God had chosen the nation of Israel to be the people through whom He would bring the promised Messiah. But He also wanted them to be a nation of priests and prophets who pointed others to the one true God. They were to be His missionary nation.
They not only failed to be His light to the world but instead followed the pagan nations around them into darkness. Now they were faced with His judgment.
Today it’s us, the church, who are to be salt and light. It won’t always be easy. Salt sometimes stings and darkness doesn’t like the light, but both are desperately needed. Will we be children of light or be swallowed up by the darkness?
Today’s Readings:
Ezekiel 15 & 16
Psalm 123.1-4
Proverbs 28.20
Hebrews 8.1-13
Will We Be Salt and Light or Be Swallowed Up by the Darkness?
Ezekiel 15 & 16:
Fruit, Salt and Light
In chapter 15 of Ezekiel, the nation of Israel is pictured as a fruitless vine. While the wood from fruitless trees is useful for building and other purposes, vines that are unfruitful are useless except to be burned in the fire. The nation of Israel had failed miserably concerning God’s purpose for them.
They were to be a light in the darkness, His missionaries to those around them. Instead, they followed their pagan neighbors into darkness by worshiping false gods and committing all kinds of vile acts. Now they were faced with His judgment.
The Church Now Salt and Light
Today that privilege and responsibility belong to the church. Jesus said in Matthew 5:
13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
And in verse 14:
14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Our nation and our world, more than ever, need believers who will be salt and light. It won’t be easy. Darkness doesn’t like the light and salt sometimes stings, but both are desperately needed.
Salt as a Preservative
Salt acts as a preservative. It keeps food and, in this case, society from rotting or at least slows the process. You don’t have to watch much news to know that the culture around us is rotting.
We must not be intimidated into silence or embarrassed by the truths of God’s Word. Instead, we must speak the truth in love (Eph. 4.14-15), humbly correcting “those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will” (2 Tim. 2.25-26).
Only God Can Change a Heart
Left alone, darkness will only lead to more darkness: more anger, more hate, more crime, and more evil (Rom. 6.19). While God uses laws to help restrain evil (Rom. 13.1-7), laws alone will never change hearts. Only God and His Word can do that.
But He has called us to be part of that process by sharing the gospel with those around us (Matt. 28.19-20).
Paul said:
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith” (Rom. 1.16-17).
Sharing the gospel is more than just behaving like a Christian, although that is important. It’s more than simply inviting someone to church or sharing our testimony. It’s helping people understand that they are lost and deserving of death and eternal separation from God. And it’s pointing them to the only answer, repentance and faith in Christ.
So how can you and I be better prepared to share the gospel?
Sharing the Gospel
Sometimes the hardest part is initiating a conversation. I’ll link a 3-minute video at the bottom of this post that can help you learn to initiate a conversation about spiritual things.
But it’s not enough to just have a conversation about spiritual things, we must eventually get to the gospel itself.
Paul Carter on the Gospel Coalition Canada website said this:
Most of us prefer to warm up to such things. Most of us would rather share the Gospel gradually, in snips and bits, over an extended period, within a safe and stable relational context.
In general, I think that is a reasonable way to go, but there are also times when we need to be able to at least introduce the Gospel in a limited amount of time.
Could you do that?
And do you eventually get to the gospel when you have more time? Or do you just keep hinting at it?
If not, you might want to read Pastor Carter’s short post entitled, “Sharing the Gospel in 3 Minutes or Less.”
Reading the Bible One on One
Another way to be salt and light, whether to evangelize or disciple another believer, is to study the Bible one-on-one. If the other person is an unbeliever, you might go through the book of John. Or if he or she is a follower of Christ, you might study the book of Acts or one of the epistles.
For more on this subject, you might invest in this short book, One to One Bible Reading by David Helm.
Other Ways to Be Salt & Light
You can go through a theologically sound book together. Read a chapter a week and meet over lunch or coffee to discuss what you learned.
But one of the best ways is to go through a discipleship book together.
My husband and I created one some years ago and it has been used successfully hundreds of times. There is both a student and leader version. If you’d like to know more you can check it out here.
What about you? Is God calling you to be salt and light in a more purposeful way? This world desperately needs more of God and His Word. May He use our imperfect attempts to do that in His perfect way.
Today’s Other Readings:
Psalm 123.1-4:
Looking to the Lord
Psalm 123.2 is a picture of complete dependence on God:
Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, until He has mercy on us.
Proverbs 28.20:
He Who Hastens to Be Rich
A faithful man will abound with blessings, but he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished (v. 20).
Faithfulness in living brings not just financial blessings, but more importantly, the blessings and provision of God. But when a person focuses on having more and more financially and materially, he or she will cut corners and justify all kinds of sinful behavior, perhaps not outright theft or deceit, but often the neglect of other God-given responsibilities and priorities.
Hebrews 8.1-13:
Our Great High Priest
As I’ve commented before, Hebrews is a study in comparison. The writer compares, among other things, two priesthoods—the human priesthood under the Levitical system and the priesthood of Christ, our eternal, holy High Priest.
Now this is the main point of the things we are saying. We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man (8.1-2).
“We have such a High Priest”! One “who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens …” All power on heaven and earth is His! And He is the One who ever lives to make intercession for us (7.25), the One whose throne we can approach with confidence, who sympathizes with our weaknesses, who we can approach boldly and where we will find grace to help in time of need (4.14-16).
What a truly awesome salvation He has provided!
Coming Up:
In the next few days, we’ll discuss generational sin, a slippery spiritual path, playing spiritual games, and whether church attendance is necessary or optional.
I hope you’ll sign up so you don’t miss any of them. You might also like to check out our YouTube channel.
If this post spoke to you, I would love it if you would share it on your favorite social media platform.
Blessings as you grow in Christ,
Donna ♥
Note about this post:
I began blogging through the Bible in 2012 and have done so every year since then. These posts are the product of many edits and additions throughout those years. Some days I make major changes, other days fewer.
A while ago, I read Jen Wilkin’s book None Like Him about the attributes of God. One is His incomprehensibility. In it, she says, “God is incomprehensible. This does not mean that he is unknowable, but that he is unable to be fully known.”
I have found that to be true each year as I’ve gone back through the Bible. Sometimes I find myself feeling as if a passage just appeared there for the first time. I’m reminded that no matter how many times we read through the Bible, we have only scratched the surface. I hope you feel the same.
Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?” (Job 26.14)
Leave a Reply
Your email is safe with us.