Scriptures; Psalm 19:7-14, James 5:14-20.
Sermon Scripture; Mark 9:38-50.
Sermon title; “Salt is Good”
Psalm 19:7-14.
(7) The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
(8) The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
(9) The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous.
(10) They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.
(11) By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
(12) Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults.
(13) Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression.
(14) May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord , my Rock and my Redeemer.
James 5:14-20
The Prayer of Faith
(13) Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. (14) Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. (15) And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. (16) Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
(17) Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. (18) Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
(19) My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, (20) remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
Mark 9:38-50
Whoever Is Not Against Us Is For Us
(38) “Teacher,” said John, “we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”
(39) “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, (40) for whoever is not against us is for us. (41) I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.
(42) “And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck. (43) If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. (44, 45) And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. (46, 47) And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, (48) where ” ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’ (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.”
This is the word of God, for the people of God.
Thanks be to God.
In our Gospel reading this morning, Jesus is teaching the disciples about the seriousness of sin and then at the end of the lesson he seems to change the subject, and teach about salt.
Let’s read verses 49 and 50 again.”Everyone will be salted with fire. “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.”
I think the disciples,and probably most of you, myself included, were a bit confused in these last statements.”Everyone will be salted with fire. “Salt is good,”. Or the question; “if it (salt) loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again?” fit with this teaching. And does his instructions to us;”Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”, bring it all together? Did the disciples? Do we, have a clue what he is saying or take his instructions seriously? Is he taking about table salt? Maybe he’s talking about salt as sin and how it effects our lives. Or is he teaching about discipline, self-discipline, and how it’s needed to be one of his disciple? Let’s take a closer look.
In our Gospel reading today, Jesus is like a doctor who gave the man a complete physical, then had a serious talk with him about what would be his best.
He told him, “Joe, the best way to improve your health is for you to give up salt and fats, quit smoking, jog two miles a day, stop drinking, and get eight hours of sleep a night.”
Joe thought about this for a few minutes, then said, “You know, Doc, I just don’t deserve the best. What’s second best?”
To often we don’t like the advice given or take it seriously enough to heed the instructions of someone looking out for our best interest. We’re like the little girl who had been naughty, so she was sent to her room for a quiet time. Afterward, all smiles, she returned to her family, saying, “I prayed to God.”
“That’s good,” said her mother. “Did you pray that God would help you be a good girl?”
“No,” she replied. “I prayed that God would help you put up with me.”
Many of us are like that little girl. We do wrong, but rather than repenting of our sins, we pray that God will put up with us. And why not? It’s our nature to sin; it’s God’s nature to forgive. Some of us have that attitude.
When I first started to title my sermon this week, I thought of titling it;”Gouge your Eye out Sunday” or “Amputation Week” because of the seriousness of the scriptures and their call for our need of self-discipline. Instead I titled it “Salt is Good “ so that it would have a more Christ like-positive message.
I think it’s safe to say that Jesus is serious about sin. To put it mildly, he stressed that sin was a bad idea. To put it bluntly, he thought that it would be better for us to go through life without one or more appendages than to sin, and especially, to cause someone who believes in him to sin. That, I believe, is a given. Jesus hated sin. I also think it’s safe to say that most and maybe all those who have read and studied this passage understand that Jesus was not expecting anyone to take it literally. Even the most literal of scriptural interpreters, those whose bumper sticker might read, “God said it, I believe it, that’s the end of it”; have yet to pluck out an eye or amputate an arm or a foot. And it’s not because their eyes or arms or feet have not caused them to sin, for we all understand as Paul wrote, “ all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-24).
Jesus was trying to make a point. He often spoke in vivid terms like these. In Luke’s gospel it is recorded that he said, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sister, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). Certainly Jesus knew that there was quite enough hatred in the world already and did not intend for his followers to add to it, yet he spoke in such a striking way so as to help us realize that sometime down the line we may be forced to make very difficult decisions about who or what to follow.
In our Gospel reading today, the disciples were jealous of a man who healed in Jesus’ name because they were more concerned about their own groups position than helping to free those troubled by demons. We do the same today when we refuse to associate with Christians from other denominations because their not affiliated with our denomination, their projects don’t involve the kind of people with whom we feel most comfortable. Or people who don’t do things in a way we are used to doing them, or our efforts won’t receive enough recognition. Correct theology is important but should never be an excuse to avoid helping people in need.
In verse 40 Jesus said:”for whoever is not against us is for us.” Jesus was not saying that being indifferent or neutral toward him is as good as being committed. In Matthew 12:30, Jesus taught,” Whoever is not with me is against me,and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” In both cases Jesus was pointing out that neutrality toward him is not possible. His followers will not all resemble each other or belong to the same groups. People who are on Jesus side have the same goal of building up the kingdom of God, as we do. And we should not let those differences interfere with this goal.
Jesus let us know that casting out demons and giving a cup of water in His name are equally important. “I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.”(Mark 9:41). Then in Mark 9:42-48, he gets really serious! He warns us that in building up the kingdom of God, if we cause someone to stumble-to sin, we might as well tie a cinder block around our neck and jump in the lake. If we don’t take seriously that which cause us to stumble-to sin, we might as well, as Jesus puts it, be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around our neck.
