Matt. 5:11-16 Living as Citizens of Heaven – Salt and Light
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Salt and Light
13 “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 underfoot.
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 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. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Last week I shared about the fact that as believers our citizenship have been transferred to Heaven.
- When we are saved we die in Christ and are raised in Him.
- We were removed from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of Light.
- We are now only travelers, foreigners, aliens in the world.
- This world is not our home, our home is in heaven and we await our Saviour Jesus Christ from heaven.
- We need to keep our minds and our hearts on things above and not on earthly things.
- We serve a King and a Kingdom.
- We are Ambassadors of God bringing a message of peace and forgiveness, of reconciliation to all who believe.
In Matthew 5 Jesus lays out what it means to be a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven. What our roles are, how we must live and what we can expect from the world of darkness around us.
- You will note that it does not mean being so heavenly minded that we are of no earthly use. Far from it.
Jesus starts off by saying that we are blessed when we are poor in spirit, when we mourn, when we are meek, when we hunger and thirst for righteousness, when we show mercy, when we are pure in heart, when we act as peacemakers and even when we are persecuted because of righteousness. We are blessed when people insult us, persecute us and lie about us.
How do we react? 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Heavenly citizenship, or Kingdom living; has both immediate consequences and eternal rewards!
So why are we still here? Why can’t we just go straight to heaven? Because we are on assignment. As soldiers of Christ and Ambassadors of the Kingdom we have important roles to play. Jesus goes on to say:
Salt of the Earth
13 “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 underfoot.
Salt has several important roles in the world:
- Taste/ flavour
- Preservation
The world is rotten. It is in decay. Civilization is becoming more and more sinful, further and further from God.
- The world has already been judged.
- Our role is to keep it going off completely:
- Our presence keeps the world from destruction, giving time for people to be saved.
- When the church is removed from the world utter chaos will follow, leading to Judgement.
- Our presence is a reminder of God and His way.
- ILLUSTRATION –When you enter a conversation.
- You are being salt!
But, what happens when salt losses it’s flavour? Impossible for pure salt. But when mixed with impurities like Gypsum t goes stale and is chucked out.
- Don’t allow false teaching to enter your life;
- Don’t imitate the world,
- Don’t focus on things below,
- Don’t act like citizens of the world,
- Don’t wallow in the rottenness and decay of the world.
You will lose your influence! You will be useless in the Kingdom.
Being salt is largely our silent witness to the world, a quiet influence that gives taste and keeps bad from going rotten.
Light of the World
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 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. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Being the light of the world is our overt, loud, in your face testimony of the King and His Kingdom. Light pierces the darkness and it illuminates works of darkness. People who live in darkness hate the light because it exposes their works and their hearts.
Remember:
- Jesus is the light of the world – the son is the sun.
- We are not the source of light, we are like the moon that reflects the light of the sun.
- We are not to be in the light – the spotlight or the limelight, but to reflect the glory of God into every situation.
- This is our prophetic role in the world. We not only preserve, we also proclaim!
Sadly, just as salt can be mixed with impurities and become useless, so too can we hide our light. It makes no sense to light a lamp or a candle and hide it under a bucket.