What does it mean to have salt in yourselves (Mark 9:50)?

Jesus sometimes used metaphors to communicate deeper truths to His disciples. In Mark 9:49–50, the Lord informs the twelve, “For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another” (ESV).

Salt was essential to sustaining life in the dry climate of the Bible lands. It was used to flavor and preserve food and as an antiseptic medicine. In addition, salt was a purifying element in Old Testament offerings and sacrifices. Through Moses, God instructed the people, “You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt” (Leviticus 2:13, ESV; see also Numbers 18:17–19; Ezekiel 43:22–24). This “salt of the covenant” was a metaphor for preservation, permanence, and purity. God’s covenant with His people, as symbolized by salt, was holy, eternal, and incorruptible—it would never spoil but would be preserved throughout the generations (1 Chronicles 16:17; 2 Samuel 23:5; Psalm 105:10; Hebrews 13:20).

In Mark 9:49, Jesus said, “Everyone will be salted with fire,” to prepare His disciples for the persecution, testing, and fiery trials in their future. These trials would not be pointless exercises in suffering but growth opportunities—for their benefit and God’s glory (see Psalm 66:10–12; 1 Peter 4:12–19; James 1:2–3, 12). Jesus said every one of them would be salted with fire. These persecutions were symbolized by salt in that they would be God’s way of purifying, disciplining, and preserving them through affliction.

While persevering through trials, the disciples were to offer themselves as “a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God” (Romans 12:1). Jesus insisted that they never lose their saltiness, meaning they should never let the purity of their commitment to God be missing or absent from their daily life of worshiping Him. God commanded the Israelites not to let the “salt”—the purity and permanence of their covenant relationship with God—be missing from their offerings, and neither should we. Everything we endure in our walk of faith, no matter how painful, should be seen as a purifying sacrifice of worship, holy and pleasing unto the Lord.

The apostle Paul took the Lord’s command to “have salt in yourselves” to heart, and he urged fellow believers to do the same. He said, “But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy” (Philippians 2:17, NLT).

All Christians need the discipline of trials and tribulations (Hebrews 12:6–7; Psalm 94:12). Such discipline is part of our spiritual training (Hebrews 12:11). Hardship and testing serve a good purpose, refining us, causing us to grow, and preparing us for heaven (Hebrews 12:10; Romans 12:1–2; James 1:2–4; 2 Corinthians 4:17–18; Romans 8:18; James 1:12).

After Jesus said, “Have salt in yourselves,” He added, “and be at peace with each other.” Earlier, the disciples had quarreled among themselves (Mark 9:34). Therefore, Jesus directed them to stop arguing and develop the characteristics of salt within themselves so that they might live in peace with one another and foster a sense of love and harmony in the fellowship of believers.

To have salt in yourselves is to cultivate and keep within the seasoning, preserving, purifying, and sacrificial qualities of your relationship with God. Jesus had already explained to His followers that they were “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 underfoot” (Matthew 5:13). Christ calls us to persevere in the faith and allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives so that we reflect the Lord’s holy character (Galatians 5:22–23) and our wholehearted loyalty to Him. He wants us to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). In this way, “we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ” (2 Corinthians 2:15). With the savory attractiveness of our Savior burning in our hearts and wafting from us as a harmonious family of faithful believers, we season the whole earth with salt.