Bible Sea Salt

Sea salt is all the rage. Surely you have seen some of the Campbell Soup ads that boast lower sodium levels because they now use sea salt. The claim that sea salt gives you more salty flavor from less salt sounds great - lower sodium, better taste. For a basic fact check, here's a relevant link to Dr. Gourmet.

The science behind the claims may be weak, but I am struck by a similarity to a trend in preaching. The typical "teaching time" in the American church appears to be about "improving flavor with less doctrine." We rate sermons by how interesting the speaker is, not so much by how well his/her message is connected to what the Bible teaches. We like sermons with lots of stories, relevant examples, pithy principles, humor, and transparency. How often does a sermon that get's a "10" in all of the above categories get a rotten tomato for its failure to teach what the Bible itself teaches about a topic?

I decry the view that the Bible is boring and that we must jazz it up with other stuff in order to avoid boring people with it. I profoundly disagree with the mantra, "Don't teach 'em theology or you'll put them to sleep." I am not proposing that we bore people with the Bible. God forbid! But the science behind the claim, "we avoid boring people with the Bible by using it less," is flat wrong.

A doctrine is simply a compilation of what the whole Bible teaches on a subject. I like doctrine! Here's why. First, the Bible majors in the majors. If the Bible doesn't have anything to say on a topic, then its not that important. But when the Bible has a lot to say about a subject, pay attention! Doctrine, what the Bible teaches on a subject, shows me what matters.

Second, no one verse gives the whole picture on any given topic. When I identify all the verses that relate to a topic, determine what they teach about that topic, and then compile that teaching into a logical and cohesive summary, I have really got something. This sum of what the Bible teaches on a topic will allow me to answer relevant questions with a complete information packet.

Third, the ultimate author behind the Bible is God. So I have every motivation to get it right when it comes to understanding what He wants me to know. Sure, I can take a verse and run with it. But how sure can I be that He will someday say "well done!" if I ran with one verse while neglecting twenty others? On any given topic, I want to understand everything that God says matters because HE matters.

Is something Paul said a justification for a lot of feel-good talk with a little Bible sprinkled in? "Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person"(Col 4:6). Note this: Without an understanding of grace that affects what you say, your speech won't be seasoned with salt. The doctrine of grace, the sum of what the whole Bible teaches on this core topic, is the wellspring of speech that aptly answers to opportunity. The only way to minister Bible Sea Salt is to understand doctrine. So seek doctrine, learn doctrine, preach doctrine. That's what believers do who are worth their salt!

Comments

[Candace]

Right on! Thank you! (typed with grace)

[Tracy]

I love this post.

[Aunt Sue]

I think that people are just looking for a quick fix as with everything else in this fast-paced world. People do not want to take the time or effort to listen, read or understand the Bible. They just want someone to say "This is what you should believe." Then, they can go on with their life and think "well, that's out of the way." Maybe they think they will be able blame their lack of understanding on someone else without fear. I hear so many times, "I'm a good person." or "I believe in Jesus." However, they have no personal relationship with Him and their daily lives certainly show that they do not live with Christ in them.

I have loved learning from Pastor Jim. He has shown me that he knows just how much salt it takes!

[Austin]

Given what you said about two weeks ago during your series on revelation (that saltiness is connected to "L"aw-keeping) does this add a layer of guidance about the appropriate seasoning recipe for believers' speech?