07/12/21 Parables of Jesus #1 — Salt of the Earth (Mat.5:13)

Matthew 5:13 (ESV) “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.”

Salt is both a preservative and a flavor enhancer. Pure salt cannot lose its flavor or effectiveness, but the salt that is common in the Dead Sea area is contaminated with gypsum and other minerals and may have a flat taste or be ineffective as a preservative. Such mineral salts were useful for little more than keeping footpaths free of vegetation. [The MacArthur Study Bible]

Like salt, Jesus expects us, His disciples to be pure, both in our beliefs and our behavior. When we are faithful, our words and our actions are more effective in demonstrating the power of the Gospel to a lost and dying world… not to mention our crumbling culture.