Saltiness

“You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?” (Matthew 5:13, ESV)

Immediately following Jesus’ introduction to the Sermon on the Mount, He brought forth the first major point. The children of the kingdom have a purpose. To explain this, He presented two metaphors. The first is that of salt and the second is that of light. In this devotion we will look at the first one where Jesus stated, “You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?” (v13).

There have been many thoughts regarding what Jesus meant by using the metaphor of the salt. One is that as salt seasons food, making it more desirable, the children of the kingdom should live in such a way as to draw people to partake of Christ by faith. Another thought is that as salt is a preservative, the children of the kingdom should have the effect of preserving society from moral decay. Yet another is that as salt will make one thirsty and drink water, the children of the kingdom should live in such a way as to draw people to the living water.

I believe that all these thoughts have some real merit. Yet there is another which is perhaps more to the point. Jesus stated, “but if the salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?” The question is this. Is it possible for salt to lose its taste? If it does, it can never regain it.

Remember that Jesus presented this truth to the nation of Israel. The nation, in its rejection of their Messiah, is an example of that which had lost its saltiness. No longer would they be the powerful influencing source of salt through which God would manifest His glorious presence.

You see, the issue Jesus addressed here was that of maintaining quality. The fact is that salt remains salty. If it is not salty, it will not accomplish the purpose of salt. While the nation of Israel had lost their saltiness, this divine purpose would come to the church. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon a group of Jesus’ disciples and the church was birthed. The church would become the salt of the earth.

Today, the church is still to be the salt of the earth. However, many local churches are losing their saltiness by waning devotion to the Lord our God as seen by their departure from the truths of Scripture.

Every believer and every church must ask themselves these critical questions. Where is my heart with respect to my relationship with the Lord? Have I lost my first love? Is my love waning? Do I stand firm on the truths of God’s word? Have I allowed the views of the world to alter my view of God’s absolute truth?

If this is the case, we must repent from our coldness of heart and our conformity to the views of this world system. We must not allow our salt to become diluted. Let our salt be pure and undefiled. Then we will be a strong preserving influence, and a seasoning that draws people to faith in Christ.