Colossians chapter 4. Our text for today will be verses 5 and 6 as we are coming to the conclusion of our first by verse exposition through the book.
Look, it's been a joy to be able to preach most of the book to you.
I took a bit of a break this summer and had a couple of wonderfully gifted men in our church fill in on my behalf.
And now we're coming to the end of Paul's exhortation to the church at Colossae.
And then we'll glean, Lord willing, I believe next week we'll finish up the book and glean from it in his final greeting.
A few lessons that we can learn from there as well.
But this is kind of the end, the kind of final punches of what he's trying to say to the church at Colossae.
So I'm going to read just for a little bit of context, beginning in verse 2 down through verse 6.
And our text today will be verses 5 and 6.
Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.
At the same time, pray also for us that God may open to us a door for the word to declare the mystery of Christ,
on account of which I am in prison, that I may make it clear which is how I ought to speak.
Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
This is God's word to us.
It was written for His glory and our good.
And we would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.
Now let me remind you or catch you up if you're a guest with us here today.
As we've been working through chapter 3,
Paul's been presenting to us the concept, the idea of the life of the new self.
Having been made new in Christ, Christ having changed our hearts and set us on a different road,
our life necessarily looks different.
And he lays that out for us, what that difference is and how that changes who we are.
And he does it in an ever narrowing way.
He starts broad and he's getting more and more particular in his exhortation.
And we saw verses 5-17, these exhortations to the Christian church,
the way in which we're meant to engage with one another as believers.
Now in verse 18-4, 1, the Christian household.
In our context, you'll find there at the end of chapter 3,
in the beginning of verse 1, the workplace.
And he comes down now a little more narrow to the individual
and the way in which the individual is going to interact with the world around them.
So last week we saw two exhortations from verses 2-3 and then part of 3, the second one.
Firstly, the prayer of the new self.
That the Christian person will pray because the road that the Christian has been put on
is a road of godliness, it's a pursuit of holiness,
it's living in this world in a different way, set apart.
And this is something accomplished by God in our lives,
by the work of the Spirit who's continually changing us.
We've been set apart, we've been sanctified, but we are also being sanctified.
And therefore, as people set on that road,
we recognize our great need of God's intervention and His continued work in our life.
He has given us grace and we continue by grace and so we pray for that grace.
Christian people recognize that without prayer, nothing.
Sine qua non.
Without which, nothing happens.
We can do nothing apart from God.
And God uses the prayers of His people to enact,
to put in play His providential purposes in our lives.
And so, the new self prays.
We saw, secondly, the opportunity of the new self.
The way in which Paul sought to seize every opportunity,
even his imprisonment for the sake of the gospel,
for the advancement of the kingdom.
And we ought to live in the same way with new eyes.
At the beginning of chapter 3, it says,
with our minds set on things above.
Looking for and seizing every opportunity.
Today, we'll look at verse 5 and verse 6 with a bit of verse 4,
since I didn't quite get to it last week.
For two more exhortations.
That is the activity of the new self and the speech of the new self.
The activity of the new self, verse 5,
and the speech of the new self, verses 6 and 4.
Now, my closing remark from last week was this.
In summary of those first two exhortations to pray and to seize opportunities was this.
Pray and seize every opportunity to experience, proclaim, and display the supremacy of Jesus Christ
in all things to all peoples.
Pray and seize every opportunity to experience, proclaim, and display the supremacy of Jesus Christ
in all things to all peoples.
And if you are wrapping your mind around that,
you don't have it in front of you like I do.
I guess you do a bit here.
But you'll see that these other exhortations are found in that very statement itself.
We are to proclaim, this is the speech of the new self,
and we are to display, this is the activity of the new self,
the supremacy of Jesus Christ in all things to all peoples.
So we're missing something in that phrasing.
Pray and seize every opportunity.
To experience, proclaim, and display the supremacy of Jesus Christ in all things to all peoples.
The word experience.
Am I right?
If you see it in our vision statement up here.
The experience of Jesus Christ as supreme in all things to all peoples,
as a more excellent way,
the way for reconciliation back to God,
has not been ignored in the text.
So if you will with me to walk back up the text a bit,
I just want you to see that.
The beginning of chapter 3, Colossians 3, 1-3.
