What did Christ mean when he talked about salt losing its saltiness in Luke14:34-35?

Question

What significance did salt have in ancient Jewish tradition, or in early Christian tradition?

What is a salt covenant?

How should Christians be like salt?

Answer 1

HERES A REAL ANSWER -
Salt is for flavour ENHANCING! when i put salt on my hot chips - it tastes great!
As christians Jesus is telling us to be like salt - to get into the world, change the flavour, and ENHANCE it!
There is no real correlation between any Jewish custom and salt - what i think Jesus was getting at was this:
1. salt enhances the flavour of a meal
2. spread out! hear me out on this one. We agree that salt makes food taste better right? but only when its spread right throughout the meal! imagine me and my hot chips again but with all the salt intended for a large chips all over ONE CHIP! disgusting and too much right?! So Jesus is telling us to get out there in the midst of everyone that isn't 'salty' - and to not just get introspective in our christianity - its a lifestyle that is proactive and outward focussed!

Jesus then takes it a step further - He even goes to the extent of saying that if you dont stay salty you'll LOSE your saltiness.
To understand it don't look excessively deep into this one - here's the key - if salt doesn't taste like salt whats the point of putting it into anything? its lost the whole point of being salt!
ie if christians stop doing the stuff that enhances and affects humanity (preaching the gospel, bringing healing and restoration, bringing God's presence into circumstances, making life unforgettable for our non christian friends etc) whats the point of them being christian?
Heres the facts of what Jesus was saying - Christian is as christian does - otherwise whats the point?!
Have a great day!

Answer 2

I think it has several meanings. But the one I always remember the most is that different Christians have different personalities. If everyone was the same, what a boring world it would be. So, our personality adds *flavor* to the world. And, if we just hide ourselves away and don't go out into the non believing world and give our Christian testimony to others, then we no longer can add *flavor* to the world. I don't know what a salt covenant is. I never even heard of it. But we can be like salt by simply being ourselves when we give our testimony to others. We all have our different talents. We should use them to help lead people to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Peace.

Answer 3

Salt was used an a acronym. Salt is used in food to give it some flavor. Salt is used in place of Christians. Christians are here on earth to add flavor/make difference to a sinful world. If Christians loose their ability to make a difference, then what can it be used for? Just like salt, you use salt to make a difference in your food to get a desired end. Christians are used in a sinful world to make a difference against good and evil. If Christians do not make a difference they are no different than any one else.

Answer 4

If salt loses its saltiness it has no use. Salt adds flavor to a meal. It complements it. If Christians are to be effective, we need to be impacting the world positively and not allow our morals and values to be influenced by the world's values. Some groups have done this by accepting homosexual marriage as valid or molesting children or compromising on anything the Bible says, such as creation, biblical history or morals. We need to stick to God's Word and not worry about being called "outdated." The fact that we're called that shows the world's lack of wisdom. Truth is never outdated, or it wouldn't be truth. There are absolutes that need to be followed, and if we compromise on those, then we've lost a part of what Christianity means.

Answer 5

Like most things JC said it has been taken too seriously. It was a simple observation he made at tea one night along the lines of "mmm, isn't it funny how salt loses it's saltiness over time." The bible has simply misquoted him and Christianity has somehow gained mass power over people by making a big deal out of someones life.

I have no idea how to answer your other questions. Is there a reverend in the house?

Answer 6

Salt was very important in ancient cultures and was used as money, and to preserve food. A salt covenant was a binding agreement (read the book "Salt: A World History" by Mark Kurlansky for lot of fascinating salty tidbits of trivia)

More interesting to me are the preceeding verses that are usually ignored by Xians.

14:26 If any man come to me, and hate NOT his father, and mother, and wife, and children,and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
(ie, you must hate yourself and everyone you know to be a christian)

14:33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
(i.e. you must give up ALL you have to be a christian...some of the pinky ring wearing megachurch evangelicals should read this verse)

Answer 7

In the ancient world, SALT was often used as a catalyst for burning fuel such as cattle dung. The SALT of the time was impure and could lose its strength over time, becoming useless. The creator point is that the same is true of a "saltless" disciple

Answer 8

Salt was always used as both a flovoring and a preservative.

Without the ability to add flavor, it's very weak, and hardly makes a difference.

Without the ability to preserve, all it brings is corruption and decay.

Regarding a salt covenant, go here:

http://www.homeworship101.com/fyi_salt_covenant.htm

Answer 9

Salt is used to stimulate thirst. As a follower of Jesus Christ, a Christian should stimulate that same kind of thirst, the kind that can only be satisfied by finding the living water....Jesus. We are to point to Him, to the cross, to the way He asked us to live, in a way that people want to know more of Him.

Answer 10

When jesus talked about the salt he was saying that we should be different than the world and set apart from how the world opperates. Salt simpley means that your different.