Spicy Living

“Red Letter living” – Living lives by the words of Jesus

Spicy Living – Making a difference in the world you live.

Matt 5:13-16

 

There are some things in life that you should do; and there are some that you should not do.  One of the greatest strengths you can have in life is to know the difference. 

Now for the majority of us most of the stuff you should do is obvious.  A whole stack of this obvious information is spelled out on the many safety labels and instructions we get.  There are some laws that don’t need labels.  We all we all know that heights and falling are very compatible, so if you go high be carful, that is just obvious.  But still there are people in the world that just don’t get it. How about these for examples:

  

Images from here

Like these pictures.  When we look at them we think that it is obvious what they are doing wrong! 

But our lives are lived making mistakes some due to our not knowing, our stubbornness or just plain defiance.  But there are some instructions that are timeless.  The bible holds within it many truths that we can live our lives by!

Some of the best truths to live your life by are fond in the words of Jesus.  In some versions of the bible these words are printed in Red to give them emphasis. 

What is amazing is that the rest of the bible hinges off these few pages of red letters.  Genesis is written to lead to Jesus, Abraham and Isaac all led us to Jesus.  Exodus and the story of Moses, Aaron, the burning bush and Joshua lead us to Jesus.  Samuel, Saul, David and the history of the kings of Israel lead us to Jesus.  The Psalms lead us to Jesus, the prophets Elijah, Elisha, Jonah and Micah lead us to Jesus.

The red letters of Jesus are the pivot of the bible, yet they are so few.  The New Testament books are all returning us to Jesus. Acts and Romans return us to Jesus.  Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, and Thessalonians all return us to Jesus and our response to him.  Peter, James, Timothy and Titus all return us to Jesus.  Philemon, Hebrews, Jude and Revelation all return us to Jesus. The whole of the Bible is about the creator God who through Jesus redeems his creation.  It is in Jesus that this is achieved.  From cover to cover the bible is a journey of redemption through Jesus.  In one sense the bible is a small book with a large introduction and appendix, the true pages of the book spanning Matthew, Mark, Luke and the first few pages of Acts.  The rest is a lead up to or a response to Jesus.  So what can we learn from the few pages about Jesus?  What then can we learn from these red letters, what does Red Letter Living look like?

Over the next three weeks we are going to spend some time dwelling on some of these Red Letters. 

If the authors of the Bible, having the opportunity to write about the things of Jesus, decided these few quotes were the best stuff and most significant, then they are worthy of spending time looking at!

Tonight we are going to look at “Spicy Living” What does it mean to live lives that are spicy?  Well the passage actually calls it being the Salt of the Earth but Salt is a spice.  So how do we live “Spicy” Lives?  It is not about where you live, it is not about how you live, it is not about whom you live with.  It is about WHY you live! You see it is not all about the clothes you wear or the latest trend.  It is not about jumping off the highest cliff so as to get a rush! It is not about the latest rave party and “recreational drugs”... (Can I just say, they are illegal drugs, I am not aware of any rule that says just because you are doing it as a recreation it is ok!  I can’t go out get a gun and do some recreational war!) ...These things are not what spicy living is!  They will provide a momentary rush but that is about it.   You will need to find higher mountains or louder parties; you will need to drive faster for longer. It is not by adrenalin, it is not by chemical stimulation.  It is about living lives that are wholly set on Jesus, living lives that are completely reflective of Jesus.

Jesus says in Matthew 5:13 – 16 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.” 

This passage appears just after the beatitudes.  The beatitudes are a part of section of scripture referred to as the Sermon on the Mount; where Jesus outlines the qualities of a citizen of heaven.   I once heard it said that the beatitudes are really the “Beautiful attitudes”. 

This section of scripture is a set of teaching to the disciples.  Verse 1 and 2 of chapter 5 say the disciples came to him and he started teaching them. 

There are eternal truths that can be found in them, but, they are taught to the disciples and not just any one who has come along for a listen.

The beatitudes hold Statements like:

3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
      for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
 4Blessed are those who mourn,
      for they will be comforted.
 5Blessed are the meek,
      for they will inherit the earth.
 6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
      for they will be filled.
 7Blessed are the merciful,
      for they will be shown mercy.
 8Blessed are the pure in heart,
      for they will see God.
 9Blessed are the peacemakers,
      for they will be called sons of God.
 10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
      for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

So, Jesus teaches the disciples about what life in the kingdoms is like, then says, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.” 