If then you have been raised with Christ,
seek the things that are above where Christ is,
seated at the right hand of God.
Set your minds on things that are above,
not on things that are on earth.
For you have died,
and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
This has been a reality in your life.
You are finding that Christ is better than,
more supreme than.
You have been raised with Christ,
and your life is now in Christ.
Christ is your life.
Verse 4 goes on to say.
Back up a bit more.
Colossians 2, 6.
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord,
as you have received Him,
as you have experienced the saving work of Christ,
so walk in Him.
Let me go back a bit further.
Colossians 1, 15-23.
Here's the strong supremacy statement.
Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.
For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities.
All things were created through Him and for Him.
And He is before all things,
and in Him all things hold together.
And He is the head of the body, the church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in everything He might be preeminent or supreme.
For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things,
whether on earth or in heaven,
making peace by the blood of His cross.
And you who once were alienated and hostile in mind,
doing evil deeds,
He is now reconciled in His body of flesh by His death,
in order to present you holy and blameless
and above reproach before Him.
If indeed you continue in the faith,
stable and steadfast,
not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard,
which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven,
and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
So do you see that the experience has been carried throughout,
and then the appropriate response thereof?
Verse 21 of chapter 1,
you, Colossian believers,
and us, those of us who have received the gospel,
we once were alienated and hostile in mind.
We once were separated from God.
We once were not part of God's family.
Our minds were hostile towards the things of God.
We were doing evil deeds.
We see the evidence of that.
Everything we did was a fist shake at God.
Everything we did said,
I am king.
I am self-directing.
I rule, which is a massive offense to God.
We were God's enemy.
Verse 22,
But He's now reconciled in His body,
fleshed by His death,
in order to present you holy and blameless
and above reproach before Him.
Because of what Christ has done on our behalf,
if we place saving faith in Him,
it was our sin that He died for on the cross.
It is His righteousness that we now have.
And Paul goes on to say,
if indeed you continue in the faith,
stable and steadfast.
So we are not saved by works.
We are saved by the providential purposes of God.
God the Father is sovereign in salvation
from the very beginning to the very end.
God saves us.
We cannot save ourselves.
God saves us.
However,
once we are in Christ,
this work of God takes part,
there must be an evidencing of it beyond.
There must be a reality
that our heart has been changed.
That our heart has been set on a different road.
That we are no longer His enemy,
but rather His friends.
And this has been thematically developed
throughout the book of Colossians.
Gospel reconciliation leads to gospel living.
And we live in a day
where I'm so fearful
that there are so many
that are not found in Christ
that they think they are
because this is not being taught to them.
That there's not an appropriate response
to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Many fear that this is a works-based salvation.
Hear me clearly.
I'm not saying we ever earned it.
What I'm saying is that we have it.
Therefore, we live in light of it.
There must be a healthy response.
Right and proper living
is the right and proper outcome
of changed hearts.
Paul writes in Romans 12.
I appeal to you, therefore, brothers,
by the mercies of God,
to present your bodies
as a living sacrifice,
holy and acceptable to God,
which is your spiritual worship.
The first 11 chapters of Romans
have been a systematic gospel presentation.
It's in this beautiful outlay
of the doctrines of salvation.
And then he turns from there
in chapter 12, verse 1,
to say, now, in light of that,
because of what God has done
on your behalf,
now live in this way.
And beloved, we have to ask ourselves
a serious question
as we don't see our lives
lining up with the command of Scripture.
And we don't.
None of us do.
None of us are carrying this out perfectly.
We all sin still,
even if in Christ.
Right?
If you don't think you do,
therein is your sin.
Right?
Be humble before God.
You are not perfect.
All of us still sin.
All of us carry the old self.
All of these things
we're meant to be putting to death
and putting off.
All of that is still carried with us.
We do still sin.
We have to ask ourselves the question,
am I in Christ?
I progress in these things.
Am I in Christ?
Has He saved me?
Or has He not?
If He hasn't,
repent and believe.
I plead with you
to repent and believe.
Because final judgment
is going to be harsh and severe
and forever.
If He has,
repent and believe.
You're in Christ.
Repent and believe.
Turn from the sin
and pursue holiness.
