Turn with me to Matthew 5, as we read together the first 16 verses, verses 13 through 15, serving as the text tonight. In our consideration of our confession of the Heidelberg Catechism, we are up to Lord's Day 18, which deals with the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. And it was just a few months ago that our brother Quentin preached on the benefits of the ascension of Christ from the Catechism. And we considered the ascension together just a few weeks ago as we celebrated the ascension of Christ. So I'm not going to cover this Lord's Day, but I wanted to sort of cover an aspect of the benefits of what we're called to do. In fact, in question 49, where it talks about the benefits, the third benefit, it says that He sends His Spirit to us on earth as a further guarantee. By the Spirit's power, we make the goal of our lives, not earthly things, but the things above where Christ is sitting at God's right hand. As I thought about that, that ties in also with Lord's Day 1, question and answer 1. And the last part of that answer, after rehearsing for us the benefits of salvation, what Christ has done, the very last section kind of gives us the so what, if you will. It says, because I belong to Him, Christ by His Holy Spirit assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for Him. So in a sense, that's kind of what I would like to consider with you tonight as we are called the salt of the earth, the light of the world. Matthew chapter 5, beginning at verse 1, as we consider now the Word of God. Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him and he began to teach them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven. For in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. In the words of the text, 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 by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 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. In the same way, let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Beloved in Christ the Lord, who of us likes to be different? Who of us likes to stand out in a crowd and be noticed? Well, maybe that depends, doesn't it? Maybe it depends on the one hand if standing out, being different, makes you popular, makes you envied by those who see you, in that case, some of us, maybe many of us would say, yes, count me in. I want to be different. But on the other hand, being different means that it makes you seem odd, weird, out of place, that you don't fit. We say, wait a minute, not me. No way. I don't want to be different. But Christians, God says, are different from the world. And it's in that odd, out of place, weird sort of way. Indeed, beloved, we have a relationship with the world. We are in the world. We live in this world, but we are not to be of this world. We don't take on the thinking, the beliefs, the activities, many of the activities of the world. We cannot escape the world, and we're not to try to escape, but to see that relationship that Christians have with the world has a particular character because of the believer's relationship with God through Jesus Christ. And that is that we are the salt of the earth. We are the light of the world. Now, the Beatitudes that our Lord spoke describe the true character of the Christian. Blessed are the poor in spirit. In essence, those who understand who they are in God's presence. That they don't deserve it. Blessed are those who mourn. Those who take their sins seriously, in other words. Blessed are the meek. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Blessed are the merciful. Blessed are the pure in heart. Blessed are the peacemakers. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness sake. Those beatitudes, again, describe the true character of the Christian. And that character, you see, is to be applied to the earth and to the world like salt and light are applied to their surroundings. In this text, beloved, we have Christ's call to active service. And that active service involves, first of all, a personal fact. You are salt. You are light. Jesus doesn't say you are like salt and light or that you will become salt and light, but he uses a metaphor. You are. That's what you are. Salt. You are light. And he's speaking to the church. He's speaking to believers. And this is true of each one individually. This is a personal fact for all those who profess to belong to Jesus Christ. This personal fact, again, as we mentioned a moment ago, involves being set apart on the one hand. We are not of the world. Peter explains that beautifully in 1 Peter 2, verse 9, but you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. You see, God makes a distinction. He makes a separation between those who are His and those who are not, and He sets His apart as different, and it should be our desire, It should be our delight to be noticed as His. That we should be seen as those who fit with Him and not those who are on the other side. But at the same time, believers are set within. We are in this world. We live in this world. We rub shoulders and elbows with the world. We participate in many common activities with the world. And as we do, as believers, We are to have a particular influence. We're not to simply blend in with the world so that we look exactly like the world and nobody can tell the difference, but we are to be seen. We are to have an impact. Our presence is to be unmistakable