October 2, 2023

As we have gone through this recent series on “The Christian & Civil Disobedience,” several people have asked the question “What can we do to help the government today?” Obviously, the Bible tells us that the church and state are separate. They are not the same thing but does that imply that the church should do nothing to impact the world around us?

No because, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives us some very clear instructions on how the church can help change the culture. Matthew 5:13-16 says:

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

This passage is a good reminder of what it means to be a Christian because Jesus does not say that you will become “the salt of the earth” but you already are “the salt of the earth.” He is not telling you that you will serve as the light some day but you are already doing so now. In other words, it is not your calling to run away from the culture but to put salt and light in it.

In fact, the picture of salt here is a very good one because salt was one of the most precious commodities in the ancient world. It was used in order to provide:

• taste for your diet
• preservation for your food
• antiseptic for your wounds
• herbicide for a field that was overgrown with weeds

Jesus said that His followers would have a similar impact on society because they would influence it for good. They would remind a lost and dying world that the Gospel is real.

I mention this because some Christians get this backwards today. They believe that they should abandon the world because it is so bad. They think that Jesus wants them to flee from the lost culture in order to go somewhere that is safe. However, that is not what our Lord told us to do in this passage. As He was preaching to a group of Jews who lived in the wicked Roman Empire, Jesus reminds them that God was calling them to let their light shine among the darkness around them so they could be used by God to save some people out of it which is what we are going to talk about this week at Grace Fellowship Church.

This Sunday, I am going to give one of our last sermons on the subject of the government in order to help you see what you can do to make a difference in it. You need to remember that you are the salt of the earth which implies that you will be an influence in the world around you because that is what salt does. The whole point of salt is that people taste it and feel its impact.

So that, if you go to work, people need to feel your impact at work.

If you go to the store, people need to feel your impact at the store.

If you go to the bank, people need to feel your impact at the bank.

If you go to the office, people need to feel your impact at the office so that they can watch you and be saved. It needs to occur so that they can see how you live and look to the cross in order to be forgiven of their sins because that is how Jesus changes the world.

Please join us as we talk about that this weekend at Grace. The service will begin at 9:30 and the sermon will be recorded and placed on our You Tube Channel afterwards for all those who cannot make it in person.

- Jeremy Cagle