This is the text of a sermon preached at the Next Level Preaching Conference at Truett Seminary on July 30, 2024.
“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. “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 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. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:13-16
When my daughter was about 11 or so, she decided that she was going to learn to bake on her own. We are a family that loves to cook and she had helped many times to bake cookies or cakes, but she wanted to try all on her own. So she printed off a recipe she found for some cookies on the internet and got to work. She worked hard and soon enough she had a pan full of delicious looking cookies that we couldn’t wait to dive into. But when we took our first bite, we all spit it out immediately. It seems she had misread the recipe and instead of adding a tablespoon of salt she had added half a cup. Just so you know, her baking has gotten a whole lot better.
Salt is one of those things that is universally recognizable. Across cultures and cuisines we can all readily recognize salt. I don’t think, however, we can fully appreciate the importance of salt throughout history. Until the last 200 years with the invention of the ice box and refrigeration, salt has been, and arguably is still, the most important mineral to society. Salt was the primary way that meat was preserved. Wars were fought over salt deposits. Roman military were paid in part with a stipend of salt. Salt was used to treat wounds and stood as a symbol of hospitality and friendship throughout history. The same salt that we shake onto our French fries was once a commodity to be protected and fought over.
We see a lot of this in scripture, but even more we see salt as a symbol of the covenant between God and humanity. Offerings, both grain and meat, were to be offered with salt. Scripture describes God’s promise to David’s kingly lineage as a covenant of salt. The preserving nature of salt and its value lent it to be a symbol of God’s eternal promise to be our God and that we would be His people. Numbers 18:19 says –
Whatever is set aside from the holy offerings the Israelites present to the Lord I give to you and your sons and daughters as your perpetual share. It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the Lord for both you and your offspring.
Numbers 18:19
So when Jesus says we are the ‘salt of the earth’, he’s not saying we are good, honest people, as the phrase has come to mean today. It means that those who are followers of Jesus, that includes us, are the one’s who preserve that covenant relationship with God and humanity. To be the salt of the earth is to be the people of the covenant, to live out that promise that God would be our God and that we would be his people. And this is more than about the law. It is a return to the first covenant between God and Adam, between God and humanity. It is a return to the purpose given to us in creation, that we are created in the image of God to bear that image to the world, to serve as God’s representatives calling the world back into relationship with God.
To be the ‘salt of the earth’ then is to live in such as way that we express that covenant relationship with God, that we identify as God’s sons and daughters and seek to live in that relational covenant that is offered to us in Christ. We are those that are restored by grace back into the relationship of Eden, to walk in communion with God and to be his representatives into the world. That is our purpose. And this purpose is so important that God says failing to live by this purpose is like salt that has lost its saltiness. It is purpose-less.
To reiterate, Jesus continues, comparing us not only to salt, but to light. We are the light of the world, a city on a hill that cannot be hidden, a lamp that is not hidden but held high so all may see through its light. His charge is that we let our light shine so that others may see our good works and give glory to God.
We may look at light and darkness as opposite things, but as far as science is concerned there is no such thing as darkness. Darkness only exists as a descriptor of the absence of light. Light is a force, technically the movement of photons within the visible spectrum of electromagnetic radiation. Darkness has no such definition. It, in essence, doesn’t exist. When light shines, darkness is no longer. To be the light of the world is to be the light that shines the way to God. And if we are living in covenant with God, the influence of that living on the world cannot be hidden, it cannot be ignored. People will see it and be drawn to God.
A few weeks ago I had the privilege to serve alongside 130 or so others at a mission trip called UM ARMY. It’s an annual trip for us that pairs adults and senior high youth in mission together, with the youth taking the lead on the work and the adults taking mostly support roles. God always does amazing work through our week together and this year was no exception – we built over 49 stories worth of ramps and rebuilt over 3,200 square feet of porch. One particular site – the site where my now grown daughter was one of the adults – had the project to rebuild a porch that was falling apart and also build a ramp. When they started to tear off the boards for the porch they discovered that underneath there was years upon years worth of rubbish piled underneath the porch. Broken furniture and old worn out small appliances – it was a junkyard of all that was broken. They worked as hard as they could, pushing the mess aside to get what they could get done and at the end of day one they left the mess wondering just how they were going to get it finished. But the next day when they arrived, they found the junk was gone. The son of the client had come by and cleaned it up. By himself. It probably took hours. They finished the project and the next night, when we hosted all the clients for a meal and worship, the client spoke in tears saying how grateful she was and that the porch and ramp had given her ‘a new life’. That’s her words exactly – ‘a new life.’
Friends, this is what it means to be salt and light. This is what it means to be a representative of that covenant promise that God would be our God and that we would be his people, that we were created in the image of God to bear His image in the world. This is what it means to be the light of God into the darkness of the world – to bring hope and restoration in real ways to broken and lost lives. When we live life boldly for God we live in such as way that it cannot be ignored – like salt that flavors food and preserves life. Living for God is reflecting His light into darkness, a light that cannot be ignored and draws people to new life in Jesus Christ.
Here is the good news – God invites us to bear his image, to be his representatives, just as he did when he created Adam and Eve and placed them in Eden. God invites us to be the salt that preserves and presents this covenant promise to the world – to remind them that there is a God that loves them and wants them to live in relationship with Him. God lets us be a part of shining His light in the darkness of the world to guide people to new life in Jesus. This is what it is to be a disciple – to be one that is the salt and light of God’s loving covenant to the world.
So may we go forth at God’s people to live salty lives. May we live boldly for God, representing His covenant and welcoming people to discover the love and grace that is offered to us all through Jesus Christ. May we burn brightly with the light of God as we seek to draw people closer to God by showing His love through our actions.
Live salty my friends.
Almighty God, we thank you that you invite us into your mission to the world – to unite with all of humanity as your special creation and to give us purpose as we live as your image bearers in the world. Give us salty lives, that we may preserve the covenant of your promise to be our God and we would be your people, that we would invite the entire earth to join us in relationship with You. May we reflect the light of your son, who is the true, eternal Light of the World, and may His light shine into the darkness and draw us all closer to you. Forgive us, Lord, when we lose our saltiness and choose to live in our own image instead of living in your image. Through the grace offered through Jesus, make us a new creation and give us the new life that is offered to us in His death and resurrection. May we live boldly that others may see your love in and through our lives. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.