You are . . . – Matthew 5:13
Ever ask the question, “Who am I?” or “What is my purpose in life?” Ever been asked about “who” you are or why you are the way you are? Most people at some point ask themselves those questions. Most people ask themselves those questions at the end of their lives too. They are important questions. They are especially important to those seeking to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. What is and is not our calling as disciples according to Jesus? That is what we will consider in this teaching.
I want to begin by stating we are not saved by being a disciple. Every disciple is a Christian, but, sadly, not every Christian is a disciple. We are not saved by discipleship; we are saved from our sins when we repent or turn from our sins and through faith trust Jesus as our Savior. Salvation is not a work, but a gift of God’s grace received by faith. [1] Having said that, I would also say that being a disciple is the path a Christian needs to take to experience what Jesus referred to as an “abundant life” (John 10:10). If you want to know Jesus deeply, you need to follow Jesus as His disciple. That’s what the Gospels, especially Matthew’s Gospel, model for us.
Disciple – “You are . . .”
Matthew 5:13a – “You are the salt of the earth; . . .”
Jesus’ greatest sermon is the Sermon on the Mount. He introduces that great sermon with the Beatitudes. These Beatitudes define the heart of a disciple. On the heels of Jesus introductory words He then says to His aspiring disciples, “You are . . ..” Jesus expands on His definition of a disciple. Once a disciple has passed through the Beatitudinal steps of discipleship, they are called to be and are by nature salt and light. He says:
Matthew 5:13–16 – 13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Our focus in this study will be on the first of those characteristics, being salt.
Notice, in Jesus’ saying, “You are,” He is speaking more about being than mere doing. Doing proceeds from being. What you are internally in your heart will inevitably show itself externally in the way you live. Discipleship is something Jesus does in and through you. Being salt and light is not a work of self-effort; it is a work of the Spirit in and through the disciple.
The disciple is called to abide or hold onto Jesus. It is only as we hold on to Jesus that we can bear fruit (John 15:1-8). To “abide” in Jesus is to look to Him, listen to Him, obey Him, imitate Him in all we think and do. Because of this the gospel records become vitally important. When we study through the gospels it is like walking with Jesus, learning from Him, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, apply what we learn to our heart and in our lives.
The Apostle Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit to refer to this sanctifying work of the Lord in us with the words “in Christ.” The phrase “in Christ” is used by Paul to express the personal saving nature of the believer’s spiritual birth, as well as their ongoing relationship with God in Christ. The phrase “in Christ,” occurs in Paul’s writings 84 times in 82 verses. It is “in Christ” that the disciple is spiritually nourished and built up in the faith. [2]
The disciple’s responsibility is to surrender to the Lord and in so doing cooperate with the will of God in their life. Paul spoke of this relationship between disciple and God when he wrote, “We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain” (2 Corinthians 6:1). Disciple, think of it, “you are” a worker “together with Jesus. God has chosen to work in and through you. What a glorious privilege to serve the Lord! So deep and close is this working relationship that the disciple has with God that Paul says God literally “pleads” with the lost world through the disciple. “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20). “Every spiritual blessing” we need to be and live as a disciple is made available to us “in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).
The disciple can lay no claim to fame or accomplishment, (no disciple of Jesus would anyway). The disciple is humbled in Christ. The disciple rests in Christ. The disciple is not salt and light in their own strength, but in the strength provided through their saving relationship in Christ. Disciple, you are who you are because you are in Christ.
Disciple – You are NOT the SUGAR of the Earth – The Superficiality of Spiritual Sugar
Christian, disciple, Church, you are not called to be SUGAR. “In Christ” we are not called to be sugary, tasty, sweet, temptations to those with a sweet tooth only looking for a party. A little sugar may sweeten your coffee or be good in a cake but spiritually speaking it’s not good for consumption. Why is that? Let me give you some reasons.
