You are the SALT
By
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr
OPENING: - Matthew 5:13 says, “Ye are the salt of the earth: 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”. This passage of scripture is often preached and it is said that we are to be as salt to preserve the world from the evil that is prevailing in society and enhance the flavor of Christ in the world being a positive influence in society and if we fail at doing that then we have lost our savor, our saltiness, our effectiveness and therefore are good for nothing but to be trodden under the foot of men. Although true and often preached with such vigor and veracity there is more to this passage of scripture than just being a preservative in society and today, I want to go deeper and reveal more about what Jesus was talking about when He said you are the salt of the earth.
Let’s have a quick science lesson Farmers and Gardeners often wince at the idea of applying salt to soil, because large amounts will destroy the land, but the proper amount of salt will cause plants to flourish. That’s why both sodium and the salt substitute potassium chloride appear on the list of ingredients of Miracle Grow and other fertilizers. Salt helps break down fresh excrement for better plant absorption. The mineral also prevents dunghills from rotting and becoming useless for providing nutrients to crops. When Jesus warns of losing our saltiness, He’s not describing table salt; He’s describing fertilizer salt. Yes, as the salt of the earth, we are agents of human flourishing. Jesus is calling us to be fertilizer in His Kingdom. We are the salt poured on that which is foul to foster fresh, new life. We are created to help others blossom and bud as they pursue the life God intends. Flourishing lives demonstrate evidence of the Kingdom of God.
You are the SALT!
PRAYER
SCRIPTURE: - Matthew 5:13 says, “Ye are the salt of the earth: 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”.
DEFINITION: - In Hebrew, the word for salt is: "melach" "Melach" means: “to eat salt." But more specifically: “to be under obligation to eat the salt of the palace, to be under the solemn obligation to the King's interests, not one’s own.” And it appears in the Old Testament thirty-three times, and those mentions fall into four categories:
1. Twelve times referring to: Judgement/God’s Curse on Wickedness/Place of Destruction of Enemies of Yisrael/Barrenness (unproductivity)/Slime (sin): Genesis 14.3, Genesis 19.26, Deuteronomy 29.23, Judges 9.45, 2 Samuel 8.13, 2 Kings 14.7, 1 Chronicles 18.12, 2 Chronicles 25.11, Job 6.6, Jeremiah 17.6 (curse on the trust in man who turns aside his heart from the God of Israel), Ezekiel 47.11, Zephaniah 2.9
2. Three times referring to: the LORD’s Covenant of Salt with Israel: Leviticus 2.13, Numbers 18.19, 2 Chronicles 13.5. The church knows of many Old Testament covenants.
3. Seven times referring to: Holiness/Sacrifice/Healing of the God of Israel: Leviticus 2.13 (twice), 2 Kings 2.20, 2 Kings 2.21, Ezra 6.9, Ezra 7.22, Ezekiel 43.24
4. Eleven times referring to: Border/boundary of land of Israel (ie: salt sea, valley of salt) and Protection of the people of Israel: Numbers 34.3, Numbers 34.12, Deuteronomy 3.17, Joshua 3.16, Joshua 12.3, Joshua 15.2, Joshua 15.5, Joshua 15.62 (city of salt), Joshua 18.19, Psalm 60 (Title), Ezekiel 16.4 (to salt a newborn baby). In this last reference, the LORD is talking to Jerusalem and saying she wasn’t salted as a newborn baby to protect her from infection. Therefore, this is one of the reasons she becomes so sinful and adulterous. So, we are normally salted by God when we are Born Again, saved, received Salvation John 3 the same thing spiritually must happen as happens physically. All of us that are Truly Born Again are spiritually salted by God. The problem with the apostate church, the modern-day church, the church of mediocrity is that they don’t want to be salted. There is this concept that becoming a Christian is something that has no pain or sting to it. Therefore, there will be very little protection (from sin) rubbed into the apostate, modern-day, mediocre church by God. So, those people will tragically become infected by the nation’s worldview and current cultural norms. The bacteria of life, whether that is culturalism, unholiness, manipulation, lasciviousness, bitterness, self-pity, hatred will sink in through their spiritual skin, because there is none of God's salt on it as a protective layer. If you are immersed in God's Word, you will not soak up the culture around you but rather reject it and keep your Biblical integrity.
Now that we understand the different uses of salt in the Old Testament lets look at this passage of scripture again Matthew 5:13 says, “Ye are the salt of the earth: 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”.
I want to look at 4 aspects of salt how God means for us to understand the uses of salt and not our own. When we try to use our own understanding of salt, we limit it to just something that preserves, flavors, or was used as currency but with God it is so much deeper.
