You Are The Salt Of The Earth

This is the tenth and final post from Chapter 6 of Friends With God: The Gifts Of God

In previous posts in this series we have seen that one of the great blessings God has given us is the weekly day of rest, called the Sabbath, which simply means “rest”. In this post we will continue to consider our attitude to others who do or don’t rest on this day.

Being Light And Salt To The World

The temptation to self-righteousness is perhaps greatest at times when keeping the laws of God is not supported by society. We could therefore feel foolishly justified in condemning others, and praising ourselves, as was discussed in the previous post.

Obviously our righteousness should be a light to others of God’s way of life, not an opportunity for self-aggrandisement and condemnation of others. While the Pharisee of the parable in Luke 18:9-14 may have thought himself great for doing what he did, his ungraciousness toward the tax collector showed his own foolishness:

The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself. (Ecc 10:12)

Our attitude toward the unconverted, or those with less knowledge than us, or those who don’t obey the word of God as we think they should, demonstrates our degree of love for them.

Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, (outside the church) redeeming the time. (using our time wisely)
Let your speech be always be with grace (gracious, generous, merciful), seasoned with salt (that it be palatable to others), that you may know (understand) how you ought to answer every man. (Col 4:5-6)

We are to use the opportunity we have when we spend time with those not called by God. We are to be generous, kind and pleasant, so that they may glorify God, and desire to come to know him.

We have been given this knowledge of God in order to be salt to the world, that his truth may be palatable to others, but if our righteousness becomes self-righteousness, it’s of no value. Jesus warns those who know his truth:

You are the salt of the earth (all people in the world), but if the salt loses its savour (has no flavour, or preservative value), with what shall it (the earth) be salted? It (the salt, meaning us) is no longer good for anything, but to be thrown out and to be trodden underfoot by men. (Matt 5:13)

He then changes his analogy to compare us to light:

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under the grain-measure (a large basket), but on a lampstand. (that is what God has done to us) And it gives light to all who are in the house.
Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in Heaven. (Matt 5:14-16)

Our good works, our saltiness, our graciousness, our love for others, should be a gift that is so valuable that it actually inspires the unconverted to praise God, and want to know him.

Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another. (Mark 9:50)

We should be encouraging with our words, to bring peace and health to others:

Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones. (Prov 16:24)

Keeping The Sabbath Requires Faith In God

The entire state of ancient Israel was organised around the Sabbath, so it was relatively easy to keep the Sabbath “holy”, or “set apart” as the word means. Indeed, it would have been impossible to get paid work on the Sabbath.

However, there were always temptations to work on the Sabbath, such as at harvest time. If rain during the harvest threatened the loss of your year’s income or food supply, you could certainly be tempted to work on the Sabbath. However, working on the Sabbath during harvest was specifically mentioned, and forbidden.

You shall work six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest (Shabath). In ploughing time and in harvest you shall rest. (Exo 34:21)

• God required his people to have faith that he would provide for them, even if their crops were ruined by rain.

While we may not be farmers, we can certainly appreciate their predicament.

Would we have enough faith to trust that God would provide some other means of feeding us?

No doubt we will have similar trials of our faith, relative to our circumstances, as God tests our resolve and determination to believe and trust him to provide all our physical and spiritual needs as we keep his laws.

Humility In Obeying God

If we do keep the Sabbath when it’s hard to do so, we need to do so in a humble and gracious manner. Some societies make it very difficult to keep the Sabbath, which obviously diminishes its benefits. This does not mean we are not required to keep it. We are, but we must be “delighting in the Lord” (as discussed in this previous post) when we do keep the Sabbath, or we may as well not keep it. (Isa 58:13-14, Amos 8:5)

We should also not condemn those who want to keep the Sabbath, but feel they can’t do so at this stage in their life. In some countries you can be threatened with disinheritance, loss of income, or even loss of life. Only God can determine the intent of someone’s heart, particularly when making a decision in such dire circumstances.