Sugar may taste good, but sugar is deceptive, it masks true taste, e.g., sweetens the bitter making it eatable or drinkable. Sugar makes you feel full, but full of what? Sugar is not optimal for building muscles or good health. Sugar energizes and stimulates but is burned up quickly leading to high highs and then crashing lows. Sugar doesn’t stabilize it disrupts. Sugar can become addictive. Sugar masks fulfillment and takes the place of healthy foods. Sugar delays burning healthy foods. Sugar isn’t a part of good nutrition. Spiritually, sugar short circuits healthy spiritual growth. Remember that next time you attempt to minister by emphasizing a look, an external attraction, a surface offer or enticement, something that is only skin (or carnal flesh) deep. If you’re relying on balloons, bake sales, bingo, contests that insight carnality, a look, and attractions of one kind or the other to minister to people, you may be dipping into the sugar bowl spiritually. Disciple, we are not called to be sugar.
Sugar may taste good, but it causes cavities. You have to brush your teeth when you eat sugar because sugar causes tooth decay like few other things. In this sense spiritual sugar are those things that focus merely on the horizontal plane. Spiritual sugar’s focus is on things like “Your Best Life Now,” and being “relevant” by your style rather than the message of the gospel and God’s word. When your teeth rot you can’t eat. When you can’t eat you can’t grow. When you stop growing, you die. Sugar facilitates a slow painful death. Disciple, we are not called to be sugar.
Sugar may taste good but it’s fattening. Fat accumulates by eating more food than is burned up in doing things. Fat is the result of inactivity. Spiritual sugar makes Christian cupcakes. Sugar may bring a burst of energy, but it also deadens us and desensitizes us to true nourishment in the word of God. Spiritual sugar is a dainty morsel of scripture with no opportunity to live it out. Spiritual sugar piles on the fat with ease and fat makes it harder to move. Fat in the body kills endurance and piles on pounds that cause us to get out of breath and be unable to endure. Spiritual sugar makes walking with Jesus easy, solitary, uninvolved, uncommisioned. Spiritual sugar makes isolation from the world (where the lost are) easier. Spiritual sugar gives the Christian an excuse to do nothing and be nothing. Disciple, we are not called to be sugar.
Sugar may taste good but it’s not healthy. Do an online search of the dangers of sugar and you’ll discover it increases obesity and all the health risks attached to that such as diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver, elevated blood pressure, chronic inflammation, insulin resistance. Sugar is also connected to acne, depression, and cognitive decline. Sugar is a health nightmare. The same is true spiritually. Spiritual sugar consists of the superficial unscriptural dainties of culture and this world. Whatever is not connected to scriptural ingredients is spiritual sugar that is only going to fill you with “spiritual” fat that weighs you down.
C.T. Studd, a well-known disciple who left the sugary life of fame in sports and comfortable luxury for the fields of missionary sacrifice, wrote about sugary Chocolate Soldier Christians.[3] This is a work every Christian should read. Anyone aspiring to discipleship should read this work. It fits properly and explains the dangers and ill effects of sugar in the life of a disciple.
In C.T. Studd’s classic challenging message to Christians, The Chocolate Soldier, he opens with these words:
EVERY TRUE CHRISTIAN IS A SOLDIER–of Christ–a hero “par excellence”! Braver than the bravest–scorning the soft seductions of peace and her oft-repeated warnings against hardship, disease, danger, and death, whom he counts among his bosom friends. THE OTHERWISE CHRISTIAN IS A CHOCOLATE CHRISTIAN! Dissolving in water and melting at the smell of fire. “Sweeties” they are! Bonbons, lollipops! Living their lives on a glass dish or in a cardboard box, each clad in his soft clothing, a little frilled white paper to preserve his dear little delicate constitution. . ..
GOD NEVER WAS A CHOCOLATE MANUFACTURER, AND NEVER WILL BE. God’s men are always heroes. In Scripture you can trace their giant foot-tracks down the sands of time.
Further on in this classic call to Christians for heroism and courage he states:
REAL CHRISTIANS REVEL IN DESPERATE VENTURES FOR CHRIST, expecting from God great things and attempting the same with exhilaration. History cannot match these feats of Moses. How was it done? He consulted not with flesh and blood, he obeyed not men but God. . ..
