Let’s read Matthew 5:13
You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
What was Jesus teaching here and how does it fit into our overall theme of being counter-cultural?
In the world
The first thing to note is that Jesus describes his disciples not simply as “salt” but as salt “of the earth”. This refers to the contrast between the Christian church and the wider world in which it exists. We’ll look in a minute at why Jesus used the metaphor of salt, but it’s clear that he intended for us to live in this world and in some way have an impact on it by living our lives in a certain way.
Notice also that this verse comes immediately after the final “Blessed” statement in which Jesus warned that severe persecution would face those who were his faithful followers. Not only are believers to be in the world, but we should not be surprised when some of the influential and powerful people in that world hate us because of our faith.
The metaphor of salt seems designed to teach us that hiding from the world or compromising Jesus’ teachings to avoid the world’s hostility are two things which Christians absolutely must not do.
Let’s see how it works, shall we?
Why salt?
When we read this verse today, we probably think about salt as a condiment that might be put on chips (‘fries’ for American readers) to enhance their flavour. We might imagine that Jesus was trying to make the point that believers should in some way enhance the flavour of the world. Or perhaps that he was suggesting we should be different from the rest of the world in a way that is immediately obvious, just as it’s immediately obvious from the first bite whether one is eating salted chips (or fries) or unsalted ones.
I think there’s certainly an element of that, but in the first century AD when Jesus lived (and right up until refrigeration was invented in the relatively recent past) salt was primarily used not as a condiment but as a preservative. Meat or fish, for example, could be rubbed with salt to prevent decay and make it last longer, something that was particularly useful for e.g. long sea voyages.
John Stott in the Message of the Sermon on the Mount argues that the church’s primary role in this world, as envisaged by Jesus in this verse, was not to add flavour to the world but to slow down its decay:
The notion is not that the world is tasteless and that Christians can make it less insipid (‘The thought of making the world palatable to God is quite impossible’), but that it is putrefying. It cannot stop itself from going bad. Only salt introduced from outside can do this. The church, on the other hand, is set in the world with a double role, as salt to arrest — or at least to hinder — the process of social decay, and as light to dispel the darkness.
Leon Morris in the Pillar NT Commentary sees an application for both:
We should take salt as a metaphor and the earth as referring to people. Jesus is apparently thinking of the function of salt as a preservative, as the enemy of decay, and as giving taste to food. What is good in society his followers keep wholesome. What is corrupt they oppose; they penetrate society for good and act as a kind of moral antiseptic. And they give a tang to life like salt to a dish of food.
Michael J Wilkins in the NIV Application Commentary points out that salt was also sometimes used as a fertiliser and argues that Jesus may not have been referring to any specific application for its use. This could suggest that he was taking a more broad view and imagining the variety of ways the church can strive to make this world a better place.
Salt was an essential commodity found in every household whether rich or poor, so it’s quite possible Jesus had the entire spectrum of church life in mind.
Wilkins also suggests:
…Jesus indicates with this metaphor that his disciples themselves (“you are the salt”) are necessary for the welfare of the world. That is, the disciples have experienced a transformation in their lives as they have come into contact with the kingdom of heaven. They are now different from the people of this earth, and their presence is necessary as God’s means of influencing the world for good.
Obviously different
Of course, none of this is to suggest that Jesus believed human beings are ourselves capable of righting the world’s wrongs or preventing its moral decay entirely. He didn’t expect or command us to do that. Nevertheless, if a man or woman has truly been converted and given his/her life to Jesus, then this transformation is something that should inevitably occur.
What’s more, this transformation should be evident in the way that you live. If you are a Christian it should be immediately obvious that you are different from the world around you. Now how many of us can honestly say that people meeting us for the first time instantly see something different in us? How many of us can recall times when a friend or work colleague we had known for years seemed surprised when they learned we were a Christian?
Now we must exercise caution. Being different does not mean seeking to be different for its own sake. It’s far too easy to fall into the trap of, in the name of “being different”, automatically opposing or contradicting whatever you perceive to be the prevailing cultural view around you. Some people are naturally inclined to reject whatever is popular and to rubbish whatever is promoted by others. That isn’t what it means to be “salt of the earth”.
The idea of salt being a preservative that slows the world’s decay can also lead to another potential pitfall: that of becoming puritanical scolds who only judge and complain about the behaviour and attitudes of others.
It’s more likely that Jesus had in mind the idea of his followers opposing the world’s corruption by living out his teachings in their own lives as best as they are able. Not only that but, in so doing, trying to convert people to come out of that world and join us in Jesus’ family.
All the while, of course, we must do everything we can to keep ourselves free of the kind of corruption and moral decay that exists in the world around us.
Saltiness Lost
Jesus warned strongly that salt which had lost its saltiness could not be made salty again and was only good for throwing away as rubbish.
To some people the idea of salt losing its saltiness makes no sense. Sodium chloride, to give salt its chemical name, is a stable compound which cannot “lose” its saltiness. Again, however, we need to look at the world in which Jesus lived. Whereas the salt on your dinner table is likely to be almost purely sodium chloride, the salt that Jesus and his contemporaries used would have been sodium chloride mixed in with a lot of other naturally occuring substances. It served its purpose well enough, yet there were circumstances in which the sodium chloride might be leached out of that mixture, leaving it without any saltiness and no longer any use as a flavouring or a preservative. The sodium chloride could not be put back in, rendering the mixture useless.
Craig Blomberg in the New American Commentary argues as follows:
…this phrase refers to the world’s response to Christians if they do not function as they should. Believers who fail to arrest corruption become worthless as agents of change and redemption. Christianity may make its peace with the world and avoid persecution, but it is thereby rendered impotent to fulfill its divinely ordained role. It will thus ultimately be rejected even by those with whom it has sought compromise.
The warning appears to be that if lose what makes us uniquely different from the world around us, we will no longer be useful either to God (who called us to this duty) or to the world itself – ironically even those Christians who try hardest to accommodate the world’s beliefs and values, perhaps in the hope that this will give them a greater opportunity to influence the world, quickly realise it has no respect or use for them.
To truly be the salt of the earth is to live in a way that makes it immediately obvious we are different from the world around us, and to do so in a way that makes a positive difference to that world and if possible slows its natural moral decay. This may often have to be done in a world that hates and wants to destroy us because our loyalty is with Jesus.
Is that easy? No. But Jesus pretty clearly said it wouldn’t be. If your life is easy, if you don’t experience any hostility from the world, or if people you know aren’t even aware you’re a Christian, then that’s something you need to address. Urgently.
Hope this helps. Next time we’ll look at the following verses in which Jesus calls us to be the “light of the world”.
Nihilist to Christian 