A Chastened, New Testament Cultural Mandate

What is the relationship between the creation/cultural mandate in Genesis and God’s intended role for his redeemed people in the new covenant?

In Genesis 1, God creates humanity in his image and gives them a task to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion” (1:28). In Genesis 2, he places them in a garden he designed and gives them the task of stewarding the garden, of cultivating and protecting it (2:15). Combining these two images gives us humanity’s original creation mandate: to cultivate and expand God’s garden-temple to bring God’s creative glory to the ends of the earth.

However, this original mandate becomes disrupted by humanity’s rebellion and fall into sin (Genesis 3). They lose their place in the Garden and lose immediate fellowship and access to God’s counsel. Creation itself is cursed to resist humanity’s dominion. Humanity’s ability to fulfill its purpose, and the creation’s ability to receive it, are both distorted. Only in the new heavens and the new earth, promised in the downpayment of Jesus’ resurrection, will they be fully restored (Romans 8:18-25; Acts 3:21; 2 Peter 3:12-13).

In the meantime, what then is the continuing role and mandate of redeemed humanity while we wait for the new heavens and new earth?

Interestingly, in the Sermon on the Mount, right after describing the foundational heart attitudes that characterize new covenant citizens (Matthew 5:2-12), Jesus gives an important and succinct statement of the church’s purpose and mission: “You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13-16). These two images actually provide a simple and clarifying, while chastened^[1], New Testament cultural mandate: Why are we still here on this earth? What has Jesus left us here to do? All of the Bible’s teaching on the mission of the Christian life can be summarized in these two images: salt and light.

A Remaining World of Decay and Darkness

Notice that salt and light both presume an ongoing conflict and temptation. They presume that the world is in decay and darkness. They presume a temptation to lose our salt or hide our light, and an ongoing responsibility to be what Jesus has made us to be. Until Jesus returns, there will not be a time when this world is not going to be decay and darkness and where Christians are not called to be salt and light. We are citizens of another world. This life will always be marked by conflict and suffering. We will never stop being exiles and sojourners until Christ himself brings about the consummation and restoration of all things. But meanwhile, what we are to do is to push back the decay and represent the light.

The Christian musician and songwriter Andrew Peterson wrote a book on art and culture entitled “Adorning the Dark.”^[2] It’s a beautiful phrase that acknowledges the fallen reality of this world, but gives a remaining, if chastened, purpose in the darkness. Christmastime is sometimes called a Festival of Lights. In the bleak of winter, Christians often bring dead trees into homes and decorate them with color and light. We know the trees are dead and the decorations are temporary. But putting up the light and decoration seems to push back the cold and darkness, seems to give foretastes of light and beauty, as we wait for the spring. And that’s a beautiful picture of the mission of the Christian life.

The Mission of Salt

When Jesus uses the image of “salt”, he suggests a danger of losing “saltiness” - “if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored” (5:13). Salt in the ancient world was not purified like it is today. Salt deposits were mined from areas like the Dead Sea and were usually chunks of material that were predominantly salt, but also contained lots of other minerals. If those chunks of material got wet or damp, the actual salt would be the first to dissolve and wash out. What you had left was a white powder that looked like salt, but didn’t have any saltiness left. John Stott says, “It was just road dust.”^[3] Jesus emphasizes the danger for the salt to get washed out, to lose its “taste” (or “become tasteless”). His concern is to preserve taste, to stay salty.

This suggests two questions: How do you preserve your saltiness? And what does it mean then to be salty for the world? Importantly, the word for “losing taste” (μωραίνομαι), also means “to act foolishly” or “to become foolish.” Jesus might then be tying the “saltiness” of believers to “wisdom” in their activities and presence in this world. When believers act no differently than the “foolish” of the world, they have lost their saltiness. In contrast, practical “wisdom” requires the fear and knowledge of the Lord. It is the preserving influence of the gospel itself and the covenant of grace in your soul that keeps you from being washed out by the world. That same influence then enables you to act with wisdom and influence others. The entire image then seems to emphasize the importance and aspect of preservation.

