Salted with Fire

Salted with Fire
Words of Faith 1-31-2024
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2024
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

Mark 9
[49] Everyone will be salted with fire.
[50] "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other."

The commentators call this an "enigmatic statement." It is hard to understand. The meaning is difficult to interpret. It seems to be a mixed metaphor-- salt and fire. Do you suppose Jesus just got mixed up? Or is there an error in the Word? Not likely.
Salt is a symbol of preservation. Salt was used to preserve meat. Salt was even used to preserve sacrifices (Lev. 2:13; Ezek. 43:24). Fire, on the other hand, symbolizes purification. The refiner's fire burns away impurities. Fire burns away the wood, hay, and stubble.
What Jesus is saying is that the refining fire actually preserves us. The refining fire of trial and difficulty burns away impurities that might otherwise cause us to fall away. Refining is more than just an unpleasant option. It is an equal opportunity necessity. Do you remember the words of James? "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything" (James 1:2‑4). Trials are the fire that salts us-- preserves us.

This is also a problematic verse because it is unclear who "everyone" is. Is "everyone" all believers? All disciples? Or all people? This likely refers to believers because those who do not have a saving relationship with Christ will see fire, but it will not preserve them. Fire is salt only when there is saving grace. Only when we have called upon the grace offered by the Lord is the fire of trial purifying. Without His grace, the fire is just devastating.
If this is true, then the following statement is critical. [50] "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again?" God is at work to refine us. But if we "lose our saltiness"-- our preservation-- how can we be made salty again?
Suppose we deliberately work against the purification of God in our lives. How can we be made salty again and again and again? The question is left unanswered, but we know how casual repentance can become when we return again and again to the same sin. The salt loses its saltiness.
There is only this stark warning: [50b] "Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other." In other words, have the preserving work of Christ in you, and be at peace with one another. Christ's preserving work will manifest in many ways, especially in your relationships with other believers.
How is your walk with God right now? Is it pure? Refined? Have the trials and difficulties that have come your way worked toward salting you? Or have you resisted the work of Christ in you? Have you lost your saltiness? This is often evident because we are not at peace with ourselves or others in Christ's body. Are you salted? Salted with fire?

Lord, I confess how easy it has been to resist Your work of purification in my life. Lord, salt me. Preserve me with the refining fire of Your Spirit. Use the difficulties of my life to refine me. Make me into Your image. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< ><> <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2024
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SUBSCRIPTIONS - To receive the Words of Faith devotion five days a week, send an e-mail message addressed to join-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. To stop receiving Words of Faith, send an e-mail message addressed to unsubscribe-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. The daily devotion and archive are posted at https://www.faithfellowshipweb.com/blog
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2024 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.