Upside Down Kingdom
Pt. 4 Salt And Light
Matthew 5:13-16

You are the SALT
For all of human history, salt has been a vital part of eating, individual trade, and international commerce. Salt was so valuable, at times it was equal with gold. Salt could even be part of a person’s wage, as a Roman soldier’s monthly allowance was called their salarium (‘sal’ is Latin for salt, English ‘salary’). If someone was lazy or fired from their job, they were “not worth their salt”. Even God made covenants of salt with Israel (Lev. 2:13; Num. 18:19). After explaining the blessedness of God’s Kingdom, Jesus’ first description of Kingdom citizens was being like salt. Believers have value to the King when they are valuable outside the Kingdom! As there was no refrigeration, Jesus’ audience knew salt as primarily a preserver of valuable meat and fish. Believers are the ones to keep societies from moral decay and spiritual putrefaction. Don’t get mad at the world for rotting, get motivated in the world to preserve it! Salt was known for adding taste to bland food, as a preservative, and as a disinfectant for wounds. Believers are like salt sprinkled around the world by God to add distinctive behavior, preserve morality, and offer clean consciences. Believers should be tasty and useful!

You are the LIGHT
The Bible describes God not just as the creator of light but having light as His nature. As God is light, dwells in light, and radiates out light, no person can physically comprehend or visualize Him in His purity without dying (Ex. 33:18-23; 1 Tim. 6:15, 16). In the OT, light symbolized glory, truth, power, holiness, knowledge, purity, and delight. In God dwells all aspects of integrity and goodness, both literally and figuratively! With no electricity in the first century, the only light in the dark was the moon, stars, oil lamps, or fires. The purpose of light was to bring comfort, guidance, and heat to cook or stay warm. As physical light is vital, desirable, and useful, so should be spiritual light. If Christians say they are following God but practice darkness, they lie (Gr. pseudomai, ‘untruth/deception by falsehood’) because God calls people out of darkness not to it (1 Pet. 2:9). Through this ‘glow’ of a changed heart and mind by Jesus, it either attracts others to find out more or repels them to continue in spiritual darkness (John 1:4, 5; 3:19, 20). Jesus calls believers to live like light, so those in the dark can get ‘unlost’!