Salt Light pt 1 You are the salt

Salt & Light pt. 1 “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. ” Matt. 5: 13

Salt & Light • How can salt be beneficial?

Salt & Light • Salt has been used since ancient times as a seasoning, a preservative, a disinfectant, etc. • In a booklet put out by a salt company in the 1920 s, the list of uses include keeping the colors bright on boiled vegetables; making ice cream freeze; whipping cream rapidly; getting more heat out of boiled water; removing rust; sealing cracks; removing spots on clothes; putting out grease fires; killing poison ivy; and treating sprains, sore throats, and earaches. • The salt industry goes still further, claiming 14, 000 different uses for this substance!

Salt & Light The Benefits of Salt • Consider that for many years salt was used as an agent to slow the decay of meat and other foods so that they could be edible for a longer period. Blood, sweat and tears have this mineral in them. • Anciently, the mineral provided the financial support for pursuits like art. In Roman times, it was so precious it provided a means to pay soldiers. • Salt received the nickname of 'white gold' sometime during the Middle Ages. Our English word salary comes from the word salarium, a name given to the mineral when it functioned as currency.

Salt & Light • Salt is a dietary mineral, used for flavoring and preservation - needed by all known living creatures • It is also detrimental to have no salt intake because it regulates the water content in our bodies. • Jesus used salt to describe how Christians are needed to bring balance and hope to an otherwise dying world.

Salt & Light • Second, salt was used then, as now, as a flavor enhancer. • In the same way that salt enhances the flavor of the food it seasons, the followers of Christ stand out as those who “enhance” the flavor of life in this world.

Salt & Light • Salt is a preservative that works only when it penetrates into food, and becomes useless when contaminated by other chemical substances. • It must remain pure to do its job. Jesus says that Christians, likewise, must penetrate society while keeping themselves from being influenced by sin in the world.

Salt & Light • Where there is strife, we are to be peacemakers; where there is sorrow, we are to be the ministers of Christ, binding up wounds, and where there is hatred, we are to exemplify the love of God in Christ, returning good for evil (Luke 6: 35). • Christians, living under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and in obedience to Christ, will inevitably influence the world for good, as salt has a positive influence on the flavor of the food it seasons.

Salt & Light • Christians who obey God and do his will act as a preservative of the human race and the earth by slowing down the moral and spiritual decay of the world around them. • Making a difference, however, even includes even more than our actions. According to the apostle Paul, we must also use our words like salt to season or benefit those we talk to (Colossians 4: 5 - 6).

Salt & Light • The interesting thing about salt is that although it is essential to life and good health on planet earth, too much of it can be harmful. • Col. 4: 5 -6 -5. Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside redeeming the time. • 6. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one (NKJV)

Salt & Light • Jesus, during his famous sermon given on a mount, stated that believers were the 'salt of the earth' and warned that it was possible for them to lose their 'saltiness. ' • If believers lost their "flavor, " they would be of no benefit to others. They would then only be worthy of being "thrown out and trampled upon by men" (Matthew 5: 13). • We begin to find our answer regarding the meaning of what Jesus stated by noting the context in which it was given.

Salt & Light • How can we as the salt of the earth loose our flavor?

Salt & Light • If we are the salt of the earth and it's possible to lose our flavoring, then it's no secret the Devil will do his best to make sure our effectiveness (our flavoring) isn't what it used to be. • Trials can cause us to become weary if we're not careful. And just like salt we can become diluted in water, Christians can become diluted (or altered) by their experiences.

Salt & Light • What we believed before a traumatic event is sometimes not the same as afterwards. Why is that? There could be many reasons, but the most common is depression, fatigue, self-doubt, and ultimately reservations about what we believed in to begin with. • If a Christian has lost his or her desire and fervor for God, the so-called salt they are now can be lost.

Salt & Light • Adding salt to plaster makes it hard enough to withstand the wear and tear experienced by a floor. It also, however, renders the mineral (salt) impure and unable to fulfill its role as a seasoning agent. • Christians, like salt, need to live as pure a life as possible so that they can maximize their ability to "flavor" or bless the earth through their good works.

Salt & Light • When true believers mix into themselves with things from the world, like false doctrines, they lose their purity and their originally intended purpose. They then can become useless and vain (see Mark 7: 7 - 9). • Mark 7: 7 -8 -And in vain they worship me. Teaching the doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of you God, you how the tradition of men……

Salt & Light • Consider this: the sea is full of salt but it is only extracted through the process of boiling (removing the water to retain the salt). • God doesn’t willingly inflict the children of man. Going through fiery trials, maybe what it takes to recapture the "salt" in your life. • God is not the destroyer in this life. He said the thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy. John 10: 10 God is not the thief. • God is the "Restorer" of broken lives and broken hearts.

Salt & Light • The boiling process will either prove or disprove the amount of salt contained in a substance. • In the same way, the trials of life will either prove our lives are flavored by God or they will reveal how much we truly lack. • Either way, if handled correctly, the end result can be beneficial. • For the one, our revelation of who Christ is in our lives and His grace and faithfulness will increase. • For the other, our trials may help us understand we need a deeper relationship with God.

Salt & Light • We can’t control the trials we face, but we are the keeper of the "salt. " • Will we be bitter or better? • Less seasoned or more flavorful? • Will we disappear into the background or stand out as an overcomer? • Because in the end, what good are we if we’ve lost our flavoring?

• Next Week: Healthy Christian Session 9/26/15 Sept. 2, 2015 -Salt & Light pt. 2 Scrip. Matt. 5: 13 -16

Reference: • What does it mean that believers are to be salt and light (Matthew 5: 13 -16)? Got. Question? org • You Are the Salt of the Earth by Ron Goldberg