Stay Salty

Correlation between the country ham which makes us thirsty (points us to water) and the believers, who through our saltiness creates a thirst in the world for Jesus.

Salt draws out moisture and prohibits bacteria growth

Wow, it’s hard to believe that RAMP 2025 is winding down. Have y’all had fun? Can we show appreciation to the leaders…Can we show appreciation to our cooking team…How many of y’all are ready for your own bed?!? I know I am. 

I wanted to end this week of food messages in style, by serving you one of my favorite breakfast foods…Ham biscuits. Now this isn’t just any ham biscuits, this is a country ham biscuit. Takes me back to my childhood. I liked mine with a little strawberry jelly, but you’ll just have to take my word for it.

One of the reasons I like the country ham is because of it’s saltiness, which is a perfect tie in to this morning’s message, which is simply titled, Stay Salty. Let’s pray and then we’ll dive into the scripture together.

Pray

Our main text this morning is Matthew 5:13, but before we get to that, let’s do some back study to get some context on whom Jesus was talking to and what he was trying to say to them. How many of you have heard of the Sermon on the Mount? It is what most people would call, the most famous sermon in history. It includes some of Jesus' most iconic and impactful teachings—such as the Beatitudes, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Golden Rule. Well, our passage today come toward the beginning of this sermon. So let’s open our Bibles together and look at Matthew chapter 5 verses 1-2:

“When he saw the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and after he sat down, HIS DISCIPLES came to him. Then he began to teach THEM, saying:”

What I want us to notice first off is that Jesus is teaching his disciples here. There’s some debate on the # of disciples, but we know there were at least 4, Peter, Andrew, James, and John. The crowd probably would have been close enough to hear what he was saying, but he was addressing the disciples. Why do I think it’s important to make this distinction? Because the word disciple here in Matthew 5:1 means a learner, pupil, or disciple/apprentice. It is not just someone who believes in Jesus, but someone who is learning from and trying to be like Jesus, which I hope describes a lot of you this morning. 

Now that we know who Jesus is talking to in our passage, let’s look at the lead up to what he was saying. While there are a lot of great stand alone messages that come from the Sermon on the Mount, I believe Jesus was weaving together a train of thought for us and using each section to connect, expand, or enhance that thought. Think of it like this…when Pastor Jason preaches on Sunday morning, each of his points are connected and they are used to give us a complete picture of what God is saying. In the first 10 verses we have the beatitudes…what a disciple/follower of Jesus looks like, what it’s like to be a citizen of God’s kingdom (they are poor in spirit, mourn over their sin and over the sin of the world, they’re humble, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and hunger and thirst after righteousness). Then in next few verses, he says, if you look like this, if you’re a citizen of heaven, you will often be persecuted by the world. Now, it would make sense to me that the world around us should celebrate those people, the opposite is normally true, the are rejected and persecuted. And when we are persecuted, our tendency to to retreat. To hide in our protective shell or to get angry. You’ve heard of fight or flight, right? Same thing here. Our tendency is to either fight the persecution or run away and retreat. And what Jesus says to his followers is, I’m no, I’m not going to allow that. That brings us to Jesus’ response to how we should act in those time and in all times.

So, do me this favor, rest your forearms on your thighs and lean forward. Pretend your sitting in front of Jesus (I’m moving to the side, haha). You’ve just heard him describe what his disciple should look like and that you’re going to get persecuted for it but to not get bitter and to remain joyful. Your forehead is scrunched and now your hearing this next part for the first time.  

Matthew 5:13, You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.”

Do you see this thought process continued? When you’re persecuted, count it all joy and don’t right off the world that is persecuting you, instead, get out there and BE SALT!

Why would Jesus use salt and what can we learn from this? I’m glad you asked because that’s the thought that we’ll be hanging out in for the next 20 minutes.

Salt is Valuable -

Quick background on salt. When we think about salt, we think about salting the chips at a Mexican restaurant, am I right? That’s because over the years, salt has become less valuable as modern technology has increased. But during Jesus’ time, Salt was a very valuable asset. So valuable in fact that Roman guards were sometimes paid in salt. Right now I’m imagining my kids asking me to buy them something and me saying, sorry, got paid in salt this week. Jesus is saying to you and to me, don’t retreat, don’t shy away…you should bring value to this world. We, as believers, are precious and vital to this world because we reflect Jesus. 2 Cor 5:20 says, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf: ‘Be reconciled to God’”. You don’t get to take a day off because our mission is to important. There’s so much death and evil in this world that if we sit on the sideline, the enemy wins. So what does it look like to bring value?

Be honest, dependable, and kind—even when it’s not popular.

People notice when someone stands out for the right reasons.

Show compassion to classmates who are lonely, struggling, or excluded.

Offer encouragement and support without expecting anything in return.

Work hard in academics, sports, or extracurriculars as a way to honor God.

Excellence can inspire others and open doors for influence.

Be a voice of clarity and kindness in a world full of noise and division.

Volunteer your time to help others—at school, church, or in the community.

Be the person who looks for needs and quietly meets them.

Let your joy, peace, and purpose spark curiosity in others.

Be ready to share your faith when the opportunity arises—not with pressure, but with authenticity.

Not only is salt valuable, and therefore we should add value, but…

2. Salt is enhancing

Again, let’s go back to our Mexican food mention from earlier. Why do you put salt on the chips at a Mexican restaurant? Of course, to make the taste better.