YOU ARE THE SALT OF THE EARTH (Leviticus 2:13; Colossians 4:6)  (ISBE article) (Easton) (Torrey's Topic)

Don't miss a the key principle in Jesus' metaphors of salt and light. Citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven impact society because they are different (not weird or bizarre but distinct) from the Kingdom of this World. When salt and light try to accommodate to and/or be conformed by the Kingdom of this World, they lose their distinctiveness and their potential to impact the decay and the darkness of the this world which is passing away. In the Revelation John records the triumphant cry when

"the seventh angel sounded; and there arose loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever." (Revelation 11:15)

Until then God has left believers in the Kingdom of Darkness and Decay to dispel the darkness and retard decay, as peacemakers giving out the word of reconciliation (2Cor 5:14-21), a word which in some will birth new life and to others will cause them to hate and persecute you (John 3:19-21, see notes Matthew 5:10; 5:11; 5:12, Luke 6:22). Persecution for the sake of Christ and the Kingdom of Heaven therefore becomes a sign that one truly belongs to the glorious coming Kingdom of our Lord (cf notes Romans 8:16; 8:17; 8:18). Beloved, don't let this world squeeze you into it's mold (see notes on Romans 12:2)

Stuart Weber introduces this section with the following comment...

In Matthew 5:13-16, before embarking on the body of the sermon, Jesus explained in two word pictures the impact that a truly righteous person will have on his or her world. The entire sermon, including the Beatitudes before and the many teachings after, shows us how to live as "salt and light" in the world as representatives of another kingdom. These word pictures also serve Matthew's purpose—to encourage believers to change their world (Matt. 28:18-20). (Weber, Stuart, Max Anders, Ed: Holman New Testament Commentary: Matthew Broadman & Holman)

Dave Guzik summarizes Mt 5:13-16 writing that...

A key thought in both the pictures of salt and light is distinction. Salt is needed because the world is rotting and decaying and if our Christianity is also rotting and decaying, it won't be any good. Light is needed because the world is in darkness, and if our Christianity imitates the darkness, we have nothing to show the world. To be effective we must seek and display the Christian distinctive. We can never affect the world for Jesus by becoming like the world. The figures of salt and light also remind us that the life marked by the beatitudes is not to be lived in isolation. We often assume that those inner qualities can only be developed or displayed in isolation from the world, but Jesus wants us to live them out before the world.. Jesus points to a breadth in the impact of disciples that must have seemed almost ridiculous at the time. How could these humble Galileans salt the earth, or light the world? But they did. Jesus never challenges us to become salt or light. He simply says that we are - and we are either fulfilling or failing that responsibility. (Matthew 5) (Bolding added)

"You [emphatic: you alone] are the salt of the earth." "You", not governmental institutions, not educational institutions, not organizations, but "you" and "you alone" are the salt of the earth.

Note that in this section Jesus shifts from "those" ("blessed are those...") to the second person "you". He shifts from character to influence of this character.

The point is that those who live out the Beatitudes (Mt 5:3-12) in the power of the Spirit, not might be, but actually are "the salt of the earth".  How do we know that is what He means? "Are" is in the indicative mood which is the mood of reality. In other words, they really are the specific salt factor in this world. Furthermore, the present tense expresses a constant condition and indicates that saltiness is to continually be the lifestyle of every citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven every day of their life on earth.

Think of the implications - you have a great purpose in God's plan and you have it all the time in every place you go! It does not matter whether you are rich or poor, highly educated or not, tall or short, etc, etc. You are an invaluable pawn in God's great chess match! What an incredible privilege citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven have been granted by their King, Jesus Christ! This is privilege we should not only cherish but one that should also create in us a sense of divine accountability. We are stewards of salt so to speak and one day we will give an account for how salty we were (cf 2Cor 5:10). The King does not give us an option at this point but calls us to a central responsibility to be salt to the world about us. How are you doing? Are you really living like a Christian? Are you using your money like a Christian? Are you talking like a Christian? Are you conducting your family like a Christian? Are you using your leisure time like a Christian? Does the language change when you are around? Does the attitude of the workplace improve because you work without complaining, you show up on time, you treat everyone with kindness, you refuse to enter into gossip?

In Jesus' prayer (the real "Lord's Prayer") to His Father, He explains why believers are not just automatically jettisoned up to heaven when they are saved. We have a distinct purpose as He relates in His prayer...

