The Barn Christian Fellowship

1.6 Salt Heals

2 Kings 2:21 

• 1.6.1 It is recorded that thousands of Napoleon's troops died during his retreat from Moscow because their wounds would not heal as a result of a lack of salt.

• 1.6.2 Believers are told that they are salt. Jesus didn't say, "Try to be salt " He said, "You are salt". This means that we are to instruments of healing:
• 1.6.2.1 Physically
• 1.6.2.2 Spiritually
• 1.6.2.3 Emotionally
• 1.6.2.4 Relationally

1.7 What if Salt loses its Savour?

• 1.7.1 Salt can lose its savour. How can a believer lose his savour?

• 1.7.2 Salt is not for itself. Salt is to be put on other things to preserve them, heal them.
• 1.7.2.1 Our lives are not for ourselves. In the same way that salt can become stagnant and stale, (and thereby lose its ability to season), so we lose our savour.
• 1.7.2.2 The way to stay "salty" is to stay in the Word and continue being a "doer" of the Word.
• 1.7.3 Salt can have power only as long as it is different from the surrounding mass and does not fall into decay itself. If it becomes tastelessly it must be spat out.

1.8 Additional Thoughts on Salt

• 1.8.1 All meat-offerings were seasoned with salt (Le 2:13)
• 1.8.2 To eat salt with one is to partake of his hospitality, to derive subsistence from him; and hence he who did so was bound to look after his host's interests (Ezra 4:14)
• 1.8.3 A "covenant of salt" (Nu 18:19 & 2Ch 13:5) was a covenant of perpetual obligation.
• 1.8.4 New-born children were rubbed with salt (Ezek 16:4)
• 1.8.5 When Abimelech took the city of Shechem, he sowed the place with salt, that it might always remain a barren soil (Jud 9:45)

Light as a Figure of Speech

1.9 Light can do one of two things:

• 1.9.1 It can dispel darkness or
• 1.9.2 It can attract.

• 1.10 Man can therefore also have two reactions to light:
• 1.10.1 Man can be attracted to light in order to experience the light or
• 1.10.2 Man can shrink away from the light in order to continue in darkness (sin).

John 3:19-21 

Spiritual Applications of Light

1.11 Jesus talks of being the "light of the world" - the responsibility of the believer is to "let" and not make his light shine. This means that a believer is not to force his witness.

• 1.11.1 There are 4 traps that we can fall into in trying to persuade people to accept the gospel[1]:
• 1.11.1.1 We can go overboard trying to convince people of the gospel. We may even alter it to make it more acceptable to worldly tastes.
• 1.11.1.2 We can rely on human methods such as emotional appeals, scare tactics etc to coerce people into Christianity.
• 1.11.1.3 We can become exasperated with people, start screaming at them or beating them with our Bibles. It's unneccessary. If they can't see a candle burning in the dark, they won't see appproaching headlights either. They are blind and you don't kick a blind man for walking into a ditch.
• 1.11.1.4 We may take their rejection personally. We may erroneously conclude that their lack of response is a result of our failure to persuade them. This sense of failure can prompt us to use our own persuasive efforts with greater intensity. We scream louder and play the hymn one more time.

1.12 We live in a world system where darkness dominates many areas. The believer's function is to dispel this darkness through the witness (including lifestyle) of the Lord Jesus.

Ephesians 5:8  1 Corinthians 4:5 

1.13 Notice that in order to be effective believers are not to cover their lights (V15). The believer who is ashamed of the gospel will hide his light as will the one who lacks boldness. (See Romans 1:16 & Prov 28:1)

1.14 Additional; thoughts on Light

• 1.14.1 Light is the life of men. John 1:4
• 1.14.2 Darkness cannot overcome light. John 1:5
• 1.14.3 Believing in the light delivers from darkness John 12:46; Acts 26:18
• 1.14.4 Satan can blind minds from the light of the gospel 2 Corinthians 4:4
• 1.14.5 Light and darkness don't mix 2 Corinthians 6:14
• 1.14.6 There can be an imitation of light. 2 Corinthians 11:14
• 1.14.7 Fellowship is based on light. 1 John 1:7; 1 John 2:9-10  

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