Unrighteousness should not
be named amongst us.
We too often, I think,
elevate grace to this degree.
This cheap grace idea
where we can just go on
being the messes that we are.
And in so doing,
we say that God doesn't have
the power to change me.
Heresy.
Heresy that is.
God can and He will
change you
if you're in Christ.
Don't belittle
the power of the Spirit of God
in your life
to make you new.
You must progress
in holiness.
Right?
I've talked to you before
about laying the plot lines
of your life.
You should be able
to look back on your life
and see
that you once loved sin
more than you do now.
Right?
You're hating sin more today
than you did before.
And you once didn't
love righteousness
the way you do now.
There's a progression
in these things.
Right?
That you're moving toward
the city of God.
You're moving toward
Christ-likeness
and not away from it.
So there has to be
some activity.
There has to be
some outward display
of what's been happening
in your heart
or it's not happened
in your heart at all.
So test yourself.
Consider this
as we look at these exhortations.
So verse 5 says,
Walk in wisdom
toward outsiders,
making the best use
of the time.
Put your salvation,
put your faith
on display
in real ways
to those
outside
the faith.
Walk in wisdom.
NASB,
I like the rendering,
says conduct yourselves
with wisdom.
It means to
go about
the dealings
of your life
wisely.
Stated in the negative,
that's the positive.
Walk in wisdom.
Stated in the negative,
do not walk
in foolishness.
To be the opposite
of wise
is to be foolish.
Don't be foolish.
Be wise.
Ephesians 5,
11-15.
It's a parallel text
to ours today.
It says,
Take no part
in the unfruitful works
of darkness,
but instead expose them.
For it is shameful
even to speak
of the things
they do in secret,
but when anything
is exposed
by the light,
it becomes visible.
For anything
that becomes visible
is light.
Therefore,
it says,
Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine
on you.
Look carefully then
how you walk,
not as unwise,
but as wise.
So what Paul is saying
here is that
if you were to walk
in wisdom,
you're going to walk
in the light.
You're going to do
those things
that we know
or we're meant to do
that are righteous things,
that are good things,
that are right things,
and you're not going
to walk in the darkness
as those who aren't
in Christ do.
Careful.
Be careful how you walk.
Not as unwise,
but as wise.
So how do we know
the difference?
How do we know
the difference
between what is wise
and what is unwise?
How are we to discover
the wise way
in which we should walk?
And I hope the answers
are popping up in your head
as I ask the question.
How are we supposed
to discover
the wise way
in which we should walk?
Exhortation,
walk in wisdom.
How?
What do we do?
How do I know?
I want to walk in wisdom.
I want to be obedient
to this exhortation.
What do I do?
And there are four sources
of wisdom.
Four sources of wisdom.
The first one is worship.
And I don't mean music
when I say that.
We don't call that...
That's worship,
but it's musical worship.
I don't mean
show up at a service
and sing some songs.
Right?
Worship.
Put yourself
in proper relationship
with the Lord God Almighty.
The Creator of heaven
and earth.
The One who created
ex nihilo
from nothing.
The One that existed
before anything existed
for all eternity past.
He is the Creator
and you are merely creation.
Worship Him as such.
Humble yourself before Him.
Recognize that He is the Lord
and you are merely
a subject.
Proverbs 9.10 says,
The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of wisdom
and the knowledge
of the Holy One
is insight.
Proverbs 3.7 says,
Be not wise
in your own eyes.
Fear the Lord
and turn away
from evil.
So it begins with that.
It begins with that subjection.
Understanding rightly.
You come up underneath
the Creator.
Far too many people
read their Scripture
in judgment over it.
Right?
As if this is a book
that's meant for us
to critique and deal with.
When we find error in it,
the problem is not with it.
The problem is with us.
Right?
Our dark minds
are of inability
to understand.
This thing
is the Holy Word of God.
It stands over us.
We should submit ourselves
to it
as we submit ourselves
to God.
So worship is the first.
Second, prayer.
We've already talked
a bit about that last week
from verse 2.
James 1.5 says,
If any of you lacks wisdom,
let him ask God
who gives generously
to all without reproach
and it will be given him.
You want to know
how to be wise
and to walk wisely
in the world?
