Thoughts on Losing our Saltiness (Matthew 5:13)

In Matthew 5:13 Jesus tells his followers, "you are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet."

"You are the salt of the earth..."

This is a popular passage that countless preachers and theologians have taught on. Salt was important in the ancient world because of how it preserved food. Since there were no refrigerators meat would begin to rot unless it was properly salted. In the same way sin makes the world go rotten and the preservative against this are Jesus' followers who would later be empowered by the Holy Spirit as they continually submitted to Christ. The first part of this passage is immensely popular (at least it is in Evangelical preaching) and there is always room to expand this metaphor in light of the rest of Scripture and discern practical applications but my thoughts right now are on the rest of the passage.

"If salt has lost its taste..."

what is Jesus talking about here? Generally speaking salt does not lose its saltiness. You can grind it up, dump it in water, and use it to preserve your food but it will not become any less salty. Scientifically speaking common table salt is a very stable compound (Sodium Chloride [NaCl]). The only way for salt to lose its saltiness is for it to cease to be salt via a chemical reaction which changes it into a different compound.1 We could apply this understanding to Jesus' followers by saying that for them to "lose their saltiness" is for them to cease being Jesus' followers. After all, it is Jesus who provides the "saltiness" necessary to preserve the world from decay through the work of the Holy Spirit as Jesus' followers continue in active faith. This is a nice thought and I believe it's true but it is probably not the exact same truth that Jesus was communicating to the original audience at this time since the Holy Spirit had not arrived yet and nobody had a scientific understanding of the atomic structure of salt.

So what is Jesus talking about then? Most commentaries you pick up will say something along the lines that this is a figure of speech for an ineffective Christianity that is either too watered down by the philosophies of the world or becomes dispirited when called to the difficulties of indignation and persecution. This is the most common explanation but there are difficulties with this reading because persecution of Jesus' followers' would not have been a reality yet, although it is possible that Jesus was preparing them for such.

One explanation that I had not heard before that I think warrants some investigation is the idea that Jesus is talking about the salt in the temple that was for sacrificial use.2  Jesus was a Jew speaking to Jews and the Book of Matthew was written by a Jew specifically for the Jews so it should not come to anyone's surprise that Jesus might be making a distinctively Jewish reference. The implications of this interpretation will be made clear further on as it is this interpretation that I would like to explore.

An aside on exegeting the Scriptures as a Christian.

Here is the amazing thing about interpreting the Scriptures, each of the interpretations above may be different but they are all valid. Tracking down the precise meaning and intention of the text and how the original audience understood it is only the beginning of exegesis. Within Christianity the Holy Spirit relates the meaning of Scripture to the minds and hearts of Christians not necessarily by providing a precise knowledge of original context but rather by relating the intended meaning to the context of the reader. There are always multiple interpretations that arise out of different contexts but if they are truly interpretations that are from the Holy Spirit then they will agree with each other in spirit and be consistent with the rest of Scripture. Let us now continue with idea that Jesus is making a reference to sacrificial salt from the temple.

"how shall its saltiness be restored?"

The universal understanding is that this is a rhetorical question implying that it is an impossibility. Once salt has lost its saltiness it cannot be made salty again. This is an unnatural thing though because salt does not lose its saltiness.3

"It is no longer good for anything..."

Salt's purpose is to preserve and make savoury. If it no longer does these things then what else is it good for? Nothing. As Gill explains,

"Salt is good for nothing, but to make things savoury, and preserve from putrefacation; and when it has lost its savour, it is of no use, neither to men nor beasts, as some things are when corrupted; nor is it of any use to the land, or dunghill, for it makes barren, and not fruitful: so ministers of the word, when they have dropped the savoury doctrines of the Gospel, or have quitted their former seeming savoury and exemplary conversations; as their usefulness is gone, so, generally speaking, it is never retrieved; they are cast out of the churches of Christ, and are treated with contempt by everyone."4

Pastors, Priests, and anyone who claims to be a Christian but falls away from Christ into immorality are indeed treated with contempt by everyone. Priests who molest children, pastors who beat their families, Christians who pass judgement on the world while doing as the world does, they are all (severe) examples of salt that has become useless.

