John K. Jenkins Sr - Are You Good Salt?

The Book of Matthew is an interesting book. Matthew, the former tax collector, finds himself recording, in particular, verses from chapters 5, 6, and 7: Jesus's Sermon on the Mount. He preaches for three chapters-chapters 5, 6, and 7-what has come to be known as The Sermon on the Mount . What is interesting about this sermon is that he covers and discusses a lot of topics. In the first few verses , he talks about attitude; some of you need to read that sermon. He also discusses the role of the law in our lives, relationships with others , and how to get along with people . He addresses divorce and remarriage - he would lose many church members after that sermon . He talks about how to deal with people who hurt, offend , or sin against you and how you are supposed to handle it. He discusses giving and managing your money, praying and fasting, and how to deal with worry-don't worry, be happy! He talks about judging others and how to discern between true and false witnesses. There is so much he covers in these three chapters ; it is a significant dialogue and discussion . Right at the beginning of his discussion on attitude , he says in verse 13, "You are the salt of the earth." In other words, he is saying that he will teach us some things, and if we apply them to our lives, we will make an impact in our community. One of the big challenges we face is that many churches in our communities are not making a difference. I didn't expect too many amens on that, but I thought I would get a few. He wants us to impact our communities. I, too, don't want to pastor a church full of mere church attenders; I don't want to be the pastor of a church filled with religious people who simply have their church membership on their resumes. I want to pastor people who take their walk with Jesus Christ seriously. Thank you to all 17 of you for that. I want to be the pastor of a church where people take what they hear and are already figuring out ways to apply it in their lives before they leave the building. Amen! That 's what Jesus means when he says, "You are the salt of the earth." He wants us to know that we are valuable and impactful. Out of all the things he could have said-like, you are the metal of the earth or the dirt of the earth -He called us salt . To understand the significance of that statement , we need to research salt. So, let's start with point one : the power of salt . Can I discuss the power of salt ? The scientific name for salt is sodium chloride , which is 40% sodium and 60% chloride. Salt has over 14,000 uses and makes up 28% of your human body weight. In Biblical times, salt was a very valuable commodity , almost treated like money ; it was used in trading and exchanging, much like cash. Moreover, if you visited someone 's house and they had a salt cellar- a place to store salt-you could tell how important you were to your host by how close you sat to the table where the salt cellar was located. If you were seated at the end of the table nearest the salt cellar, you were considered a very important person. On the other hand, if you were at the other end, you wouldn't be seen as valuable or significant as the person at the head of the table closest to the salt cellar. Salt was indeed a very valuable commodity . It is, in fact , the product of a chemical reaction produced when two elements come together . It is the reaction of these two elements - a chemical reaction - that produces salt. Likewise, Jesus said you and I are the salt of the earth. What does that tell us? We ought to have countless uses for our lives. With 14, 000 uses of salt, we should value ourselves just as much. We are the salt of the earth , and we should be significant and impactful. Just as salt is produced from the mixing of two elements, there should be something that happens in our lives when a sinner connects with grace. There ought to be a spiritual reaction that causes change in your life. In fact, what are the two components that bring about this change? Repentance and faith. When you repent and have faith in the Lord Jesus , it produces a change in your life. If you only have faith but no repentance, there is no change. If you only repent without faith, that also yields no change. It is when you repent of your past and put your faith in the lordship of Jesus Christ that God promises transformation.