The Cost of Free Salvation

". . .Don’t overlook your opportunity to suffer. To place your life in God’s hands is a frightening choice to be sure, but how else will the world around you see that this world is not your home – that the comforts of this life hold little sway in your enjoyment of life – that you need not have an abundance of goods to give to others – that death does not end your life – that your hope is not in this life but in life everlasting – that you need not live constantly in sunshine to smile and continue your life of faith in God?"

Q. 4 How do you make salt, salty again?

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.”

How do you make salt, salty again? Our fallen nature causes us to turn our ear from this statement because there is a sound of impossibility in these words of Christ. It is, in fact, quite impossible to make salt that has lost its savor, salty again. How many of us have opened a new package of salt and, with it, over-salted our food? “WOW, that is salty!” we say. Actually, the salt we had used before had lost its savor. We used more and more of it as it became less and less effective. How can you make old salt salty again? You can’t – it is, from then on, good for nothing. In Jesus’ question there is a sound of futility – in His answer there is negativity, finality, permanence, and condemnation.

Modern-day man wants options. Go to any store, any car dealer, or anywhere that caters to mankind’s self-indulgence and you will find lists of options. We like options. Contrarily, impossibilities, narrowed choices, vanishing opportunities, and immutable consequences cause us to shrink and fear. The sober person must admit, though, that all opportunities do not stand permanently open and that some consequences cannot be avoided.

Christ’s teaching was popular with the desperate and destitute. It is the man who has everything, who has never befriended Christ – nor will he. A man in charge of his life wants options, not dead ends; he wants a wide range of broad avenues, not a straight, constricted path through a narrow, unrelenting gate. A man in control wants more control, not to relinquish control to someone else. A man in control does not want to hear anything about finality and everlasting, unchangeable damnation.

Not only have options been made plenteous in our society, the risk of loss and unavoidable penalties have been nearly eliminated as well. With insurance, and 24-hour police, 24-hour emergency care, warranties, guarantees, contracts, safety equipment, lawyers begging in advertisements for lawsuits, the list of “consequence eliminators” could go on and on. We have become near strangers to harm and loss. (Consider the first questions asked when someone’s house burns down?)

There is even a modern Gospel message that “guarantees” us an eternal home. But our Lord Jesus spoke of impossibilities and narrow ways, unchangeable outcomes and desperate consequences. Dangerous situations exist on this way we have joined, situations that can cost men their souls. Jesus taught to fear God’s judgment and to live as though judgment was swift and sure and soon. He calls us the salt of the earth then asks us to seriously consider, “Once salt loses its flavor, how do you make it, salty again?”

Many theories have been put forth on the idea of Christians being the salt of the earth and exactly what this means. By the context (as the concept of us being the “salt of the earth” appears only in Matthew) our “salt” is our witness, or how we appear to the world. (Matthew 5:10-16) Other passages connect the idea of “having salt” with character and fortitude. The salt mentioned in Luke 14:34 and Mark 9:50 is tied to our “cross“ that we must bear after Christ and the persecution of the righteous.

However, the broad and obvious message is clear in all of the passages, that this salt is within our control, that we will stand judgment for the retention of its savor, and that the consequences are unchangeable and everlasting. We should earnestly seek God for an understanding of this salt, what it is, and what our responsibilities are to the world as a witness. We should pray that we retain the savor left to us.

In our world of options and choices, we have become spoiled children who think that there are always options. If we go this way or that, if we make this choice or that, we will always be able to make a fresh start, or get a second chance or that we will all come out at the same place no matter which way we go. After all, “it’s never too late,” God is infinitely merciful and He will always forgive…right?

Your Salt Is Your Reputation

We have become careless in our lifestyles because of risk reducers like insurance and lawsuits. Who among us fear losing our possessions by theft or fire? Do we not rather think to ourselves, “I’m insured” when we wonder about whether we left a heater plugged in or a door unlocked?

Now that loss has been placed under control, and options abound, it is difficult for the American mind to grasp, in totality, the warnings of Christ about permanent, irreparable, unchangeable damage and loss.

This example (the impossibility of replacing the savor of salt) is used by Christ to describe the immutability and permanence of the damage done to ones character, ones witness, and ones life from bad choices and wrong roads taken. You must take great care in your choosing. You must exercise caution in developing your lifestyle and character. You are capable of wasting the precious and irreplaceable savor given to you, leaving you only to lament the foolish choices of your past.

Don’t overlook your opportunity to suffer. To place your life in God’s hands is a frightening choice to be sure, but how else will the world around you see that this world is not your home – that the comforts of this life hold little sway in your enjoyment of life – that you need not have an abundance of goods to give to others – that death does not end your life – that your hope is not in this life but in life everlasting – that you need not live constantly in sunshine to smile and continue your life of faith in God? How else will they taste the “salt” in you if your calamity is always arrested, your loss always insured, and your health and happiness held in highest regard? You may be shortcutting your opportunity to witness and test your faith for yourself.

Christ’s message is that options do not always exist. Our sovereign God offers THE way, not A way. Christ Jesus described that way as “straight” and the gate at the end of it as “narrow.” There are consequences that love and grace and kindness and mercy will not erase. The boundless love of God, the mercy that endures forever, the kindness and compassion of an infinite heavenly Father full of grace and forgiveness will not step over and ignore your stubborn and rebellious heart to save you. When you fall down, He picks you up in loving arms till you get your footing again. When you sit down He waits with His mighty arms folded and head slightly turned to the side, not looking at you, but listening for your repentant cries.

The pliability of your temperament, the humility in your character, the accepting nature of your will, is the briny flavor the world “tastes” in you. The conformity to mistreatment, the suffering of undeserved contempt, and the daily bearing of this “cross” of Christ’s is the salt that you need to protect and retain.

You should know from Christ’s admonition that once it is gone, once it loses it savor it cannot be restored. You will be trodden under the foot of men, held in disrepute, scorned, and lampooned. Be careful. Be cautious of your reputation. Once it is gone…it is gone forever…for how can you make salt, salty again?

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