Pathway to Victory

Speaker 1

Hey podcast listeners, thanks for streaming today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.

Pathway to Victory is a nonprofit ministry featuring the Bible teaching of Dr. Robert Jeffress. And right now, your generous gift will have twice the impact, thanks to the Salt and Light Matching Challenge, active now through July 6th.

To give a special matching challenge gift, go to ptv.org/donate or follow the link in our show notes.

Now here's today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.

Speaker 2

Hi, this is Robert Jeffress and I'm glad to study God's Word with every day on this Bible teaching program. On today's edition of Pathway to Victory.

Speaker 3

The only reason God has not drawn the curtain on human history and sent Christ back is to give people longer to share the Gospel.

If we're fulfilling our Christ-given purpose to be salt, it means we are being a preservative. We are pushing back against evil.

Speaker 1

Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress. Have you ever noticed that some Christians have a difficult time defining their job? Sure, they can tell you where they work or what their daily responsibilities are, but they can't seem to identify their big picture purpose.

Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress considers what Jesus himself said about why we were put here on this earth. Now here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message.

Dr. Jeffress, thanks David, and welcome to.

Speaker 2

A brand new week of Bible teaching on Pathway to Victory.

Let me begin with a personal question. Do you ever find yourself watching the evening news, baffled by what you see and hear?

It's upsetting to see American citizens fighting over evil agendas while turning their backs on God.

Speaker 3

Well, at Pathway to Victory, we believe.

Speaker 2

That the battle between good and evil is worth fighting. In fact, we believe Jesus called upon his people to shine a bright light of the Gospel into the darkest corners of our world. Remember what Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount? He said, you are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world.

Along those lines, I'm delighted to tell you about the Salt and Light matching challenge of $1 million that begins today. Because of a generous arrangement with some faithful friends of Pathway to Victory, our ministry is postured to walk boldly into the culture wars of our day because God has given us a spirit of courage to not fear. And every dollar you give between now and July 6th will be automatically matched and therefore doubled in impact, empowering us to shine the light of Jesus brighter than ever before.

This means again that your gift to Pathway to Victory between now and July 6th will have twice the impact. As you become an active change agent in our world by giving to the Salt and Light matching challenge, you're fulfilling Jesus' mandate to permeate culture with his good news.

More details about this matching challenge, including our contact information, are coming after my message. But right now, let's find out what Jesus said in Matthew Chapter five about becoming salt and light. I titled today's message "Straight Talk About Your Faith."

Speaker 3

When Abraham Lincoln was forming his Cabinet, one of his administration advisors suggested a particular man to serve on the cabinet. Lincoln immediately said, "No way, I don't like his face." The advisor responded, "Well, Mr. President, he can't be held responsible for his face." Lincoln replied, "Every man is responsible for his own face." I think of that comment whenever I'm talking to some Christians. You probably have encountered them before. They look like they've been baptized in lemon juice. You know what I mean? They're always walking around with a sour, dour expression.

Now, I'm not suggesting that every Christian ought to go around singing "zippity doo dah" all the time. That's not realistic. You're not happy all the time. You're not giddy. But there needs to be an inner joy in our life that, in spite of what is happening around us, gives us that calm assurance that God is in control. That may not cause us to laugh all the time, but there's a smile on our face when we realize that someone more powerful than we are is in control. The truth is, what is inside of us eventually shows up on the outside of us.

How can you maintain that joy in your life in spite of your circumstances? Jesus talked about joy in what we call the Beatitudes. Blessed, happy, really joyful are those who mimic Jesus Christ in their attitudes, actions, and affections. How do we keep that joy? Well, one secret to joy in your circumstances is to remember the purpose for which God has left you here on earth. Why is it that God didn't rapture you to heaven the moment He saved you so that you could have unending joy in a relationship with Him untainted by sin? Why did He leave you here? We're going to discover the answer to that question in the next section of the Sermon on the Mount.

