Colossians 4:5-6

How you speak to others matters. Today, the Apostle Paul is going to instruct us on how we conduct ourself around other people and give us some insight as to how a changed life impacts our output on the world around us.

Christ’s teaching was powerful because He used vivid, everyday metaphors to describe spiritual truths. For instance, when He desired to describe how the gospel would encounter opposition in the world before His glorious return, He likened it unto seed that germinated into beautiful plants, but was also infiltrated with a plethora of weeds (Matt. 13). To illustrate what He will do as the divine judge at His Second Coming, He told the Parable of the Fishing Net (Matt. 13:47-52). Most Israelites understood this imagery because they either knew firsthand or witnessed the separation of good and bad fish from a fishing net. Jesus, therefore, warns us that at the end of the age He will deal with believers and unbelievers this way.

Paul follows Christ’s masterful teaching method in Colossians, seeking to teach believers how to grow in sanctification by removing old, sinful clothing and replacing it with holy and virtuous spiritual clothing. His teaching is so timely, too. How so? Since Jesus is the God-man, and not some watered-down semi-divine being of the Gnostics, then if you are His child, you should wear spiritual clothing He deems necessary and acceptable. To challenge us to make these particular clothing changes daily, Paul presents and then supports this precise motif:

Your Christian Life Should Always Be Moving From The Old Life To the New Life (Col. 3:5-4:6)

From chapter 3:12 through 4:6, Paul helps us with what I call . . .

The Identification of the Right Clothing (Col. 3:12-4:6)

When you head out the door in the morning, when you rise to live another day, let your mind be fixed on this question: Is there sinful clothing I need to take off with the Spirit’s power, and is there holy clothing I need His help in putting on? This is the process of practical sanctification and the means whereby we all grow and mature in the faith as Christ’s disciples.

Thus far, Paul has presented eighteen positive garments we need to wear each day. How are you doing with these commands? Have you made some radical adjustments in your spiritual wardrobe? With verses five and six, Paul adds two final garments for us to consider.

Garment #19: Wise Walking

Here is another wonderful spiritual garment.

⁵ Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.

^BGT Colossians 4:5 Ἐν σοφίᾳ περιπατεῖτε πρὸς τοὺς ἔξω τὸν καιρὸν ἐξαγοραζόμενοι.

The command is built on the verb that speaks of literal walking. Paul, of course, applies it to spiritual walking. How should believers walk in life? Answer? They should walk “in wisdom,” or in sophia. What is the opposite of wisdom? Foolishness.

Wisdom says things like, “When you are in Floridian waters that have alligators, you stay out of the water and remain in the boat.” Foolishness says, conversely, “Paddle as close as you can next to an alligator, pat it on the back, and then take some selfies to send to friends.” There are always two ways you can live: wisely or foolishly.

The mere presence of this Pauline command informs us that we can, as believers, choose to wear the garments called wise walking, or we can, to our own spiritual detriment, wear the garment labeled foolishness. Wise walking, of course, would be directly and contextually related to the last eighteen holy garments Paul commands us to wear. Foolish walking consists of wearing the sinful garments detailed in 3:1-11. How are you doing with this? Does your Christian life look like you are making wise choices or unwise ones?

Why does it matter? Because, as Paul says, non-Christians are constantly watching you. They want to know if following Jesus is worth it. They might also be looking for reasons not to follow Jesus by how you do not live out the Christian life. We know non-Christians are in view because Paul calls them “outsiders.” This is the term for unbelievers in the NT: Mark 4:11; 1 Cor. 5:12f; 1 Thess. 4:12. Believers are inside the house of faith, while non-Christians are outside. Which are you?

If you are a believer, then live like you are an insider so that outsiders can see why they should be insiders too.  If, on the other hand, you live like an outsider when you are, in fact, an insider, then your failure to live a godly life will give true outsiders rationalizations for why they should remain outsiders.

In light of this, let’s go one step further than Paul by asking a practical question: What does unwise walking before unbelievers look like? I’ll give you some things to think about:

