Sunday Recap On A Tuesday...

On Tuesday's I hope to post some thoughts from the lesson that was previously taught at Merge the Sunday before...

Series: You Say You Want A Revolution
Lesson: Salt and Light
Text: Matthew 5:13-16

Some Thoughts:
---The past two weeks we have been focusing on a section of the sermon entitled "The Beatitudes" which are a collection of promises made to those who choose to pursue God's way of living.


---In this lesson we will be wrestling with one of the most famous sections in this sermon and quite possibly one of the most recognizable things Jesus says about us.  He is going to teach that the character produced by living the Beatitudes will have an effect in the influence and responsibility we have with others.  


v.13
---The main use for salt in Jesus' day was as a preserver to keep meat from going bad as quickly.  


---To better understand our role as salt we must be honest with ourselves when it comes to the world around us.  As much as it may pain us to say it, this world is decaying because of sin.  (see Ephesians 2:1-3)


---Jesus says, YOU ARE THE SALT OF THE EARTH, meaning that you (as salt) are to arrest or at least hinder the process of the decay going on around you.  For this to happen we have to be active in this world.  As one commentator puts it, "We have no business hiding in the salt cellars of the church."


---I find it interesting when society does go bad, we Christians tend to throw up our hands in disgust and complain about the world for acting like the world; but shouldn't we more accurately complain about ourselves for not doing what we have been created to do?  One can hardly blame unsalted meat for going bad.  That is what it is designed to do.  It can't do anything else without a miracle.  The real question is: where is the salt?


---Salt is a very stable compound but it's effectiveness is conditional, meaning it can become tasteless when it is contaminated by dirt, sand and other impurities.


Two common errors we make in regards to salt:
1.  We think the world can eventually become good and maybe even perfect if it will just act more Christian.


---The world doesn't need Christian morals.  The world needs Jesus.  Our mission is to ferociously reflect Jesus in hopes others would find the hope that is only available in Him.


2.  Because the world is rotten, Christians should disassociate from it.


---The salt never did any good when it was sitting on one shelf and the meat on another.  To be effective, the salt has to be rubbed into the meat.  In a similar way, Christian must allow God to rub them into the world.  


v14-15
---The first clear implication is that that the world is in darkness where spiritual things are concerned.  The tragedy of this is that scripture says that men actually prefer the darkness.


---I think men choose the darkness mainly because they know how the darkness works.  I have heard it illustrated like choosing to play in mud pits when you could have an incredible vacation at sea. Or choosing to eat mud pies when you could have fajitas.


---It saddens me when I think about how dark it is in this world when so many of us Christians do little more than shine our lights for each other.  We use our light as a perimeter and not a beacon keeping people out  because they "mess up the group picture".  


---Some ways we hid our light (from LIFE APPLICATION Study Bible)
1.  Being quiet when we should speak
2.  Going along with the crowd
3.  Denying the light
4.  Letting sin dim our light
5.  Not explaining our light to others
6.  Ignoring the needs of others


v.16
---Where we have a hard time doing this is because we like the idea that our good deeds will be noticed.  We just prefer that it stopped there.  We want the credit.  


Some Light Observations:
1.  We are not light generating, we are light reflecting.
***2 Corinthians 3:18


2.  Our light should be visible to others.


3.  Our light should be helpful to others.


4.  The best place for a light is in a dark place.


Heart and Soul,
BAG
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