like the presence of salt, right? And like the presence of light is unmistakable. In the Old Testament, Israel, we know, was God's chosen nation, chosen from all the other nations of the earth, set apart from the other nations, to be different. But at the same time, to be seen by the other nations so that they might be a showcase for God. A showcase of God's calling, of God's mercy, of God's grace. God's people have always been called to active service in the world and it's a lifetime calling for both young and old, for both those who are new to the faith, those who are mature in the faith. And it is a personal fact for each and every one of us. We are salt. We are light. But along with that personal fact, in the second place, this active service involves a powerful function. Salt and light are active, aren't they? Now, first of all, it's no compliment to be called salt and light. It's really not. These things all by themselves are not very attractive. Salt looks insignificant. It's inexpensive. It really has little value in and of itself, yet it has powerful properties. And light in the same way has powerful properties, yet it is only useful if one is able to benefit from the light that it gives. These things are only good if they are serviceable, if they are able to be of service to their surroundings, and then they have the potential ability to affect and transform their environments. Well, salt, first of all, has a powerful function. We know that there are many uses of salt. To be a preservative is one of them. That's probably the most common use of salt in Jesus' day. We know that as a preservative, salt is used, we might say, to prolong the shelf life of food. For example, meat to keep it from spoiling, especially back in that day without our refrigerators and freezers. And because of sin, the world rots. The world deteriorates. And God calls His people to be salt in order to preserve the world, not to preserve the rotting that has already taken place, but by God's grace and by the work of the Holy Spirit to preserve the world, if it is His will, from becoming more rotten. It more deteriorated. Another use that we see in Scripture has to do with hygiene and cleansing. Ezekiel 16, verse 4 hints at the Jewish practice of rubbing newborn babies with salt because it was understood that if hygiene wasn't begun at the very beginning of life, then the result could be sickness. Possibly even death. We know that apart from the cleansing and purifying power of the Holy Spirit, There's only spiritual sickness and death. But another use that may seem strange, as it was to me, is infertility. Not in the way you and I think of it. But you see, in Judges 9, verse 45, after Abimelech defeated and destroyed the wicked city of Shechem, it says he scattered salt over it. And that symbolized, on the one hand, making the ground infertile for the future. so that it wouldn't grow anything. But also it possibly actualized, made it actual that the ground, at least for a time, would be infertile. That it wouldn't grow anything. The idea that wickedness would not grow in that place. These uses of salt as a preservative for hygiene and cleansing, as well as infertility in that sense, point to keeping something from getting worse. And brothers and sisters, God uses Christians to influence this world while He grows His church to keep this world from becoming totally spoiled and rotten. We're not talking about total depravity here. That's a certainty, unfortunately. Every human being is totally depraved. But you see, as long as this world remains with true believers in it, it will never be totally rotten and spoiled. And as well, God uses His people to sometimes restrain sin and evil in others so it doesn't grow. Many of us know this by experience, whether on the job site or in the workplace. Your presence and my presence. If we are open about our faith, if our co-workers, for example, or those we hang out with, if they know that we are Christians, if they know that we strive to be obedient and desire to please God, if we are open about our faith then our presence may be used by God to make our surroundings less fertile for ungodly activity from our acquaintances. For example, it may please God by our presence to restrain the filthy, dirty language of some. Or to restrain the telling of dirty, filthy jokes. Or to keep some young people, if they know that you're a Christian, to keep some from attending a certain movie, if you're with them for the night. It may be used by God to restrain some from slacking at their work standards, especially as they see you and I strive to do all that we do to the glory of God. God may be pleased to use you and I to restrain many from taking God's name in vain. Or He may use it to restrain some from being disrespectful to others. He may use us to restrain inappropriate conversations about sex or inappropriate conversations to the opposite sex that have no place in our lives. Now, of course, we know that there are some in the world, unbelievers, who don't care what we believe. In fact, they make it their aim in life to offend us. Whatever it takes, we know that's true. They're completely hardened in their hearts in sin. But God may be pleased to use us, beloved, as a restraining influence. But there's another important use of salt. And I believe that the believer's effectiveness as salt, as a preservative, as well to restrain evil, is