"except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet."

This is where interpreting the salt as sacrificial salt of the temple makes a difference. The common understanding is that being trampled under people's feet is to be treated with the utmost scorn and contempt. Ellicott picks up a different nuance though in that temple salt that was unfit for sacrifices was spread out on wet surfaces so that the priests would not slip while they walked.5 If this is what Jesus is referring to then unsalty salt actually does have a use, it keeps the priests from falling. Or to put it another way, the fate of Christians who fall away from Christ / become ineffective / sacrifice their witness for sinful indulgence / etc. serve as a warning to other Christians of what will happen if they do the same thing. In seeing the brokenness in the lives of friends and colleagues that have fallen away Christians who learn from the mistakes of others are better equipped and prevented from falling themselves.

This may not be the precise meaning Jesus communicated to the original audience but I think it still has its merit as a reasonable interpretation and a truth that I have encountered in my own life. Allow me to share a personal anecdote.

I remember while in college and seminary I had a number of friends in the college, one of whom continually ignored his responsibilities as a Christian and knew it. Without going into any detail lets just say that he (and everyone around him including non-Christians) knew that he was not a good Christian. By his last semester I couldn't figure out why he was even there since his life was a mess and he seemed determined to not learn anything or change his ways. I had seen every type of loving care extended to him from godly instruction to tough love confrontation to gentle pastoral care but nothing would inspire him to live for Christ. The explanation came from another friend of mine who knew the situation, "maybe he's one of those friends God puts in our lives for us to learn from..." This put his struggles into perspective. He might not get any benefit from being there but the rest of us did by watching the desolation of his godless walk continually unfold. Salt that needed to be thrown out because it had become useless for its intended purpose was being used so that others would be sharpened in fulfilling their intended purposes.

I think this is an intended good that God brings about when we refuse to follow him.

There is still one question that presses for an answer though. If salt that loses its saltiness cannot be made salty again then what happens to Christians who fall away from Christ? Are we to conclude that Christians who lose their witness or fall away from Christ are without hope?

No. Salt that is no longer salt cannot become salt again of its own will but God is able to do the impossible. The warning is strict and the illustration is vivid but I don't think Jesus is talking about simply lapsing into sin or losing salvation because you made a mistake. Christian faith is founded upon God's grace which is instantly and abundantly available to any who repent of their sins. This isn't a "if you mess up you'll be thrown out of the Kingdom and not allowed back in," rather it is "if you completely turn your back on Jesus and wallow gleefully in your sin knowing full well that it is evil and enjoying it anyway without remorse or repentance."

I think there are times when a Christian loses his saltiness, so to speak, when his sins wreck his witness and even after repentance and forgiveness he must live with the consequences. A pastor who is caught in a scandal or abuse is not fit for ministry and so his participation in the Kingdom is restricted.

Thoughts? Comments? Please write them below.

Greg Out.




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1. Deneen White, "How does Salt Lose its Saltiness?" on i was MADE for this, (Blog) 6 January 2007, http://deneenwhite.com/2007/01/06/how-does-salt-lose-its-saltiness/
2. Charles J. Ellicott, "Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers," on Bible Hub, (website) http://biblehub.com/commentaries/ellicott/matthew/5.htm.
3. John Gill, "Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible." on Bible Hub, (website) http://biblehub.com/commentaries/gill/matthew/5.htm.
4. John Gill, "Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible." on Bible Hub, (website) http://biblehub.com/commentaries/gill/matthew/5.htm.
5. Charles J. Ellicott, "Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers," on Bible Hub, (website) http://biblehub.com/commentaries/ellicott/matthew/5.htm.