Salt and Light

by Skip Heitzig | May 16, 2025

I've always loved how Jesus used simple illustrations to get a point across. As we like to say, He put the cookies on the bottom shelf. He was really good at just getting it down to where everybody could understand what He meant.

In Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus taught a sermon on kingdom living, and He used two things from the natural world, salt and light, to give us analogies about the world itself and how we as believers live in it. By using the term salt, Jesus implied that the world is decayed. In ancient times, salt was used to stop meat from getting rotten. "You are the salt of the earth" (v. 13) means you stop the corruption in the world around you.

"You are the light of the world" (v. 14) implies the world is in darkness. Go back two thousand years ago. There was no electricity then. Nowadays, nighttime doesn't change much for us; we have well-lit homes. Back then, when it got dark, everything stopped. Jesus' implication in this statement is a biblical worldview: the world is corrupt and dark.

I'm painting this bleak picture because the conditions are perfect for salt and light to have maximum impact. The darker the night, the brighter the light. This is where we come in. This is our commission: "You are the salt of the earth…. You are the light of the world…. Let your light so shine before men" (vv. 13-14, 16). That statement should cause you to realize how remarkable it is to be a Christian.

Jesus was saying, "Yes, the world is dark, but I have a plan—and you're it. My plan is you." That should make you feel important. It should make you feel valuable. But what does this mean practically? How can we make a difference?

1. We disinfect the world. Just like salt stops corruption, Christians are to be a moral disinfectant, a spiritual preservative, to stop spoilage in this world.

2. We add flavor. Salt enhances the flavor of our food. Like food, life can be flat, boring, and empty. But when the world sees a person with real joy, purpose, peace, and confidence—flavor, if you will—they are attracted.

3. We create a thirst. Salt creates thirst, a craving for water. Likewise, this world is spiritually dehydrated. Live such a full Christian life that when others see your life, theirs seems flat, tasteless, and empty.

4. We dispel darkness and show the way out. Metaphorically and scripturally, darkness is spiritual ignorance, evil, and sin. Light speaks of truth. Peter said that God "called [us] out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9).

Now, you might be wondering, Didn't Jesus say that He is the light of the world? (See John 8:12; 9:5.) So why does He say that we are? Think of the sun and moon. Jesus is the sun; light emanates from Him. We are the moon; we reflect that light to others. That's what He meant when He said, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (v. 16).

Let your good works become the billboard by which you advertise your Christianity. Others will see your life and become thirsty for what you have as you glorify your Father in heaven. This is our greatest moment. Rub the salt in the decay. Turn on the light in the coffee shop, at the grocery store, at the community center. Dispel the darkness. Show people the way out of darkness—and into the light.

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