BE PREPARED TO EVANGELIZE

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Colossians 4:5-6

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In yesterday’s message from Colossians 4, we found the Apostle Paul asking his brothers and sisters in Colossae to pray for him, specifically for continued opportunities to evangelize to others. He not only hoped for more Gospel work to come his way but to also be able to communicate the good news clearly to ensure maximum understanding by those he spoke to.

It’s important to note here that everyone who has chosen to believe in Jesus as Savior is called by Him to be an evangelist through the Great Commission. Here was the tasker:

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. Matthew 28:19-20a

All Christ believers are called to action so to ensure that everyone hears about Jesus and the salvation God offers Him. And so we all should be joining Paul in praying for Gospel-sharing opportunities each and every day.

But what are we to do when those occasions happen? What considerations need to be in play as we tell others about Jesus?

We find the answer in today’s passage. Look again at verses 5 and 6:

Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Colossians 4:5-6

How are we to operate within Gospel-sharing opportunities?

First, we have to exercise wisdom in the way we conduct ourselves when discussing the Gospel with outsiders, those who have not committed to Christ. Every person is different and so we can’t approach everyone the same. We have to meet people where they are and get to know them to find the right angle to communicate Jesus with them. Wisdom helps us be patient to be most effective and it also reminds us to trust in the leading of the Holy Spirit who will always help show us the best way to bring the good news of salvation to others.

The second thing we need to do when carrying out daily evangelism is to “make the most of every opportunity”.

Perhaps the easiest way to do this is to keep in mind the urgency within every Gospel-sharing experience. The unsaved person is on their way to God’s eternal judgment in Hell. Death won’t be the end for them anymore than it is for a person in Christ and an evangelist has the chance to help a person see their need for a Savior.

In the end translation, there’s simply too much at stake to not make the most of every Gospel-sharing opportunity the Lord brings our way.

Finally, the scriptures advise us to allow our conversations to be “full of grace” and “seasoned with salt”.

Any discussion about salvation must include an explanation of grace. This can include God’s grace as displayed by offering up His Son to die in our place. God requires nothing from us in return but to simply believe in Jesus to be saved. I have always liked to share the gift of grace by treating the word “grace” as the following acronym:

God’s

Reward

At

Christ’s

Expense

Within every evangelism opportunity, we must be prepared to talk about grace.

But what about the salt seasoning? What is that all about?

The answer comes in thinking about salt and why it is used.

When applied to food, salt enhances the flavor of what is being eaten. It makes it more palatable.

In biblical times, salt was also used as a preservative, applied to meat to prolong its usefulness before spoiling.

As Christians share the good news of salvation through Jesus with others, they must ensure that it is interesting to the listener, seasoned so that the listener understands how their life will be enhanced and preserved through placing their belief in Christ. That’s what it means to season Gospel conversations with “salt”.

Friends, we need to pray for the Lord to bring us Gospel-sharing opportunities every day but we also need to be prepared so to maximize those opportunities when they come. Our passage today has equipped us to ensure we do just that.

Thanks be to God for the gift of His Word!

Amen.  

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

A PRAYER FOR EVANGELISM

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In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains. Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should.

Colossians 4:3-4 NLT

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The Apostle Paul became a changed man after his Damascus road encounter with Jesus (Acts 9:1-27). Once a fervent Jew and persecutor of Christians, he became the greatest evangelist for the cause of the Gospel after Jesus ascended to sit at God’s right hand (Acts 1:9), fulfilling the Savior’s proclamation that His followers would witness and testify to the salvation only found through Him “to the end of the earth” through the power of the Holy Spirit (1:8).

After His conversion, Paul became a dedicated evangelist, never afraid to take the good news of Jesus wherever God sent him. He embarked and finished multiple missionary journeys, three of which are documented in the Book of Acts although it’s believed Paul did go out on a fourth journey that is not documented in the Bible. The three journeys found in the scriptures all occurred before Paul wrote this letter to the Colossians while he was incarcerated in Rome.

Regardless of how many journeys total Paul took, there is no question that he gave up his life as it was for the cause of the Gospel. Perhaps there is no other person in the Bible who more closely mirrored the life of Jesus in this regard.

