“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” Matthew 5: 13
WHEN SALT LOSES ITS SALTINESS
Salt is a preservative. In the days before refrigeration, salt was a means to prevent meat from decaying. In the same way, Christians and the church are to be the spiritual and moral preservative in a spiritually dead world. Unfortunately, as the church loses influence in society and the number of faithful Christians diminish, the church begins to mirror culture more than Jesus and the restraint on spiritual and moral decay is removed. Evil flourishes and the world becomes a darker place. This darkness leads to spiritual blindness which the apostle Paul mentions in 2 Thessalonians as a sign of the End Times.
This is no more apparent than in today’s Western society. And where there is a lack of salt in the church, this decay occurs more rapidly. Thankfully, Jesus didn’t leave us unequipped in this fight. Jesus describes the Holy Spirit as a helper who equips followers of Jesus to be salt and light in this spiritually dark and dying world. If Jesus is the “light of the world” (John 8:12), then HIS light (the Holy Spirit) shines through those who trust and follow Him.
Even though the church’s influence in America and Europe is declining, be encouraged that it’s growing in other parts of the world. The salt of true Christians still preserves against decay. Christ’s light still shines. Yet one day, the salt and light will be removed from the world and evil will run free. Until that day comes, will you stand with Jesus as salt and light in a dark and spiritually dead world?
Have more questions about the End Times and recognizing the signs of which Jesus spoke? Key insights to these questions and more are available in Bryant’s latest book, The Stage is Set, available in paperback, Kindle, and CD at www.amazon.com or anywhere books or e-books are sold.
