YOU ARE PART ONE

Matt 5:13-16

We have just finished looking at the essential interior

of one’s life in the new birth. The inner qualities of those, who are, members of the Kingdom of God. One theologian called them “Beautiful Attitudes” of the child of God. It’s though the Beatitudes we see God reveal His heart of the new birth. That inner beauty of His transforming grace in the life of a redeemed sinner.

But God shifts gears to the

outward of His children.

If we thought last week’s portion of Jesus’ message was out of the ordinary “Blessed/approved are you when you’re reviled and persecuted for righteousness sake.” (V10-v11). It seems that Jesus continues with this trend in the verses that follow. (v13-16). In these four verses Jesus summarizes the function of the child of God as they live in this world. As John MacArthur said you can summarize this portion of Scripture with one word “Influence” The child of God according to the Beatitudes is going to function like this in a world that is broken and corrupt. Not only do you possess this beauty inside, but you are to show and tell the world this beauty as well. The Christian is going function consciously and unconsciously by affecting others for better or for worse. Because! There is no doubt to who Jesus is referring to or addressing here! It is those who have been, and will be, transformed by the gospel of His grace. 

Understand! The person that Jesus speaks of here is unconcerned with self-proclaimed goodness, but demonstrates the new birth through the gospel. Why? True righteousness comes from the heart and says, “I love you Lord, help me to do whatever pleases You.”

“You are” is a very important piece to this

portion of Jesus’ sermon. 

You are….

A Chosen Generation…..” But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” 1 Peter 2:9-10

Children Of Light…..”For you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.” Eph 5:8

Sons & Daughters Of The Living God…. “And in the very place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' there they will be called 'sons of the living God.'” Rom 9:26

Disciples Of Christ….. “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,” John 8:31

Heirs Of The Grace Of God…..” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.” Gal 4:7

Heirs Of The Promise…..” And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.” Gal 3:29

I say all this to reaffirm what Jesus is saying here! He is talking about the child of God through the new birth and they will be a salt to the earth; and a light to the world. What Jesus is saying here, is that this gospel would affect mankind, not just here, but throughout the whole world.

“This is the churches mandate”

“Before the church was established Jesus already laid down

the ground work of the church for generations to come.”

This is why Jesus is the foundation of the church.  Jesus says, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matt 16:18. It’s because of this Foundation the church exists to impact a broken and lost world. “For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” 1 Cor 3:9-11. Paul penned this to remind the believer how far away they were until Christ came in though the gospel by being our Cornerstone. “For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” Eph 2:18-22

As we examine this portion of Scripture, we will see the unforgettable description of the church’s mission in a fallen world. This wasn’t just for this time period to shake up the Middle East, though it would be started through the Apostles. But it would establish the foundation of the church on these two principles. And what I find amazing that God used ordinary people to turn this world upside down. Why do I say that? Because you are still here and God is using Calvary Baptist for His glory in the Ottawa Valley.

So let’s look at these two principles that Jesus expresses that are foundational truth for the believer and the church as we influence a society that is blind and lost.

“Salt”

In the Ancient World salt renders food pleasant and palatable, and preserves from putrefaction. In the same way that salt enhances the flavor of the food it seasons; the followers of Christ stand out as those who “enhance/ influence” the flavor of life in this world. So what Jesus says here “metaphorically” is to show that we are to be a people who add or enhance flavor to a culture that dying in its own sinful ways and pleasures of this world.

R. C Sproul said, “We are not salt merely of the earth, but we are salt for the earth, that we may add this tasteful zest to life itself, Christians should be the most filled with love, for life, and we should have a contagious sense of the joy of living.” What Jesus says in (v13) is a very powerful statement; because in order for salt to be useful in a decaying culture….It has to do what?

“It has to be shaken in order

for it to be useful.”

Take a saltshaker, salt within a saltshaker cannot add anything or flavor to any food unless it is being used. We are to have a passion and a zest for Jesus and the gospel in a broken world. The gospel brings life and flavor to a poor broken embittered world. And it keeps the child of God fresh and preserved. Why? So Christians, by their lives and instructions, are to keep the world from entire moral corruption. By their influence and example, Believers in Christ are preservatives to the earth. Preserving it from what? Preserving it from the evil that is natural in the society of ungodly men whose unredeemed natures are corrupted by sin

David penned, “The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.” Psalm 14:2-3

Paul wrote, “as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." Rom 3:10-12

  

What do you think this society would look like if their

where no redeemed children living on it?

