May it please Almighty God to
be with us this evening as we meditate in His Holy Word. Let
us turn to the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 5, and we'll read verses
13, 14, 15, and 16. So the Gospel of Matthew chapter
5 and reading verses 13 to 16. Ye are the salt of the earth,
but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be
salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing,
but to be cast out, and be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the
light of the world. A city that is set on a hill
cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle,
and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth
light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine
before men that they may see your good works and glorify your
Father which is in heaven. As you are aware, chapters 5,
6, and 7 contain what we refer to as the Sermon on the Mount. That's when Jesus, we're told,
seeing the multitudes, went up into a mountain. And when he
was set, his disciples came unto him. And he opened his mouth
and taught them saying. So we have a wonderful account,
a record, of what the Lord Jesus spoke on that occasion. And of course the whole Word
of God is relevant to us in our lives, but perhaps some parts
are clearer than others. And the Sermon on the Mount is
very clear and it directs us and often speaks in what we would
perhaps consider an opposite way to what our nature would
think. the first verses really that
the Lord spoke were strange perhaps to our natural understanding
when he tells us truths like blessed are the poor in spirit
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven and blessed are they that
mourn for they shall be comforted and so it goes on in those first
11 verses to tell us who are blessed and naturally speaking
we would perhaps think that it was the wrong way around but
yet when the Holy Spirit touches our hearts and shows us the relevance
of such great truths then we appreciate the blessed words
that they are and we should therefore desire in our lives today to
follow the words that the Lord Jesus Christ spoke and the reasoning
behind them that our souls may be blessed and above all things
the name of our Saviour honoured and glorified. Well this evening
we read these four verses which speak to us about salt and light
And the Lord speaks very directly and he says this in verse 13,
ye are the salt. And then in verse 14, ye are
the light of the world. So we're not able to think, well,
these words, of course, apply to somebody else. We should recognize
that they apply to every true believer, every child of God. And therefore, if we hope and
desire that we are indeed one of God's children, that in our
lives they set before the world at large these great truths contained
in these few verses. And it is there so that you and
I in our lives today may bring honour and glory to God. A true believer, a true born-again
child of God desires to be sought and desires to be light in this
world. It's very easy to just hide,
as it were, away and really pretend that these words don't apply
to us and that somehow we can wriggle around them. Well, the
Lord God speaks and it's wonderful when the Lord speaks into our
hearts and we realise they are meant for us, you and me. the
whole Church of God to realise they have a relevance and a word
directly to us and it is really so that we understand that we
are not in this world just to travel through it and please
ourselves and take possession of all the vanities of life but
we are here indeed to testify of whose we are whom we serve
and who we desire to honour and glorify. And therefore we have
two very simple illustrations. Illustrations which are easy
for us to understand. The first one, the Lord tells
us we are the salt of the earth. Well, we know what salt is, don't
we? All of us know what salt is. And the Lord says, But if
the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted?
It is thenceforth good for nothing. but to be cast out and to be
trodden underfoot of men. How necessary it is really to
add flavour to food. Salt. I know there are many people
that speak against having any salt at all in your diet today,
but nonetheless it does give flavour and it does enhance food. and we should not forget that,
and that's really what we are in this earth. We are to show
forth the great and glorious truth of God in our lives, by
our walk, by our conversation, by indeed even our thoughts,
because they will influence and set the example that we should
desire to set in this evil world. And of course, when we think
of this, the reality of it, what does it do? It really must direct
us to none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. And that really
means that you and I should desire to be Christ-like in our life,
in our walk, in our conversation, We should desire to be Christ-like.
