| Introduction The history of ideas can often be described as the swinging of a pendulum. Our own stories could probably be told in terms of ideas and reactions to ideas. We see this pendulum effect in the way that the church relates to the world. In the late 1800's and early 1900's, the Bible-believing church in America reacted to liberalism's promotion of the world in the church by retreating from the world and any contact with the world. The Bible-believing church developed a bunker mentality that was not quite a biblical position. In reaction to that, the evangelical church promoted the idea of constant contact with the world. Expressions like redeeming the culture were created. Missional became the new buzzword. All of sudden, the church itself didn't really matter, only its interaction with the world. In reaction to that, the Presbyterian and Reformed church emphasized the visible church to the detriment of any interaction with the world. It grew aloof of the needs of the world, of lost souls, and the Great Commission. When we read the Bible, we see that none of these ideas are accurate. The Bible brings the pendulum to the center, to a resting position, where the church is concerned about itself and the world. We see that clearly in this letter to the Colossians. Paul wanted the Colossians not only to have an inward looking approach to life but also a love for the lost world. In 3:18-4:1, Paul focuses on the several relationships I the church. Now he shifts the focus to how we relate to those who are outside of the church. In doing that, he brings the two Christian graces of prayer and evangelism. His outward focus is evident in what he asks the Colossians to pray for (2-4), and it is made utterly clear in these final instructions where he strikes the perfect balance between inward and outward emphases. Paul tells the Colossian church, and through them us, to reach those who are outside of the church with the same message that changed them: Christ crucified, 1:19-23. This is the conclusion of a series of general exhortations about the way the Lordship of Christ is supposed to be lived out in daily life that started back in 3:5. A. These two verses are governed by one single finite verb: walk. 1. The Greek language is much more descriptive and useful. 2. By looking at how the words are put together, we can often figure out what the emphasis of the author is. 3. Everything else in these two verses function to explain or describe this command to walk. B. The word walk is often used metaphorically in Paul's writings as a word picture for living or just existing. Col. 4:5 (NIV) – Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders…. Col. 4:5 (NASB) – Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders…. 1. I prefer just keeping the word walk in our translation instead of trying to interpret it. a. The Holy Spirit could have used another word, but he didn't. 2. The use of the word walk for living shows that our lives must have direction, purpose, and activity. a. The Christian life is not a meandering or unintentional existence. c. In the passage, the goal is the evangelization of those who are outside. 1) We walk toward our destination – the life to come. 2) And we grab others who are not walking as we go on our way. 3) The outsider is the one who is not identified with Christ through membership in his visible body. 1 Cor. 5:12-13 – For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore "put away from yourselves the evil person." a) The New Testament has no category for a follower of Jesus Christ who is not united to the local church. b) For Paul, there are only two categories: insider or outsider. i. Modern Christianity has accepted a third category of people who claim to believe in Jesus whose faith is not attested by baptism and membership in the local church. ii. In Paul's vocabulary, these people are outsiders and objects of evangelism. c) I am not saying that if a person is not member of a local church is going to hell. d) I am saying that by putting oneself in an unbiblical category makes things very confusing and places a barrier to evangelism because confusion is always the enemy of truth. A. Our life in this world is in a certain direction (toward Jesus), it has a goal (the disciplining of the nations), and it has a manner (in wisdom). 1. Wisdom is the righteous application and living out of biblical knowledge. 2. Wisdom is what connects thought to action. 3. Wisdom enables us to act out our new way of thinking as the new creature in Christ that we are in any given situation. B. Our interaction with those who are outside is not indiscriminate. 1. We don't reach out to the world by becoming like the world. 2. We don't reach out to the world by merely Christianizing worldly ideas and practices. 3. Our interaction with the world with the goal of bringing Christ to them and them to Christ is completely and thoroughly informed by everything we have been told in the Scriptures. a. We are not naïve in our interaction. b. We are not unfounded in our interaction. 2 Tim. 2:19 – Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity." Mt. 10:16 – Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. C. When we walk in biblical wisdom, we will be kept from caving in to the world. Jam. 3:17 – … the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. A. When we hear this expression, our minds more than likely drift to the somewhat parallel passage in Eph. Eph. 5:15-21 – See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God. 1. Notice that this passage calls us to essentially the same manner of life as Colossians. 2. But notice also that the aim of this passage is not evangelism, but sweet fellowship among believers. 3. Therefore, we are called to live wisely whether we are relating to those inside or those outside. B. To redeem the time is to buy it up, to buy it thoroughly, to value it a high price. 1. A paraphrase of this expression would be, "make the most of every opportunity." 