To begin our message, I want to point out a couple of concerns we often hear expressed by pastors and church leaders, which are: 1.) Christians rarely share their faith, and 2.) Christians are not going to church as often as they once did. If these concerns are legitimate – which I believe they are – they pose some serious challenges to evangelism and church growth; and thus, challenges in taking the gospel to the nations. And Jesus said that “the gospel must first be preached to all the nations” (Mark 13:10) before His return. So, what must change in order for Christians to start getting serious about their faith, and for them to begin evangelizing and going to church more?
Time and the Great Commission (Colossians 4:2-6)
2 Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; 3 meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, 4 that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. 5 Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time (kairos). 6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.
Two Christians were out sharing their faith, and knocked on the door of a woman who wasn’t happy to see them. She told them she didn’t want to hear their message and slammed the door in their faces. But to her surprise, the door bounced back open. So, she tried it again, and she really put her back into it, but the door wouldn’t shut. Convinced that these rude people were sticking their foot in the door, she reared back to give it a slam that would teach them a lesson, when one of them said: “Ma’am, before you do that again you might want to move your cat!”
These verses speak about using time wisely in regards to evangelism.” In this passage, Paul told the Colossians they needed to be earnest and vigilant in prayer on his behalf; praying for opportunities that he might share the Word; or rather, the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. And not only pray that doors would be opened, but pray that he would make the Word manifest as he ought to speak; meaning, they should pray that he would open his mouth and not be faint of heart or distracted whenever opportunities presented themselves.
Paul’s passion for sharing the gospel came from the Great Commission. Jesus said in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.”
So, what does the Great Commission tell us? It says to make disciples and teach people the commandments of Jesus Christ; and this is a commission given to all Christians. No believer is exempt. Now, in order to disciple people, we first have to go out and win them to Christ; and the part we read about “baptizing people” shows us that evangelism is implied in the Great Commission, because you have to lead people to faith in Christ before you can ever baptize them and disciple them. In fishing terms, you have to catch ‘em before you can clean ‘em!
Paul tells us that the best way to be a witness is to walk in wisdom and be ready to give an answer with well-seasoned and tantalizing words of grace. But he also told us it’s imperative to be “redeeming the time.” If we need to be redeeming, or repossessing time, then apparently we have lost time somewhere along the way. How this has happened is something that we’ll touch upon in a moment.
I think I should let you know that I’m getting ready to share some highfalutin Greek. I only make it a point to share from the original languages when absolutely necessary; and believe you me, it is necessary in order to fully understand why time has been lost and why it’s still being lost.
The Greek word for “time” in verse 5 is kairos. Kairos is a word meaning the right, critical, or opportune moment; also meaning to manage well the circumstances encountered day by day, and possessing a judgment which is accurate in meeting occasions as they arise (Wikipedia). So, when Paul talks about redeeming the time, or redeeming kairos, he’s speaking of keeping our eyes wide-open to what’s going on all around us, being on the lookout for what God is getting ready do right now in the present moment and in our present circumstance. Kairos deals with spontaneity in our response to God and service in the kingdom.
In 2 Corinthians 6:2, Paul specifically applies this Greek word and its concept to evangelism. He declared, “In an acceptable time (kairos) I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you. Behold, now is the accepted time (kairos); behold, now is the day of salvation.” Paul basically said, “Right here and right now is the very moment to be saved!”
He further stressed this idea when he used the expression “the day of salvation.” The Greek word for “day” is hemera. One commentary tells us that the eastern usage of this term differs from our western usage. The word hemera stresses that any single part, or any single moment, of a day is counted as an entire day (Blue Letter Bible), emphasizing the significance of a solitary moment in time. When we seize one divinely orchestrated moment it can hold more weight than all else that occurs throughout the rest of the day.
Also, when Paul used the expression “the day of salvation” and the Greek word hemera, he was not saying, “Once you wake up, you have the entire day to think about it.” He was emphasizing, “Christ wants you to come to Him right now!” In fact, we never know – but the next few minutes may be our last here on earth.