Turn to Matthew, chapter five, as Jesus gives us some straight talk about our faith. I'm going to read the passage before we delve into it: "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand. And it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. Let me point out three similarities that you find in these two metaphors. First of all, both of them are affirmative statements of what we are. He doesn't say, "You aren't an adulterer, a murderer, or a drunkard." A lot of times, Christians today are defined by what they don't do. You know, I could say the same thing about this podium. This podium has never had a drop of alcohol pass its lips. It has never had a lustful thought about anybody. It has never even gotten angry with somebody, much less murdered them. There are a lot of things this podium is not. But does anybody want to be this podium? I don't think so. Jesus said in the affirmative, "You are salt, you are light."

Secondly, notice both emphasize individual responsibility. Jesus begins the sentence with an affirmative personal direction: "You, you, you." Do you remember in basketball arenas a few years ago, it was popular for fans to stand up and point and say, "You, you, you, you," when an opposing team drew a foul? Well, that's what Jesus is saying. "You, not somebody else. You are salt. You are light in this world."

And then finally, both are statements of fact. They're really not commands. Jesus didn't say, "You should be the salt of the earth" or "You ought to be the light of the world." He said, "You are." The only question is, what kind of salt are you? Are you effective, or have you become tasteless? What kind of light are you? Are you a bright light for the Gospel or a dim light for the Gospel?

Let's look at both of these statements more in depth, beginning with verse 13. First of all, Jesus talks about the value of salt. "You are the salt of the earth." In Jesus' day, salt was a very valuable commodity. In fact, the Greeks thought it was of divine origin. The Romans had a saying: "Nothing is more useful than sun and salt." Salt was used for a variety of things: to take care of animals, to serve as a disinfectant, to serve as flavoring, like it is today, and to serve as a preservative. It was so valuable, especially pure salt, that it was often used as currency. Did you know Roman soldiers many times received their wages not in currency, but in salt? In fact, the Latin word for salt, "sal," is the root word for "salary" that we use today. It's a means of payment. It was so valuable.

So what did Jesus mean when He said, "You are like this valuable commodity called salt"? I think He had two things in mind, two applications. One purpose of salt was to enhance thirst. You know, today an athlete who's training in the hot summer sun, the coach will give him salt tablets. Why? Why would you have salt? Well, it would cause a thirst that would motivate you to hydrate yourself properly and stay healthy. It was used in the same way in Jesus' day. Salt was given to animals so that they would take in the proper amount of water. You probably have heard the old adage, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink." And that's true. But you can salt the oats. And that's exactly what He's talking about here.

Salt was a way of causing the animal to want to drink. In the same way, Jesus said in Matthew 5:6, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness." Unfortunately, we live in a world where there are a lot of people who aren't thirsting after righteousness. They have no desire for a right relationship with God. Well, Jesus said one reason I'm leaving you here on this earth is to help create that thirst. You say, "Well, how do you create spiritual thirst in other people?" It's the Holy Spirit working through you, but in some specific ways.

For example, you know, Friday night, you may be out with your mate or be out with your family for dinner at Applebee's. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to stand on the tabletop and preach a sermon from John 3:16. That may be okay, but you're probably not going to do that and have a receptive audience. But one thing you can do is before the meal arrives, bow your heads and pray. Why do we pray in public? It's not to make people think we're so holy, but it's a way of reminding people around you that there is a God to whom we're accountable. You can do that wherever you are. That's what Jesus is talking about here when He talks about being salt.

One idea is to enhance thirst, but there's another application of being salt. And it really was the main use of salt in Jesus' day, and that was to preserve food. Remember, in the days before refrigeration, the only way you could preserve meat was by packing it with salt. Now, salt did not prevent the decay of meat. That was a natural process that could not be reversed. You could never reverse the decay of meat, but you could delay the decay of the meat by packing it with salt. You gave the meat a longer shelf life until it had to be thrown out.

And Jesus said, in the same way, you and I are salt. We are restrainers of evil that is destroying our world. So what is restraining evil right now? It is the Holy Spirit in the lives of Christians. We can't prevent the destruction of the world ultimately, but we can delay it. We can push back against it. Imagine a giant dam that is holding back millions of gallons of water over a small village. But leaks start springing up in that dam. The bricks are beginning to crumble. A hundred of the men of the town go up to that dam and they push back against it. They know that eventually the dam is going to crumble. Their efforts will be futile. But all they're trying to do is buy a little more time so that the people in the village below have time to flee for safety.

