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Matthew 5:13
Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
Mark 9:50
Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.
Luke 14:34
Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned?
Ye are the salt of the earth -
Salt renders food pleasant and palatable, and preserves from putrefaction.
So Christians, by their lives and instructions, are to keep the world from entire moral corruption. How??
By bringing down the blessing of GOD in answer to their prayers, and by their influence and example,
they save the world from universal vice and crime.
Our light must shine, by doing such good works as men may see.
What is between God and our souls, (must be kept to ourselves); but that which is of itself open to the sight of men,
we must study to make suitable to our profession, and praiseworthy. We must aim at the glory of God.
The words are spoken to the disciples in their ideal character, called to a prophetic work, preserving the earth from moral putrescence and decay.
Not the apostles, not ministers only; but all who possess and manifest the graces spoken of in the preceding verses, and are truly holy and righteous; are the salt of the earth
— Appointed to be the means of preventing or curing the growth of that corruption which prevails in the world, and of seasoning men’s minds with wisdom and grace.
But if the salt have lost its savour — Or, be grown insipid, and therefore want seasoning itself, wherewith shall it be salted — By what means can its lost virtue be restored? The word μωρανθη, ( 'was weaned' ) rendered have lost its savour, has peculiar strength and beauty, and is literally, be infatuated, or, grown foolish, “alluding, in which sense and spirit are expressed by salt.
” It is thenceforth good for nothing —
The general reference to this antiseptic action of salt is (as in Colossians 4:6, and possibly in the symbolic act of Elisha, 2Kings 2:21)
Become " The salt of the earth.." What did JESUS mean when he said we should be the salt of the earth?
The interesting thing about salt is that although it is essential to life and good health on planet earth.
Blood, sweat and tears have this mineral in them. Its importance has lasted for several millennia. Anciently, the mineral we call salt provided financial support.
In Roman times, it was so precious it provided a means to pay soldiers. Salt received the nickname of 'white gold' sometime during the Middle Ages. The English word "salary" comes from the word salarium, a name given to the mineral when it functioned as currency.
JESUS, during his famous sermon given on a mount, stated that believers were the 'salt of the earth' and warned that it was possible for them to lose their 'saltiness.' If believers lost their "flavor," they would be of no benefit to others.
They would then only be worthy of being "thrown out and trampled upon by men" (Matthew 5:13).
We begin to find our answer regarding the meaning of what JESUS stated by noting the context in which it was given.
Matthew Chapter 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.Jesus tells those wishing to follow him that they must make a difference in the world. The difference made is "the flavor" or the good works believers are to do that are to shine like a light on a lampstand and offer a witness for Christ.
Wherewith shall it be salted?—The words imply a relative if not an absolute impossibility.
If gifts, graces, blessings, a high calling, and a high work fail, what remains?
The parable finds its interpretation in Hebrews 6:1-6.
To be trodden under foot of men.—The Talmud shows that the salt which had become unfit for sacrificial use in the store-house was sprinkled in wet weather upon the slopes and steps of the temple to prevent the feet of the priests from slipping, and we may accordingly see in our Lord’s words a possible reference to this practice.