{"id":2781,"date":"2026-01-15T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/?p=2781"},"modified":"2022-11-25T06:25:57","modified_gmt":"2022-11-25T13:25:57","slug":"salt-light-and-our-mission-matthew-5-13-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/salt-light-and-our-mission-matthew-5-13-16\/","title":{"rendered":"Salt, Light, and Our Mission: Matthew 5:13-16"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_5359\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-2781-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/reflectivebiblestudy\/rbs-ga-parables-03_mixdown.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/reflectivebiblestudy\/rbs-ga-parables-03_mixdown.mp3\">http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/reflectivebiblestudy\/rbs-ga-parables-03_mixdown.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/reflectivebiblestudy\/rbs-ga-parables-03_mixdown.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/?powerpress_pinw=2781-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/reflectivebiblestudy\/rbs-ga-parables-03_mixdown.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"rbs-ga-parables-03_mixdown.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_subscribe_links\">Subscribe: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iheart.com\/podcast\/256-reflective-bible-study-gos-31078545\/\" class=\"powerpress_link_subscribe powerpress_link_subscribe_iheart\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Subscribe on iHeartRadio\" rel=\"nofollow\">iHeartRadio<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/feed\/podcast\/\" class=\"powerpress_link_subscribe powerpress_link_subscribe_rss\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Subscribe via RSS\" rel=\"nofollow\">RSS<\/a><\/p><hr class=\"powerpress-player-divider\"><div class=\"spoiler spoiler-style-2\"><div class=\"spoiler-title\">Read the Transcript<\/div><div class=\"spoiler-content\">\r\n<p>As we continue into the gospels looking at the parables and illustrations Jesus shared, we come to a pair of illustrations Jesus uses during His famous Sermon on the Mount. While these illustrations aren\u2019t classified as parables in one sense, these are illustrations that teach us something about God and about His plan for us.<\/p>\r\n<p>Let\u2019s read these two illustrations and discover what Jesus teaches us about God\u2019s plan and ideal for us as His people. Our passage is found in Matthew\u2019s gospel, chapter 5, and we will read it from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 13, Matthew quotes Jesus teaching the crowd, saying:<\/p>\r\n<p><strong><sup>13\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cYou 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 underfoot.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p><strong><sup>14\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cYou are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.\u00a0<sup>15\u00a0<\/sup>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.\u00a0<sup>16\u00a0<\/sup>In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>In these four short verses, Jesus challenges all of us with the truth that we affect others. While those in the crowd composed of Jesus\u2019 disciples, Jesus\u2019 followers, and those curious about Jesus, the truth Jesus shares, specifically that we have an effect on others, is true whether we are followers of God or not. Jesus challenges everyone present, and us as well, that we are to live in a way that benefits others.<\/p>\r\n<p>The first illustration, which focuses on salt, illustrates this idea in a significant way. In that culture, salt was used to preserve food, and to a lesser extent, it was used for flavoring. Nowadays, we use salt more as a seasoning. Regardless of how salt is used, it\u2019s only as good as it\u2019s characteristics. If salt loses the properties that make it useful for preservation or for enhancing flavor, then it is ultimately worthless.<\/p>\r\n<p>However, while it might look this way on the surface, even if salt loses its saltiness, it still has a use. Salt has a deadening effect on the ground, and because of this, it is useful for roads and other surfaces where one doesn\u2019t want plants to grow. Even though we have pavement and more modern methods of composing roads to travel on, many northern climates have used salt for years as a way of melting ice and keeping roads safe for travel. <strong>Salt has many uses, but when it ceases to be salty, then its usefulness becomes limited.<\/strong> In a similar way, <strong><em>we are to be intentional about how we affect others, and we should intentionally affect others in a positive way.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>Jesus\u2019 second illustration illustrates how God chooses to use us when we let Him. Jesus tells the crowd in verses 14 through 16, \u201c<strong>You are the light of the world. A town built 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 others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p>When we let God lead us and when we let Him transform our lives into the people He created us to be, with Jesus\u2019 character and love shining through us, we become the \u201clight of the world\u201d. Jesus doesn\u2019t say that He is the light of the world, even if He was the brightest light the world has ever known spiritually; Jesus says that we are the light of the world. <strong>When we let God use us and transform us, Jesus lets us know that we shouldn\u2019t be surprised when God lifts us up for others to see, and we become lights in the world.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>If we are interested in hiding God\u2019s blessings, and keeping what He does in our lives secret, then we shouldn\u2019t be surprised if we aren\u2019t blessed in a significant way. If God gives us an amazing gift, or if God transforms us in an amazing way, when we hide what He has done for us, we are placing the light He has given to us under a bowl. We are hiding Jesus when God desires us to glorify Him.<\/p>\r\n<p>In contrast, <strong><em>when we celebrate what God has done for us, we should give God the glory and credit for everything that has happened. The only credit we should take is for messing up and giving God an opportunity to bless us when we don\u2019t deserve His blessing.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>The last verse gives us the practical application of this truth, even if many people living today might try to dismiss it. In verse 16, Jesus tells us to \u201c<strong>let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p>In this challenge, Jesus calls us to show God\u2019s light in us through our good deeds. We may be accused of doing works, or trying to work our way towards salvation, but this is simply an unconverted lie Satan tries to use to derail us. <strong>We obey God because we love Him and because we are thankful for what He has done for us. Thanks is best lived through a life of obedience and gratitude.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>When people thank us for our good works, this is an opportunity to continually give God the credit, the glory, and the praise for what He has done for us! We can never come close to out-blessing others when compared with how much God has blessed us. While it sounds like a clich\u00e9, we should live our lives filled with an attitude of gratitude and thankfulness! <strong>Let\u2019s simply remember that the best way we can thank God is by being a blessing to others.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:<\/p>\r\n<p><strong>As I always begin every set of challenges by saying, continue intentionally seeking God first in your life. If you haven\u2019t thanked Him lately for all He has done for you, do so today. If you are facing a huge challenge or struggle, or if you feel God hasn\u2019t been kind to you, then know that while I don\u2019t understand your situation, God is more than willing to walk with you through the pain and challenges in your life. God may be blessing you with a testimony you can use to help others facing a similar situation. Too often, we believe that struggles and pain are God\u2019s punishments, when God may simply be giving us a gift we can use to help others in a more meaningful way.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p><strong>Also, always pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow your personal relationship with God. A personal relationship with God is essential for knowing God\u2019s will for your life, and we should grow our relationship with God on the foundation of prayer and Bible study. Never let someone else\u2019s ideas or opinions get between you and your relationship with God.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p><strong>And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!<\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div>\r\n<p>\r\nYear of Parables &#8211; Episode 3: Part way through the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus shares two short illustrations about being salt and light that challenges us as His followers about how we should live our lives, and how we are to be God&#8217;s representatives to the world.\r\n<\/p><p><strong>Join the discussion.<\/strong> Share your thoughts on this passage.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio"],"nelio_content":{"autoShareEndMode":"never","automationSources":{"useCustomSentences":false,"customSentences":[]},"efiAlt":"","efiUrl":"","followers":[2],"highlights":[],"isAutoShareEnabled":false,"networkImageIds":[],"permalinkQueryArgs":[],"series":[],"suggestedReferences":[]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - 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