You Are the Salt of the Earth

In Matthew 5:13 Jesus said the famous words, “You are the salt of the earth.” These words were a gut-wrenching indictment from Jesus to the people of Israel. God expected His people to be an influence for the goodness of God since the day he made a covenant with them when they came out of Egypt. God wanted His people to be a light to the nations around them, and to spread the influence of God’s kingdom everywhere they went. But somewhere along the way, the people became corrupt. They abused the goodness of God, and their light that was supposed to shine in the darkness, was put out.

These are the same people Jesus wrote to and said, “You are the salt of the earth...you are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13-14). Jesus wanted to remind the people of God that their lives should have been spreading the goodness of God’s kingdom all over the world. They should have been like salt that spreads its flavor everywhere it goes. They should have been like a light that brightens the darkness in a house. But they had lost their influence, and Jesus said compared them to salt that had lost its saltiness, and a light that had been put under a basket. They were not spreading the influence of God’s kingdom the way they needed to be.

You know, God still wants His people today to be spread His goodness the same way He expected Israel to back then. God expects you and I to permeate the world as salt spreads its flavor. He expects us to shine the light of God’s kingdom as a lamp in a dark room.

The question for us is, have we lost our saltiness? Are we like a lamp thats been put under a basket? We have been called to spread God’s kingdom influence all around us. Are you like salt adding the flavor of God’s kingdom in the world around you? Or like a light illuminating the darkness of the world?

Ask yourself this week what the people around you see. Do they someone who is oozing with the goodness of God? Do they see someone who is spreading love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self control? Are you being the salt of the earth, or have you lost your saltiness? God needs you to spread His goodness in the world around you.

"Do I have to attend a mid-week Bible Study?"

This is a question that I have heard people ask (not just here) many times. This question usually comes as a result of church leaders making Christians feel as if they are unfaithful to Jesus if they do not attend. I want to be careful how I answer this question because I don’t want to convey the wrong ideas.

The simple answer to the above question is “no.” The Bible doesn’t have a mandate for Christians to attend a mid-week Bible study. With that said, I do believe there is tremendous value to attending the mid- week Bible study. Here are a few things that come from our mid-week Bible studies:

1. Growing in our Knowledge.

Peter commanded the Christians in 2 Peter 3:18 to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” One of the greatest ways to carry out this verse is to sit in a room with other Christians, study the Bible, and discuss the things we read in the Bible. The setting of our mid-week studies enables us to dig much deeper into the Bible than in any other setting. It is truly a place to grow in our knowledge.

2. Encouragement.

It is no doubt that life can be challenging at times. One of the best remedies for that is to spend time with other Christians in the middle of the week. In Hebrews 10:25 the writer said, “not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another.” the point of this passage was to charge Christians to come together for the purpose of encouraging each other. Our mid-week studies are a place of mutual encouragement where we pray together, study together, and sing together.

3. Growing in our Faith.

This is the natural consequence of the first two things. The more a person learns about Jesus, the more that person’s faith in Him will grow. The more a Christian is surrounded by other Christians, the more their Godly influence will help that person to grow. Our mid- week study is a place to grow in your faith in Jesus as you learn about Him, and walk side by side with other faithful Christians.

To circle back to the question above: “Do I have to attend a mid-week Bible Study?” Again, the answer is no. However, when you see the benefits of attending, it should help us to at least consider attending if we can. I know how excited I am after a Sunday morning service. I believe the mid-week assembly can be just as exciting for those who attend. Will you join us on Wednesday nights to grow in our faith together?

-Kolton Ballance