“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.” (Matthew 5:13 ESV)
Salt adds flavor to our food. Without it, food can taste bland or be tasteless. Salt is also used as a preservative for food to make it last longer. Metaphorically speaking, it signifies purification. And, in a figurative sense, it can mean wisdom or prudence (good sense). And figuratively speaking, bread is used to speak of Jesus Christ and his word, the gospel (John 6:35-58). So, if we preserve the word of God (the bread), we maintain, uphold, obey, continue in, protect (safeguard) and defend it.
So, with that understanding, if we are the salt of the earth, and the salt has lost its taste, what would that look like today? Would it not mean that we, the salt, are no longer preserving, maintaining, upholding, obeying, continuing in, and safeguarding and defending the word of God? And we personally are not growing in our walks of faith, and we are not loving the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength? And perhaps we have lost all discernment and spiritual awareness and sensitivity, too.
This is definitely a serious issue in the church today. So many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ are not living holy, godly, and upright lives to the glory and praise of God. But they are living just like the world, or not much different from the world. So they have lost their saltiness, if they were ever salt to begin with. And many of them never were salt because their salvation was based in the teachings of man and not in the gospel of Jesus Christ, in truth. And many who were salt have since lost their saltiness.
For it appears that the majority of those professing faith in Jesus Christ in America are living worldly lives and their lives are not sold out to Jesus Christ, but they are convinced that Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins was merely to forgive them their sins and to promise them heaven when they die, but that how they live will not impact their eternal security. And so many of them are just not serious about following Jesus wholeheartedly and so there is not much of a distinction anymore between the world and the church.
“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.” (Matthew 5:14-16 ESV)
Light is Jesus Christ. Light is truth, righteousness, and the revelation of God’s Holy Word. It is also moral purity, uprightness, and godliness. It is all that is holy and good. And it is the gospel of our salvation, which is Christ crucified, buried, and raised from the dead. And it is us being crucified with Christ in death to sin, and buried with Christ, and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. And if we walk in that light then we are the light of the world.
Nonetheless, as mentioned in the previous section, many who profess faith in Jesus Christ, at least here in America, are not the salt of the earth. And they are not the light of the world, because their faith in Jesus Christ is based in the teachings of man, and not in the teachings of the Scriptures. Or if they were light, they have since hidden that light and they have compromised with the world to be liked by the people of the world and to avoid persecution, and/or so that they can continue in deliberate and habitual sin without conscience, without remorse, and with the false hope of loss of punishment, too, and heaven still guaranteed them when they die.
But we, the body of Christ, his church (not the institutional church) are to be the light of the world. But we can’t be the light of the world if we are not actively following the true light, Jesus Christ, and his word, and his righteousness and holiness. If we are not obeying the true light we cannot be the light of the world. And especially if we are still walking in darkness (sin, wickedness), we cannot be that light, for the light in us is darkness.
But if we are that light, and if we are letting that light shine before others, that means we are walking according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh. We are dying with Christ daily to sin and to self, and we are following him in obedience to his commands. And we are saying, “No!”, to ungodliness and fleshly lusts, and we are living self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return, in his power and strength (Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Luke 9:23-26; Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 4:17-24).
But it should also mean that we are sharing the truth of the gospel of our salvation with the people of the world, and with worldly professers of faith in Jesus Christ, and with the church, as a whole, for not everyone is being taught the truth or all the truth of the gospel, but many people are only hearing half-truths and diluted and altered gospel messages. And so we need to be those who are teaching the truth and who are exposing the lies for what they are, for many people are being deceived by charlatans.
And the truth of the gospel is what Jesus taught, that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for the sake of Jesus we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience, we have eternal life in him. For Jesus said that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING the will of God the Father who is in heaven (Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23; cf. Romans 6:1-23).
For Our Nation
An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
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