* We are called to be salt & light.
* As light, we expose darkness.
* We bring truth to lies, thus setting people free.
* As salt, we do lots of things:
* Sustain, Season, Sanitize, Sacrifice, Scatter, Strengthen.
* To do these things we have to mix in with the world.
* EX: People would use manure as fuel for a fire - mixing salt would make it burn longer.
* But salt can lose it saltiness.
* vs 13 - “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 underfoot by men.”
* What can make you saltless?
* One thing is an unwillingness to give up everything for your faith.
* Luke 14:33-34 - “In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything cannot be my disciples. Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?”
* Are you willing to give up everything for Christ?
* If not, you’ll lose your saltiness.
* Another thing that can cause you to lose your saltiness is bitterness.
* Tony Evans, in his book KINGDOM AGENDA, said this about salt losing it’s saltiness:
* “In biblical days people mixed gypsum with water to make a paste for patching holes in their roofs. The paste was solidified with salt, which rendered the salt good for nothing else because the bitterness of the gypsum canceled out the saltiness of the salt.”
* When we allow ourselves to grow bitter toward another person, it cancels out our ability to be useful to God.
* Bitterness may make us feel more comfortable in the moment, like patching a hole on a roof.
* But it’s not a solution that will hold up in a storm.
* God won’t give grace to someone who bears a grudge against one of His kids.
* We need to check our hearts to make sure we don’t have bitterness toward another person.
* Note - we did a bible study on Ezekiel 35:5 about the dangers of bitterness.