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THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
How are Christians the salt and light of the world? "You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world" (Matthew 5:13-14) Jesus Christ spent three years teaching before giving His life on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin and save those who would repent and follow Him - those referred to in Scripture as “His sheep". During that time, Jesus revealed who He was through His miracles and perfect obedience to God. He was revealed as and proved to be the Son of God and God in the flesh. What He taught revolved around exposing sinfulness and explaining how God commands us to live. The terms “salt” and “light” are first descriptions of Jesus and also those who truly follow Him. The Scripture teaches when a person truly believes in Jesus, they begin turning away from their sin and obeying His teachings. This is known as repentance, and it is the work of the Holy Spirit in the Christian’s life. The person that obeys habitually is the one whose eyes have been opened to his sinfulness and his hopelessness. This draws him to the incredible offer of forgiveness that Jesus’ death provides and His promise of eternal life in Heaven. He or she trusts in Him and begins to separate themselves from evil and obey Jesus in a serious and deliberate manner. This reflects the new life described in Scripture. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come,” and Ephesians 4:24 says, “Put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Salt preserves and makes food taste good. Likewise the Christian’s new life is to be a blessing in society in contrast to the moral decay in our sin-infected world. Unlike the world, he or she is to be humble, faithful, caring, honest, sincere and pure. Their consistent desire to do good reveals the character of Jesus to the world. Light, in this passage, describes enabling one to see or understand. Those around us must not only hear our good words, but they must see our good works so that they may be convinced of the truth and excellency of Jesus and the Christian faith. Seeing Christ-likeness in us, they may be compelled to believe and imitate the good works God does through us and glorify God themselves. Like the positive effects of salt and light the Christian through his or her character and good works are to be a positive influence in the world. They become a guiding light to Jesus. Jesus said “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Do you have this wonderful light? Let your light shine! At Evangel we offer various bible studies by our Pastors and Elders to learn further how to come to Jesus and be salt and light. All are welcome! Colby Reeves - Evangel Member Evangel Church PCA 423 Thompson Rd. Alabaster, AL. 35007 205-664-0889 evangelchurchpca.org |
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