Salt, Light, & Glory - Part I

As we continue through our study of the Gospel according to Matthew, and, leaving The Beatitudes, we are immediately met with an equally well known section of Scripture. The Salt & Light verses.

When we closed out The Beatitudes last week, we saw that each of the eight were a description of the Christian. Not all-encompassing, mind you, Scripture is overflowing with adjectives about those with renewed hearts. But as it stands, those eight “all or none” sayings from Christ, describe the character of His children.

And in the rest of The Sermon on The Mount, He explains what the person He just described looks like…in-action. What does being meek look like over the course of your day to day life? It looks like loving your enemies (Matt. 5:44). When someone who is poor in spirit lives out their life, they don't announce their times of fasting to receive praise from others (Matt. 6:16-18). On and on the rest of His Sermon goes into the day-to-day life of the person He just described. 

And in our verses this morning, Christ explains what effect such a person has on the place and time He put them in.

How does the Christian, interact with the World? What does our relationship, with both believers and non-believers, look like? When a person who is meek and poor in spirit, goes out into the world, what happens to that world? When someone who hungers for the righteousness of God; builds friendships, has a career, or starts a family; what changes happen throughout the course of those friendships, careers, or families?

The Beatitudes describe us; our verses this morning describe our relationships; and the rest of the Sermon on the Mount describes what those relationships look like in-action.

With that, let us stand and read the word of the Lord together.

Reading → Matthew 5:13-16 & Opening Prayer

When we begin to talk about what it means to be a Christian, there is a tendency in our hearts and minds to vacillate between extremes. We went through this during our Sermons on the 4th Beatitude, but to revisit it here; we spiritualize or physicalize everything we read.

In the first danger; we see the words of Scripture, accept them for the truth that they are, but then assume that God is only concerned about the spiritual side of things. Aligning your beliefs with what God says about this or that Doctrine; and believing all of the true things that God has said about Himself and humanity; when they are over-spiritualized…they don’t manifest in how you actually live. Faith becomes privatized between ears, and Bibles remain shut or begrudgingly opened. When your salvation is nothing but an intellectual garnish, your prayer life never walks out of Lazarus’ tomb. When your faith becomes nothing but spiritual, stopping at your fingertips or tongue for the fear of man, the current of God’s providence becomes oppressive instead of liberating. You will think God to be malicious, caring nothing about the pain He is allowing you to go through. Plainly stated, when one’s thoughts or beliefs are aligned with Scripture, but never put into action, that person’s faith is dead (James 2:20). 

In the second danger; we assume nothing matters but action. We go to Church because that's what the Bible tells us to do, while bending and twisting the parts we don't agree with in order to keep a white-knuckeld grip upon our own beliefs. Assuming that feeding the hungry can compensate for unrepented sin, causes Bibles to be read through rose colored glasses, if they are opened at all. “Being a Christian” becomes nothing to do with your thoughts aligning with Scripture, so long as you show compassion. When faith is nothing but works, it ceases to be faith, and the person has no way to understand the providence of a God who gives life, and takes it away (Job 1:21). Plainly stated, when one’s actions align with Scripture…but never their thoughts or beliefs, that person becomes an empty cloud; nice and showy of course, but nothing of value inside.

What is important to see, is that both of these dangers are spawned forth from the idea that everything about our faith has to do with us.

“So long as I have the correct beliefs, I don't need to live in a certain way.” Or;

“So long as I live a certain way, I don't need the correct beliefs.” 

Whether or not the person falls to Over-spiritualizing or physicalizing, it doesn't matter, because each of them is the end result of a privatized Christianity; when everything about how we live and think and act and believe reverberates outward from the self. These persons use themselves as their own litmus test, and even grade themselves on a curve to ensure that their own version of Christianity is what they agree with. 

