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X: The Bible don't know chemistry oo. How can salt, sodium chloride, stop tasting salty? Impossible

Why Did Jesus Say “Salt Can Lose Its Saltiness”?
In Matthew 5:13, Jesus said:

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”

Now here’s the interesting part: pure salt (NaCl) never loses flavor. So what did He mean?

The Context
1. Back then, “salt” wasn’t pure. Much of it came from the Dead Sea—mixed with gypsum, dirt, and other minerals.
2. When exposed to rain or dampness, the real salt (sodium chloride) could leach out, leaving behind white powder that looked like salt but had no taste.
3. That useless residue was only good to be spread on roads to be trampled underfoot.

The Spiritual Lesson
Jesus was teaching that His disciples were meant to stand out—to preserve goodness in a corrupt world.
If they lost their distinctiveness (like salt losing saltiness), they’d still “look” religious but have no power or impact.
In other words: outward appearance without inward faithfulness is useless.

? Salt in the Old Testament
For His Jewish audience, “salt” carried covenant meaning too:

1. Leviticus 2:13 – Every offering had to be seasoned with the “salt of the covenant.”
2. Numbers 18:19 – God gave the priests a “covenant of salt forever.”
3. 2 Chronicles 13:5 – God’s promise to David was called a covenant of salt.

Salt symbolized permanence and faithfulness.

CONCLUSION
So when Jesus called us “the salt of the earth”:
He was saying: Preserve goodness in a decaying world.

Stay faithful like the covenant of salt—unchanging and enduring.

Don’t be like salt that looks pure but has no taste—outwardly religious, inwardly empty.

•• A fresh reminder: Being “salt” isn’t about having flavor for ourselves, but about preserving God’s covenant, showing faithfulness, and being a holy witness in a broken world.

Wow, I never knew the Dead Sea salt was that impure. Makes sense now why Jesus used that analogy. It’s deep - sometimes we still look like believers, but inside there’s nothing left to preserve.

I’ve always wondered about that verse! Thanks for the explanation. So the salt wasn’t “chemically” losing taste, but it was getting washed out until only useless residue remained. Thanks for sharing.

Good teaching. Today, we have pure salt that never spoils, but the lesson is still relevant. We can keep the “form” of religion but be completely tasteless to God. Sobering thought.

Reminds me of how we can be “Sunday Christians” but live opposite lives during the week. Outwardly white like salt, but inwardly empty. May God help us not to lose our saltiness.

Salt preserves meat from decay. Likewise, believers are supposed to hold back moral decay in the world. Thanks for sharing.

This explains why Christians who blend into the world lose impact. If there’s no difference, then there’s no preservation. Reminds me of 2 Timothy 3:5 about having a form of godliness but denying its power.

This makes me ask myself - am I really salty, or just white powder with no effect? A call for self-examination.

Really appreciate the historical context. Without knowing about Dead Sea salt, that verse is confusing.

Thanks for your points