Chico Alliance Church
“An Effective Witness”
Only second to Paul’s passion to talk to the Father was his passion to share Christ with those “outside”. He instructs the church regarding our witness in the world.
Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were, with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person. Col. 4:5-6
Listen to his passion for sharing the Gospel of Christ.
I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. Thus, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH." Romans 1:14-17
Sometimes we forget that people aren’t amazing, they are dead in their trespasses and sins.
2 Cor. 5:11 Cor. 5:13-15 Romans 9:1-3 Romans 10:1-3
Paul identifies the object of this instruction
“those without”, “those outside”
Paul uses an interesting term to describe a non-Christian. Ephesians 2 describes those away from God. Ephes. 2:12-13 Ephes. 2:17-22
The Jews used this term to refer to Gentiles and those outside of Israel. Paul uses this term to describe those outside of Christ. He writes here how we are to respond and relate to “those outside”. It is easy to develop an elitist attitude or a smug contempt for “those outside”. Paul calls for a special attitude toward outsiders. Paul communicates a heart that has a deep concern for those outside. They need to be inside. They are outside the ark and will perish if they remain outside. They are sheep outside the fold and need to be brought into the protection of the Shepherd’s sheepfold. We are God’s chosen instrument to draw others into the fold. To be ambassadors for Christ and urge others on God’s behalf to be reconciled to God. By our life and by our lip we are God’s way of making “those outside” into citizens of the kingdom of His beloved Son.
LET YOUR WALK BE WORTHY
Paul continues to describe the kind of walk he prayed for at the beginning of his letter.
Col. 1:9-12
Paul uses this word for walk here to describe a way of life or a course of life. It is used of people. It is used of Satan “walks around” as a roaring lion. It is a present tense verb.
1. A wise walk
“walk in wisdom”
He urges these believers to live the kind of life that demonstrates God’s way of doing things. Wisdom has to do with applied knowledge.
Wisdom describes a way of doing things based on a system of beliefs or a basic philosophy. If one believes that this is all there is and when you die life is over, it is wise (according to that philosophy) to live life to its fullest without any restraint or consideration of others. There are two basic belief systems, God’s way (communicated by him in His word) and man’s way as developed and directed by Satan. James contrasts man’s wisdom and God’s wisdom.
Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. James 3:13-18
Peter also urges us to live in such a way as to influence those around us.
Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may on account of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. 1 Peter 2:11-12
When “those outside” look at us and our lifestyle, our talk, our walk, our priorities, our passion, our life, are they grabbed by any difference? Does the way we live look any different than theirs? Does our value system result in a lifestyle that looks any different than our neighbors? When people watch how we treat people, how we respond to tribulation and suffering, how we treat one another, how we spend our time, how we invest our financial resources, are they compelled to conclude that somehow there is some fundamental difference in our belief system from theirs? Are those around us drawn to wonder why our life seems so different? We say our belief in Christ makes a difference, does it really? A worthy walk is wise walk. Paul urges us to live is such a way as to demonstrate God’s way of functioning on this earth which Paul previously detailed in his letter to the Colossians. Paul not only calls for a wise walk but an urgent walk
2. An urgent walk
“redeeming the time” To buy or buy up.
Expend resources to purchase something deemed viewed as valuable. It is like shopping at Costco. It you see a good deal, you better buy it now because it may not be there later. This may indeed be a one time opportunity. Paul wants us to view any opportunity to demonstrate the life of Christ to a fallen world as urgent and a divine appointment.
“time”
The term has the sense of a “decisive moment,” again with positive, neutral, or negative implications, though the positive one of fortune is the most common. Fortune in this sense is not fate, but the chance that must be boldly grasped. The temporal sense of “decisive point” is common in the NT, often with a stress on the fact that it is divinely ordained.
We find it difficult to consider every moment of our day as a divinely ordained moment.
Yet Paul here call us to consider not let any opportunity to demonstrate God’s wise living go by. We are instructed here to consider those as valuable opportunities to display the gospel. Paul uses the same phrase in Ephesians. Here he also talks about walking in wisdom and buying up every opportunity to live the life of Christ because the days are evil. The more evil our surroundings the greater the opportunity to demonstrate a difference. The problem is when the church loses its distinction. When we react the same as the world to trouble. When we run our meetings and build our organizations the same as the world. When we treat one another no differently than the world. Paul calls us to take advantage of every opportunity to demonstrate a difference.
