STAY SALTY

Mark 9:42–50 ESV

“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ 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.”

SALTY CHRISTIANS CONSIDER THEIR WAY OF LIFE.

Mark 9:42 ESV

“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.

Christians never sin in a vacuum. Our sin always affects ourselves and others. In (v.42), Jesus wants us to consider our way of life, mainly how we sin and how that sin affects those around us, especially fellow believers.

In a world filled with stumbling blocks, Jesus says; consider your way of living for the sake of your brothers and sisters in Christ.

Let me put forth two considerations for being salty for those around us. First, we must put to death our flesh and put away our freedom. The first consideration is obvious; we must put to death our flesh (Romans 8:17). I will deal with this in the second point of today's passage.

The second consideration is not so obvious; we must put away our freedom. There are times in our lives where we have Christian liberty to act in a way not prohibited by Scripture, but it is a problem for a fellow believer.

Paul put away His freedom for the sake of others because His motivation was The Gospel. Thus, Paul determined what to put away in His present circumstance by what advanced The Gospel. Those who are studious will say that Paul speaks of His behavior among unbelievers, and this is true. But, if such consideration is necessary amongst unbelievers, how much more among believers.

Jesus' consequential words are not loveless but loving. He is not indifferent but involved in how we live our life. Jesus, our elder brother, is treating us like a younger brother. His words establish a familial interaction. Jesus knows that we will sin against each other unintentionally; it's our intentional sin He seeks to steer us away from with His unsettling words.

As citizens of God's Kingdom and children of the King, there is an expectation of behavior because of our adoption experience. Seeking the demise of a brother or sister is not in keeping with being a child of God.

James, Jesus' half-brother, teaches us that "we love God because He first loved us, and this love expresses itself in loving our brother." We are not to be a stumbling block but a stepping stone. We are to provoke one another to love and good works.

STAY SALTY BY CUTTING OFF WHAT CUTS YOU OFF FROM GOD.

Mark 9:43–47 ESV

And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell,

Some read the words of Jesus as threatening, and yet Jesus is imploring us to action based on love. God proved His love for us by cutting off His Son from His presence and crucifying Him so that He can say to sinners, "come to me." John 3:16 shows us the extent God's love will go to bring sinners into His family, while Mark 9:43-47 teaches us to what extent family members will go as a result of that love.

Cutting off that which cuts you off from God is consistent with love, just as cutting cancer out of your body is consistent with living. When we begin to see God's true love for us, His asking is not too much. He is not asking us to earn His love but to enter into it more deeply.

1 Peter 2:9–12 ESV

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

2 Peter 1:3–10 ESV

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.