the result of a positive use of salt. And that is for flavoring. Seasoning. And I believe that seems to be the main goal as Jesus points to the effect that we are to have on men. He says that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Salt brings out the flavor in food. There's no secret about that. There are many foods that not one of us would want to eat without salt. Corny Saitzma is having a hard time right now because his wife has to completely change his diet. no salt. And it's a struggle for him. We know that salt flavors food. Believers are called to season, to flavor their surroundings with our life, with our attitudes, with our actions, everything about us. And therefore, beloved, that includes that we are not to be depressing people. We are not to be negative, hopeless, joyless people in the world. How can that be anyway? You see, we live in the world among the people of this world, to be sure, but we do so as those who are still in the presence of Jesus Christ. And if we truly strive to do all we do to the glory of God, how can that not be joyful? Everything about us, our actions, our words, our lifestyles, our work habits, everything. It is all to express and to demonstrate the attractiveness and the holiness of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul, in a particular way, points to speech. In Colossians 4, verse 6, he says that our speech is to be seasoned with salt. Our speech is to be tasteful. It is to taste good, not only to you and I, but to those who hear. And he explains really what that means in Ephesians chapter 4 when he says 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. Our speech is to be helpful to others. Not hurtful. It is to build others up, not to tear them down. It is to benefit them. We must be serviceable to our surroundings, to our societies, to our co-works. Simply, we are to be serviceable to anyone who sees us and observes us on any given day. We are to be examples, beloved, of faithfulness and honesty and integrity and of trustworthiness and any other Christian virtue that you and I can think of. But our Lord issues a warning in verse 13. 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 by men. Now in the original it says literally, but if the salt becomes foolish. If the salt becomes foolish. Now we know that salt can't become foolish, at least not the way we think of being foolish. which Jesus is clearly talking about men, those who are called the salt of the earth. Psalms 14 verse 1 and 53 verse 1 both begin with these words, The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. And Paul in Romans 1 verse 18 says, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. And then in verse 22 he says, Professing to be wise, they become fools. one who does not follow God's commands, one who forsakes God, is foolish. If you cease to be different, you cease to be a Christian. And unsalty salt, especially think of our day of recycling, unsalty salt doesn't even have any recycle value. It can't even be used as fertilizer. It's useless. An inactive Christian, which is really no Christian at all, is just as useless as the world and has no future in the kingdom of heaven. And then we turn to light. Light also has a powerful function. But again, it's only useful in its serviceability to its surroundings. Light must illumine. Imagine, even with the daylight outside, if we shut off the lights in this place, it would become quite dim. Light must illumine. Light must be seen. Light must show the way. It must provide relief from the darkness. Because without light, boys and girls, one only becomes lost. And without light, one can't see potentially dangerous objects in the path. But light exposes darkness. And light drives away the fear that the darkness can bring. Boys and girls, think of a night light. If you wake up in the middle of the night and it's pitch dark, you don't really remember. You can't think straight. You don't know exactly where you're at. The darkness makes you scared because you don't see anything familiar. But if there's a nightlight in your room or maybe in the hallway and you see just enough of the hallway or your room, you're comforted because you know where you're at. You see, light allows man to function. It allows you and I to do our work, to recreate. Most of the activities of life are done in the light as opposed to the wicked of whom the Bible says they desire to do their evil deeds in the dark. And believers, as light of the world, must shine for Jesus. The light that we give is the light of Jesus Christ Himself. And that means, beloved, we are called to demonstrate the true knowledge of God. We are called to demonstrate the truth of Jesus Christ and His saving work. We are called to demonstrate the joy of owning salvation in Him. We are called to demonstrate the love and the compassion and the mercy and the patience of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are called to show Christ and to show the path leading to Christ. And again, that's a high calling, but as we all know, I trust it's only possible by being one with Him, by belonging to Jesus Christ, by being united with the One who is the light of the world, the very source Himself. Jesus said, I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. The psalmist in Psalm 36, verse 9 says, For with you is the fountain of life. In your light we see light. Jesus Christ gives us