Fire and Salt

Usually we think of fire as an image of destruction. Last week we spoke of hell fire, where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. But there is another way of thinking about fire. If you pass a precious metal (like silver or gold) through its flames, something interesting happens. Yes, the impurities are burned out and destroyed, but what remains is genuine. That's what Job had in mind in Job 23:10, where he said, "When he has tested me, I shall come forth as gold." The same fire that destroys the dross, also tests and refines the gold. Something similar is going on in our text. Last week we heard Jesus' exhortation to pursue purity in light of the final judgment, to get serious about sin in light of hell fire. Our text today provides a further explanation for this call to purity and adds to it a call to peace. Jesus grounds this final exhortation in two kinds of imagery: fire and salt. Specifically, he associates the final judgment with fire and the persons to be judged with salt. The judgment is fiery; the people must be salty.