People tend to think of salt today as simply something that adds flavor. What they miss is that salt is essential for life. Most living creatures need salt in order to survive. Prior to refrigeration, salt was essential as a preservative. Salt kills bacteria, effectively sucking water out of bacteria, preventing it from growing and feeding, and so it preserves. For the same reason, salt was even used as an ancient antiseptic for various wounds. In ancient Israel, newborn babies were rubbed with salt (Ezek.16:4), as a cleanser and exfoliant and to balance skin moisture. It even had religious significance. The covenants of the Old Testament were sometimes called “covenants of salt”, signs of preservation and God’s eternal promises.

So salt was important for almost every area of life. It’s an incredibly powerful and relevant illustration. We live in a world that needs salt, that craves salt. It’s a world that is decaying, that is longing for permanence. And Jesus says, Christians, in the gospel and by their presence, are the only preservative power available to the world. Because of who you are, because you have the seasoning of heaven, you have the flavor the world hungers for and needs.

The Mission of Light

Similarly, when Jesus uses the image of “light”, he seems to emphasize the aspect of attraction and guidance - being a city on a hill that is seen and draws people to its light, being a lamp that guides those in the house (5:14-15). Before the harnessing of electricity, the darkness of night could be really dark. And in a dark place, light is conspicuous; even the smallest light stands out. Jesus says, “A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” Jerusalem was such a city set on a hill. And every year, the Jews would travel several times a year to Jerusalem, perhaps often ending their journey after dark, but assured that the lights of the city would guide their way.

But if you have enemies, the temptation would be to turn out the lights. I happen to live in a neighborhood with a large number of older people uninterested in participating in Halloween. So on Halloween night, our neighborhood becomes very dark, as many turn off their outside lights to discourage would be trick-or-treaters. For more important reasons, during World War II, blackouts were enforced across the city of London to prevent German bombers from locating their targets.

And yet, hiding our light is not an option for Christians, who are the light of the world. Bonhoeffer wrote, “Flight into the invisible is a denial of the call. A community of Jesus which seeks to hide itself has ceased to follow him.”^[4] We are not allowed to be ashamed of Christ and the gospel. We cannot be satisfied with keeping the truth to ourselves and not promoting it to others. While some so-called Christians lose their salt and become just like the world, others can think to go into a holy huddle and hide themselves away from the world. But Jesus says, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (5:16). Notice the evangelistic aspect of “light”, leading people to “give glory” to the Father. Light must not be hidden. It must attract and guide to the glory of the Father.

A Chastened, but Glorious Mandate

So, between the images of salt and light, Jesus gives a simple, humble, but also glorious mandate for life in a still fallen world. His words suggest that he wants his people to have a preserving role and an attracting / guiding role. They must not lose their salt, but act with wisdom. They must not hide their light, but shine the way for others. I would suggest that “salt” might focus more on faithful presence, pushing back the decay of this world; “light” may focus more on guiding people towards the glory of the next world. Salt may have more cultural implications, and light may have more evangelistic implications.

A New Testament cultural mandate acknowledges the continuing, fallen reality of this world, but faithfully still seeks to be a preservative influence and to attract and guide people to the light. Push back the decay and guide in the darkness, providing glimmering foretastes of the world to come. Obviously, there is overlap and interplay between those two. Pushing back the decay creates space and taste that may also draw people to the light. Howard Hendricks famously said, “People insist that you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. But you can always feed him salt!” Feeding salt can create thirst for the light.

So, here is our mission, both culturally and evangelistically. Whatever you’re doing as a Christian, you’re either preserving or guiding. When you’re doing laundry, fixing your house, maintaining your lawn, making art, building a business, working with excellence, interacting with this fallen world - you’re doing so in order to push back the decay, and in order to create glimpses and opportunities for people to see the light of the gospel and to guide people to the city of God. So, be salty and let your light shine.