His light and He makes us transmitters of His light. It's His light. Boys and girls, think of an object that glows in the dark. Maybe a little bouncy ball. We used to call them super balls. You hold that ball right next to the light bulb. The lit light bulb. And then you shut the light off and that ball glows. It glows bright with the light that it absorbed from the light bulb. It's the light of the light bulb. The result of being united with Christ the light is that believers are light in the Lord and we are called to live as children of light and have nothing to do with the deeds of darkness. Deeds that would only serve to dim our light. But instead we are called to expose the deeds of darkness by the light that our lives shines on a dark world. Jesus makes it clear, beloved, that bearers of His light can't help but to be seen. He gives us two examples of that in the text. A city set on a hill, and a lamp, and a bowl. A city. You can't hide a city that's set on a hill. He might have been pointing them to Jerusalem at that time. But you can't hide it. It's there as big as life. It's for all to see. You can't pass by it without noticing it. And we know that even in our day, that in the night time you can see the lights of a big city for miles as they reflect off the night sky. You can tell which direction that city is. But the simple meaning is this. No true disciple of Christ can remain unnoticed in the world. He will be seen. No true disciple of Christ will remain unnoticed in the world. He will be seen. But then Jesus talks about a lamp. 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. We don't put a bowl over a lamp to cover its light. We put it up high so that everybody can benefit from the light that it gives. Again, the simple meaning is that it is unthinkable. It is unthinkable, Jesus is saying, that a disciple of Christ would purposely cover or hide the light they possess. To cover a lamp is to take away its purpose. It's to take away its usefulness. Believers are not to suppress that light, but instead let it shine until Jesus comes. We know, beloved, the world is living in the darkness of sin and shame, facing eternal consequences. Those who enjoy God's grace and have been blessed with the light of the truth of Jesus Christ are called to make that truth visible, to make it clear so that others may see the love and the grace of God in action. We are to be used of God indeed to reveal darkness and sin. We are to show the opposite, of course. Not so that we might condemn ourselves and scoff at that darkness and sin. That's God's job. But only then to be used by God, if it is His will, to show the way to Jesus Christ. But in order to be active and effective salt and light, we must ourselves be continually empowered. In order to be salty salt, we must be seasoned with the truth of the Word of God. And we're talking about something that's ongoing here. A constant flow of seasoning that we might maintain, retain our saltiness. And just as something that glows in the dark must absorb light from the original source, we need the constant contact of the light of the world. Beloved, we are seasoned and energized by the Holy Spirit of God through the true preaching of the Word of God. Through Bible reading and Bible study and prayer and constant contact with other believers. These are to be ongoing activities. But even these activities, beloved, as they are witnessed in the world, even these activities are a part of the seasoning and the light that we give. And empowered as salt and light, and it is to be our desire to be used of God so that the world begins to taste and see that the Lord is good. And Jesus says, he makes it very clear what the result will be as he speaks of its productive fruit. Verse 16, in the same way, let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Peter, in effect, says the same thing in 1 Peter 2 after talking about the church being a chosen people and so forth. He says in verse 12, live such good lives among the pagans that though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day that He visits us. Salt and light in the context of the Christian life work together. In our homes, we don't do a lot with salt and light together, do we? We don't mix them a whole lot. But in the context of the Christian life, they work together. As light, we are to reveal the truth of Jesus Christ. And as salt, we are to flavor the world by demonstrating that we own that truth, that we belong to Jesus. As light, the world is to see the difference in us. As salt, the world is to experience that difference in us. And the goal of our active service, as Jesus says, is a response from mankind. Not the kind of response that says, If that's what it means to be a Christian, then I don't want any part of it. But the kind of response that praises God. Indeed, beloved, the world is to see our good deeds, our good works, good works that flow from faith. The good works are the Beatitudes. Gentle spirit, being compassionate and truthful. Mankind is to see those who know their sin and misery, who are humbled because of it, and who confess their sin and repent of their sins. Mankind is to see those who know the true source of life and who live to please that source. Mankind is to see those who do not take delight in sin, but take delight instead in pleasing God. Mankind is to see those whose good works expose the works of sin. Mankind