As we turn to our verses today from the fourth chapter of Colossians, we find Paul still in evangelism mode despite his imprisonment. Look again at his words here as he petitions his brothers and sisters in Colossae to pray for him:

Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains. Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should. Vv. 3-4 NLT

Yes, Paul was “in chains” in Rome but he wasn’t about to allow his loss of freedom to thwart his sharing of Christ with others. In fact, we know that Paul wrote four letters found in the New Testament from this time of Roman house arrest: Ephesians, Philippians, Philemon, and Colossians, the focus of our most recent study. In each of these letters, Paul continued to drive home the importance of preserving the purity of the Gospel the church had received, rejecting any false teachings that might be introduced. Paul also evangelized while in prison and testifies to this in these words to the believers in Philippi:

“Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear” (Philippians 1:12-14).

Despite being confined to his home, Paul still shared the good news of Jesus with whoever he could so everyone who knew of him knew of the “mysterious plan concerning Christ”. I find it fascinating that of all the personal things that Paul could ask the Colossians to pray for, he simply requested prayers for opportunities to continue to share the Gospel with others and the ability to “proclaim this message as clearly” as he should.

It was a prayer request for evangelism and perhaps all Christians should follow Paul’s lead as they awake each day with the chance to carry out Jesus’ Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). We should pray for other believers and then turn to our Lord, asking for His intervention in our own lives. The prayer might go like this:

Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for Your life, Your death, and Your resurrection which brought salvation to everyone who would believe in You. You called all Your followers to go and make disciples of all nations and I pray today that every single Christian believer would be obedient to Your calling. I pray that God the Father would provide them the opportunities to share the Gospel with the unsaved and do so with clarity for understanding. I also pray that You will use me today for the cause of the Gospel and offer myself to You as a living sacrifice. Please use me as You see fit to further Your kingdom here on earth and help other come to find eternal life through You. I pray all these things in Your precious and holy Name, the name of Jesus, the only name by which anyone can be saved.

Amen.  

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

THE MASTER/SLAVE RELATIONSHIP

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In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Serve them sincerely because of your reverent fear of the Lord. Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. But if you do what is wrong, you will be paid back for the wrong you have done. For God has no favorites.

Masters, be just and fair to your slaves. Remember that you also have a Master—in heaven.

Colossians 3:22-25, 4:1 NLT

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Slavery was prevalent in biblical times. We know so because the Bible speaks to it on many occasions.

One of those occasions is found at the end of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, chapter 3, beginning at verse 22 through the first verse of chapter 4. Look again at these words now:

Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Serve them sincerely because of your reverent fear of the Lord. Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. But if you do what is wrong, you will be paid back for the wrong you have done. For God has no favorites.

Masters, be just and fair to your slaves. Remember that you also have a Master—in heaven.

It’s interesting here that these verses immediately follow guidance to members of a family, specifically the wife, husband, children, and fathers. Most Bibles have headings to bracket off sections of scripture and these headings serve to let the reader know the theme that lies ahead. In this section of Colossians 3, my Bible had the header, “Instruction for Christian Households” and as we read the verses in today’s passage, it’s obvious that both the masters and slaves were Christians.

Note here that Paul doesn’t advocate for slavery nor does he encourage slaves to revolt and rebel against their masters. Rather, he places the emphasis on their lives as they live them in the Lord’s sight, no matter their status in it.

Slaves were to show complete submission and obedience to their masters with the goal of not only pleasing them but the Lord. In fact, the slave’s labor for their master was to match the level of work that would be done if the Lord was the One tasking them. And indeed, Paul wanted the slaves know that their true Master was Jesus, not the earthly master they labored for.

If they did this, then the Lord would give them an inheritance as their reward but if they failed, then they would face the consequences of God, the God who brings judgment on the disobedient, no matter their socio-economic or cultural status.

As for the slave masters, they also were also accountable to the same Master as the slaves, a Master who also watched the way they treated the slaves. God commanded the earthly masters to “be just and fair” to their slaves. Abuse and mistreatment would be considered a violation of the Lord’s orders and the masters would be subject to consequences themselves.

Slaves and masters. Both in worldly relation to one another. Both equally accountable to a God who holds no favorites.

Before I close, there’s a deeper meaning to this passage, one that applies to all Christian believers.

The great American pastor, John MacArthur, wrote a great Christian book titled “Slave”. If you haven’t read it, I would highly recommend it.

In the book, MacArthur highlights how many Bible translations misrepresent the Greek word, “doulos”, which is used 127 times in the New Testament. The word means “slave” but when it was translated into many of the Bible translations popular with believers today, the word “slave” was replaced by the word “servant”. Obviously, there is a big disparity between these two words and that disparity leads to a watering down of the message the Lord intends to convey through His word regarding the relationship between Him and His people, a people who are utterly subordinate to Him.

