WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY? Romans 4:3 What does the scripture say? RIVER BEND CHURCH OF CHRIST

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1 ? WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY? Romans 4:3 What does the scripture say? RIVER BEND CHURCH OF CHRIST June 2010 You Are the Salt of the Earth Frank Richey You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men (Matthew 5:13). Salt as we know it is a chemical with many varied uses. The compound, NACL, is sodium chloride salt. Salt is mentioned forty-three times in the Bible and had a variety of uses. For example, the Bible mentions salt in connection with Lot's wife, who was changed into a pillar of salt; salt was used in making unleaven bread, and Jesus said that his followers were the salt of the earth. In this article we want to examine the subject of salt as found in the Bible. Salt Is a Preservative Most salt today is used for this purpose. In fact, 95% of all salt mined today is used for this purpose. A salt substance called natron, was harvested directly as a salt mixture from dry lake beds in Ancient Egypt and has been used for thousands of years not only as a cleaning product, and also in Egyptian mummification because it absorbs water and behaves as a drying agent. It preserved the flesh of the mummies from antiquity to the present. When I taught history many years ago, I would tell my students that the mummies were just country cured pharaohs. Those who were mummified were preserved much like the hams in the smokehouses in years gone by. Meats, such as hams and bacon, were packed in salt and dried in a smokehouse to preserve the meat and to keep bacteria from growing on it. The same was true for the mummies in ancient Egypt. For centuries, sailors packed fish in salt and stored them in barrels for long voyages. Later, the British Royal Navy salted pork and beef which constituted most of the diet of sailors when they would spend months out of sight of land. One of the Bible uses of salt, is as a preservative. Jesus said, You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men (Matthew 5:13). On another occasion Jesus said, Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another (Mark 9:50). God destroyed the world on one occasion, because of a lack of salt (i.e., not enough good people to preserve it.) The world became rotten and putrid. It was spoiled by sin. The Book of Genesis tells us, Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD (Genesis 6:5-8). The story of God s destruction of the world continues in Genesis 6: The earth also was

2 corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth (Genesis 6:11-13). From these passages, it is obvious to the reader that sin spoils man it destroys him. Man needs the preserving power of God and must turn to Him to keep from becoming spiritually rotten, putrid, and spoiled in sin. Salt Can Destroy Like a prescription medicine which has the power to bring about health or the power to kill when used wrongly, salt has the power to save (preserve) the faithful and destroy the unfaithful. By mishandling the life-giving word of God, man can be destroyed by the very word that God intended to be used to save man. The destructive power of salt is readily seen in secular history and in scripture. Salt was sometimes used to destroy the productive land of an enemy. In 146 B. C., Rome defeated Carthage to end the third Punic War. In order to eliminate Carthage from ever becoming a power again, they seized the city, sold into slavery those who survived the battle, razed the city, and sowed the city with salt, including the lands around it. Carthage has never been rebuilt. God promised to destroy the land of Israel, if the people rebelled against Him. It would be as though salt had been sown on the land. Notice the warning: [S]o that the coming generation of your children who rise up after you, and the foreigner who comes from a far land, would say, when they see the plagues of that land and the sicknesses which the LORD has laid on it: The whole land is brimstone, salt, and burning; it is not sown, nor does it bear, nor does any grass grow there, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in His anger and His wrath (Deuteronomy 29:22-23). Another biblical example of the destruction by salt is seen in the example of Shechem, a city destroyed by Abimelech. So Abimelech fought against the city all that day; he took the city and killed the people who were in it; and he demolished the city and sowed it with salt (Judges 9:45). Are We The Kind Of Salt That Destroys Or Preserves? Since salt can preserve and destroy, we need to ask the question: What kind of salt am I? Am I a preservative or a source of destruction? One of the ways we can answer this question is to answer the question, What kind of example am I? Jesus, in speaking of salt in Matthew 5, does so in connection with the subject of being a proper example to others. Jesus said, You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:13-16). Certainly, our example should be one that would be salt (influence for good) for the world, just as light influences darkness, dispelling it. This section in the Sermon on the Mount speaks to our influence for good while we are on the earth. We are warned in scripture about being the wrong kind of influence. Paul said, Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way (Romans 14:13). Uses of Salt in the Old Testament Under the Law of Moses, all sacrifices were to be salted. And every offering of your grain offering you shall season with salt; you shall not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your grain offering. With all your offerings you shall offer salt (Leviticus 2:13). In fact, God speaks of a covenant of salt in reference to the salting of sacrifices. All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to the LORD, I have given to you and your sons and daughters with you as an ordinance forever; it is a covenant of salt forever

