Are We Losing Flavor?

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 4th of August, 2024.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

Our responsive reading this morning came from the Good News Bible version of what many consider to be the most important and most earth-shaking sermon Jesus ever gave.  This sermon included some of the best-known sayings of Jesus, including the Beatitudes – our responsive reading – and what we call the Lord’s Prayer.  It also contains the central tenets of discipleship, giving us a road map of how we should live.  Jesus had so much to say, it took the Apostle Matthew three chapters to record it all.

Now, this sermon came fairly early in Jesus’ ministry.  After calling Simon and Andrew and James and John to follow Him, there on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus went all through the region around Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, preaching the Gospel, and healing folks of all manner of illnesses and infirmities.  His fame spread and the people came from all over, just to hear Him, to be touched by Him, following Him.

One day He went up onto a mountainside to preach to the multitudes and His disciples.  Please listen and follow along to the beginning of our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount as recorded by the Apostle Matthew in the 5th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 1 through 14, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

1 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,

For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn,

For they shall be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek,

For they shall inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

For they shall be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful,

For they shall obtain mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart,

For they shall see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers,

For they shall be called sons of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,

For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.”

--Matthew 5:1-14 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, we thank You for the faith to believe in Your Christ, Your Son, Jesus our Lord.  We exercise that faith by following Your and His commands, by loving others and doing Your will.  Sadly though, Father, we sometimes hesitate or even fail in those efforts.  Sometimes our faith becomes lukewarm, neither hot nor cold.  Please help us retain our flavor, our saltiness.  Help us as we step out into the world, offering aid where we can and witnessing to the non-believers, sharing the Good News and showing Your love.  Help us shine the light of truth everywhere we go.  And please forgive us when we hesitate to witness for You and our Lord Jesus out of fear or anxiety.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand Your message today.  Thank You for forgiving and forgetting our sin.  Help us share the Good News of everlasting life in our daily walk.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

A gentleman by the name of David H. Johnson notes that,  “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 -- the substance we use to preserve meat and bring out its flavor.  Love and truth can be like sodium and chlorine.  Love without truth is flighty, sometimes blind, willing to combine with various doctrines.  On the other hand, truth by itself can be offensive, sometimes even poisonous.  Spoken without love, it can turn people away from the gospel.  When truth and love are combined in an individual - or in a church - then we have what Jesus called 'the salt of the earth', and we're able to preserve and bring out the beauty of our faith.”

My mother – God bless her – was bad about speaking her feelings with giving thought to the impact her words might have.  “But it’s the truth!”, was her usual defense when someone was shocked by her bluntness.  Truth without love.

Then there’s puppy love, a love so flighty it can change in a week or less.  Or a couple who proclaim love for each other, but are really only interested in staying together, maybe for financial reasons.  In either case, they don’t really mean it when they say, “I love you”.  Love without truth.

Jesus tells us to speak the truth, especially when we may be trying to offer advice to someone, but to do so in love.  We are to think about what we are about to say, think about the impact our words might have, treat the other person with love, just like we would want to be treated.  Sodium and chlorine, love and truth – combined, they flavor our Christian walk.

Jesus says we believers are the salt of the earth.  I’ve heard that expression used many times to describe someone who is a good person.  “They’re the salt of the earth!”, someone might say.  But did you know that salt is mentioned throughout our Bible, in both Testaments?

For instance, our Bible speaks of salt covenants, covenants that are permanent, eternal, such as when God spoke to Moses' brother Aaron.  Listen to the promise God made to Aaron as recorded by Moses in the 19th verse of the 18th chapter of his Book of Numbers…

19 “All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to the Lord, I have given to you and your sons and daughters with you as an ordinance forever; it is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord with you and your descendants with you.”

--Numbers 18:19 (NKJV)

A covenant of salt, a covenant forever between God and Aaron and all his descendants, forever.  Where did they get this idea of permanence, of eternity, from salt?  Well, salt acts as a preservative – it is used to preserve food so that it will last longer.  So in our Bible, salt is used to signify permanence, loyalty, durability, fidelity.  It was also used practically for purification purposes.  Salt was so important to the Jewish people, they were supposed to include it in any tithing to the Lord, as described by Moses in the 2nd chapter his Book of Leviticus, verses 12 and 13…

12 As for the offering of the firstfruits, you shall offer them to the Lord, but they shall not be burned on the altar for a sweet aroma. 13 And every offering of your grain offering you shall season with salt; you shall not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your grain offering. With all your offerings you shall offer salt. 

--Leviticus 2:12-13 (NKJV)

Nowadays, our offerings are pretty much strictly financial – paper money or a check or a bank draft.  We don’t pour a little salt on our cash before dropping it in the collection plate.  But the idea of permanence and fidelity, of forever giving to the Lord out of our Love for Him, should indeed flavor our offering.

Jesus called us the salt of the earth, but He also included a warning.  Now I don’t know if the Apostle Mark was reporting on the same sermon as did Matthew, but he did capture a remark Jesus made that sounds very similar.  After His transfiguration, Jesus issues some warnings to His disciples, including us, that Mark quoted in the 9th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 49 and 50, when Jesus said…

49 “For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. 50 Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another.”

--Mark 9:49-50 (NKJV)

That last bit is a good lesson for us.  We should have salt within ourselves and peace with one another.  Love and truth, fidelity, loyalty.  Yes, we will be seasoned with fire, tested by trials, but we have also been seasoned with salt, by the eternal Holy Spirit living within us.

And salt is good, unless it loses its flavor.  If that happens, how can it be seasoned?  This is the warning Jesus gives us, not to lose our saltiness, for we cannot be made salty again.

Salt is a preservative that can make food remain edible longer.  Salt enhances the flavor of our food.  And salt is a healing agent, helping wounds to heal.

We Christians, as a preservative, are to hold back the evil of the world, its corruption and decay.  As a flavor enhancer, we are to be part of the world's renewal and redemption.  And as a healing agent, we are to be part of the world's healing, not its destruction.  In this way we can retain our flavor, our saltiness, and always be pleasing to God.

In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the Son of God, who came to free us from sin, and who is coming again to judge us all.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for our wonderful gift of faith and for Your Holy Spirit living within us.  He is our covenant of salt, sealed by the blood of our Lord Jesus.  He will be with us as long as we draw breath.  Sometimes, though, dear Father, we run the risk of our faith wavering, or losing our flavor.  We hesitate to do what we know You would have us do, more concerned with carrying out our will than Yours.  Please forgive us those times, Father.  Forgive us when we don’t let the light of truth shine out for all to see.  Please help us reach out more into the world, serving others in our service to You.  Help us be more forgiving, more merciful in our dealings with others.  Guide us around any pitfalls in this life and strengthen our spirits to do Your will.  And please help us do a better job of sharing Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  

Father, please shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith, trying to make us his own.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before us.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You call us – Your church - to be the salt of the earth.  We are to hold back the evil of the world and slow its decay, to be an integral part of its redemption, and to aid in its healing, not its destruction.  Sometimes, Lord, we fail in these tasks and we risk losing our saltiness.  Please help us carry out our mission.  Help us sprinkle the world with salt by spreading the Gospel message.  Help us share Your love by being more understanding, more merciful, more giving and forgiving of others, offering aid when we can.  Not everyone believes in You, so it is our job to help them see the truth and believe.  Give us the words to say, show us what to do to help bring the lost to You.

Lord Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations and all the false teachings.  Help us fend off his attacks.  Please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  Heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.