Sermon On The Mount: Salt & Light

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven.

Matthew 5:13-16 (NKJV)

Sermons about salt and light are common, but do we consider the uncommon consequence if we set aside these roles? Consider:

  • If we’re members of a Spirit-filled church,

  • Then we’re grains of salt in a block of salt.

  • We’re beams of light in a glorious house.

  • We’re Christ’s priests in a fellowship of priests.

'You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His Own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light' (1 Peter 2:9).

  • Pastors need to shake the salt and pass it,

  • Charge up the light and take it to the world,

  • Disciple new priests and send them outside….

Keeping the salt and light under church roofs… is NOT the Commission Jesus gave us.

That's like lingering in rehearsal mode… and refusing your role in a real show, like a toddler clinging to a parent.

Are we nursing millions of baby saints? Keeping their tiny mouths to the bottle, since it's easier than the messy job of introducing them to solid food, the hard Word of God?

'I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?' (1 Corinthians 3:3).

Should we be about our Father's business? Adding God's flavor to a tasteless world? Offering kind light and preservation?

'Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; But the Lord will rise upon you and His glory will appear upon you' (Isaiah 60:1-2).

Neither baskets nor steeples should cover the light of Christ--which Christians carry.

If we settle down as baby Christians, we risk being discarded and replaced. 'Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in Heaven will enter' (Matthew 7:21).*

Sermon On The Mount: Salt & Light (Part 7)

* Theologian commentaries on salt losing its savor: http://biblecommenter.com/matthew/5-13.htm

* 'How does salt lose its saltiness?' http://deneenwhite.com/2007/01/06/how-does-salt-lose-its-saltiness/

* 'Uses of salt:' http://impossible2possible.com/bolivia/thickboxes/salt_uses.php

NOTE: This is a 2023 update of a 2013 Carey Lewis Devotion. You may see notes to 'Actors, Models & Talent for Christ.' If you think you're not in show business, think again. Shakespeare said, 'All the world's a stage and all its men and women merely players. Mostly true. But you're not merely players. You are messengers and ambassadors for the King of kings.

Carey Arban