Matthew 5 - Salt and Light

The Kingdom of Heaven

Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
I've had more than one person say to me, "I'm spiritual...", yet they don't recognize their spiritual poverty without Christ. How can anyone expect to be in the kingdom without the King?

Here’s what Jesus says about that; “Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
18I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”

The Salt of the Earth

Matthew 5:13
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.

I think most Christians have a pretty good grasp of what Jesus first statement means; (salt was used for lots of purposes in Jesus’ day: an antiseptic, baking bread, seasoning food, and preserving food)

Medicinally: reduces bacterial growth. Purifying, cleansing

Baking: Salt plays a role in tightening the gluten structure and adding strength to your dough. It helps the loaf to hold on to the carbon dioxide gas that is formed during fermentation, supporting good volume. Salt slows down fermentation and enzyme activity in dough.

Seasoning: it not only adds its own flavor, but it brings out the food’s flavor.

Preservative: draws out the water from the meat, so bacteria can't grow.

Thirst Stimulant: give it to dairy cows so they drink more water and produce more milk.

“If you lose your flavor…”, How can salt lose its flavor? It can't, but it can be changed by chemical reaction, it can be combined with other elements or it can be broken down into its constituent parts of sodium and chlorine.  Or it can become so diluted (so watered down) that it's tasteless.  He is saying we can lose our effectiveness for the kingdom of heaven.  If you're a Christian, but you no longer have any effect or impact on the world around you because of some moral compromise or apathy, how can your effectiveness be restored? It can't. Is Jesus saying we can lose our salvation? NO. But we can take ourselves out of the game so to speak.  So I don't believe this is an metaphor for salvation, but a metaphor for effectiveness and impact of our earthly outreach.

The Light of the World, A City Set on a Hill

Matt 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

No need to explain in detail the meaning of the light metaphor.  The “light of the world”, metaphor is a similar to the “salt of the earth” metaphor.

Light’s effects are

To illuminate

To cause growth.

The kingdom of heaven’s purpose on earth is to reveal and implement God’s purpose and plan in the world. The real question here is, are we, as “the church”, fulfilling this calling? Another thing light does, is wake us up. Are we doing anything to wake up a sleeping world?

The “city” was a place of refuge. Providing protection from thieves. Providing law and order to conduct life. The kingdom of heaven is supposed to offer those types of benefits to the world. Do we shine God’s law on the world like a spotlight?   along the same lines, a city (with it’s lights at night would be a means of navigation on land, much like a lighthouse would be at sea).

The opportunities to do good works (one type of “good work” is outreach for the kingdom), are all around us. We don't have to travel to a third world country to meet the needy, sick, homeless/helpless people.  Although we should go out from our Jerusalem to ‘Judea’ and Samaria and to the “uttermost parts of the earth “.  1 Timothy 6:18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;   The goal of good works is to bring glory, honor and praise to our Father in heaven, that the King’s kingdom would grow/spread/expand. The contrast/difference between the kingdom of heaven and the world ought to be evident; so evident that people easily notice it. Sadly, the only difference between many so-called Christians and the world, is that they are busy on Sunday morning.

A Lamp under a Bushel

Matthew 5:15 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. 16 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.

A lamp under a bushel, is something totally contrary to the way a lamp is to be used.   It’s purpose is to light up a room, and who would come up with the ‘bright’ idea to put a lit lamp under a basket.  That’s dumb, and so it’s dumb to think that we ought to be “secret-agent” christians.