Luke Part 50: Counting the Cost and Being Salt

Text:  Luke 14:25-35

This section describes the cost of kingdom life.  A humble, committed faith is required to be part of the kingdom.  Are you wanting to rest and take your ease?  Wanting to play and enjoy recreation?

Jesus says, if you really want to follow Him:

You must hate everyone else, in comparison to your love to Him.  Who will you associate with first?  Christ and His followers, or your friends and relatives outside the kingdom.

You must take up your cross.  Everyone will have a cross to bear.  What is your cross?  Your own nature: your pride, ambition, selfishness.  These things must be battled against always.

There is a cost.  Christ tells the truth; He is not trying to "bait and switch".  This is a place of commitment where work is required.

You must sue for peace.  Like the king on the parable, who compares the armies, you must see that you can't win this fight, and you must do it fast.  You must commit yourself to the mercy of the coming King.  Nothing you can bring to Christ will satisfy Him.  Cast yourself on Him and withhold nothing if you are to be His disciple.

Finally, there is the picture of salt.  First, Jesus declares that "salt is good".  It is good to be a disciple of Christ!

Salt was valuable in the ancient world, and was known for several characteristics from which applications can be made:


Salt represented purity.  Salt's glistening whiteness suggests a life of holiness, of commitment to the highest moral and ethical standards.

Salt is a preservative.  Believers preserve society, offering a semblance of righteousness in this fallen world.  Believers preserve the truth of God's Word.

Salt is an antiseptic.  Salt treats wounds and provides (a painful) healing to sufferers -- the witness of believers brings a relief to those suffering with sin.

Salt makes people thirsty.  When the world sees us, we should make them thirsty for what we have.

Salt gives a pungency of flavor.  Salt is a flavor enhancer.  It makes things tasty.  In the same way, Christians should add a certain savor to life.

Note that Jesus didn't say, "You ought to be salt", but that "you are salt".  A true Christian will be salt to the world around him.

How does salt lose its savor?  Much of the salt around the Dead Sea was contaminated with gypsum.  In the same way, a life contaminated with sin will lose its savor.  Let us put away sin and be fully salty towards the world around us!