Colossians 4:2-6. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on August 12, 2018.
Our world today has convinced itself that there is no eternity for us to face. And so, people live lives that are focused on the fleeting thoughts and wants of this life, going here and there. Today we need to hear Christ calling us to lift our eyes and see that there is a harvest all around us. It is a harvest of people who have been made hungry for the Gospel because they haven’t found something that can satisfy their soul.
In our passage today, Paul is drawing near to the end of his letter to the Colossians, and encourages believers to be active in two different areas of life. The first part is centered on our internal life and the second is focused on our external life. When believers recognize the value that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has for us and the people around us, we give prayer and witnessing the proper vigilance that eternal matters deserve.
In our passage today, Paul turns from the relationship between slaves and their masters, and speaks to the group of believers as a whole.
If I were to summarize the book of Colossians I would say this. Paul is concerned that believers understand the mystery of the Gospel of Christ enough in order to avoid deceptions and to be transformed into the image of Jesus. It takes prayer to withstand spiritual deception, and it takes prayer to put off the old man and to put on the new man. Thus in verse 2 Paul uses a verb that has the idea of continuing with strength. Prayer is not just a passionless duty. It is not enough to pray when you first get saved and then quit. It is not enough to pray only in times of disaster and great need. Believers must also continue strongly in prayer during all the times in between.
Paul emphasizes being “watchful” in prayer. What are we watching? We are being watchful of our lives, both external deceptions and our own internal deceptions. We are watchful for those temptations that would seek to take us by surprise and by storm. We are also to be watchful over one another, as spiritual brothers and sisters. Jesus himself used the world “watch” in his last hours with his disciples. He asked Peter, James, and John to watch with Him as He prayed. Later, when He found them sleeping, He warned them to “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41 (NKJV). They were going through a time of severe testing and strong temptation. It was Jesus who not only made them aware of it, but also told them that they would only overcome those temptations through prayer. Satan is often successful because we are not paying attention to spiritual matters. When our flesh is strong then we are prone to take the bait that he is using for us.
Of course it is easy to let ourselves fall into a dire, and even hopeless, attitude. Yet, Paul tells them to pray with thanksgiving. If we only treat prayer as a Christmas list that we take to God, then we can get discouraged pretty quick. God is not in the business of spoiling His children and turning us into entitled brats. We would be no good to anybody, even ourselves, at that point. However, when we learn to pray with other kinds of prayer, we become stronger spiritually. In Scripture we not only see prayers of petition, in which we ask for things for ourselves, but also prayers of Adoration. This is where we praise God for who He is. We should also give up prayers of thanksgiving in which we thank God for what He has done and how He has blessed us. There are also prayers of confession in which we repent before God concerning any areas of sin in our life.
Prayer may have a novelty feel to it at first. In fact, we can do different things to try and maintain a feeling of novelty (turn down lights, play instrumental music, light candles, etc.). However, none of these things will ever be able to overcome the reality that our flesh will quickly grow tired of prayer. When our flesh realizes that God is not going to satisfy our every whim and desire, it either falls asleep or walks away. So take time to be thankful in your prayers, but not just for the things He has given you. Also be thankful for who He is and His character, His faithfulness and grace. We are on the winning side. So we need not be dire and glum, though the world around us is given over to darkness. Rather we can pray with joy and thanksgiving in our heart.
Paul also asks that they would pray for him and his companions, especially that they would have an open door to share the Gospel. Just as they needed doors, so we too need the Lord to open doors for us to share the Gospel. We should not take it for granted, but labor for it in prayer. Paul also asks that they would pray that he would have clarity in explaining the Gospel to others. Many people have a superficial understanding of Jesus, if anything at all. They need a clear presentation of the Gospel. So wouldn’t God just open doors for us, why should we pray? It is true that if you do not pray, God will still be busy working. And, God will use others. However, those others cannot take the place that God has given to me and you. Without prayer, I will miss those opportunities and those opportunities will be missing in the lives of those I was supposed to impact. Prayer puts us in the harness with the Holy Spirit to do the work that needs done to prepare people’s hearts, plant the seed of truth, water it, and harvest at the appropriate time. Even though he was in chains, under house arrest, Paul knew that prayer could open up opportunities to share the Gospel.
In verse 5 Paul reminds them to walk wisely among “the outsiders.” This phrase is a reference to people who are outside the Church because they are not believers in Jesus. Have you ever thought about how your actions can affect unbelievers? We can be unwise and act foolishly around unbelievers and negatively impact how they view Christ.
Paul also connects to this the phrase “redeeming the time.” This was a phrase that was used of a person who purchases an item at the perfect time, whether to get a deal in the marketplace, or to take possession of a desired item. If we walk foolishly then we will lose time in drawing others to Christ. That can be done by neglecting to look like Christ enough to be attractive to them or even neglecting to share when they are open. But even worse, we can be offensive to them and drive them away from Christ. Now, it is true that Christ is offensive to our flesh because He is spiritual. However, we cannot walk foolishly, AKA unspiritually, and then say they weren’t ready. We should always have our eyes open and be praying for opportune moments in the lives of people. Wisdom understands what is important in life and takes care of eternal matters at the expense of the temporal ones. However, folly takes care of temporal matters at the expense of the eternal. We redeem the time when we walk in harmony with what God is trying to do in the lives of people around us.
Paul also instructs believers to always speak with grace. In that sense grace means to speak in a way that is favorable to those who listen to us. How easy it is to let our speech rush on leaving grace behind. Even worse, we may pick up unfavorable companions such as: anger, pride, greed, etc. Part of wisdom is to temper our speech, so as not to offend unnecessarily. We must remove the obstacles of our flesh as much as we can. Yes, none of us are perfect, and people can always find some reason to reject us. But that is between them and God. My focus needs to be on me. Lord, help me to walk wisely before those who do not know you. This connects to the last chapter’s focus on putting off the old man and putting on the new.
Paul also uses a phrase, “seasoned with salt.” It is a reference to the fact that food is made tastier when it is salted. Our speech can be plain food without any spice, or we can speak with creative flavor of a life lived in relationship with God. In fact, Christ uses salt as a reference to believers. He says that we are the salt of the earth. Thus our speech should be such that it causes people to want to hear it, at least until they make a decision to either embrace Christ or not.
The combination of prayer, walking wisely, and speaking with grace, will put us in the proper place that we will learn how to answer each person we come in contact with (vs. 6)k We must truly have a relationship with Jesus before we will learn how to answer those who ask us why we believe in Him.
May God help us to take time this week to pray. May we pray for the wisdom to redeem the time in the lives of unbelievers. The “New Man” takes time to pray and to share the good news of Jesus Christ with the lost around them. May God help us to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, by the help of His Holy Spirit.