"I have given them (those who are "the salt") Thy word; and the world has hated them (cf persecution see notes Matthew 5:10; 5:11; 5:12), because they are not of the world (explains "why" the poor in spirit, mourning, meek ones are persecuted), even as I am not of the world. I do not ask Thee to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify (set them apart from the world) them in the truth; Thy word is truth. As Thou didst send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world." (John 17:14-18)

There it is, Jesus' disciples are sent into the world to be "the salt" in the world (note how often "world" is repeated in this passage).

The renowned Baptist pastor, George Truett once said...

"You are either being corrupted by the world or you are salting it."

Jesus' declaration of the state of believers leaves no room for a middle ground.

Earth (1093) is used instead of ‘world’ as a metaphor for the people of the world

Salt (217) (halas) is natural salt which purifies, cleanses, preserves from corruption. Clearly Jesus intends a metaphor (see terms of comparison simile metaphor)

Salt was one of the earliest of all preservatives and was a valued commodity in the ancient world. Without any source of refrigeration, salt became the means of preserving meat from decaying, as the ancients rubbed down meat and fish to preserve it for regular use. Seafarers just a century ago would salt down their fish and meat to preserve them for the long transatlantic journeys. Salt was so important as a corruption preventative in the ancient world that wars were fought over it, and entire economies were based on it. In short, salt could literally make the difference between life and death in a time when fresh food was unavailable.

The Greek writer Plutarch said that  meat is a dead body and part of a dead body, and will, if left to itself, go bad, but salt preserves it and keeps it fresh, and is therefore like a new soul inserted into a dead body. Dead meat left to itself went bad, but, pickled in salt, it retained its freshness. The salt seemed to put a kind of life into it. The point is that salt preserves corruption.

Salt was used as a figure of speech in the ancient world of sparkling conversation, speech dotted with witty or clever remarks. In Colossians 4:6 (note), salt indicates speech which gives a flavor to the discourse and recommends it to the pallet as well as speech which preserves from corruption and renders wholesome

The Greeks called salt "charitas" (grace) because it gave flavor to things. Our speech must not be corrupt (see note Ephesians 4:29) and salt (God's grace) holds back corruption. A thoughtless word of criticism, a questionable remark, an angry word—any of these could tear down in a minute whatever Christian testimony others have tried to build up. No believer ought ever to say, “Now take this with a grain of salt!” Instead we need to put the salt into our speech!

When we wish to stress a person's solid worth and usefulness we often say "That person is the salt of the earth." Salt was a valuable commodity in the dry Middle East and was used to barter. Our English word “salary” comes from the Latin salarius (“salt”). A person lacking integrity might have mixed white sand with the salt and then had more for trade. But salt mixed with sand lost some of its salty quality and became useless. Christians are to be the "salt of the earth".

Salt acts secretly. We know that it combats decay, though we cannot see it perform its task. Its influence is very real nonetheless.

Spurgeon comments that...

Our Savior was speaking of the influence of his disciples upon the fellows, and he first of all mentioned that secret but powerful influence which he describes under the figure of salt: “Ye are the salt of the earth.” No sooner is a man born unto God than he begins to fellow-men with an influence which is rather felt than seen. The very existence of a believer operates upon unbelievers. He is like a handful of salt cast upon flesh; he has a savor in himself, and this penetrate those who are in contact with him. The unobserved almost unconscious influence of a holy life is most effectual to serving of society and the prevention of moral putrefaction. May there be salt in every one of us, for “salt is good.” Have salt in yourselves, and then you will become a blessing to all around you.

J Vernon McGee has a pithy ("peppery") note on Christians as salt writing that...

God’s people in any age and under any condition are both salt and light in the world. The Scots translate “savour” by the more expressive word tang. I like their word much better. “If the salt has lost its tang.” The problem today is that most church members have not only lost their tang as salt, but as pepper they have lost their pep also. We have very few salt and pepper Christians in our day. Now salt doesn’t keep fermentation and that type of thing from taking place, but it will arrest it. You and I ought to be the salt in the earth and have an influence for good in the world. (McGee, J V: Thru the Bible Commentary Nashville: Thomas Nelson)

Barclay explains that...

In the ancient world salt was highly valued. The Greeks called salt divine (theion). (Barclay, W: The Gospel of Matthew The New Daily Study Bible Westminster John Knox Press)

The domestic and medicinal value of salt both as condiment and preservative was as universal in the ancient world as it is today. Pliny declared that "salt has something of the nature of fire", and he quotes a current saying, "To the whole body nothing is better than sun and salt"

Lasting alliances or covenants were made by eating bread and salt, or salt alone (Aristotle).