This about that for a moment!

G. Campbell Morgan, who lived from 1863-1945, was a British evangelist, preacher, and author.  Summed up everything Jesus has said here this way. “Having declared that the supreme matter in His Kingdom is character, and having described that character in the Beatitudes; the King showed that the purpose of the realization of character, in the subjects of his kingdom, is that they may exercise an influence upon those who are outside the Kingdom. Salt is needed where there is corruption. Light is needed where there is darkness. Jesus, looking out over the multitudes of his day, saw the corruption, the collapse of life at every point – its break-up, its reckless; and, because of His love of the multitudes, He knew that the thing they needed most was salt in order that the corruption might be arrested.”

We, you are, to exemplify the love of God in Christ, returning good for evil as Jesus said in Luke 6:35 “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.” During this time period! Jesus was speaking to a people of self-destruction, a time of great pain and no hope for a future. Athens had turned into Barbarianisms, Greece had turned into rust; and Rome was becoming more pagan and corrupt by the minute. Being “salt” to an already broken and corrupt culture was task of great proportion and sacrifice. And God has called everyone us to this task whether it was the time period of Ancient Rome to 2020 in Killaloe.

“Being salt to the earth was a task given to God’s children

to help keep the earth from self-destruction.”

Think about this for a moment! After Pentecost, the establishment of the true church, History tells us that the Christian Church had done and brought many good things into the world of uncertainty and ciaos. The early church turned the world upside down with the only message of hope. Peter spoke these words to a corrupt people by saying, “…Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: "'And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.' "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. For David says concerning him, "'I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.' "Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, "'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool."' Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself. And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation." So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. "

Acts 2:14-42

The early church turned and brought a pagan

and corrupt culture to its knees.

It’s because of the Church we got…..The Arts, Music, Painting and Literature, higher education; Universities in their earlier stages were founded by the Christian Church. The Church began the Hospital Movement in the West, the church demonstrated by caring and building Orphanages, they help bring an end to slavery. The church continues today to be voice for the unborn in our culture. And parents to the unwanted or abused children through adoption and foster care. The Christian church has been used throughout the centuries to help “preserve a broken world”. Salt was being used, salt is being used today! But something has happened to the church over the course of time. (v13) . Imperfect as she is; there can be some wrongs methods or influenced that affect the saltiness of being useful. Many theologians and historians say “we are living in a post-Christian era”; others say, “We are living in a neo-pagan or neo-barbarian age”

Are they right?  

I love the church and I will defend her as long as I have breath in my lungs, but there is some truth to that statement.

Is the church turning the world upside down?

Is the church preserving the earth with righteousness to counteract the decay of this present culture?

Is the church doing what Jesus called us to do, according

to the Sermon on the Mount?

Why would some call this a “Neo-barbarian era?” What constitutes this era to be called barbarian?

Well the greatest example I can think of is willingness to slaughter an unborn child at a rate of one and half million a year. That could summarize the heart of our present culture. To me that sort puts things into perspective of what a barbarian would be like.

What has caused this massive shift of salt shaking

to the point of just salt just sitting there?

One of the biggest problems is the church today is that we have been taught to keep the “salt” in the saltshakers, for the sake of peace, for the sake of comfort in the church. We have been taught the gospel is private and personal. So keep it to yourself. We have been taught to proclaim a water downed message instead of the full gospel. We have been taught to complain about what’s wrong with the church and the world by seating on our hands. Again R C Sproul said, “We are called not to wring our hands and groan about how bad things are becoming; we are called to preserve what is worth preserving in the world around us.”

We live in a very unique time

in church history.

  

For the first time in Church history the church is empty, with the exception of the pastor.

For the first time in a very long time in church history we have an opportunity to turn the world upside down once again, for the sake of His glorious Name. This is a time for salt to be shaken all over the globe; a globe that is in self-destructive mode and without hope. When salt is used properly it has amazing effect on souls who are living without hope. 

