YOU ARE THE SALT OF THE EARTH
(Part 1)
Matthew 5:13
According to the Cambridge dictionary, the phrase “salt of the earth” is an idiom that refers to someone who is “very good, honest, and reasonable; one who does not think that they are special in any way”. The examples given are statements such as: 1. They were such good people. They really were the salt of the earth. 2. He was the sort of person referred to as salt of the earth: very friendly and straightforward. (Information retrieved from https//dictionary.cambridge.org)
While this is a good representation of how “salt of the earth” is used in our society, the Biblical definition is much deeper and far more important. In the Sermon on the Mount, just after the Beatitudes, the Lord Jesus says to His followers, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. (Matthew 5:13)
Salt is a very useful product, in fact, someone has estimated that there are over 14,000 uses for salt. We know that salt serves as a flavor enhancer and we use it to season our food but it is also a preservative and can be used as a cleaning and healing agent and much more.
It seems that the preserving aspect of salt is what Jesus had in mind in this passage. Obviously there was no means of refrigeration in the first century, therefore salt would be applied to meat to preserve it for future use and to hinder the spread of decay.
When salt is washed out or contaminated by other minerals it loses its pungency and has no real value. It is not fit to be used as a preservative, nor is it useful for seasoning. Christians who have become influenced by the world are of no use to the world. Furthermore, they will not have a positive impact for Christ and His Kingdom.
Jesus wanted His followers to know that they were to do for the world what salt does for meat. We cannot divorce this metaphor from the verses that precede it. In the previous verses we find what is often referred to as The Beatitudes. In those verses Jesus very clearly illustrated proper Kingdom living. When we live in the manner that Jesus described in verses 3-12, we will be Christians who have a positive impact on the world around us. If we fail to live in such a way, then we will become “tasteless” and in many ways useless and even harmful representatives of Jesus Christ.
In verse 13, Jesus warns His followers against losing their saltiness. This warning applies to us just as much as it did to those who were in attendance on the Mount of Olives. I would like to examine this verse and consider Jesus’ declaration that “You Are The Salt Of The Earth”.
It would be beneficial for us to remember the setting for this message, for this reason I ask you to look with me back to verses 1-2. Matthew tells us that “seeing the multitudes, (Jesus) went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them”. While there was a multitude of people in attendance for the Sermon on the Mount, this portion of the Savior’s discourse was clearly intended for the “disciples” of Jesus. Here the word disciple means follower. This involved more than just the men who would later become “the twelve”.
Though there was a vast multitude following Jesus at this point in time many would eventually turn away and no longer follow Him, thus making it clear that not all were true disciples. This is often the case when the church gathers together. There are many who profess to belong to the Savior who have never truly experienced regeneration, though they may be identified with Jesus, they do not truly belong to Him. With that being said, those who are “the salt of the earth” are those who have a personal and eternal relationship with the Lord Jesus.
- Understanding the setting helps us to better see the first heading I would like to consider and that is:
I. AN INESCAPABLE REALITY
“You are the salt of the earth”
Here in verse 13, when Jesus says “you”, He is referring to the genuine disciple (or follower) of Christ. He is speaking to the one who has been transformed by His mighty power and lives a Kingdom focused life. One who exhibits the traits that are mentioned in The Beatitudes.
When Jesus says “you”, He is talking to those who are “poor in spirit”, “those who mourn” over their sins, those who are “gentle”, “merciful”, and “peacemakers”. He is speaking to those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness” and are “pure in heart”. When Jesus says “you”, He is talking to those who live such a different and devoted life that they are “persecuted for the sake of righteousness”, those who are “insulted” and “slandered” because of their faithfulness to Him.
If you are a truly born-again follower of Jesus Christ, then “you are the salt of the earth”. Jesus is stating a fact; He does not say “you could be the salt of the earth” or even that “you should be the salt of the earth”. Nor does He imply that one day His followers will be the salt of the earth; He says, “you ARE the salt of the earth”; this statement of fact is presented in the present tense.