Cato, Virgil, and Pliny all refer to the ability of salt to improve the productivity of the soil.

Dwight Pentecost gives an excellent summary of some of the Biblical uses of salt...

Salt has been valued from time immemorial. Roman soldiers were paid in salt and, if one were derelict in his duties, he was said to be "not worth his salt."

Salt was used throughout ancient societies as a sign of friendship, (Ed note: see The Oneness of Covenant: Friend) a concept that continues to the present day. In the Arab world, if one man partakes of the salt of another man, that is, eats a meal with him, he is under his protection and care. If a man's worst enemy came into his tent and ate of his salt, he would be obliged to protect and to provide for him as though he were his dearest friend.

Out of that idea grew the concept of a salt covenant, referred to in 2 Chronicles 13:5 (cf Nu 18:19), where God speaks of a covenant of salt made with David. Before the days of a notary public who could authenticate the legality of a document, when two men entered into a business agreement, they would haggle over terms until they had settled on the agreement. Then they would eat salt or portions of food together; eating salt bound them together in what they called a salt covenant. This covenant established a contract that was not to be broken.

God prescribed salt as a necessary part of the sacrifices.

"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" (Lev 2:13, cf Ezekiel 43:23-24, Ezra 9:9-10).

God said that if they left salt out of their offering to God, it was an unacceptable offering. The offering demanded the whole, and the offering was incomplete without salt.

Job refers to salt as a necessary ingredient of food as he asked the question,

"Can that which is unsavory be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg?" (Job 6:6).

As early as Job's time, men recognized the importance of salt, and attached special significance to it. (Pentecost, J. D. Design for living: Lessons in Holiness from the Sermon on the Mount. Kregel Publications) (Bolding added)

Salt Preserves

Someone has said that there are some 14,000 industrial uses for salt! And frankly, this is where we must sound a note of caution...interpretation of metaphors can be "tricky" especially if the expositor has a vivid imagination. Unfortunately, such interpretations may not be what God really intended by using a given metaphor like "salt". For example, some say salt was white and then reason that this whiteness pictures purity (and even compare it with purity of heart in Mt 5:8). Now while there may be some element of truth in such an interpretation, that is probably not the primary message Jesus intended to convey to His audience. Let's think for a moment about the context. Jesus is speaking in a time when there were no ice makers or refrigerators. There was need for a simple method of preservation of foodstuffs from decay and corruption and this was the primary function of salt. In fact the only way to preserve meat  in the hot climate of Palestine was to salt it or soak it in a salt solution. This practice is still common in many remote areas of the world. It follows that the primary interpretation of the meaning of the metaphor of salt is that it speaks of a preservative agent which impedes corruption, decomposition and decay. The world, in contrast to what many "enlightened" members teach, is not evolving but devolving. The world is not going toward order but disorder. It is slowly decomposing and rotting away.

What happened when God left the world to itself after the fall of Adam? Several centuries passed until we come to Genesis 6...

Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5)

Even the "salty effect" of Noah was not enough to preserve the world and impede the moral decay and spiritual rot, Peter recording that as a result God...

and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;  (see note 2 Peter 2:5)

Even with another chance man fell into total debauchery leading to the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah which God again condemned

 to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly thereafter (see note 2 Peter 2:6)

So history proves the point that our world continually tends toward decay not divinity. Enter the citizens of the Kingdom of heaven who are the decay retardants and preservatives of a disintegrating world. Thus even as salt arrests decay in meat or fish, the influence of Christian character can halt the downward spiral of the world and help to stem the natural degeneration that occurs in the world’s rebellion against God. Christians have a moral influence on the world around them, affecting every part of society. If you are not having a moral influence on those around you then something is gravely amiss in regarding your morality, for as Alan Redpath once said...

If it is possible for your closest contacts to be neutral about Christ then there is something wrong with your Christianity.

Sinclair Ferguson explains the preservative effect of salt noting that...

it calls for radical and costly application. Christians whose lives exhibit the qualities of the 'blessed' will have a preserving impact upon a society that, if left to itself, will rot and deteriorate. Without the influence of the gospel, society will suffer moral decay and become putrid, unfit for the consumption of good men and women... It is all too easy for us to despair as Christians because of our frailty and insignificance, personally or numerically. However, we must never give in to Satan's lie that we can be effective only when we have large numbers and a show of strength. Jesus' illustration of salt is an encouraging reminder that the apparently cheap and insignificant can influence its environment out of all proportion to our expectation.

