Salt and Light

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt becomes tasteless, with what shall it be salted? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and to be trampled underfoot by men. Mat 5:13 English Majority Text

The Preserving Salt

In our minds, it is much too easy to separate the Beatitudes from the rest of the Sermon on the Mount.  However, there is nothing that indicates that while Christ was preaching there was a break between the following two sentences.  so they persecuted the prophets who were before you and You are the salt of the earth.

You are the salt of the earth.  Christ said this to His followers; it was true then and it is just as true today.  Of course, this does not include everyone that attends a Christian church nor does it include everyone that is fluent in Bible talk.  This statement is reserved for those who, in all earnestness, attempt to follow the mandates of the Beatitudes.

but if the salt becomes tasteless, with what shall it be salted? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and to be trampled underfoot by men.

Here is an interesting bit of information about salt mining in The Levant. 

Along, on one side of the valley, ... there is a small precipice ... occasioned by the continual taking away of the salt. I broke a piece of it, of which that part that was exposed to the rain, sun, and air, though it had the sparks and particles of salt, Yet It Had Perfectly Lost Its Savour: the inner part, which was connected to the rock, retained its savour. Clarke quoting Mr Maundrell.

It seems somewhat superfluous to say that if a Christian intends to be a preserving influence in society that Christian must stay connected to the rock.  When Christians lose their "saltiness", as preserving agents, they are good for nothing except to be used as gravel on a sidewalk.

The Revealing Light

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it shines on everything in the house.
Thus let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works, and they may glorify your Father who is in heaven. Mat 5:14-16 English Majority Text

Not far from what is known as The Mount of Beatitudes is the city Saphet, ... upon a very eminent and conspicuous mountain, and is Seen Far and Near. May we not suppose that Christ alludes to this city, in these words of his, A city set on a hill cannot be hid? Clarke

At the time Christ was living on earth many cities were built on top of hills for the sake of protection.  Any army that would attack the city would be hampered by the incline but, not only that, the attacking soldiers would be visible long before they were at the city gates.

Christ said, A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden and if you are serious about me neither can you hide the fact that you are my follower.  The Christian life is something very high and sublime, to which we cannot arrive without pains: while it withdraws us from the earth, and carries us nearer heaven, it places us in view, and as a mark, to the malice of carnal men.” Clarke.   

Do your co-workers know that you are a Christian?  Are you honest in your business dealings?  You bow your head for a table grace before a meal at home; do you also do that in a cafe or are you ashamed of being a Christian?  When Christ said, A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden He may have meant, There is no such thing as a secret Christian.

Christ did not say to His followers, "You are supposed to be the light of the world"; He said, You are the light of the world.  Christ did not implant the light of the world into us so that we could hide it under an upside-down basket.

Christ has set us on a lampstand so that His light shining through us will show up whatever is in the rest of our surroundings.  The reason for this is so that they may see your good works, and they may glorify your Father who is in heaven.

As the light of Christ in the lives of Christians grows dim the powers of darkness increase.  This simple fact is clearly seen in the lifestyle of the people of Canada and the United States.  

The USA is proud to speak of Honest Abe, the man who freed the slaves.  However, to find him they must look back 150 years.   

Canada also once had an honest leader, Joe Clark, of him it was said that he did not win the second term because "he was too honest" and to that, I might add, his moral standards were too high to be the leader of a country whose morals were quickly spiralling downwards.

In my opinion, this decline in morality, in North America, is due to our fixation on television and theatres.   Perhaps this is inevitable because it is a sign of the times; an inevitable step to the moral and spiritual darkness that will enshroud the world before the return of Christ