The beginning of the Sermon on the Mount recounts Jesus using salt & light as a metaphor for how we should be. Since Jesus is teaching His followers directly, I think it’s highly important we understand. This week we will be focusing on salt. Salt has been used through history for a variety of things…it is believed that salt has over 14,000 uses. So with that in mind, what does it mean to be salt?
You are the salt
of the earth
·
Matthew 5:13
You
are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its
saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown
out and trampled under people’s feet
·
Salt is primary known as a seasoning
o
It enhances both flavor & aroma
o
The first thing you hear on cooking
shows about bad food…too little salt
o
Salt works in concert with other
flavors
§ It
will decrease your bitter taste perception (grapefruit)
§ It
balances out sweet or sour tastes (salted caramel)
·
With this in mind, how can Christians be
‘salt of the earth’?
o
By living out the Great Commission - Matthew
28:19-20
§ Make
disciples, baptizing, teaching them to obey
§ By
multiplying ourselves, we can change the world
*** Find your place to grow others ***
·
What happens when salt is not seasoning
or preserving?
o
It can’t do the things we discussed
o
So how salty are you?
Salt of the
covenant
·
Leviticus 2:13
You
shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of
the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your
offerings you shall offer salt
·
Salt represents a covenant
o
The expression “a covenant of salt”
occurs in Numbers 18:19 & 2 Chronicles 13:5
o
It denotes an indissoluble alliance or
an everlasting covenant
·
Salt was the great symbol across nations
and ages
o
Salt was routinely a part of treaties
& alliances
o
Salt was a symbol of hospitality,
friendship, durability, & fidelity
·
Christians are Christ’s ambassadors
o
2 Corinthians 5:20
Therefore, we are ambassadors for
Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ,
be reconciled to God
§ We
implore people to be reconciled to God
§ We
are symbols of His grace
o
It’s why testimonies need to be told
§ We
HAVE to be real
*** Serving on mission with others ***
Seasoned
with salt
·
Colossians 4:6
Let
your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you
ought to answer each person
·
There is an optimal amount of salt
o
Too much or too little salt can ruin a good meal
o
Too much or too little salt in the diet can lead
to muscle cramps, dizziness, or electrolyte disturbance, which can cause
neurological problems, or even death
·
A wise chef uses just enough salt
o
A little salt goes a long way
·
Being all things to all people
o
1 Corinthians 9:22
To
the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to
all people, that by all means I might save some
o
Paul was wise in his saltiness
§
From simple presentations of Christ to
reasoning in Athens in the Areopagus
o
If you’re polarizing, how can your
speech be seasoned with salt?
·
You are always being watched by
unbelievers
o
Do you think about your actions ever
PREVENTING someone coming to Christ
§
Non-believers routinely site
ungracious Christians as their biggest stumbling block
o
How can you be gracious in all you do?