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Need More Salt
by Rusty Kuhn "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men." Matthew 5:13 Why is the world so tasteless? It needs more salt. In Matthew 5-7, we find Jesus Sermon on the Mount. In this sermon Jesus is telling His followers how to be kingdom minded. Although the kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom, within the hearts of believers, and not a physical kingdom, the citizens of God's spiritual kingdom are clearly expected to have influence and impact upon this physical world. Therefore, when the world becomes tasteless, tacky, and immoral, we recognize the fact that the world needs more salt. If you are a citizen of the kingdom of God, you are the salt of the earth. Salt serves two major purposes. It's most important purpose in Jesus day was its ability to preserve meat and prevent it from decay. One of the major themes in Jesus Sermon on the Mount was morality-righteousness. The bible clearly teaches that true morality-righteousness can only be obtained through a relationship with Jesus. As Christians we are expected to live in accordance to the righteous standards of our holy God. Not a self righteousness as of the Pharisees, but a righteousness obtained only through faith in Christ. As we live out our faith before this world, upholding God's righteous standards, we are being God's salt upon this earth. God's preserving agents of morality and righteousness preventing the decay of sin from taking over and destroying. The second major purpose of salt is to add flavor. Being from South East Louisiana I love flavorful food. I try to avoid bland foods but find well flavored food hard to resist. As citizens of God's kingdom we are expected to be the flavor of God to this world. If we are faithful representatives of the kingdom we will present the flavor of God to this world as being desirable drawing in those who are dissatisfied with the tastelessness of this world. If we are bland or even distasteful we will not attract people to the kingdom; we may even become guilty of turning people away. The fact is pure salt cannot lose its saltiness. However, when improperly cared for it can become mixed with impurities that will cause it to lose its flavor making it useless. In Jesus day impure salt had only one purpose. If thrown into the field it would cause the soil to become infertile ruining the field. Its only purpose was to be thrown into the road where it would then be trampled under foot by men. If we as citizens of the kingdom of God allow impurities to infiltrate us, and/or our churches, we will become useless to the kingdom of God. Our impurities will also become a stumbling block to the fields God wishes to harvest for His kingdom making the fields unfertile. However, we can rejoice over the grace of God, for if we chose to repent God will forgive us, remove our impurities, and restore us to righteousness. (I John 1:9). If we chose not to repent we are of no more value than the dust of the road that is trampled under foot by men. Rusty Kuhn is the founding pastor of New Life Baptist Church in Nicholson, Ms. and the author of Reclaiming the Land: God's Formula for Revival. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |