Presentation 17
Presentation 17
Introduction
In the 1940s Germany was planning to
invade the UK. The prospect of German
invasion was met with a variety reactions.
Some were prepared to submit or even
positively to embrace it. Others retreated
to the safety of the other side of the
Atlantic. But a final group and the sizable
majority of the nation were prepared to
stand their ground and resist any Nazi
attack and undermine any Nazi influence.
These three alternatives, surrender,
retreat and resistance are very common
responses in conflict situations.
Presentation 17
Introduction
Christians also choose from these responses when confronted by a world that
will persecute, harass and ridicule them. Surrender involves diluting one’s
Christianity so that it is made unrecognisable. To retreat means finding some kind
of Christian commune or monastic existence where all contact with the outside
world can be kept to a minimum.
You do not have to live in a monastery to
promote a monastic mentality, you simply
refuse to cultivate non-Christian friendships.
The third response of resistance involves
engaging the world and seeking to influence
it for God. How are beatitude men and women
to respond to a society that is at odds with their
value system? Jesus calls us to be salt and light
in the world.
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The Christian As Salt
First of all, Jesus says, ‘You are the salt of the earth'. He
doesn’t command his people to try and be salt but tells
them what they are. They’re called to be what God has
already made them.
A pinch of salt can seem so small and insignificant.
It is cheap but it has unusual properties, which
clearly outstrip its value. It has a pervasive
influence. Christians functioning as salt
will also have a pervasive influence.
But how does salt work?
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The Christian As Salt
First of all salt is a vital preservative. Jesus lived in a world without friges
and freezers. Meat was preserved with salt. The salt prevented corruption
and decay.
Until quite recently salt was used in this way in the U.K., particularly by
those who had no regular supply of fresh food. Sailors
had their meat steeped in a brine solution to
preserve it, providing them with edible meat
for months at sea. This illustration needs little
application. The beatitude man or woman,
functioning as salt, has a preserving influence
upon society. Without the influence of Christians,
society would decay at a far greater rate. It would
become a maggot infested, morally putrid society.
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The Christian As Salt
The influence of salt is taken further in Ez. 16.4. It was Jewish practice
to rub new-born babies with salt as a hygienic measure. If hygiene was
ignored at the beginning of life, sickness and even death could result, is
Jesus therefore saying that you cannot wait too long, to become salt in
society. Many young Christians make the mistake of thinking
it best to wait until they find their feet, spiritually
speaking, before taking a moral stand.
Did this kind of thinking infect the
minds of some of Daniel’s companions
in their Babylonian captivity saying,
‘Don’t rock the boat just now. It will
be easier to take a stand once we’re
established, respected and valued
by the Babylonians’.
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The Christian As Salt
Only Daniel and his three friends saw the importance
of being salt from the very outset. And only they
made any impact upon Babylonian society! What
happens when a Christian takes his stand for God.
His presence has a restraining effect upon evil.
A church elder shared that when he came into the
work canteen, his colleagues language altered, the
blue jokes were suppressed. He was having precisely
the effect that Jesus intended. Christians sometimes
despair over their apparent insignificance but like a
small pinch of salt, beatitude men and women can
influence the world in a remarkable manner.
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The Christian As Salt
We find this principle again illustrated in
Jud. 9v45. Abimelech destroyed the city of
Shechem and then scattered salt over it.
Why? In order to render that soil infertile in
the days ahead.
Now this is what the Christian does when he
stands up for God in society. His presence
means that his friends at school or
university or those with whom he golfs or
bowls or the neighbours in his street
become less fertile soil for ungodly
influences. The Christian has a blighting
effect upon evil.
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The Christian As Salt
A second characteristic of salt is that it
seasons, it brings out flavour. Forget to put a
pinch of salt in the potatoes and your family
complains, ‘This tastes awful’. A dictionary
definition of the word ‘season’ is to ‘give zest
to something’. That is what Christians should
be doing to a grey and depressed society.
The purpose of Christian living is not to
evacuate life of all its joy as if God were some
kind of spoilsport. God does not intend us to
bring a pall of depression but wholesome joy
wherever we go - I do not mean the frothy,
transient pleasure produced by whipping up
emotions but a deep seated pervasive joy.
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The Christian As Salt
Jesus had this zest. His presence raised people’s
spirits. There was an attractiveness about his person
that made his company enjoyable. So too the
presence of God’s people should increase the flavour
of life in different ways. Everything about us should
reflect the wholesome attractiveness of Jesus .
Our speech should be seasoned with salt cf. Col. 4v6.
Paul teases out his meaning in Eph.4v29. ‘Do not let
any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but
only what is helpful for building others up according
to their needs that it may benefit those who listen.’
Speech is like salt: too little and we do not taste the
flavour of the food; too much and we are left with an
unpleasant taste of the salt.
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The Christian As Salt
When salt loses its saltiness it is worthless,
fit only to be thrown away. Instead of
influencing men's taste it is trodden
underfoot.
There is a searching word here for professing
Christians. It can be put as starkly as this;
cease to be different and we cease to be
Christians. Our ability to influence the world
depends upon our being different. Not that
we seek to draw attention to ourselves but if
we are Christ’s, the differences outlined in
the beatitudes cannot be hidden.
