“…but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.” (Matthew 5:13, NASB)
In the last post, we discussed how God’s people can be referred to as the salt of the earth. We bring preservation, flavor, and healing. The church restrains the world from becoming as rotten as it can be. It enhances the overall beauty and experience of those in the world. Finally, it brings healing through restoring people to God and His design. Ultimately, the Christian Church is to be the force God uses to transition this world out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of light.
God will not fail in this task, but His people certainly can. That is what the warning given in this passage is talking about. Let’s take a look at it.
Tasteless Salt
Jesus’ words ought to give us pause. He sees fit to give a warning about what will happen if the salt becomes tasteless. In other words, He is warning that it is possible for the church to lose its influence. The salt can never stop being salt. Likewise, the true Christian cannot lose their status in Christ. However, the Christian can lose his effect on the world around him.
How does salt become tasteless? Though salt always keeps its elemental property, it can lose its ability to function properly. For example, if you mix a little salt with a large amount of sand the salt will lose its effect. The salt doesn’t turn into sand, but it is so overwhelmed and adulterated by the sand that it can no longer fulfill its purpose. The only thing left to do is throw it out because it is now useless.
A Christian cannot stop being a Christian any more than salt can stop being salt. But a Christian can live in a way that compromises his Christian influence. Like the salt mixed in with the sand, so the Christian can become too mixed into the world.
If the Church fails to separate herself from the world and live distinctly as God’s holy people, then the Church will lose her influence upon the world. If we adopt the world’s philosophies and practices, we have become the salt in the sand. We cannot preserve, heal, and enhance the world if we have been corrupted by it ourselves.
Trampled Under Foot by Men
So, what happens when Christians become corrupted by the world and lose their influence? They are “thrown out and trampled under foot by men.” This wording calls to my mind the words of Romans 16:20,
“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” (Romans 16:20, NASB)
Ultimately, it is Christ who will put His enemies under His feet and make them a footstool. We see that theme throughout Scripture. But this passage helps us to understand that we have the eschatological promise that, by way of Christ’s feet crushing His enemies as our representative, we also are meant to conquer. He will put Satan and the wicked world under the feet of His people as well.
That’s what makes this warning alarming. It puts the conquerors under the feet of the conquered. It is the exact opposite of what God is doing. This warning gives us a solid reminder that there is no neutral ground in our current warfare. We will either be conquering the world or the world will be conquering us.
Those who do not draw clear battle lines of separation and draw up their arms as soldiers in this spiritual battle will make no advancements for the kingdom. In fact, they will be easily thrown down.
It is important to note that this passage does not teach that Christians can lose their salvation. Some have tried to make that claim here. As we said before, the salt at no point ceases to be salt. It simply loses its effect. In addition, we find that it is men who are doing the trampling, not God.
This trampling is not the wine press of Revelation 14:17-20. It is the trampling which Babylon gives to the Church when the Church forfeits her holiness for the ways of the unholy city. We cannot preserve the world if we allow ourselves to be no different than the world.
Conclusion
Now, more than ever, we need this message. For decades, churches in the west have been trying to capitulate to the culture in order to keep support and fill their sanctuaries. We have been using pragmatic means to try to influence the culture around us. We have built our ministries and programs based on what seems to “work” instead of what the Word prescribes.
In the end, it is all too apparent that we have failed to influence the world. It is, in fact, the world that has influenced us. We have been “trampled under foot by men.”
It is time to draw a clear line of separation between the Church and the world. It is time for us to be holy once more. It is time to stop trying to mingle, mix, and fit in with the world.
We will stand out like a sore thumb. But if we want to be effective as the salt of the earth, we must understand that it is necessary for the salt to be distinct from that which it seeks to preserve.
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