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 of 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. Matthew 5:13-15

These words were spoken by the Lord as He began His Sermon on the Mount. They follow the beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-11), and as part of the sermon describe for us a life of discipleship. This particular sermon is aimed at sincere believers who are striving to live lives of righteousness.

In these three verses, Jesus uses two powerful images to relate to the crowd gathered around Him: salt and light. First, He says to His disciples that they are the salt of the earth. In our modern world, we probably don’t think of salt in one of the major ways it was used in Jesus’ lifetime. There was no refrigeration, so salt was used as a preservative against spoilage. The illustration is clear, is it not? Those who are followers of Jesus Christ are to be busy about the business of protecting against spoilage. How exactly is this to be done?

First, it is done within the church. Believers are to make sure that their local fellowships to which they belong remain faithful and true to the teachings of the Bible. For those who are wise observers of what is going on in many mainline denominations, it is obvious that we are not doing a very good job of preservation. Local fellowships of believers are giving themselves over to accommodation and assimilation rather than preservation. Many are accommodating the tides of cultural change and assimilating into a spirit of worldliness rather than standing against the tide by faithfully adhering to the Word of God. I am reminded of the words found in Revelation 3:20, where Jesus is standing on the outside, knocking, seeking entrance into the Laodicean church that had shut Him out. It seems that many today are doing exactly that – pushing the Lord out for the sake of accommodating cultural erosion.

Second, it is to be done as Christians living righteous lives make an impact on the world. We all have a circle of influence into which we can introduce Biblical truth into the midst of worldly error. On our jobs, in our classrooms, in our neighborhoods, in our own families, we are called to be on mission for the Lord. By doing this we are striving to preserve our loved ones, friends, and acquaintances against the onslaught of a sin-laden world. There is an awful stench of wanton worldliness that is spreading corruption throughout the world, and sadly, within the church. We are to be as salt, striving to stave off the putrefaction that is running rampant.

The other illustration Jesus gives is that of light. He says that we are the light of the world. And He makes it clear that the light of our lives is to be seen, not hidden away. Light exposes what is hidden by the darkness. In the spiritual sense, it simply means that our lives are to be sources of exposure to those who are living recklessly, risking their eternal destination for the sake of enjoying the sinful enticements of a sinful society. And please know – there is pleasure to be had and enjoyed by giving in to the alluring power of sin. But the Bible makes it clear that sin ultimately leads to destruction.

Charles Spurgeon, in his commentaries on the book of Psalms, talks about the problem of having so many practical atheists in the church. He then explains the term to mean those who profess to be Christian, who attend church services regularly, perhaps even holding offices in their local fellowship, looking like a true, sincere believer on Sunday. But if you see them on a weekday, using the profane language of the world, involving themselves in the sinful behaviors of worldliness, showing no sign and bearing no fruit of a true relationship with God, you would never guess that they had ever darkened the door of any church fellowship.

If they are the salt, then is has lost its savor; and if they are light, then it is kept well-hidden, out of sight, doing no good for anyone. Is this type of professing Christian genuinely saved? I am not their judge. However, Jesus did say that we could identify true believers by the fruit they bear. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives example after example of what genuine Christianity looks like. In short, it is a life of righteousness.

Do sincere, genuine believers commit sin? Of course we do. But the difference is that genuine believers immediately experience the convicting power and presence of the Holy Spirit, exposing our sin and calling us to repentance. We then confess, repent, and our fellowship with God is restored, and our light continues to shine, and we continue to be a source of preservation against putrefaction.

But those who are not convicted by the Holy Spirit when they are not only committing occasional acts of sin, but actually living lives of sin – well, maybe Spurgeon was onto something. Maybe, just maybe, their behavior undermines their testimony.

What’s the bottom line? Make sure that you know that you know that you living a life of light and preservation in a world of darkness and spoilage. That is what we are called to be and do.

Blessings!