That's the picture of what we are doing right now. We are the ones, the restrainers of evil, pushing back against that flood of iniquity that is about to descend upon our country and upon our world. That is our job as salt, to push back against evil. Now, I know some of you are thinking, "Now wait a minute. How does that fit with the truth of God's sovereignty? Pastor, don't you believe in the sovereignty of God? Don't you believe the day of the world's destruction is written in indelible ink on God's calendar and there's not one thing you can do to change it? Don't you believe that?"

Yes, I believe it until I read my Bible. Now let me be clear. I do believe in the sovereignty of God. It's a mystery that we just can't comprehend. But that doesn't negate the individual responsibility that we have. We can delay God's judgment. You know how I know that? By reading the story of Jonah. God said, "I'm going to destroy the wicked city of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria." But God sent that reluctant prophet Jonah who preached to the Ninevites. Many were converted, and notice the result. Jonah 3:10 says, "When God saw their deeds that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He declared that He would bring upon them. And He did not do it." God relented. God repented. God changed His mind.

How is it that an omniscient, omnipotent, immutable, unchangeable God changes His mind about anything? I don't have a clue. I don't have a clue, and neither do you. We can't explain it. The Bible is explaining in human terms what we can't really understand in divine terms. But the practical outworking of it is that God relented of His decision. Now here's what's interesting when you look at secular history. God eventually did destroy Nineveh. In 612 B.C., Nineveh was destroyed, but God delayed the destruction of Nineveh because of one man's action.

The takeaway for me is we can push back against evil. We can delay God's judgment on our nation and our world, but the only reason we do that is so that we have a little more time to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. Have you ever wondered why God allows people like Vladimir Putin and Adolf Hitler and others to wreak havoc on the world and continue in their evil ways? Why doesn't God put an end to it? The Bible's very clear in 2 Peter 3:9-10. Peter says, "For the Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance." The only reason God has not drawn the curtain on human history and sent Christ back is to give people longer to share the gospel.

If we're fulfilling our Christ-given purpose to be salt, it means we are being a preservative. We are pushing back against evil, not to save America. There is no command in Scripture for us to save America. We have been called to save Americans from the coming judgment of God by introducing them to faith in Jesus Christ. That's why we push back against evil. And you know, there are a lot of Christians today who have come up with all kinds of excuses of why they shouldn't get involved in pushing back against evil. They talk about their own piety: "Well, I'm just too holy, and I can't get involved in worldly things. I just can't do that at all. I might taint my holiness." Some use theology as an excuse: "Well, we can't change the sovereign plan of God. God is going to do whatever He's going to do." Some even use a false sense of patriotism, saying, "Well, this is America, and I shouldn't impose my Christian views on a free country."

Let me remind you of something: Every country is built on somebody's values. Every nation is built on some value system. For the first 160 years of this nation, we were built on the values found in God's Word. Now we are following the values of atheism, Marxism, and humanism. But every nation is going to be built on some set of values. Should we get involved in pushing back against evil, or should we just stay in our holy huddle and talk to one another?

Erwin Lutzer, my good friend, recounts what happens when Christians are indifferent about what is happening in their nation and in their world. If you want to know the end result of Christian passivity, just remember what happened 83 years ago when Adolf Hitler invaded Poland in 1939, and then he started his march across the world. The fact is, the reason he was allowed to do what he did was the indifference of the German people, mainly German Christians. There were a few outliers like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, but the majority of German Christians remained silent under this ungodly dictator. They used all the excuses: piety, their theology, and their false sense of patriotism to remain silent.

Dr. Lutzer recounts the testimony of a Christian living in Germany about the end result of indifference: "I lived in Germany during the Nazi Holocaust. I considered myself a Christian. We heard stories of what was happening to the Jews, but we tried to distance ourselves from it because what could anyone do to stop it? Our railroad track ran behind our small church, and each Sunday morning we could hear the whistle in the distance and then the wheels coming over the tracks. We became disturbed when we heard the cries coming from the train as it passed by. We realized it was carrying Jews like cattle in the cars. Week after week, the whistle would blow. We dreaded to hear the sound of those wheels because we knew we would hear the cries of the Jews en route to a death camp. Their screams tormented us. We knew the time the train was coming, and when we heard the whistle blow, we began singing. By the time the train came past our church, we were singing at the top of our lungs. We heard the screams. We sang more loudly, and we soon heard them no more. Years have passed, and nobody talks about it anymore. But I still hear that train whistle in my sleep. God forgive me. Forgive all of us who called ourselves Christians, yet did nothing to intervene."

