WILL SOMEONE PLEASE PASS THE SALT?

How can you know that you still have "salt in yourselves"? Keep a diligent watch on your speech - which is flowing from your heart. It will be the barometer - indicating the level of "salt" in your spiritual life. The People's New Testament said - "The disciples of Christ preserve the world from general corruption." One way they do it is by their speech. "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt..."

"A preacher, or private Christian, who has lost the life of Christ, and the witness of His Spirit, out of his soul, may be likened to this salt. He may have the sparks and glittering particles of true wisdom, but without its unction or comfort. Only that which is connected with the rock, the soul that is in union with Christ Jesus by the Holy Spirit, can preserve its savor, and be instrumental of good to others." - Adam Clarke

"Plainly we are intended to infer that nothing is more contemptible than a Christian who does nothing to stay corruption. He is a soldier who wears the uniform of his regiment, but leaves the fighting to others; a physician who declines to visit the sick. It is of the very essence of the Christian that he makes some impression on the world." - Pulpit Commentary

Matthew 5:13 says - "Ye are the salt of the earth..."
Mark 9:50 says - "Salt is good..."
Luke 14:34 says - "Salt is good..."
Mark 9:50 says - "...Have salt in yourselves..."

What did Jesus mean when He said to His disciples - "Salt is good...Ye are the salt of the earth...Have salt in yourselves"?

Salt is useful, beneficial, and antiseptic. It makes food pleasant and palatable. It is good to preserve life and health. It is an antidote of corruption, putrefaction, and destruction.

Spiritually speaking - it prevails to cure men of worldliness and sensuality...it is an antidote to selfishness...and it is a living principle of grace in men's hearts to suppress pride, ambition, and contention and to subdue and mortify corrupt affections. The Christian seasons others by his instruction derived from the Word of God, godly example, zealous efforts, and fervent prayers.

"Salt' stands for the spirit of self-sacrifice - the opposite of the spirit of selfishness which is so prevalent in the world. So when a believer "has salt in himself," he is free from ambition and the struggle for places, honors, and office. He is led by the principle of self-denial. He seeks another's wealth and welfare rather than his own.

In Matthew 5:13, we find Jesus offering a warning to His disciples about their "self-sacrificing" influence in this world. He said - "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men."

Believe it or not! "Salt" which is the symbol of purity can become ineffectual. The believer can experience a lowering or decay of his spiritual life...an impaired vigor of his Christian influence in this world...the grace, Spirit, and Divine Life of God vanishing - causing his mission to cease...losing his relish for Divine truths... becoming conformed to this world...becoming deaf to admonition and rebuke... becoming lukewarm...and quenching the power of the Holy Spirit.

Mr. Maundrell, when describing the Valley of Salt, saw salt that - being exposed to rain, sun, & air - had lost its savor. However, the inner part that stayed connected to the rock retained its savor. This is a perfect picture of what happens to the Christian who is exposed to the worldly influences and gets further and further away from the Rock - Christ Jesus. He loses his effectiveness for change.

Look what happened to the church at Sardis - referred to by Jesus in Revelation 3:1 - "...I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead." This church had a fame for its spiritual vitality. It professed to be attached to Jesus and His cause. It also professed to have true Spiritual life. On the contrary, it was dead spiritually...had not the life of God in their souls...did not walk consistently and steadily before Him...and was dead and lifeless in their exercise of grace and discharge of Christian duties. What happened? Apparently, Sardis got too close to the world and further away from their source of life and blessing - Jesus Christ!

How can you tell when you still have "salt in yourself" and are having an influence on others?

To avoid becoming like the church at Sardis, the Apostle Paul gave the believers an admonition as found in Colossians 4:6 which says - "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt..." Since it is "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks," (Matthew 12:34) dealing with the speech is a great place to start in making sure that you have "salt in yourself."

In order to show others that you have the grace of God operating at all times in your heart, you must keep a close watch on the words that you speak. The presence of the grace and holiness of God - "salt" - will surely make your discourse acceptable.

When you "have salt in yourself," you will find this kind of behavior going on -

The word of Christ dwells in you richly, causing you to teach and admonish others in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs (Colossians 3:16).
You teach the Word of God diligently unto your children (Deuteronomy 6:7; 11:19).
You declare God's glory among the heathen; His marvelous works among all nations (1 Chronicles 16:24).
Your mouth speaks wisdom, and your tongue talks of judgment. The law of God is in your heart (Psalm 37:30-31).
You preach righteousness in the great congregation...do not refrain your lips...do not hide God's righteousness within your heart...declare God's faithfulness and His salvation...and do not conceal God's loving kindnesses or truth (Psalm 40:9-10).
Grace is poured into your lips (Psalm 45:2).
You declare and testify of what God has done for your soul (Psalm 66:16).
Your mouth shows forth God's righteousness and salvation all the day; you go in the strength of the LORD; you make mention of His righteousness; you declare His wondrous works; you show forth God's strength unto your generation and His power to everyone that is to come (Psalm 71:15-18;24).
You make known to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, His strength, and His wondrous works (Psalm 78:4).
You sing psalms unto the LORD (Psalm 105:2).
With your lips, you declare the judgments of His mouth (Psalm 119:13).
When given the opportunity, you speak God's Word before leaders and kings (Psalm 119:46).
You maintain a wholesome tongue which acts as a tree of life unto others (Proverbs 15:4).
Your lips disperse knowledge; they feed many (Proverbs 15:7; 10:21).
You are a good man who brings forth good things out of the good treasure of your heart (Matthew 12:35).
No corrupt communication proceeds from your mouth but that which is good to the use of edifying - ministering grace to the hearers (Ephesians 4:29).

This is a perfect depiction of a believer who "has salt in himself" - who is connected to the Rock - Jesus - and staying further and further away from the worldly influences which would seek to strip him of his "savor" or saltiness. Like the church at Sardis, he simply does not have a "name" that he lives, and his speech - for one - demonstrates this fact to be true.

He has "salt in himself" and his words manifest it. By his words - his preaching, teaching, and witnessing - he cures men of worldliness and sensuality... suppresses all selfishness, pride, ambition, and contention...and subdues and checks corrupt affections.

Barnes' Notes offered an interesting comment on this subject - "Salt renders food pleasant and palatable, and preserves from putrefaction. So Christians, by their lives and instructions, are to keep the world from entire moral corruption. By bringing down the blessing of God in answer to their prayers, and by their influence and example, they save the world from universal vice and crime." Notice the mention of "instructions' and "prayers" as being the means of "keeping the world from entire moral corruption."

"Salt is good...Ye are the salt of the earth... Have salt in yourselves."

How can you know that you still have "salt in yourselves"?

Keep a diligent watch on your speech - which is flowing from your heart. It will be the barometer - indicating the level of "salt" in your spiritual life.

The People's New Testament said - "The disciples of Christ preserve the world from general corruption."

One way they do it is by their speech.

"Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt..."

Will someone please pass the salt?

May God Bless His Word,
Connie

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