If you haven’t already noticed, Christians rarely get around to leading people to faith in Christ and discipling them. They seem to have very little heart for the lost; seeming to forget that today may be someone’s last before they pass into eternity. This all goes back to the way Christians are using their time; or rather, God’s time. Now, hold that thought for a moment and let’s turn to our next passage.
Time and Corporate Worship (Ephesians 5:14-21)
14 Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” 15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time (kairos), because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.
In an interview with comedian Alan King, he talked about his poor attendance record in church. He told of how his rabbi confronted him about the frequent absences and challenged him to make more concerted efforts to be in worship. King gave a long list of excuses that contained little merit. He then became defensive and said, “Every time I come, people make a big deal about me being there. That makes me feel very uncomfortable.” The wise rabbi replied, “If you came more often they wouldn’t be that excited to see you!”
These verses speak about using time wisely in regards to corporate worship. Toward the end of this passage (vv. 17-21), Paul spoke about how it is the will of the Lord to be filled with the Holy Spirit rather than “the spirits;” or rather, wine and liquor. He was saying that we need to be undistracted and focused, as we join together in corporate worship, edifying others and God through song, lifting up prayers of thanksgiving and submitting unto one another.
In Hebrews we are admonished, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:23-25).
From what we read in Hebrews, holding fast our confession is linked to corporate worship. This means that if we truly have faith in Jesus Christ and if we wish to stand strong in our faith, then we will – for lack of better words – attend church. Here in Ephesians chapter five, Paul emphasized that assembling together for worship, and coming together as a church, is the will of God and extremely important; yet, obviously, something wasn’t right, because Paul had to declare, “Awake you who sleep!” (v. 14). “Do not be fools, but redeem the time!” There were people missing out on fellowship and worship because they were distracted by this world and drunk with wine. They were going through life half-asleep!
As you can guess, when Paul said they needed to be “redeeming the time” in verse 16, the Greek word for time is kairos. He was saying, in essence, “Seize the day!” But the thing that had kept the “Colossians” distracted from evangelism back in our first passage, and what was keeping the “Ephesians” from corporate fellowship and worship; and the thing that hindered them all from living in the moment for the Lord, was the fact that they were using time unwisely and as fools. They were using it on themselves; which is the number one problem we see in America that is keeping Christians from serving the Lord.
Are We Living in Kairos or Kronos?
Now, let’s go a little deeper. In both of these passages Paul spoke about kairos, which you might call God’s time. But there is another kind of time designated by the Greek word kronos, which you might call the devil’s time. Kronos is a temptation that is distracting believers from using their lives wisely for the Lord. Now, I want to ask you to please bear with me as I explain this concept.
The word kronos originated with the worship of the Phoenician god Molech. In Leviticus 18:21, the Lord said, “You shall not let any of your descendants pass through the fire to Molech.” And yet, later in the Scripture we see the Israelites offering in sacrifice to this false god. Molech worship included child sacrifice, or “passing children through the fire” and burning them. When a couple sacrificed their firstborn, they believed that Molech would ensure financial prosperity for the family (GotQuestions.org). So, Molech was about prosperity. Years later, the ancient Greek culture of North Africa worshipped Molech, renaming him Kronos, who went on to become the Greek god of “time.” So, there is another kind of time called kronos, which is all about money and personal gain. Does this sound like something we’re seeing today?
Kairos – or God’s time – deals with something called “constant time,” or what is happening right here, right now; and what’s right in front of us. Whereas, in contrast, there is “linear time,” which is kronos – or Satan’s time. In linear time (kronos) we can become so focused on moving forward, and in doing more and earning more, that we fail to stand still long enough to look up unto God or even notice our surroundings. In constant time (kairos) we are able to be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10). The aim of kronos is to distract us from abundant life in the Lord; and to distract us from God-appointed opportunities for evangelism; and to deceive us into forsaking the bond of fellowship and the times of refreshing that we find in corporate worship.
God exists in kairos time. He is all around us at every moment. He is the “Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End . . . who is and who was and who is to come” (Revelation 1:8). “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). We have full access to Him at all times. He sees all and knows all, and He’s constantly guiding us toward opportunities to share our faith, and asking us to abide in His presence in corporate worship. But we are all too often unable to experience His ever-present goodness and mercy, and His guiding hand, because we’re stuck in kronos time. We’ve been deceived into take the low road; the long and grueling horizontal path.