And so, the tale goes on. Go where you will through the Scriptures or history, you find that men who really knew God, and didn’t merely say they did, were invariably Paragons of Pluck; Dare-Devil Desperadoes for Jesus; Gamblers for God. “Fools and Madmen,” shout the world and the Chocolates. “Yes, for Christ’s sake,” add the Angels! . . .
And then in his crescendo conclusion he punctuates his call by saying:
Difficulties, dangers, disease, death, or divisions don’t deter any but Chocolates from executing God’s Will. When someone says there’s a lion in the way, the real Christian promptly replies, “That’s hardly enough inducement for me; I want a bear or two besides to make it worth my while to go.” CHOCOLATES are very fond of talking loud and long against some whom they call fanatics, as though there were any danger of Christians being fanatics nowadays! Why, fanatics among Christians are as rare as the “dodo”. Now, if they declaimed against “tepidity”, they would talk sense. God’s real people have always been called fanatics. Jesus was called mad; so was Paul; so was Whitfield, Wesley, Moody, Spurgeon. No one has graduated far in God’s School who has not been paid the compliment of being called a fanatic. We Christians of today are indeed a tepid crew.
When we look at much of the “Church” and “Christians” today, they are fat and flabby from a sugary diet. They are sugary and try to attract sinners with sugary words. “Church” has become more of a bakery filled with sweet attractions, than any meat and potato meals in the word of God. “Christians” and the “Church” today cover up tastelessness with sugary frosting that promises fulfillment but only delivers cavities. “Church,” “Christian,” disciple, we are NOT called by Jesus to be sugar.
Disciple, Church, we are not called to be sugar or chocolatiers. We are not called to be the sugar of the earth. Sugar, like salt, is a flavor enhancer, but it’s not healthy, it rots the insides of a person from their teeth to their diabetic soon-to-be-amputated toes. Disciple, Church, Jesus calls us to be SALT. Sugar is filled with calories. Salt has no calories. Sugar turns to fat. Salt does not turn to fat. Sugar is nonessential, not a necessity. Salt is essential and a necessity. Sugar lures us in with appearance and deceives by temptation. Salt brings real flavor out. Sugar is deception. Salt is truth. Salt may be offensive, but it is necessary for life in many ways.
Salt is Not Salty
When we speak of being salt we don’t mean to urge people to be salty or coarse, harsh, insensitive, unempathetic. To be “salt” is not to live as a drunken fowl mouthed sailor. Salt is anything but that. Jesus said, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These things defile a man, . . . “(Matthew 15:19). So, please don’t use the concept of being salt to justify that which is fowl and sinful.
But what does it mean to be “salt”?
Disciple – You Are The Salt of the Earth
Matthew 5:13b – “You are the salt of the earth; . . .”
In the time of Christ and especially in the Roman Empire, salt was a precious commodity, an invaluable resource and very important. Therefore, when Jesus likens the disciple to “salt,” He is saying the disciple is valuable, a necessity. Disciple, you make a difference.
In God’s sovereign plan to redeem this lost world He could have chosen to communicate solely through angelic beings. God could have simply spoke from heaven like He did at the Baptism and Transfiguration of Jesus. He could have chosen some other way, but He chose to work through disciples. Jesus commissioned His first disciples to go and make more disciples who would then also go and make even more disciples. Discipleship is how Jesus conquered this world. Jesus has all authority and His command to Christians is, “Go therefore and make disciples. . . baptizing them. . . and teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. . .” Then He assured them saying, “an lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).
The Substance of Salt
Why did Jesus choose to use “salt” to identify His disciples? What are the desirable effects which God desires to use the disciple to accomplish?
First, salt effects, flavors, influences everything with which it comes into contact. Just a little salt in a glass of water is discernable. Salt brings out the flavor in foods. You can’t come into contact with salt and be the same. Add some salt and it not only changes the taste of something, but it leaves a lasting impression. That is what is to be said of a disciple. Like the Apostle Paul, when people are done speaking with the disciple they should have a sense of godliness, other worldliness, the eternal. After Paul spoke with the Thessalonians they felt as though they had received a word from the Lord (1 Thessalonians 1:2-10). Our words are not inspired like Paul’s were, but we can leave people with a taste of the canonical word of God. Disciples should bring righteous flavor and leave a lasting holy impression upon those they contact.