Falling to either danger, however, has drastic results that are far removed from the salt & light that Christ says we are. Those who lack salt and light, will have nothing but shallow and superficial relationships with other Christians, or none at all. Every friendship will be nothing but pleasantries or shared hobbies, each one inflating the other’s ego till they unpinch the balloon that is their heart, watching it as it errantly flies throughout the room. They will live in an echo-chamber perfectly engineered to surround themselves with others who have fallen in the same ditch. They will bounce from Church to Church, never letting their roots grow deep enough to feel the loving cuts of sanctification. And anyone who confronts them will be labeled as one of those Christians. 

This, brothers and sisters, can not be, for two reasons. The second of which will be the main point of our Sermon together this morning.

The first reason we ought to be aware of these ditches is because of the false dichotomy they present to us. In my earlier examples, I wasn't taking into account the truth that our actions will always flow outward from our beliefs. Meaning; the person who says they believe all the right things but takes no action in their life…doesnt actually believe the right things. Their heart is hardened, and because the callus looks Christian enough, they never give it any more thought. This person, if they agree with all the things of Scripture but never put them into action, is nothing more than a devil in disguise. 

James 2:19 & 20 says it this way → “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe, and tremble! [20] But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?”

Believing what the Bible says, but refusing to live in accordance with what it teaches, means you and the demons have a lot in common.

Conversely, if a person carries out all of the behaviors and actions that Scripture says are good and noble, while disagreeing with what it says; this person is unknown to God…no matter the marvel of good things they may have actually done. Jesus Himself speaks of this person in Matthew 7:22-23 → “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ [23] And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ ”

Doing good works; being kind and compassionate to everyone you meet; standing up for the oppressed and downtrodden; feeding the hungry; volunteering your time; performing literal miracles…isnt good enough.

Over spiritualizing, or physicalizing the faith is a false dichotomy, because, while there is an overlap between them, the Bible teaches that good works flow outward from faith. They don't create it or replace it. Meaning, brothers and sisters, the beliefs and thoughts come first, and then automatically manifest in the works.

When Christ brought Lazarus back to life…he acted (Jn. 11:43&44). Something profoundly supernatural occurred to Lazarus; something beyond his ability; something ontologically (the study of being, category, and existence) beyond what creation was built to do…and then a natural byproduct manifested. 

When God brings a person from slavery to freedom (Jn. 8:36); from enemy to friend (Jm. 2:23); from death to life (Jn. 5:24); that person naturally begins to live and act and behave in a certain, entirely different way, than those He hasn’t.

Good works; feeding the hungry; partaking of Communion; attending the weekly gathering of the Saints; loving your enemies; volunteering your time for the benefit of others at your own expense; etc etc. …good works are the unavoidable and automatic outworkings of your redeemed heart. They are the proof that God has done something to your heart. They are proof…of your salvation.

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And now brothers and sisters; now that God has performed His divine heart surgery within the depths of our dead chests, giving life where none was present before; and we go about living like the redeemed that we are; it has an effect on the world around us.

Who we are as people; our personality, hobbies, strengths and weaknesses, our character and traits; that all combine to form the fabric of our identity…has a literal, tangible effect on the world. On our relationships, friendships, and families.

God did not create “blank slates” that He randomly drops to Earth and hopes for the best, no. He created each of us intentionally, and with perfect forethought. Numerous sermons and teachings, even from this pulpit, have been spoken on this subject, but to briefly remind us of this truth; when The Holy Spirit inspires David’s pen in the 13th verse of the 139th Psalm, to write → “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.”; it means that God made you, different than He made someone else. You…were written into the pages of history by an Author who never has, and in fact never can, make a mistake.

Furthermore, He who can make no mistakes…factored in all of yours when He made you. He knew how you were going to sin in this or that way and how it would shape you, and designed you in such a way that the shape of your heart after those sins was in accordance with His will. And cutting deep into the very soul-fabric of all humanity, He factored in how the sins of other people in your life would mold and shape you, and took those into consideration as well. 

