More on Matthew 5 Salt

Matthew 5 is rich with instruction from Jesus. In this next section, He talks about Christians as the salt and light of the world. If you’ve been a Christian for any length of time, you’ve heard this saying a time or two, I’m sure. But what did He say exactly, and what does it mean? Let’s find out.

¹³ “You are the ^[d] salt of the earth; but if the salt has ^[e] lost its taste (purpose), how can it be made salty? It is no longer good for anything, but to be thrown out and walked on by people [when the walkways are wet and slippery]. Matthew 5 (AMP)

Salt is an interesting mineral. I wrote about it many years ago.

What I discovered in my investigation into salt:

• It is necessary for the survival of all known living creatures. The natural, unrefined form of salt made by evaporating sea water is best.
• Many micro organisms cannot live in an overly salty environment. Over consumption of salt increases the risk of health problems, including high blood pressure.
• All four cationic electrolytes (sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium) are in unrefined salt. Drinking too much water, with insufficient salt intake, puts a person at risk of water intoxication (hyponatremia).
• It is a a cleansing agent. It tends to sting when placed on an open wound but is an excellent initial treatment to disinfect a wound when diluted in a water solution.
• It is a cheap, safe, effective method of food preservation historically. It lowers the freezing point.

You can see there is a lot to learn about salt. How do we apply these salt principles to our Christian walk? Here are a few I’d like to suggest derived directly from what we know about salt:

• Everyone needs to hear the gospel Jesus preached, and we need to preach it. Not a man-made version, but the version Jesus preached, clean, pure, natural … as instructed by Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
• We should not be “overly salty.” We should be moderate in our conversations, use of our gifts, admonishments, reproaches, etc. Moderate in our ways as a Christian.
• We should be careful to consider the state of the person we are talking to so we don’t overwhelm them.
• We should stand up for the things which are right to God and against things which are not.
• We should be a part of helping to preserve, heal, and steady our brothers and sisters. Confrontation shouldn’t always be avoided. Sometimes during reproach and admonishment our words may sting, but in the end could bring healing.

We are here for a purpose, without that purpose, we are of little use to the Kingdom.

Originally published on WordPress https://calltoceasefire.wordpress.com/2023/09/23/more-on-matthew-5-salt/