Sometimes this happens on a national scale. It is said, with some justification, that the only thing that saved England from a revolution as horrible and bloody as the French Revolution was the evangelical revival under the preaching and teaching of men like John Wesley and George Whitefield during the eighteenth century.

More frequently it will happen on a small scale: your companions will moderate their language; the name of Jesus will not be so easily blasphemed; those with whom you work will develop something of a conscience about the standard of their work; the conversations of men or women will be brought under control; respect for others will be more common. Your life will save others from yielding to the immoral pressures by which our contem­porary world is characterised. When you are the salt of the earth, you preserve society. (Ferguson, Sinclair: Sermon on the Mount :Banner of Truth)

Christians make plenty of negative comments and vent tons of frustration over the putrefaction of our society. But our culture is simply doing what comes natural, rotting because it has no preservative. As hard as it is to admit, we should quit leveling the blame of decadence on pagans and start asking why the Church is not more effectively preventing decay (especially of our ethical and moral values) from accelerating and exerting an ever increasing negative influence in our society. A Christian should be in the world and yet not of the world. How can this be? Consider the fish who, though he lives in the salty sea, does not taste salty.

As John Stott points out,

“And when society does go bad, we Christians tend to throw up our hands in pious horror and reproach the non-Christian world; but should we not rather reproach ourselves? One can hardly blame unsalted meat for going bad. It cannot do anything else. The real question to ask is: where is the salt?” (Stott, John: The Message of the Sermon on the Mount: 1978, Intervarsity Press)

The impact of salty Christians has effected entire countries. Consider impact of the First Great Awakening (revival) on England at a time when the rest of Europe was embroiled in political upheavals. Even secular writers acknowledge that it was because of the impact of salty Christians like John Wesley and George Whitefield that England was spared the effects of the horribly bloody revolution that swept through France (see French Revolution) in the late 1700's. Salty believers really do prevent from corruption and decay!

Phil Newton tells an encouraging story about the "after taste" left by "salty" missionaries relating that...

Pastor Paul Ndungu from Kenya, told us of a missionary couple that served for fifteen years among a particular people group in Kenya without seeing any outward response. He said they labored faithfully, serving the people, teaching the gospel, and doing all they could to set Christ before these people. But none responded until a couple of days after their departure. The missionary family’s maid, two gardeners, and milkman converged upon the empty house, related how they now missed these Christians. All wept about this sense of loss, and reflected upon what they saw in them and what they had taught them. One by one they called upon the Lord, coming to faith in Christ. The church among that people group was born without a missionary but not without the salt and light influence of that Christian family that lived among these people for fifteen years, faithfully living unto the Lord. What they did not accomplish with their missiological approach they accomplished by being Christians in a decaying world. (Matthew 5:13: Problem of Tasteless Christianity)

Barclay writes that...

The individual Christian must be the conscience of his fellows; and the church the conscience of the nation. The Christian must be such that in his presence no doubtful language will be used, no questionable stories told, no dishonourable action suggested. He must be like a cleansing antiseptic in the circle in which he moves. (Barclay, W: The Daily Study Bible Series. The Westminster Press or Logos)

Hughes explains that...

This matter of being a preservative has a positive and a negative side. On the negative side, the presence of a salty Christian will retard decay simply because his or her life is a reproach to the sin of those they are around. We all know there are certain people in whose presence a filthy story is naturally told, and there are others before whom no one would think of telling such a story. The salty Christian is not self-righteous or condemning, but his or her life makes ungodly conversation seem shabby and inappropriate. I believe such Christians exert an incalculable influence on society! Their mere presence reduces crime, restrains ethical corruption, promotes honesty, quickens the conscience, and elevates the general moral atmosphere. The presence of such people in the military, in business, in education, in a fraternity or sorority will amazingly elevate the level of living. And their absence will allow unbelievable depths of depravity. Believers, salty believers, are the world's preservative. The question we must ask ourselves is, what happens when we get to know people without Christ? Does it make a difference in their lives? Are we salt? (Hughes, R. K. Sermon on the Mount: The Message of the Kingdom. Crossway Books)

John MacArthur offers two excellent illustrations of the leavening effect of salty "salt"...

Andrew Murray lived an exceptionally holy life. Among those on whom his influence was the greatest were his children and grandchildren. Five of his six sons became ministers of the gospel and four of his daughters became minister’s wives. Ten grandsons became ministers and thirteen grandchildren became missionaries.

