A Note from the Pastor: July 7, 2025

Yesterday, I ran out of time to cover my third point: Disciples remain spiritually salty. I’m including an edited version of my notes in case you were curious about verses 49–50:

“For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

There has been much debate among scholars about what Jesus means in these verses. The language takes us back to the animal sacrifices in the temple. Leviticus 2:13 tells us that salt was to be added to every sacrifice—it was part of what made the offering acceptable to God. 

The reference to fire here does not speak of the fire of judgment, as in the preceding verses, but rather of the refining fires of trials that purify and conform us to the image of Christ. As we sacrifice ourselves by living for God’s glory, the “salt” of discipleship is what makes that sacrifice pleasing to Him. 

It is also likely that Jesus had in mind the burnt offering described in Leviticus 1. Interestingly, the burnt offering was the only sacrifice where the entire animal was consumed by fire. It didn’t matter whether it was a bull, a ram, or a bird—the whole animal was burned upon the altar. That is a powerful picture of discipleship. As Paul says, we are to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship (Romans 12:1). Let us pray that the Spirit of God would ignite such a holy fire within our souls, that we would be willing to be “burnt up” for the glory of Jesus. 

Jesus’s main point here is that disciples must remain salty. If discipleship involves killing sin, then we lose our saltiness when we compromise with sin and fail to mortify our sinful desires and behaviors.

Salt was an essential commodity in the ancient world. It was used for preserving food, enhancing flavor, medicinal purposes, and even as currency. Roman soldiers were sometimes paid in salt. However, if salt lost its flavor, it became useless—fit only to be thrown out and trampled underfoot (Matt. 5:13). Sin erodes our saltiness. It causes us to compromise with the world and live for the here and now, rather than for the Kingdom of God.

In the same way, a disciple who is not actively waging war against sin—who is not living a life that stands out from the world—loses his or her distinctive flavor and is no longer acting as a moral preservative in society.

In light of that, Jesus says we are to “have salt in ourselves and be at peace with one another.” In other words, our saltiness should lead to peace, not division within the church. As Paul says, “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person” (Col. 4:6). Notice, he doesn’t say, “Let your speech be salty, seasoned with grace.” Too much salt ruins a good meal.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus called believers the “salt of the earth.” It is very likely that wherever the Lord has placed you—at work, in your neighborhood, in your family, among your friends—you are the one person who can remind them of Jesus Christ. You are the one person with the message of the gospel that has the power to transform their lives. You are the one person who can speak truth into their lives—truth about right and wrong, salvation and sin, grace and judgment.

Let us pray that we would not lose that which makes us unique in this world.

Blessings,

Pastor Spencer Murphy