Salt of the Earth
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Introduction
Introduction
13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
Last week we discussed the characteristics of a Christian, as outlined in the Beatitudes - the blessings. We are to be poor in spirit, mournful of our depravity, meek and humble to those we meet, hunger and thirst for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and we should be ready for persecution. Now Christ changes from the characteristics, to the influence we, as Christians, should have on a lost and dying world. We are to be salt - something that provides flavor, and enhances everything it touches, and preserves it. So should our life be to those around us, it should enhance their lives and be pleasing to our Father. We are to become the seasoners and preservers of the earth. In these times, salt was a powerful commodity. People knew the importance and value of salt. We recognize that, today, also. In the ancient world, salt was used to flavor foods and to fertilize, but primarily to preserve foods. When a little salt was rubbed into meat, it would slow the decaying process.
Ham curing - home. Was taught early how to preserve meat. Thanksgiving Day tradition.
Not only removed the water to slow decay
Process led to a flavorful and tasteful meal.
Salt is meant to purify, preserve, and to be pleasing (add flavor).
Purify
Purify
We know of salt being used as a:
Protectant - baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) used to lower pH to level uninhabitable by fungi and bacteria. Fungi are extremely adaptive, and can accommodate themselves to a new environment in three to four days. The fungi do not adapt to the baking soda.
While it does not kill the bacteria or fungi outright, it creates an atmosphere not conducive to their growth or reproduction.
Epsom salt - (magnesium sulfate) - promotes the production of ATP, which acts as energy for cells. When cells have enough ATP, they have energy to clean out + detoxify cells and the body from mineral build up. Without it, cells hold onto mineral deposits like calcium.
Salt - (sodium chloride) has been used as a nasal spray and gargle for centuries to help alleviate symptoms of a cold. It is now being studied how the chlorine in salt allows the cells to produce hypochlorous acid - which acts like a bleach to disinfect the body and fight viral infections.
We also know salt can be used against certain bacteria by changing the osmotic balance and literally sucking the moisture out of bacteria, dehydrating them.
Christians should have these same characteristics. The word of God should purify us, helping us be free from the influences of the world. Allowing us, also, to help protect those around us through the spreading of the Word of God. Scripture used salt as symbol of God’s everlasting protection through the grain covenant.
13 You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt.
Laws for grain offering included Salt to be used.
Salt stands for permanence and incorruption.
Therefore the covenant of salt, signifies and everlasting covenant.
If everlasting, then it is a symbol of perpetuity, salt in an offering signifies the never-ending relationship between God and His people.
We belong to Him forever, He belongs to us forever.
19 All the holy contributions that the people of Israel present to the Lord I give to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. It is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord for you and for your offspring with you.”
God has given us a similar promise, that we will perpetually be preserved with Him in eternity. While the covenant was with the nation of Israel, we as Gentiles were given the opportunity of salvation .
5 So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.
We have been offered this opportunity simply by the grace of God.
29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also,
9 and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.
29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.
Now we, as the Gentiles, have the command to go to the world and witness not only to the Gentiles, but to the Jews. The problem comes when salt does not have the characteristics of salt. Salt is a chemical process, where sodium and chlorine are chemically bonded. This bond cannot be broken without great force, therefore salt cannot become “unsalty”.
However, two things can occur.
Salt common to the Dead Sea area is often contaminated with other minerals that make it have a chalky, flat taste and it can lose its ability to serve as a purifying agent because…it is not pure. This salt is not useful for anything, other than to spread on the roadway as a way to kill vegetation. When this salt is contaminated, it looks like salt, it may have some saltiness, but it is not useful for its intended purpose. However, it can still be toxic to the things which it comes in contact with.
We as Christians must guard our purity so we are not contaminated and become useless. Contaminated Christians may still look like a Christian, may still act like a Christian, but is not performing its intended purpose, but can be toxic to the environment in which it contacts.
Salt can become diluted. If we place a tablespoon of salt into a glass of water, it can be a powerful antiseptic. But is we continue to add water to it, over time it loses its flavor and becomes weak and tasteless.
As Christians, we must remain in God’s Word so as to keep our saltiness. If you think, when we consume salt it causes us to become thirsty. As a Christian, we should remain thirsty for knowledge. This is why it is important to continue to come together as a congregation, to attend bible study, Sunday School, so that we continue to remain, as God says, the salt of the earth.
We must choose to preserve His word by remaining true to His Word through studying.
Preserve
Preserve
6 The words of the Lord are pure words,
like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times.
7 You, O Lord, will keep them;
you will guard us from this generation forever.
God’s Word has been preserved throughout the ages. As such, we, as Christians should preserve Gods Word through our very lives. We should allow for the saltiness of God’s Word to penetrate our life, to cause us to crave to learn more of God’s Word, to grow closer to Him, and to desire others to grow to love the Word of God in the same manner that we do.
2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Part of our preservation is to be preserved in God’s Word - against the normal practices of this world. We should be transformed. With that transformation comes a chance to please God.
Pleases / Flavors
Pleases / Flavors
Any time we prepare a meal, we know that salt brings out the flavor of the food. It enhances the flavors and makes them more pleasing. We have been told in 1 John 3:22 to keep His commandments and do what pleases Him.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
It is impossible to please God without having faith in Him. To draw closer to God, we have to believe in what He has given us.
15 Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!
Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!
Part of pleasing God is to be pleasing to others - we should act as though serving God is a desirable thing!
1 I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together!
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,
6 Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt,
or is there any taste in the juice of the mallow?
7 My appetite refuses to touch them;
they are as food that is loathsome to me.
We have the greatest gift that could ever be given to man - and we should be shouting out to everyone around us what God has done in our lives, we should be pleasing to God, and we should be pleasing to be around.
Closing
Closing
We are called to Purify, to Preserve, and to Please God’s Word. To demonstrate the impact we should make in our world, Jesus used the illustration of salt.
Jesus’ followers would be like salt in that they could purify us by creating a thirst for greater information,
It is also possible that salt means these people serve as a preservative against the evils of society.
Whichever view one takes, the important quality to note is that salt ought to maintain its basic character. If it fails to be salty, it has lost its purpose for existence and should be discarded.
There is also a danger, though - that we would become flavorless, we lost our taste, we no longer crave the Word of God, and we become useless for our original intent and purpose.
As a reminder, we all know that this week is the Presidential election. We know that our duty is to vote - so that God’s will can be done. It does no good for us to say God’s will be done, but to do nothing to see it carried out. We are the salt, and should use this time to season the tastelessness of this election. Salt does not good if it is never used. It cannot protect, it cannot preserve, and it cannot provide pleasure if it is never used.