Yet, for the moment at least, it’s relatively easy to keep the Sabbath within most Western democratic countries. Even so, Saturday is the biggest shopping day of the week, and it’s important for sports and other social events. No doubt keeping the Sabbath will get you noticed.

Your friends and relatives may think (even if you say nothing to them) that you are somehow accusing them of sin by your very actions. Or that you are being self-righteous and looking down on them.

Some people may call you a fanatic, or say you are selfish for not doing things with them on the Sabbath. Yet such difficulties are hardly a good reason for not keeping the Sabbath.

You need to think about how you are going to answer such questions before they arise, so that you can be a light to the world to guide their feet, rather than a light that annoys their eyes and causes them to squint.

Unfortunately, some people simply won’t listen- and it may even be those whom you thought you could talk to about such things.

Yet the real question is “will you listen to God, when he tells you to rest on his Sabbath day?”

We worship God and show our love to him by obeying him:

If you keep My commandments, you shall abide in My love, even as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. (John 15:10)

Loving God and resting on the Sabbath are therefore effectively the same thing. We need to have faith that God can, and will, provide for us. (Matt 6:25-34, Heb 11:6)

We are often warned that if we determine to walk the Christian road, then we should expect some kind of persecution. (Mark 10:30, James 1:2-4, 1Pet 4:12-16)

Even if keeping the Sabbath is easy, it will often make you stand out, which may make you feel a bit uncomfortable. This is your opportunity to let your example be a light to the world.

If you read any history regarding the Sabbath, you will find many people were severely persecuted for keeping it. We need to accept such an outcome as highly probable, and determine to endure it, along with rejoicing in the blessing of having a relationship with God:

Blessed are they who have been persecuted for righteousness sake!
For theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.
Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for My sake. (for keeping my words)
Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for your reward in Heaven is great.
For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
(Matt 5:10-12)

The intent of the Sabbath is to be a blessing to all who keep it. It’s not a curse, or a test, or a trial. However, there may be a price to pay for keeping it in this society, just as there was the risk of losing your ripe crop in ancient Israel.

It’s up to you to have sufficient faith in God, and to have the courage and wisdom to determine if any particular risk is acceptable and necessary, according to the circumstances you find yourself in at the time.

The answer is not always obvious from scripture, so you will need to make up your own mind about what to do in your particular circumstances. We also need to be sure that we don’t condemn others for their decisions, but be merciful and compassionate toward them:

Blessed are the peacemakers! For they shall be called the sons of God. (Matt 5:9)

The Ideal Sabbath

Those who keep the Sabbath in today’s society do so as small isolated groups of people, out of step with everyone else who is shopping, or working, or doing anything else other than going to a place of worship.

Today’s Sabbath keeper is often separate from friends, family and society in general, even if they are not openly ostracised by them. Yet in the ideal society what would keeping the Sabbath be like? We are told that after the return of Christ:

… from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, says the Lord.
(Isa 66:23)

In the future ideal society, all people would have a profound understanding of the purpose and meaning of the Sabbath:

For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,
as the waters cover the sea.
(Hab 2:14)

Resting from our work on the Sabbath provides time and focus for the spiritual work of God- creating us in His spiritual image. We have time to think about God and to mix with others who worship God, so that we learn from our friends the practical experiences of living his way of life.

Congregating On The Day Of Rest

The Sabbath is also a designated time for a holy convocation:

Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; you shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings. (Lev 23:3)

While congregating with others is important, and commanded by God, it is also a day of rest. People should be able to sleep in and not feel rushed, such that they can spend time relaxing with their family and friends on this day of the week.

Unfortunately, some churches turn the Sabbath into a period of great activity, with Bible studies, and formal services, before a group lunch. Such constant activity while enjoyable and informative, can also not allow people to relax, which is so necessary after a week of constant work.

While we need to focus on God, we also need to be refreshed on the Sabbath, as was God when he first made the Sabbath holy, and set it apart:

It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed. (Exo 31:17)

The Sabbath would therefore be understood as a great blessing from God, for our physical and spiritual refreshment and rejuvenation, as well as learning about and worshiping him.

