If there is one word that strikes fear in the hearts of most church goers it is “evangelism”. Most of us understand the necessity of people meeting Jesus. All but the most callous are heartbroken at the thoughts of friends and loved ones spending an eternity far from God.
And yet. . . Yet, so often we are reluctant to share our faith. We don’t know what to say, we are afraid to offend, we are worried about what people will think of us. And so we justify and rationalize and talk about our spiritual gifts and the gift blend of those who are successful soul winners. And we still feel guilty about not saying anything.
We’ll tell people that they have a flat tire, we’ll tell people that they left their lights on in their car or that they left their purse on the table at Tim Horton’s. We will tell them about the great book we read or the new restaurant that we just tried. We’ll share our political views and occasionally our fries but are reluctant to share the one thing that we say is of eternal importance, our faith.
And I understand that, like you I’ve made the list of people I was going to pray for and then lead through the plan of salvation. Maybe, like me, you have memorized the “Roman Road” or some other list of scriptures that show people the necessity of accepting Christ. And for those of you who think a Roman Road is a cobblestone highway it’s not. Well technically it is, but that’s not all it is. It is also a method that uses scripture from the book of Romans to lead someone through the plan of Salvation.
Romans 3:23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 5:8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
Romans 10:9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
When I was in university I took a course called Personal Evangelism and we used the book “You Can Be a Soul Winner, Here’s How.” And as part of the course we had to go to the doors of complete strangers get ourselves invited in, compliment them on their home and children, show them the necessity of meeting Jesus and lead them through the plan of salvation. It sounded very similar to the training I received before I began my very short lived, 1 week, career selling Filter Queen Vacuum cleaners. I passed both courses and sold one vacuum cleaner and didn’t lead anyone to the Lord.
After I graduated from College I went to seminars put on by various groups, I read and re-read “Out of the Salt Shaker and into the World”, “The Master Plan for Evangelism”, “Contagious Christianity” and “Just Walk Across the Room”. I have memorized acronyms and have trained for umpteen different crusades and have taken part in 3 “Billy Graham Schools of Evangelism” And I still don’t do it well enough or often enough. But I’m trying, and we should all be trying.
I feel like the old preacher in Georgia who used to say “When a farmer prays for a corn crop, God expects him to say ‘Amen’ with a hoe.” You can’t simply pray for someone’s salvation and never talk to them about your faith.
But this morning I’m not here to put a guilt trip on you about not sharing your faith, and maybe you are thinking: “Well, it’s a little late for that.”
There is a phrase that most of us are familiar with, if only because of the plethora of medical shows that have graced television over the last fifty years, and that term is “First do no harm.” Many believe it came from the Hippocratic Oath, which was kind of a code of conduct produced by a Greek doctor five hundred years before the birth of Jesus. And that’s about half right, the principle is there, just not phrased that way. But the principle is, before you can begin to heal you need to make sure that what you are doing will not harm your patient.
The scripture passage that was read this morning includes that same advice for us as Christ Followers. We may not feel that we are gifted or capable of being a soul winner but it is vitally important for us to do no kingdom harm in how we deal with people on a day to day basis.
And so in the last part of his letter to the Colossians Paul writes these words, Colossians 4:5-6 Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.
And so Paul begins by telling his listeners Colossians 4:5-6 Live wisely among those who are not believers . . .
Live Wisely It is interesting to see the difference in the earlier translations, the King James Version spells it out this way. Colossians 4:5 KJV Walk in wisdom toward them that are without. . . Them that are without. Without what? I don’t want to get all scholarly on you and go spouting on about the original language however the word that is translated “without” here literally meant “outside the door”.
And we are sometimes uncomfortable with the concept of “in” and “out” when it comes to the Christian faith. It seems so exclusive. And so we use phrases like “Who am I to judge?” “they are very spiritual” “They seem to be” But the New Testament speaks in terms of black and white, you are a believer or you aren’t a believer. Even Jesus draws very distinct lines in the sand like when he said in John 3:3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
And two thousand years ago the line was very plain, being a Christian wasn’t socially acceptable, it wouldn’t advance your career or make you friends. Instead it would cost you friends, and your career and maybe even your life.