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The Christian As Light
Secondly, Jesus describes Christians ‘the light of the
world’. The world in which we live is in darkness. Moral
darkness. Man cannot see clearly. He has lost his
bearings. In Ch.6v23 Jesus draws attention to this,
‘If then the light within you is darkness how great is
that darkness’. Man is morally confused.
Let me give an example. Many of those who were found
marching on the streets to campaign against nuclear
armaments because of their concern for humanity,
later took to the streets to campaign for mothers’ rights
to abort their children. Do you see the confused and
darkened morality? They were marching both to save a
future humanity and then to destroy its future!
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The Christian As Light
This moral darkness is part of a bigger picture:
darkness in relation to God.
When we talk of ‘being in the dark’, we mean
that there is something we’ve difficulty in
understanding. Man’s great problem is that
he’s in the dark as far as God is concerned.
It’s therefore not surprising that we read in
Jn. 1v9 that Jesus came into the world to
‘enlighten men’. Jesus made this very claim for
himself cf. Jn. 8v12, ‘I am the light of the
world’. Jesus came to make God known.
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The Christian As Light
Now Jesus also describes his followers as
‘the light of the world’. How can this be so?
We said that the beatitudes are spiritual
qualities, qualities which are found
perfectly formed in the person of Jesus and
reflecting both God’s character and value
system. And so, when a man or women is
converted and the life of Jesus takes up
residence in his heart, these qualities begin
to shine out of their life.
Isn’t this why our children sing, ‘I’ve got a
little light, I’m going to let it shine’.
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The Christian As Light
In the film ‘Pollyanna’, the principle character is
fascinated by the effect of sunlight passing
through crystal prisms. As the sunshine passes
through the prism, the light is refracted, and all
the colours of the rainbow dance upon the wall
of an otherwise drab and darkened room. The
Christian is the prism through which the light of
Christ shines. A prism has no light source of its
own but it transmits the light shone through it.
Christians are the light of the world in this sense,
God shines through them and reveals himself to
a dark and despairing world. Martin Luther
described Christians as ‘little Christ’s to their
neighbours’.
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The Christian As Light
Jesus amplifies his meaning, when he says the
Christian is like ‘a city set on hill that cannot be
hid’. In the ancient world travellers did not have
the benefit of street lights as they travelled in
dead of night. What a help it was to come upon
a lighted city set up on a hillside, a landmark that
could safely guide the traveller home.
The town of Clydebank boasts an area known as
the Holy City. The flat roofed houses and the
series of stepped terraces were thought to be
reminiscent of Jerusalem. At night time the holy
city was a recognisable landmark for miles
around.
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The Christian As Light
The Christian is likened to such a city, a shining
landmark in a landscape of moral darkness; the
means God uses to alter the travel patterns of
many, ensuring that they find their way home.
Sadly, some Christians want to be more than a
light on the hill. They prefer the role of a
searchlight, that is constantly seeking out sin and
purposefully attempting to uncover it in order to
embarrass; ‘Wasn’t that you I saw staggering up
the street singing last night? Don’t tell me you
have spent all the housekeeping on bingo again?’
Lights of this kind estrange others rather than
draw them.
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The Christian As Light
This is not to say that when we shine as
we ought sinful men and women will not
feel uncomfortable. Of course they will, for
light exposes. Jesus constantly had that
effect. But he never tried to embarrass. He
took no perverse pleasure in the fact that
his light made others uncomfortable as
they became aware of their sinfulness.
As a result many were not repelled but
drawn to the light even though for them it
meant exposure as it led to repentance.
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The Christian As Light
Again Jesus does not say to his followers
that they are to aspire to become such a
city. He tells them this is what they are! We
might not be aware of shining for Jesus.
Indeed, it is best not to be aware of it lest in
our self- consciousness we begin to draw
attention to ourselves instead of to Jesus.
We are not lighthouses who draw attention
to ourselves saying, ‘look at me!’, but those
who are steadily irradiating the light of
Christ which is silently saying to others, ‘See
what God’s grace has done in this life.’
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The Christian As Light
Of course it is possible for the Christian to wilfully
obscure his light and so we have the exhortation of
v15-16. Would a man place a light under a container
which he uses to measure grain? No that would be
stupid for then the light would not be fulfilling its
function.
Similarly its is foolish for the Christian to obscure their
light. How does he do that? By concealing his or her
true Christian identity at home or at work. By
refusing to let people see where we stand on certain
issues. By refusing to speak for God when we have an
opportunity to do so. We can also obscure the light
by failing to behave in obedience to God’s word.
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The Christian As Light
Think of a window which had been allowed to
accumulate dirt and grime over a period of
years. Failure to remove the grime permitted
only a very faint glow to shine out of the
window. When we fail to keep short accounts
with God by confessing and repenting of our
sin, then the grime begins to build up on the
windows of our lives and Jesus does not shine
through as he wants.
What help are we in that condition to men who
are walking in darkness? No use at all. But who
will warn the world of its danger if the Christian
does not keep his windows well polished?
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Conclusion
Being salt in society and light in the world can be a costly business. It is
easier to compromise and submit to the world’s standards, it is less
demanding to become a monastic escapist but it is only when we engage
the world as salt and light that we are fulfilling our God given calling. It is
only then that we begin to make the impact upon society which God
intends. It is only then that we will effectively contribute to the well-being
and growth of the kingdom.
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