Salt of the Earth
BY D. STUART BRISCOE
Matthew 5:13 IN Matthew 5:13, Jesus says, "Ye are the salt of the earth..." As the word "earth" in that statement refers to our sphere of influence, the Lord provides there a powerful illustration of the impact and impression Christians should be making on the society in which they live. We are responsible to "live out" our Christianity where God has placed us.
In this message, we'll look at three aspects of how we are to live as the salt of the earthor, in other words, how we are to behave distinctively as Christians where we are.
I. The State of Being Salt
Notice that Jesus isn't asking for volunteers. He says, "Ye are the salt." Whether you want to be or not, you are salt. This means that each of us is to function as salt in the little piece of geography to which He has called us: our neighborhood, the office, or wherever we are. We are to make an impact upon that area of influence.Imperative. An important aspect of the fact that we believers are the salt in our circle of influence is that it is imperative that we are there. Just because we Christians are forgiven and are on our way to heaven, does not mean that's all there is! Our role isn't to sit back and wait for the bus to pick us up. God's program for the world requires that we don't ever settle down to a mundane existence.
When I was in the Marines, we used to go on speed marches. On a speed march, you run all the way. When you come to a hill, you run twice as fast! All we had to eat on those marches was salt, actual chunks
of it. Perspiration would blind us, but as long as we had the salt, we could go on; without it, we could not survive.Life functions require salt. It is the very sustenance of life itself. So, by saying that we are the salt of the earth, God is saying that it is essential for us to be where He has put us. What an exciting concept! You and I as Christians are vital to the world around us. That gives Christianity a totally new dimension.
Distinctive. Even as salt has a distinct taste, we believers tend to stand out distinctly from the crowd. If we are truly followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, our lifestyle is bound to be different from that of the people around us. We march to a different drummer; we live by a different set of principles.
The world around us seems bent on its own destruction; it is indifferent to its own danger. Pursuing the things and pleasures of the world, people around us seek to satisfy themselves according to the rules of the world.
But led by the Holy Spirit and guided by the word of God, we Christians live for Christ. Because we have a view of life that is different from that of the society in which we circulate, we have a distinct "taste". The world around us knows this, and so we are constantly on display. We represent God, and God wants the world to see Christ in us.
Abrasive. In Judges 18, there is an account of a little town overtaken by strangers. It begins in verse 7:
"Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that were therein, how they dwelt careless, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure."Everyone in Laish was living comfortably, lacking nothing and possessing wealth. Even in the face of an approaching enemy, they remained unconcerned. They who were living comfortably perished comfortably! If someone had stood to his feet and shouted, "Fools! Wake up!", the people would probably have been upset with him for disturbing their peace.
Likewise, if we are the kind of Christians Jesus wants us to be, we are likely to be found abrasive by the people around us. No, it's not that we behave abrasively. But as Jesus warns in John 15:19, "If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you."
II. The Significance of Being Salt
What is the significance of our being salt? What functions do we serve as salt?Preservative. When Jesus made this statement, His immediate hearers, the fishermen of Galilee, no doubt thought at once of the preservative property of salt. When they caught a fish, they had to pack it between layers of salt in order to get it to the market in good condition.
In I Corinthians 1:18, Paul wrote, "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God."
What has that verse to do with being salt? Well, the phrase "them that perish" describes the condition
of the unsaved around us. They are like the fish that would rot. We Christians, in our capacity as salt, are the ones who can bring them the gospel, preserving them from becoming eternally corrupt.Covenant. Numbers 18 is a chapter that talks about the duties of priests and the Levites. In verse 19, we read, "All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto the Lord, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the Lord unto thee and to thy seed with thee."
That "covenant of salt" is a symbol that points to the covenant between God and man. As we share our experience with Christ, we are passing along this covenant of salt, this promise of truth. Men can "bite into" our experience to test its reality, allowing us the tremendous privilege of being salt to our society.
In II Corinthians 3:6 Paul tells us that God "has qualified us to be ministers of a new covenant, not in a written code but in the Spirit; for the written code kills, but the Spirit gives life" (RSV).
Are you and I as Christians truly functioning as salt? Have many people around us come to grips with the fact that it is possible for God and man to be reconciled through the blood of His Son? Are they aware of the covenant of grace?
Judgment. In Judges 9:45, we read, "And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and slew the people that was therein, and beat down the city, and sowed it with salt".
The salt was sowed so that nothing would ever grow in the area again. It was totally and utterly destroyed. This is the way a Christian should function. His life, his testimony, his very presence should be a positive witness for Christ; but it should be a negative condemnation to the person who refuses to believe.
Writing to the Corinthians, Paul makes this point: "For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life" (II Cor. 2:15,16).
Purifier. If you've ever had an open cut, you know how salt in that wound made it sting. But it also made it clean. That is another aspect of salt's functionto administer cleansing.
There is an interesting reference to the cleansing power of salt in Ezekiel 16:4: "And as for your birth, on the day you were born your navel string was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt..." (RSV). Salt, you see, was used there as part of the cleansing process.
What a challenge it is to be a Christian in the world today. We are to be a means of cleansing. To be sure, we're not to think of ourselves as better or greater than others because of this call. No, we are servants of the living God as we fulfill this function of being salt.
Flavor. Job asked the question: "Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg?" (6:6). Did you ever try to eat something that had not been salted to your taste? Flat and unexciting, wasn't it?
I'm afraid that's the way many of us Christians come through to the people of the world around us. But we Christians have no business being boring. Jesus was saying in effect, "Does this world have to go on the way it is without salt? Can't we have some salt around here, please, that will add a beautiful touch to the whole thing?" To fulfill my function as salt, I need to add flavor to life around me.
III. The Seriousness of Being Salt
We now come to the second half of Matthew 5:13: "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."In Galilee back in Jesus' day, a cheap grade of salt was used for packing fish. Once it lost its saltness, it was useless and was spread on the ground. Using this example, Jesus now gets around to the importance of fulfilling our function as salt. He warns that there is danger, disgrace, and possible disaster in terms of our Christian testimony.
The possibility that our salt may lose its savor was also hinted at by Paul in Romans 1:22, "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools." The phrase "became fools" is from the same Greek word as the one Jesus uses for "lost its savour".
Jesus was effectively saying, "If you're not careful, salt of the earth, you will lose your edge, your distinctiveness, your abrasiveness, your power, your very reason for being. You will become foolishness." In short, you may not have been saved to begin with.
I've heard the term "good for nothing" applied to a variety of people. But Jesus applies it to professed Christians who are really saltless. Fellow Christians, I want to be salty as a Christian, don't you? o
Rev. D. Stuart Briscoe is pastor of Elmbrook Church, 777 South Barker Road, Waukesha, WI 53186.
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