Colossians 4:5-6; 1 Peter 3:8-16 – Our Words
There was a time in the ‘Christian’ west when virtually every home had a copy of the Bible and a large percentage of the population was familiar with some of its teaching. That is no longer the case. Not only do many people have no concept whatever of Biblical truth, they do not possess and never have possessed a copy of the Bible. How then are they to be reached with the only gospel that can save them?
The apostle Paul gives us the answer in verse 5 & 6 of Colossians 4. The Christian is to ‘conduct himself wisely toward outsiders’ and to speak to them in such a way that if offense is taken it will be because of the message and not the way in which it is presented. The only Bible that many people will read is the life of a faithful Christian believer.
When Paul tells them to ‘make the most’ of every opportunity he is literally telling them to ‘buy up’ the opportunity; do not simply wait for the opportunity to come to you; go after it and search it out.
Gracious speech for the people of Paul’s day was what might be called ‘sparkling conversation’, speech that was witty or clever. That was not Paul’s meaning. He wanted the speech of believers to be free from malice or abuse or words that would wound to no purpose. Rather, gracious speech would always be truthful and loving. That does not mean that truthful and loving words do not sometimes wound or cause offense; the sinner does not like to be reminded of his sin, nor the erring Christian of his backsliding, but the purpose of those words is to bring to repentance and to restore to the favour of God.
Words that glorify God, exalt the Lord Jesus and show men how to please God are ‘gracious words, seasoned with salt’.
Questions
- Think about how you can ensure that you always ‘conduct yourself with wisdom towards outsiders’.
Prayer Points
- Pray for the preaching and hearing of God’s Word tomorrow.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.