We thank you that you would take the time to join us once again in our Wonderful Day in the Lord broadcast. We continue to look at the riches and privileges and blessings we have in our lives because we are Christ’s. Today we look at a couple that go together that we would not think of ordinarily. They are found in the book of Matthew at the end part of the Beatitudes. They are found in Matthew 5:13-16. Jesus is preaching perhaps the greatest sermon ever preached, the Sermon on the Mount, and He has already gone through the Beatitudes, “the blessed,” that have occupied so much of people’s attention and time, and they are beautiful and wonderful. Then He begins to top it off by going to verses 13-16 and talks about the fact that we are both salt and light in this world. That is the privilege that is ours: we are salt and light.
Starting with salt, in Matthew 5:13 it says, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.” Jesus is talking to His disciples here and by extension us, and He starts out by telling us that we are the salt of the earth. So, we have to consider, and people have been talking about this forever, what exactly does He mean? What does salt do that Jesus is pointing to? Most people come up with one of two things: salt flavors and salt preserves. Both are very important. If you have ever eaten food that has no salt, you know the value of having salted meat and food. It is for taste. It gives it flavor. So, the believer brings to this world the flavor of God. The world gets to taste something of what God can do in a life because we are His. Not the full extent of what He wants to do or the perfection that will ultimately be, but the world gets to taste something of what God is doing in life through the salt that we are in this world.
On the other hand, it also preserves, so there is a very real extent in which the fact that there are believers all over the globe is a preservation of the humanity in this world, on the good side. Without the salt of the believer spread throughout all the planet, the world would be totally made-up of unbelievers. If you want to know what that looks like, read Revelation 6-19 where we see virtually everyone in that section are unbelievers and as a result of that there is very little salt on the earth at that time. When the Spirit has been removed and the believer has been removed, people will resort to what they are. So, we are able to slow that down until such time as the Lord desires . . .
