Matthew 5:13-20

The Savior’s Sermon— You Are…So Be!

¹³“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.

¹⁴“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Neither 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. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

¹⁷“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. ¹⁹Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. (NIV1984)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Over the course of my ministry I have met a number of extremely interesting individuals.  Some of these individuals I found interesting because of the immensity of their faith.  No matter what situation they encountered in their life, no matter how negative or how positive that situation may have been— their trust in Jesus and their focus on Jesus never wavered!  Some of these individuals I found interesting because they were smarter than I am.  I was able to learn a variety of things from them— some of which I had never even thought about.  And some of these individuals I found interesting because of the qualities and the characteristics of who they are.  One of these individuals is a man who went by the name of J.R.

J.R. was a shut-in member of the congregation I was serving.  Since J.R. was not able to come to church I would visit with him every month so that he was able to receive Holy Communion.  During these visits I learned a great deal about J.R.  One of the very first things I learned was that J.R. is a Marine.  As soon as J.R. heard that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor he went right down to the recruiting station and signed up to become a Marine.  It wasn’t long before J.R. found himself fighting in the South Pacific— traveling from island to island.  As J.R. recounted the various battles he was in he made a couple of things very clear.  First, he was proud of his service to our country.  Second, he was proud to be a Marine.  For J.R. there was no such thing as an ex-Marine.  As far as J.R. was concerned— Once a Marine always a Marine!  That personal philosophy was evident in the way J.R. conducted himself.  That personal philosophy was evident in the way J.R. lived his life.

As we continue our sermon series The Savior’s Sermon we come to a portion of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount that reminded me of J.R.s’ motto:  Once a Marine always a Marine!  As our dear Lord and Savior preaches this sermon to us let’s see how He emphasizes this truth:  You Are…So Be!

Look at the opening verse of our text.  Jesus says to you and to me, “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 salt of the earth.”  Notice how Jesus does not say, “You can be” or “You will be” or “You ought to be the salt of the earth.”  He says, “You are the salt of the earth.”  As a Christian, as someone who believes in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the Savior of the world, you are the salt of the earth!  This is what God Himself has made you to be!  This is part of your God-given purpose for being here on this earth!

What does the Lord Jesus mean when He says, “You are the salt of the earth”?  The answer to that question becomes clear when we remember that salt has two primary purposes.  Those two purposes are:  preserving food and seasoning food.  In Jesus’ day salt was the main way in which people would keep their food from decaying.  In a similar way, as the “salt of the earth” God uses you to counter the corruption and the decay caused by the presence of sin in this world.  How do we do this?  With our words and with our actions we strive to counter the moral decay that we see taking place all around us.

On a moral level this world is decaying at a rapid pace, isn’t it.  Think about it:  Things that were “unacceptable” just one generation ago are being promoted today.  Non-binary/transgenderism is being taught in many schools today.  We are being told that if a person “identifies” as a woman they should be allowed to use the girl’s bathroom and the girl’s locker room— even if they are biologically and anatomically a male.  Throuples (which is a “consensual and committed” relationship between one man and two women) and polyamory (which is a “committed and consensual” relationship between one woman and multiple men) are no longer considered unusual or “abnormal.”

As Christians we strive to do everything we can to counter this moral decay.  Where do we start?  We start with listening to our Savior when He says:  “You are the salt of the earth”… so be the “salt of the earth.”  In our own heart, in our own family, in our own community we need to live in and live by the Moral Law that God has given to us in the Ten Commandments.  If we don’t do this, if we lose our “saltiness,” if we refuse to act as spiritual “salt” striving to be a “preservative” in this corrupt and decaying world, then Jesus warns us, “It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.”

Our Savior then uses a very similar picture when He goes on to say in His sermon, “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.”

Through the power of the Holy Spirit God has shined the light of the Gospel into our hearts.  He has called us out of the “darkness” of sin and into the glorious “light” of faith!  While this precious gift of saving faith shines brightly in our hearts, we need to make sure that it also shines brightly in our lives.  If we were to “hide” the light of our faith, if we do not allow our faith to shine brightly in our lives that would be as useful and as wise as lighting a candle or turning on a light and then covering it up!