Oh you broken son, God knew how your father would sin against you, and made you on purpose to go through it. Oh you lost daughter, God knew how your mother would sin against you, and made you on purpose to go through it. Nothing was beyond His sight, His power, or His providence. Every errant parent; every rebellious child; and every strained or toxic relationship, and the sins that accompany them all, were taken into account when you were knit together within the depths of your mothers womb. 

Have the events of your past left you broken with no earthly place to turn? Then turn to Him who made the turning Earth. Are the events of your future looming dark on a horizon you are afraid to look at? Then look to Him who is already in the future. Does your culture, your society, or country seem to be swirling a thousand drains, and nothing shy of an act of God can hold it back from the demise it so hungers for? Good. Because He did act.

Foreordaining whatsoever may come to pass (Is. 46:10; Eph 1:11), the God of time and space specifically created each and every single human to exist in the specific time and place He placed them within, and then saved His children from among them. The God of the Universe, who knows no bounds and respects no borders, performed supernatural CPR upon the stone organ in your chest, bringing you back to life at the precise moment He decided upon in eternity past. Taking no counsel or advice from anyone in the process (Eph. 1:11). 

You were made to be innocent in the eyes of the righteous judge of the Universe, and now that you are, your inheritance in eternity has been sealed by the unwashable blood of God. If you have repented of your sins and believed in Jesus Christ, then the land of endless sun calls out to you from beyond the boiling clouds. Heaven is yours, children of Clyde-Savannah. Eternal rest calls out to you from streets of gold, beckoning you to dance and sing to the watching stars.

If you have repented of your sins and believed in Jesus Christ, then here and now, inside of time, works of such glory will erupt from your reanimated hearts, the likes of which a thousand history books will forever record. You will see the tears of relief in the eyes of the unworthy as you break bread with them; the love you show towards your enemies will accomplish everything that God has ordained for it to accomplish; and the Saints that are, here and now, literally to your left and right, will stand shoulder to shoulder with you through everything our God’s providence brings to you.

Your salvation has both

spiritual and physical ramifications,

in full measure.

It is no accident that America is in the condition that she is in…while you live here. It is no strange coincidence that this Church exists as it does…while you are a member here. And the same can be said of your job, your family, and your friendships. God made you for where He has you.

And that brings us to the second reason we ought beware of the danger of only spiritual or only physical ramifications of our faith. In that…we live in a time and place that desperately needs the children of God to act like they are His children.

We could very easily veer into a dozen or so statistics here about all the wickedness we see on the news; giving numbers that will cause us to squirm in our seats. We could call to mind the prima facie evidence of our Country’s love of death and degradation; call to mind this or that people group that has been oppressed; point our fingers at this or that person or political party, and think that all the problems we see around us can be solved by us.

Or we could tell story after story about injustices that were enacted by people whose lives overlap with our own. And as those stories began to crawl between your thoughts this morning, maybe, just maybe, you got angry. Does it hurt, oh Christian, when you look at your pain? Does facing it cause you to cower and run back to the comfort you have found in ignoring it? Do you keep your pain beyond your periphery, because disturbing it will stir it all up again? “Leave the arrow in! It's the only thing stopping me from bleeding. Let me have my hurt, because it is all I have!”

What we need to understand, however, is that this has always been the case. Right after The Fall we see the first murder in Scripture between members of a family (Gen. 4). Moving forward we see the world grow so corrupt God washed it clean (Gen. 6); only for humanity to try and unite against Him at Babel (Gen. 11). Then we see cities so wicked that God rains down fire from heaven, reducing them to ash (Gen. 19). On and on we can move through the golden pages of Scripture to see people descend into anarchy in the Book of Judges (Jud. 21:25); adultery and murder carried out by a husband (2 Sam. 11); a nation split in half (1 Kin. 12-16), only for each half to be conquered and exiled (2 Kin. 17; Jer. 52); tyrants hunting down infants (Matt. 2); the only innocent man to ever live publicly executed (Luk. 23); and false teachers leading people astray (all through the NT).

