May God be with us this evening
as we continue further in our meditation on the Sermon on the
Mount. Turning then this evening to
Matthew's Gospel chapter 5 and we'll read verse 13. The Gospel of Matthew chapter
5 and reading verse 13. Ye are the salt of the earth,
but if the salt hath lost his flavour, Wherewith shall it be
salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing
but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of men. The words of our Lord are always
very clear and always very direct. And so here in this verse The
Lord refers to a very simple illustration as he uses the mineral
salt and speaks about it. He speaks of it as symbolising
the people of God. And therefore how tonight as
we ponder on this verse to think that we need to be known blessed
with the evidence that we are indeed the salt of the earth
and also that we have not lost the savour of it. It's one of the great problems
we have today. In the Christian world there
is not much savour. You may say well what actually
is that? Well it's very simple because
in our religion the only true thing that brings real savour
to it is the Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore how important it
is for us to have the evidence that we are walking with the
Lord, that we are not lost that savour, we are not walking in
darkness, we are not left and going astray. So we have this
statement, ye are the salt of the earth. But, and it's a big
but isn't it, if the salt have lost its savour, wherewith shall
it be salted, it is thenceforth good for nothing. Well that's
a very solemn consideration isn't it, to think that if we've lost
the savour, if we've lost that union and communion and walking
with our Lord where, as it were, good for nothing. but to be cast
out and to be trodden under foot of men. And so how important
it is that we tonight recognise the need to be found healthy
in our spiritual life and to pray that we may be kept in that
right way because naturally how important it is that there is
thought How useful it is, what a blessing it is, and so it is
with the Church of God. Those who walk with the Saviour,
those who walk near the Saviour, those who are able to set forth
the Saviour in their life, what a blessing they are, and what
a good and gracious effect they have. How important it is for
us to know the great truth of this, and we need this to be
with us day by day. not just perhaps on the Lord's
Day but to know the blessing of the Saviour with us day by
day. So that we may recognise that
we are indeed by the grace of God the salt of the earth. It's an expression which we are
no doubt familiar with. But it is an important expression
that we need to take in hand. Salt was used and illustrated
throughout the Word of God. And it was salt that was used
with all the sacrifices. And it was that salt which gave
the sacrifices that savour. And if we turn to Leviticus and
in the second chapter, in the 13th verse in Leviticus we are
told that every oblation of thy meat offering shall thou season
with salt. neither shalt thou suffer the
salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering
with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt. Salt was therefore required with
all the sacrifices and you know in our life there might be those
things perhaps which we might consider to be sacrificial but
how necessary it is to know that In those sacrifices Christ is
there. Christ is the object. Christ
is our desire that might be honoured and glorified. And so what a
blessing it is to realise the necessity of this. And also in
Numbers, we read Numbers 18 verse 19, All the heave offerings of
the holy things which the children of Israel offer unto the Lord
have I given thee and thy sons and thy daughters with thee by
a statue for ever. It is a covenant of salt for
ever before the Lord unto thee and to thy seed with thee. So
it was a covenant, a covenant of salt for ever as long as those
sacrifices were needful. And what has of course superseded
that? The great and glorious Gospel. And what does that have? It has
an everlasting covenant and what is that covenant affixed upon? None less than the Lord Jesus
Christ. So as necessary as it was and
significant as it was that salt should have been added to all
the sacrifices in Old Testament times, how needful it is. that Christ is in all that we
seek to do and seek to say. And not be left therefore to
carry on in a Christ-less life, in a Christ-less experience. The effect of the knowledge of
Christ in our hearts will produce indeed a sweet savour. What a blessing it is if our
lives do show forth then this savour of Christ. And as we link
it to the necessity of salt, to not lose its savour, to realise
that in our lives, how needful it is that we do not lose the
wonderful blessing of walking with our Lord. You know, so easy
it is to come like this, we are told here, that if the sorter
has lost his savour, wherewith shall it be sorted? It's no good.
