When we say that we are salt, it means that we exercise our influence over the earth created by God to keep it in its original condition. The earth, which was created by God, has become fallen. In a sense, it has become rotten and corrupted. Salt kills the germs and eliminates this rottenness. Any medical doctor can tell you that salt kills germs, eliminates rottenness, and preserves things in their original condition. By nature, salt is an element that kills the germs of corruption and eliminates them. Thus, through its killing and preserving function, salt brings the earth back to its original condition or keeps it in its original condition. Hence, the function of salt is to preserve what God has created. The entire earth is becoming more and more rotten. Therefore, we must exercise our influence over this corrupted earth. To the corrupted earth, the people of the kingdom of the heavens are the element that keeps the earth from being fully corrupted.
In verse 13 the Lord said, “But if the salt has become tasteless, with what shall it be salted? It is no longer good for anything but to be cast out and trampled under foot by men.” For the kingdom people to become tasteless means that they have lost their salting function. They have become the same as the earthly people, with nothing to distinguish them from unbelievers. To become tasteless is to lose the distinction between us and the worldly people. It is to become the same as the worldly ones. Being the same as the worldly people is the opposite of the nature revealed in verses 3 through 12. It means that we are no longer poor in spirit, mourning for the negative situation, meek, hungry and thirsty for righteousness, merciful, pure in seeking God, making peace, willing to be persecuted for the sake of righteousness, and willing to be reproached for Christ. It means that we live, walk, and behave like the worldly people. If such is our case, we become tasteless, and the salt has lost its function.
Lot’s wife is an illustration of this (Gen. 19:26). She became a pillar of salt, which indicates salt that has lost its function. When salt becomes a pillar, it cannot function, mainly because it has lost its taste. The fact that Lot’s wife became a pillar of salt is a strong warning to us not to lose the distinction between us and the world. We should never lose our taste, but maintain the salting function of killing germs, of eliminating rottenness, and of keeping things in their original condition or of bringing them back to their God-created condition.
Wherever the kingdom people are, they should exercise a salting influence over those around them. In our neighborhoods we must exercise our function of killing germs. But if we become the same as the worldly people, we lose our function and our taste. Because we have lost our taste, we no longer have the salting ability and we cannot fulfill our salting function. If we have the nature of the kingdom people revealed in the nine blessings, we shall be truly salty. We shall be salt to our relatives and in-laws. If we are poor in spirit, mourning, meek, righteous, merciful, and pure in seeking God, we shall have a salting function. There will be no need to rebuke others or to point out their mistakes and wrongdoings. They will be salted simply by our presence. Sometimes certain evil ones will stay away from us because we are so salty. This is what it means to kill the germs of this rotten earth.
The Lord’s intention is to bring this earth back to its original condition. Although we cannot see this in the present age, we shall see it in the next age. When the millennial kingdom comes, the whole earth will be salted. All the germs on this earth will be utterly killed, and the whole earth will be not only regained by Christ, but also brought back to its God-created condition. This work will be done by the kingdom people.
In verse 13 the King said that salt which has lost its taste will be cast out and trampled under foot by men. To be cast out is to be put away from the kingdom of the heavens (Luke 14:35). To be trampled under foot by men is to be treated as useless dust.