You see brothers and sisters, The Fall affected the World in such a way that entropy is the norm. Buildings and bodies break down just as easily as families and faith. Hurricanes, Cancer, and betrayal ravage lives. Countries war, husbands hurt, wives cheat, children rebel, and governments encroach, yes. But, there is still hope.

This is what we believe as Christians, right? That our only hope is in the Lord Jesus Christ and His return to consummate history and forever reign into the endless future. But, what about here…inside of time? On this side of eternity? Will we make any change to this world? Our “good works” aren't good enough for salvation, we know this full well. But are they good for anything? Does how we live impact anything, or are we simply waiting for the ship to sink?

Romans 8:18-22  → “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. [19] For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. [20] For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; [21] because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. [22] For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.”

Did you read that? “The Creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.”

And who is that? Who are those “sons of God?”

Matthew 5:9 → “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

And because The Beatitudes are “all or none”, each of them describing an aspect of the Christian…it means that Creation, all of created reality; sun, stars, and soil; families, friends, and coworkers; nations and naysayers; are waiting for those of us whom Christ says are the salt of the earth, and the light of the World. 

Do not downplay the effect

your salvation has on others.

Sitting on a mount in a world given to decay and darkness, the King of the Universe says that we are the salt that preverses it (Matt. 5:13), and the light that illuminates it (Matt. 5:14). We are not so many spread apart candles, each one flickering against the encroaching darkness of our individual lives, cut off from those around us, no. We are a city on a hill that can not be hidden (v.14).

When the faith that was given to you through no action of your own, grows feet, it does things in this world that matter to the people around you, and…it happens automatically. Your works are a byproduct of your faith brothers and sisters. Do you want to act like salt to the meat that soon goes bad, preserving it before it does? Then go to Church. Do you want to expose the unfruitful works of darkness (Eph. 5:11) that so easily swim through your family and culture? Then begin every day in the Word, and let your tired eyes flutter off to sleep on those same pages. Do you want to be the type of light that gives light to the whole house (Matt. 5:15)? Then follow through with the song you learned as a child and let that little light of yours shine! 

We need husbands to live in accordance with what the Bible teaches about husbands, by leading and serving and sacrificing for their wives (Eph. 5:25). We need wives to live in accordance with what the Bible says about wives, by submitting to those husbands (Eph. 5:22). We need fathers and mothers bringing up their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, instead of relegating such a glorious burden to the government (Eph. 6:4). We need to be in Church every Sunday, not because it earns us special points with God, but because we are hungry for the long written down words of God; and for the bond beyond blood that we share with those in the pews beside us (Heb. 10:25).

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In closing, I would like to briefly revisit one of the stories we mentioned earlier, Sodom and Gomorrah. 

This is a story well known to most Christians, and not to avoid the genre of evil that that city was given to, I would like to point something else out that fits in perfectly with us being the salt of the earth and the light of the world. In Genesis 18, when God told Abraham about what was soon to come of those wicked places, He said this in verse 26 → “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.” Then He goes on to bring it down to forty five righteous people in v.28; forty in v.29; thirty in v.30; twenty in v.31; and in v.32 we see that the mere presence of ten righteous people living within a city would have saved it from destruction. And…we all know how that story ends.

Brothers and sisters, the mere presence of Christian living like a Christian ought live, regardless of the wickedness of the people he or she is living amongst… has an effect that God Himself takes notice of.

Regardless of your family's past or present, He saved you, knowing it ahead of time.

Regardless of your Nation’s past or present, He saved you, knowing it ahead of time.

Trust Him to produce results from your efforts and prayers. Trust that He sees every good work, sleepless night, tired morning, and shed tear. None of them have been in vain.

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your

good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Matthew 5:16

Rev. Jacob Marchitell

January 25th 2026