Today the line is blurred because there are cultural Christians. To illustrate: I am a Habs fan, don’t look at me that way. When we returned from Australia I decided that if I was to truly embrace my Canadian identity that I would need to have a hockey team to cheer for, so I chose the Habs. It didn’t take long to discover that in hockey there are Habs fans and anyone but Habs fans.
Now in saying that I really don’t know anything about the Habs, don’t know their history, have only been to one live game, and that wasn’t willingly and the only games I watch on TV are during the playoffs, if then if there isn’t anything else to watch and I’m not reading a book. At any given time I can usually only name one or two players on the team. And you are thinking you’re not much of a fan. Don’t judge me. Who are you to say that I’m not a habs fan?
It’s the same way in Canada with religion, most people know that they need to be identified with some religion and so for whatever reason they choose Christianity. They really don’t know anything about Christianity, don’t know it’s history, the only services they get to are the playoffs, you know wedding funerals, Christmas and Easter, and that’s only if there isn’t a conflict with other things in their lives. And if you question their commitment they say “Don’t judge me. Who are you to say that I’m not a Christian?”
But two thousand years ago the lines weren’t blurred and Paul recognizes that those in the early church were going to have to co-exist with those who were outside the church, those who weren’t believers. And he doesn’t tell them to cloister themselves in little commune, only venturing out when absolutely necessarily, instead he acknowledges that both those who embrace Jesus and those who don’t are going to occupy the same communities.
There are times that we wish we could live in a world that shared our beliefs and our culture and our language. That we would never have to worry about people challenging our faith and blistering our ears with their language. But that wasn’t a reality for the church in Colossi and it’s not a reality for us today, and it shouldn’t be.
God loved lost people so much that he made the greatest sacrifice that he could for them, he sent his son. And the very first believers were commanded to become fishers of men. And one of the things that I learned while I was fishing with my dad was that you were a lot more apt to catch fish if you were where there were fish. And so the early church knew that if they were going to love lost people like God loved lost people that they would have to be willing to make sacrifice like God did. And by choosing to live with those who did not believe they often faced persecutions and scorn and even death.
And by choosing to live with those who did not believe they were able to demonstrate the love of God and to live a godly and holy life and because of that those who were without became those who were within. But we aren’t just told to live with those who don’t share our beliefs we are told to live wisely with them.
Notice that he didn’t tell his readers to live smartly but to live wisely. And there is a difference, I heard an article on the radio this week about EQ, and that’s not to be confused with IQ. IQ measures your intellectual ability. EQ measures your emotional intelligence and emotional intelligence impacts many different aspects of your daily life, such as the way you behave and the way you interact with others.
One author wrote “If you have high emotional intelligence you are able to recognize your own emotional state and the emotional states of others, and engage with people in a way that draws them to you. You can use this understanding of emotions to relate better to other people, form healthier relationships, achieve greater success at work, and lead a more fulfilling life.” Or as Paul wrote, Live wisely among those who are not believers.
And that is tough. Paul is telling the church to live in such a way that their lives won’t be a hindrance. That people won’t be able to use as an excuse but look at . . . and you can fill in the blank. They are no different than me, or they did this or they did that.
Just think before you do something. We need to live the way that Christ commanded us to live, love the way Christ commanded us to love.
And the passage continues Colossians 4:5-6 Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity.
Be Aware When I took Personal Evangelism it was very much concerned with meeting someone and initiating a spiritual conversation, leading them through the plan of salvation, guiding them through a decision and prayer and pointing them to a church. And people go saved that way, but seriously. You don’t have to be strategic about find someone who doesn’t know Jesus. The story is told about a battle during the civil war and the fortunes had turned on the Union troops and the commander called for a retreat. When suddenly an enlisted man broke ranks, ran across no man land, hit a confederate soldier with his rifle and carried him back dumping him a the officer’s feet. The officer looked at the man and said “Where did you get him?” to which the man replied, “Over yonder and there are enough there for everyone.” You don’t have to look very far to find those who need Jesus; they share your work place, your class room and might even live under the same roof. Be aware that people are watching how you live and what you say. There is so much truth in the statement that you are the only bible some people will ever read. They are watching what you do and what you say, which leads us to the next point.
Colossians 4:5-6 Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.
