2-08-2026

“YOU HAVE THE SALT”

Text: Matthew 5:13-20

Sunday February 8, 2026 – Epiphany 5

Trinity – Creston

       Grace, mercy, and peace is yours from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

       Our text for this Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany is the Gospel lesson from Matthew 5 that was just proclaimed.

Let Us Pray: Dearest Jesus, send your Holy Spirit to remind us that redeemed and connected to you we have the salt that is a light to others so they know who you are and what you have done for them.  Amen.

Dear Fellow Redeemed in Christ:

"This little Gospel light of mine…," a simple little hymn that speaks a powerful evangelism truth.  Let your Gospel light shine.  This is how God works. 

We learn this truth at the youngest of ages, yet it's the adults that often forget just how simple, yet powerful the Gospel really is, if and when you let it shine. 

But what about the first half of this passage; the part about being the salt of the earth?  As I said, we know and we teach at the earliest of ages a great deal about letting our Gospel light shine, yet we don't really ever hear anything about "being salty for God." 

This shouldn't really come as a surprise.  Given the day and age we live in, Salt and saltiness is not exactly associated with good and happy things.  It's often associated with such things as corrosion or high blood pressure or foul, profane attitudes. 

So…why does Jesus make salt and saltiness sound so good here?  Well, consider what salt does.  It kills germs and bacteria which cause rot and decay.  It also preserves and greatly lengthens the shelf-life of foods.  So great is the preservative power of salt that the Egyptians made extensive use of it in mummy preparation. 

It's interesting to note that God Himself commanded that all sacrifices in the Old Testament be offered with salt, meaning that they were to be salted (Lev 2).  Why?  Because—again—the salt was seen as killing the sinful rot and decay and bringing about lengthened, preserved life. 

The salt served to show the people that no matter how "good" they thought they and their gifts were, sin and death still clung to them.  Their sacrifices needed salting to kill off this inherent sin.  They needed salting.  The salt also professed God's Gospel covenant to His people. 

The salt in the sacrifices showed them that His Word and Promise wasn't just a "here today, gone tomorrow" sort of thing.  It was truly preservative.  It was eternally preservative.

"Okay… so how do I become salty for Jesus?" Well…there's the problem.  You don't become salty for Jesus.  It's not something you set out to do.  I guess the hang-up here is in how we translate that verse regarding salt that's lost its saltiness. 

We know that this doesn't happen in real life.  We know that salt doesn't lose its saltiness, which also means that it can't have it's saltiness restored.  If salt could lose it's saltiness, it wouldn't be salt anymore.  It would be something else; something else that wouldn't be good for any of the things that we would typically use salt for. 

In fact, as Christ says, it really wouldn't be good for anything other than to throw it out on the ground for a little better traction underfoot.  We know all this, which is why this verse is often translated the way it is (salt losing saltiness and needing the saltiness to be restored).  Our worldly wisdom influences and directs the translation.  Unfortunately, that's not what the original Greek says.

The original Greek reads like this: "You are that which salts the earth.  If, however, the salt becomes tasteless/foolish, how can it [the earth] be salted?" Folks: There is a lot of good theology contained in these words of Jesus; theology that is often overlooked because of a poor translation. 

First off, notice that Jesus doesn't say that we are simply salt or need to somehow become salt.  He says that we are that which salts the earth.  Incidentally, He says the same exact thing about the light.  We are not the light of the world. That alone is Jesus."You are that which lights the world." 

Christ's light shines through us.  In the same way, we're not the holy salt, but the salt-filled shakers that God fills up with His life-taking, life-giving salt of Law and Gospel, in order to salt His earth. 

Can you hear the Third Article of the Creed coming through?  "I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, but the Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies me and the whole Christian church on earth." 

This little snippet on salt is already nailing home a profound evangelism truth: God works through His means.  God uses the simple means of His Word and Sacrament to make disciples.  Let Him work. 

All too often we look at the proverbial salt shaker and say, "no…not me, not this, and not that.  We need something more; we need something different.  This salt won't do."  That's simply not true.  God makes disciples with His salt of the Word.

