JesusOnline.com

MENUMENU
  • Discover
    Evidence
    • About God
      • Has Science Discovered God?
      • Was Life Created by Design?
      • Accident or Intelligent Design?
      • Does God Exist?
      • “God Evidence” Videos
    • About Jesus
      • The Jesus of History: Man or Myth?
      • Was Jesus a Real Person?
      • Is Jesus God?
      • Was Jesus the Messiah?
      • Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?
      • More Questions…
      • “Jesus Evidence” Videos
    • About the Bible
      • Is the Bible True?
      • Are the Gospels Reliable?
      • The Gospel of Barnabas: Secret Bible?
      • Are the Gnostic Gospels Factual?
      • Is the Bible Infallible?
      • The Bible’s Buried Secrets
      • “Bible Evidence” Videos
  • MEET
    JESUS
    • Purpose for Life
    • Is Jesus Relevant Today?
    • God Loves You…
    • Can You be Forgiven?
    • Know God Personally
    • Is Jesus the Only Way to God?
    • Are You Going to Heaven?
    • Next Steps for New Believers
    • “Receive Jesus” Videos
  • Follow
    Jesus
    • Next Steps
      • Discover New Resources
      • Explore God’s Word
      • Connect with Believers
      • Why Grow?
      • “Next Steps” Videos
    • Living for Jesus
      • Born Again as a New Creation
      • Trusting by Faith
      • Abiding in Christ
      • Embracing Your New Identity
      • Loving God Wholeheartedly
      • Pursuing Truth in God’s Word
      • Depending on the Spirit’s Power
      • Obeying God Faithfully
      • Connecting with God’s Family
      • Resisting the Enemy
      • Advancing Christ’s Kingdom
      • “Living for Jesus” Videos
    • Time in God’s Word
      • Read eBible
      • Download the Bible
      • Devotionals
      • Key Verses
      • Bible Study Tools
      • “Time in God’s Word” Videos
    • Attitudes and Behavior
      • Pride vs. Humility
      • Fear vs. Faith
      • Overindulgence vs. Moderation
      • Immorality vs. Purity
      • Dissatisfaction vs. Contentment
      • Deceit vs. Honesty
      • Divisiveness vs. Harmony
      • Rebellion vs. Obedience
      • Irresponsibility vs. Diligence
    • Bible Study Courses
  • MORE
    • #GODisHOPE
    • FOREVER LOVED!
    • Students
    • Next Steps
    • Devotionals
    • Read eBible
    • Download the Bible
    • Bible Study Tools
    • Key Verses
    • Gospel Presentations
    • Answering Questions
    • “Share Jesus” Videos
    • Search

Making a Difference

“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.” (Matthew 5:13)

Salt. The Hebrew symbol of the everlasting covenant between God and man. All sacrifices the Hebrews made were to be sprinkled with salt: grain, incense, and animal sacrifices alike carried with them the same savor. We discover in both Leviticus and Ezekiel:

Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings. (Leviticus 2:13)

When you have finished purifying it, you are to offer a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without defect. You are to offer them before the LORD, and the priests are to sprinkle salt on them and sacrifice them as a burnt offering to the LORD. (Ezekiel 43:23-24)

Hebrew newborns in ancient times were rubbed with salt to symbolize that they were children of the covenant. It is not too surprising that the disciples, being reborn into the new covenant, are called “the salt of the earth.”

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world –the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does–comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:15-17)

Salt is a versatile seasoning agent. Jesus’ disciples were and are to be cleansing, flavoring, and preserving agents to a world which lies in an unsavory heap rotting. Disciples of Jesus, led and equipped by the power of the Holy Spirit, are to take on the same characteristics as salt. Salt is a necessity of life.

In the time of the original disciples, salt was scarce, precious, and valuable. The Good News of Jesus Christ is highly valuable as well. As bearers of this Good News, we bring salt to all the world!

Salt also halts decay. Disciples are to be the preservative on earth to keep their society from raging rot. Because of this, it is of ultimate importance that we do not blend with the world. When the world looks upon us they should see something different, and that something is Jesus Christ! Again and again in Scripture God relents from sending judgment because of the righteous in the land. Believers are to be the preserving agents in our age as well. We are to be the voice that stands for the hard right against the easy wrong, the voice that speaks up for justice for the oppressed and the weak and helpless. We are to love mercy and our words are to be full of grace seasoned with salt.

Finally, salt melts ice. Even the hardest hearts are not beyond Christ’s reach. As salt, we must continue to touch the lives of those whose hearts seem frozen to the message of God’s love.

Disciples are to be a primary seasoning. Do our actions point others to Jesus or do they prevent others from tasting and seeing that the Lord is good?

Our Lord tells us here as well that flavorless salt is worthless salt. We must maintain our saltiness to be of use to our. God’s way is always the best and most profitable, and yet it often seems the hardest. However, the easy way often ends in waste and unprofitability. Jesus tells us there is no remedy for tasteless salt.

Take It to Heart

“The true Christian cannot be hid, he cannot escape notice. A man truly living and functioning as a Christian will stand out. He will be like salt; he will be like a city set on a hill, a candle set upon a candlestick. But we can also add this further word. The true Christian does not even desire to hide his light. He sees how ridiculous it is to claim to be a Christian and yet deliberately to try to hide the fact. A man who truly realizes what it means to be a Christian, who realizes all that the grace of God has meant to him and done for him, and understands that, ultimately, God has done this in order that he may influence others, is a man who cannot conceal it. Not only that; he does not desire to conceal it, because he argues thus, ‘Ultimately the object and purpose of it all is that I might be functioning in this way.’” (Martin Lloyd-Jones)

Previous – Next

   Follow Jesus
  •   Overview
  •   Discover New Resources
  •   Explore God's Word
  •   Connect With Believers
  •   "Next Steps" Videos
  •   Overview
  •   Born Again as a New Creation
  •   Abiding in Christ
  •   Embracing Your New Identity
  •   Loving God Wholeheartedly
  •   Pursuing Truth in God's Word
  •   Depending on the Spirit
  •   Obeying God Faithfully
  •   Connecting with God's Family
  •   Resisting the Enemy
  •   Advancing Christ's Kingdom
  •   "Living for Jesus" Videos
  •   Overview
  •   Explore the Bible
  •   Bible Study Tools
  •   Bible Study Courses
  •   Devotionals
  •   Key Verses
  •   "Time in God's Word" Videos
  •   Overview
  •   Pride vs. Humility
  •   Fear vs. Faith
  •   Anger vs. Forgiveness
  •   Overindulgence vs. Moderation
  •   Dissatisfaction vs. Contentment
  •   Deciet vs. Honesty
  •   Divisiveness vs. Harmony
  •   Rebellion vs. Obedience
  •   Irresponsibility vs. Dilligence
  •   "Next Steps" Videos
  •   "Living for Jesus" Videos
  •   "Time in God's Word" Videos

We like you.
Like us back on social media!


Copyright ©    |   Jesus Online Ministries   |   Sitemap   |   Privacy Policy   |   Website Terms of Use Policy

TAKE JESUSONLINE WITH YOU

  GET THE FREE APP NOW