Donna Wooten got back from the
hospital today and Lynn talked to her and she feels very good
and said she couldn't wait to get back to church. So I was
thankful to hear that. While Rich was reading this passage
of scripture, there's not something, I don't think I've ever noticed
this before in verse 14. Paul says, knowing that he which
raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus and
shall present us with you. If I was saying that, I would
have said, you'll be presented with me. He's an apostle, but
that's not the way the apostle speaks. He says, I'll be presented
with you. That was a blessing to me. Turn
back to Matthew chapter five. Verse 13, you are. the salt of the earth, not you
should be, not you ought to be. This is not something you should
be striving to be. You are the salt of the earth. Now, who is meant by you? When
he says you are the salt of the earth. Well. Everybody, God is blessed. You
are the salt of the earth. You who are poor in spirit. You and you only are the salt
of the earth. You that mourn before God over
your sin. You and you only are the salt
of the earth. You that are meek before God. You believe that he rules and
reigns and whatever he sends your way, whether you enjoy it
or not, you believe it's best because he sent it. And you're
meek before God. You and you only are the salt
of the earth. You that hunger and thirst after
righteousness because you really believe you have none of your
own and it must come from outside of you. You and you only are the salt
of the earth. You who are merciful, having
experienced the mercy of God, you and you only are the salt
of the earth. You that are pure in heart, given
a pure heart by God in the new birth, you and you only are the
salt of the earth. You that are peacemakers, preaching
the gospel of peace, believing the gospel of peace, you and
you only are the salt of the earth. You that are persecuted for righteousness
sake, you and you only are the salt of the earth. Now that's
who he is speaking of. As a matter of fact. the Beatitudes
that our Lord has given us, that we've been looking at for the
last several weeks. This is the best description, I think, in
the Bible of what a Christian is. Our Lord defines who is blessed,
and this is how he defines these people. And he says, you are
the salt of the earth. Only yours is the kingdom of
heaven, only you shall be comforted, only you shall inherit the earth,
only you shall be filled, only you shall obtain mercy, only you shall see God, only
you shall be called the children of God, only you are the salt
of the earth. Now what in the world does it
mean to be the salt of the earth? What does the Lord mean? Well, we get some idea of what
he's talking about when he says, if the salt has lost its savor,
what good is salt that's not salty? It doesn't perform its function.
It's utterly useless. It's without value. It's meaningless. It's good for nothing but to
be trodden underfoot of men. And in Luke's account, he says
it's not even fit for a dunghill. It's lost its savor. If the salt has lost its savor,
its saltiness, what good will it do? And that is really what
the Lord is talking about there. Now, there are all kinds of scientific
things we could say. about the salt of the earth that
are true, and I'm gonna bring some of those things out, but
I don't really believe it's what this scripture intends to bring
out, but there are many valuable things about salt. As a matter
of fact, the Lord said in Luke chapter 14, salt is good. And
if the Lord said salt is good, salt's good, isn't it? Salt,
sodium chloride, we would die without it, and our bodies can't
produce it. It must come from outside of
us. You know, the same thing could
be said of everything in the gospel. Righteousness. I'll die
without it and I can't produce it. Redemption. I'll die without
it and I can't redeem myself. It must come from without side
of me. A new heart. I'll die without
one. I can't make one. It must be
given me. You can say that about every
aspect of the gospel faith. I'll die without it. I can't
produce it. It must be given me. Repentance. I'll die without repentance.
I can't produce it. It must be given me. It's the way salt is. You can't
live without salt. You can't produce it. It doesn't
come from your body. perseverance. I'll die without
it. And I can't cause it to be. It
must be given to me. You see, this is true with regard
to every aspect of the gospel. In Luke chapter 14, verse 34,
the Lord said, salt is good. The Lord made salt and he knows
the benefits The physical benefits of salt infinitely more than
any scientist can explain it. And all of these benefits of
salt mirror spiritual benefits. And the first thing that comes
to my mind is taste. What would food be without salt?
Salt brings out the taste. And if it didn't have salt, it
wouldn't be good. I love to eat. I love stuff that
tastes good. And what a mercy it is for the
Lord to give us this thing called salt that makes food taste good. Job said, can that which is unsavory
be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the
white of an egg? Take salt away and the pleasure,
the taste of food is gone. And here's something about salt.