Through the power of the Holy Spirit we are the “light of the world.”  Now we need to be the “light of the world.”  This means that just as the purpose of a lamp is to give light to others, so also our God-given purpose is to shine the light of the Gospel into this sin-darkened world!  When you are interacting with people whose hearts are still shrouded by the darkness of sin, enlighten them with what Jesus has done for them! (Pointing to the cross)  When you are interacting with other people at work or at school let the light that guides and sustains you be reflected to them!  Specifically, Jesus says to us, “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

We don’t need to wait for or search for some heroic act that will get us on the evening news.  We simply live like Jesus lived.  Instead of living in our own safe little cocoon we step out of our comfort zone to help a neighbor or to volunteer in some community activity.  Instead of being content with our light shining in just our own life we look for things we can do to turn up the dial and let the light of our faith shine brightly enough to have a positive impact in the lives of the people around us— especially our spouse, our children, our grandchildren.  Then we look for ways to turn up the dial even more so that the light of our faith shines bright enough to have a positive impact in the lives of people in other parts of our country as well as people all across the world.  One way to be what God has made us to be is by supporting the mission efforts of our Synod and by supporting the training of more pastors and teachers.  It certainly doesn’t take long for us to see that there are many ways in which we can follow our Savior’s command, “You are the light of the world…so be the light of the world!”

In the closing portion of our text Jesus reminds us that as we strive to be who we are— the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world”— we always need to remember how and why we are who we are!  The foundation of who we are is none other than what Christ has done for us.  Look at what our Savior says to us here in His sermon, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.  I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.  Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

The only reason we are “the salt of the earth” and the “light of the world” is because of the “righteousness” that Jesus has secured for us (Pointing to the cross) and freely given to us.  This “righteousness” includes both the “active righteousness” and the “passive righteousness” of Christ.  Contrary to those who like to point to Jesus as a “rebel,” Jesus was laser-focused on actively fulfilling all the requirements of God’s Law— to the letter!  Jesus didn’t come into this world to change or to “abolish” anything in the “Law or the Prophets.”  He came to follow God’s Law— meticulously!  That’s what we call Jesus’ “active righteousness.”  Jesus’ “passive righteousness” refers to His willingness to endure the punishment that we deserve for the countless times we have failed to follow all the requirements of our God.  Because both Jesus’ active righteousness and His passive righteousness have been “credited” to us— we now have a “righteousness” that far surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law!

How does that gift of “righteousness” tie in with us striving to be who we are— the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world”?  By the grace of God we have what everyone in this world needs!  We have the “antidote” to the moral decay we see all around us.  We have the one thing that can destroy the shroud of sin.  We have the “righteousness” that comes through faith in the Truth of God’s holy inspired Word.  With God’s holy Word as our personal possession we stand as a beacon of light to those who are lost in the darkness of sin.  With God’s holy Word as our personal possession we stand as an example for others of what God has done and what God can do to save sinners like us from an eternity of death and decay.  As we shine as a “light” in this dark world, as we testify to the Truth of Scripture, as we take a stand against error and evil, as we bear whatever ridicule, loss or persecution comes our way because of Him (Pointing to the cross), as we strive to do the “good deeds” that Jesus has called us to do— we have one goal.  That goal is to let our light shine in such a way that others see who we are, look at what we do and “praise our Father in heaven.”

Out of all the interesting people I have met over the course of my ministry J.R. is one of the most memorable.  Not only did he tell me many times, “Once a Marine always a Marine,” but he lived that personal philosophy every single day.  Here in His sermon Jesus says to us, “You are the salt of the earth, You are the light of the world.”  The glorious status and the wonderful purpose that our God has given to us is more precious than anything and everything that this world could possibly offer to us.  May God grant that every single day we will listen to our Savior as He says to us:  You Are…So Be!

To God be the glory!

Amen