Woodrow Wilson told the story of being in a barbershop one time.

"I was sitting in a barber chair when I became aware that a powerful personality had entered the room. A man had come quietly in upon the same errand as myself to have his hair cut and sat in the chair next to me. Every word the man uttered, though it was not in the least didactic, showed a personal interest in the man who was serving him. And before I got through with what was being done to me I was aware I had attended an evangelistic service, because Mr. D. L. Moody was in that chair. I purposely lingered in the room after he had left and noted the singular affect that his visit had brought upon the barber shop. They talked in undertones. They did not know his name, but they knew something had elevated their thoughts, and I felt that I left that place as I should have left a place of worship."

(Matthew 1-7 Macarthur New Testament Commentary Chicago: Moody Press)

John A. Huffman, Jr describing the body of Christ said...

"This sanctuary can be a salt shaker. You can come in here once a week, have a lot of fellowship with all the other salt and think your job is accomplished. Instead, God wants to pick up this sanctuary and shake you out all over this city. He has brought you together as His salt only to scatter you. He wants you to be an influence for Jesus."

Salt sitting in a salt shaker will never exert its preservative effect until it is shaken into the decaying world. As A T Pierson said...

We are not responsible for conversion, but we are responsible for contact.

Jesus calls His loyal subjects to be pungent people who penetrate every level of society. Are you sitting or shaking? Be careful not to lose your saltiness.

Salt Flavors

It's amazing what a pinch of salt can do to bring out the flavor of food. A big bowl of popcorn is absolutely bland without salt. Christianity is to life what salt is to unsalted popcorn!. Christianity gives flavor and seasoning to life. But too much salt can be distasteful.

Even a little salt will make itself known as history as proven. One of those shining examples was a man named William Wilberforce, a small, even somewhat distorted man who took up a career in politics eventually gaining election to the House of Commons in England. He subsequently became a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven in 1784, at age 25 proved his saltiness by taking an active stand against the slave trade despite repeated defeats in parliament. William Wilberforce died on 29th July, 1833. One month later, Parliament passed the Slavery Abolition Act that gave all slaves in the British Empire their freedom. He was a little salt that made his present felt. It has been documented that 0.04 ounces of table salt dissolved in 530 quarts of water can be tasted!

Ferguson adds that...

 'Seasoning' society is not a matter of being Scrooge-like personalities whose presence brings a pall of depression and whose entrance marks the exit of joy. On the contrary, the presence of God's people should 'increase the flavour' of life in many different ways. After all, we come to our friends, neighbours, co-workers, or fellow students as those who have been – and still are – in the presence of Jesus Christ, who has given us abundant life (John 10:10). Everything about us should express the attractiveness as well as the holiness of our Lord. (Ferguson, Sinclair: Sermon on the Mount :Banner of Truth)

Barclay reasons that...

Food, without salt, can be revoltingly insipid. The Christian, then, must be the man who brings flavour into life. The Christianity which acts like a shadow of gloom and a wet blanket is no true Christianity. The Christian is the man who, by his courage, his hope, his cheerfulness and his kindness brings a new flavour into life. (Barclay, W: The Daily Study Bible Series. The Westminster Press or Logos)

What's the effect of Christians who fail to express the fullness of joy found in an abundant life? We never know who is observing our life! Oliver Wendell Holmes once said...

"I might have entered the ministry if certain clergymen I knew had not acted and looked so much like undertakers."

Paul picks up the theme of saints as salt in society writing to the Corinthian saints (who lived in a metropolis that desperately need their "salt")...

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ (the picture of this Greek word is that of a victorious general, home from the wars, leading a triumphal procession through the streets of Rome. The captives and spoils of war would precede him, and he would follow in a chariot, a slave holding over his head a jeweled crown. Then would come the victorious army), and manifests (cause to become visible = external manifestation to senses open to all = make visible that which has been hidden primary reference is to what is visible to sensory perception) through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved (present tense salvation = sanctification - see Three Tenses of Salvation) Christians are those who are being saved) and among those who are perishing (destruction but not annihilation and basically has to do with that which is ruined and is no longer usable for its intended purpose); to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? (1Cor 2:14-16)

Paul's point is that we are to live the Christ life (for example characterized by the be attitudes). Not everyone will respond favorably to our life as we have seen in (Mt 5:10-12).

Salt Stimulates Thirst

As we have often heard, you can lead a horse to water and yet not make him drink. However add a little salt to his hay and you will "encourage" him to drink. Is your witness making unbelievers thirsty?