If it's left alone, it will not decompose or decay because it's
a mineral. It'll stay the same. It will
not decompose. It will not decay. You know, in the old Testament,
all offerings were to be made with salt. Leviticus chapter
2 verse 13. Every offering that was offered
up, it was to be offered up with salt, which tells us something
about the permanent nature of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. If he died for you, that's forever. The benefits of that cannot be
taken away. It's permanent. You completed
him now, perfected him now. It's going to be that way in
50 years if you live that long. It's going to be that way throughout
eternity. We read also in the scriptures, in the Old Testament,
the salt of the covenant. That speaks of the permanent
nature of the covenant. That's what David was speaking
of when he said, although my house be not so with God, yet
hath he made with me, he made this with me, an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things and sure. And this is all my
salvation, David said, the man after God's own heart. Not most
of it, not 99% of it. This is all my salvation, this
is all my desire. This is all I want, though he
maketh it not to grow. In 2 Kings chapter two, We read of
Elisha pouring in a cruise of salt in the bitter, poisonous
waters, and the Lord healed the waters, and they became drinkable.
And what a type of Christ the salt is in that story. When salt
was cast in, thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters. There
shall not be from hence any more death or barren land. So the waters were healed unto
this day. Truly Christ is the salt of the
earth, isn't he? Salt is good. We can't live without it. It
regulates all our body fluids. And our body cannot produce salt. It must come from without us.
And it's the same way when you hunger and thirst, you can't
satisfy that hunger and thirst. It's got to come from without,
inside of you. You can't produce salt in your body. It must come
from without. Salt has healing qualities with
it. Salt water is healed. By his
stripes were healed. Salts are preservative. As a
matter of fact, That's mainly what it meant in those days.
It was a preservative for meat. They didn't have refrigeration
the way we did. They would salt everything, and that salt would
draw out the moisture out of the meat. It would draw out the
pathogens and preserve it and keep it from decay. Salt was
so important. As a matter of fact, sometimes
paychecks were paid by salt. The Roman soldiers would be paid
by salt. That's what they would be paid
for fighting. The sacrifice of Christ removes
us from us, that which would kill us. Our sin, just like salt
removes from the meat, the sacrifice of Christ removes from us that
which would kill us. Salt reacts with things. You've
thrown salt out on your sidewalk and what happens? The ice melts. Oh, the salt of his grace is
the only thing that will melt these hard hearts. Salt is good. But the Lord says to the believer,
you are. Not you should be. Not you ought
to be. He says this to every believer
without exception. You are the salt of the earth. Now, salt as a preserver. Listen to this. It's the believer
that preserves the earth. If there were no believers, this
earth would be destroyed immediately by a just and holy God. If you're not a believer, the
only reason you're here right now is because believers, they
preserve the earth. And when the last of God's elect
dies, it's over. It's over. The reason the earth is preserved
up to this point is because of God's elect. Unbelieving men
in their high opinion of themselves and of their own importance don't
realize that the only reason they're walking God's planet
is because God's children are here. That's it. Now, they might
get mad at that, but you know, I remember talking to somebody
who said, you're some kind of elitist thinking The way you're
talking about the elect, that's spiritual elitism. Well, you
can call it what you want, but it's so. It's so, and I'm not
saying this in a harsh way. Men do not realize how sinful
they are. And that's why they would think,
well, that's arrogant and proud of you to think that you're the
salt of the earth and the only reason we're alive is because
of you. Well, it's because of Christ. It's not like I'm something
special. This is talking about all of
God's elect. They're the apple of his eye. And when the last
one is brought in, this is the end of the world. That's when
the elements will be melted with a fervent heat. Turn with me to Colossians chapter
four, just for a moment. Verse six. Let your speech, the things you
say, be always with grace, seasoned with salt. I love that verse
of scripture. Let your speech always be. of grace, the grace of God. And make sure it's seasoned with
salt. That's the flavor of it. You
know, who would you rather hear speak of grace? Somebody that's
gracious or someone who acts like a fool? You want to hear
somebody that lives what they believe, that they're gracious.
But I love the way he says, let your speech always be of grace,
seasoned with salt. Always be ready to give an answer
to every man that asks you a reason for the hope that's in you with
meekness and fear. That is seasoned with salt. But
I love the way he says, let your speech always be of grace. Here's
a verse of scripture I'm sure most of us have memorized. By
grace are you saved. By grace. And the only way to
identify scriptural grace is by identifying it with the attributes
of God. It's eternal grace. He's eternal. It's just grace. It's holy grace. It's sovereign grace. It's immutable
grace. It's irresistible grace. It's
independent grace. It doesn't need you to do something
before it can act on you. God's grace. By grace, you're
saved. Not salvation's possible for
you. Not salvation's available to
you if you'll reach out and take it and accept it. By grace, you're
saved through faith. There's the instrument through
which grace is experienced, through faith. Believing on the Lord
Jesus Christ. Resting in Him. Believing that He is all in your
salvation. All your eggs are in that basket
that all God requires of you, He looks to His Son for, faith.
