Our Beliefs : Sermons : Sermon Archive - 2006 : October 15, 2006

Theme: Be a Salty Christian

Church year occasion: Pentecost 19

I've got a question for the unmarried folks this morning. What are some qualities that you look for in someone you'd like to marry? I'm sure you'd like that person to be easy on the eyes (in other words, good looking), trustworthy, fun to be around, have a good personality, be a good person, a Christian who shares your beliefs. All of those are good qualities, and some are more important than others. Now, I'm not sure anyone was thinking this or not, but did anyone want their future husband or spouse to be salty? No? This morning we find out that that's exactly what God wants for all of us -- to be salty Christians.

What exactly does that mean? In today's world where everybody seems to be fitness-oriented and health-conscious, a red flag goes up when we hear the word "salt." Doctors tell us to watch our sodium intake to avoid health problems such as high blood pressure and heart disease. But, just like cholesterol, we need some salt in us or we wouldn't be able to survive. Did you know that nearly one percent of the human body is made up of salt? So we need a regular amount of salt in our diets.

Salt is important for us externally as well as internally. Salt is an important commodity because it serves so many useful purposes. In Wisconsin we're well aware of the ability that salt has to melt snow and ice. Before refrigeration, salt was used as a preservative, to keep meat from spoiling. Salt's antiseptic value was known in biblical times, so it was used to rub newborn babies. In fact, salt was such an important commodity of life that soldiers in Julius Caesar's armies received measures of salt as part of their pay. This was known as their "salarium", which is where we get the word "salary". We still hear the expression that somebody is "not worth his salt," meaning literally that a man did not earn his wages.

When we consider the importance of salt throughout the ages, it's no wonder that Jesus calls his followers the "salt of the earth." So today we'll see how Jesus wants us to Be Salty Christians.

This is one of those places in Scripture where Jesus is giving us very serious warnings. If we're looking for warm fuzzies, we're looking in the wrong place because we won't find them in Jesus' words before us. First, in encouraging us to be salty Christians, Jesus talks about children. They had just been brought to him, and he had used them as an example of humble, simple, trusting faith. Little children are very vulnerable and also very impressionable, so if someone harms them, God is not happy. That is the reason for Jesus very strong words here. "And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck." The term "causing someone to sin" conjures up a vivid picture. The word refers to the stick to which bait was attached in a death trap. An animal is lured by the bait to move the stick, and that triggers the trap which will kill them. So to cause someone to sin here is to set up a death trap and cause the spiritual destruction of someone, to cause someone to fall from God's grace.

A child's actions are strongly influenced by the actions of his parents. If parents exhibit poor behavior, it is likely that their children will also. The same holds true in the family of believers influencing children and adults alike. Whether or not we know it, our words and actions are being scrutinized by others. If someone with a lesser faith should happen to see us setting a poor example with sinful words or actions, we're telling that person that it's alright for Christians to act that way. We're setting a trap for that person that could weaken his faith, or worse, that could lead to his spiritual destruction.

Jesus lets us know that there are dire consequences for setting a poor spiritual example. He tells us that if one of us should cause a weak believer to lose his faith, it would be better to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck. The millstone was a large wheel, usually 4-5 feet in diameter and weighing thousands of pounds, turned by a donkey so it could grind wheat into flour. What could be a worse punishment than to be thrown overboard from a ship? How about being thrown overboard, secured to something so heavy that you would have no chance of survival! This is Jesus' vivid way of telling us that he considers every soul precious, and it would be better for someone to die a horrible death than to lead a soul away from God.

If that picture doesn't get to you, maybe Jesus' next one will. Even the most horrible death imaginable is nothing compared to what is in store for the believer who gets caught in a death trap of his own making, and as a result he falls from God's grace. He is in store for a far worse death. He will be burned by fire, but this fire will never consume him. His torment will never end. His miserable soul will live forever in torment. Jesus is speaking of the everlasting death in hell which is the punishment for sin.

Jesus shows us a pretty frightening picture of eternal death in hell. But he also tells us how to avoid such a death. He says to us, "Get rid of whatever causes you to sin." Literally. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off! If you use your hand to take things that don't belong to you, cut it off! If you use your feet to walk into a place where you know you shouldn't be going, cut them off too! If you use your eyes to watch TV shows or movies that fill you with lustful desires, grab a nice sharp stick and poke your eyes out! These seem like pretty drastic measures, but when we consider the alternative -- the everlasting fire -- the meat cleaver approach doesn't sound so bad after all, does it?

If we were to take Jesus' advice and cut off every body part that causes us to sin, it wouldn't be long before we would be trimmed down to nothing at all. Such radical surgery isn't what Jesus wants us to perform on ourselves. He wants us to perform the "spiritual surgery" that will cure the disease, and not just hide the symptoms, because the source of these sins isn't really in the hands, feet or eyes. In Mark, chapter 7, Jesus tells us what the real source of sin is: "For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly."

The salty Christian realizes that the source of his sin is his heart, and the salty Christian will change his heart so that it will no longer produce the "death traps" that could ensnare himself or others. James tells us how this is done: "Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you." James repeats what Jesus in our text tells us is the other characteristic of the salty Christian -- being filled with the Word of God.

When Jesus tells us to have salt in ourselves, he is comparing the Word of God to salt. They are similar. What would you feel if you were to pour salt on an open would? It would burn, wouldn't it? The salt of God's Word burns in the same way. When we sinners hear the message of the law, it burns. It opens a wound by telling us that we have sinned. Which one of us can claim that he is free from sin? Hasn't each of us been guilty of evil thoughts, or sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, arrogance, slander or folly? Which one of us can claim to have kept the Ten Commandments perfectly? "If we claim to be without sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." The law shows us our sin, and then it is rubbed in that open wound and burns like salt by informing us that people who sin "will have their place in the fiery lake of burning sulfur" -- they will experience the second death in hell. Yes, the law is like salt on an open wound. It burns. But this burning is an important step in the purification process.

The law that burns like salt is followed by the gospel that soothes all discomfort. Even though we deserved the agonizing punishment of hell, our wounds are healed through Christ's wounds.

He was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

Jesus received the punishment that we deserved for our sins. We will not die the second death in hell, but live in heaven with God forever.

Having been purified by the salt -- the Word of God -- we ourselves become salty, but Jesus warns us not to lose that saltiness. That might seem like an impossibility to us, being the mature Christians that we are. But the warning is there, and even repeated by Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians: "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!" Jesus tells us how to be careful so that we don't fall. He says, "Have salt in yourselves." To keep yourself a salty Christian, expose yourself to the Word of God. The more the Word of God works on your heart, the less you will want to lead others or yourself into sin. The more the Word of God becomes part of your life and fills your life, the more you'll be looking out for others and living for others instead of yourself. And that is exactly Jesus' point. Get rid of the things that cause you to not be what you are supposed to be -- salty, as the salt of the earth that we are. We should be different. People should notice our lives. It should be obvious to others that someone else is guiding our words and actions, and that person is Jesus Christ, our Savior, our God, and our Friend.

Has anyone ever described you as "salty?" Actually, that is exactly what we should be striving to be as Christians. This coming week, strive to be a salty Christian. Amen.