Covenant Compass Plus

  Matthew 5:13–16 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men” (5:13).  Introduction:  In the Beatitudes which we have just considered we have eight facets of the Christian character. Then the Master moves on to show that Christian character leads to Christian conduct.  What a man is inwardly will be revealed outwardly in terms of influence—“You are the salt of the earth …” (5:13); and radiance—“You are the light of the world …” (5:14—to be considered in our next study).  The Savior was ever using metaphors to illustrate deep spiritual principles. In the Sermon on the Mount alone He employs no less than forty-eight figures of speech. The one we are considering today is that of salt.  I. The Figure of the Salt: “You are the salt of the earth …” (5:13). Throughout Scripture the figure of salt is used to denote:  1) The Q...