Ask that God would help you
to walk wisely
in the world.
And it's just that.
Simple.
I get asked so many questions.
Help me, Nathan.
Help me with wisdom
in this particular thing.
And so often I say,
Have you been in prayer
about this?
And the answer is no.
Pray.
Ask that God would show you
the wise way
and the more excellent way.
Thirdly, the Scripture.
Proverbs 2.6 says,
For the Lord gives wisdom
from His mouth
come knowledge
and understanding.
Colossians 3.16
Not too long ago
we looked at it.
Let the Word of Christ
dwell in you richly,
teaching
and admonishing
one another
in all wisdom.
God has spoken.
He has written us
a book.
And it's not an outdated book.
It's not an irrelevant book.
It's a sufficient book.
It contains within it
everything we need to know
as a guide and rule
for holiness.
You want to know
how to walk wisely?
As you worship God
and you pray and ask for wisdom,
read His Word.
He's spoken to you
for every situation
that you're going to encounter
to give you wisdom
to walk as you should.
And lastly,
counsel.
Now by counsel,
I certainly mean
godly counsel.
It just seems
a bit redundant
to say that in this setting.
But I do mean, of course,
godly,
well-informed,
biblical counsel.
I don't mean
pop psychology counseling.
Right?
Ask a brother
or ask a sister.
Ask a leader
about a situation.
Do the others first
and then ask.
What do you think?
What's your perception
of this situation?
Proverbs 27.9
says,
Oil and perfume
make the heart glad
and the sweetness
of a friend
comes from his earnest
counsel.
Again,
in the book of Colossians
1.28
Him we proclaim,
Jesus Christ.
Him we proclaim,
warning everyone
and teaching everyone
with all wisdom
that we may present
everyone mature
in Christ.
So if you desire to,
if you want to walk
in wisdom,
these are the sources.
These are the ways
in which you gather wisdom
that you may walk
as such.
We're supposed to walk
in wisdom,
but specifically,
Paul says,
toward outsiders.
Toward outsiders.
And I just want to point
out two things
from that two-word phrase.
Firstly,
Christians should
interact with those
who are not of the faith.
Christians should
interact with those
who are not
of the faith.
We often tend
to be
so monastic.
We pull ourselves in.
We huddle together
in the castle,
rather than being
the army that goes
and advances
against
the purposes
of the devil.
The presupposition
in this phrase
is that they will.
There's an assumption
there that
Christian people
will be interacting
with outsiders.
That there will be
a normative thing
happening there,
not a monastic thing,
a pulling away
from the world.
But we are to follow
the example
of our Lord
who ate
with sinners
and tax collectors.
Mark 2.16.
Firstly,
secondly,
when those
who profess Christ
display foolishness
toward outsiders,
the gospel
of Jesus Christ
appears to be
of little worth.
Do you recognize
that so many of us
seem to be
peddlers
of a belief
that doesn't really
have any bearing
and effect
in our life
at all?
In some ways
it does.
Maybe for you,
your faith
somehow
is affirming
to you,
you have some
experience
that you enjoy,
but it hasn't
changed who you are
in an outward way
that people can see
and observe
that this person
doesn't walk
as a fool,
this person
walks in the way
of wisdom.
Quite a few months ago
we started studying
the book of Proverbs
together in our
community outreach groups
for this very reason.
We should be a people
very familiar
with the ways
of wisdom,
the way in which
God has designed
and built the world
though corrupted
by sin
and disrupted
there are still
things at play
in the world
that are right
and proper ways
that we should live
and people can see
that.
Do you know
a Christian person
whose life seems
to be fairly put
together
because they walk
in the way
of wisdom?
And there's this
affirming
note because
of who you are
to the gospel
of Jesus Christ.
Some of you
are more of a mess
than the people
around you.
Does the gospel
have power
to affect
and to change
and to direct
your life?
Of course it does.
You should be living
in light of that.
So we are to
walk in wisdom
towards outsiders
and make the best
use of the time
making the best
use of the time.
Beloved,
our lives
are very,
very short.
And I know
that it doesn't
always feel that way.
College students,
your life right now
seems to take
an eternity
because you have
a plan of study
and you can see
everything you're
going to have to do
until this phase
of your life
is over.
