Mark 9:50 - How Salty Is Your Character, Your Influence?
Mark 9:50: How Salty Is Your Character, Your Influence?
Mark 9:50 (NIV) "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness,
how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be
at peace with each other."
Mark 9:50 (NLT) Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its
flavor, how do you make it salty again? You must have the qualities of
salt among yourselves and live in peace with each other.
COMMENTARY PEARL
Jesus warns us about losing our "saltiness." In Mark 9:50 he
says, "If [salt] loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? You
must have the qualities of salt among yourselves and live in peace
with each other" (NLT).
For thousands of years, salt has been used to flavor and
preserve foods. The Old Testament book of Ezekiel talks about newborn
babies being rubbed with salt because of its purifying qualities. Later
in the Bible, Jesus calls his followers "the salt of the earth." As
Christian, we need to preserve his commands and keep ourselves pure. We
should live with "saltiness" toward each other, encouraging fellow
believers to stand strong for God. When people come in contact with us, we
should "taste" different. Just like eating salty chips makes us
thirsty, when people meet us they should become thirsty for Christ.
Think of ways you can stay salty. Certainly, reading your
Bible is important; so is admitting your sins to Christ and praying
for forgiveness. Then you need to commit to living out your
Christian beliefs in the way you speak, the way you treat others, and what
you feed your mind. Being sweet is nice; being salty is even better.
[Case For Christ For Kids by Lee Strobel]
INTRODUCTION
Jesus used salt to illustrate three qualities that should be
found in his people: (1) We should remember God's faithfulness, just
as salt when used with a sacrifice recalled God's covenant with his
people (Leviticus 2:13). (2) We should make a difference in the
"flavor" of the world we live in, just as salt changes meat's flavor (see
Matthew 5:13). (3) We should counteract the moral decay in society, just
as salt preserves food from decay. When we lose this desire to
"salt" the earth with the love and message of God, we become useless to
him. [Life Application SB]
COMMENTARY
What can we do with salt? We can flavor food with it; we can
preserve food with it; and, in Jesus' time, people could buy things with
it because it was a valuable commodity. So what did Jesus mean when
he said, "Have salt among yourselves"? For one thing, he meant that
we can function as a preservative, counteracting the decay in
society as we represent the kingdom of God. But we also have the ability
to flavor society by allowing Jesus to live through us. When we do,
the world looks at our lives and wants to know the peace, love and
joy that we enjoy. If we're living as kingdom citizens, others see a
glimpse of the kingdom. Through us, Jesus salts the earth with the love
of God, flavoring the lives of others. [NIV Once A Day Bible re
Mar. 9:50]
If the salt has lost its savor; if there is only a profession of
godliness, without the love of Christ, there is no power for good. The life
can exert no saving influence upon the world You must be
partakers of My grace, in order to be a savor of life unto life. Then
there will be no rivalry, no self-seeking, no desire for the highest
place. You will have that love which seeks not her own, but another's
wealth. {DA 439.2} [Remnant SOP SB]
Gods people are His preserving agents for a world that is
corrupted and degenerating because of sin. Your life is designed and
commissioned by God to enhance a community and to preserve what is good and
right. There is deep significance today for a godly life that is
involved in its community. The presence of Christ in you makes all that
He is available to others. His salvation can free an addict, mend a
broken home, heal the pain of the past, restore a wayward child, and
comfort a grieving heart. All of this is available to those around you
as Christ expresses His life through you.
If we are not in a right relationship with our Lord, however,
Jesus said we are like salt that has lost its saltiness and is,
therefore, good for nothing. None of Gods saving grace and power can be
dispensed through us to others. How do we test the saltiness of our
life? Look at our family. Are we preserving it from the destructive
influences that surround it? Examine our workplace. Are the sinful
influences in our work environment being halted because we are there?
Observe our community. Is it a better place because we are involved in
it? What about our church? The evidence that we have been used by
God as a preserving agent is that things are becoming spiritually
better around us instead of worse. If people around us are
deteriorating spiritually, we need to go to our Lord and allow Him to adjust
our lives so that we can be used to preserve others. [Experiencing
God Day by Day by Henry and Richard Blackaby re Mat. 5:13]
Ever smelled old, rotten meat?
Remember forgetting for several weeks something you put in
the refrigerator? There is an odor that accompanies decay that's
like nothing else. Down in Houston where I was raised, we were only
fifty miles from the seaport city of Galveston. Delicious, fresh
seafood was available in numerous restaurants in that area"and still
is. But there were other ways we used to use seafood, especially
shrimp.
When a friend would get married, one of our favorite tricks
was to secretly pull off the hubcaps of his getaway car and stuff
them full of shrimp. It was great! Those shrimp wouldn't make any
noise as they sloshed around hour after hour in the heat of South
Texas. But the result was unreal. After two or three days of driving,
parking in the sun, stop-and-go traffic, the bride (bless her shy heart)
would slowly start sliding over closer to the door. She would begin to
wonder if maybe her beloved groom had forgotten his deodorant. As the
day wore on, he would begin to wonder the same about her! All the
while, those little shrimp were doing their thing in each wheel.
Finally (and sometimes they wouldn't discover the trick for over a
week!), young Don Juan would pop off a hubcap"and I don't need to tell
you the result. Old shrimp inside a hot hubcap for a week would make
a skunk's spray seem like a shot of Chanel No. 5. It is gross! To
keep shrimp, you must preserve them. If you don't, they perish. Years
ago, salt was used as a preservative. Today, we use ice.
Now, think of this earth as shrimp when you read these words
of Jesus: "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has
become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good
for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by
men" (Matthew 5:13).
A society characterized by savage violence and the darkness
of depravity and deception will, without a preservative,
deteriorate . . . and, ultimately, self-destruct. Because servants of Christ
are like salt on society, our influence is essential for society's
survival.
Are you being salty? from Improving Your Serve by Charles R.
Swindoll. [Chuck Swindoll www.insight.org.]
ONE LINERS
Jesus stressed the responsibility of each disciple toward God.
The disciples would be held accountable by God to maintain their
saltiness (that is, their usefulness) by maintaining a close relationship
with him. [Life Application Commentary]
Have salt in yourselves. The work of the Word (Col 3:16) and the
Spirit (Gal 5:22, 23) produce godly character, enabling a person to act
as a preservative in society. Cf. Mt 5:13. [MacArthur SB]
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
Most Important Decision in Life:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0
A Man without Equal by Bill Bright:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo [old, but one of the best]
Importance of Choice:
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice [click on video]
Seeking God Made Real: http://vimeo.com/31489782
Prayer Made Real: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE
Musical Devotional On Christian Living:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcotY5K7T0c
Medical Seminar on Healthful Living by David DeRose, MD, MPH:
https://www.smartlifestyletv.com/lifestart
LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies: http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Amazing Facts Bible Studies:
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx
Discover Bible Studies: http://studies.itiswritten.com/discover/
Glow Tract Video Bible Studies: http://www.bibleresearch.info/
ABible.com: http://www.aBible.com
LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS
The Last Day of Prophecy by Pastor Doug Batchelor:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmGvdtMCf1aJTiC59-lPtuUMEq_uEn0BK
Restoring The Power by John Bradshaw:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRogO1SxoZN15Boa7BMon4BouVMdteVaq
Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
Last Day Prophecy: His Other Sheep by Pastor Gerald Babanezhad:
https://vimeo.com/162267518
