Preserve Life
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction
Introduction
Some of you are omnicondimentors
Omnicondimentor
It is a person who before taking a bite will put some form of condiment on your food, usually salt.
An embarrassing habit I picked up from my dad, do you need steak sauce? I hope not.
But, some ask for the A1 or Heinz or BBQ Sauce before they ever take a single bite of that NY Strip.
Or, if you have a pile of fries before you, you cover it in salt before testing it out first.
Why? Because some people enjoy the way salt affects the flavor of foods.
Not just fries but tortilla chips, tomatoes, watermelon, any meat.
Salt enhances the good.
We instinctively understand the goodness of salt.
Jesus turns to His disciples and tells them that they are to be the salt of the world.
Preserve The Covenant.
Preserve The Covenant.
What does it mean to be salt?
One of the basic needs of life. Ben Sirach lists it alongside water, bread, and clothing.
11 different uses, may of them alluded to in Scripture. Including as money and for flavor.
So, what does Jesus mean here?
Context of Matthew - the preservation of the covenant.
Building upon the uses in the OT:
Now because we eat the salt of the palace and it is not fitting for us to witness the king’s dishonor, therefore we send and inform the king,
Literally, the salt of the palace is our salt. A sign of enduring loyalty.
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?
This covenant is one that will never end and is a predecessor of the Kingship of Jesus Christ.
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.”
Just saturated with these words pointing us to eternity and preservation.
Salt represents endurance.
Following the prediction of persecution.
The new covenant, the one we enter into through the blood of Christ, is an eternal covenant.
A transition not declared by me, it would not be effective!
Not based upon my good works because I would mess it up!
Your salvation is based upon God’s faithfulness.
God uses Christians to preserve the good of the world.
Don’t Be A Moron.
Don’t Be A Moron.
I love sophomores. It was a transformative year in my life and it is fun to watch the transition that occurs in the lives of sophomores.
Sophos = Wise
Moros = Foolish
It’s a time when you are going to do some really smart things and some really dumb things.
The biblical idea of a moron, one who is foolish when it comes to morals or ethics.
This same word is found here. A play on words that is lost in English.
If the salt becomes moronic.
NaCl, a very stable compound. It can’t stop being salt - can’t lose its flavor.
So, what does Jesus mean? How can it become foolish?
Salt can be corrupted by mixing something else with it.
Think about your favorite salty treat. Now, add a little sand in with the salt.
The Gospel endures.
But, our testimony, our reputation can be damaged by foolishness.
The reputation of Jesus can be damaged by our actions.
This is why Jesus uses this term. The way “fool” is used in Old Testament wisdom literature.
The way we treat others, the way we talk, the decisions we make.
Do people see those actions, those works, and think “I want to be more like that.”
Possibly another way Jesus is using the salt image, to create a thirst.
Be Helpful Not Harmful.
Be Helpful Not Harmful.
Corrupted salt, if you see impurities in it. Maybe a mouse has been in. Throw it out.
Where? The irony of salt. Purifying & Preserving or Destructive & Sterilizing.
Some armies would conquer a land and then salt their fields.
Or to create a pathway you can put down a swath of salt.
Mixing salt in with fertilizer will neutralize the helpful effects.
The decision has to be made -
What effect do I want my works to have?
James, the half-brother of Jesus, addresses this:
With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
Choose to honor Jesus.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Salt enhances the good.
There is not greater good than Jesus.
Salting requires contact.
For some, you need to come into contact with Jesus. Experience the goodness of the Gospel.
For others, if you are a Christian, you need to come into contact with those outside of the Gospel.
Demonstrate the incorruptible love of Jesus.