Social Benefits Of The Sabbath

The Sabbath will also create a strong system for social bonding within the entire society. Rich and poor would come together at a meeting place, not too far from their homes, to hear the scriptures read and discussed every week. Nobody would have special seats to sit in, or titles, or religious uniforms. It would be a time of rest, so that the wearing of comfortable, modest, unpretentious clothes would be the norm.

There would be a strong awareness of who is in the community where you live, as you would see them in the local congregation each week. While it’s a time of rest, those who wished to play relaxing games, or go for walks to be rejuvenated in the natural world, would not be dissuaded. While it’s a day of worship of God, it would also be a day of fun and social interaction with family, friends and everyone else in the community.

A Sabbath keeping society would have a strong community structure, where people knew and cared about everyone else in it. This day of the week would therefore be seen as not simply benefiting the individual or family, but also as a powerful social and cultural framework for the entire society.

Keeping the Sabbath in an ideal society would be a central pillar for individuals to structure their lives around the worship of God and learning about his way of life.

Such would be the ideal for the Sabbath of the Lord your God. On this day we rest with God, in solidarity with his ideals, and understanding of his purpose for our life, and for the lives of the entire community.

Summary Of Chapter 5

How you keep the Sabbath is not something others should judge you on, but it requires you to have faith in God when making your decisions about what you do in your society and in your circumstances.

Many scriptures show that Israelites too often simply didn’t want to bother keeping the Sabbath day holy. They looked on the Sabbath not as a joy, but rather as a day when they just couldn’t do their own thing. So, while they may have been keeping it by not doing any work, they were not actually wanting to keep it.

They didn’t see God as their friend, who was giving them the gift of the Sabbath, but as someone who must be obeyed and appeased, in order to be blessed by him. Their ‘relationship’ was not personal, or based on mercy and love, it was one of legalism- which implied that God was an authoritarian ruler who required strict obedience to his law, with punishments for not doing so.

In the future, after the return of Christ, the Sabbath Day will be properly kept in spirit and truth, so that it fulfils its role of being a great religious, social and cultural foundation for the entire world.

• In respecting God so that you keep the Sabbath holy, you are imitating God’s action of resting demonstrated from the beginning. In this way we are one with God. We also spend time with God and others who worship him on this day, focussing on his word and purpose for us.

But keeping the Sabbath of itself does not make you better than others. However, by rejoicing in this great gift of God for all mankind, you are certainly enjoying life more, with more blessing from the creator of all life. This includes the amazing gifts of friendship with him, forgiveness of sin, eternal life and includes the desires of your heart.

This is the final post for Chapter 6 of Friends With God: The Gifts Of God.

Next Post In This Series

The Sabbath Day is one of the festivals, or Holy Days, of God, each of which pictures various aspects of the plan of God on Earth. (Leviticus 23)

The next Chapter in this series is Chapter 7 Celebration of the Birth of Christ, which examines two of the most important events that have occurred on these Holy Days – the births of Jesus the Christ and John the Baptist. However, Chapter 7 has already been published on substack, and all the posts are available here.

The next post on substack will therefore begin the series from Chapter 8 of Friends With God: God’s Friendship With Israel And The Church, which addresses the question of What is the relationship between the Old and New Covenants?

Despite the obvious reverence given to the Old Covenant scriptures by Jesus, and the New Testament authors, many modern Christians limit their study to the New Covenant. In so doing, however, they are constantly being immersed in references to the Old, as it’s quoted from, or alluded to, in almost every chapter of the New! There are at least 1,000 direct or indirect quotations from the Old Testament in the New Testament.

The Old Covenant is also directly linked to the nation of Israel, so we will also be reviewing how those in the New Covenant are to relate to the people of Israel, which actually includes all the authors of the New Covenant.

We will see in this final chapter of Friends With God, how Gods relationship and friendship with all mankind is revealed in how he gave Israel and the Church the opportunity to be lights to the world, in order to demonstrate his way of love and friendship for all people.