Shaking Salt & Shining Light (Part 3)

     What does it mean to be salt and light? Jesus said to His disciples in Matthew 5:13-16, “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. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 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. 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 says that His followers are to be the salt of the earth and light of the world. Both salt and light were very precious and useful commodities in the ancient world. In fact, Pliny, a first century Roman writer, stated, “Nothing is as useful as salt and sunshine.” Followers of Christ are useful in the world for the welfare of the world. What specifically did Jesus have in mind?
     In the first century salt was used for several different reasons. It was used to season food—we are most accustomed to this use today. It was also used in small doses as fertilizer. On other occasions it was used to bathe newborn children in for medicinal reasons. But living in a land of such heat and without refrigeration, it was most commonly used as a preservative. Meat such as fish and poultry would easily rot and decay if it were not for a little salt added to it. Salt then, would slow the process of decay. That is partly what Jesus means for His followers to be the salt of the earth. With moral decay and corruption all around us, we are to be a preserving influence in the world—slowing this down by our actions. John MacArthur says that Christians “are the salt that prevents the entire earth from degenerating even faster than it is.” A big part of the reason the world will become so wicked after the rapture of the church is because our preserving influence will be removed instantly.
     Light has more of a positive connotation and work than does salt. Light dispels the darkness. Christians who are light give the truth needed to show someone the way to God, which is through Christ. Light works out in the open; it illumines by being seen. As light-bearers we must go into our places of work and neighborhoods and stand for what is right and good. We must tell others the soul-saving gospel of Jesus Christ. We must point others to Him.
     It is my hope that you will grow in your knowledge and practice of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with non-Christians through this series—Salt & Light: A Series on Personal Evangelism.

 -Pastor Matt