I know very little about the sport of boxing, and that suits me just fine. But I have heard of the boxer’s use of the “one/two combination.” As I understand it, if he can connect a second punch to a good first punch, he can score a point or two. And it makes sense to me that if he can come back with a third blow immediately after the first two, he might be able to do some significant damage.
Bro. Fulton gave us a good lesson Sunday morning on being the Christian lights our Saviour intended us to be. And, at least to my thinking, the evening message took that theme a step farther – a decent combination. For some reason, my trainer, the Holy Spirit, has led me back to the same sort of subject. I read a comment about Christian balance, and another note brought me to Colossians 4:6 – “Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” Then in looking at the context, verse 5 suggested Christian balance once again. It is not enough just to preach the truth; to rebuke sin and to exhort other people to moving on with the Lord. In properly balancing our talk, even our gracious speech, there must also be “walking in wisdom toward them that are without.” No one wants to hear our witness for Christ, if we look and smell like a lost person. No one will listen to our gospel, if everyone sees that we are mean, angry, selfish and proud.
All I intend to do this evening is expound these two verses just a little, letting the Holy Spirit apply His Word where He sees fit. Are you ready to listen to what He has to say?
We will start with a wise walk before them who are without.
Obviously, we all live our lives in and among people who are not Christians. Paul describes them in this verse as people who are “without.” If you think about it, those non-believers are “without” in several ways. Paul was probably using the term to suggest that they are “without” in the sense of being “outside.” They are outside any of the Lord’s churches, and so they lack the fellowship of God’s family. But that isn’t as significant as the fact they are outside of Christ who is the key to every thing good. In another epistle Paul reminds us, “Wherefore remember, that YE being in time past gentiles in the flesh… that at that time ye were WITHOUT Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having NO hope, and WITHOUT God in the world” – Ephesians 2:12.
Lost people are not only outside of Christ and without God, more specifically, they lack grace, salvation, eternal life and any real hope. That could – and should – disturb them if they understand what that means. Monday, I got a note from the manufacturer of my car, telling me that they had extended their warranty over a particular part. I was told to put that note with the car’s other papers in the glove box. As I did that, I discovered that I didn’t have a current insurance card. I was “without” proof of insurance. I didn’t exactly panic, but I did get on the phone to request a duplicate card. To be “without” proof of insurance may some day be problematic, but it is nothing compared to being “without” Christ. And like my insurance agent, you and I should be in the business of bring those who are “without” – within.
Part of that ministry of ours is to walk in wisdom before them. I like the Greek word Paul uses here, although there is nothing special about it. It is the word “sophia.” Generally, the word “sophia” doesn’t suggest any specialized wisdom – it could be secular or spiritual. I’m sure Paul wouldn’t commend any it, but there is a lot of worldly wisdom employed in the Lord’s work. He is not talking about religious bribery to bring the lost to church or to Christ. He is not talking about lying or deceiving people about the truth in order to suck them in before eventually revealing what Christianity is.
I think Paul is reaching back toward the Book of Proverbs, where the Lord Himself is described as “wisdom.” Solomon, like the evangelist who says that Christ is everything, tells us: “Wisdom is the principle thing; therefore get wisdom.” “Wisdom crieth without: she uttereth her voice in the streets… How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity… Turn you at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you” – Proverbs 1. Where is wisdom when she pleads her case? She is “without” – where the lost and foolish are found. It takes Spirit-directed wisdom to speak effectively to the lost. And it takes a Spirit-directed walk before their eyes, to suggest that there is value in this gospel we share.
“Redeeming the time” is an example of practical wisdom. This is certainly nothing to be proud of, but the older I get, and that seems to take place on a daily basis… The older I get, the more focused on the Lord I am in my daily life; the more I think about Him, and more earnest I am becoming in sharing the Saviour with those who are “without.” It is not that in my twenties and thirties I wasn’t preaching Christ and trying to establish churches for His glory. But in my service back then, if something didn’t get done one day, there was always the Satanically inspired thought – “I can do it tomorrow.” Well, I have come to realize there are fewer and fewer of those tomorrows left in my life.
“Redeeming the time” is an interesting phrase, and one which comes up several times in God’s Word. Moses suggests it in Psalm 90 – “(Lord) teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” Notice the connection between “numbering our days” and “wisdom.” Among other scriptures, Paul repeats himself almost verbatim in Ephesians 5 – “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
What is it to “redeem time?” Essentially it is to make the most of it. Use it to it is fullest extent. I may have mentioned this before, but for two months now, my credit union has been telling me they are offering CDs – certificates of deposit – at more than 5% interest. The offer expires at the end of the month. Let’s say that I have $1,000 in my checking account. That money is available for paying bills, but it is earning no interest whatsoever. If I moved that $1,000 into my saving’s account, it would earn a minuscule amount of interest. But if I “redeemed” their offer, putting that money into a CD, my income would be greatly enhanced. In this case, redeeming refers to putting it to use. Don’t waste your opportunity. The Lord Jesus said in His sermon on the Mount, after He called us lights in the world, said: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” – Matthew 6:19-20. Paul says much the same thing: “redeem the time” for the days are short and the days are evil.