There are churches across this country. There are churches all over the community of Dallas right now that are singing at the top of their lungs to try to drown out the evil that is pervading our country right now. We dare not do that. We must speak out and push back against evil, and we're going to continue to do it. You know, when it comes to our role in the culture and pushing back against evil, Christians go to one of two extremes. You know, there are some Christians who want to isolate themselves. They're salt, but they're going to stay in that shaker. And they come up with all kinds of reasons to isolate themselves from the culture. There are other Christians who go to the opposite extreme. They identify with the culture. They become more like the culture rather than the culture becoming like the church. They adopt their value system. They become just like them.

Jesus talked about them in verse 13. In Jesus' day, you couldn't buy pure salt; it was too expensive. You'd buy a mixture of salt and sand, and eventually, the sand would break down the effectiveness of the salt. And that's why Jesus said, "If the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men." Once the salt lost its sting, its tastiness, its preserving influence, it was thrown away. That's happening to Christians who become more like the world than they should.

No, Jesus said, don't isolate yourself. Don't identify with the culture. Instead, influence the culture, permeate the culture, get out of the shaker, and get involved in the world of business, politics, and entertainment. God needs His people in those arenas to be that preserving influence that God has called us to be. That is our job as salt, to push back against evil that is destroying our world.

Speaker 2

Friends, we're living in polarized days. We're in a daily battle between good and evil. So the question is this: Are we ready to get out of the shaker and spread some salt around? Are we prepared to shine the light of Jesus into the darkest corners of our world? For this reason and more, I've written a brand new book to help you. My book is called *Shine the Light*, and you're invited to request your copy when you give a generous gift to the Salt and Light matching challenge that we're launching today.

Because of this $1 million matching challenge, every dollar you give between now and July 6th that goes to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory will be matched and therefore doubled in size. This is your opportunity—an opportunity to push back the forces of darkness that are so prevalent in our day. Leverage your gift today by allowing the matching challenge to yield twice the impact of your giving. Be sure your gift to Pathway to Victory will truly make a difference as we engage in a battle that, in human terms, seems unwinnable.

With God's help and by following Jesus' command to become Salt and Light, we will permeate our culture with good news. For example, let me read a comment from Diane in Mississippi. Diane wrote, "Pastor, Pathway to Victory has been a huge blessing in my life. This morning especially, I needed your message on living by faith. I've been in a slump and I've lost focus for a little while. God used your message to refocus my spiritual eyes. Thank you for your ministry."

Well, thank you, Diane, for that encouragement. Your encouraging comment inspires all of us to keep giving generously to Pathway to Victory. God is using our partners to pierce the darkness with the light of His word. David thanks Dr. Jeffress.

Speaker 1

You're invited to request the brand new book by Dr. Jeffress, *Shine the Light*. When you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, simply call 866-999-2965 or visit our website at ptv.org. When you give an especially generous gift of $100 or more, we'll also include the complete *Shine the Light* teaching series on audio and video discs.

Remember, your gift right now will have twice the impact because of our Salt and Light Matching Challenge, so be sure to get in touch right away. Call 866-999-2965 or go to ptv.org. You could also send your request by mail if you'd like. Write to P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222. One more time, that's P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, TX 75222.

I'm David J. Mullins inviting you back next time for part two of the message called *Straight Talk about Your Faith* right here on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas.

You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory, and we're so glad you're here. Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible, and right now your ministry gift will be matched and therefore doubled in impact thanks to the Salt and Light Matching Challenge.

Take advantage of this opportunity to double your impact before the deadline on July 6th. To give toward the matching challenge, go to ptv.org/donate or follow the link in our show notes. We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.