Let's take our Bibles once again,
turn to Matthew 5. Matthew chapter 5. Matthew chapter 5, I'd like to
look at one verse, verse 13. Matthew 5, 13. The scripture
declares, ye are the salt of the earth. But if the salt hath
lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth
good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden on the
foot of men." Our Lord is preaching the Sermon
on the Mount And he tells a group of believers,
that's who he's talking to, you're the salt of the earth.
You know, if someone would declare about someone else, they're the
salt of the earth, what do they mean? Well, they mean that in
their opinion, that person fits the character of one that they
would consider to be fair, honest, dependable, honorable, trustworthy. And, in their heart, they truly
would like to be just like them. I'd like to be just like that
person. They're the salt of the earth. Now our Lord declares
to a group of people, ye are the salt of the earth. He didn't say you ought to be
or he wished that they would be. He said you are the salt
of the earth. Now you know, for every believer
in this room, we would readily admit this one truth here. There's one man, there's one
man who truly is the salt of the earth. It's the man, Christ
Jesus. The one that the father said,
this is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. He's the salt
of the earth. You hear him. Every believer will say, I believe
that. He is the salt of the earth. From the beginning, He's always
been the salt of the earth. Listen to what scripture says
concerning the Lord Jesus Christ as He's set forth in the law
in Leviticus. Remember when they'd have these
sacrifices and everything? I'm going to read this to you,
Leviticus 2.13. And every oblation, just that word means offering.
Every offering of thy meat offering, What was a meat offering? A meat
offering was an offering that didn't have any meat in it at
all. The meat offering was an offering made of fine flour. Fine flour, finely sifted, so
like powder. It's just powder. That's the
meat offering. Every, oh bless you, every offering
of thy meat offering shall thou season with salt. Neither shalt
thou suffer or allow the salt of the covenant of thy God to
be lacking from thy meat offering. With all thine offerings thou
shalt offer salt. That meat offering was the offering
that set forth the glory, the majesty of the humanity of Christ. That's what the meat offering
was all about. It was set forth from the beginning. The Lord said, when you set forth
that meat offering, talking about My Son, that oblation, that offering
that sets forth His humanity, you make sure that it has salt
in it. If it doesn't have salt, it says,
Neither shalt thou offer the salt of the covenant of thy God
to be lacking. Don't you ever fail to set forth
the glory of my Son in that meat offering. If that meat offering
is brought before me and it doesn't have salt in it, it's not going
to be accepted. Christ is all that is holy and
right and honorable, fair, trustworthy, dependable. The scripture declares, not only
is He the salt of the earth, but we, His people, in our association
with Him, our oneness with Him, we are, according to the word
of the Lord, the salt of the earth. You're the salt of the
earth. Christ is the salt of the earth in His essence, in
His essence, on His own merit, He is the salt of the earth. I'm going to tell you what the
salt of the earth means right now, in just a second. But in
our association with Him, Christ said, You're the salt of the
earth. 1 John 4, 17, Herein is our love
made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment,
because as He is, so are we. He's the salt of the earth. He's
the salt of the earth. And the Lord Jesus Christ said
of His people, you are too. As He has chosen us in Him, before
the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without
blame, right now, before God the Father, in Christ, in love,
This is what Apostle Paul meant in his desire, that I may win
Christ and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ. His faith is my faith. His obedience
is my obedience. His standing before God is my
standing before God. All that He is, I am according
to the Scriptures. in this world. One with Him. So according to the revelation
of the Lord Jesus Christ, every believer is the salt of the earth. One with Him in electing, redeeming,
and regenerating grace. And as far as His promise and
our association with Him, He said, I will never leave thee. I will never forsake thee. So now, with us being the salt
of the earth, and the Lord, oh, how He taught us to preach. I was thinking about this message,
preaching a sermon on the Mount. He's preaching a message. And
I'm looking at how He preached. How did the Lord preach? He taught in parables. He took
things that we understood. That men and women understood.
And he set forth his glory in these examples. He taught by
example. He said, you're the salt of the
earth. What is salt? What does it do?
Well, first of all, it flavors. Flavors. Have you ever tasted
something so bland, so tasteless, so unsavory that you just couldn't
hardly eat it? What's the matter? It doesn't
have any salt. It doesn't have enough salt.
