The Carpenter's Apprentice Archives

If the salt has lost its savour . . .

 

"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.@  (Matthew 5:13)

This familiar verse from that passage we call The Sermon on the Mount has been in my thoughts of late. We certainly understand its application. God has, throughout history, Asalted@ His creation with those who believed and trusted in Him. Abel, Noah, Abraham and many others fall into this category.

In taking steps to fulfill His promises to Abraham, God salted the world in a really big way by sanctifying a people to Himself and calling them out of the world through the Old Covenant. He was to be their King and they were to be His people. From the beginning of this covenant relationship it was clear God never intended for it to accomplish the glorious view He had in mind. In fact, it couldn't because it depended on the obedience of the people in their own strength and we can all attest to the reality of our inability to keep His commandments.

Nevertheless, Old Covenant Israel was to be a "city set on a hill" and a light by which the world saw the glory of God. Though the world did see, it was often in spite of Israel's disbelief rather than because of their unflinching faith. It didn't take long until they rejected God as King and wanted to be like the rest of the nations. They thought they could compromise with the world and still maintain the power they knew because of their relationship with God. They were wrong.

Again and again God disciplined them and showed mercy to them so that they might repent and be blessed. Ultimately, His righteous wrath was kindled such that no temporary measure would suffice. Yet, in all this the Jewish leaders did not heed the warnings of God. His mercy was mistaken as favor which could never be exhausted. To say that was presumptuous of them would be an understatement of unparalleled proportion.

When the last word of prophecy came in what we call the Old Testament, the silence from above was deafening. By the time John the Baptist arrived on the scene some ten generations later, they were ready to hear. Living under the boot of Rome had even the Jewish leaders ready for a change, as long as they didn't lose their status or power. The common man, living under the boot of Rome and Israel's oppressive leaders, was even more anxious for liberation.

The enthusiasm for John's preaching diminished greatly after the One he proclaimed as Messiah refused to become an earthly king. The Jewish leaders thought God favored them because they were special, they failed to realize He favored them in grace in order to accomplish His purposes. Throughout their history God had shown extreme patience with them. He warned them though the prophets but they refused to listen. Even after the northern tribes were dispersed, Judah continued in rebellion and spent 70 years in captivity. Still, that was not sufficient discipline and they returned to their former ways.

God had not established them to be darkness, but light in the world. They were to be a beacon of righteousness, justice and compassion. Instead, they became even more evil than the nations with which they had polluted themselves. Condemnation was certain and the only consolation was that a righteous remnant would be spared. From the time John the Baptist began preaching the nearness of the kingdom the old order was living on borrowed time and the day of reckoning was coming. Jesus said it would come in that generation: the very one He called "a crooked and perverse." Proper interpretation of the scripture demands that we understand the intended audience. In the case of coming judgment, it is Old Covenant Israel. While it would be in error to suggest their judgment was only about them, it is appropriate to understand the prophecies of judgment to relate to them in a special way. That is, they were going to experience physical judgment but their judgment had spiritual significance for all. It was the end of the Old Covenant system and the consummation of the New Covenant Age (Hebrews. 9:26).  

Throughout His ministry, Christ had routinely emphasized the judgment which was about to come on those who rejected Him. We tend to read the "salt of the earth" passage as only  positive, but it cuts both ways in the context. Christ is speaking to His disciples but it is in the hearing of the assembled crowd.  While it is proper to interpret His remarks as being an admonition to the disciples, it is at the same time a pointed warning to the larger crowd. The "chosen people" had so polluted themselves they no longer seasoned the world in which they lived. They were just like it and worse.  

The crowd would have heard Christ's message loud and clear. The Jews no longer served the purpose for which God called them and they were about to be cast out in judgment. Do notice the word "thenceforth." It is critically important.  Once they corrupted the system, they were good for nothing and could never be made good by it. God had a new salt shaker, if you will. The old salt was thrown out and trodden under the foot of men (quite literally in A.D. 70, but again the spiritual significance is the important thing). Thenceforth, from that time on, that system was made impotent (not that it really accomplished much in the first place - it only looked forward to its fulfillment/perfection in the new).  

Those who insist that Israel must be restored with its temple, rituals, and sacrifices, need to acknowledge that even if men do those things, they have no biblical significance. It would only be a form. It would have no blessing of God and no substance. Those who insist it must, will have to explain "Wherewith shall it be salted?" God made it clear that going back to the Old Covenant was a fatal error for those living in the first century (see Galatians and Hebrews especially). To resort to the old system was to nullify the blood of Christ and in doing that there was no hope for deliverance. Yet, today, the common view is that modern Jews MUST do exactly that in order to get only one-third of them saved. This simply cannot be.  