3 before the LORD with you and your descendants with you (Numbers 18:19). Perhaps this is why Jesus said that his people are the salt of the earth. The scriptures tell us that we are to be a living sacrifice. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:1). Another interesting thing about salt found in the Old Testament is that the Jews rubbed newborn infants with salt. As for your nativity, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you; you were not rubbed with salt nor wrapped in swaddling cloths (Ezekiel 16:4). The salt would cleanse and promote healing. I have observed Filipinos scourging themselves by the thousands on Good Friday as a part of Penance. They would beat themselves for hours with whips made of bundles of bamboo sticks. I have seen them bloody, lying in the streets, with the outer layer of skin completely gone from their bodies. I asked a doctor what they did for healing. I was told that they would go dip in the ocean and the salt in the sea water would help heal them. Salt May Be Deceiving Refined salt is similar in appearance to sugar, yet they are almost opposites. Many people may appear to be the salt of the earth, yet they are not. They are hypocrites. A hypocrite is a person who pretends to be other than he is and (usually) better than he is, promoting a false virtue or piety. Sadly, we live in a time where many want to be considered worse than they really are, usually as the result of peer pressure and a desire to fit in with a certain group. This is what I call New Hypocrisy. It is pretending to be at a greater moral deficit that you really are, i.e., to pretend be worse than you really are. Charles Swindoll relates the following story, illustrating this point. I read some time ago of a wife who went to lunch with eleven other women who were taking a French course together, since their children were all in school. One rather bold type asked, How many of you have been faithful throughout your marriage? Only one lady raised her hand. That evening one of the women related the incident to her husband. When she admitted she was not the one who raised her hand, her husband looked crestfallen. But I ve been faithful to you, she quickly assured him. Then why didn't you raise your hand? I was ashamed. (Charles Swindoll, Come Before Winter, pp ) We certainly live in a spiritually destitute world when people lie and promote themselves as spiritually decadent, in order to fit in with worldly people. I m reminded of the admonition of Moses, Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil (Exodus 23:2). Jesus warned about hypocrisy in Matthew 23. His words are worth repeating at this time: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets (Matthew 23:23-30). Am I Worth My Salt? This question does not refer to the amount of salt in our body. It refers to whether we are worth our salary. Because of its scarcity and value, Roman soldiers were, on many occasions, paid in salt. The Roman word for salt is salarium, from which we get the present day word, salary. The

4 TIMES OF SERVICE Sunday Morning Bible Study 9:45 Sunday Morning Worship 10:45 Sunday Evening Worship 4:30 Wednesday Night Bible Study 7:00 - riverbendcoc.org Editor-Frank Richey riverbendcoc.org You are always welcome at River Bend church of Christ expression, Are you worth your salt, is a way of saying, Are you worth your salary? God is concerned about our being worth our salt (worth our salary). The apostle Paul, speaking of this very thing, issued the following inspired advice: Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality (Colossians 3:22-25). It makes no difference where we work or what kind of work we do, we should be worthy and not slothful. Have you ever noticed how white salt is? In the Bible, white is the color associated with purity. God wants us to be white (pure). The psalmist said, Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow Psalm 51:7. By coming to God for his cleansing power, we can be white as snow. Come now, and let us reason together, Says the LORD, Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool (Isaiah 1:18). Today our sins are washed away by the blood of Christ (Revelation 1:5), when we are obedient to Christ in baptism. Saul was told by Ananias, And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord (Acts 22:16). Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Florence, AL Permit No. 820 Refined Salt Is As White As Snow Are you the salt of the earth? Are you a preserving influence on a world of wickedness? Are you influencing the world to be a better place? Only children of God can keep the world from becoming putrid, just as it became in the days of Noah. Gospel Singing River Bend Church of Christ Friday, July 16th at 7:00 PM River Bend church of Christ is located on Gunwaleford Road (C.R. 2) 6 miles west of Florence River Bend church of Christ County Road 2 Florence, AL Conclusion

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