Some thoughts on salt...

Elijah, Jezebel, and the Israel of God

(Mark 9:49-50, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, July 14, 2019)

[49] For everyone will be salted with fire. [50] 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.”

Everyone will be salted with fire

In the previous verse, Mark 9:48, Jesus spoke of hell as a place where “their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.” Last week we noted that hell is not just a hangover from the Old Testament, but that Jesus and the entirety of the New Testament is actually far clearer about hell than the Old Testament teaching on Sheol.

In the case of Mark 9:48, however, Jesus is actually quoting from the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah. Let me give you three verses that contain these alarming words about fire, Isaiah 66:22-24: “For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the LORD, so shall your offspring and your name remain. From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the LORD. And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”

Because of this quote using the word “fire” in Mark 9:48, we need to connect our verses today with these words of judgment. What can it mean that “everyone will be salted with fire?” In this world since the fall we experience many blessings, but also lots of trouble. These varying experiences in life have nothing to do with whether or not we love the Lord. They come to all kinds of people. Nonetheless, this sprinkling of fire that touches us can be a testimony to all who will receive it, of a much more substantial trouble that all the descendants of Adam and Eve deserve. This salting of fire is a taste of hellfire judgment in the common tribulations of this world. It is not a bad thing, but (Luke 13:1-5) an expression of God's grace that will be very useful for all who will hear its message.

Sometimes food can be far too salty for most of us. And there are two moments in the timeline of the world, one past and one future, when the fullness of hellfire became (and will become) far more than what we can bear. The future one is the promised judgment of mankind in the return of the Lord. The former crisis was at the center of God's plan of forgiveness, when the hellfire of his justice came down on the innocent Jesus for all who would call upon the name of the Lord for mercy. (Consider 1 Kings 18:38 and the cross.)

Salt is good

The symbolic use of salt is very intriguing and worth further examination. For a symbol to be an effective form of communication, there must be some connection between the properties of the symbol and the thing which is symbolically represented. In this case, what is it that is true about salt that justifies its use as a symbol. 1. Salt has a distinctive taste, 2. salt is useful to preserve decay, and 3. salt was used in the culture of the ancient near eastern world in connection with treaties or covenants between nations.

In the Bible God has given us several passages related to salt and his covenants. Leviticus 2:13 - You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt.

Numbers 18:19 - All the holy contributions that the people of Israel present to the LORD I give to you, and to your sons and daughters with you, as a perpetual due. It is a covenant of salt forever before the LORD for you and for your offspring with you.”

2 Chronicles 13:5 - Ought you not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt?

Exodus 30:35 - and make an incense blended as by the perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy. (symbolic of prayer)

Leviticus 2:13 - You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt. (the grain offering and the fruit of human labors)

Colossians 4:6 - Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Salt is good. It is a symbol of the Lord's everlasting promises of judgment and mercy. As a symbol of enduring gospel truths, it needs to be soberly considered. As Colossians 4:6 insists, everything we say in life needs to be “gracious,” “seasoned” with the “salt” of the covenant of grace. The covenant of grace, Paul is telling the Colossians in his letter, will be able to make you wise in the way that you speak with and live among all people.

But if the salt has lost its saltiness...

Yes, salt is good, but what if your “salt” has lost its distinctive taste? How can it do anything if it is not salty? (Matthew 5:13-16) What if the followers of the Lord in their words and their lives are not any different than the world that will one day face God's coming wrath? What if we refuse to repent of our sins or refuse to forgive others? How will we be the salt of the earth, if we are not salty with the covenant of grace?

We are missing something important if we deny Christ and his cross, if we act as if Jesus had nothing to say about right and wrong, or if our lives are not seasoned with the salt of true grace. (What I love about the church's love for purity and peace in missions...)

THE POINT: Our Lord calls us to have a taste of his holy mercy in our souls, and to live with the gift of a humble and faithful confidence in Jesus. PURITY: This must include a historic and biblical understanding of right and wrong, without which the cross of Christ makes no sense. (Example of Elijah and Jezebel) Is there no right and wrong? What then did Jesus die for? Is there a new right and wrong based on some other standard than God's revelation preserved for us over many generations? How can humanity define ethics that are superior to the wisdom of God? PEACE: But also quite essential, we must have the compassion of our savior for every person who seeks to turn from sin by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Are you all peace? All purity? We need both.)

Applying this verse:

1. Have salt in yourselves. This is not just about others. Repent of all sin. Believe in Jesus and the gospel.

2. Live at peace with one another. Extend the grace to others that Jesus has granted you.

Old Testament Reading—Psalm 117 – All Nations and All Peoples

New Testament Reading—James 5:13-18 – Elijah—a man with a nature like ours...