It is our mission statement!
Develop and demonstrate dynamic relationship with Christ.
Develop and demonstrate sacrificial love for people
Develop and demonstrate effective impact in the world
So far the suggested impact is by the way we live. We are to consider every contact with “those outside” as a valuable and divinely ordained opportunity to demonstrate the difference Christ makes in our everyday life. God not only uses the life of the Christ to proclaim his message but our lip as well. Paul not only addresses a proper life but the necessity of proper words. Let your walk be worthy by demonstrating wisdom and urgency.
LET YOUR WORDS BE WINNING
Paul again has two basic points regarding winning words.
1. Salty words
Salt was a vital commodity in the middle east. It served a variety of functions.
Purification Preservative Seasoning
Because of its value, it was given along with other things as gifts and reward. ur English word “salary” comes from the Latin word which referred to a soldiers allotment for salt. In this passage Paul appears to give reference to the seasoning capacity of salt. What seasons the words of “those inside” for “those outside?”
In the present context it is “grace” that seasons our words.
Here as in several other passages “grace” (??????) is used in the sense of attractive, pleasant, or winsome. Some have noted that “salt” in Hellenistic culture symbolized wit. Christians aren’t to be dull folks, or overweening and boring. Everything about the believer should be as attractive as possible and so open up opportunities to answer questions about Christian faith.
Jesus used this term to describe our place in the world.
"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. Matthew 5:13
We are here to demonstrate that life has taste because of Christ. Salt is always salt. The only way that salt can become tasteless is if it is mixed with something else. Jesus talks about a life that is so mixed with other compounds that it is only good to be used as a cheep roofing agent to be walked on by men. When our words are mixed with other things besides “grace” they no longer enhance the taste of the gospel.
Mix our words with self-interest, selfish ambition, self-centered anger, revenge, hatred, ridicule, indifference or degrading sarcasm and we become useless as instruments of the gospel of grace. Salt also serves to generate thirst. You may have heard the saying you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink. But you can salt his oats. So often people do not reject the gospel but our demonstration of the gospel. Christianity is being identified by what we are against instead of what we stand for. Jesus Christ and his offer of salvation by grace is the message of Christianity. Paul urges that the words we use to communicate to “those outside” must be seasoned with grace. Paul uses a perfect tense verb here to indicate the lasting nature of grace seasoned words.
2. Suitable Words
Paul not only talks about salty words but suitable words. Not only seasoned words but words that suit the situation. Paul instructs them to “Know”. This is a word that means to know intellectually by observation, to know something on the basis of an absolute or achieved knowledge; to know about something. This kind of knowledge can be taught or caught. We ought to know how to answer because we have acquired the knowledge through observation and study. 1 Peter 3:13-17 Paul worked diligently at bridging the gospel. He never compromised the message but found a way to reach as many as possible.
1 Cor. 9:19-23
We are to know how to speak to those outside. This involves training. This involves observation. This involves knowing how to give a reason for the hope within us. Paul addresses an effective impact to “those outside”.
Let your walk be WORTHY
Walk in God’s wisdom
Walk with a sense of urgency for the moment
Let you words be WINNING
Speak with grace
Speak with knowledge
CONCLUSION
Another guilt trip? No, that is not my intention. I realize that really the bottom line in bring an effective witness is the level of personal experience with Christ. How can I tell others that Christ is the answer to their life when I am not convinced about that fact for my own life? When we are convinced of the power of the Gospel we will increase our witness. When we are convinced that it really is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, we will lose our intimidation and experience greater confidence.
My suggestion is that we as individuals and as a church pray for a new sense of the presence and majesty and power of God among us.
My suggestion is that we allow the Gospel to infiltrate more of our everyday life.
Then we will have the foundation for an effective witness.
Then we can strategize as to how we might best speak to those outside.
Jesus invited his disciples to lift up their eyes and look at a field ready to harvest and to pray to the Lord of the harvest for laborers to gather that harvest.
