Salt and Light

"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid" Mt 5:14

One of the most common and sadly predictable responses against Christian Schools or Christian Homeschooling is that 'we are called lo be salt anal light'. Sadly this is a most unbiblical and uncritical response. It is unbiblical simply, because - as we shall see - Jesus gives this instruction to mature, thinking and responsible adults, not children. It is uncritical, as those who so frequently use this text to support their unbiblical stance in sending there children to the world for their education take no account of the context of the text; the nature of the light we are called to be; and the purpose of this light we are called to be.

Expecting our children. salt and light in an anti-Christian state system of education is unbiblical

For all that we believe about the word of God, that it is 'truth' and that it is the instrument God uses to sanctify us and to make us holy; we insist on making the weakest of excuses to resist God's call to holiness and the keeping of our Covenant responsibilities towards our children. Let the reader be in no doubt that to use God’s Word in this way as a means to ‘justify’ an ungodly position is a dangerous thing indeed.

Robert Shaw in his exposition of the Westminster Confession of Faith points to some awful consequences and frightening warnings in the Word of God against the family that neglects their duties of worship towards God. Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not upon thy name (Jer 10: 25). In his same exposition of family worship in the Confession he exhorts the heads of every family to adopt the excellent resolution of Joshua: "As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

Worship, the Confession reminds us from the Scriptures is to be in ‘spirit and in truth’ and that ‘God is to Worshipped everywhere’ . (1 Tim 2:8) Yet our fathers turned their backs on calling upon the name of the LORD in every place and every situation when they handed our children and our schools over to the state a hundred years ago.

The result is that today we hear this unbiblical and degenerate cry from the people of God that we need to be salt and light. After several generations of Humanistic teaching and the displacing of God to the ‘religious slot’ in the curriculum; a few hours at home and on Sundays, our hearts have hardened to the evil of state education and its effects on us and our children.

Even Solomon who despite the wisdom granted him from God was not immune from the judgement of God because of his marriages to strange and foreign women. The result of his mixing with the world in this way was that it was to become a snare to the children of Israel for generations and eventually leading to exile. (1 Kings 11 )

Are we greater, wiser or more discerning than Solomon?

By that which we have seen happen to Israel, can we feel confident for the future, or for our children in having the anti-Christian state system educate our children? This same Solomon warns us of the dangers of committing our children to mix with those of the devil. What do they say? "cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse; My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path...." (Prov 1: 15).

The Scriptures and the Confession warn us that we are called to worship our God and call on His name in spirit and in truth - everywhere. Not just at home or in church, but everywhere. This means at school too, where children if given a Christ-centered education will see “He is before all things, and by him all things consist” (Col 1:17). This text tells us that there is no such thing as ‘facts’ or ‘knowledge’ that can be taught in a neutral or impartial way. Facts or knowledge that has no reference to God and the Scriptures, whether in Mathematics, Science, History or English is a denial of the ultimate reality, that by him all things consist and he is before all things.

It is adults not children who are called to be salt and light.

When we read closely the text referring to salt and light we see that it is part of the Sermon on the Mount and that Christ is talking first to His disciples and the multitudes are gathered to hear what He has to say. It was His followers Christ was addressing. What does this mean? First negatively, it does not mean those who are neither regenerate or responsible, mature adults. Positively, it does mean those who are His disciples, those of us who are ‘born again’.

Surely to be salt or light in the world we need the power and baptism of the Holy Spirit to work in us and through us to witness of Christ in our lives before all men. We need wisdom from above and the maturity to think through how we are to behave in the situations God puts us in. Children are to be trained and nurtured by those of us who have been ‘born again’ so they too, when they are mature enough and responsible enough to make decisions for themselves, are equipped to do so in a Godly way. We find this principle at work in Christ’s dealings with adults and children. For the former (His disciples) we are told to ‘go teach’ and to the children they are invited to ‘come’.

Be holy and you can expect persecutions Jesus warns

The context of the instruction to be salt and light we notice is in relation to persecution. In chapter 5 verses 11-13 it tells us that we are to be happy and rejoicing when we are reviled, persecuted and spoken evil against. In verses 14 - 16 we are given the reason for this persecution. It is because.. ‘we are the light of the world.’ The very context indicates this reason as in verse 12 Jesus tells us this also is what happened to the Prophets before us. The theme is the same through the New Testament. With holiness comes trials and tribulations.. “That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto...” (1 Thes 3: 3). We should be encouraged by these words of Jesus and Paul as is their intention. We know that the world hates light and loves the darkness lest their deeds be reproved. (John 3: 19,20). Sadly it is the people of God who are most opposed to those who give a Christ-centred education to their children.

A city on a hill cannot be hid

The nature of this light Jesus teaches, is that it should be seen and should be set apart so that it can be seen ‘before’ all men. Clearly Christ shows us that a candle that cannot be seen is of no use to the one who wants to use it, but Christ says more than this. He demonstrates by the allusion to the city on a hill that it must be set apart, clearly seen and distinct from all around it. He also re-inforces this important point of distinction and separateness when He says that it should shine before men as distinct from among men. The point here is that any light shining apart from other objects where a shadow cannot be cast upon the light must shine the brighter and so be a more effective light. So it is with Christian Schools, Christian Homeschooling and with the people of God. We too must be set apart to be seen of all men.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

The purpose of this light is two-fold: to let the world see our good works and second, so that they will glorify our Father which is in heaven. Paul tells us that we are to be living epistles. ”Ye are our epistle written in our hearts known and read of all men ...” (2 Cor 3: 2,3). Ought we not to therefore live and do all things to God's glory in whom we live and move and have our being? Ought we not also to be as the men and women of old, of whom it was said in Acts who were “all with one accord in Solomon’s porch. And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them. And believers were the more added to the Lord Multitudes both of men and Women.”?

Sadly the practice today in the church is to be like the world in our practice, worship and way of life. To let them see we are not really that different and to be world friendly. This is not New Testament holiness.

Let our ministers, leaders and ourselves be mindful of the plea of Joel.... “Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: Wherefore should they say among the people Where is their God?" (Joel 1: 3).

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