Lessons from the Sermon on the Mount: The Influence of the Church in Society
Matthew 5:13-16 (New King James Version)
13 “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 by men.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 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. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Salt and light was Christ’s way of illustrating the role of the church in society. This is a very serious subject. Two things that I have learned: 1- Salt had a religious and a sacrificial significance. See Numbers 18:19 and 2 Chronicles 13:5. When the Old Covenant church brought offerings to the Lord, the choice parts of those offerings were given to the priests as was ordained by the Lord. The salt applied to the meat offering symbolized the eternal covenant of the Lord between His people and Himself and with each other. 2 Chronicles mentions salt in a religious sense as well. The salt in both passages of Scripture was speaking of the covenant of God and all of its responsibilities and blessings that exist between God and His people and they with each other. Jesus uses this same illustration for the covenant people of God in these last days. The salt represents and reminds the people of God of the complete loyalty they are to have toward not only God, but toward one another. They will know that we are Christ’s disciples by the love that we have for each other. This love not only comes from the Holy Spirit that dwells within believers, but it is this coupled with the Spirits revelation to His church that were are covenanted together with not only God, but with each other. This covenant isn’t even broken by death. It is a covenant that lasts for all of eternity. This the bond that holds all true believers together with each other and with God, Jesus Christ being the head of the church which is in heaven and on earth united. This loyalty to Christ and to each other coupled with the dynamic display of the power of the Holy Spirit, this is what influences the society around us. The Holy Spirit’s work in the church and it’s unification of the saints in heaven and on earth is the preserving power within society. Salt preserves, and God calls us the salt of the earth. The Lord is the preserver of His covenant and uses the church as His instruments in preserving it as well. Without the Lord, it doesn’t happen. And as God has ordained it, without the church there is no covenant either and would be no reason to have one or to preserve it in and through His glory
We are the temple that bears the light of the world within us. Even in the Old Covenant light is symbolic of God, His law, and the covenant people of God. We are the sons of light as described in the New Covenant. Again this is because we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, the ones who hold forth the law of God, and is evidenced in the world to be the people of God. We are commanded to be the influence in this world for Christ for these very reasons. This is the Lord’s world in that He is the Creator of it and also we were to be fruitful and multiply and to take dominion of it for the sake of the gospel. It is all fruitless if God isn’t working out His eternal plan for salvation, which he always does. May God grant us repentance and power to be the influence in our families, our cities, our nation, and our world. Amen.