Then there's the concept of tastelessness/foolishness.  You see, the Greek word here—moreinō—is used throughout the New Testament to speak of the sinful, unbelieving foolishness of men; foolishness that looks to the things of this world, to the things of self, and to everything else other than Christ alone for salvation. 

You need to remember the context in which Christ is speaking these words.  This is part of the Sermon on the Mount.  This is Christ addressing His faithful followers, and yes, that does include you today.  By faith, you know the Word of God.  You know God's Law and God's Gospel and, by grace, you believe. 

Unfortunately, life has a way of being rather tough on those who walk by faith.  It's a whole lot easier to compromise.  It's a whole lot easier to simply give in to the easier ways of the world rather than stand firm in the way of the cross. 

We all know people like that, don't we?  If we'd be honest, we'd all confess that one of those people stared back at us in the mirror this morning. 

In God's eyes, when people compromise the faith or fall away or run away, as is sometimes the case, they become "unsalty, tasteless fools."  They've forsaken the truth; the one true saving faith.  In God's eyes, they've lost their saltiness. 

Think about what we've already said regarding "unsalty salt."  There is no such thing!  What Christ is saying here is that they are not what they think they are. 

They call themselves faithful, loyal followers—salt of the earth—yet Christ says quite clearly that they're not.  They're tasteless, unsalted fools whose only future involves being tossed out the door and into the street. 

Maybe that hurts you to hear this terrifying truth.  That's God's salt of the Law working on you.  Do you see why faithful evangelism is such a big deal?  Do you see why there should be a sense of urgency in all of us when it comes to sharing the truth of God's Word?

Think about it like this: We are that which Christ uses to salt the earth.  However, if His salt is somehow corrupted and twisted and becomes foolish, tasteless "non-salt," how is the earth going to be salted? 

Sugar, spice, and everything nice may be what the rest of the world wants.  That's what we like to fill our shakers with.  We don't want to scare anyone off or offend anyone.  Sugar, spice, and everything nice is what is frequently (and wrongly) offered up in the name of evangelism and outreach. 

The really sad thing is that this proverbial sugar, spice, and everything nice actually gains a large following.  Sugar, spice, and everything nice does put a lot of butts in the pews and money in the offering plates. 

It gives kids something fun to do and it gives parents a certain sense of joy that their kids are entertained and out of trouble. 

Does it make faithful followers though?  Christ is very clear here in saying "NO."  God only uses salt—His salt of Law and Gospel; His salt of Word and Sacrament; His salt of faith, to make disciples and salt His earth.  If there is no salt being offered or utilized, then how can the world be salted?  According to Christ, it can't. 

This is where the concept of faithful vocation comes in to play.  Believe it or not, but evangelism is not just the job of the pastor.  Teaching the Word is not just the job that a couple of people do on Sunday mornings.  Sharing Christ isn't just for those people who have thick skin or great conversation skills. 

By virtue of baptism into Christ, we are all called to serve God and make Him known in our daily callings and ordinary, everyday vocations.  That does not mean, however, that Christians are to live out their vocations in ordinary ways; that is, no different than what any non-Christian would do. 

Jesus calls us—all of us—to be extraordinary husbands, wives, parents, and children.  He calls us to be remarkable neighbors and employees and students.  He calls us to be powerful friends and citizens. 

That's what He's getting at with the whole "salt of the earth" and "light of the world."  We are NOT to simply blend in.  We are to stand out.  We are special.  We are different, at least, we're called to be. 

We are called to be in the world, but not of the world.  God has chosen us as His means of making Christ known to this fallen and sinful world.  That's a big deal.  That's nothing to take lightly. 

My friends: Let that Gospel light of Christ shine in all that you say, think, and do.  Let the salt of God's Word and Sacraments work in your life and, through you, as God's salt shakers, in the lives of all those that He brings you into contact with. 

Let Christ work His plan His way and with His means (and make no mistake, those means do include you as His holy and precious little salt shakers and beacons of Gospel light);

Let Christ work and He will accomplish that which He purposes.  People will see and come to faith and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. 

That's what salting and lighting the earth is all about.  That's what true, faithful Christ-centered evangelism is all about.

Amen.

Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.  Amen.