• The ongoing argument, be what it may, that Euodia and Syntyche had at the church in Philippi didn’t provide a good spiritual optic (Phil. 4). Who would want to go to church with two ladies at war with each other? Non-believers encounter this in their work environments.
• You are guilty of what is called value dilution. You soften or downplay biblical beliefs to avoid arguments and/or to fit in with non-Christians.
• You befriend the wrong people and do what they do (Prov. 1:5ff).
• You show favoritism to wealthy people at church, while ignoring the needs of the poor (James 2:1-13). Some Christians like to identify with people who have sprawling homes, expensive cars, eat at pricey restaurants, pal around with people of power and position, who look fantastic, who wear trendy clothes, and so forth. Some don’t like to talk with people who don’t dress well, look put-together, drive a beater car, don’t have prestigious degrees, and the like. Some want to appear successful and wealthy by hanging with these types of people. It’s all image and striving after the wind (Ecc. 1). It’s all outer importance, not inner importance. Are you guilty? Are you impressed by status? Wealth? Fame? Are you partial to the “haves,” while ignoring the “have-nots”?
• Your car gets repossessed because you haven’t been making the payments. What will that data point say to a non-believer?
• You drink as much as they drink, or more.
• You have an affair that you think is secret, but it really isn’t (Prov. 6:28-29).
• You gamble on games as much as they do.
• You use foul language when you are not at church.
• You tell off-color jokes to get a laugh.
• You don’t pull your weight on the job, but tend to float and do as little as possible.
• You don’t discipline your children, so they tend to run wild, break things, and enjoy being unruly.
• You embrace cultural causes that go against the clear teaching of the Word of God.
• You are unfriendly and aloof.
• Non-Christians loan you things, but you don’t loan things in return.
• You talk about the importance of material things, while ignoring discussion about spiritual things.
• You gossip and talk others down behind their backs, right along with the best of them.
• You create chaos and trouble whenever you are placed in groups. Things always seem to go south when you show up.
• When non-Christians are experiencing personal adversity, you don’t come alongside them to encourage them. In fact, you say very little.
• You say your Christianity is important, but they can see that you don’t typically pull out of your garage on a Sunday morning to attend.
• You talk your husband down to your non-Christian friends when you have a girls’ night out, or you talk your wife down to your non-Christian buddies when you are playing golf.

I could go on, but I’m sure you get the practical point. Unwise walking will make it extremely difficult for non-Christians to be convinced they need Jesus in their life. So, if you are an insider, live like one so outsiders can see the value of becoming an insider.

Finally, if you are an insider, you should seize the day, or seize the opportunity, to live as such, because you don’t know when you won’t have this particular opportunity again to impact an unbeliever with the power of the gospel.

In Greek mythology, the so-called god of opportunity was called Kairos. He was supposedly the youngest son of Zeus. He is typically depicted as a nude, youthful god with winged feet and a single lock of hair hanging over his forehead. His marble statues also show him running swiftly while holding onto scales. This all underscores how quickly a person must seize an opportunity that the gods have brought their way. To pause is to miss it, because there is nothing to hold on to to realize the opportunity. Paul probably alludes to this Grecian mindset here when he says, “making the most of the opportunity,” where opportunity is grounded in the word kairon, meaning “quality time” rather than chronological time.

⁵ Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.

^BGT Colossians 4:5 Ἐν σοφίᾳ περιπατεῖτε πρὸς τοὺς ἔξω τὸν καιρὸν ἐξαγοραζόμενοι.

Put simply, Paul challenges believers to seize opportunities that arise with non-Christians, so that their lives can be an attraction to the gospel and to the Lord who gives us the life-giving gospel.

The phrase “making the most of” (NAS, NIV), or “redeem” (KJV), is one word in Greek: eksagorazomenoi (ἐξαγοραζόμενοι). This word is a combination of the preposition, out, or ek, wedded to the verb to shop and purchase, viz., agorazo (which is related to the word agora, or the place where ancient Greeks shopped). The preposition, of course, intensifies the meaning of the verb. What does it mean? It means we should move quickly and definitively to purchase or own those opportunities to win the lost through our wise living. Think of how quickly you jumped on those Prime Day deals from June 23 through the 26. That is the same intensity you should employ when you see an opportunity to reach a spiritual outsider with your insider-transformed living.

A few examples will prime the proverbial pump.

• When a non-Christian friend loses their job or government contract, be there for them. Encourage them. Tell them you will pray for them. Take them to lunch to see how they are doing. See if you might be able to pass their resume around.
• When they experience a loss, grieve with them. Send them a card. Write some meaningful things on the card.
• If their marriage is on the rocks, point them to the Rock by serving as a sounding board for their complex, emotionally draining situation.
• If they are having problems with an ex-wife or husband who is meddling in their new marriage, be there for them. Offer a listening ear, a compassionate heart, and some wise, other-worldly counsel.
• Along these lines, I once read of a man who showed up at a family’s home one snowy winter morning as they prepared for a funeral later that day. In his hand was a wooden shoeshine box. After greeting the family, he informed them that his sole goal that day was to clean all of their shoes to prepare them for the funeral of their loved one. They allowed him in, he cleaned the shoes, and then quietly left. They never forgot that this man was an insider. Go and do likewise is my counsel, and your Christlike example will draw many outsiders to the God-man who can make them spiritual insiders of His wonderful and eternal family.