To sin or to lead others to sin is offense against God! He takes it personally! So be on guard, and don’t dilute these sayings of Jesus, and turn eye gouging and limb amputation into a hand slap, a don’t do that again reminder. Jesus spoke the way he did, I believe, to get our attention, to wake us up, to force us to examine our behavior and not take the easy way out.
He spoke this way so that perhaps we might catch ourselves when we too casually dismiss his statements about sin and discipleship as simply the way Middle Easterners talked back then.
He spoke this way because sometimes we like the disciples forget that to be a disciple of God requires discipline. Discipleship is to be disciplined. To be “salted”, in other words, to be disciplined. Jesus tells us; “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.” Self-discipline is good and if we forget what is required of us or dismiss the lessons we’ve learned we can never have peace with each other.
The Palmist reminded us of that when he wrote Psalm 19. “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.(Psalm 19:7-11).
Jesus used startling language to stress the importance of cutting sin out of our life. Painful self-discipline is required of his true followers. Giving up a relationship, a job, or a habit that is against God’s will, may seem just as painful as cutting off a hand, or a foot or gouging out an eye.
He spoke this way, I believe, so that these words of his might stick with us, not easily be forgotten, but instead cause us to carefully look at the life we are living to judge for ourselves whether or not we stack up; whether we can legitimately count ourselves as disciples of Jesus Christ.
How might Jesus speak today? What kinds of images might he use? I wonder. Perhaps it would be something like this: If your use of the internet caused you to surf where you know you had no business going, unplug your computer, smash it with a sledge hammer, and toss it in the city dump.
If in your use of Facebook you find yourself searching for long-lost boyfriends or girlfriends, drawing you further away from your spouse or partner, stop using the service and never go back again.
If your love of possessions causes you to judge those who have less than you or to be envious of others who have more than you, or put things before people, get rid of what you own; your beautiful house, your fancy car, your membership at the country club, and give the money to the poor and follow Jesus. You get the idea. Actually, I think Jesus would use far more colorful images than these but it’s the best I could do.
So what are we to do with all of this? How are we to respond to Jesus who is speaking so harshly and so loudly to us about sin and the need to avoid sin and especially not to lead others into sin? I think we shouldn’t take his words lightly. We shouldn’t dismiss them. But hear them as, a message across the ages that is saying to us that there are ways to behave that bring us closer to God and God’s promises, and ways to live that take us further away. There is a way to live in community so that everyone can thrive and grow closer to each other and to God and hear Jesus’ words as a call to live a holy and wholesome life.
Let’s face it; we all know what sin is. We all know when we stray, when we fall short, when we begin to rationalize our behavior. We know, don’t we? May these words of Jesus remind us every day of the path he expects us to take, the path he bids us to walk, this day and always. “Salt is Good!” To be a disciple of God, to be Christ like, to have the peace that passes all understanding, requires self-discipline. As our Lord and Savior so vividly teaches us; ”If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell,”(Mark 9:43-48).
Yes, at times it may feel like it’s,”Gouge your eye out Sunday”, or “Amputation Week”, but always remember,”Salt is Good”. We need salt in our lives so that we might carry out God’s will. To be, His eyes, His hands, His feet, so that all may be saved by faith in His Son, Jesus.
“Salt is Good”, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”(John 3:16-18).
“Salt is Good”, James reminded us: “My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” “Salt is Good”. Amen.
In His Service,
Pastor Joe
Listen To Audio: Sermon 20210926
Prayer of Confession: You said, Lord Jesus, that your disciples must be the salt to this earth. Salt gives taste to food. Lord, may we be the salt that takes away the blandness in the routine of living, that brings compassionate healing to anguished souls we encounter. Infuse your “saltiness” in us, so that we do not become “flat” and useless. Forgive us if our actions, or lack of action, have contributed to whether we are “salty” followers of Jesus or not. Amen.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Pastor Joe will be available at the church on Thursday afternoon from 2 to 4. If you need to speak to him, contact Pastor Joe at570-267-4570 (cell) or Email: joe.s.travis@gmail.com
Loose change goes to General Fund
Sunday School starts at 8:30am
Choir practice will be on Thursday at 9:00!
Please come a join us in singing praises to Jesus!
Newsletter Deadline – Tuesday September 28, 2021.
October 1st and & 2nd Soup and Bake Sale from 9-2 both days. Soups and Bake Goods welcomed. All proceeds go to Presbyterian Women Fund (no rummage sale).
“Feed-a-friend” mission starts Oct. 3rd
Social Hour following Sunday Service on October 3rd.
PW will meet Thursday October 14th at 11:00.
Please check your mailbox in the vestibule for new mail.
EMAIL address for the church has been changed to: fhpc400@att.net
The PW is selling Franklin Hill Presbyterian Cookbooks called “Recipes From The Hill” at $10.00 each. All proceeds go to missions. See Debbie Stalker.
The South Montrose Community Church has started a fire fund. You may send donations to SMCC, PO Box 86, South Montrose, Pa. 18843. Add a note with the donations that the money goes into
their fire fund.
