Sermons in English
You Are Salt and Light · Resources
Matthew 5:13-16
Summary
Kent Keller asks whether we have let our faith become privately engaging but culturally irrelevant. Jesus' words in Matthew 5 are a statement, not an assignment — you already are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. The rest of the morning is a tour of what the risen Christ has actually done in the world, from the calendar on your wall to the abolitionists, the Red Cross, and modern science, medicine and education.
Sermon Outline
- 1
Privately Engaging, Culturally Irrelevant ▶ 0:00
Oz Guinness imagined an underground network trying to bring down the church by convincing Christians their faith is a private matter. Kent asks whether it worked.
- 2
Reading: Matthew 5:13-16 ▶ 1:51
You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
- 3
Christ Is Risen. Now What? ▶ 4:10
Holy Week happened, and the evidence for the resurrection holds. The question this morning is what that resurrection means for the world at large.
- 4
Salt Preserves, and Salt Seasons ▶ 6:40
Before refrigeration, salt kept precious food from spoiling. Christians are agents of preservation — but salt also makes food taste better, and we are not called to be the people who only say no.
- 5
Indicative, Not Imperative — "Live the Life" ▶ 8:03
The verb mood matters: Jesus is not commanding you to go be salt and light, he is telling you what you are. Now take it home, to work, to the classroom, to social media, and onto the road in Miami.
- 6
They Criticized Him for What He Did Do ▶ 9:31
The Pharisees' complaint was rarely about what Jesus left undone. He ate with tax collectors, healed on the Sabbath, forgave sins — and rocked the boat. We are called to do that too.
- 7
"The World Would Be Better Off Without Religion" ▶ 10:50
People say it out loud. Kent takes the claim seriously enough to test it against the record.
- 8
Imagine ▶ 12:07
The song asks you to picture no heaven, no hell, no religion. The last century already ran that experiment — Soviet Russia, Nazi Germany, Mao's China, North Korea, Cuba — and over a hundred million people died under rulers who believed they would answer to no one.
- 9
If Jesus Had Never Risen ▶ 16:31
No Christian church, no reason to gather on a Sunday, and a calendar that hinges on someone else's birth. Jesus would be one more rabbi whose works nobody is studying this week.
- 10
The Red Cross and the Abolitionists ▶ 20:12
A Swiss Christian rode past the battlefield at Solferino and could not leave it alone. Committed Christians in Britain and America spent decades ending the slave trade. Where the gospel goes, human dignity advances.
- 11
Science, Medicine, and Literacy ▶ 21:56
Modern science grew where people believed an orderly God made an orderly world his image bearers could understand. Hospitals follow the example of a healer, and public schools began so ordinary people could read the Bible for themselves.
- 12
Napoleon's Verdict ▶ 34:00
Alexander, Caesar and Charlemagne founded empires on force. Kent closes with the emperor's own confession that Jesus alone founded his empire on love.
Key Points
- A faith that is privately engaging but culturally and socially irrelevant is not the faith Jesus handed us.
- "You are the salt of the earth" is indicative, not imperative. Jesus is not assigning you a job; he is telling you what you already are. Now be who you are.
- Salt preserves what is good and salt seasons. Christians are not meant to be the people who only announce what they are against.
- Jesus' critics attacked him mostly for what he did do — eating with the wrong people, healing on the Sabbath, forgiving sins. Following him means being willing to rock the boat the same way.
- You do not have to imagine a world without religion. The last century ran the experiment, and over a hundred million people died under rulers who believed there was no one above them.
- Without the resurrection there is no church, no Western calendar, no Red Cross, no abolition movement, and no modern science, medicine or public education as we know them.
- Christians are called to be charitable themselves. Nothing in scripture suggests outsourcing our compassion to the government.
Quotable Moments
“Have we allowed our faith to become privately engaging but socially and culturally irrelevant? If so, that's not the faith Jesus gave to us.” ▶ 1:38
“He's not saying you must be the light. He's saying you are the light of the world. Now, go out there and shine. Be who you are.” ▶ 9:00
“That's what a world without religion looks like. That's what a world without Christianity looks like.” ▶ 16:23
“And the truth is, throughout history, wherever there's suffering, wherever there's injustice, wherever there's slavery, the gospel goes and people are uplifted and their rights are advanced.” ▶ 20:51
“There's nothing in the Bible that suggests that we outsource our compassion to the all-knowing, all-wise, all-seeing, all-compassionate government.” ▶ 28:41
Scripture
Matthew 5:13-20 (ESV)
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Take It With You
- You don't have to become salt and light. You already are — the only question is whether you will live like it.
- Take what happens in the house of worship into your house, your work site, your classroom, your feed. Live the life.
- Season the culture, don't just preserve it. Make the room better, not only safer.
- Compassion is your assignment, not an agency's. Extend your own hand.
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Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.