At a missionary meeting some young people were discussing the text, "Ye are the salt of the earth." One suggestion after another was made as to the meaning of salt in this verse. "Salt imparts a desirable flavor," said one. "Salt preserves from decay," another suggested. Then at last a Chinese Christian girl spoke out and shared an experience none of the others had shared. She said, "Salt creates thirst." There was a sudden hush in the room. Everyone was thinking, "Have I ever made anyone thirsty for the Lord Jesus Christ?"

Here are a couple of resources you might want to examine for guidelines on how to be salty salt...How Can I Break The Silence? and How Can I Share My Faith Without An Argument?

Paul explains that citizen's of the Kingdom of heaven need to have salty speech exhorting believers to...

Let your speech always (not just most of the time but at all times, whether addressing a group or speaking to your neighbor) be with grace (speaking what is spiritual, wholesome, fitting, kind, sensitive, purposeful, complementary, gentle, truthful, loving, thoughtful), seasoned, as it were, with salt (it has a pungent effect as salt when rubbed in a wound, it prevents corruption and has a purifying influence on filthy conversations, it adds flavor and is not empty or insipid but thought provoking and relevant), so that you may know how you should respond to each person (know how to say the right thing at the right time to the right person). (see note Colossians 4:6)

That Paul intended our speech to have a preservative effect we note the parallel passage in Ephesians...

Let no unwholesome (rotten, corrupt, putrid) word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification (building up) according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear. (see note Ephesians 4:29)

Ferguson adds a very important qualification regarding salty speech noting that...

Speech is like salt: too little, and we do not taste the flavour of the food; too much, and we are left with the unpleasant taste of the salt. Like salt, our lives and our speech are to bring out the 'flavour' of Jesus Christ. Too much of ourselves – too much of our talk – will likewise leave an unpleasant taste. Be like Christ, then, lest others are not able to tell the difference between the salt and the meat, between the poverty of our witness and the goodness of the Lord Jesus they are invited to taste (Ps. 34:8 - See Spurgeon's comment).  (Ferguson, Sinclair: Sermon on the Mount :Banner of Truth)

Oswald Chambers comments that...

Some modern teachers seem to think our Lord said "Ye are the sugar of the earth," meaning that gentleness and winsomeness without curative-ness is the ideal of the Christian. Our Lord's illustration of a Christian is salt, and salt is the most concentrated thing known. Salt preserves wholesomeness and prevents decay. It is a disadvantage to be salt. Think of the action of salt on a wound, and you will realise this. If you get salt into a wound, it hurts, and when God's children are amongst those who are "raw" towards God, their presence hurts. The man who is wrong with God is like an open wound, and when "salt" gets in it causes annoyance and distress and he is spiteful and bitter. The disciples of Jesus in the present dispensation preserve society from corruption; the "salt" causes excessive irritation which spells persecution for the saint.

How are we to maintain the healthy, salty tang of saintliness? By remaining rightly related to God through Jesus Christ. In the present dispensation, Jesus says, “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: . . . for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” Men are called on to live out His teaching in an age that will not recognise Him, and that spells limitation and very often persecution. This is the day of the humiliation of the saints; in the next dispensation it will be the glorification of the saints, and the Kingdom of God will be outside as well as inside men. (Chambers, O.  Studies in the sermon on the mount. Hants UK: Marshall, Morgan & Scott)

Phil Newton issues a poignant challenge by way of a modern day prophet Dr Gresham Machen writing that...

Gresham Machen, in the last century, exhorts us,

“Let us stop soothing ourselves with columns of statistics and face the spiritual facts; let us recall this paper currency and get back to a standard of gold” [God Transcendent a collection of 20 of his sermons with the final four sermons preached in the last four Sunday's of Dr Machen's life! "The Bible and the Cross" was preached 5 days before he died Jan 1, 1937!].

Though written half a century ago, Machen spoke like a prophet to our present day that values the showy, glitzy statistics of how many nickels and noses we have in our churches, but gives precious little attention to holiness in character and walk. Have we forgotten that it was a Rome that claimed grand statistics as a “Christian empire” that fell to the barbarians? While the show and numbers meant so much to the church in that day, the saltiness in society was lost so that the barbarians easily conquered them. Professing Christians failed to live like Christians, and their whole society crumbled. “You are the salt of the earth” is a truth to cherish, a reality to live in day after day, and a necessity for a civil, peaceable society.