Staying Salty

 

 

"John said to Him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us." But Jesus said, "Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. For he who is not against us is for us. For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward."

"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, [where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.] If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell, [where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.] If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.

"For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another."

Mark 9:38-50

 

Good Morning my beloved,

We welcome you to worship in the name of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We are so blessed to have this rich portion of Scripture before us today as we return to our study of Mark. This is not only a vital lesson for the disciples, but also for all of us today. Have you ever noticed, the more comfortable we become being a Christian, the more we have accomplished, the more we think we’ve got everything figured out, the less concerned we are about our own personal holiness and the more concerned we are about the actions of those around us? I dare say it's time we begin to face the issue of pride, and examine the log in our own eye before we go around pointing out the specks that are in others, as Jesus continues to teach His disciples, past and present, these critical lessons on humility. 

 

We often talk about the fallen nature that plagues the culture around us, the sinful characteristics of an unregenerate society, the selfishness, self centeredness, self promotion and sexual immorality and there's an awful lot of truth in that, however, in a very real sense, there is just as many moral failures in the church, among those who claim that they belong to God and follow Jesus Christ, including pastors. That's why I firmly believe it's really very important to be anchored in the truth, and equally important that we  hold each other accountable, in both our words and our actions. Being anchored in the Truth means valuing the truth above all else, it means being honest with ourselves and others, even when it is difficult or uncomfortable. It is essential that we who represent Christ uphold biblical standards and maintain integrity in our personal lives, especially when it is challenging. The world is watching, scrutinizing our every move, but more importantly, all of heaven is watching so we need to own our hypocrisy, and live out our faith like never before.

Let's pray
 
Heavenly Father,
 
Father, we thank You for Your Word, the Truth that confronts our sinful nature. Lord, we confess that while our hearts long to please You, we often struggle to manifest the characteristics of Christ with everything that’s going on in the world around us. Help us to be faithful to You in every difficult situation we face, especially when we're tempted to react from our fallen flesh and follow the course where sin leads us. Thank You for reminding us that we too need to change, if we are to enter into Your Kingdom. Humble us and make us faithful to apply these timeless Truths to our lives. We ask and pray in Jesus' name
Amen

Today's Message: Staying Salty

This portion of Scripture is often neglected in the church today, a church that has been so busy trying to find ways to make the Gospel more palatable, because of it's offensiveness and the severity of our Lord's message. But you have to understand, there's only one way to preach the Gospel and that is to preach the Truth. As pastors and church leaders, we are responsible to communicate the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, whether it offends unbelievers, or makes superficial Christians uncomfortable or not. It doesn't matter whether or not it's popular, politically correct or socially acceptable, because as strange as it may seem, the Gospel is equally hated by non-believers and many professing believers. That's definitely not exactly a seeker friendly message to preach on a given Sunday, is it?

Even when Jesus walked the earth, as long as He was turning water into wine, everybody loved Him and as soon as He challenged their beliefs, they tried to kill Him. And when He confronted the false religious establishment of His day, condemning their wicked deeds as an extension of the evil religious system and declared they needed salvation just as much the whole sinful human race, they eventually had Him arrested, beaten and crucified. Pride allows a sinful man to create a delusional image of himself to convince him that he is generally good and his deeds are anything but wicked. Because coming to Christ requires a radical change of behavior, God, powerfully uses His Word to penetrate and crush a sinners hardened heart, making it humble, contrite and penitent. A sinner, committed to his sin, can no more humble himself, bring himself to genuine repentance than he can raise himself from the dead. Only God has the power to accomplish any of that. I believe this is a very fitting message for the day in which we live, where there is so much superficiality and spiritual emptiness in the church.

 

Open your Bible with me as we come to the end of Mark chapter 9, verses 38 through 50. I invite you to follow along with me as I read to set the text in our minds. Let us open our hearts and minds and see how the Lord might use us to impact the lives of others.

"John said to Him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us." But Jesus said, "Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. For he who is not against us is for us. For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward."

"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, [where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.] If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell, [where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.] If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.

"For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another."

