Matthew 5:13-16 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”
This verse comes from a well-known section of Matthew, called The Sermon On The Mount. Jesus is talking to a crowd of people about what it looks like to live as a Christian.
Recently I was listening to a sermon about this section of the Bible. The quote, “You are the salt of the earth,” is one I know well but have not stopped to think about what it means.
I have always taken it to mean that we are different from the world, and if we lose faith, we are no longer distinct and lose our saltiness, as the verse says. But is that really what Jesus is saying in this verse? That we are called to be different? In a lot of ways, that is true, but I don’t think that is what He is saying here.
Salt is used as a seasoning now. I don’t think there is a meal that salt is not part of, whether intentional or not. In biblical times salt was also commonly used as a preservative for meats and even part of the embalming process.
To believe the gospel and have it within you in the form of the Holy Spirit living in you and working through you, through the faith in Jesus, is to be preserved, preserved from the wrath of God.
To be the salt of the earth is to preserve the earth and share the Good News. If you repent and have faith, you are no longer an enemy of God but called sons and daughters of God.
To lose your saltines is to become diluted by the world, not turning from your sins and temptations, growing as the Bible says, “hard-hearted.” If you can’t let go of your pride, anger, lust, you will lose your saltiness.
As Christians, we have the reassurance that whoever God chooses, no one can pluck from his hands. Reassurance does not give us the license to live as those who live in the world (to lose our saltiness). We are told to live by the Spirit:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
Live in the Spirit, share the hope, and continually pray that the Lord will deliver us from temptations and remain faithful till the end.