If you don't have
a plan of study
you should get one.
Trying to get
to that spot
and get to that end.
I'll tell you
right now
that being beyond
that and not
having the major
thing coming next,
your life accelerates.
I think if you ask
the older folks
in the room
if this is true,
it absolutely is.
Where has this
decade gone?
We are halfway
through it already.
It's staggering
to me
that this is the case.
Our life
is so incredibly
fleeting.
The Bible
speaks of this.
Psalm 103,
15 and 16,
as for man,
his days are like
grass.
He flourishes
like a flower
of the field
for the wind
passes over it
and it is gone
and its place
knows it
no more.
Not very significant
in span
are our lives.
Our lives
are incredibly
short.
And the opportunities
to share
the supremacy
of Jesus Christ
are limited.
so we should
leverage our time
for the sake
of the kingdom.
Every moment
that we have,
every possibility
that we have
to work for the kingdom
ought to be used
in that manner
because our lives
are so,
so very fleeting.
We too often
live as if
this life
is all that there is.
Christian people
who should have
minds set on eternity
so often live
like this is it.
My joy
and satisfaction
right now
in the things
of this world
is all that matters
because there is
nothing out
and beyond
which is so,
so very foolish.
Do not divorce
making the best use
of the time
from walk in wisdom.
The two things
carry together.
Remember,
we're in the same sentence
here.
Walk in wisdom
and make the best use
of the time.
It's foolish
not to do so.
Psalm 90,
verse 12
says,
so teach us
to number our days
that we may get
a heart
of wisdom.
The psalmist is saying,
give us proper
and right perspective
on our life.
Help us to know
not the specific
number of our days.
That's not the prayer
happening here,
but to help us to know
that our life is short
and it is passing
and it is fleeting
so that we will walk
wisely.
We will have hearts
of wisdom.
Again,
the parallel text
to our text
in Colossians,
Ephesians 5,
16 and 17
says,
making the best use
of the time
because the days
are evil.
The days are evil.
Verse 17,
therefore,
do not be foolish,
but understand
what the will
of the Lord
is.
Are you foolish
with your time?
We should not
waste it.
You have a limited
number of years,
a limited number
of days,
a limited number
of hours.
What do you waste
your time on?
I believe that in America
one of our greatest
vices is leisure.
Which isn't to say
that we're not
meant to rest.
We're designed
that way
as creation
that's sinful.
Things have been
disrupted.
We're falling apart.
A lot of you young people
are still building.
Soon,
you're going to start
degrading.
We're not invincible.
We're designed
to go through cycles.
We're designed to rest.
I'm not saying
that we can't rest.
I'm not even saying
that we can't rest
doing things.
I'm not just saying
only sleep.
There's relaxing things
that help us
to reset our minds.
There's a good design
for us to be
doing this.
But what are we doing
with the extra free time?
The out and beyond?
I want my life
to be spent
to the very last drop.
I want to leave it
all on the table
when I die.
You will not look back
at your life
on your deathbed
and say,
if only I had spent
a little more time
playing video games.
If I could have
just passed that level,
my life would be complete.
I wish I had given
more of my time
to Facebook.
My life would have
been better spent
being more versed
in UGA football
history and stats.
I'm not against
watch football.
I don't care.
I'm just saying,
how much of your time
do you invest
in these pursuits?
I just wanted
more time
in my deer stand.
I would be happy
if I could dig my toes
into beach sand
one more time.
You will, however,
if you are in Christ,
have more heavenward
regrets.
I think we all will.
I would like to be able
to say that on my deathbed
I will be fully satisfied
with the life
that I lived for the Lord.
I'm sure I will have regrets,
but I hope at least
they're heavenward.
Like,
I wish I had given
more time to my
lost family members.
If only I had invested
more gospel
in my children.
If only I had served
my pastor more.
I said that one
to make sure
you're paying attention.
I'm kidding, of course.
I hope that our hearts
can join with
that of David Brainerd.
This is on the front
of your bulletin.
David Brainerd
was an 18th century missionary
to the Delaware Indians
of New Jersey.
Not New Jersey as it is.
It was very rough.
It was a wilderness
at the time.
And he said,
Oh, how precious is time
and how it pains me
to see it slide away
while I do so little
to any good purpose.