 

Let's look at verse 38, "John said to Him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us." Pride, though broken at the point of our salvation, didn't die because it's part of our fallen nature and therein lies the ongoing battle in the life of a believer. Several decades ago, psychologists decided that a society, already dominated by pride, lacks the self-esteem necessary for achieving one’s full potential. Fueling an already self-centered society, by giving people the tools to manipulate the people around them as well as control their circumstances, to boost their fragile ego, void of consideration for others, creating narcissistic society who tends to react negatively when held responsible for their behavior. 

 

The disciples needed to learn humility, to fight against self-exaltation and pride, just like we do. One of the ways we see pride manifest itself is exclusivity. Of all the churches I've visited, it's shocking how many have their own little cliques, who are more interested opinions and influence rather than pleasing God. And, most are not overly friendly to outsiders. Apparently, they've missed the verse that states For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life, "whoever" implies there are no "cliques" of superiority in God's kingdom. I believe that God speaking in this season, saying it's time the church move away from a church focus, and we need to develop a kingdom focus. Allow me to remind you His kingdom is promised to anyone who loves God, who repents turns away from sin and puts their faith in Christ. That does not mean we compromise on sin. I love hearing how God is using His people to make a kingdom impact.

 

Perhaps John is experiencing some exclusivity issues here in verse 38, when he says "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us." Unfortunately, we don’t know any more about who this someone was, he may have been part of seventy the Lord ordained to cast out demons, when He sent them out in pairs, but if he's casting out demons in Christ's name, it God Who was doing it. It’s ironic the nine failed in their attempt to cast out a demon and here John doesn't like the fact that someone who is not part of the group is having some spiritual success. They were not only competitive with each other, but they didn’t want anybody else succeeding outside their group.

 

Verse 39, "But Jesus said, "Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me." Jesus is affirming in verse 40, they're either for us or against us. If he did it in His name, if he was enabled by God, it's the verb "dýnamai," meaning empowered, we’re on the same team. Differences don’t have to divide us, as long as we believe the right doctrine. Make no mistake, doctrine does matter which is why I won’t partner with certain church leaders and ministries, but we don’t have to agree on every fine point, just because somebody doesn’t do it exactly the way you do and I do, doesn't necessarily mean they're doing it wrong. There are no real competitors among true believers, I am reminded of the apostle Paul's words in Philippians 1, "Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice." We not the only servants God has, let us give thanks and accept that God is at work in in the hearts and lives of others throughout the world.

 

Verse 41 is the heart of the message, "For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward." How often do we pass over such commonplace acts?  Giving someone a cool drink of water is insignificant and easily forgotten. Do you remember who last refreshed you through some insignificant act of kindness? I doubt it, such acts are not long remembered. But allow me to offer you some rich encouragement, God knows if you are one who refreshes others. He sees and takes note of even the smallest, quiet acts of love performed in His Name. There have been a number of times a simple thanks gave me strength to work another day. I was refreshed and enabled to return to the task that God had assigned to me. Life’s sweetest moments are often found thoughtful words and gestures. Our Lord reigns over both the giver and the receiver. Keep this truth in mind, our godly motives are what please God, and these correct motives should always come before our actions. Actions, no matter how big or small divorced from the correct motives are meaningless. Let us remember to give thanks to God for those who refresh us.

 

Jesus is saying if you end up at the bottom, you're going to lose the reward. In fact, by demonstrating sacrificial kindness to one who belongs to Christ, you'll gain it. He talking about what genuine humility looks like, because the disciples were still too full of themselves. The minute you think you're humble, you're not. True humility regards others as more important than yourself. Christ is our example, He didn't lose His reward by becoming a servant, being obedient even unto death, did He? Of course not. Matthew 23:11-12, says "But the greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted." Let me remind you of an essential truth, you cannot achieve humility without first receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. You may be a straight as the barrel of a shot gun theologically, and just as empty.

From the onset of His ministry, Jesus' has been inviting people into the kingdom of heaven and become His disciple through a radical change of life. The first thing He began to preach and say is, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." In Mark chapter 1, verse 15, He said "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." Radical discipleship requires radical love, radical purity, radical sacrifice, and radical obedience. 

