Salt

Happy Sunday. We ended last week with conflict. As Jesus was finishing his first part of The Sermon on the Mount, he said that his followers would be persecuted, reviled, and lied about. That can be summed up as the attitude that the world has towards the Believers. It was that way then; it is this way now.

In verses 13 through 16 of Matthew 5, we see the attitude of Believers to the world. We're to be Salt and Light to this world. What does that mean? Well, today we'll talk about salt, in next week light.

Let me read Jesus's words from Matthew 5:13. There he said, "You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It's then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men."

Let me tie this together a little bit more. When we live as instructed in the first part of The Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, we become so very different from the world. We're so changed that we stand out. We stand out like salt, like light. To use a modern word, we are to become influencers.

That day long ago, Jesus was really talking to 12 men, his disciples. And yes, the message was for the crowd as well, and for us today, as it is God's written word, but his Focus was on 12. And he told them to be poor in spirit, to mourn, to be meek, to hunger and thirst for righteousness, to be merciful, to be pure in heart, and to be peacemakers. And then last week they were promised persecution.

Now you may wonder, how can it be that this would produce an influencer in this crazy world? What lasting good can the meek and the merciful and the peaceful do? Wouldn't they be overwhelmed by the evil in this world? In this section of scripture, it's awesome to see Jesus not having any doubt in his followers.

Jesus referred to this handful of followers as salt of the earth. And if you follow the story, the story of the disciples, the story of the Bible, you see that they had unbelievable influence then and even now. Our world is so different because of their lives. Can you imagine this world without the influence of Jesus? Can you imagine your life without his influence?

As we apply this, we should take up the mantle of influence. Be the salt. As I look back to those who have influenced my life the most, it's interesting to see that many were meek, mild, poor in spirit, peacemakers, merciful. In fact, many of them would be surprised what influences they were on my life. A lot of them are in heaven today, and I look forward to telling them when I get there how they changed me. They'll probably be surprised.

So what does salt do? For one thing, salt preserves decay. It preserves me so it won't Decay. And the ancient world, salt was used to preserve food. As followers of Jesus, hopefully we use our lives to stop decay.

We should make our workplaces better, our schools better, our neighborhoods better, our families better. We should stand up against all things non-biblical and make sure that this world knows that we are there. We should stop the decay. Salt also enhances flavor, and we should do that wherever we go.

There's no doubt that to be effective in this world, we have to be out in it. The danger is, and we have to be careful, we can become contaminated by this world, by compromise. Jesus meant that when he said, "But if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It's then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men."

Today we know that salt is sodium chloride. It is very stable; it will not lose its saltiness. The only way that that can happen is by being contaminated by other compounds and impurities, in essence watered down by other things, and then it's not really salt at all. Jesus warned us to stay pure and unadulterated.

I am so thankful for those who have been salt to my life, teachers and pastors and friends and family that have kept to the faith. May God bless us all as we continue to be salt to this world.

Pray with me. Father, we should begin thanking you for what you established that day and teaching those disciples, and it has trickled down to us 2 000 years later. In between, there have been saints of God, some we have known, some we have not, who have done so much for us. Now it's our turn. Help us to be salt to this world that needs your flavor. In Jesus name, amen.

God bless. Thanks for joining me today.