Paul writes in Romans
chapter 13,
verse 11 through 14,
Besides this,
you know the time
that the hour has come
for you to wake
from sleep.
For salvation is nearer
to us now
than when we first believed.
The night is far gone,
the day is at hand.
So then let us
cast off the works
of darkness
and put on the armor
of light.
Let us walk properly
as in the daytime,
not in orgies
and drunkenness,
not in sexual immorality
and sensuality,
not in quarreling
and jealousy,
but put on
the Lord Jesus Christ
and make no provision
for the flesh
to gratify its desires.
You see that
what he's saying
about the importance
of us putting on
new self,
that is putting on
the Lord Jesus Christ
in light of
the evil days
and the shortness
of time.
Pursue righteousness
with your time.
Make the best use
of it.
Charles Spurgeon said,
this is all in your bulletin
as well,
serve God by doing
common actions
in a heavenly spirit
and then,
if your daily calling
only leaves you
cracks and crevices
of time,
fill them up
with holy service.
I'm not suggesting
that everybody
stop working,
please don't do that,
stop going to school
and devote
100% of their time
to vocational service
of the kingdom.
God has intended
to work in so many
varied ways
in the world
by giving us
tasks,
schooling,
jobs.
Those things are good
and right
and proper to do,
but to do so
with that heavenward
bent,
to do so in order
to glorify God.
Sometimes that means
you're going to do
things that are mundane
and seem pointless
and boring,
but you're to do them
with a right and proper
heart through the glory
of God.
You don't have to
understand completely
how it is that God
is working and moving
in those mundane
things of life.
Take the classes
that aren't part
of your major.
Work the job.
Do whatever is asked
of you to do.
That's cleaning the floors
or typing up a spreadsheet.
Do it for the glory
of God.
And what Spurgeon here
is suggesting
is you take the extra time
and you fill it in
with things that are
particularly of holy service.
The cracks
and the crevices.
Many of you don't fill
the cracks and crevices
with that type
of activity.
Some of you
have large gaps,
huge schisms
to fill
and you should figure
the best use
of that time.
So display.
Display the supremacy
of Jesus Christ
in the way you live
before others
and proclaim it.
Let your speech
always be gracious.
Season with salt
so that you
may know
how to answer.
Excuse me.
So that you may know
how you ought to answer
each person.
Now before we address
the specific exhortation,
I'd first like to make
just a few comments
and point you to
a few references
concerning speech.
And I want to do so
because the Scripture
throws a great deal
of weight
into warnings
concerning what we say
and how we say it.
I also want to do so
because we're a small
congregation
of a lot of young people
and news travels fast
in this congregation.
You all have no idea
how many things
I hear
throughout a week
that I find
it's not my business
to know.
There's a lot of
gossiping
that happens.
And I think sometimes
with the best intention,
with the hope of
helping us all
to be transparent,
a lot of times
that's not your place.
What you end up doing
is you betray trust
rather than helping
build it
in people.
So let's look
at a few places.
I want you to go with me
to Luke chapter 6.
Verses 43, 44, and 45.
This should be familiar
to you
if you were singing
with us this morning
with the kids.
Jesus said,
Therefore,
no good tree
bears bad fruit,
nor again does a bad tree
bear good fruit,
for each tree is known
by its own fruit.
For figs are not gathered
from thorn bushes,
nor are grapes
picked from a bramble bush
or bananas from plum trees.
The good person
out of the good treasure
of his heart
produces good,
and the evil person
out of his evil treasure
produces evil,
for out of the abundance
of the heart
his mouth speaks.
Now, Jesus is directly
speaking to,
he's specifically speaking
to in this text
to the Pharisees,
and he's pointing out
their evil nature
because of the words
that they speak.
But the truth of this
gives application
to us as well.
Those who are found
in Christ,
if we don't speak
true things,
if our language
is not grace-filled,
it says something
about our heart.
Even if it's redeemed
in Christ,
it says something
about our heart.
Possibly that we still
love the sin,
we love the gossip,
we love the no,
more than we love
Christ and his kingdom
and his ways.
It speaks about
who we are.
This is why I try
to be very careful
with my language.
