Righteousness & Peace, Part 1: Salt & Light or Sodom & Gomorrah

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. (Matthew 5:13)

God’s kind of righteousness has a positive effect on society. Salt that is not salty is good for nothing. Similarly, light that is hidden is not light. Men do not praise God for our bad deeds.

Two events in biblical history will serve to illustrate this truth. The first was the destruction of Sodom (Genesis 18-19), and the second was Israel’s minor defeat at Ai (Joshua 6-7). God had promised the safety of the very wicked city of Sodom if ten righteous people were found in it. At Ai, God allowed the defeat of a righteous nation because there was one unrighteous man in the camp. Thirty-six men were killed because of that man’s sin.

These are opposite effects of the same principle. God will spare a wicked city if there is an adequate righteous witness in it. However, God will not give victory to His people unless everyone in the camp is righteous.

We have settled for the first option: we are content to be a small light, just enough to keep the Sodoms from being destroyed. We are running defense when we should be launching a strong offense. The church which should have a conquering view like Joshua instead endeavors to spread the gospel with unrighteous men in the army. We are not willing to purge the unrighteousness from ourselves and from the church in order to take the Ais of this world with the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord is not with us for victory.

*Excerpted from Being Christian. To purchase, visit ccmbooks.org/bookstore.

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