The Preacher’s Pen

Questions God Asks Man – Week 4
Who Shall Salt the Earth?
Matthew 5:13

We come to the final week of our series: “Questions God Asks Man.”

• Week One – “Where art thou?”

• Week Two – “If God be for us, who can be against us?”

• Week Three – “Why seek ye the living among the dead?”

• Week Four – “Who shall salt the earth?”

Jesus asked this question by way of an illustration in Matthew 5:13. He declared that we are “the salt of the earth.” But then He warned of salt that loses its savor. And the question hangs heavy—if the church is supposed to salt the earth, but we don’t, then who will?

Let’s Talk About Salt

Usually when we hear the word salt today, it’s negative. Doctors tell us to watch our sodium. Too much salt can hurt the body.

But spiritually, salt is one of the most powerful pictures we have. In fact, Jesus said it’s who we are.

Salt that still has its savor is effective. Salt that’s watered down is useless. So if Christians don’t salt the earth—who will?

1. Salt Causes One to Drink

You already know it—salty food makes you thirsty. Get some fresh McDonald’s fries with extra salt, and it won’t be long before you need a drink. Stop by a roadside stand for some hot boiled peanuts, and soon you’ll be reaching for water.

That’s what Jesus meant when He said we are the salt of the earth. A salty Christian makes others thirsty for the things of God.

When our lives reflect Christ’s grace and truth, people around us develop a hunger and thirst for righteousness.

2. Salt Makes Things Delicious

Those same McDonald’s fries, without salt, taste like cardboard. Nearly every recipe worth making calls for a pinch or dash of salt. Even the sweetest icing requires it.

Without salt, flavor is missing. With salt, flavor comes alive.

That’s exactly what Jesus was saying. The Christian, the church, the saint should make the world a more flavorful, more joyful place.

The great pastor and writer Martyn Lloyd-Jones said:

“Christians, by being Christians, influence society almost automatically.”

The Christian should never be known as tasteless. Never as the one who makes the world sour, bland, or unpleasant. Instead, we should season, enhance, and enrich the world God placed us in.

3. Salt Prevents Decay

Before freezers and refrigerators, people preserved meat by packing it in salt. Salt slowed down decay and bought time for people to eat what would otherwise spoil.

In the same way, it is natural for the world to decay morally and spiritually. Scripture says men will wax worse and worse, increasing in ungodliness. Yet Jesus has placed salty Christians in the world to slow that process—to buy time for others to come to Him.

The praying mother who won’t stop. The faithful friend who kept witnessing until you got saved. That’s salt at work.

We can’t delay judgment, but we can delay decay.

The Question

So here is the real heart of Matthew 5:13: If the salt has lost its savor, wherewith shall the earth be salted?

In plain talk: If it’s our job to salt, but we ain’t salting—who’s gonna salt?

Salt can lose its essence when diluted. It still looks like salt but no longer seasons. I’m afraid many Christians today have become watered down—trying to be something other than what Jesus called us to be.

But the need of the world hasn’t changed. Jesus said, “Ye are the salt of the earth.” And the earth still needs salting.

Conclusion

What difference are we making?

• Is the world better because of the salt of our testimony?

• Are others thirsting for God because of our influence?

• Are we preserving someone from spiritual decay with our prayers and witness?

The question remains: Who shall salt the earth?

May it be said of us—that we did.