Title: Salt of the World / Matthew 5:13
Content 1. Words that begin
Today is the 16th 'Laity Sunday' in our Methodist Church. Lay Sunday was instituted so that all Methodists could give thanks for the joy of salvation and contribute to the growth and development of the church to which they belong, as well as play a role in social sanctification and evangelism. The theme of the Laity Sunday in 1994 is 'conversion and social salvation'. So, while praying and pondering, I decided to preach on Matthew 5:13. This is because the first words of Jesus when he said, “You are the salt of the world,” clearly express the essence, characteristics, position, and mission of the believer.
2. The usefulness of salt
Jesus referred to us believers as salt. There are many beautiful peacocks, majestic lions, fine perfumes, colorful jewels, and other expensive things. Why would you compare them to salt, which has neither shape nor fragrance nor is it expensive? There is a very deep meaning to this. In the Old Testament and ancient writings, when referring to the most useful thing, it is compared to salt. Pliny said, "There is nothing more useful than salt and the sun." Based on those expressions, the biblical commentator Bengel said, "Salt and light are natural, essential, and most widely used."
The usefulness of salt, as we know it, is to prevent spoilage, to purify, to flavor food, to act as an antidote, and to serve as a nutrient for maintaining life. Because of this usefulness of salt, there is a saying that "a pinch of salt is as important as a man's life."
Because salt was so useful and important, it was used as a sacrifice to God in Old Testament times and also as a sign of covenant. Also, salt was the mark of the highest respect, so eating the salt given by the king was evidence of great trust. And eating salt and bread together was a sign of alliance.
But to our surprise, our Lord said, "You are the salt of the world," referring to us who have His Spirit.
Everyone, I hope that you will be as useful and important as salt to all people in the world who are living different lives in all fields.
If we are salt, our Lord is the salty taste that makes salt salt. I hope that you will be filled with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Lord, by praying hard, reading or hearing the Word, and obeying it.
3. Salted of salt
No matter how useful and important salt is, it is of no use if it is left alone. There is a proverb that it is salty if you add salt from the stove. Even a person who is more precious than the world can be criticized by saying, "Is that a person too?" Much less, if we, the salts of the people of the world, do not play a useful and important role and mission for their upright life and eternal life, it can be a really big problem.
Jonathan Swift, who became famous for writing "Gulliver's Travels," was asked by a middle-aged woman. "I look in the mirror every morning and am amazed at how beautiful I am. Isn't it a sin to feel that I am beautiful like this?" In response to this woman's question, he spoke in a clear tone. "Madam, I'm sorry! That would be a misunderstanding, not a sin."
Ladies and gentlemen, it is not a sin to brag about the fact that you have the taste of salt, that is, that you have the Spirit of the Lord, and that you have all kinds of spiritual gifts and powers as if you were a great being different from unbelievers, but you are clearly misunderstanding something. . It is not a sin to boast of a huge and beautiful temple building, a lot of donations, and a large number of members, but something is misunderstood. Salt by itself is not great. It has neither shape nor glamor nor fragrance. This is the meaning of the Lord comparing us believers to salt. In other words, we are nothing. No, it is God's grace that we believed in the Lord, that we were saved, that we received the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Lord, and that we received gifts, powers, and blessings.
If so, what is our Christianness, the saltiness of salt? The salting of salt is only possible by entering into something other than necessarily itself. The meaning of salt is revealed only when it is necessarily mixed with other things. So, the Lord did not simply say, 'You are the salt,' but He said, "The salt of the world." From the Lord's words, "the salt of the world," we can see that the Lord cares and loves a world where sin and injustice prevail. Everyone, I hope you will fulfill the role of salt for the church as well as the world according to this Lord's will.
We believers must dive into every field of the world, including politics, economy, society, and culture. And like salt, we must prevent corruption with the power of the Lord, sanctify according to the indwelling Holy Spirit, give life to those who have lost the meaning of life, and lead people from the world on the path of death to eternal heaven.
In order for salt to become salt, for salt to function as salt, it must dissolve itself for something else. Salt is not needed for itself, but only for other things. So the highest glory of salt is that it melts away for something else. Please believe that the reason and value of existence of a member or church is right here.
What is the death of our Lord on the cross? Is it for the Lord Himself? Isn't it a sin offering and a propitiation sacrifice for all mankind, who deserve to be destroyed because they committed iniquity? Isn't death the gift of eternal life? Isn't that why God raised the Lord from the dead and seated Him at His right hand?
On February 20, 1994, Missionary Amu-gae Jang was sent to the Indian region of Montana, USA, and after achieving remarkable results, he returned temporarily to Korea after one year, and read the mission report from the church that sent him. It was no easy task to preach the gospel to Native American Reservation Indians, who were deprived of their land and business by the white people, frustrated, and full of adultery, drugs, alcoholism and hatred. While crossing the road, Indians used to threaten them by sharpening knives or pointing their guns, and there were many traffic accidents such as overturning of cars, but God protected them from damaging a single hair.
One day, around 10 am, when the door was opened to clean the front of the church, a large number of Indian demons came in and encamped around the missionaries, chanting spells and singing. I was so surprised that I wondered if it was an optical illusion, but it was clearly visible. I got goosebumps and closed the door and kept fighting with those demons in prayer for a week, completely deprived of food and drink. In the end, exhausted, he held up the podium and prayed, "I would rather be killed by the evil spirits, please God." Then, suddenly, the ceiling of the church opened, and God's army came down like thunder and lightning from heaven, guarding all parts of the church and escorting them, saying, "We have come to protect you. Look at that!" was to do. I saw that the angels of the Lord were flying and drove away all the evil spirits.
4. Conclusion
Everyone! You must never become a church member like salt that has lost its taste. I hope that all of us recognize the reason for our existence as members of the church like salt in the Lord at home, at church, at work, and in the world, and exercise the same value of existence as salt.