An overview of the study on the Sermon on the Mount, emphasizing the significance of the upcoming verses and their relevance to understanding the kingdom of God.

Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount

Exploration of the concept of being the salt of the earth, highlighting the significance of being a preservative in society and the internalization of laws.

The Salt of the Earth

Discussion of the significance of ancient treaties and their resemblance to the book of Deuteronomy, emphasizing the authenticity of the Old Testament.

Ancient Treaties and Their Significance

Examination of the new covenant and its distinction from the old ones, emphasizing the internalization of laws and the absence of curses in the Sermon on the Mount.

The New Covenant and Its Distinctiveness

Exploration of the concept of being the light of the world, emphasizing the influence of disciples in the world and the universal nature of the New Kingdom.

The Light of the World

Discussion of the role of disciples as the salt and light of the world, highlighting the importance of their internal life and influence in society.

The Role of Disciples in Society

Exploring the influence of righteousness in America's greatness and the warning of losing saltiness.

The Secret of America's Genius and Power

Understanding the chemical properties of salt and the warning of losing saltiness.

The Chemical Composition of Salt

The significance of maintaining saltiness as a Christian and the potential consequences of losing it.

The Serious Consequences of Losing Saltiness

The importance of avoiding distractions and remaining a source of light in a dark world.

Avoiding Distractions and Remaining the Light of the World

Emphasizing the visibility and influence of being the light of the world.

Being Visible as the Light of the World

The transformative influence of a man on an ungodly town in England in the 1600s.

The Impact of 1 Man on an Ungodly Town

Encouragement to examine oneself and confess the need for change to fulfill the responsibility of being the salt and light of the world.

Examination and Confession

- The speaker is continuing a study on the Sermon on the Mount and focusing on 4 verses from Matthew chapter 5.
- The verses discuss being the salt of the earth and the light of the world, and the importance of being a citizen of the kingdom of God.
- The speaker also discusses the significance of ancient treaties and their resemblance to the book of Exodus and Deuteronomy in the Old Testament.
- The speaker connects this to the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus is inaugurating a new kingdom with a new covenant.

- The piece discusses the new covenant and the internalization of laws in the book of Ezekiel and the Sermon on the Mount.
- It emphasizes the influence of the disciples in the world as salt and light.
- The use of common elements such as salt and light to illustrate difficult concepts is highlighted.
- The emphasis on the disciples being the salt of the earth and the light of the world is discussed, emphasizing the significance of their role.

- The speaker discusses the role of human government in breaking sin and preserving society
- Salt was used in ancient times to preserve food and prevent infections
- The removal of God from society has led to decay and corruption
- The speaker emphasizes the importance of being a preservative in society and influencing the world
- Six habits are mentioned that favor the work of the Holy Spirit in producing positive qualities in individuals
- Examples from history are provided to illustrate the impact of individuals on society through their influence and intercession

- The speaker discusses the importance of being the salt and light of the world as Christians
- He emphasizes the need for Christians to live a life of righteousness and impact the world around them
- The speaker shares the story of John Baxter and his transformative impact on a town through his ministry
- The importance of being a positive influence and examining one's own impact is highlighted

- Pray for our spirit to be transformed into the image of Christ
- Christ was the example of the Beatitudes in his life and ministry
- Pray for influence in the lives of people in our community
- End with a blessing and thanks for watching

The text discusses the significance of the Sermon on the Mount, focusing on being the salt of the earth and the light of the world. It emphasizes the role of disciples in influencing society and the importance of living a righteous life. The speaker also highlights the impact of individuals on society and encourages prayer for spiritual transformation and influence in the community."""

I'm happy that some people enjoy zip lines and 30 meter towers.

We're continuing our study on the Sermon on the Mount.

As I started to study them a couple of months ago, I thought to myself, they don't fit.

But as I started them, I realized that the Lord had something to say to us today that helps us to understand what it means to be a citizen of the kingdom of God.

They are on page 810 of the Bible that is in your seat, seat in front of you.

If you want to turn there, Matthew chapter 5, greeting from verse 13.

Matthew 5.13, You are the salt of the earth.

But if the salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?

It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.

A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all the house.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works, and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

We're going to look at 2 illustrations, which our Lord uses to help us to understand the lesson he has for us here.

We're going to see that we are the salt of the earth.

We're going to see that you are the light of the world.

And we're going to have, make a conclusion.

1 of the dominant Themes in Matthew is the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God.

Matthew speaks of the kingdom of heaven 31 times in his gospel, and he uses the equivalent expression kingdom of God another 5 times.

And so, I believe that the Sermon on the Mount, among other things, tells us what the citizens of God's kingdom should be like.

About 2 years ago I had the great privilege of going to Dallas, Texas and taking a one-year intensive course on the first 5 books of the Bible, taught by Dr.

John Currid, who is 1 of the great scholars in the Christian world.

He has a PhD in archaeology from the University of Chicago.

He has done archaeology throughout the Middle East, a theologian, seminary teacher, pastor.