Salt is that which renders food palatable. It makes it pleasant
to the taste. And I'll tell you, that which
renders a savory taste to a believer is the salt of the covenant Himself. The savor of the covenant Himself. The savor of God's grace. It's
Christ. That's what renders this. I can
stand up here and I can talk about anything. Good moral stuff. We need to
be kind to one another. I know that. But if I don't hear
the glory of Christ, It just ain't got no taste to it. You
know what I'm saying? That's the blandest message I
ever heard in my life. That was pitiful. Pitiful. Christ, as He is revealed in
the glorious gospel of God. That message that sets forth
Him. in His covenant relationship
to show mercy and compassion to helpless, needy sinners. Now that has savor to it. That's
got some taste to it. The salt that seasons our food
is the very thing, the picture and type of the merit and the
savor and the flavor of the Lord Jesus Christ to His people. He is the saver. And when there is no remembrance
or no picture of Christ in the message, that message is unacceptable. Preach the gospel. What does
the gospel taste like? It tastes like Christ. That's
good. When we taste that food, I can
taste something to eat, take a bite. Beans or something. That tastes better. It's got
some salt. Pass me some salt. And therefore
we, God's people, we're said to be the salt of the earth,
as we're found to be in Him. We preach a message that honors
the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is what the gospel says,
the scripture says concerning the message that we preach that
honors Christ. To one, for the savor of death
unto death, you take an unbeliever and he hears the gospel. God's
not giving him a taste for the salt of the covenant himself.
And he tastes that and he said, that don't mean anything to me.
I have no desire for that. I find no pleasure in that. I
find no savor in that. We're a savor of death and of
death, but to the other, a savor of life and of life. That tastes
like my Savior. That tastes like my Master, the
Bread of Heaven Himself. To those whose hearts have been
opened by God the Spirit, they've been made to see something of
the guilt of their sin and what they deserve because of sin. When they hear of the Redeemer, You take a sinner, I'm talking
about somebody that knows themselves, they do nothing, they think nothing,
they say nothing, but rebellion against God. That's what Paul
said, I know in me, that is in my flesh, there dwells no good
thing. But you let him hear of redemption. Let him hear of mercy. You know
what mercy is to somebody that's guilty? That's the greatest thing
they ever heard. Mercy. You know what mercy insinuates? Guilt. That's what it is. Mercy
insinuates guilt. You let one that's truly been
made to see something. But you take somebody, they have
no desire, no need. This message right here, what
they have in their mind, they hear of the Savior of Christ,
I'll not have that man rule over me. Oh, but to a new heart. One made so by the grace of God
in the day of God's power. Let your speech be always with
grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought
to answer every man. How ought I answer every man? Is that right? Is that the right
speech? If it wasn't, you got it anyway. How should I? That's
a better word, Nancy. That's a better word. How should
I answer? With the savor of salt. with
graciousness and mercy. And what if they've been unmerciful
to me, ungracious to me? The Lord will take care of that.
God will take care. You speak in a way that's honoring
to the Lord. Why? Because of your association
with Him. You magnify Him in every way. That's what we ought
to do. The Lord helped me to do so.
Salt flavors. That's what it does. I'll tell
you the second thing salt does. It preserves. Salt preserved. Now it's been long known that
salt is a preservative of food. Now you know, down south we'd
have, you know, hams. Country ham. I'm sure they've
got country hams here. I hadn't had one in a long time.
