The Church (6)
“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.” Matthew 5.13
“‘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 2.13
“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
Three uses of “salt”
Let’s face it: the declining state of the Church in America suggests that the warning Jesus issued in this teaching has begun to be realized: The Church is losing its “saltiness,” and therefore, our nation is not being “seasoned”, and the Church is being rejected as no longer needed or useful.
In Jesus’ day, three uses of salt were familiar to the people who would have heard Him. First salt was used as a seasoning to enhance the taste of food or induce thirst. A second use was as a preservative against decay. Salt would be rubbed into meat, and this would allow the meat to remain palatable for a longer period of time. Salt held off corruption and preserved whatever was good. Salt that no longer accomplished this purpose was thrown out into the trash.
But there was another use of salt in Jesus’ day which, if anything, was even more important either than its role as a seasoning or a preservative. In Hebrew religious practice all offerings brought to the Lord were to be accompanied by a measure of salt. This salt was referred to as “the salt of the covenant”; that is, the salt represented the relationship the people of Israel had with their God. It was a reminder to them of His covenantal promises and their covenantal obligations. As they renewed their relationship with Him through sacrifice, the salt would remind them of their duty but also of God’s promises. Along with the sacrifice, the salt would also be consumed by God, as it were.
Salt was thus a token and sign of the divine covenant, and a way of indicating agreement with and participation in God and His promises. The Church, in Jesus’ thinking, is the salt of the earth; the Church accompanies the sacrifice of Jesus, identifying with and even, in our own way, sharing in His suffering as His inseparable and faithful covenant people.
Salt with God’s sacrifice
God’s covenant offers hope, blessing, purpose, joy, and meaning to the world. Peter described the promises of God as “precious and very great” and said that by them we become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1.4). God is not content to leave the world floundering in sin and unbelief. He sent His Son to the world, so great is His love, as the sacrifice for sin, to take away the sins of the world so that whoever believes in Him might not perish but have everlasting life (Jn. 3.16).
And the Church, the salt of the earth, is the covenantal presence of the crucified and risen Savior, a sign and a minister to the world of the blessings of God’s favor and pleasure (Rom. 4.13-22).
How much saltier—and how much brighter would be our light—if we were working to be the Church at all the levels and in all the places and ways the New Testament commends!
The Church is a presence intended to savor and preserve all that is good in every area of life, to enhance all that is wholesome and good, resist everything that is corrupt and destructive, and bring forgiveness and the newness of the sacrificed and risen Lamb of God to bear on the task of making all things new.
The Church is the salt of the earth! What a high calling and rich privilege, that God would make effective the sacrifice of His Son by salting a people into the world to be the catalysts by which the world is transformed and filled with the knowledge of God and His glory.
A work for the whole community
We dare not assume that we can fulfill such a purpose alone. This is the work of a whole community, a people filled with light, committed to witness, walking as true disciples of Jesus Christ, and working together to express the resurrection life of Christ at all levels of “Church”—a people who penetrate every nook and cranny of society and culture, bringing the savor of beauty, goodness, and truth and the promises of God’s covenant into everything we say and do.
We need one another to be strengthened for this calling. We need to be the Church in all her expressions for this high and holy calling to fulfill its salty promise. The more we work together, the more consistent will be our presence, and the more effective will be our efforts.
We are the salt of the earth, and though our savor has been diminished somewhat in recent years, we may yet respond hopefully to the Savior as He calls us to “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another” (Mk. 9.50).
For reflection or discussion
1. What does it mean for a local church to be the salt of the earth in its community?
2. In what ways are forces of corruption, decay, and moral decline threatening your community? Should local churches be involved here? How?
3. Suggest some ways that churches in your community might work together to be more effective as the salt of the earth:
Next steps–Transformation: The saltiness of our churches begins with each of us. How would you assess the state of your own “saltiness” at this time? Spend some time in prayer, meditating on this question. Listen as the Lord leads and carry out whatever He directs you to do.
T. M. Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest: This week: The Read Moore podcast continues readings from If Men Will Pray. Our Crosfigell teaching letter has begun a new series on the state of the Church in Europe at the time of the Celtic Revival. Check out our other excellent writers. In Scriptorium we are working through the gospel of Matthew. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
