Sermon Tone Analysis

The Kingdom Citizen in the World

marks a movement in the text from a contemplation of the character of the kingdom citizen to a contemplation of the how the citizen interacts with the world around them.

1.

How are we intended to manifest the spiritual attributes of the beatitudes in the physical world we inhabit?

This section answers the question how do we manifest the spiritual attributes found in the beatitudes while inhabiting this physical world.

The counter-cultural message of the sermon is not a call to withdraw from society, rather it is a call to impact society in a manner that demonstrates the reality of the kingdom.

The counter-cultural message of the sermon is not a call to withdraw from society, rather it is a call to impact society in a manner that demonstrates the reality of the kingdom

The kingdom citizen is called on to exert influence on the world around him, and as a result to become a blessing to those he comes in contact with.

Instead we see that the Kingdom Citi

We will see that this influence is exerted as the citizen acts as an agent of redemption working to stave off the corruption that is in the world while guiding others to the salvation that Jesus alone offers.

To fail in this is to fail in a fundamental role that God has intended for us.

Being blessed by God (vs.

3-12) is never an end to itself, but a means to an end.

(Chumbley, pg.

89)

“You are the salt of the earth”

Critics point out that sodium chloride is a very stable substance that does not lose its essential qualities.

However, the ancients did not have access to the refined salt that we used today.

Jesus was likely referring to the white powdery substance that is found around the dead sea.

This compound contains a large amount of sodium chloride but it is mixed with other elements.

When Jesus speaks of such salt becoming “tasteless” or losing its “savour” (KJV), He used a word that literally meant “to become foolish” (BDAG, cf. ; ).

The intended idea is that the salt loses its saltiness, i.e. its ability to act like salt.

It becomes defiled.

This would be caused by either moisture causing the sodium chloride to dissolve leaving behind a worthless compound or by contamination of other substances that diluted the amount of actual salt.

Salt has three basic uses

2. What are the three basic uses of salt?

3. What conclusion can we draw about the world when we find that it needs to be salted?

Salt can be used as a preservative.

Salting meat can prevent decomposition allowing the meat to remain edible for long periods of time.

Salt was used in the ancient world as an antiseptic.

Salt kills many bacteria by drawing the water out causing cellular death.

Salt is used as a flavor enhancer.

This is effective because of the difference in taste between the salt and the food itself.

It is doubtful that Jesus had seasoning under consideration as the amount of salt used to preserve meat in ancient days left little need to add salt for flavor.

We would do better to concentrate on the preserving and antiseptic qualities of salt and how that might apply to our being in this world.

One implication we might take from verse 13 is the fact that the world is given to rot and decay.

Whatever good remains in our world today, remains only because of the influence God’s word and God’s people have had upon the culture around them.

4. Is it acceptable for the Christian to simply withdraw from the world?

With this in mind we see that the kingdom citizen is not at liberty to withdraw from the world.

Instead, he must work to arrest the moral decay that is taking place around him.

Worthless Salt

Salt was extremely valuable in the ancient world.

In some instances, it was traded ounce for ounce with gold.

Rome’s major highway was the Via Salaria, the Salt Road.

Smuggling salt was a capital offense in most countries.

“Those worth their salt were paid a salary.

That word comes from salarium, money paid to soldiers to buy salt” (Chumbley, The Gospel of Matthew pg.

90).

“Those worth their salt were paid a salary.

That word comes from salarium, money paid to soldiers to buy salt” (Chumbley, The Gospel of Matthew pg.

90).

The picture Jesus paints of salt being thrown onto the road would be a very uncomfortable one to an ancient audience.

"no longer good for anything..."

Any other food having become insipid or beginning to decay can have salt added to it and once again be valuable as food.

However, if salt loses its saltiness is has no value whatsoever.

The figure of being thrown out emphasizes this.

Jesus is not saying at least we can pave the road, He is saying we have no value at all.

The ancient salt referred to here was known to destroy the ground even if all the actual salt had leached out.

The only place it could be disposed of without causing harm to the land itself was the road where no vegetation was desired.

Jesus is not saying at least the defiled salt can pave the road, He is saying that such salt has no value at all.

You are the Light of the World

5. What similarities between salt and light is Jesus using to teach on the responsibility of the kingdom citizen?

Ancient cities were often built on top of hills for defensive reasons.

As a result, they were visible for miles especially during the night when any light would stand out clearly from the darkness.

Like salt, light is valuable because it is different from the darkness.

Jesus is the true light ().

He is the source.

We are only capable of serving as light when we reflect His character which is the character described in the beatitudes.

Hiding our light

We are only capable of serving as light when we reflect His character which is the character described in the beatitudes

6. Can we truly possess the character of the kingdom citizen if we do not accept the responsibility of kingdom citizenship?

Here again, Jesus uses the discomfort caused by waste to emphasize his point.

Ancient lights burned valuable oil.

It would be hard to imagine a situation in the poverty of the ancient world where one would light a lamp and then hide the light.

This would be worse than useless, it would be wasteful of a valuable resource.

Jesus’s point is clear, there is no value in developing the character of the kingdom citizen if we will not accept the responsibility of kingdom citizenship.

Matthew has made the evangelistic nature of the kingdom clear in chapter 4.

- Jesus proclaims, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

- Jesus calls disciples to become “fishers of men”

- Jesus went “throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom”

Living as salt and light

There is a fundamental difference between Christians and non-Christians, between the church and the world

7. What would cause a kingdom citizen to become “no longer good for anything”?

When we lose our distinctiveness by becoming more like the world around us we become defiled and “no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot.”

This principle is seen throughout the New Testament.

- We are to be a “peculiar people” (KJV), or a “people for God’s own possession.”

We are to accomplish this by standing out as “aliens and strangers” (vs.

11).

- We are to follow the example of men like Paul who sought the mind of Christ above all things.

In doing this, we will be distinct from those who “set their minds on earthly things.”

This is an expression of our true citizenship which is in heaven.

(cf. )

John R. W. Stott and John R. W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount (): Christian Counter-Culture, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 63.

This theme is basic to the Sermon on the Mount.

The Sermon is built on the assumption that Christians are different, and it issues a call to us to be different.

Probably the greatest tragedy of the church throughout its long and chequered history has been its constant tendency to conform to the prevailing culture instead of developing a Christian counter-culture (John R. W. Stott and John R. W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount (): Christian Counter-Culture, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 63.)

The kingdom citizen must do “good works” from a selfless motivation.

The work of the church in this physical realm is to glorify God, not to make our society more to our liking.

Any social benefit that might arise from our good works is a secondary effect of God’s grace.

This should be obvious from verse 10-12 and the realization that hungering and thirsting for righteousness most often leads to persecution.

We must accept the responsibility which this distinction puts upon us

Both verse 13 and verse 14 begins with the emphatic pronoun “you.”

There is no way to avoid the responsibility seen here as belonging to each citizen of the kingdom.