It won't be of any true benefit. If we are not walking with Christ
and if our life doesn't show forth the blessings of the Saviour
and show forth the wonder of the Saviour's work, what value
really is it? and him crucified should be our
song. What a savour there is, is there
not, in Christ and him crucified? Are not our hearts touched as
we meditate upon what the Lord has done in that great sacrifice
for sin, the wonderful work that he did and the glorious death
that he died upon that cross and in that dying shed his most
precious blood. Well how precious and how savoury
to our souls are these things and surely it's these blessings
that make us then savoury in our conversation and in our walk. We don't want to just be found
carrying on with Christ-less conversation. how easy it is
to be carried away with the spirit of the world and leave Christ
out. And therefore in that condition
I believe we come under such a condemnation that we are thenceforth
good for nothing. Because Christ is not lifted
up, because Christ is not exalted. You know the Word of God gives
us some very simple illustrations of this. And in Job the 6th chapter
and the 6th verse we are told, Can that which is unsavoury be
eaten without salt? And he says, Or is there any
taste in the white of an egg? Well we know that the white of
an egg by itself is really quite tasteless. But you see when salt
is added how it brings that savour. And we see then what an illustration
that is for us to consider. And Ezekiel also tells us of
this need when he says in the 43rd chapter and 24th verse,
And thou shalt offer them before the Lord, and the priest shall
cast salt upon them. And they shall offer them up
for a burnt offering unto the Lord. You see, salt was necessary
to be added to give savour. And so in our life it is so important
that Christ is precious to us. And it is illustrated throughout
our life. We read in the Colossians, again
the confirmation of the truth of the necessity of being blessed
with this wonderful savour and not being therefore left and
be as nothing. And in the fourth chapter of
the Colossians we read in the sixth verse how, very simple,
let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that
ye may know how you ought to answer every man. That clearly
shows to us the need to have a Christ-like spirit in our life. We've gone through already in
this terminal amount those verses which we refer to as the Beatitudes
and what a testimony and what example they give to us. And
all of those refers to those who are blessed. And what is
the blessing? It sets before us that shows
us how we ought to act and how we ought to answer. And so may
we recognise the need then in our lives for this wonderful
favour that our speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt,
that means that Christ's influence may be upon us as we speak. And that doesn't mean just when
we are speaking to God's people. It's very easy, is it not, to,
as it were, change our conversation when we come into contact with
the world. But what a good thing it is if we set still the same
testimony, the same example, and that through that We evidence
that we are not ashamed of our great and glorious Saviour. We
love to be able to speak of Him. We love to exalt Him so that
His name is honoured and His name is indeed glorified. And so we have this truth, ye
are the salt of the earth. Well if we are able by God's
grace to walk in this way, then we are. But the other is true,
but If the sword hath lost its savour, wherewith shall it be
sorted? It is sent forth good for nothing,
but to be cast out, and to be trodden underfoot. We read together
in that second chapter, in the second epistle of the Corinthians,
some very beautiful words. And those words indeed speak
to us of the truth of God's Word in the 2nd chapter of the 2nd
epistle in verses 14 and 15 where he says now thanks be unto God
which always causes us to triumph how? in Christ not out of Christ
in Christ and make it manifest the savour of his knowledge by
us in every place It is a saver to our souls. It rejoices our
souls in the knowledge of Christ as we meditate upon what He has
done. For we are unto God a sweet saver
of Christ to them that are saved and in them that perish. He tells
us to the one we are the saver death unto death, and to the
other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for
these things? The Apostle tells us here very
clearly the need there is to be found in this way a sweet
savour of Christ. I wonder if we look into our
hearts and into our lives realise how sweet the name of Jesus sounds. It is a savour, a sweetness to
us, is it not? As we press on in life it lifts
us up. We may perhaps find ourselves
very down and very sorrowful, but yet you see when we hear
the name of Jesus, does it not lift us up? Is it not a sweet
savour? Does our heart not rejoice? Well
what a blessing then if we are numbered amongst those who are
classified who are the salt of the earth. You know naturally
salt, a handful of salt can go a long way. Just a little salt
has a big influence. So it is in our spiritual lives,
you know a little, a little knowledge of Christ Oh, what a blessing
it brings. What a favour it is to know something
of our blessed Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. And what does thought
do? It penetrates. It doesn't just
stay on the surface. It penetrates in. So does the
blessed knowledge of Christ, the Saviour of Christ. It penetrates. It comes into our hearts. And
it has a good effect. Thought has a good effect. Not only you see in that, but
also as we think of it, it's used for healing. Healing. Well, you know, if you and I
are wounded, how we need Christ to come and to heal us. Heal
us, Emmanuel. The sweet savour of Christ has
a blessed healing effect upon our souls. We are cast down. Yes, why aren't we cast down?
O my soul, what is quiet within me? We can easily be so. Hope thou in God. Look to the
Saviour. Look to the blessed Lord and
what He has done. healing power there is in that
and not only therefore is it penetrating but it's healing. You know we have the illustration
way back in the second book of the Kings when there was that
need to be healed and Elijah said, he said bring me a new
cruise and put salt there in and they brought it to him And
he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt
in there, and said, Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these
waters, there shall not be from thence any more death, or barren
land." Wonderful isn't it? To feel the healing influence
of the Saviour in our hearts. And to therefore produce a good
effect in our lives. So that we are able to testify
of the goodness of the Lord to us, how he has come and how he
has had mercy upon our soul and how he has healed us as we have
been directed to the finished work of the Saviour. That's what
touches hearts, that's what moves our spirits. What a blessing
it is then to be influenced by the Lord Jesus Christ, seasoned
with the Gospel, seasoned with the Gospel. Are we thankful for
it? This sort of grace of which is
such a blessing and how it produces the evidence of the life of God
within. Well, just a few remarks then
this evening but it is a very important consideration this
to know that we are the sort of the earth and that we haven't
become like those who have lost the savour, have lost the desire
after Christ. have lost the liveliness of soul,
have found that the world has crept in and pushed out the things
of God, so that we are barren and lukewarm, and in such a condition
therefore good for nothing. Well that's a sad state isn't
it? And if we are that, but to be. We deserve to be cast out
and to be trodden underfoot of men. We are of no real value. We do not bring honour and glory
to God. And that is of course the whole
purpose of our life, to bring honour and glory to God. So may
we each, day by day, be concerned in every avenue of our life to
be classified as the Lord says here, ye are the salt of the
earth. Amen.