For by grace you're saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. That faith you have didn't come
from you, and if you have it, you know that. You know it's
the gift of God. You found yourself believing.
You tried to believe, and it never worked. Then you found
yourself believing, and you know it's the gift of God, not of
works. Oh, you know that. Not of works,
lest any man boast. Boasting's excluded in the kingdom
of heaven. We know he did it all and we
love it that way. Not of works, lest any man should
boast. For we are his workmanship. Created, don't you love that
word? Created in Christ Jesus unto
good works. There's the salt. which God hath
before ordained, that we should walk in them. Let your speech
always be of grace, seasoned with salt. The Lord said in Mark
9 50, have salt in yourselves and peace with one another. Having salt in yourself has something
to do with peace. Believers are called upon to
make for the thing or to follow the things which make for peace.
And when we consider blessed are the peacemakers, that has
to do with believing the gospel peace. It also has to do with
not judging one another anymore. That is the thing that makes
for peace. But back to our text. You are the salt of the earth.
But all he's talking about, he's not talking about the scientific
qualities of salt. He's talking about how salt makes
food taste good. Now, if you take that away, what
good salt? I remember one time, My mom got
on this kick of using substitute salt for my grandparents or something.
I remember eating that stuff and I'm thinking, this stuff
is worthless. Salt. Food without salt. If the salt
has lost his savor, it's thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast
out and be trodden underfoot of men. If salt has lost its
saltness, its savor, It is worthless. It doesn't fulfill its purpose.
Now, what good would grace do you that doesn't save? What's worth? Nothing. Throw it out. Let it be trodden
underfoot. God's grace is saving grace.
His electing grace, His redeeming grace, His justifying grace,
His life-giving, regenerating grace. It's saving grace. Grace
that doesn't save is worthless. What good will atonement do you
that doesn't atone? What if Christ could die for
your sins and you wind up in hell anyway? What good would
his atonement do you? Absolutely nothing, it would
be worthless. No, I must have an atonement
that actually atones, a redemption that actually redeems. What good would a covenant be
that could be broken? What if David said, thou has
made a temporary covenant with me, not ordered in all things
and certainly not sure. What good would that do me? That's
salt that's lost its savor. I could go on and on with that
attitude, but in the context, he's talking about the salt of
the earth, the believer. Now, if I stop, being poor in
spirit. I'm the salt that has lost his
savor. If I graduate above poverty of
spirit, if it's no longer Christ being the only thing I have to
recommend me to God, it becomes Christ and. I'm the salt. that's lost its savor. And I'm
not even fit for a dunghill. And that's what the Lord is speaking
of. He's speaking of this in, the Beatitudes are so significant.
This is what a believer is. If I cease mourning over my sin. Now this is something that's
private. Only the Lord sees this. If you're mourning to show everybody
how you're mourning, it's phony and it's false. I'm talking about
before the Lord mourning over your sin. You mourn over your
sin, your sinful nature. You can't get rid of it. You
mourn over your sins, the products of that sinful nature. And you
mourn before God because you know you can't make it go away.
Stop that sin. You've got an evil nature with
you all the time. And you mourn before God over it. And if you
cease to mourn, you're not so bad then, are you? It's self-righteousness that's
behind that. It's pride. It's hardness of
heart. It's apathy. If I stop mourning
over my sin, I'm the salt that's lost its savor. I am good for
nothing. I don't even belong on a dumb
hill, the Lord says. If I'm not meek before God, now
this is an attitude before God, meekness. What that means is
whatever God sends my way, he did it. therefore it's good.
I might not like it. I might not enjoy it. It might
be painful. It might be tear me apart. It very well could, but I know
that God sent it for my good and His glory and it's good. If I lose that meek spirit, all
of a sudden I have a sense of entitlement. God ought to be
doing this for me. God ought to be doing that for
me. And entitlement is so ugly. A sense of entitlement. Oh, if
I lose this meekness of spirit before God, I've lost my function. I'm the
salt that has lost its savor. If I stop hungering and thirsting
for righteousness, you only hunger and thirst when
you don't have, as far as the way you feel, that which you
need. And you can't produce it. I can't
produce satisfaction from my hunger. I've got to be given
something to eat. I can't produce satisfaction
from my hungering and thirsting for righteousness, I have to
be given it. But when I quit hungering and
thirsting after righteousness, there's only one reason behind
that. Self-righteousness. Pride. Such an ugly thing. And when that's where I'm at,
I've lost the savor of my saltiness. I'm not real. I'm not fit for a dunghill. I'm
worthless. You see, this is what the believer
is. You are the salt of the earth.