We have a wonderful example, don't we, of the life of the
Lord Jesus Christ, how he operated when he was on the earth. And
that is the example that you and I have before us. He went
about doing good. He pleased not himself. he did all that he could to help
others how many people did he heal? now of course naturally
we don't have that ability but nonetheless we do have the ability
to go about and to do good and as this further on in this chapter
we are to love our neighbour as ourself see we are not to
suddenly think that we are exempt from doing such things And those
that despise us, and those that speak against us, we are to treat
rightly and well. We're not to render evil for
evil. We are to set a good and a godly
example. And if we are, which the word
of God says here, ye are the salt of the earth, that will
be our concern, and that will be our desire. that people won't
be able to point to us and say, well, there's a person who doesn't
care about the things of God, they're very bland in their religion,
doesn't really set forth at all, they just come and go and don't
speak to anybody and don't desire to honour and glorify his name. And my friends, today, sadly,
that's the case in the lives of many people. They think perhaps
that just turning up at chapel for the services is religion,
well it's part of religion and it's an important part, but there's
far more to it than that. We are to set a good and godly
example in the world in which we live. What a wonderful thing
it is if it can be said of us that men and women, boys and
girls, see that we have been with Jesus and have learned of
him because We have a Christ-like spirit. We go about desiring
not to please ourselves, but to help others. You know, it's
a wonderful truth, the Word of God tells us, that Lord loveth
a cheerful giver. There are still today those who
are very poor. What a blessing and what a reward
it is to be able to support and help such. And it's a wonderful
position to realise that we're doing that which is right in
the sight of God. We are to love those who hate
us, those who reward us wrongly. We're not to deal with them in
the same way they deal with us. We are to show them, indeed,
the other cheek. We are to be willing to receive. difficulties and trials and problems
to receive them and not to become annoyed and aggravated. You may
say, well, why do you say that? Very simply, if you look at the
glorious example of the Lord Jesus Christ, he had so many
occasions when he could have been angry, when he could have
been spoken against. Those who spoke against him and
acted against him but he bore all that his father saw fit that
he should do. And there we have before us a
gracious and a glorious example and we should be really concerned
today in the age in which we live that we are indeed as we're
told here we are the salt of the earth and if we are a believer
that's the evidence that we are believers, that we are the salt
of the earth, and we do have a good effect in the world in
which we live today. Go about desiring to do good,
to speak kindly to people, to not speak unkindly. It's very
easy, isn't it, to speak unkindly, but you'd be surprised sometimes
people speak against us, and we speak kindly, what a good
result that produces. Well, that's what we are told
to do. We're not to be amongst those
who have lost the savour and it's just bland. Our religion
is just bland. It has no effect upon anybody. It's a great blessing that we
have our market stall which we are able to have and to show
to the world at large that we are concerned about people's
spiritual state and we do it for that single reason and what
a good thing it is if that is evidence and in that scene we
are therefore the salt of the earth and it's not something
which is irrelevant it's something which is important is something
which should be God glorifying. And it should be our joy and
pleasure to be found serving the Lord. And in such a situation,
to recognize then that this word is true, ye are the salt of the
earth. And then, if the salt hath lost
his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? Well, it's of no value,
is it? It is henceforth good for nothing. We can understand what that means.
