13. "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
14. "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
15. "Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck-measure, but on the lamp stand; and it gives light to all who are in the house.
16. "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
The apostle Paul also states that we are to be lights before the world.
14. Do all things without grumbling or disputing;
15. that you may prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,
16. holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may have cause to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.
To state it plain and simple, if you claim the name of Christ, the world is watching you. Does your life mirror the teachings of Jesus, or do you look more like the lost world around you? You are either bringing glory to God by your life and conduct, or causing His name to be blasphemed. How quickly our salt can lose its ability to season the world around us by compromising with the ways of this same world.
At what point is a Christian's testimony ruined beyond repair because of sin? This is a question that we should all ponder. I understand God's forgiveness and grace, but yet we can lose our credibility before a world that sees no difference between us and them.
When the world views us they should see Jesus. We should be kind-hearted, compassionate, humble, treating others as we would have them treat us. I could go on, but you get what I mean. Pride, arrogance, anger, hatred, and selfishness are the ways of the world that we have been saved out of. These we must put off.
James warns us,
You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
A similar passage is found in 1 John 2:15-17. Again we find that we cannot have worldly pursuits and represent Jesus at the same time. The two are incompatible.
15. Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
17. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever.
And we read this in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18,
14. Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?
15. Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?
16. Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, "I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17. "Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate," says the Lord. "And do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you.
18. And I will be a Father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me." Says the Lord Almighty.
When we as Christians align ourselves with unbelievers we are forming unions between two completely opposite things. It cannot work. We as followers of Christ cannot "touch what is unclean" and expect to remain clean ourselves (see Haggai 2:12-14). And even worse, we are dragging Jesus into our sin, our partnership with unrighteousness, our fellowship with unbelievers.The world, as a result sees a different Jesus, a Jesus who looks completely different than the Jesus portrayed in Scripture. His name is reproached.
Instead of conformity to the ways of a corrupt world, we must maintain our separation from it. We are in it, but not meant to be of it. Our mission is not to fix it, but to represent Christ to it. It is His kingdom we are to build, one soul at a time.
True Christians obey Jesus. They allow His teachings to shape their life. In fact they are being transformed into the image of Christ, more and more each passing day. This, and only this, is what it means to be salt and light.
(Scripture quoted taken from the New American Standard Bible 1977 text)
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