While we can draw present applications from the opening text, let's not miss the serious message it conveyed to its first hearers.

The Judgment  

As we just noted, that first century generation was ripe for judgment. The prophets had predicted it and the time had come. By failing to recognize the audience, it is easy for us to remove the event to our future. However, doing so seriously impairs the story of redemptive history. The old had to be taken out of the way so the new could be fully established.  

Scripture makes it clear that judgment was upon those first century believers almost 2,000 years ago. Peter wrote, "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?" (1 Peter 4:17 - KJV). Even though this passage is fraught with translational bias it still communicates the imminence of judgment.

It is translated this way so the judgment of Old Covenant Israel can be separated from eschatological judgment, at least in the minds of readers. The original language does not allow such a separation!  First, understand the word "time" is kairos in the Greek. It is not from chronos or linear time but time as in the sense of a season or appointed time. Notice too that Peter uses the definite article "the time" which is shown in the KJV but conveniently omitted in a number of other popular translations.  

No less important is the omission of the definite article prior to judgment. This is a critical omission! The definite article provides a forceful statement in Greek. This wasn't just any judgment, it wasn't just a judgment, it was THE judgment.   That is, it was the great and terrible day of the Lord which Joel and others prophesied and which Peter said was near because of the signs observed at Pentecost (Acts 2). 

Properly understood Peter says, "For it is the appointed time for the judgment to begin with the household of God ...." Folks, that was a long time ago and most Christians still look to our future for it! Most Christians will agree that Judah was judged but that judgment (according to Peter) comes after the judgment of the household of God! If Old Covenant Israel was judged in A.D. 70, it is undeniable whatever judgment meant to believers, their judgment had to happen first.! You should find considerable food for thought here.  

In closing this introduction to "the judgment" do realize that God's judgments are everlasting. At death, we are each dealt with on the basis of the judgment with which we are identified. If we are in Christ, we do not enter into judgment (John 5:24) except vicariously by identification with His judgment on our behalf. The ungodly are judged already (John 3:16f) and receive their just recompense at death.  

The idea of a "final judgment" only applies to the last judgment of Old Covenant Israel. At the beginning of their history they had promised to keep God's judgments. They didn't.  In Christ, we have now been empowered to keep them. It is a truly awesome picture if we are willing to consider it.

Judgment Today

When some (including me) suggested the events of 9/11 were an indication of God's judgment on this country, many Americans recoiled at the idea, even (and perhaps especially) many Christians. Why? Have we, like the Jews of old, become so hardened to the wickedness around us that we think God does not care? Have we forgotten that one of the attributes of God is that He does not change? We must not forget that He is just and will not forever abide injustice in an individual or in a people.

We see His judgments executed in various ways in scripture and we would do well to heed them. He is patient but if we ignore His discipline, we invite calamity. Biblically, we see God's judgment in physical phenomena such as weather and "natural disasters" (Aren't those legally classed as "acts of God"? How could an unbeliever make such a claim. That's an interesting thought for another day!), disease, wicked leaders,  lawless individuals and groups, and the list goes on.

Admittedly, it is unlikely every instance of such things can be attributed to God's discipline; nonetheless, we should take notice when a pattern develops in our personal lives or society. God still demands justice, mercy and compassion. Societies which ignore those demands never endure. We see the fruit of that in the constant upheaval of societies in the third world. To the praise and glory of God, we are seeing the gospel bring hope of peace and order to an increasing number of those areas in our lifetime. At the same time, it should grieve us to observe we are losing that very order and stability here at home.  

John Adams said it well when he noted that our system of government was ". . . fit only for a moral people and wholly inadequate for any other." He understood that weakness of civil government was possible because the people exercised self-control, or self-government. Civil government was only necessary to deal with those who refused to discipline themselves before God. A sure sign of a society in trouble is the proliferation of regulations. Today, we are regulated to the point of even having our thoughts being unlawful. Who of us, earlier in our lives would have imagined such a rapid decline of our culture?

What we must understand is that the seeds of that decline were planted long ago in the minds of Americans. It took generations for it to sprout and come into season but we are reaping the harvest of it today.  What is in question is the very idea that people can be required to live in accordance with the principles of justice ordained by our Sovereign God. Even Christians now join the chorus proclaiming it is not right to impose those principles on others. Really?  

Understand, we are not talking about imposing faith, or a belief system, that isn't even possible though Muslims do practice evangelism by torture. What we are talking about is a system of government which upholds Godly principles of conduct and requires that all who would enjoy the benefit of a free society abide by those principles whether they agree with them or not. Is that "unfair?" If so, is it not also unfair for those who renounce the very idea of God to impose their Godless principles on society? If not, why not?