5 Ways You Can Make a Difference to Change the World!

The text in Matthew 5:13-14 is preceded by Jesus’ famous teaching in the Beatitudes. There, he describes how to become a Christian and the characteristics of a true Christian. It is these people who are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Not anyone, specifically these followers of his, who are the global moral preservatives and global spiritual illuminators. So, if you want your life to count for something, if you want to make a real and substantive difference, the first step is wholeheartedly and unreservedly to give your life to give your life to Jesus. 

“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden." - Matthew 5: 13-14

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It’s very easy in our days of political correctness to keep our light under a bowl. Certainly, prudence is sensible. Jesus also tells his followers to be shrewd (Matthew 10:16). A whole book of the Bible is devoted to the importance of wisdom (the book of Proverbs). There is seldom any advantage to be gained for acting in foolhardy and unnecessarily risky ways. But, that said, it is a temptation for many of us – when speaking out on simple Biblical truths can get us into hot water – to hide. Will we say that Jesus is the and the only way to be saved? We will tell people that we go to church? We will bring up our children to follow the Bible’s teaching on sexual ethics? We will avoid the petty larceny and unethical behavior that goes on behind the scenes in many businesses? We will duck when the next chance comes to speak out, or will we actually say something?

“Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves." - Matthew 10:16

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Here, in many ways, the church has missed the boat. We have spent 30-plus years telling Christians that we need to be more up-to-date. Granted, I’ll be the first to say that there is nothing spiritual about having out-of-date décor, worship that is not excellent, or organizational practices that are not stellar. In that sense, there is a lot to be learned from all sorts of other leaders and organizations. However, the church has not recently emphasized distinctiveness. What attracts people to church is not that we are the same as everything else but that we are different from it. Salt will not be salty if it is corrupted by morally tarnished attitudes, doctrines drawn from current philosophies, not from the Bible, and spiritually pluralistic tendencies. That kind of salt is not really good for anything. It will need to be thrown on the trash heap. Let us not be like that! Stay distinct. 

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The one institution that will last for eternity is the church. This (the local church) is the “city on a hill [which] cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14). It’s this great insight that drove the famous Augustine to write “The City of God.” Essentially, his argument throughout his magnum opus was that the church (not Rome) was the city – it was the city of God. As the Roman Empire crumbled and weakened, as that city became evidently weak, so Augustine wrote to persuade his readers that the city in which they should invest their lives was the city of God, that is, the church. This, of course, is also the lesson of Noah in the Old Testament. As God brings his judgment to the world, Noah is told to build a boat to be a rescue agent for his family and creation. What is the New Testament equivalent? The church! That’s why medieval cathedrals are built like upturned boats. So, with our lives, our time, and finances, invest not in any kind of “city” (or polis, using the Latin name for the city) but in the city of God, the church!

“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden." - Matthew 5:14

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The emphasis on moral performance is one that gives shivers up the spine to some Protestants/evangelicals because of the wrong theology of good works that the Reformation reacted against. No, good works will not save us. But, as the apostle Paul emphasizes in his letter to Titus, we are to be active in doing good. Jesus tells us that as our light shines, they will “see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” In a day when many think that Christianity is bad news and filled with bad actors, it is imperative that we continue to be zealous for good works. To care for the orphan. To stand up for the unborn. To love all regardless of creed, race, or class. This is how the ancient church, in the end, won over the Roman Empire: they matched their message (the “light,” if you will) with their lifestyle (the “salt”). It became obvious that the citizens you most wanted in your city were those who did such good works. More and more people have turned to follow Christ and, therefore, have given God glory. 

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