Speak Graciously The bible constantly warns us of the danger of the tongue, and we are all aware of that. We don’t need Solomon to tell us things like Proverbs 13:3 Those who control their tongue will have a long life; opening your mouth can ruin everything. Or Proverbs 15:2 The tongue of the wise makes knowledge appealing, but the mouth of a fool belches out foolishness.
And it was Abraham Lincoln who said “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt”
And this is tough, probably not for you but for me. There are times I think I need to have business cards printed up that say “I’m sorry, I’m a jerk”. Because too often I am to quick to speak my mind, or to be sarcastic in my response to someone.
Paul tells us to make sure our speech is gracious and attractive. But listen to how the New International Version translates this verse Colossians 4:6 NIV Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Not just gracious but filled with grace. When you talk to people who don’t share your faith is your conversation filled with grace?
And while salt is common place today, two thousand years ago it was an incredibly valuable commodity. I could preach an entire sermon on salt, and I have. But let it be suffice to say that salt was used for preserving food, for flavouring food, for medical reasons and even as part of the salary of Roman soldiers was designated for the purchase of salt. Thus the phrase “Worth your salt.” It was seen as something of great value. Is that how our words are seen, not by us, but by those who hear them? Or overhear them.
I’m afraid that there are times that the closest my speech comes to be flavoured with salt is that it stings, and that’s not the way it’s supposed to be. Which is why we are told in Ephesians 4:15 to speak the truth in love. It’s easy to speak the truth, not so easy to speak the truth in love.
And one of the greatest culprits these days is Social media; regardless of how you feel, people aren’t going to put their phones down.
And all too often we use social media to vent and it really sets up a “them and us mindset.” We are right and they are wrong, and here are all the reasons they are wrong. And while it’s easy to hide behind our Facebook or Twitter profiles the damage that can be done is immeasurable.
Larry Wilson, the pastor of Fall Creek Wesleyan Church, recently posted a blog entitled “8 Social Media Mistakes You Need to Stop Making Right Now” and in it Larry writes, “Advocate any position you truly believe in. But please do so kindly and with no attempt to humiliate, crush, demolish, wreck, or reduce to a puddle of tears the people who disagree with you. Say something nice or at least say it in a nice way.”
Words are words, and they need to be spoken with grace and seasoned with salt, regardless of whether you speak them, write them, post them or tweet them. Very few people have ever been argued into Christianity, and probably fewer still have been embraced Christ because of a rant they’ve read on Facebook about their lifestyle posted by a nasty Christian.
Remember when your mother used to tell you, if you can’t say anything nice don’t say anything at all? Not bad advice.
And this goes back to the live wisely, check stuff before you post it, because when you don’t sometimes you end up looking like an idiot and if it’s in any way connected to your faith it makes all Christians look like idiots, just sayin’.
And as long as we are here, listen to Paul’s words in Ephesians 4:29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. Did you catch that? Don’t use foul or abusive language. And I don’t care if everyone uses this word or that word, if you have chosen to follow Christ then you have chosen a higher path. And that applies for what you post online, and also who posted it before you. When you repost something and the original title contains vulgarities it reflects on you and if you profess to be a Christian then it reflects on the Christ you serve.
I have seen people from Cornerstone post wonderful spiritual stories followed by something with language that would make a sailor blush, I know, I blushed. So in case you found Paul’s words a little vague I will read them again, slower. Ephesians 4:29 Don’t use foul or abusive language.
You can’t separate your faith from who you are, and you don’t want to. It’s not enough to speak graciously to co-workers and strangers and then snipe at your family and friends. Or the other way around, only being nice to the folks you know. And I understand that there will be times that you have to defend your faith in no uncertain terms. But you don’t have to be nasty or get personal about it.
And you are thinking “That’s really tough” Yep, sure is and it’s not something you turn on and off. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 2:1 So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. How do you do that? By embracing the power of the Holy Spirit in your life. Seriously you can’t do it alone and that was never the intent.
Have you given your speech over to God? Every day? Have you asked him to guide your words and to make them gracious? Every day?
If you pride yourself on your sarcasm, or being able to put people in their place with your words you might have a problem.
We are told in Galatians 5:22-23 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. What if our speech was coloured by those characteristics?
So, knowing that you can’t do it yourself, and knowing that the Holy Spirit can produce that kind of fruit in your life, is today the day that you surrender your will and your words to the Holy Spirit?