There's no point in adding salts to food if there's no flavour,
if it doesn't benefit. And that's exactly the same with
your life and my life today. If we're of no benefit, no benefit
in this world in which we live. then surely we deserve to be
cast out and to be trodden underfoot. Well, I'm sure we don't want
to be that, but we have the testimony of God speaking to us and directing
us to this very simple illustration of salt. Ye are the salt of the
earth. Well, surely we don't want to
be cast out and to be trodden underfoot of men. Now, everything
that God enables us to do is costly. Don't think that Christian
life is one of ease. Christian life is not one of
ease. And it's difficult to do many things that the Word of
God instructs us to do. And it entails an effort. And it entails sacrifice. And we are, therefore, to go
about not pleasing ourselves you see we are redeemed with
a price and that price could not be any higher could it when
you think of it when the Lord Jesus Christ gave his life shed
his blood to redeem us that's the price that the Savior paid
to redeem our souls and therefore the day and age in which we live
we are indeed to Give ourselves willingly to serve the Lord in
whatever position that may be. The Lord knows what he has in
store for us. And we should never turn away
from it and say, well I'm not going to do that. I don't want
to do that. That's below me. I'm not going
to do that at all. I remember years ago now I knew
a very eminent architect. He was a Christian man and he
said his concern was to do the will of God. And he said if God
told him that he had to clean out the toilets in the railway
stations He said he desired to do it willingly and to the best
of his ability. I often think such a testimony
is a good example. You see, we're made willing in
the day of His power to do whatever the Lord will have us do or have
us say. You know, it's very easy not
to say anything, isn't it? The devil wants you and me to
shut our mouth. to not say anything. He's very
successful, isn't he? For the most part. We go about,
we talk about the weather, we talk about this and that, but
what a blessing if we talk about what God has done for our souls. How God has led us and directed
us in the things in our life. And we've been blessed with the
presence of God. See, this brings honour and glory. and the devil doesn't want you
and me to speak of those things and often it's personally costly
because we think that people may mimic us and they may consider
us idiots well that doesn't matter The great truth is that you and
I should be concerned to do the will of God and to bring honour
and glory to his great and holy name. You know, in food, you
don't need much salt to have a good effect, to have an influence
on food. And it's the same in the Christian
life. It doesn't need to be a lot. But it does need to be a good
influence, so that men and women, boys and girls, take notice of
us, that we have been with Jesus and have learned of him. And
that will be set forth by, again, what we say and how we react
to situations, and how we're willing, perhaps, to go the extra
mile. You know, sometimes people will
ask us to do things, and we don't really want to do them. But we
shouldn't do them grudgingly. We should do them willingly,
as unto the Lord, which brings honour and glory to Him. And
people will take notice of such situations and recognise, well,
there's a difference in that person. And what a mercy if that
difference sets forth the honour and glory of our Saviour, the
Lord Jesus Christ. So let us remember this statement
here, which is very clear, isn't it? Ye are the salt of the earth. That is true of every believer. And if we are not salt, then
it really means that we are not a believer. and how necessary
it is to know that we are a believer. And if we are a believer, we
shall desire to follow the pattern of a believer set forth in the
Word of God. However costly it might be to
our own pride, How costly it might be that we don't want to
do certain things. Well, you just ponder what the
Lord Jesus Christ did in his life. You ponder how he lived. Nowhere to lay his head at night.
No comfortable home. Not a great wardrobe of clothes.
And yet you see, he served his master. He served his father. He did his will. And oh, do we
not bless God for that great and glorious example? And may
you and I be truly concerned, therefore, to follow that pattern
and not to be cast out. We don't want to be cast out,
I'm sure. And yet, you see, the devil wants us to be cast out. And he desires us to be cast
out. And he'll do all that he can that we are cast out. Well,
may we not be cast out or trodden underfoot. But may we be a true
follower of our Lord and Master, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Saviour
goes on and gives another illustration which is very clear for us to
understand. He says, Ye are the light of
the world. It doesn't mean to say we may
be. No, ye are the light of the world. And that's very humbling to think
the Lord has called us to be a light in this dark world. And
it is a dark world. Men love darkness rather than
light because their deeds are evil. And that's the world in
which you and I live in today, a dark world. And yet God has
placed us here in this world today. I sometimes think of that
glorious statement that Mordecai spoke to Queen Esther when she
was told to go into the king. which is not according to the
law and he said to her perhaps you're here on this world for
such a time as this and you and I may be on this world at this
time for such a time as this because we see things not getting
easier not improving we see so many laws being passed absolutely
contrary to the Word of God. And it is for us as Christian
people to stand up and to be counted and to be not ashamed
of what's involved in doing that. To support those societies that
do endeavour to make a stand. You know, it's easy, isn't it?