"It brings about a thirst."

Remember the encounter that Jesus had with the woman at the well? A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?" (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock." Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:7-14

How was Jesus displaying salt that she would thirst after this water? “The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water." Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true. "The woman said to him, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." John 4:15-24

Jesus with gentleness exposed the corruption in her heart 

by influencing her life with the truth of the gospel.

What happened after this encounter? She was a changed woman for the better! “Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me all that I ever did." So when the Samaritans came to Him, they asked Him to stay with them, and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His word. They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world." John 4:39-42

The power of salt being shaken in a world that needs to hear biblical truth about their lives and the hope of Redemption though the gospel. If we do not take the opportunity to display and speak about the truth of the gospel; then Jesus says something about our testimony will happen. (v13b)

Again let’s put ourselves at the feet of Jesus on this hill. The primary source of salt was the Dead Sea. The salt from the Dead Sea was mixed with other minerals, many of which would be contaminate the purity of the salt and it would leach the saltiness out of the content. What Jesus is saying is that “We must not allow the saltiness be leached out of us.” It must not be destroyed by the contaminating minerals of this world system and this corrupt society.

What causes our salt to loses it flavor?

Salt can lose its flavor, the carelessness of one’s life lead by sin, hide the light and salt can become adulterated or diluted. If our salt has lost its flavor and usefulness it’s probably because we have allowed the world to contaminate or influence our lives. But what did Paul say to the church? “Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” Col 4:5-6. We, (You) are, to be world shakers for His glory and the His gospel. We, (You) are, to be the voice of truth and reason in a feared and broken world that sees no hope beyond their pain or sorrows. We, (You) are, to be salt that preserves a corrupt society that is ramped in sin and death.

As David Platt said in his book “Radical”,

"The church is God's plan A. There is no plan B."

This is truth because Paul said, “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart." Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." 1 Cor 1:17-31

Our lives are to be different through the new birth from this world of decay and darkness. Salt preserves, where sin brings decay and corruption. The biblical worldview is that the world is corrupted and decayed that is dark and darkening every single minute of every day. Paul said it going to get worse and the world cannot do anything but get worse. “While evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” 2 Tim 3:13. 

Many polls today…. show that Christians are no different than non-Christians when it comes to divorce, abortion, the Alphabet group, even the validity and sufficiency of the Scriptures. The polls reveal there is little to no discernable differences between the behavior of the believer and the pagan.

“And I hold polls in about as high regard

as salads at a potluck.”

But Paul tells Timothy what? “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 2 Tim 3:14-17

Despite what the polls say, or that the world is going to get worse you be an influencer to help stop the bleeding. To proclaim the gospel to broken and lost souls Understand! In the world, the Christian often finds themselves living among a lot of decay and putrefaction.

But we are to be salt-shakers nonetheless.

Christ calls us to offer a way of preservation in a world bound to corruption when He says “You are the salt of the earth; you are the light of the world”  (v13). Being a salt and light begins in our home! Being an influencer not a discourager.

Andrew Murray lived an exceptional holy life. The influence he had on others and still does today though His writings, and sermons, speaks volumes to what Jesus is saying here. Why? Though his passion for the gospel he had the privilege to influence his children and grandchildren with the gospel of truth. Five of his six sons became ministers of the gospel and four of his daughters became minister’s wives. Ten grandsons became ministers and thirteen grandchildren became missionaries.

Now! I’m sure life wasn’t always perfect and easy for the Murray family, but it’s though the exemplified life of being salt and light making an impact on someone’s life for the gospel. The Christian life brings balance to a chaotic world and it brings a message of hope and rest in a fearful world that doesn’t know what tomorrow will bring. As followers of Jesus, we are called to live different lives. We are not called to live as the world does, but we are called to live lives that glorify and reflect the glory of Jesus Christ. At the same time, we are not called to withdraw from the world and isolate ourselves. We should not be afraid or hide in isolation until Jesus’ returns. We are to be world-changers! We are to have a positive impact in our world! We are to speak biblical truth into the hearts of this lost generation. We are to expose sinful hearts to the life-changing power of the gospel. Though words, actions and life.

We are to be salt!