This is how important this is. If I'm no longer merciful, I've
lost my savor. I've lost my saltiness. I'm no
longer merciful. You see, as long as you understand
God's mercy toward you. His mercy toward you came in
spite of the fact that you were completely guilty, responsible
for every wicked thing you've done. You can't blame it on somebody
else. When your sin is all your fault, You're a candidate for
mercy and not before then. And when your sin is all your
fault, God gives you mercy. He said, this is what God said
about himself. He said, I delight in mercy. God's more willing
to give you mercy than you are to receive it. That's his glorious
person. But when you cease being merciful,
it's because you no longer need the mercy of God. And you have
become the salt that's lost its savor. You're not fit for a dunghill,
the Lord says. You're not worth treading, you're
to be trodden underfoot of men. Now, if I'm not pure in heart. Now, remember. It's only the
pure in heart that are poor in spirit. It's only the pure in
heart that mourn over sin. It's only the pure in heart that
are meek before God. It's only the pure in heart that
hunger and thirst after righteousness. It's only the pure in heart that
are merciful. It's only the pure in heart that are peacemakers.
It's only the pure in heart that are persecuted for righteousness
sake. This is the new heart he gives. Pure in heart. And if I stop being any of those
things, it's because in reality, I never had a pure heart. I never
had that heart given in the new birth. The heart, the new heart,
the clean heart David prayed for. If I no longer have a pure
heart, I never had one in the first place. And if I, and what
will be seen from that is I'll not be poor, I'll not mourn,
I'll not be meek, and so on. Not even fit for a dunghill.
If I'm not a peacemaker, I'm a peacebreaker and I'm a troublemaker
if I'm not a peacemaker. And listen, if you're not a peacemaker,
if I'm not a peacemaker, I'm worthless. I'm not fit for the
dunghill. Men throw them out and trod them
underfoot. This is what the Lord is saying.
If somebody is not doing what they're... This is not talking
about works. This is just talking about what a believer is. And
if he's not what he is, He's not worth, he's lost his salt. He's worthless. If I'm not being
persecuted for righteousness, it's because I'm promoting human
righteousness. I'm a false prophet. I'm not
telling the truth of God. I'm not believing the gospel.
If I'm not being persecuted for righteousness, now remember this,
being persecuted for righteousness isn't being persecuted for doing
a march against abortion and holding up signs or being a judgmental person and
confronting people about sin in their lives. You shouldn't
be doing that. The person hates you for doing
it. That's not the persecution he's talking about. He's talking
about the persecution for preaching the righteousness of Jesus Christ
as the only righteousness there is. That's what we stand for,
isn't it? That's what we stand for as a
body. The righteousness of Christ is the only righteousness there
is. Now, if that's not going on,
I'm not preaching the gospel. I'm the salt that has lost his
favor. You are every believer. You are. the salt of the earth. You're the good taste of the
earth. You're the preservative of the earth. The only reason
the earth is preserved, because you're here. Every believer,
you are the salt of the earth. But if the salt is lots of savor,
which is seen in these beautiful beatitudes, what good is it? Throw it out. it's worthless. May the Lord make us. Don't you see how this is grace?
The Lord making us the salt of the earth. And if he doesn't
preserve us, we will end up being the salt that's lost his savor. And we ask the Lord to keep us
from that and enable us to be truly the salt of the earth. Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you for your blessing
upon every believer, causing us by your grace to be poor and
to mourn and to be meek and to hunger and thirst after your
righteousness and to be merciful, to be pure in heart, to be peacemakers
and having the privilege of being persecuted for righteousness
sake. Lord, We will be the salt that's lost to savor, except
you prevent it from happening by your grace. And we ask that
you will indeed do that for Christ's sake. Bless this message for
your glory and for our good. In Christ's name we pray, amen. We'll close with hymn number
128, Wounded For Me. Hymn number 128. Wounded for me. Wounded for me There on the cross
He was wounded for me Gone my transgressions and now I am free
All because Jesus was wounded for me for me dying for me there on
the cross he was dying for me now in his death my redemption
I see all because Jesus was dying for me risen for me risen for
me. Up from the grave he has risen
for me. Now evermore from testing I am
free. All because Jesus has risen for
me. Living for me. living for me. Up in the skies He is living
for me. Daily He's pleading and praying
for me. All because Jesus is living for
me. Coming for me, coming for me. One day to earth He is coming
for me, Then with what joy His dear face I shall see, O how
I praise Him, He's coming for me. Thank you very much.