I love them. They're salty. Kind of salty
tasting. But I know they're preserved with salt. But you know, I never
knew what it was. I looked it up. I'm not saying
I'm an expert on it, I'm just telling you what I read. Salt
is a preservative of meat because it reduces the amount of water
available for microbial growth, chemical reactions. So food is
made to be more unlikely to quickly spoil when correctly treated
with salt. rub it on the outside, get it
all over right there and it removes the moisture that would cause
bacterial growth on the outside. So what it does is all the meat
on the inside is protected on the outside. That outer layer
is going to be salty, salty, salty, salty. But what it's done is it sealed
it. It preserved it. Salt. Now when
it comes to the preserving quality of salt spiritually. There's two things that we think
about. First of all, there's a preservation
of God's people themselves. The people of God. Jude 1.1 says,
Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ and the brother of James, to
them that are sanctified, set apart by God the Father, and
preserved in Jesus Christ. and cold. How are we preserved? Because He's the salt. He's the
salt and we're in Him. Like you rub a ham down with
salt and it takes the moisture out, that which would corrupt
everything that's inside. He's the salt. He is the preserver
of His people. Listen to Psalm 37, 28. For the
Lord loveth judgment, just judgment, righteousness, and forsaketh
not his saints. They are preserved forever, preserved
from the dominion, the damning power of sin by the power of
God, but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. Proverbs 2,
8. He keepeth the paths of judgment,
and preserveth the way of His saints." Why are we preserved? Why in the midst of a wicked
world with sin that is still in us, the debt paid of it, but
sin is still in us, in our flesh, how are we preserved? He's the
soul. He is the preservation of His
people. He preserves us. So in the preserving
beauty of the salt of the covenant Himself, number one, His people
are preserved. But secondly, there's another
preserving. And it's a sense that all of
this earth that we're in is being preserved for one reason. for the sake of those that the
Lord shall call unto Himself. Now, we know that there's a time
coming when Almighty God is going to end this. Every bit of this
is going to end. 2 Peter 3.10, the day of the
Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens
shall pass away with a great noise and the elements shall
melt with fervent heat. And the earth also and the works
that are therein shall be burned up. Now we know it's coming. Could be today. I pray so. But until that day comes, this
earth remains for the sake of God's sheep. This is the only
reason the sun came up this morning. It's because God still has some
people that he's going to call out of darkness. The Lord appeared
to Abraham in the plains of Mamre, the scripture says, and made
known to Abraham that he would destroy the cities of Sodom and
Gomorrah for their great sin. And when the Lord revealed to
Abraham that he was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham
interceded. He started asking the Lord, praying
for the city of Sodom. Why? Because Lot was there. Lot was in that city. Lot was
one of Abraham's brethren. That's what he told Lot. They had to squabble over the
grass. And he said, we're brethren. Why are we squabbling over grass? Is that something to squabble
over? So here's Abraham. Lot's inside him. And so he asked
the Lord, when the Lord told him, he said, I'm going to destroy
these cities for the great sin that I've seen. And here's what
Abraham asked him, Genesis 18, 23. Wilt thou also destroy the
righteous with the wicked? And he asked the Lord concerning
Sodom. God told him, he said, I'm going to destroy. And Abraham
asked him, he said, will you spare the city for 50 righteous? The Lord said, no, if there's
50 righteous, I won't destroy. How about 45? How about 40? 30? 20? 10? The Lord said, if I find 10, I won't
destroy it. The two angels went into that
city, and there weren't 10 found. Hold your place right here and
turn with me to Genesis 19. I want you to look at a marvelous
passage of Scripture concerning the preservation of this world
for the sake of God's elect only. Genesis 19. These two angels
go into that place, and these angels tell Lot and the family,
God's going to destroy this place. I'm going to take you out of
it. Genesis chapter 19. Verse 17, it came to pass, when
they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy
life. Look not behind thee, neither
stay thou in all the plain. Escape to the mountain, lest
thou be consumed. And Lot said unto them, that
is to the angels, Oh, not so, my lord. Behold, now thy servant
hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy.
which thou hast shown unto me in saving my life. And I cannot
escape to the mountain lest some evil take me and I die. Behold,
now this city is near to flee unto. It's a little one. Oh, let me escape thither. Is
it not a little one? And my soul shall live. And he
said, Unto him, see I have accepted thee concerning this thing also,
that I will not overthrow this city which thou hast spoken. Haste thee, escape thither, for
I cannot do anything till thou become thither. Therefore the
name of the city was called Zoar. Do you want to know why that
city, that little city was not obliterated? for the sake of Lot. For the
sake of Lot. Do you know why this world is
still here? Do you know why believer and
unbeliever we're still able to live? Do you know why you still
have a mind and you still have breath and you can still hear
and you're still sitting here in the day of God's mercy? You
know why? For the sake of God's people.
For the sake of those that He's everlastingly loved. Christ is
the salt and we in Him are said to be so too. He is the preserver He's the
healer. He's the saver. That's the third
part. Salt heals. Again, researching the benefits
of sea salt, when the Lord used that illustration, I wanted to
know, what was it about that illustration? What was it about
salt that the Lord used there? He used salt. It's the saver. It's the preserver. Salt heals. Now I found out this, now, I'm
really not a real health person, you know, health food, not really. I call myself, but I want to
tell you, those of you that know medically speaking, let me tell
you what I found out. Not table salt. They said all
table salt is all refined and it's good for nothing. I didn't
know that. I thought, you know, you buy
it at the store, it must be good, you know? I guess it's not, Chas. Sea salt. Sea salt. Eight health benefits of sea
salt. Sea salt, not table salt, sea
salt, keeps us hydrated. The nutrients in sea salt satisfies
our thirst and causes our body to retain necessary fluids longer. Sea salt. Sea salt is a great
source of essential minerals. I don't even know what they are.