Paul closes out this powerful section with one more godly, holy garment:

Garment #20: Seasoned Speech

Once again, Paul mixes metaphors here.

⁶ Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were, with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person. (Col. 4)

Colossians 4:6 ὁ λόγος ὑμῶν πάντοτε ἐν χάριτι, ἅλατι ἠρτυμένος, εἰδέναι πῶς δεῖ ὑμᾶς ἑνὶ ἑκάστῳ ἀποκρίνεσθαι. (Col. 4)

The participle here, “to be seasoned,” derives its imperatival force from the imperatival verb in the last verse. What is to be seasoned so that it is tasty? Our speech. What is it to be seasoned with? Grace. Ah. That’s the secret ingredient to woo non-Christians to Jesus, the Savior.

Several years ago, one of our parishioners, who loves to smoke meat, kindly gave me his Kumodo smoker because he had a larger custom smoker installed on his new marbled patio. When I told him I didn’t know how to smoke meat, he kindly taught me so that the food would be juicy and tasty. I now know the value of the right kind of rubs to add to various forms of meat to assure each bite is, well, wonderful.

It is the same with how we talk as Christians. Just as a little salt can make or break the taste of a rack of ribs or a Porterhouse steak, so your words can be so tasty that the non-Christian will want more. God’s ultimate seasoning is listed here by Paul. It is called grace. Grace seasoning says, “Instead of presenting you with all the facts of what’s wrong with what you’re saying, I’m going to listen to you and then repeat what you say so I can make sure I’m understanding your position.” Grace seasoning uses language so that the person is heard. Grace seasoning says, “I’m not going to use pejorative words with you or toward you.” Grace seasoning says, “I’m going to speak positively, not negatively.” Grace seasoning says, “I am open to talking with you about all those hard life questions you are dealing with.” Grace seasoning doesn’t belittle a person, but builds them up. Grace seasoning gives hope where there is hopelessness. Grace seasoning drips with love and compassion.

Think about Jesus. His earthly life was one of gracious speech:

• To the woman caught in adultery, Jesus said, “¹⁰ And straightening up, Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?’” ¹¹ And she said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go your way. From now on sin no more”(John 8).
• To the Samaritan woman with a checkered past, Jesus said, 16 He said to her, ‘Go, call your husband, and come here.”¹⁷ The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband’; ¹⁸ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.” ¹⁹ The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.²⁰ Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” ²¹ Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall you worship the Father. ²² You worship that which you do not know; we worship that which we know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³ But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. ²⁴ God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”²⁵ The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.”26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He”(John 4). Grace seasoning says, “I’ll be patient while I talk to you about spiritual truth.” Grace seasoning says, “I’m interested in talking with you even though others might not.”
• To an unscrupulous and greedy tax collector named Zacchaeus, Jesus said, “I must stay at your house today” (Luke 19:5). No Jew with a brain wanted to stay in the home of a tax collector. That, however, was not Jesus. He loved even this social outcast and looked for an opportunity to have a meaningful conversation with him.
• To the thief on the cross who asked if Jesus would remember the likes of him when He came in His glorious kingdom, Jesus graciously said, “Today you will be with me in Paradise (Luke 23:43). He could have said, “Remember, YOU? Are you kidding me? I know about all of your criminal activities. I’ve seen your rap sheet in my omniscience. And now you, you of all people, want me to be gracious toward you when you’ve lived a life of greed and preying on the less fortunate. I don’t think so.” Grace forgives and speaks kindly.

Many spiritual outsiders became insiders for all eternity because Jesus seasoned His speech with grace. What about you? How many outsiders will become insiders because of how you speak to them?

Speech seasoned with grace doesn’t yell, it doesn’t employ curse words, it doesn’t cut a person down to size, it doesn’t employ biting sarcasm, it doesn’t mock or make fun of a person, it doesn’t seem distant and uncaring, and so on. No. Speech seasoned with grace is tasty because the God of grace makes it so. It is now up to you to make sure your conversations with all people are full of this rub of all rubs.

Lays Potato Chips came onto the world scene with a simple, pithy motto in 1963: Betcha can’t eat just one. After listening to the ad, I thought I’d open up a bag and give one a try. Well, the ad was right. I no sooner ate one of those light, crispy, and salty chips than I ate two, three, and beyond. It’s easy to finish off a bag of Lays, isn’t it? It’s easy because they taste so good; you really do have to come back for more.

May this be true of your speech, especially to non-Christians. Let your answers to their life questions be like spiritual Lay’s Potato Chips. Let your kind, thoughtful, and gracious words that speak hope and encouragement into their troubled world be like offering them a tasty chip. Yes, might your grace-seasoned speech create a desire in them to hear more so that they, too, come to move from the outside to the inside.