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"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men." ~ Matthew 5:13
Today, we continue our study of the Sermon on the Mount where we are taught a new way of living contrary to the fallen way of living that we have always known. Today's verse was preceded by the Beatitudes which provide a description of how the God of the Bible changes us from the inside out. As a result of this change, the disciple of the Lord will take on a new disposition to others, even those who treat them in a wrong way.
Today's verse begins with, "You are the salt of the earth." In the New Testament "salt" is used metaphorically of Christians who have become the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. There was a time when people were paid with salt. Salt, literally, is used by everyone. It has many great qualities, in particular, it preserves, it flavors and it heals. Here, the Lord Jesus used it to reiterate how when the believer is being defined by the Lord he will naturally spread the truth that he is learning from Him through his life and his lips. As salt enhances flavor and prevents corruption and aids healing, so the believer in Christ impacts those around him.
In Exodus 30:34-35 we read, "34 Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Take these sweet-smelling spices: resin, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense. Be sure that you have equal amounts of each. 35 Make incense as a person who makes perfume would do. Add salt to it to keep it pure and holy.'" The Lord told the priests to add salt to the ingredients that made up the incense, it was used as the base of the temple incense. When we get to the book of the Revelation we learn that the incense was analogous of the prayers of the saints.
In Number 18:19 we read, "Anything the Israelites present as holy gifts I, the Lord, give to you, your sons and daughters as your continual portion. This is a lasting agreement of salt before the Lord for you and your children forever."
In this verse salt was a symbol of covenant faithfulness. This covenant of salt was an agreement between God and man which lasted forever. As such, the believer in Christ who has confidence in the veracity of God's Word is to reflect the covenant promises God in our lives. The Lord Jesus equated all believers to salt to indicate how we should conduct ourselves as we live our lives while here on this earth.
Salt benefits the earth by playing a crucial role in maintaining healthy ocean ecosystems, regulating climate patterns through its impact on ocean currents, and even acting as a source of minerals for plant growth, essentially acting as a natural fertilizer in specific soil conditions. The believer in the Lord Jesus, having experienced the process of a changed heart will benefit those around him by created in them a thirst for God. The unbeliever looks at the authentic believer who is doing his best to walk with the Lord and thinks to himself that he could benefit from what the believer has. Of course, what he has is a personal and growing and intimate relationship with the Lord.
Today's verse ends with the idea that if a believer isn't salty and thus benefitting the world around him, he is useless to God in the furtherance of His kingdom in this world. This is why the Lord Jesus went on to say, "It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men." This, of course, is not referring to the believer losing his salvation because he never earned it in the first place. What a foolish thought when we think that the law is so low that we could measure up to it. Here, the Lord Jesus was referring to the believer's potential effectiveness in this world as a child of God. All of this underscores the utter necessity that we are growing closer to the Lord each day because without such intimacy we lose our saltiness or effectiveness for the Lord.
In Colossians 4:6 we read, "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt."
Salt has antibacterial and antiseptic properties that can be used to aid healing. This is why we use warm salt water to rinse and to treat a sore throat. The Lord Jesus may also have had this medicinal use of salt in mind here when He shared these words. Although only the Lord Jesus can accomplish salvation, as His followers we can participate in healing the world from the effects of the Fall and holding back its corruption until this world is finally made new.
The most salty among us are those who have experienced and understood God's grace the best. It is the nature of God's grace that causes the believer who has been seasoned by it to be winsome. Grace reminds us we are acceptable when we are actually not. Grace reminds us that God not only did the heavy lifting for our salvation, He does all of the lifting for us. He is the One who not only pronounced us right before Himself, He gave us His very righteousness. As a result, may we be used of the Lord at aiding those who hunger and thirst for more than this world has to offer. And, may our yielded and blessed lives point all who hunger and thirst for more to the Living Water Himself.