It is also important to note that “you” is plural. The Lord was not just speaking to the men who would later become His Apostles. Jesus was not speaking to those who would continue to follow Him and in time become exceedingly devoted to Him. The idea here is that every man, woman, boy, or girl who is a part of His Kingdom is “the salt of the earth”. So, this message is not intended for an elite group of Christ’s followers; it is for all who belong to Him. The fact that “you” is plural also shows us the importance of Christ’s people working together as a collective body of Believers.
- Knowing this, we should ever be cognizant of the fact that we have:
II. AN IMPORTANT RESPONSIBILITY
There are many names for those who belong to Jesus. We are called, Christians, Brethren, Followers, Children, The Elect etc. Salt is not a title for a follower of Jesus, salt describes an important responsibility that we possess.
- Let’s examine:
A. THE EXCLUSIVENESS OF THIS RESPONSIBILITY
“You are”
The responsibility and ability to be the salt of the earth belongs to Christians and Christians alone. Local, state, federal, and global politicians and government leaders do not have the ability to be the salt of the earth. Though they possess great influence in the world, the media, Hollywood, the music industry, and other areas of entertainment are not burdened with the responsibility of being “the salt of the earth”. In fact, the beliefs, and actions of many in each of these factions exemplify why it is imperative for the Christian be “salt” in this world.
- Now that we have seen the exclusiveness of this responsibility, let’s move on and consider:
B. THE EXPLANATION OF THIS RESPONSIBILITY
“the salt of the earth”
Salt is a mineral that is primarily composed of sodium chloride. Throughout the history of the world, salt has been an important and very valuable commodity. In fact, Roman soldiers were paid with salt. If one was a lousy soldier, he wasn’t “worth his salt”. (That's where that still common phrase came from).
As we have already mentioned, the primary use of salt in the first century was as a preservative used for meat. When properly applied to fresh meat, salt hinders contamination and prevents it from spoiling. If meat is left to the elements, it will not take long for it to begin to rot, to become consumed by maggots, and contaminated by all sorts of disease-causing bacteria. Salt cannot preserve meat indefinitely, but it can hold back the spoiling process for an impressive amount of time.
As the salt of the earth, Christians are able to have a very powerful and preserving influence on the world around them. When we live in the manner that Jesus describes here in the Sermon on the Mount, we have the amazing privilege of holding back the spread of evil in this world. It is certainly a privilege to know that we can be used of God in such an impactful way. But again I remind you that this is more than a privilege, it is a responsibility; and it is a responsibility that is exclusive to Believers.
For us to be successful in the task that has been assigned to us as followers of Christ, we must live lives of integrity, humility, honesty, and purity. To sum it up, we must be holy! (Quoting the LORD, Peter said, “it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” – 1 Peter 1:16).
If you are living a morally pure and holy life for Christ, that is fantastic, but it is only half of the battle. You see, we are “salt”, but Jesus says we are “the salt of the earth”. This means that we are to have an impact on the world around us. For this to happen, we must be out in the world. We are not OF the world but we are to be IN the world. We cannot have a positive influence on the world if we live in isolation from the world. Just as literal salt penetrates meat, we are to penetrate this world.
In 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, the Apostle Paul sounds a clear warning for the Christian. He says, “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people. “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord. “And do not touch what is unclean; And I will welcome you. “And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty
It is important that we hear and heed this warning. However, at the same time we must understand the context. While we are to be separate from the world, and not “bound together with unbelievers”, there are numerous scriptures that instruct us to be actively engaged with the people of this world.
In 1 Corinthians 5:9-10 Paul says, “I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world”. For us to avoid the sin and wickedness that permeates our society, we would have to completely isolate ourselves from the people of this world. Granted, as wickedness abounds, going out of this world is becoming an increasingly intriguing thought. But it is not what we have been called to do.