Along with Christian walkin’ comes Christian talkin’.
“Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” Just for fun, notice that “alway” doesn’t have the letter “s” the way we almost “always” say it. English experts tell us that “alway” doesn’t need an “s” and usually shouldn’t have one. But here isn’t really a hard rule about it. The Bible uses “always” 59 times and the singular “alway” 23 times. Either way doesn’t seem to matter. Acts 10:2 tells us that Cornelius was a “A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.” Since none of my commentaries told me otherwise, I’m going to say that we might use “alway” in either a plural or singular form.
Either way, Paul is essentially telling us to never let the communication of our mouths be without graciousness. Always permit your speech to be filled with grace. And what is grace? Isn’t it unmerited favor? And what is the source of true grace? Isn’t it the Lord? Please notice that unlike verse 5, in this verse we are somewhat passive. “Let, or permit, your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” If we want our speech to be gracious, it is important that we yield ourselves to the leadership of the Lord.
There are many Christians who, even in their witnessing, are quick to condemn – to harshly criticize. Brethren, it is unscriptural. It is unchristian. I’m not saying that we must ignore evil, and we should never point out wickedness. In order for a person to be saved, he must understand that he is a sinner in God’s sight. But the question is: how are we going to tell him so; what manner is it done? Several times over the last month I have heard quoted the words of one of our former church members which were spoken to a lost man. The stranger had said something which apparently was not true. Our church member called his hand on it, telling him that he was lying. But it wasn’t so much what he said, but how he said it. It was said in an unkind and unchristian manner.
We need to go back to the day of our own conversion. How did the Lord come to us? Yes, the Holy Spirit made us miserable under His convicting power. But it was with a glorious purpose infused with superlative grace. Knowing what He was going to accomplish, His condemnation was conveyed to us with love. That is the same sort of way we are to represent Him. We want to have a profitable conversation with that man or woman who is “without.” So, metaphorically, we season our conversation with salt.
I wonder how many seasonings were available to the average housewife in Paul’s day? There were spices and various scents, but the Bible indicates that many were very valuable and thus were carefully dispensed. They were used like currency, not like curry or cayenne. We know for sure that sugar, as we know it today, wasn’t even imagined. And did you know that the word “pepper” cannot be found in the Bible, leaving “salt” as the only common seasoning? Job asked the question in chapter 6 – “Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg?”
But salt was more than a seasoning. It had medicinal properties. It was curative. Judy and I watched a silly TV after church the other night where the bad guy drank the same poison he used to kill someone – attempting to the detectives off his trail. Then he drank a large dose of saltwater to rid himself of the poison. Salt can be used to preserve food, to tan animal hides, to bleach out colors and to do other things. Judy used it the other day to make some huckleberry ice cream. Not that I don’t like ice cream, but salt’s best use, as far as I am concerned, is to make food taste better. It enhances the flavor. As the Lord’s ambassadors, we must, we must, do our best to give our gospel a pleasant taste in the mouth of those who are “without.” I’m not saying that we should hide or distort the truth, but with each individual case, we must try to make it “tasty.”
But there is something else, perhaps even more important. When it came to Israel’s offerings of praise and thanksgiving – not the sin offerings… When it came to the free-will offerings of Israel, Leviticus 2:13 says, “every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt.” – I should do this more than I do, but every presentation of Christ – every witness – every grace-filled conversion should be shared with others as a thank-offering to God. We should be motivated by thanksgiving in every presentation of the gospel truth. And even generally, our speech should be saturated with the salt of prayer and sacrifice.
As I was thinking about this message, I came up with an outline which I eventually cast aside. I was going to deal with the “wise walk,” “purchased moments,” “gracious speech” and “salty seasoning,” concluding with “oughtful answers.” ”That ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” Perhaps that last point shows you why I chose not to use that outline.
Our wise walk, which makes our behavior different from those who are “without” should spark a question or two. Our earnest attempt to make our few days in this world profitable, should arouse a little curiosity. And certainly our attempt to witness of grace and with grace, should provoke questions from those who do not understand us. How important it is that we know how we ought to answer every man.
You might be thinking that Paul is speaking about what answers to share with people for their specific questions. But please notice that this is not what he says. As important, or perhaps even more important that what we answer is, once again, the manner in which we answer the lost man’s questions – Seasoned with salt and infused with grace.
Having attended and successfully passed Bible college courses in “Personal Evangelism…” Having gone to a few “Sword of the Lord” Bible conferences… And now after being in the ministry for more than fifty years… I believe that the best preparation for serving the Lord, witnessing, and preaching the gospel, is drawing nigh to the Lord Himself. Being filled with grace is the best preparation for sharing grace and ministering the word of Grace.
Paul was telling the saints in Colosse, and thus saying to us as well, effective evangelism requires the blending of the gospel message with the life of the messenger. Both are important, and to have just one without the other renders our service futile. “WALK in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your SPEECH be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”