should see in you and me as believers those who practice what they preach. Mankind is to see those who are not afraid of being different for Jesus' sake. And our Lord makes it clear that there is to be a specific aim here. And that is that others are to be directed toward God the Father. And if it is His will that they be delivered from darkness. Remember, our good works are to be seen, but not the worker. Our good works, but not the worker. All attention and all the glory is to go to God. Jesus says in Matthew 6, the first four verses, Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets. to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. Beloved, may the world desire to have as they see you and I. May they desire to have this relationship with God. May they become thirsty as they see the truth of God's mercy and His saving grace. Again, this is a very high calling. But remember, God doesn't command you and me to change hearts. He doesn't command us to bring others salvation. We can't do that. That's His business. He may be pleased to use us to change the heart of another, but that's His business. He calls us to be what He has recreated us, To be. In Christ Jesus, we are new creations. And through regeneration, the Holy Spirit makes us salt and light. And He calls us to be active and serviceable for Him. He calls us to represent Him and His saving grace and to do this right where we are at. We don't have to go halfway around the world for this. If God calls us to, yes. But He calls us salt and light right where we are at. Parents, you are salt and light. You are salt and light to your children as you raise them in a Christian home with your example. Beloved, we are salt and light to our friends and neighbors and co-workers as we season them with our Christian life and our Christian influence and witness and faith. The saddest thing that could ever happen is for the world one day to say of you and me that as Christians, we didn't make any difference. That we were no different than the world. But beloved, there's no greater privilege than to represent the Lord Jesus Christ and to influence the world for Him. If you are not influencing the world for Him, there's only one other alternative. You are influencing the world against Him. And remember, damaged, unsalty salt can only be destroyed. Turn to Him. In His grace, He will make you salt and light. He will make you serviceable for Him. Those who belong to Jesus the light by true faith can't help but to be seen. In the same way, those in whom the Holy Spirit dwells can't help but to be salty. And therefore, may it be our desire that we influence the world as salt, that many become thirsty. That's what salt does. It makes one thirsty. And that in and through us they see the light of Jesus Christ and ask us, ask us why we are different. See, here's the difficult part. May it be our desire that the world ask us. That scares me, because I'm a coward. But may that be our desire, that the world ask us why we don't see certain movies. Why we spend all that money to pay tuition on Christian tuition for Christian education when the public school is free to us. Why we attend church on Sunday, a day of recreation. May we be pleased to tell them no, it's a day of resurrection. May we be pleased that they ask us why do you take your precious vacation time to go to Mexico to build houses for people who can never do anything for you. May they ask us why we don't curse and swear. May they ask us why we don't participate in premarital or extramarital sex. May we be pleased that they ask us why we don't take advantage of our employers or our employees and instead why we do go the extra mile. May we be pleased that they ask us anything that gives us opportunity. And of course, all of this, our answers presupposes that we understand what we have in Christ Jesus. And that we believe that what we have in Him is worth sharing. May God, by His Spirit, beloved, prepare us to be ready to give a reason to anyone who asks. Give a reason for the hope that is within us. Remember, a little salt goes a long ways. And even a tiny light can be seen from a great distance. May the light of Jesus Christ shine through you and me, not so that we might be noticed, but that men may praise your Father who is in heaven. Amen. Shall we pray? Dear Heavenly Father, the calling with which you have called us is great. It scares us. We know that we are weak, that we are not suited in and of ourselves for the task. We praise your holy name, O Lord, that you alone make us effective. You alone are able to make us active by your Holy Spirit that we might indeed be the salt of the earth. In the light of the world. And Father, we do pray. We must confess somewhat hesitantly. But we do pray that you would give to us opportunity to speak for you. That indeed you would cause us to be seen as different, as odd when it comes to the world. And give us opportunity by bringing questions to our ears from people of the world. Give us opportunity, we pray, to share the good news of Jesus Christ and His saving love. Father, forgive us when we turn away from opportunities. Instead, give us courage that we do not possess in ourselves, but courage that comes only from You. May we ever live to serve You, O Lord. And indeed, may it be that many would give praise and thanksgiving to God our Father. In Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen.