Proclaiming
Colossians • Sermon • Submitted
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Proclaiming
doors to be opened,
but that doors of ministry might be opened
(1 Cor.16:9; Acts 14:27).
It was more important to Paul
that he be a faithful minister than a free man. It is
worth noting that in all of Paul's prison prayers,
his concern was not for personal safety or material
help, but for spiritual character and blessing.
Paul was in prison because of the
"mystery of Christ" which related to the Gentiles (see Eph 3:1-13
The mystery involved God's purpose for the Gentiles in relation to Israel; for in the church, Jews and Gentiles are one (Eph. 2:11-22). Read the account of Paul's arrest in the Jewish temple (Acts 21:18-22:30). Note that the Jews listened to Paul till he spoke the word Gentiles (22:21-22).
It was Paul's concern for the Gentiles and his ministry to them that put him into prison.
Even among some believing Jews, there was a
kind of bigotry that wanted to force the Gentiles into a lower position (Acts 15:1f). This extreme legalistic party wanted the Gentiles to become Jews ceremonially before they could become Christians!
Paul and Barnabas met this threat to the Gospel of grace head-on and the council decided in their favor. But the legalistic party continued to oppose Paul and his ministry. They did not want the good
news of the mystery of Christ to get to the Gentiles. They wanted to maintain their air of Jewish superiority.
How strange that Paul would want God to help him do the very thing that had caused his arrest! He had no intention of giving up his ministry or of changing his message. When John Bunyan was arrested for preaching illegally and put into prison, he was told that he would be released if he promised to stop preaching. "If I am out of prison
today," he replied, "I will preach the Gospel again
tomorrow, by the help of God." How could Paul share the mystery of Christ when he was a prisoner? Paul's case was discussed
by many people; Paul was also able to witness to the guards to whom he was chained (Phil. 1:12-18). Imagine being chained to the Apostle Paul Through this witness, the Gospel was carried into
parts of Rome that would have been inaccessible to Paul had he been a free man. There were even "saints in Caesar's household"! (Phil. 4:22
22 All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar’s household.
The proclamation of the Gospel is empowered
by prayer. The Spirit of God uses the Word of God
as we come to the throne of grace and ask God for
His blessing. We must never separate the Word of
God from prayer, because God has joined them to-
gether (Acts 6:4
4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
A visitor at Spurgeon's Tabernacle in London
was being shown around the building by the
pastor, Charles Spurgeon. "Would you like to see the powerhouse of this ministry?" Spurgeon asked, as he showed the man
into a lower auditorium. "It is here that we get our of my people are in this room praying. wonder that God blessed Spurgeon's preaching of
the Word?
You, as a church member, can assist your pastor in the preaching of the Word by praying for him. Never say to your pastor, "Well, the least I can do is to pray for you." The most you can do is to pray!
Pray for your pastor as he prepares the Word, studies, and meditates. Pray that the Holy Spirit
will give deeper insights into the truths of the
Word.
Pray too that your pastor will practice the
Word that he preaches so that it will be real in his
own life.
As he preaches the message, pray that the Spirit will give him freedom of utterance, and that the Word will reach into hearts and minds in a
powerful way. (It wouldn't hurt to pray for other church leaders too.)
The proclaiming of the Word of God is a great privilege and a tremendous responsibility. You do not have to be an ordained preacher or a missionary to share God's Word. Even in your daily
conversation you can drop the seed of the Word
into hearts, and then pray that God will water that
seed and bring forth fruit.
Witnessing to the Lost (Col. 4:5-6
5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.
6 Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.
"Them that are without" refers to those who are
outside the family of God. Jesus made a distinction
between His disciples and those who were outside
(Mark 4:11
11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
Paul also made this same distinction (1 Cor. 5:12-13
12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
Those of us who are born again
are the "spiritual insiders" because we belong to
God's family and share His life. However, as Christians, we must never have a sanctified superiority complex. We have a responsibility to witness to the lost around us and to seek to bring them into God's family. To begin with,
we have the responsibility to walk wisely. There must be
nothing in our lives that would jeopardize our
testimony.
This story has often been told about Dr. Will H. Houghton, who pastored the Calvary Baptist Church in New York City and later served as president of Chicago's Moody Bible Institute till
his death in 1946. When Dr. Houghton became pastor of the Baptist Tabernacle in Atlanta, a man in that city hired a private detective to follow Dr. Houghton and report on his conduct. After a few
weeks, the detective was able to report to the man
that Dr. Houghton's life matched his preaching. As
a result, that man became a Christian.
What does it mean to "walk in wisdom"? For
one thing, it means that we are careful not to say
or do anything that would make it difficult to share
the Gospel. It also means we must be alert to use
the opportunities God gives us for personal witnessing.
"Redeeming the time" means buying up the opportunity (Eph. 5:16). This is a commercial term and pictures the Christian as a faithful steward who knows an opportunity when he sees one.
Just as a merchant seizes a bargain when he finds
one, so a Christian seizes the opportunity to win a
soul to Christ.
Walking in wisdom also includes doing our work,
paying our bills, and keeping our promises. We
mist walk honestly toward them that are without»
(1 Thes. 4:12
12 That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.
A friend of mine went into a store
to make a purchase for his church. The salesman
asked, "Is a member of your church?"
My friend said that he was, and the salesman pro-
ceded to tell him how much money that church
member owed his store and how difficult it was to
get anything from him. It would probably have
been futile for my friend to have witnessed to that
clerk.
Christians in general and Christian leaders in
particular, must have "a good report of them which
are without" (1 Tim. 3:7). When members of a
church are calling a new pastor, they ought to investigate his testimony among his neighbors and the businessmen who know him. Even though unsaved people are in the dark spiritually (2 Cor 4:3-4 they have a great deal of discernment when
3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
it comes to the things of this life (Luke 16:8
8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
It is unfortunate when members of a church call a
pastor who has not paid his bills and has left be-
hind a bad witness to unsaved people.
It is not enough simply to walk wisely and care-
fully before unbelievers. We must also talk with
them and share the Gospel message with them. But
we must take care that our speech is controlled by
grace, so that it points to Christ and glorifies the
Lord. This means we must have grace in our hearts (Col. 3:16
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
because it is from the heart that the mouth speaks. With grace in our hearts and on our lips, we will be faithful witnesses and not judges
or prosecuting attorneys! lips. The Lord Jesus Christ spoke with grace on His
"And all .• wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth" (Luke 4:22
22 And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son?
Among the many statements about Jesus Christ in
Psalm 45 (a messianic psalm) is this:
"Grace is poured into Thy lips" (v. 2). Even when our Lord
was dealing with sin, He spoke words of grace.
Our speech is supposed to "minister grace unto
the hearers" (Eph. 4:29). But it cannot do that unless we have grace in our hearts and in our words.
"Speaking the truth in love" (Eph. 4:15) is God's ideal for our conversation.
Why did Paul add, "seasoned with salt"? (Col 4:6
6 Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.
In that day, salt was used as a preservative as well as a seasoner. We should never say to anyone,
"Now, take this with a grain of salt." We must
put the salt into our speech to make sure it is pure
and properly seasoned. "Let no corrupt communi-
cation proceed out of your mouth" (Eph. 4:29
29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
Our speech must be pure.
Salt was also added to the sacrifices (Lev. 2:13
13 And 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.
Perhaps Paul was suggesting that we look on our
words as sacrifices offered to God, just as our words
of praise are spiritual sacrifices (Heb. 13:15 It
15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
would no doubt help us to say the right things in
the right manner if we remembered that our words
are looked on as sacrifices to God.
It is unfortunate when a Christian speaks in a
rude or coarse manner, particularly when the un-
saved are listening.
"Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear"
(1 Peter 3:15
15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
Meekness is the opposite of harsh-
ness, and fear is the opposite of arrogance. There
is no place in a Christian's conversation for a
know-it-all attitude. While we need to have convictions and not compromise, we must also cultivate a gracious spirit of love.
