends in heaven.
That’s how much influence we have. We can point men to God. We can lead them out of darkness into the light.
It is wonderfully simple. We do the shining and God gets the credit. And here’s why. Light does not call attention to itself. It provides illumination so that other things can be seen as they really are. When men see a beautifully lit city, they don’t discuss the lights; they talk of the genius of the architect. When family and friends gather in a famous restaurant to have a meal, they don’t praise lightings and furniture; instead, they give the credit to the one who prepared the meal.
So it is that when our light shines to those around us, they see the beauty of our good works, the darkness falls away, they see spiritual reality, and God gets the credit.
Saints Let the Light In
I cannot imagine anything higher or greater. We have in our hands enormous influence for good. We are the light of the world. We can make an eternal difference to the people around us. We can quite literally change the world. As they see the beauty of our lives, they will be attracted to the Jesus we preach. As they see the light in us, they will see the One who gives us the light. They will be attracted our Savior and God will get the credit.
Let me tell you the most exciting fact about all this. You don’t need a seminary degree or a Christian college education. If you are a Christian, you are already salt and light right where you live. You don’t need a Bachelor of Salt or a Doctor of Light degree. You have everything you need right now.
You’re salt. So get out of the shaker and into the soup!
You’re light. So crawl out from under your bed and let it shine!
A little boy was sitting in church with his mom one day. As he looked up at the beautiful stained glass windows, he saw faces in the glass. “Mom, who are those people in the window?” he asked. “Those are the saints,” she answered. The little boy thought for awhile and then said, “Oh, I know who the saints are. They’re the ones that let the light in.”
We have seen and experienced the moral decay going on all around us. Let no one despair. The darker the night, the brighter the light shines. It is precisely when the world is at its worst that the people of God should be at their best. We were made for days like these. And this is our calling: We have been commissioned by Jesus Christ to go throughout Outram Park and the whole Singapore and beyond letting the light in.
I began by saying that the church has lost its influence in our society. That seems so obvious that it needs no further comment. But why has it happened and what can we do about it? It has happened as we have neglected to be salt and light in the world. This world has desperately needed light, but we have hidden under the bowl. In the meantime the world has gone from bad to worse.
What will have to happen for us to once again become salt and light in the world?
1. To become salt we must actively decide to become purifying agents who hinder the spread of evil.
2. To become light we must actively decide to illuminate the spiritual darkness around us by the boldness of our speech and by the beauty of our life.
Let no one be deceived. It will not be easy. The world doesn’t want salt and light, but it desperately needs it. The world won’t give you a Medal of Honor for joining the Salt and Light Brigade, but you ought to join up anyway.
Two Simple Commitments
Here are two simple commitments we can make this morning:
First of all is the Salt Commitment: I will be a purifying agent to hinder the spread of evil as God gives me the opportunity. That may mean speaking up at the office. It may mean refusing to get involved in certain holiday traditions. It may mean rocking the boat where you work. It may mean taking some criticism for your faith. It may mean taking an unpopular stand on public issues. Remember, salt stings and then it cleanses.
Second, there is the Light Commitment: I will illuminate the spiritual darkness around me by the boldness of my speech and the beauty of my life. That certainly involves deeds of everyday kindness. It may mean going out of your way to help a friend. It no doubt means openly identifying yourself as a Christian. It will probably cost you some money and some time. Remember, the primary function of light is to reveal things as they really are. When you’ve done your job, they won’t talk about you. They’ll talk about Jesus.
We aren’t called to save the world. But we are called to make a difference. We can’t do everything. But we can do something. And what we can do, we ought to do. That’s what being salt and light is all about.