Are We Being Salt?

N. T. #41 "Are We Being Salt?"

April 4, 2023

Matthew 5-Part 11

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. (verse 13)

LET IT GLOW

Salt. We recognize when food is lacking it and when it has too much. I don't like too much on my food, but my husband salts things before tasting it. I found out salt is needed in our body to keep the heart beating right. I was in the emergency room once because I was very low on sodium and potassium. So grateful they were able to give me an IV of those.

Jesus continued to teach His disciples in the Sermon on the Mount. When we were there at the Sea of Galilee, I could imagine seeing Jesus seated with His disciples along the hillside giving them instructions concerning how to live for God and serve Him. What He had to say was so important that many wrote about it in what became our Scriptures.

1. Let's take a look at the properties of salt and how it is compared to the Christian's life:Salt is distinctive. It is totally different from other seasonings. Our life is to be different from those in the world. We are to be unspotted from the world, James 1:27 tells us.
2. Salt preserves. It keeps food from going bad and decaying, cleanses and disinfects. We are to keep the germs of the world from causing things to go bad, keeping the world from corruption.  (1 Peter 1:22-25)
3. Salt penetrates. It changes that upon which it is put. It inserts a new quality, substance, and life. Believers are to penetrate the world and insert a new life into it. (2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10)
4. Salt flavors. It takes a bland, tasteless food and makes it relishing. Believers are to spice up the life of those around them for Christ. (Gal. 5:22-23; 1 John 1:3)
5. Salt is quiet. It is visible, but it works silently, making no noise whatsoever during its work. Believers are to work quietly and discreetly. (1 Peter 3:4)
6. Salt spreads flavor. A believer's salt is to be spread far and wide.  (Acts 4:20; 1 Peter 3:15; 1 Thess. 4:11-12)
7. Salt is irrepressible and can't be stopped. A believer's salt is their testimony and cannot be stopped. (Isaiah 55:10-11)

[Resource: The Preacher's Outline & Sermon Bible]

In the Old Testament, salt was often a purifying agent. Jesus's disciples are to purify a corrupt world through their example of righteous living and their proclamation of the gospel. (Ex. 30:35)

LET IT GROW

After Jesus described the character of kingdom people, He describes the impact and influence of kingdom people. Salt cannot preserve meat if it stays in the shaker. We must get out and spread love, mercy, salvation, and the Word of Jesus in a sinful world.

Pure salt cannot lose effectiveness, but the salt that is common in the Dead Sea is contaminated with gypsum and other minerals and my have a flat taste or be ineffective as a preservative. such mineral salts were useful for little more than keeping footpaths free of vegetation. (MacArthur)

McGee said the Scots translated "savour" by the more expressive word tang. The problem today is that most church members have not only lost their tang as ssalt, but as pepper they have lost their pep also. 

If seasoning has no flavor, it has no value. Is Christians make no effort to affect the world around them, they are of little value to God. If we are too much like the world, we are worthless.  Christians should not blend in with everyone else. Instead, we should affect others positively, just as seasoning brings out the best flavor in food. 

Are we being salt in our family, church, and community? Or have we lost our effectiveness? May we preserve the good and right in our area of influence. 

LET IT GO

Jesus, express Your life through us today.

Help us adjust our life to Yours.

Fill us with Your Spirit.

May we melt away the coldness of others, encourage those in challenging times, and help heal wounds.

Keep our testimony of all You have done for us alive.