The Christian's walk and talk must be in har.
mony with each other. Nothing will silence the lips
like a careless life. When character, conduct, and
conversation are all working together, it makes for
a powerful witness.
Sharing Burdens (Col. 4:7-9
7 All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord:
8 Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate, and comfort your hearts;
9 With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here.
Paul did not spell out the details of his personal
situation in this letter. He left it to his two spiritual
brothers, Tychieus and Onesimus, to share the
burdens with the church in Colossae. This is an-
other wonderful ministry of speech: we can share
our needs and burdens with others; then they can
encourage and assist us. When Paul left Ephesus, he was accompanied
by seven other believers-among them, Tychicus
(Acts 20:4
4 And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.
These men were helping Paul deliver the love offering from the Gentile churches to the poor saints in Judea (1 Cor. 16:1; 2 Cor. 8--9). It is possible that Tychicus and Trophimus were the
two brethren Paul referred to in his second letter
to the Corinthians (see 2 Cor. 8:19-24).
Tychicus shared Paul's Roman imprisonment and
no doubt was helpful to him in many ways. Paul
chose Tychicus and Onesimus to
deliver the
Ephesian letter (Eph. 6:21) and the Colossian
letter (Col. 4:7-9). Of course, they also took the
personal letter to Philemon. Paul instructed
Tychicus to share with the Colossian Christians all
the details of his situation there in Rome.
Paul's description of Tychicus reveals what a
splendid Christian Tychicus really was. He was a
beloved brother, willing to stay with Paul even
though the situation was difficult. How encourag
ing it is to have a Christian at your side when
everything seems to be against you!
Tychicus was also a faithful minister. His love
revealed itself in action. He ministered to Paul, and
he also ministered for Paul to assist him in his
many obligations. Someone has said that the great-
est ability in the world is dependability, and this is
true. Paul could depend on Tychicus to get the job
done.
Tychicus was also Paul's fellow servant. Though
he was not an apostle himself, he was assisting
Paul in his apostolic ministry. Paul and Tychicus
worked together in the service of the Lord.
Later, Paul was able to send Tychicus to Crete (Titus
3:12), and then to Ephesus (2 Tim. 4:12).
It was not easy for Tychicus to be associated with Paul, the prisoner; for Paul had many enemies.
Nor was it easy for Tychicus to travel as he did, assisting Paul in his various tasks. Tychicus did not take the easy way, but rather the right way.
Our churches today could use more members like Tychicus!
Paul also mentioned Onesimus ("one of you") who himself came from Colossae. He was the run- away slave who belonged to Philemon and who had been won to Christ through Paul's ministry in
Rome. Paul sent Onesimus back to his master with a letter asking Philemon to receive him and for- give him. It is interesting to note that Paul also called Onesimus faithful and beloved. Onesimus
had been a believer only a short time, and yet he
had already proved himself to Paul.
These two men had a dual ministry to perform:
to encourage the Colossian Christians, and to in-
form them about Paul's situation. Is it wrong for
God's people to share information in this way? Of
course not! Paul was not begging for money or
asking for sympathy. He wanted the Colossian saints to know his situation so they could pray for him. While it is true that some Christian workers
"'use" circumstances selfishly to enlist support, this
was not true of Paul. He simply wanted his friends in Colossae to know the facts and to support him in prayer.
In our home, we receive a number of missionary prayer letters. We read them and try to note the
special burdens and needs. In my own private deferent ministries. I appreciate knowing the facts
so that I can intercede in a specific way. I also
enjoy getting reports of how God has answered
prayer, for this encourages my faith.
Praying, proclaiming the Word, witnessing, and
sharing burdens--these are four wonderful ministries of speech. How much better it is to be involved in these ministries than to be using our
tongues for gossip, malicious criticism, and other
sinful purposes.
Let's make David's prayer our prayer:
"Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door
of my lips" (Ps. 141:3)
