Every day there is a time of self-examination. Every day there is a time of shame before God. ‘This is what I did today. This is the sort of person I have been today. Pardon, O Lord, my sin. Forgive me afresh. Help me as I will put to death that deed. I will put to death that plan. I will put to death that alliance and association. Lord, help me.’ The day we stop doing practicing self-examination, the salt has lost its effect. It has lost its savour. How can it ever be re-salted? Does it mean we were never converted? We thought we had repented but our ongoing lives are not characterised by a measure of self-examination, concern about our lives, putting to death the deeds of flesh, the body. We no longer do that. Is there any hope for us? That is the question which is implied here: ‘wherewith will ye season it?’ Will you get it back? I do hope so. I do hope you won’t be one of those backslidden Christians who will have to be dealt with by the Lord – 1 Corinthians 11 – weak and sickly, chastised and punished. Not that Christians who are sick are necessarily being chastised. So very many Christians who are sick, it is a calling to prove the Lord and demonstrate his love but sometimes God takes away blessing and even terminates the life of a believer who is an embarrassment to him, because they left off repenting, they left off self-examination. The salt had lost its cutting edge and there was no continuation of regular conviction and repentance and striving to advance.
‘Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.’ That is the guarantee of peace: Christian love, peace among the children of God, among the disciples. There is to be no more clamour, no more striving for position, no more disruption. How can we move forward? Simply by being a company of people, who never forget to repent of their sin, to mortify the deeds of the body, to seek the help of God. If that salt is among us, we will have peace among ourselves, peace that we do enjoy. Never let these things slide away.