The Sovereign Grace Board Refuses to Deal with Division by Distorting Scripture

Philippians 4:2-3 (ESV) I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord.  Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

In these verses, Paul addresses two prominent and influential women in the Philippian church and commands them to be reconciled.  He does this by singling them out by name.  The word translated entreat means urge, exhort, appeal, implore, beg, plead.  Paul fully expects them to agree which literally means to have the same attitude of mind.  This is a reference to the body of teaching Paul just gave in 2:1-18 about unity and how it is maintained and achieved.  The harmonious agreement Paul demands comes about in the Lord meaning in submission to the Lord or by obeying the Lord. 

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When Salt Becomes Saltless It Is Good for Nothing

Matthew 5:13 (NIV) “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 by men.” 

This is one of those verses everyone knows but few people understand.  Contrary to most translations, Jesus was not talking about salt becoming tasteless.  He was talking about salt losing its preservative quality.  That was its most basic function in New Testament times.  

Jesus is not concerned about Christians becoming tasteless as though we are the spice of life.  The NASU and ESV are misleading in this regard.  The Greek verb for “loses it saltiness” is moraino.  The word literally means “to make foolish.”  Jesus applied this to salt that lost its ability to stop decay.  Our English word, moron, comes from the same word group.  Salt that does not preserve is moronic. 

Nowadays we use salt primarily as a seasoning but before the invention of refrigeration it was used primarily to stop the decay of foods.  For instance, it was rubbed into meat, poultry, or fish.  This caused the outside surface of cells to dehydrate which prevented bacteria from growing.  This in turn prevented rotting.  The primary value of salt was not as a flavoring but as a preservative.  

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