Kronos says, “Put your nose to the grind stone, keep your head down, and work, work, work.” Do not look at your surroundings, because your family and the needs of the people around you are distractions to making money.” And so, many mothers and fathers are sacrificing their children and families on the altar, worshipping the god of money in pursuit of financial gain. They are wasting precious time they could have with their children; time they’ll never be able to regain; time that has been lost unto the modern day Molechs. And it’s this mindset that leads people to work for more money than they need (as money has become a god); and in doing so, they begin sacrificing their relationship with the Lord, and denying His calling unto fellowship and service.
Kronos also says, “Time belongs to you. You’ve worked hard all week. You deserve to take time to go shopping, or to go golfing or fishing. You don’t need to go to church.” And in its original spirit of Molech – who promises prosperity – kronos will evoke such thinking as, “My children deserve to be popular, so I’ll make sure they become involved in sports, and nothing will get in the way. And if a practice or a game is scheduled during church time, then my kids will have to skip church.” Why? Because saving face and being popular takes precedence over honoring the Lord.
It seems that most Americans are living by the clock, which is kronos; and the clock will always distract us. If we focus on the clock we will try to hoard time for ourselves, which is selfishness. Selfishness is one of the reasons why Christians fail to share their faith and why they forsake the fellowship of the church. Paul says that instead of living by the clock, we need to be living in the moment, which is kairos. We need to lift up our heads from that linear, selfish mindset, in order to catch a sight of God and see the needs of those around us. Paul calls it “redeeming the time.”
Redeeming the Time and Our Priorities
According to what Paul said in Colossians, we should be praying for doors of opportunity to be opened to us to share the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ; and we should be watching at all times for those opportunities to arise, and be ready and willing to share our faith whenever they do happen. We live this way as we seek to redeem the time; living in the present moment for the Lord.
And from what Paul shared in Ephesians, we can see that we should be regularly joining together in honoring the Lord. We make fellowship and worship a priority as we seek to redeem the time; living in the present moment to exhort others and exalt the Lord with our church attendance. Hebrews 3:12-13 says, “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is [still] called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” But unfortunately, many Christians have become hardened by sin, living only for themselves; and doing only what is comfortable.
Often, when we exhort believers to evangelize or attend church, the common response is, “I don’t have time,” or “I’m too busy.” But let me tell you, it’s not a matter of not having time; it all boils down to a matter of priorities. We make time for what we deem as a priority. So, let me ask you some questions. “What are your priorities?” and “Who are you living for?” “Are you on God’s time, living in the present moment and looking for every opportunity to glorify Him? Or, are you unknowingly on the devil’s time, serving yourself by focusing too much on time and money – Kronos and Molech?” Unfortunately, Kronos has become a god that many worship today.
Time of Reflection
All of our motives and priorities are driven by what’s at the core, or what’s at the heart, of our faith. So, “what” do we put our faith and trust in? Or, maybe a better question is “whom” do we trust? Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve [both] God and [money]” (Matthew 6:24). Many Christians exhibit that they still love the world more than Christ.
Let me leave you with a cutting question posed by Elijah. We read in 1 Kings 18:21, “And Elijah came to all the people, and said, ‘How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.’ But the people answered him not a word.” So, how long will we, as professing believers in Jesus Christ, falter between two opinions, or two opposing forces? How long will we ride the fence between kingdom directives and selfish desires? We will never make evangelism and corporate worship priorities until we make Jesus the center of our life.
Is Jesus the center of your life? Paul said, “He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Corinthians 5:15).
He also said, “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:17). So, let me ask you today: Are you doing all things unto the glory of Lord? Does your life revolve around Jesus, or have you made Jesus revolve around you?” Jesus said that “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).
If God and His Son are not first in your life, why might that be? Search your heart, and if something is not right in your relationship with the Lord, I ask that you would settle that matter today. And let me remind us all that evangelism and corporate worship are extremely important in the eyes of God, so let’s prioritize our lives in such a way that we begin redeeming the time for the Lord.