People can choose to be servants but there’s nothing in the world that says they have to. They are independent and free to make their own choices.

Slaves have no real rights or freedom. They belong to their masters, dependent on them fully for their needs.

When we replace the word “slave” with “servant” in the scriptures, we lose sight of the true relationship that exists between the Lord and those He created. There is one Master (capital M) and everyone here on earth is a slave to Him, whether they see themselves that way or not. That’s the real Master/Slave relationship.

The Master’s slaves work for Him and in return, He cares for their needs and rewards them with an inheritance when they believe in Jesus, His Son, as Savior.

Anyone who chooses to live outside of the true Master doesn’t escape enslavement. Rather, they are a slave to sin who becomes their worldly master.

We are all slaves working for one divine Master. People not in Christ are also slaves, slaves to sin who serves as their master, a master who cares nothing for anyone who he rules.

In the end translation, we are all slaves to one of two masters.

Choose yours wisely. Choose the Lord.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

HOUSE RULES (PART 4)

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In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Fathers, do not aggravate your children, or they will become discouraged.

Colossians 3:21 NLT

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Within Colossians 3, verses 18 through 21, we find a series of four house rules, commands that were to be followed within a Christian household. Today, we look at the final message in this series but before we do, let’s recap the first three rules:

House Rule #1: Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord (v. 18).

House Rule #2: Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly (v. 19). Here we added an additional order from Ephesians 5 that tells the husband that they are to love their wife as Christ loved the church (v.25).

House Rule #3: Children, always obey your parents, for this pleases the Lord (v.20).

And that leads us to today’s final house rule, this one directed at fathers:

House Rule #4: Fathers, do not aggravate your children, or they will become discouraged (v.21).

It’s interesting to look at other Bible translations and see whether or not they use the same demand for father to not aggravate their children. Here’s what you find in regard to other words that replace the word “aggravate”:

CEV – Do not be hard on your children.

GNT – Do not irritate.

HCSB – Do not exasperate.

NKJV – Do not provoke.

Five different translations. Five different words used but the meaning is still the same.

Fathers are to be careful in how they treat their children because getting on your children with excess can do more harm than good. That’s the point being made here.

Now, this verse isn’t saying that fathers shouldn’t discipline their children. Elsewhere in the Bible, we definitely see the call to parent a child in a way where they aren’t spoiled but rather corrected appropriately and the scriptures definitely reinforce that any abusive behavior toward children is sinful and unacceptable to God, who is the true Father of all children.

Here, the call is for a father to avoid being overbearing and authoritarian to the point where there is constant criticism of their children. Hearing negativity over and over and over again is discouraging for adults, let alone children who lack the maturity to cope with continually being yelled at or denigrated.

Need an example?

Several years ago, I was volunteering in a program at a local high school, mentoring teens who were failing three or more subjects. One male youth in particular that I helped was actually very intelligent. He just wasn’t believing in himself.

And so I took him under my wing and consistently praised and encouraged him. When I did, he responded with success in his school work. I told him I was proud of him and believed in him to which he asked why I did when his father always told him he wasn’t good for anything.

The student’s words broke my heart and they were a real life example of the consequences that can happen when a father (or mother, as well) continually get down on their children. This boy had lost sight of how precious and valued he was, torn down by the very father who was charged with building him up. 

So how should a father instruct and correct their children?

Go back to the fifth chapter of Ephesians where Paul wrote these words:

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord. v.4

Here we find the key to parenting as a whole. For a father and mother should be turning first to the Lord as to how they are raising up His children, and every child is a child who belongs to God. God entrusts human parents to bring up His children until the point when they are adults and can then serve Him, eventually raising their own children provided by Him.

When my wife and I were raising our two daughters, we never disciplined them for doing wrong without reinforcing it with the Bible. In other words, we would show them that the wrong they had committed was actually a sin against the Lord and against His guidance in the scriptures. We weren’t just making up a transgression for the pleasure of correcting them. Rather, it was our responsibility to enforce the word of God, especially as it applied to living right and righteously.

Perhaps we would have fewer problems with our youth today if parents would just be obedient to the scriptures themselves and bring up their children “with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord”. For the only way we can be sure we are raising up our kids in the way the Lord wants is to allow Him to lead and guide us to that end.

He will always a father or mother parents in a way that honors and pleases Him.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com