“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)
Hello beloved,
I have come to you in words, to express to you my heart. Beloved, my heart is wrenched and broken over the state of the church. And, I must tell you, I can hardly discern my sadness from my anger. They go hand in hand right now. How can we lift our hands and voices, sending praise to our Lord, while we totally ignore any command that we see as difficult? Can we not see that life in the Son of God only belongs to those willing to endure the narrow road? Beloved, this narrow road is not easy, but it is our birthright. Will we be like Esau, who despised his birthright, becoming an object of God’s wrath and hatred? or will we be like Jacob, whom God loved because he desired and took up the responsibility of the birthright? And what is that birthright? Boldly advancing the Kingdom of God!
In Matthew five, verse thirteen, Jesus was not giving His followers the option to become the salt of the earth. No, he made it very clear to them. “You are the salt of the earth.” When you repent of your sins and place your faith in Christ, you die to yourself and become a new creation in Christ. That part’s simple, right? Of course it’s simple. The gospel has always been simple. But the problem is, we look past the part about us dying. It’s all about new life, yet you rarely hear anything about the death that must take place first. Beloved, when you are converted, your life no longer belongs to you. It is no longer your will. No, you are now to do the will of the Father.
And guess what? In doing His will, you are to be salt. Being salt means that you can’t be afraid to be salt. One of the first attributes of salt that we often focus on is it’s stinging capabilities. You know, “throwing salt in a wound”. In this politically correct world we live in, we are so scared that someone might call us judgmental. Beloved, when you give the truth to those around you, it will often times sting. And that’s all we focus on, which leads us to keep our salt to ourselves. We need to realize that, if we are truly a friend, we must wound them with the truth. Proverbs 27:6 says, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful”. Did you know that when you tell someone only what they want to hear, steering from the life-giving rebuke, you are actually stabbing them in the back? So don’t be afraid to sting from time-to-time. For without the sting, you can’t have the beautiful gift of repentance; which so often is a prelude to salvation(2 Cor. 7:10).
We have focused on the stinging attribute of salt. Of course, it has many others. But what about the salt that loses its saltiness? Well, according to Jesus, “it is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.” So, let me ask you a question, “Can a Christian be salt that has no saltiness?” Isn’t that a difficult question to answer? It’s kind of like the question, “Can a Christian be lukewarm?” The answer to both would have to be, “no”. After all, what happens to salt that loses it’s saltiness? It’s thrown out and trampled on. What happens to those who fall in the category of lukewarm? They are spewed from the mouth of the Lord. I’ll let you marinade on those thoughts yourself. We’ve got to tackle one more thing though…the beautiful gift of repentance.
I cannot recommend to you a better practice, than to regularly examine yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Paul said, in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” Now, where is your mind going right now? Do you have the idea that, perhaps, I am saying if you deny your calling to be the salt of the earth, that you have walked away from your salvation? Well, that’s not for me to say. But, I will say that you should, at least, consider it. At least ask yourselves the question, “Am I salty?” But, what is so beautiful about this question is that it could lead you into a room full of sorrow. What? A room full of sorrow is beautiful? Absolutely! But, only if it is godly sorrow. When you realize that you have forsaken your birthright, you can get on your knees and confess it to God and repent. For godly sorrow leads to repentance unto salvation, never to be regretted. Praise the Lord!
Well, beloved, I think I’ll end things here. But, let me leave you with the admonition that Jesus left to the lukewarm church of the Laodiceans. (No, I’m not calling you lukewarm…unless, of course, you are lukewarm)
Despite how some modern day evangelists use the following passage, it is not a salvation message. This message was written to believers who had strayed from God; believers who were blind but thought they were seeing 20/20; believers who desperately needed to repent. Let me just be quiet so you can hear:
“Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Revelation 3:19-22)
May you all have an ear to hear.
In Christian love,
Adam Tennant
Posted by akatennant 
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