 

Verse 42, "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea." This is very strong language spoken by our Lord Jesus, consistent with His teaching about the severity of sin and the harsh reality of Hell. If we ignore them, we do so at our own peril. It is not a deviation, as some Christians have suggested. One of the many reasons I'm an advocate expository preaching is we’re forced to deal with passages we’d rather avoid. In fact, most pastors today wouldn't even consider preaching a sermon on the severity of sin and the reality of Hell. Here, He calls us to love radically, so that we do not lead a follower of Christ to sin. The word Jesus uses for stumbling is the verb "skandalízō," meaning to entice, to hinder right conduct or thought. I imagine most Christians today don’t even consider how their attitudes and actions can cause a fellow Christ-follower to fall into sin. But here Jesus is warning us it is a very serious offense! That's why Jesus cautions us to deal severely with anything that causes us to sin. 

 

Many churchgoers have chosen to ignore this clear warning, saying "Well, I have liberty in Christ to do whatever I want." While you might have liberty in some areas, it is our love for Christ and our brothers and sisters in Christ, that dictates that which you do! The disciples would have been aware that the Romans sometimes carried out executions by tying heavy stones around the necks of people and throwing them into rivers and lakes. Yet, Jesus is saying as horrifying as death is wearing a several ton millstone necklace and being thrown into the sea is, it is more preferable than causing a fellow follower of Christ to fall into sin. We can expect the world under the influence of Satan to seduce believers, enticing them into sin, but in Matthew 18, Jesus extends His denunciation to anyone, including those in the household of God. "Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!" Fellow believers are inseparable from both Christ, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit. So, best you be careful of the example you set.  

 

In these next several verses, Jesus uses even stronger language to communicate cutting off anything that causes you to sin, by using the graphic illustration of whacking off a limb to deal drastically with sin. I hasten to add, replacing one with another or covering it up will get you nowhere. In fact, covering up sin only makes it worse, by adding the sin of hypocrisy. That is the thing for which Jesus rebuked the Pharisees in Matthew 25. They avoided fornication and adultery, but they tolerated lusting after a woman, which is just another sin.

 

Look at verse 43, "If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire." It is pretty clear what Jesus is saying, better to enter the kingdom of God with one hand than to be thrown into Hell with both hands. Obviously, this is only a metaphor because sin doesn’t start in our hands; it starts in our hearts. The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. Jesus uses this illustration because He wants us to understand how drastically all sin, any sin must be dealt with. Nothing is so valuable, no sacrifice is too great that it is worth going to Hell over.  British missionary C.T. Studd said "If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him."

 

The way you deal with sin is to expose it, bring it out in the open. James says in James 5:16, "Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." Then, denounce it for what it is, sin is evil, vile, wickedness! The goal is to continue doing it until you hate it as much as God does. It's one thing to say you're a Christian, committed to living for the Lord Jesus Christ. It's another thing to say you're a Christian and have somebody ask you, "Then, why are you living in sin?" The English theologian John Owen wrote in his book The Mortification of Sin, "Be killing sin or it will be killing you." That's great advice. 

 

Sin must to taken to the Gospel until it's put to death, completely eradicated from our lives. If sin remains unconfronted with the Truth of the Gospel, the heart will forever make provisions to fulfill its lusts. Let's be honest, many contemporary Christians have become far too comfortable with their sin, they're no longer ashamed of it. Considering the immense grace and mercy we've been shown, how can anyone who claims to be a Christian show such contempt toward the cross of Christ?

 

We're going to bypass verses 44 and 46 because they do not appear in the original Greek and Hebrew manuscripts until verse 48. We can assume some scribe added it along the way, because they are shown in the newer translations with brackets around them.

Verse 45, "If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell." Again, Jesus is not advocating physical mutilation but rather spiritual mortification, if your feet are taking you to a place that leads you to an act of sin, cut this activity off. In November of 2003, Aron Ralston was named GQ's Survivor of the Year. While he was hiking in eastern Utah, an 800-pound boulder became dislodged, crushing his left hand into the left-side wall and then ricocheted back and trapped his right arm. Ralston had not told anyone of his plans to go hiking, so he knew no one would be searching for him and if he didn’t get free, he would die. After being trapped for five days, weighing all of his options, Aron using the canyon wall as a cutting board, he took his dull pocketknife and cut off his forearm. He then fell nearly 70 feet and hiked three hours before he was rescued. After the ordeal, he said "I think the boulder was put there to teach me something. In some ways, this whole thing has been the greatest thing that's happened to me."If Aron wanted to live, he knew he had no other alternative. It was either lose a limb and live, or keep it and die. If you're struggling with sin, you're basically facing the same dilemma. The question is what sin do you need to cut off in order to live in holiness, righteousness, and purity? Or are you going to keep it and choose Hell?

