Salt and Light

Rev Koay Kheng Hin
3 September 2023

As we all look back on how we have come to be Christians, for most of us, we can trace a progressive development in our understanding of what it means to be a Christian.

We all begin the same way, coming to know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour in a personal manner as individuals. Along the way, we gradually integrate into a local church and get involved in the ministry of the church in some capacity.

Through experiencing the blessings of God, we develop a desire to grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. In that relational intimacy, in the context of the church as a people of God, we begin to realise that, as a citizen of the kingdom of heaven, a child of God, and a disciple of Christ, we have inherited a divine mission to be witnesses of Jesus Christ.

Just before his ascension to heaven, Jesus spoke the following words to his disciples: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8).

These words constitute the last words of Jesus to his disciples. Acts 1:8 was the promise to them that they would be filled with the fullness of the Holy Spirit, with the power to accomplish their divine mission. The church is therefore on a divine mission to the world, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

What is this divine mission of the church? To be witnesses of Jesus Christ.

The sermon today seeks to answer the following question: How then can we, the church, be effective witnesses of Jesus Christ?

The answer to this question is found in Matthew 5:13-16 which is the sermon text for today.

¹³ “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.
¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ 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. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

This passage is placed immediately after the Beatitudes. As we have come to know, the Beatitudes refer to the character traits of citizens of the kingdom of heaven.

Applied to our present context, these beatitudes would refer to the character of Christians in the church, to you and me. From the Beatitudes, an emphasis on the character of the citizens of heaven, Jesus focuses their gaze on the world and the community around them.

Then Jesus tells them that they are the salt of the earth.

Salt is a natural preservative. It keeps food from decaying. In calling the disciples the salt of the earth, Jesus is alluding to them being the agents that would stop the moral decay of the world.

Jesus warns the disciples that if they are not “salty”, in that they cannot exhibit the character traits of being citizens of the kingdom of heaven, then they become useless and ineffective in being used in accomplishing the divine mission.

Then Jesus uses another metaphor and calls them the light of the world.

From John 8:12, we have, “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”

Light signifies illumination. In a real sense, light has the connotations of truth and life. Being illumined to know the truth leads to life. This series of insights is summarised in John 14:6 where Jesus refers to himself: “I am the way, the truth and the life,….”.  “You are the light of the world,” spoken of the disciples is also meant for us.

We are the light of the world. We are to show the community the path to life, the truth of Jesus as the Saviour of the world.

How then are we to do that?

In verse 16, Jesus says that we are to let our light shine through our good deeds. We have a God-given duty not to keep this light hidden.

What are these good deeds? Firstly, it is to live a communal life that expresses the Beatitudes, to exhibit a community of love and holiness, righteousness, peace, and joy.

Secondly, it is to love the community shown through helping the poor and needy and to demonstrate our righteousness in advocating social justice in the community.

Lastly, it is to perform our foundational responsibility to share the good news of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, preaching repentance and forgiveness of sins in his name.

In all these good deeds, shall we then become effective witnesses of Jesus Christ by drawing men and women into the ambit of the kingdom of God and thus glorifying our Father in heaven.

In my closing remarks, I wish to emphasise that this divine mission of the church called to be witnesses of Jesus Christ is grounded on the mission of God, the missio Dei.

John 20:21 gives us the source of the mission of the church: “Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

The mission of the church is ultimately sourced from the mission of God, and the goal of this mission is the glory of God.

The doxology of Romans 11:36 gives us a concise statement of the goal of the mission of the church: “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.”

May we all realise that the church has a mission, that we have all been drafted by God to participate in this mission of the church, and that it is ultimately a great privilege given to us to have God working in us and through us in the person of the Holy Spirit to fulfil the mission Dei, the mission of God, by being effective witnesses of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. To God be the glory. Amen!