Salted with Fire. Mark 9:49-50.
“For everyone will be salted with fire. “Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves; and be at peace with one another.”
Dear Royal Priesthood,
This brief passage is one of the most intriguing in the whole gospel of Mark. We do not know exactly what it means but we can infer some things and reach a fairly reasonable interpretation.
Tested (v. 49).In the backdrop of the fires of hell that are not quenched, Jesus says that everyone will be salted with fire. Salt was offered alongside other offerings (Leviticus 2:13), most likely symbolic of seasoning and preservation. Fire on the other hand is a means of testing and purification (1 Corinthians 3:13-14). This could be a warning to believers that they should expect to suffer but that they will be as an offering to God in their purity.
Tasteless (v. 50a).Continuing the salt narrative, Jesus hints that salt that has lost its saltiness cannot be restored to usefulness. This points not to salvation but to testimony. Once a person’s testimony is soiled by sin, the person may truly repent and change, but people will remember and always doubt the authenticity of the person’s faith.
Tasty (v. 50b).The best way to ensure continuity of one’s good testimony is to be “salty.” This means living a life that is above reproach and maintaining healthy relationships with others. This is so because the world will conclude that our faith is true if we love one another (John 13:35. Unfortunately, the opposite is also true. If the world observes strife, jealousy, divisions, and quarreling among Christians, it will conclude that our faith is not genuine. We are called to be the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13). Have we lost our saltiness because we have not made effort to have healthy relationships with one another?
Your Loving Pastor Chris.