If you want to live in the power and grace of the Kingdom of heaven then you need to be different!  Not only do you need to be different but you need to make a difference!

What does it mean to be the Salt of the earth?  So what is different about Salt? 

Salt plays a big part in the world.  It is one of the foundations of life.  Our bodies are dependant on Salts (If there is a doctor here that wants to explain feel free).  The oceans of the world are full of it; the ground requires just the right balance of salt to allow it to produce life.  Too much and the plants will die, too little and they will not grow properly. 

The history of salt goes a long way back into history.  Salt was used as a salary in the Roman Empire, such was the value.  The Romans had a saying:   “there is nothing more useful that sun and salt”. Interesting that Jesus said we should be the Salt of the earth and that he was the light of the world.  It was precious for a few reasons; first it was valuable as it was originally hard to get.  Second it was very useful, it was a preservative, it helped to provide Purity, and it enhanced Flavour. 

So if we take these three uses of salt and apply them to our lives what is it that we are called to be?  What was it that Jesus is calling us to be?  What is it that we should look like if we are the salt of the earth?

Preservative

First we are to a preservative in the world.  The Christian is the preservative of the world; we are the one thing that holds back the complete decay of the world.  Just as with Noah God looked for one who was righteous through witch to preserve the world, with Abraham and Sodom and Gomorrah Abraham pleased with God to preserve the city if there were righteous people there. 

We are in the world to preserve it.  Imagine for minute what the world would look like if there were none that were living Christian lives?  Now a read of the newspaper would make you think that we were may be living in such a world. 

I was once going through a tough time and demanded to know where God was in the situation, a mate said to me, “Imagine what it would be like if he were not here!”  Imagine what the world would be like if there were not Christians in the world, if every one did as they liked?  The world is in a bad place and people are following all kinds of leaders, but it could be worse, but it could be much better!

The second point of the preservative of the Christians in the world is that it is the Christians that hold the complete preservative!  It is the Christian community that delivers the salvation story to the world; if we do not take this message to the world it will not be preserved.  Jesus can not save people if we are not the Salt of the earth!

Purity

Just as salt is a preservative, Salt brings purity.  We live in an incredibly immoral world, or at best it is amoral.  We must as Christians stand as different to the world!  If we are going to live our lives with the same moral code as the world then we are in trouble!  In the ancient world Salt was used to preserve food by keeping the bacteria from growing.  We have got to change the way we live if we are going to make a difference.  If the tide of moral decay is to be halted it has to start with us. 

At home we have a wooden chopping board and to give it a thorough clean I will rub it down with salt.  It draws out the moisture and helps to kill off any bacteria!

We need to smother the world with Salt!

Flavour

This is one of the great illustrations of what we are meant to be in the world.  If we are salt then we add flavour to the world. 

What is interesting is to make a comparison between the ways the world seeks to add flavour.  The world seeks to know it all, to master it all, and to add excitement as their way of adding flavour.  The alternative to that is what Jesus called us to, Salt.  Now salt when it is added to food enhances the food’s flavour, it does not actually overpower the flavour of the food.   When we are the Salt of the earth, we enhance the very nature of man, God’s Image!  When the world tries to add flavour, it enhances man’s image, when we are the salt of the earth we enhance God’s image.  Being the Salt of the Earth is not about being great, it is about God being glorified! 

As we conclude it is interesting to know that salt is clear when you isolate a single salt crystal.  Yet when you put a bunch of crystals together the pile becomes white.  This too is a great display of just how we are to be Salt.  We are not meant to stand alone, with minimal impact.  We are meant to gather together and make a difference.  When we gather together as salt Jesus is seen in the whole sum of us!  It is together that we can make a difference.

So we must be salt, if we lose our saltiness then, we will be thrown out!  Discarded onto the path and trampled under foot.  The world will treat us with the distain appropriate if we are of no difference! 

Where is your life at?

What change is there in you?

Are you making your world spicy?

Where is your moral code from?  The world?  The beatitudes?