Salt of the Earth

Christ Jesus had spent the night in prayer. Coming down from the mountain early in the morning, He chooses the Twelve and took them back up into the mountain where He delivered the Sermon on the Mount. From this vantage point, overlooking the Sea of Galilee, Christ Jesus and the apostles had a ringside observation seat.

The fishermen had spent the night fishing. Now they were docking their boats and crating their catch. Since there was no refrigeration, the fish were packed in layers of salt. On board each ship was a salt barrel. As the disciples glanced down at the ships, they saw a familiar sight. A husky fisherman plunged his calloused hand into the salt barrel, drew out a heaping handful of salt, and threw it into an empty crate. Then he carefully laid a layer of fish on the salt and continued to alternately layer salt and fish until the crate was full. Perhaps Christ Jesus looked away for an instant to this sight and then turns to His disciples with these words: “Ye are the salt of the earth.”

Sodium is an extremely active element found naturally only in combined form; it always links itself to another element. Chlorine, on the other hand, is the poisonous gas that gives bleach its offensive odor. When sodium and chlorine are combined, the result is sodium chloride, common table salt – a substance that preserves meat and brings out the flavors of food.

 

Matt 5:13-16
13 "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
 

I. The timeless teachings of Christ Jesus.

A. The fact that Christ Jesus spoke of salt is an illustration of His timelessness.

          1. In the average gallon of sea water, there is one-fourth pound of salt.

                 a. One statistician figured that all of the world’s oceans would yield enough salt to   

                     build a wall 180 miles high and one mile thick, which would be long enough to 

                     reach around the world at the equator.

B. The world changes; but the teachings of Christ Jesus are changeless.

1. More scientific discoveries have been made in the last fifty years than in the previous five thousand years.

2. But the teachings of Christ Jesus have never changed. They are as timeless as salt.

II. A rotten world. Just as fish need salt to keep them from rotting, this world needs the

salty influence of Christians to keep it from rotting.

A. Moral rot.

        1. Alcoholism. More than 30 percent of American adults have abused alcohol or suffered from alcoholism at some point in their lives, and few have received treatment, according to a new government study.

        2. Drug addiction. More than 22 million Americans age 12 and older - nearly 9% of the U.S. population - use illegal drugs, according to the government’s 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

        3. Pornography. As of 2003, there were 1.3 million pornographic websites; 260 million pages (N2H2, 2003). The total porn industry revenue for 2006: $13.3 billion in the United States; $97 billion worldwide (Internet Filter Review). U.S. adult DVD/video rentals in 2005: almost 1 billion (Adult Video News). Hotel viewership for adult films: 55% (cbsnews.com).

More than 70% of men from 18 to 34 visit a pornographic site in a typical month (comScore Media Metrix). 28% those admitting to sexual addiction are women (internet-filter-review.com).

34% of female readers of Today's Christian Woman's online newsletter admitted to intentionally accessing Internet porn in a recent poll and 1 out of every 6 women, including Christians, struggles with an addiction to pornography (Today’s Christian Woman, Fall 2003).

B. Theological rot.

         1. Many so-called Bible scholars view heaven and hell as mythological.

          2. Many ministers do not believe in the virgin birth.

        3. Many scholars try to explain away events recorded in the Old Testament, such as the flood, the parting of the Red Sea, and Jonah’s being swallowed by a large fish.

         4. The Jesus Seminar was a group of about 150 critical scholars and laymen founded in 1985 by Robert Funk under the auspices of the Westar Institute. The seminar was active in the 1980s and 1990s. The Jesus Seminar's reconstruction of the historical Jesus portrayed him as an itinerant and faith healer who preached a gospel of liberation from injustice in startling parables and aphorisms. An iconoclast, Jesus broke with established Jewish theological dogmas and social conventions both in his teachings and behaviors, often by turning common-sense ideas upside down, confounding the expectations of his audience: He preached of "Heaven's imperial rule" (traditionally translated as "Kingdom of God") as being already present but unseen; he depicts God as a loving father; he fraternizes with outsiders and criticizes insiders. According to the seminar, Jesus was a mortal man born of two human parents, who did not perform nature miracles nor die as a substitute for sinners nor rise bodily from the dead. Sightings of a risen Jesus were nothing more than the visionary experiences of some of his disciples rather than physical encounters.

III. The Christian’s place of influence.

A. Salt is salt because it is different. When asked, “What does salt taste like?” one can only answer, “It tastes like salt.” It is unique.

        1. The influence of the Christian must remain a unique force in the world.

B. Salt is pure. One of the purest elements known to humankind is salt. It is easily taken from salt pits and salt mines because it is so pure.

         1. Likewise, the Christian should be characterized by purity.

C. There is no substitute for salt. If it loses its ability to salt, nothing can take its place. 1. No one can take the place of the witnessing Christian whose life always corresponds to his lips.

D. Salt can be useless. When dirt got mixed with salt, the precious salt was treated like dirt; it was thrown on the slippery paths around Jerusalem and other ancient cities. 1. The saddest sight on earth is a Christian who has lost his or her influence for Christ Jesus. They are like precious salt being treated like common dirt.

Conclusion: Born Drunk was his name. He was the son of a prostitute who actually was drunk when he was born. His friend Jim had found a new life in Christ. Born Drunk had carefully observed Jim’s conversion. “I want to be like Jim,” he said.

“Well, don’t you want to be like Jesus?” asked a friend.

“I don’t know nothin’ about Jesus, but whatever happened to Jim, I want it to happen to me,” was his reply. After finding Christ, Jim had become the salt of the earth!

Do people around you see you as the salt of the earth?