The Flood Gates of Regeneration: Matthew 5:12-13
““12) 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 under foot by men. “13) You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;”. Matthew 5:13-14
I believe Jesus was making an application from the beatitudes listed in verses three through twelve. He was saying; “As long as my people consistently live out these qualities, they become the salt of the earth and the light of the world!”
The problem is that fallen human nature is contrary to each of these qualities. God’s people as a whole have fallen short of these qualities through the ages. Religion alone is a poor vehicle to change the human heart. If it had been effective, Judaism and the Law should have produced good salt and shining lights.
Jesus came to a thriving religious system, but the salt was tasteless and the light was hidden and dim. In the balance of the Sermon on the Mount in Mathew 5-7, Jesus exposes how broken the system had become.
So how do God’s people consistently put on these qualities expressed in the Beatitudes? I believe Matthew 3:11 gives us a preview; “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” The whole Sermon on the Mount was exposing a thirst and hunger for the deep inner ministry of the Holy Spirit.
This is “the Promise” Jesus talked about in Acts 1:4-5. This is the inner well He promised to the Samaritan woman in John 4:13-14; 22-24. These are the rivers of living water Jesus spoke about in John 7:37-39 that would flow from the innermost being on those filled with the Holy Spirit.
I certainly believe people should consciously plant and cultivate the Beatitudes into their lives. Character development takes time and effort. But I also know that the filling of the Holy Spirit can open the flood gates of regeneration.
Take some time and compare the Beatitudes with the Fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-24. The secret to becoming the salt of the earth and the light of the World will become obvious.
The past decade has launched me into a deep quest for the ministry of the Holy Spirit in my life. It had been a hunger and thirst for a long time, but my formal theological training inhibited me. My journey to faith, freedom and fulness has taken longer than some, but God has been so good in helping me lay a deep biblical foundation for the liberating and powerful ministry of the Holy Spirit.
I see in these verse in Matthew 5:13-14 the hope of revival and awakening within the Body of Christ today. God is at work healing the breach between the evangelical/Spirit-filled camps.
I see this crucial, deep and biblical work as the primary restraint against the rising tide of sin, compromise and false teaching coming in like a tide in the apostate church. I pray for and welcome genuine biblical revival and awakening… but I wholeheartedly reject the woke church movement!
If it is not Holy, it is not from the Holy Spirit! If it does not line up with Matthew 5:3-16 and Galatians 5:22-24, it is tasteless salt and fake light! If it is not biblical, it is tyrannical! If it does not bow to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, it’s origin is not in His Kingdom of light! (See Colossians 1:13-14)
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