Second, salt purifies what it contacts. In the Old Testament Elisha used salt to purify polluted waters (2 Kings 2:19-22). When Jesus uses the metaphor of salt He is saying that what the disciple says and does should have a purifying effect on those around them. The disciple shares edifying word (Ephesians 4:29). The disciple shares Jesus, grace, heavenly wisdom with people
“Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one” (Colossians 4:2-6). If the disciple wants to be an agent of purity in the world then they should share the grace of God in the gospel and in life related practical applications (e.g., 2 Corinthians 12:9-10). This grace-rich-walk and word of the disciple is characterized by God’s wisdom (solving problems by God’s will and word), redeeming the time (using the time we have with others to bring about their redemption), being prayerful all the time relying on God to lead and empower you. That is what it means to be the salt of the earth.
Third, salt is a preservative. Salt in Jesus’ day was used to preserve meat and food. The disciple is a preservative in that they offer hope in a lost world. The world is a sinful place and the Holy Spirit working through disciples retrains evil (2 Thessalonians 2:5-10). The Holy Spirit working through the Church of disciples, restrains evil with the Gospel until the Rapture of the Church occurs. So, while the disciple cries “Maranatha!” in hope of Jesus return to take His bride, they realize there is still much work to be done. Part of that work is preserving the world from complete apostasy and darkness so that more can be saved. The Holy Spirit uses disciples to hold restrain sin and the demons of hell so that with what little time we have left, more can be saved.
Fourth, salt stimulates thirst. When the disciple interacts with people he or she should be used by the Holy Spirit to generate a spiritual thirst in those people. Disciples should generate a holy envy. Unbelievers should look at the disciple and say, “I want what they have.” Too often people look at Christians and think or say, “If that’s what a ‘Christian’ is, I don’t want any part of it!” Disciples should be overflowing with the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39) in such a way that it makes those without the Spirit spiritually thirsty.
In his book entitled Discipleship: The Next Step In Following Jesus, Greg Laurie comments:
“Salt stimulates thirst. Perhaps you can remember a time when you went to a movie theater and bought a box of popcorn. After you got to your seat and began to eat it, you became extremely thirsty because the attendant at the refreshment counter heavy salted it, knowing you would come back to buy a drink.
In the same way, if we live a godly life, it can stimulate a spiritual thirst in the lives of others to do likewise. If a nonbeliever sees something different in you, if he sees you are not like everyone else and you live a life directed by certain spiritual principles, he can find it very appealing. Many nonbelievers are also influenced when they see a Christian face severe circumstances and still maintain a sense of calmness and peace. Our lives are the only Bible many people will ever read. Christians are to be ‘living epistles,’ written by God and read by men.” [4]
How can we be salty disciples? Loving your neighbor in some way. Be kind. Maybe it means bringing your Bible to work. Maybe it means offering Bible tracts to people. Share your testimony about how Jesus changed your life.
Fifth, salt helps the healing process. If you’ve ever had a sore throat you know that gargling with warm water and salt helps to heal the infection in your throat. Disciple, as salt you want to be a healing agent, one who in the power of the Holy Spirit applies Gods’ word in healing ways to people. Jesus is described as, “A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). A disciple is a conduit to hurting people to tap them into Jesus who understands and can help them when they are hurting. Salt shares with others the same comfort and mercy the Father of mercies used with us (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). Salt shares the same kind of grace that God ministered in our lives (2 Cor. 12:8-10).
Too much salt is not good. There is one other thing we need to take into account. Too much salt can ruin a meal. The fruit of the Spirit is love and that love is self-controlled (Galatians 5:22-24). Disciple we should always be attentive to the circumstances of those we are ministering too. We don’t want to come on too hard or not hard enough. We should follow the leading of the Holy Spirit for just the right amount of salt. Salt is powerful and should be shared in the right amount.
When the disciple is living as salt in the tasteless lost world he or she should resist the temptation to pour it on so to speak. Let the Spirit guide you. Be gentle, speak the truth in love. Be wise. Be wise and gentle (Matthew 10:16). Don’t be argumentative but share and explain how God’s word applies in given situations. (2 Timothy 2:24-26). Always have Jesus in mind and heart asking Him to show you how to share (1 Peter 3:13-17).