2. We could also say that this is an exhortation to value each moment by not wasting it. 3. This redemption of time is a characteristic of our life in community in the church (Eph. 5) and our interaction with the world (Col. 4). C. Why is making the most of every opportunity so important for the Christian? 1. Because we don't know how much that outsider has in his/her own life before he/she comes before the judgment seat of God. 2. Because we don't know how long we have before the Lord Jesus returns. D. Paul wrote redeeming in such way that helps us understand that it is our duty to do so. 1. You yourself redeem your own time. 2. He didn't want us to think that this was a great idea for someone else. A. Walking wisely toward outsiders includes speaking to them in a certain way – the right way. 1. You have heard the saying that is commonly attributed to Francis of Assisi – "Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words." a. That sounds so pious and humble. b. Yet it is as foolish as a statement can be. 2. The Gospel is a series of propositions that must be communicated by the use of language. 1 Cor. 15:3-5 – For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. B. Christians should exhibit in all their speech a gracious and attractive tone including our witnessing, that is, our speech is to be always with grace. 1. Therefore all our communication with the outside must be with grace. 2. That includes how we talk about and talk to those we disagree. a. There is no political exemption. b. There is no philosophical exemption. c. There is no moral exemption. 3. This is true because all who are outside are the object of our evangelism, and we can't discredit the Gospel by the way we talk to them and about them. C. The Christian's speech all must be winsome and attractive, that is seasoned with salt. 1. Salt was used for taste and preservation. 2. Here Paul is likely using the idea of taste. 3. Our words should be taste, seasoned with salt. 4. Now, it is important that we are not trying to "make" the Gospel attractive – it is the story of the Beautiful Savior, so it doesn't have to be made attractive. 5. It does mean that we present the Savior in all HIS attractiveness. 6. It also does not mean that we try to "make" the Gospel more palatable to our culture, just that we don't add the wrong seasoning. "Paul envisages a church expected to hold its own in the social setting of marketplace, baths, and meal table and to win attention by the attractiveness of its life and speech." Jams Dunn quoted by Douglas Moo A. Walking in wisdom with gracious and winsome speech will result in our being able to respond to the questions the outsiders have. 1. Paul's assumption here is that unbelievers will be raising questions about the faith of the Colossian Christians. b. Why is it that they act and talk so differently than the rest of us? c. Why is it that they are so able to rejoice and love even in the midst of severe persecution and mistreatment? 2. Answer is that these are people who have been transformed by the grace of God, 3:8-11. Eph. 5:8-13 – For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. B. This is the scriptural assumption for every Christian: people will want to know why we are who we are – turn to 1 Pt. 3:13-16. 1 Pt. 3:13-16 – And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you are blessed. "And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled." But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. 1. Your obedience to Christ as demonstrated in your attitude, actions, and speech should cause people to wonder about you. a. Be always ready – know what you believe. b. Give a defense – explain what you believe in such a way that answers the accusations that are being brought against Christ. c. The hope that lies within you – the effect that the life, cross, resurrection, ascension, and the coming again of Jesus has had upon you. 2. Peter agrees with Paul on the manner of our answer. a. With meekness - "It means 'not insistent on one's own rights', or 'not pushy, not selfishly assertive' , 'not demanding one's own way.'" Wayne Grudem b. With fear - reverence, respect for the ones bringing the questions. c. Having a good conscience: 1) Knowing that your life is consistent with what you are saying. 2) Avoiding conscious and willful disobedience to God each day. 3) Continuing practicing immediate repentance and prayer for forgiveness whenever we become aware of sin in our lives. In his commentary on Colossians, Douglas Moo says, "While resisting the wrong kind of outside influence, the Colossian Christians nevertheless need to stay engaged with their fellow citizens and seek to win them to Christ." That is exactly what we are supposed to do as well! In this passage, and I dare say in the whole Bible, evangelism is seen much more as a constant endeavor that is ingrained in the thought and life of the Christian than a crusade, or movement, or event. The idea we get from Paul is that the outsider is always on the mind of the Christian to the point that Christian behavior is shaped by that thought. Is this true of you? Do you ever think about the state of your neighbor's soul? Co-worker? Friend? Family member? The person standing next to you at the DMV? Our Lord looks at them and sees people who are lost and hopeless and in need of him. Mt. 9:35-38 – Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly isplentiful, but the laborers arefew. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." You and I have been redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ through the power of the Gospel and now we hold within us this immeasurable treasure. 2 Cor. 4:6-7 – For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
Are we ready to pour this great treasure on a world that desperately needs the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? May the Lord give us grace to be instruments in his hands for the salvation of the nations starting with whomever is close to us.
http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2017/08/christian-graces-evangelism-col-45-6.html
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