Just to read about it and then pass it over. And what a blessing
it is when we can do those things which are right either in funding
those organisations and supporting them, or writing personally to
those people who are in charge of such situations. And again,
this takes time, doesn't it? And it's effort. But you see,
if we are the light of the world, and God's people are the light
of the world, and you and I should be concerned and realise that
these words are directed to the Church of God, They're here for
our instruction and what a mercy it is if we realise that we are
the light of the world and are happy to be the light of the
world and don't want to turn away from it. We desire to bring
honour and glory to our great and glorious Saviour. We always
need to have that before our eyes as the end objective to
bring honour and glory to God and we're on the world today
for such a time as this. God's placed us here. We're born
at this time. We're not born tomorrow. We're
born today. For this time we should realise
the relevance of it and recognise therefore that these words are
true. We've probably read them many
times. We probably know they're true. We probably don't want
to really react in the way that we should. Ye are the light of
the world. And he tells us then, a city
that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Well, that's pretty easy
to understand, isn't it? If you've seen cities which are
on a hill. I remember years ago, I was doing a job in Lincoln.
And Lincoln, of course, is in a very flat area, the Fens. And
you can see the cathedral from miles away. If you don't really
need any maps, you can just see where the cathedral is and drive
towards it. You see, it's set on a hill.
It cannot be hid. and how wonderful it is if you
and I are like that. We're like a city that is set
on a hill which cannot be hid. Men cannot pass us by without
realising that there's a difference, that we are those whom God has
redeemed. We are amongst those whom God
has loved with everlasting love. We are amongst those that God
has placed on the earth for such a time as this. And God has placed
us here for his honour and for his glory. Always remember that.
It's not for your honour and my honour. It's for God's honour
and God's glory. And so a city that is set on
a hill cannot be hid. That's clear, isn't it? And then
the inference is, if we are a true believer, we cannot be hid. We cannot be hid. Perhaps some
of you, like myself, are ashamed of part of our life when we hid. We hid. People would never have
known that I was a Christian, never knew what I professed. I hid myself away. It wasn't
right and it wasn't God-honouring. And yet, you see, the devil still
desires to silence the Church of God and put out the light
so that it is not observed. You see, if you follow your own
agenda rather than following God's agenda, you'll find the
light doesn't shine. You'll find it's darkness. What
a mercy when God gives us grace so that it does shine forth and
that we are the lights of the world. And then the Lord Jesus
tells us, neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel
or under a bucket, whatever it might be, but on a candlestick. Well, that's obvious, isn't it?
People don't have a light. It's not candles nowadays, but
it's a light, isn't it? You don't come and have a light
and not use it. There's no purpose in it, is
there? And it's put so that the light shines all around. The lights we have on tonight
in this chapel, they shine around, don't they? Wouldn't be very
good without it, would there? Without any light. And therefore
it shines. And that's what you and I are
for in this earth. Yes, we're just like this, and
the Lord says, neither do men light a candle and put it under
a bushel, but on a candlestick. And it giveth light unto all
that are in the house. It means clearly that it is observable. And our light of our religion
should be observable. One of the problems in the day
and age in which we live is that people hide their religion. What
it really means is it doesn't mean very much to them. Their
religion doesn't mean very much. And yet, when you consider what
it really means, it really means our eternal position depends
upon whether we are a light in this world or not. You and I
won't be allowed to go through this world without any light,
if we are a true believer. As we read in Isaiah, ye are
my witnesses. We are the light of the world. We are to demonstrate that we
are such. Now, remember, you and I are
poor finite people, sinners on the earth, with no strength or
ability in and of ourselves, but God is able to give us strength
in our inner man, strength to testify of whose we are and whom
we serve, and to never be ashamed of the Gospel of our Lord and
Saviour, Jesus Christ. Well, we don't want, as the hymn
writer says, Christ to be ashamed of us, don't we? We don't want
to come to the day of our death and come up to the gates of glory
and be told, depart from me, I never knew you. We don't want
to be in that situation, do we? And so what a blessing it is
when the Holy Spirit comes and gives us power within. Power within to do his will. Sometimes we might be surprised. Commit thy way unto the Lord.
