This sermon series on Jesus' Sermon on the Mount is about learning who we are, as children of God and followers of Jesus. In knowing who we are, we are enabled by God's grace to make godly decisions and know what to do to live God's Kingdom now.

 

Dr. Hendrik Kramer was a missionary in Indonesia for over 20 years.  When Dr. Kramer returned home to Holland, the Nazis were over-running his country and arresting Jews who lived there.  It was a very difficult time for him to come home.  Even Christians who resisted Hitler were being arrested and sent to labor camps.

 

Many Christians came to Dr. Kramer, pleading,  "Tell us what to do.  Our Jewish neighbors are being dragged out of their homes and off to the gas chambers.  And many of our own are hearing the knock of the Gestapo on the door at night.  Tell us, Herr Doctor, tell us what to do."

 

Kramer was silent for a long time and then said, "I cannot tell you what to do, but I can tell you who you are!"

 

This is what this sermon series will do for you and me - tell us who we are.  Then we will have to wrestle with what to do - how to live God's kingdom now.
Today's message is titled "Different by Nature and Purpose."  In Matthew 5:13 Jesus reveals who you are, "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?  It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men."

 

The main thrust of this verse is distinctiveness.  Salt is distinctively different from the thing on which it is placed.  It is different by nature and purpose.  It is the same with you as a follower of Jesus.  You are distinctively different by nature and purpose.  By nature you are a new creation, born of God in baptism and faith; by purpose you are to penetrate and change the world for God's good.  You are like salt.

 

Your character is salt.
You are called and designed to be like salt to the earth.  Jesus wants you to know several things about your new salty character.

 

Salt is distinctive.  It is totally different from the food or object upon which it is put.  The power of the salt lies in this difference.  You, as salt, are to be different from the way the world operates.  The power of your life lived for Jesus makes a difference and is distinctive in the world.

 

Salt preserves.  It keeps things from going bad and decaying.  It cleanses and disinfects.  You, as salt, are to cleanse and preserve the world.  You are to disinfect the world and keep it from going bad - save it from corruption.

 

Salt penetrates.  It inserts a new quality, substance and life.  It changes that upon which it is put.  You, as salt, are to penetrate the world and insert into it a new life.  A life living God's Kingdom, now.

 

Salt flavors.  It influences the taste of things.  It takes a bland, tasteless food and makes it tasteful.  You, as salt, are to flavor and influence the world for Jesus.  You are to live God's Kingdom now by living the fruit of the Spirit.  Paul said, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23a)

 

Salt is quiet.  It is visible, but it works silently.  It doesn't make any noise.  You, as salt, are to live God's Kingdom now quietly and peacefully, affecting those around you.

 

Salt spreads.  Its flavor spreads all over.  A sprinkle of salt has a widespread effect.  You, as salt, will have an effect on people and the world that is widespread.

 

Salt is unstoppable.  Once salt is applied it cannot be stopped.  You, as salt, have been given a commission, a testimony, a witness that cannot be stopped.  Your cry is "Jesus, is my Lord and Savior!"  It is your cry of victory now and into eternity.

 

As salt, you are to see the world - pay attention to the world and its people.  You are to see its needs, its turning bad, its decay and its corruption. 

 

It is as though the church is the salt factory and the world is the marketplace for the salt.  Too much salt is being stored and locked up in churches.  There is not enough salt being sent out into the marketplace.  The result?  The world is not being salted and flavored enough.  Your place, as salt, is to be in the world making a difference, living God's Kingdom, now.

 

Your mission is to salt the earth.
You are the salt of the earth, not of heaven.  You are called to penetrate the earth with the things of heaven.  Two things are necessary before you can salt the earth.

 

You must be salt yourself.  You must have the life of Jesus within you.  You must be a new creation by faith in Jesus.  Paul says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17)  The new you is the salt that God gives you to favor the earth.

 

You must spread out into the world.  As we, followers of Jesus, scatter throughout the world we salt it with His presence.  There are religions that attempt to do the same thing but only the salt of Jesus truly transforms persons and the world.  Until you know Jesus you don't know what real salt is.  Paul speaks of this mission when he says, "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." (Colossians 4:6)

 

Your danger is becoming useless and destructive.
In the time of Jesus the salt of Palestine was gathered in such a way that dirt and impurities were many times mixed in with it.  This made the salt useless.  In fact, it actually destroyed the fertility of the soil.  Therefore, it was useless and destructive.  As a follower of Jesus, seeking to live God's Kingdom, now, you face a significant danger.

 

You can compromise your witness to Jesus.  In other words, you can lose your flavor and saltiness and excitement and not live God's Kingdom now.  By not living your new creation you fail to salt other people's lives with Jesus and they may stumble into the world's dark side. 

 

This week one of the contestants on "American Idol" shared that she had never watched an "R" rated movie.  She also never drank or smoked.  The judges liked her singing and sent her on to Hollywood with Simon's comment, "We'll turn you to the dark side."  The world will try its best and will at times succeed.  But remember, that is not who you are.

 

You and I are the salt of the earth.  We are different by nature and purpose because we are God's children.  We are the ones who carry the Good News of Jesus to the world through our lives.  We are called to live God's Kingdom, now.  This is who we are and by God's grace we will know what to do.