And 1 of the things I learned more about, as always interested me, was a development in archaeology that supports the authenticity of the Old Testament.

Often we'll hear that the Old Testament is full of errors, it's not correct, it's not true.

1 of those recent developments is discovering and translating ancient treaties between conquering kings and their newly subjected nations.

The King of Babylon would conquer a neighbor next door, a country next door.

It would be read publicly, in which they would say, this is how you're going to act.

And if you act that way, things will go well.

And if you don't act that way, you'll be cursed.

And we have many examples of those documents.

They were put on clay tablets, cuneiform, made with a stylus, little shapes.

I tried to learn a little bit about that language 1 time.

There are something like 35,000 different symbols.

Some of them have several different meanings.

And among the most important examples for us as Christians are the Hittite treaties that come between 1500 and 1000, and not 100, 1000 before Christ.

They're important for a couple of reasons.

You know, for hundreds of years, scholars, intelligent people would say Hittites.

The Bible talks about Hittites in the Old Testament.

And then towards the end of the 1800s, we started to understand, to discover that they did exist in what is called today Turkey.

Very strong civilization, conquer many nations, very active in Palestine.

And they had many of these treaties which you've discovered.

Currie, personally took clay tablets that had been broken and pasted them together to read them, translate them.

And these treaties are important because They had 5 common points.

They would identify the great king, and they would give historical background about what gave rise to this treaty.

And then they would talk about the duties of the subject nation.

You will send us wine and grape juice or olive oil, that type of thing.

And that's important for us as Christians because they resemble a very great deal to the book of Exodus and the book of Deuteronomy.

The book of Deuteronomy is a treaty between Jehovah God and Israel.

And it resembles amazingly with the Hittite treaties which we have discovered.

There are many differences between all these treaties which we have found in Babylon, Egypt, Syria, and so on forth.

And they change according to the dates when they were written.

And it's very, very interesting that the Hittite treaties are exactly like the book of Deuteronomy and their structure, And they're from the same date.

And some people will say that Deuteronomy was written hundreds and hundreds of years after Moses died.

No, Deuteronomy was written by Moses at the time the Hittites were around.

And what Moses wrote was in the same form that people were used to seeing because it was what was written by the Hittites civilizations.

Evidence that Moses was the author of Deuteronomy and the Old Testament.

What has that got to do with the Sermon on the Mount?

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is inaugurating his new kingdom with a new vassal treaty, a new covenant, which is the word that is used in the Old Testament to describe these treaties.

And both Jeremiah and Ezekiel had anticipated that there would be a new treaty.

We need to realize, for example, think about the 10 Commandments.

I am the Lord God, identifying the king who's making this treaty, who took you out of Egypt, who rescued you from Egypt, historical background, then the list of how you're going to behave, and then the list of what will happen to you if you don't, and a list of the blessings that will come to pass if you do.

And so the book of Exodus is a treaty, just like these other treaties.

The book of Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy's second law, is an example of repeating, repeats this law.

Moses does that before he dies to the new generation of Jews.

But both Jeremiah and Ezekiel prophesied in the Old Testament had anticipated that there would be a new treaty that would be different.

Jeremiah 31, behold the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

Not like the covenant that I made with the fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.

For this is the covenant, this is the treaty, that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord.

I will put their law not on tablets of stone, not on tablets of clay.

And I will be their God, and they will be my people.

In the book of Ezekiel, Ezekiel says in chapter 36, I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness and from all your idols.

I will cleanse you and I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you, and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh, and I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules." So notice how different this new covenant, this new vassal treaty, is from the old ones.

And we started to see this as Louis taught us over the last couple of weeks.

Notice that the Sermon on the Mount is an internalization of the law.

The Old Testament said, you shall not murder.

In the weeks to come we will learn that not being a murderer is more than external action.

Don't allow adulterous thoughts to abide in your hearts.

It's internalizing laws being internalized.

Believe the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 28.

God says, if you don't do that, I will curse you.

This new covenant, the Sermon on the Mount, no curses, it's changed.

Now, the Sermon on the Mount is not a list of conditions which are necessary to be accepted into the Kingdom of God.

Rather, it shows the result of the work of the Spirit of God in the lives of those in whom He dwells.

Now, that doesn't mean that we shouldn't examine ourselves once in a while and read the Beatitudes and ask ourselves the question, am I like that?

That's a healthy exercise, but it's not a condition for admission to the kingdom of heaven.

John Stott said it this way, and this is an introduction.

Dave Brederman told me yesterday, don't have a long introduction.

He said that because I say that to him once in a while.

But John Stott, I think, said it very well.

Here's the bridge between the Beatitudes and what we're going to see today.

If the Beatitudes describe the essential character of the disciples of Christ, the salt and light indicate their influence in the world.

If we live like the Beatitudes tell us we should live, if that's how we are, if that's our inner life, the result is that we will be the salt and light in the world.

Our Lord, as the great teacher, as a great pedagogue, uses 2 things which are very common.

