As Paul speaks about the Christian’s walk in this world, he tells us we need to walk wisely. We do this, he says, by taking advantage of every opportunity to give a verbal witness for Jesus. Why should witnessing be a priority for believers as we are living in this world? Two reasons:
Reason #1: Our opportunity to see people come to Christ is now!
There’s a non-biblical school of thought that says eventually everyone will be saved. But its origin is from the devil himself, as this false teaching had it beginning in the Garden of Eden, when the serpent told Eve, “You surely will not die!” (Genesis 3:4 NASB).
“Universalism has never been widely accepted by those who take the Scriptures seriously. Obviously if this teaching were true, there would be no pressing reason to fulfill the Great Commission or to urge
unbelievers to accept Christ in this life.” - Dr. Erwin Lutzer
Instead, the Bible teaches that what lies beyond this life is not another opportunity to be saved, but the judgment of God.
“It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.” - Hebrews 9:27 (NASB)
After death comes the judgment of God. So now is the time to prepare myself and make sure I am ready to face God at the judgment. And the only way to make sure I am ready to face God is to trust Jesus as my Savior and Lord before that day; which means I must do so today.
“That is why I told you that you will die in (under the curse of) your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He [Whom I claim to be - if you do not adhere to, trust in, and rely on Me], you will die in your sins.” - John 8:24 (Amplified)
“For God says, ‘At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.’ Indeed, the ‘right time’ is now. Today is the day of salvation.” - 1 Corinthians 6:2 (NLT)
“How shall we escape [appropriate retribution] if we neglect and refuse to pay attention to such a great salvation [as is now offered to us, letting it drift past us forever]?” - Hebrews 2:3 (Amplified)
Mark it down, heaven is a real place filled with real people who placed their faith in Christ as their real Savior before they passed from this life to the next; and hell is also a real place filled with real people who refused to place their faith in Christ as their real Savior before they passed from this life to the next.
Reason #2: Our obligation to see people come to Christ is now!
When I say, “Great Commission” Matthew 28:19-20 comes to mind:
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” - Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)
But this command of Christ is found all over Scripture:
“And then (Jesus) told them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.’” - Mark 16:15 (NLT)
“(Jesus) told them, “’This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” - Luke 24:46-47 (NIV)
“Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.’” - John 20:21 (NLT)
“You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” - Acts 1:8b (NIV)
“I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith . . .” - Philemon 6a (NIV)
“You must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.” - 1 Peter 3:15 (NLT)
How many times should God tell us something before we realize its importance? Only once. Yet multiple times we are told that we should be active in telling others about Jesus. Now is the time for us to obey.
“But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.” - Acts 20:24 (NLT)
“The glory of God, and, as our only means to glorifying Him, the salvation of human souls, is the real business of life.” - C.S. Lewis
It’s been said, “The only thing we won’t be able to do in heaven is see others come to Christ.” Why? Because now is the time to fulfill our obligation to Christ and obey His command to tell others about Him.
It’s interesting that in speaking about our walk that Paul emphasizes our talk. The fact is, our walk doesn’t point others to Jesus if in our talk we don’t seek to point others to Jesus. The two go hand in hand.
It’s through the combination of the Good News impacting my walk and my talk that I can walk wisely in this world and make the most of every opportunity I have to share Jesus with others.
Sadly, too many Christians emphasize the importance of their walk but deemphasize the importance of their talk. Let’s notice what Paul says about our verbal witness here.
Paul says if was are going to walk wisely in this world and make the most of every opportunity to encourage others to come to Christ . . .
1. We must speak graciously - “Let your conversation be always full of grace”
“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” - Ephesians 4:29 (ESV)
To have your speech be “full of grace” means that through what we say, we encourage others. With respect to unbelievers, it means we speak in such a way as to encourage them to consider trust in Christ.
Let’s face it, Satan doesn’t need any help discouraging unbelievers from trusting in Christ. Sadly, however, he seems to get quite a bit of help from Christians who gossip, who gripe, who criticize, who complain about their church or their fellow Christians!
Sometimes it’s honestly very hard to speak graciously to someone else or about someone else. But that is what God has called us to do and He has provided the means whereby we can be gracious in our speech when we talk to others or about others. How is that? Well, as we focus more and more on Christ’s work of grace in us, we will become more and more gracious toward others and speak words that are full of grace to others and about others.
“We are to be people of grace-filled words. People who choose healing and helpful words. Because whether we realize it or not, believers and unbelievers are listening intently to the words we speak. And our words testify to the kind of relationship we have with Jesus and the kind of effect He has on our hearts. So how do we keep our words full of grace? We remember that Jesus didn’t offer us partial grace. He didn’t offer us halfway grace. Jesus gave, and continues to give, all-the-way grace. Grace that took Him all the way to the cross. Oh, how we need to let this truth interrupt us and redirect us. The divine grace we have received from Christ should fuel our gracious natures and fill our conversations. Because we are people who desperately need grace, we should be people who lavishly give grace.” - Lysa Terkeurst, Proverbs 31 Ministries
2. We must speak winsomely - “Let your conversation be always . . . seasoned with salt”
Salt can have many uses. From the Morton Salt Company, come these household tips for using salt: Stain
Removal: use salt to clean stains from coffee pots and other household appliances. Wellness: gargling with salt water alleviates mild sore throats. Soaking in warm salt water soothes tired feet after a long day. Eliminating odors: salt can remove odors from hands, cutting boards, and even garbage disposals.
But the most common use for salt is what Paul references here. It is used for seasoning, so our food tastes better.
Donna and I want to a steak place the other day. I was in the mood to eat a good steak. When it was brought out, however, though it looked good, my steak was bland. There was no seasoning! I didn’t want to finish it. By contrast, the Christian’s speech should make unbelievers want to know more about the Lord.
“Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!” - Psalm 34:8 (NLT)
3. We must speak discerningly - “so that you may know how to answer everyone”
“know how you should respond to each person.” (NASB)
This is the point of our Lord’s parable in Matthew 13:18-23, often called the parable of the sower. It is also called the “parable of the soils” because Jesus is speaking of how not everyone is at the same place with respect to readiness to receive the Gospel. Some are hard soil, others are rocky soil, others are thorny soil, and others are good soil. As we speak graciously winsomely, we can help move people along from being hard soil or rocky soil or thorny soil, to becoming good soil, who will receive the message.
Conclusion: We by mentioning the nonbiblical view of universalism. While most of us would not say we believe in universalism, we are often practicing universalists. What does your speech say about what you believe? Are you walking wisely in this world? Does your walk and talk present a compelling witness to your world?