God has saved us for a special and specific purpose; He expects us to be “salt and light”. If our redemption was God’s only intent, He would have taken us to Heaven at the moment of our conversion. This is not God’s plan; He wants to use us to advance His Kingdom and bring Him glory. This will never be accomplished if we merely gather together in a holy huddle and refuse to engage with the people in this world. Furthermore, each of us should be exceedingly grateful that those people who shared the Gospel with us and invested in our spiritual lives did not take their faith and the blessed Gospel of Jesus Christ and move to a “Christian compound” somewhere in an effort to isolate themselves from the evilness of this world.
One of the great evidences that Jesus expects His followers to be actively engaged in this world is found in the previous verses. In Matthew 5:10-12 Jesus says that those who are persecuted for righteousness sake and insulted and slandered for His cause are blessed. One will never experience such opposition and persecution if they are not living as the salt of the earth and penetrating the world around them.
When Jesus says we are “the salt of the earth”, earth is representative of the lost people within this world, those who are not part of His Kingdom. Just as salt is rubbed into meat so that it penetrates it in an effort to prevent decay, we are to penetrate the evil world system around us. When we are involved in this God given responsibility, the desired result will be accomplished.
- So far we have seen the exclusiveness of the responsibility to be the salt of the earth, and the explanation of it, now I would like to see:
C. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THIS RESPONSIBILITY
When we live in the way that Jesus commands us to live, our lives have the ability to hold back the spread of evil in this world. This is not to say that we have the power to conquer the evil world system, but we can retard its progression.
As bad as things are in our society, it could be much worse. If there were no Christians here in the United States, you would not want to live here. The simplest explanation that I could give would be for us to imagine the entire country living in a manner similar to what is seen in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and L.A. Even in those cities there is an element of Chrisitan influence, but they are an extremely small minority. If there were no Christians in America at all, evil would run rampant with absolutely no restraint. Tragically, we are headed towards such a reality at break neck speed.
The good news is that if we will do our part, we can have a positive impact on the God’s Kingdom while having a preserving impact on our current society. When we live as salt and light our lives can affect the way that others act and think. Of course the greatest impact that we can have is to introduce lost people to the Savior and then He will do the transforming work that only He can.
If you want Biblical proof that God is willing to restrain His wrath and judgment on a wicked society, a fantastic example is found in Genesis 18. Knowing that God intended to destroy those deplorable cities Abraham attempted to intercede on their behalf.
Genesis 18:23 Abraham came near and said (to the LORD), “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” 26 So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account.” 27 And Abraham replied, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes. 28 Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the whole city because of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” 29 He spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose forty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it on account of the forty.” 30 Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” 31 And he said, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.” 32 Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.” 33 As soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham the Lord departed, and Abraham returned to his place.
This passage shows us that just ten righteous people could have spared Sodom and Gomorrah from the annihilation that they experienced. Tragically, ten righteous could not be found.
The righteous remnant in the world today is what prevents God from pouring out His undiluted wrath upon the earth. Scripture tells us that there will indeed come a day when the earth will be judged. Peter says, “the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up (2 Peter 3:10). Though this is an inescapable future reality, in the present, Christians have the ability and responsibility of living as “the salt of the earth” and having a preserving impact on the world around us.
Another Biblical example that illustrates the impact of a faithful remnant is what the Prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah 1:9, there he says, “Unless the Lord of hosts Had left us a few survivors, We would be like Sodom, We would be like Gomorrah”. (Isaiah 1:9)
As of right now, God has a faithful remnant in this world and we are part of that crowd. We are the salt of the earth and we have an exclusive and effective responsibility. But if we desire to have a positive and preserving impact on this world, we cannot live like this world. This is a warning that Jesus mentions in this very passage.
We will close here and pick back up next week and consider the devastating consequences of Christians who lost their saltiness and become tasteless. Thus far we have seen AN INESCAPABLE REALITY; as Christians, we are the salt of the earth. We have seen AN IMPORTANT RESPONSIBILITY, we must live in such a way that glorifies God, impacts the world for Christ, and retards the corruption of this world. But we cannot miss the sobering warning that Jesus provides in this verse. The Savior wants His followers to know about AN INEXCUSABLE REGRESSION.
“but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.”
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