A Word to the Saltless
Matthew 5:13c – “but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.”
Salt can heal a wound and purify meat, but if the salt goes bad, there is no cure for saltless salt. Jesus is really calling the disciple to a point of decision. He’s saying, If you aren’t going to serve the purpose for which you were called, you’ve lost your value as a follower of Jesus. Pastor Chuck Smith comments here:
“They would take the salt that had already been used or lost its effectiveness, and they would throw it in the pathways, because salt would kill the vegetation. . . it was common to salt the pathways killing the vegetation. And thus, it is trodden under the foot of men. In this, Jesus is really saying, . . . either be a purifying effect or you’re going to find yourself crushed by a rotten world. When the Church of Jesus Christ no longer has that influence of righteousness and goodness, preventing the putrefying effect, then the Church will end up being trodden under the foot of this fallen earth. . ..
You’re the salt of the earth. Salt is supposed to be salty. It’s supposed to have an influence to prevent rottenness. And as I look at our society, and as I look at the world in which we live today, I must conclude as we see the creeping rottenness in our nation, that somehow the salt has lost its savor. The Church has not and is not now a purifying influence or an influence that prevents the rottenness; and gradually, the Church will be trodden under the foot of man, fallen society.
We have already been targeted, you as a fundamental believer in Jesus Christ, are targeted by the world as one of the major problems that is preventing the new world order. You’re on the target list. And gradually, there’s going to be more and more legislation that is directed against fundamental Christian faith. In these gay rights amendments and gay right legislation, ultimately they are going to come, and they are going to require that we in the Church not speak against the gay lifestyle. This is their purpose and goal, they’ve announced it, to make it illegal because it is a hate crime and we are fostering hate towards this minority group when we speak against it.” [5]
Those words are proving prophetic.
There is a poem that captures what it means to be “salt” as a disciple and it goes like this:
The Gospel According to You by Arthur McPhee
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
Are read by more than a few.
But the one that is most read and commented on
Is the gospel according to you.
You are writing a gospel, a chapter each day.
By the things that you do and the words that you say,
Men read what you write, whether faithless or true,
Say, what is the gospel according to you?
Do men read His truth and His love in your life,
Or has yours been too full of malice and strife?
Does your life speak of evil, or does it ring true?
Say, what is the gospel according to you? [6]
So, who are you? Are you a disciple? Do you live as a disciple of Jesus in your stations of life? Husbands have you lost your sense and calling as a husband? Wives, have you lost your sense and calling as wives? Parents are you parenting? Children are you using God’s word as you example? Neighbor, are you loving, serving, living as salt? Public servants, police, military, politicians, school teachers, Business owners, business workers, doctors, nurses, in whatever station of life God has placed you, are you living as a salty disciple? Disciple, are you living out the word of God, sharing it with those around you, according to the leading and empowerment of the Holy Spirit? Disciple, have you lost your saltiness? Are you making an impact for the Lord? Christian, you are not called to be sugar. Disciple, be salt!
Father in heaven, in the name of Jesus, according to the leading and enabling of the Holy Spirit, would You please make us disciples? We confess we have often been more sugar than salt. Father, please make us salt. Help us to be attentive and learn from Your Son Jesus. Father, please make us what we need to be, to do what You call us to do, for Your glory, until Jesus returns. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
[1] For the gospel see John 3:16; Romans 3-5; Ephesians 2:1-10; Titus 3:4-7
[2] See 1 Corinthians 15:10; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 5:14-21; and Philippians 2:12-13
[3] Studd, C. T. (Charles Thomas). The Chocolate Soldier Or, Heroism—The Lost Chord of Christianity. Kindle Edition. https://www.amazon.com/Chocolate-Soldier-C-T-Studd/dp/1478151064
[4] Greg Laurie, Discipleship: The Next Step In Following Jesus (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Pub.) 1993. p. 85-86.
[5] Chuck Smith, Ibid.
[6] http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/w/witnessing.htm