1. Covenant of Salt: - Numbers 18:19 says, “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”. 2 Chronicles 13:5 says, “Ought ye not to know that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt”. WHY a Covenant of salt because when you understand the properties of salt then you understand the importance of the Covenant of Salt. Salt is a preservative that prevents decay and corruption understand that when God establishes a covenant with salt, He is stating the fact that this relationship will endure the test of time and will not decay it will last forever it is an eternal promise. Also, salt is a symbol of purity, trust, permanence, abundance and incorruptibility so by establishing a covenant of salt it speaks of His unchanging nature, His faithfulness, His purity, His trustworthiness, His abundance, and His total commitment to His people. Covenants were generally confirmed by sacrificial meals and salt was always present. Since, too, salt is a preservative, it would easily become symbolic of an enduring covenant. In the light of these conceptions the remark of Our Lord becomes the more significant: Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another.
2. Salt a Weapon of Spiritual Warfare: - 2 Kings 2 19-22 says, “And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground barren. And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him. And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake”. WATCH THIS:- The situation in the city was bad the water was bad and the ground was barren and the people came to the man of God looking for help and look what Elisha did he said bring a new cruse and put salt in it and he put it in the water and said Thus saith the Lord I have healed these waters there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land so the waters were healed unto this this day. This goes deeper than just a Bible miracle this shows how salt is used as a weapon of spiritual warfare to break curses, heal, restore, replenish, revive, revitalize that which was barren. As stated earlier in Ezekiel 16:4 “And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all”. The washing with salt kills the bacteria and protects against germs entering into the pours of the body, it purifies and protect against outside forces.
3. Prayer with Salt: - Leviticus 2:13 says, “And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt”. God said every oblation of thy meat offering should be seasoned with salt - Now I am not encouraging anyone to go out and buy a salt block or have a saltshaker on hand all the time but symbolically like we do a cross when you understand the meaning and the properties of salt it is a good idea to symbolically use it in your prayers. It represents purity preservation and the covenant relationship.
4. Ye are the SALT:- Matthew 5:13 says, “Ye are the salt of the earth: 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”. We are to be the preservers of Spiritual purity in the world keeping it from decay and corruption. We are to be the salt of the earth that are in covenant with Him enduring the test of time holding fast our calling being steadfast unmovable always abounding in the work of the Lord. As the salt of the earth, we are to the catalyst of change, the people of God that stand ready in a world that is struggling with spiritual warfare, defeated by the enemy, we are to be that beacon of hope, that preservation, that weapon of spiritual warfare that is used to help bring back hope. However, if we get caught up in worldly affairs entangled with the things of this world then we will lose our saltiness and Yes Salt can, and does, lose its saltiness through the influx of other substances. When salt is overpowered, it loses its ability to perform as God designed, as an influencer and change agent. When we allow the world and worldly things, sin, cultural influencers to overwhelm us we can lose our saltness and are good for noting but to be trodden under the foot of men.
SUMMARY: - Ok let me bring this all together now. We have seen how salt was described in the Old Testament we understand the Covenant of Salt, how Salt is a Weapon of Spiritual Warfare, we know that we should prayer with the use of Salt and Understand that We are the Salt of the Earth. When Jesus said You are the salt of the earth it is more than just a statement of being a preservative in this society but are in fact the only Jesus this world will see. As His representatives we must remain in a covenant of salt with Him in order to do His will through us in this world. Understand when God who is spiritual does something in the natural He uses something natural, He doesn’t need to because He is God but He does, so He uses something natural and that is You and me that’s why He said you are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
We must understand that as the salt we are the weapons of warfare that must fight the battle against the enemy to win souls bringing many sons and daughters into the Kingdom of God. Like the people did with Elisha when they were in a bad way, the water was bad and the land was barren they came to Elisha and said what shall we do. Elisha was the catalyst, the change agent and that is what we must be today fighting against spiritual wickedness.
How do we do that by praying and making every obligation with salt the Word of God in Jesus name. John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word and the word was with God and the Word was God. 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth”. John 14:13 “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son”. WATCH THIS: - The Jews have a custom “Challah” they take bread and cut it then dip the end of it in salt representing the salt covenant between God and Israel, but also the bread represents Jesus for Jesus declared in John 6:35 “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst”. So, when we pray using salt which is the name of Jesus, He said He will do that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
We have a responsibility and a covenant relationship; we cannot get entangled in the affairs of this world and expect to be able to be victorious in this Kingdom. We must stand strong and not lose our savor, not become ineffective only to be cast out and trodden under the foot of men.
We are the Salt we are to remain pure to preserve and persevere
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