Verse 47, Jesus uses the same type of graphic illustration, "If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell." The word "hell," is the Hebrew term Gehenna, which comes from the Valley of Hinnom, it always refers to an actual lake of fire. It's background is quite disgusting.  It's also called the Valley of Topheth, the Valley of Ben-hinnom or the Valley of Slaughter by the prophet Jeremiah. By the way, Topheth is the Hebrew word for drum, according to some historians, the drums were used to drown out the screaming of the burning babies who were thrown into the fiery arms of Moloch, the false deity having the form of a bull. These sacrifices were so detestable, how did they ever stoop so low as to seek to appease a pagan god by sacrificing their children? A Christians, we're not to pursue sin in total defiance of the Word of God. Until we deal severely with the sin in our life, we haven’t even begun to be disciples of Christ. If we ignore our sin, we'll end up in Hell, that's the point.

By the way, King Josiah abolished that horrendous place and turned it into Jerusalem’s refuse dump, where the fire was constantly fed by incoming garbage. Which is why verse 48 describes Hell, as the place "where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched." It's interesting to note this a direct quote from Isaiah 66:24, which says "Then they will go forth and look on the corpses of the men who have transgressed against Me. For their worm will not die and their fire will not be quenched; And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind."

 

Note the word, "their" worm, each worm is assigned to a person in hell and represents the torments of the conscience eating away with unending remorse and regret of past sin. The unquenchable “fire” refers to unending external physical torment. In the New Testament, Hell is mentioned thirteen times and eleven of those were by Jesus. The other two times were mentioned by James in James 3:6 and Peter in 2 Peter 2:4. I guess that must strike a pretty devastating blow to those who think He only spoke about "peace, love and tolerance." Jesus did not come to abolish God's moral law, where no one will be judged as many have suggested, but He placed a greater application of them. How tragic it is that the majority of Christians today applaud the Sermon on the Mount and have no clue as to what Jesus is teaching! If we do not deal with sin severely and obey even the least of Christ's commandments from the heart, we are in danger of Judgment. Those who are deceived by false teaching, thinking they can live anyway they want and still claim salvation through Christ, are tragically going to experience the wrath of God. How poorly some Christians represent our Lord, affirming all the negative perceptions that people have about Christians.

Verse 49, "For everyone will be salted with fire." Many find this verse difficult to understand. The Old Testament says that salt has to be stored up to be used in sacrifices. Jesus is not talking about a sin offering. Salt is a preservative, symbolic of God’s enduring faithfulness and fire purifies and burns up unwanted character traits. We are that sacrifice. He's talking about a life-long sacrifice of consecration, permanently dedicating ones life in service to Christ. We do this by living a life that is acceptable to God. That's what Paul wrote in Romans 12, "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." The Christian life mixed with the values of the world is useless. Remember Jesus' words in Matthew 5:13, "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men." 

That brings us to verse 50, "Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another." True God fearing, Christ following Christians are the only godly influences this world has, we are called to be the salt of the earth, stop being the reason people are mocking Christ! Stop leading others into sin by your actions. By the way, He's speaking to His disciples, "have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another" is a command. We’re called to willingly embrace the purifying fires of trials and sufferings as a sacrifice for God's glory. It's interesting that the word "salary" comes from the Latin word for salt. Roman soldiers were paid their wages in salt, that’s where the phrase, "not worth your salt" comes from. We need to intentionally live salty lives, to influence those who are lost, making them thirsty for Jesus. 

 

The final challenge presented to us in this passage, is to "be at peace with one another." Argumentative and quarreling Christians damage their witness for Christ. Remember, earlier the disciples were arguing about their personal status and group superiority. Why does this struggle go on among Christians? The sin of pride remaining in us. People are obedient to that which they are committed. Beloved, don't waste your time on worldly pursuits that will pass away. Set your heart and affections on the things above and be at peace with one another.

May it be so..

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make His face shine upon you,

And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.

Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen

 
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