Every little boy grew up seeing salt in the kitchen and seeing a lamp in the house.

You are the salt of the earth, light of the world.

The Lord illustrated difficult thoughts, difficult doctrine, using common elements in the life of those people.

2 illustrations are the salt of the Earth, J-O, Earth.

You know that word, geography, geology, K-O.

And you are the light of the world, cosmos.

And you know the word cosmos if you read a bit of science fiction, who watched Star Wars, or that type of thing.

You is emphatic, And it's the whole world.

He quotes the Old Testament to prove that Jesus is the Messiah that is promised in the Old Testament a great deal.

But Matthew is the book in which more than any of the other Gospels tells us that the New Kingdom is for the whole world.

And It would be amazing for the people on that mountain, listen to Jesus speak, when he says not that you are the salt of the Jewish nation, you are the light of the Jewish people.

You are the salt of the world, the whole world.

I am, you are, he is, we are, you are, they are.

In French, je suis, tu es, il est, nous sommes, vous êtes, il sont.

In German, ich bin, du bist, er ist, sie ist.

In a lot of modern languages, the pronoun always goes with the verb.

In Greek, people are more intelligent than we are.

If you say, we know that Greek people are intelligent, don't we?

If you say am in Greek, everybody understands this.

You don't put the pronoun before the verb in Greek.

If you put the pronoun in front of the verb is because it's very, very, very emphatic.

You, you alone, You especially, you are the light of the world.

The only Italian I know is that occasionally when my wife's not in the house, I'm allowed to listen to opera.

But I know a little bit of Italian because I like opera.

And then I even checked with Nick this weekend.

When we're told that you are the salt of this earth, you are the light of the world, it's saying that you are it.

Gaeo refers to the physical Earth, the land.

For the Greeks, Greek culture, Greek philosophers, they looked at the stars in the sky and it was ordered.

The moon turned around the earth, the sun, the earth turned around the sun, and they saw that great order, and they called that cosmos.

And perhaps here, these words, which are different, but sometimes they're cinnamons.

And I'm not sure that there's a big difference between the salt of the earth or the light of the cosmos.

But perhaps when it says cosmos, it's reminding us that the redemption that Jesus Christ accomplished and by which we are born again and made into sons of God.

When that comes to the final denouement, when that comes to the final climax, through the sons of God, the entire universe is going to be redeemed.

And perhaps that's what it's talking about.

Would you think with me, to whom Jesus is speaking, People are not sure when Jesus spoke the Sermon on the Mountain whether the crowd was there or only the disciples.

I suspect the crowd was listening but Jesus was especially speaking to his disciples.

That was perhaps common among Jewish rabbis, speak to your disciples, but the whole crowd listens.

They were poor fishermen, workers, even a detested tax collector, the very basest of society.

They were despised residents from Northern Galilee.

You read through the gospels and the people will say, nothing Good comes from Galilee.

These were uneducated country hicks, if you know the expression.

And Jesus is saying to them, you are the son of the earth.

Who are we to be the important salt, the important light of the world?

Remember that you is emphatic, you and you only.

Now, God has given human government and has given his word to preserve society and to act as a break to sin.

God gave human government to break sin and that's what government is supposed to do.

They don't do it as well as they used to.

I don't want to get into politics, but I will say that.

But especially in this church age, that job is our job.

We are people who are supposed to preserve society.

And we're the only people that can do that.

Now, salt was a very ordinary commodity in Jesus' time.

You know the word salary in French salaire.

In those days, Roman soldiers, particularly, part of their salary was salt.

In those very warm countries, you have to have some salt in your diet, or otherwise you'll die overheating.

When I tried to join the Navy, join the Navy, I shouldn't have been doing that, but I joined the Navy.

They sent us to Centralia, an Air Force base in London, and we were going through basic training and all that involved.

And they gave us salt tablets every year.

Apparently you don't sweat well if you don't have salt.

It was used to improve the taste of food.

I'm not supposed to have salt on my food, the doctor says.

My wife was brought up in a home where they always salt everything.

Salt was added as a component for some temple sacrifices.

There's references in the prophets that babies at birth were bathed in salt.

They took a salt solution to bathe babies at birth.

And that was Probably, you know, infant mortality was a great problem in those days.

It's a great problem in many third world countries.

And realize that there were infections around and perhaps the sanitation was what it could have, it was not what it is today.

And perhaps probably the salt was there to kill the microbes, the bacteria that would have endangered the life of the baby.

But salt was especially used to preserve meat and fish.

Anyway, when I worked as a missionary in Newfoundland on the western side of Newfoundland, we ate a lot of salt fish.

In Newfoundland, they caught cod and they salted it to keep it from rotting.

And then they would soak it to take some of the salt out of it, and heat it, and feed it to us.

So salt was used to preserve meat and fish.

Now if you look at Canada, the US, Britain, France, we have removed God from our worldview.

When I moved us to Quebec, to Surrel in 1962, everybody went to church.

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Flourishing in the Kingdom of Heaven