Trust also in him and he'll bring it to pass. Sometimes you might
be surprised how words that are spoken are received. You might
think they're going to be taken away and you'll be mocked. Sometimes
it is so. But sometimes it's not. And wouldn't
it be a wonderful thing if through your light and my light, people
are brought to the light. You and I are the means of converting
sinners to great and glorious privilege. And there's nothing
more valuable than a never-dying soul. And what a blessing if
God gives us that ability to be concerned at every opportunity
that comes into our life to speak well of him and to do his will
and do his honour and glory. And so says the Lord Jesus, neither
do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick
and it gives light unto all that are in the house. Well the very
simple question is, do we give light in this world in which
we live? Or are we darkness? And we're
no different to everyone else. Do we like people to think we're
the same as everyone else? there were years when I did just
that I didn't want people to think I was different and therefore
I acted so that I was one of them very sad very sad isn't
it? all I can say is God was very
gracious and very merciful but what a blessing if God gives
us that desire then that as he's given us light that it is set
forth on a candlestick set up so people see it we're not hiding
it we're not ashamed of it and so the Lord goes on to tell us
very clearly let your light your light and my light exactly the
same as he says ye are the light of the world and therefore let
your light So if you and I have any spiritual light, if you and
I have any favor from God, we are to let it shine before men. Let it shine before men, not
to hide it. The devil wants you and me to
hide the light. Yes, and he's a great deceiver.
He always has been and he always will be, but what a mercy The
Spirit of God gives us strength in our inner man, so that we
are not ashamed to own who we serve, who we love, who we desire
to follow. And we can come therefore under
this statement, let your light so shine before men, that they
may see your good works. Good works, you see, we're not
to do good works to impress men, we're to do good works because
of what God has done for us. And that's always really a touchstone,
isn't it? To ponder and to think what God
has done for us. The debt that you and I owe to
the great and glorious Saviour. a debt that you and I will never
be able to repay. It was such a price that was
paid. We're such sinners. We're terrible
sinners. We're evil sinners. We're deceitful
sinners. And we need a Saviour. And the
Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, came into this world for that
divine and glorious purpose, to save our souls, to redeem
us. and deliver us from the wrath
to come. What a saviour we have. And now, as we are on the earth
with light in our hearts, to testify of that light and to
recognise this great truth that we should desire, to let this
light so shine not to cover it up, not to hide it before men,
that they may see your good works. And what's the effect going to
be? What's the effect going to be?
That they may see your good works and glorify your Father, which
is in heaven. how humbling it is to think that
you and I, as utterly unworthy sinners, Almighty God uses in
this sinful world to glorify His great and glorious name.
But it is so. And may that really rivet itself
in our hearts to realise the relevance of such words this
evening. You're not your own. You're bought
with a price. And that price is the blood of
the Saviour. I'm sure I've told you before.
And I will tell you again, I knew a farmer who told me when he
was a lad of 14, God came to him and converted him and showed
him his sin and led him to the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, from that very day,
I realised I was not my own. I was bought with a price. And by the grace of God, he was
able to live his life as unto the Lord. He served the Lord. The Lord greatly blessed him
in providence and blessed him spiritually. He was a very humble
and gracious man. It's my privilege to know him.
Well, we have these examples before us. to follow and to desire
that we do acknowledge the Word of God. You've no doubt read
these words before, you've no doubt read the Sermon on the
Mount many times, but I wonder how often we really recognise
the relevance of such words in our own life. And perhaps we
have recognised the relevance, but really haven't taken much
notice of it, hasn't really had much effect upon us. and yet
to realise the word of God tells us, ye are. the salt of the earth. He are the light of the world. Let your light so shine before
men. They might see your good works
and glorify your father, which is in heaven. And again, just
to recap, let us not forget the great cost of our salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ. the Second
Person of the Trinity, the Almighty God, the Ruler of the Universe,
loved us so much that He was willing to come into this sinful
world, live that perfect life, and die that sinless death in
order to redeem our souls. My friends, when the Holy Spirit
speaks to our hearts, With such truths, the only reaction can
really be, what a saviour. And if we realise what a saviour
we have, to realise also the privilege which is ours to be
found serving the Lord in whatever way the Lord would direct us,
but above all to remember we are salt, we are light, we are
in this earth for the glory of God. Amen.