What Does It Mean To Be Salt and Light?

In a previous post, I asked “What does salt and light mean?” Now, I’m asking, “What does it mean to be salt and light?” What are the implications?

I have included what I believe is a good, simple, direct mission statement for our church.

We aim to spread the glory of God, strengthen the people of God, and share the gospel of God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Why did I feel led to put this forth? One, it’s biblical. Two, everytime God led me to put this before all of you, I would get such an encouraging response. Spread.  Strengthen. Share. I would ask myself, “Why?” This statement gives direction. And even 222-year-old churches need to re-evaluate and re-assess what we are all about. So let’s look at some implications in relation to salt and light.

First, we aim to spread the glory of God. Psalm 29:2 says:

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;

worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.

Here is the salt and light in spreading his glory. To ascribe is to “assign, credit, or attribute.” This is outward… this is  being light. As Christians, we have His name and we live with a love for Him not wanting to do anything to take away from his name or his fame. But the  worship is inward. The glory of God captures us, transforms us, directs us! It’s an inward worship and a lifestyle worship.

How can any Christian, any follower of Christ, ever live a redeemed life or ever come into his house with anything but joy and gladness and enthusiasm and expectation? Have we done as Romans 1:22-23 where, “Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.” If you are here this morning and the wonders of all that God has accomplished for you in Christ does not cause you to fall down and worship, exalt, and adore him in your heart and in your life, you need to examine yourself to see if you are truly in the faith!

Second, we aim to strengthen the people of God. Lookwith me at Hebrews 10:23-25:

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. [24] And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, [25] not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

See the progression. We hold fast to the confession of hope without wavering. Why? Because he who promised is faithful.  We have to take time to be discipled and study the Word of God so we know what our confession is and what the promises are. We confess what we believe.  We need to learn what our hope is about.  And notice verse 24: “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.” We strengthen one another by encouraging them to feel and live the truth of our Savior. How is this done? Primarily with verse 25: come to church and be the church.  We come to church. We support one another. We see our family together as an absolute priority because it is the body of Christ.

Let me ask you: do you see yourself playing a role inhelping strengthen your brothers and sisters in Christ? Do you seek to be strong in the Word so you  can help strengthen others in the Word?

Share the gospel of God. In Acts 4:32-37:

Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. [33] And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. [34] There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold [35] and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to eachas any had need. [36] Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, [37] sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Notice that those who believed were “of one heart and souland they had everything in common.” So the Gospel brings about unity among the believers in truth. The heart issue is the salt of Christ. And that worked its way out as light when the apostles gave their testimony of the resurrection, with great grace being on
them all. It also brought about a generosity in sacrificial giving.

You see, when the salt of the Gospel penetrates and then brings about the light of living, it will utterly transform!

Ron Paul Gives Christians Good Advice Concerning Laws on Abortion

Ron Paul has long been the object of much admiration and much scorn. Yet, I am one of the folks who support Dr. Paul due to his strict constitutionalist leanings and his Jeffersonian worldview of small government. I bought his most recent book, The Revolution: A Manifesto. It is the #1 book on Amazon.com and will be the #1 book on the New York Times Bestseller list that will come out on May 18.

In his Chapter Three dealing with “The Constitution,” he addresses a number of different areas. One of which is abortion. He is against abortion because he feels the Supreme Court overstepped its authority in Roe v. Wade in that horrendous decision in 1973. Instead, Congress should come along and strip the court of their power over this decision and bring this issue exclusively to the states.

But let us listen to what he says on p. 61:

Let us remember, though, that the law can do only so much. The law isn’t what allowed abortion; abortions were already being done in the 1960s against the law. The courts came along and conformed to the social and moral changes that were taking place in society. Law reflects the morality of the people. Ultimately, law or now law, it is going to be up to us as parents, as clergy, and as citizens — in the way we raise our children, how we interact and talk with our friends and neighbors, and the good example we give — to bring about changes to our culture toward greater respect for life.

We cannot trust in the government to fix everything — and some politicians run on just that platform. For us to fix the ills of our society, we must turn our people back to the Word of God. Only Christ can change and transform. Yes, we must still stand up and defend those who cannot defend themselves. Let’s just not rely on the government to do only what the Spirit of God can do (Ezekiel 36:25-26).