Revelation
3:1-6 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘These
things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know
your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Be
watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I
have not found your works perfect before God. Remember
therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if
you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what
hour I will come upon you. You have a few names
even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me
in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes shall be clothed in white
garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will
confess his name before My Father and before His angels. “He who has an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’
Tonight,
our small group Bible study came to the Ray Vander Laan lesson on the ancient city
of Sardis, in the middle of the Hermus valley, at the foot of Mount Tmolus in
Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). John’s message in the opening passage was for
the Christians of Sardis to wake up and watch; to be alive and alert. Michael
led the discussion and asked this question related to both Sardis and our culture
today. Do we influence our world, or does the world influence us? There are a
lot of bumper stickers on cars these days with the acronym NOTW, which means “Not
of this World”, meaning that the faithful Believer of the Gospel, the disciple
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the child of God and citizen of the kingdom of Heaven
is in the world, but not of the world.
Matthew 5:13 “You are the
salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?
It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.”
The lesson taught that salt doesn’t do its job or fulfill
its purpose until it is mixed in with what it is supposed to season and favor.
But salt that becomes diluted by what it is supposed to flavor cannot do its
job either. If Christians are to be the salt of the earth, how involved with
the secular world and secular people must we be in order to be “salt” and
communicate the message of Jesus Christ? How would you describe the difference
between involvement that enables us to be salt and compromise that causes us to
lose our saltiness? Creator Father God sent Jesus to seek and save the lost,
and Jesus’ ministry is our ministry. Salt flavors, but salt also preserves and
can help in healing. These physical attributes have spiritual attributes to
those who are called metaphorically to be the salt of the earth. We are called
to be where people need ministry most in a lost and dying anti-God world; to
bring the message of Christ and morality to a sin-sick society. Everything is
either devoted to God or to self. Society states that we are the center of the universe
and yet sovereign God created the universe. We are to reclaim and replace the
ungodly with the holy truth. In the Bible, salt symbolizes truth and integrity.
The Greek root meaning for the word ”fool” is “unsalty”. Have you ever heard
the term: “That guy is not worth his salt.”? The Christian must remain “salt”.
Do not compromise is the process of ministry. Do not become part of the culture
that the Lord has sent us to affect and change.
John 17:17 “Sanctify
them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”
The Bible tells us to speak the truth because truth
is based upon the Word of God. Salt is our nature, which the Lord God gave us
all. As Believers, we are not to be isolated from unbelievers. God tells us to
go out into the evil God-rejecting world system and mix our salt with sinful
people. Yet, as we faithfully live out the “good news” in our world, we must
keep our distinctive Christian identity. We must guard against absorbing the
values of the secular humanist pagan world and losing the qualities that make
us “Salt.”
Mark 16:15 And He said
to them, “Go
into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”
In
Christ, Brian
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