It balances the electrolytes. I don't know what that is. It
prevents muscle cramps, possesses anti-inflammatory properties
for detox, improves digestion, nourishes adrenal glands, and
regulates blood pressure. Everything I've ever heard about
salt is it's all bad for you. Not according to this. Sea salt. Oh the healing that we his people
receive from him who is the salt of the covenant, the benefits
that we receive from the Lord. Isaiah 53, Isaiah 53, here's
the benefits of Him who is the salt of the covenant and we in
Him. Isaiah 53, four and five, surely
He's borne our griefs. Oh, what a benefit, what a healing.
He carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem Him stricken
of God and afflicted. He was wounded for our transgressions,
bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon Him, and with His stripes we're healed. Sea salt has got
some tremendous healing properties to it. Good sea salt, real sea
salt. But oh, the salt of the covenant
Himself, with His stripes. He healed us. Healed His people. Christ said,
ye are the salt of the earth. But if the salt has lost its
savor, wherewith shall it be salted? Is this forth good for nothing,
but to be cast out and be trodden under foot of men? You know, you can salt meat,
but you can't salt salt. If it's not salty, it's not salty.
God made it so. The thanks be unto God that their
son revealed to be the salt of the earth. And that by God's
grace. The scripture says, if they should
lose their savor, How would that savor be gotten
back? That's what it says. If the salt
has lost its savor, wherewith, how, shall it be salted? Now let me just say this in closing,
and listen to me good. The salt of the earth, made so
by the grace of God, that's believers. They may stumble in temptation,
as David, who took Bathsheba, Had her husband killed, they
may stumble, truly. But by the grace of God, they
never lose their saver. David sinned against God. That's what
Nathan told him, and we all have to. That's what Nathan told him. You're the man. But let me tell
you what happened. To David, I had someone tell
me one time and tried to use David as their excuse. They were getting ready to do
something, and they did. And I asked them, I said, you
know what you're getting ready to do. You're telling me you're
getting ready to do something. And you're wrong. You're wrong.
When I stand before God, I'm going to get in line with David.
That's a quote. My friend, shall we sin that
grace may abound? God forbid. But, David did sin
against God. And when the Spirit of God sent
a prophet and said, you're the man. You know what that man did,
David? He went to his grave with his
heart revealed in Psalm 51. Against Thee and Thee only have
I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight. My sin is ever
before me." He never lost his saver. He stumbled, but he never
lost his saver. The sword never left his house.
Peter was told by the Lord that he was going to forsake the Lord
three times before the cock crowed twice. Peter did that exact thing that
the Lord told him he was going to do. And one of the writers
of the Gospel said, and when he did it that third time, this
is one that always gets to me, he said, the Lord looked at him.
The Lord looked at him. And Peter went out and wept bitterly. He stumbled. Broken. With guilt. But he never lost
his savor. Why? Because God kept him. People
of the Lord may succumb to the temptations of this life. They
don't want to. They don't want to. No believer is going to say,
well, it will be okay because it won't matter. If you have
that attitude, let me tell you right now, you're lost. You're
lost. You got that attitude? It doesn't
really matter. It matters. It matters. But when
we stumble, Thanks be unto God, we will never lose the savor
of saltiness. Why? They've been given eternal
life in Christ. They're never going to perish. But the Lord says, but if the
salt had lost its savor, how would you get the salt back to
them? if they ever could be lost. If
God couldn't keep them, how would they ever be kept? If God couldn't
keep them, how is that savor? If the salt has lost its saltness,
Mark in Luke 4 says, wherewith shall you season it? God's people
are the salt of the earth, the visible evidences of the savor
of the life of Christ, and they are said to be that salt that
they, by Christ, set forth the savor of life. They set forth
the preservation in Christ alone. They set forth Christ, who is
the healer of his people. You're the salt of the earth,
not in themselves, being found in him. I pray God bless this
to our hearts for Christ's sake. Amen.