I know I'm not always
very careful
with my language.
One of the great
troubles of my heart
when I get up to preach
is that I give
misunderstanding
to something that's
of weight
and is true.
It's the reason
that we're very careful
about what we call,
what we do up here
with music.
It's why we're very careful
to not talk about
altar calls
because Jesus
has once and for all
paid the price.
There's no longer
a need for an altar.
The work has been finished.
It's why we're careful
about calling this building
the church
because it's not.
It's a building.
It's turning to dust
someday,
but we are God's
holy people
because out of the
abundance of our hearts,
our mouth speaks.
Listen to what James
had to say
about the way
we speak.
James chapter 3.
Go there with me,
please.
James chapter 3,
beginning in verse 3.
James here talks
about the tongue.
He's talking about
the speech.
What we do
with our mouths
is what he means.
If we put bits
into the mouths
of horses
so that they obey us,
we guide their whole body
as well.
A very small thing
guides the entire body
of a horse.
Look at the ships also.
Though they are so large
and are driven
by strong winds,
they are guided
by a very small rudder
wherever the will
of the pilot directs.
So also,
the tongue
is a small member,
yet it boasts
of great things.
How great a forest
is set ablaze
by such a small fire.
And the tongue
is a fire,
a world of unrighteousness.
The tongue
is set among our members,
staining the whole body,
setting on fire
the entire course of life,
and set on fire
by hell.
Strong words
about the tongue,
are they not?
Verse 7.
For every kind
of beast and bird,
of reptile and sea creature
can be tamed
and has been tamed
by mankind,
but no human being
can tame the tongue.
It is a restless evil,
full of deadly poison.
With it we bless
our Lord and Father,
and with it we curse
people who are made
in the likeness of God.
From the same mouth
come blessing
and cursing.
My brothers,
these things
ought not be so.
Does a spring
pour forth
from the same opening
both fresh
and salt water?
Can a fig tree,
my brothers,
bear olives,
or a grapevine
produce figs?
Neither can a salt pond
yield fresh water.
And this question
should ring in our heads.
Is it even possible
to tame the tongue?
Can mankind
tame the tongue?
And the answer to that
is no,
but God can.
What we speak
is an overflow
of our heart.
And God changes
our hearts.
And so we have to be
constantly checking
what we say
and why we say it
because it's indicative.
It's a symptom
of what's going on
inside of our heart.
One last quick note
and we'll get back
to the main exhortation.
Proverbs 26, 20.
I happened across this
this week,
which was timely
and wonderful.
It says,
For lack of wood,
the fire goes out
and where there is
no whisperer,
quarreling ceases.
I think that needs
to set in some
of your minds
this week.
So verse 6,
let your speech
always be gracious.
Gracious speech
is what we're to have
as believers.
NASB renders this,
Let your speech
always be with grace,
which I really like
the translation that way.
Let your speech
always be with grace.
And that is,
the redeemed
should speak like
their Redeemer.
Luke 4, 22.
And all spoke well
of Him,
Jesus Christ,
and marveled
at the gracious words
that were coming
from His mouth.
The words that we speak
should be with grace.
And I take that
to mean that they
should be both
from grace
and for grace.
From grace,
we can see verse 3.
Paul writes,
At the same time,
pray also for us
that God may open
to us a door
for the Word
to declare the mystery
of Christ,
that God would give us
opportunity
to declare the gospel
on account of which
I am in prison.
And then verse 4,
here we're picking
verse 4 back up
from last week
and bringing it in,
that I may make it clear
which is how I ought
to speak.
And so you see
what Paul is saying is,
please pray for me
that I have both
opportunity and clarity
in my speech.
So it's from grace.
Paul recognizes
that he needs God
to work in the way
in which he shares.
Also the last part
of verse 6,
so that you may know
how you ought to answer
each person.
How are we to know?
We are to speak
with grace,
with the grace
that God provides
to give us words
for utterance
of the gospel.
So we're to speak
from grace,
we're also to speak
for grace.
To bring it about
in others.
Ephesians 4.29
says,
let no corrupting talk
come out of your mouths,
but only such as is good
for building up
as fits the occasion
that it may give grace
to those who hear.
So whether you're speaking
to an outsider
or for the sake of my language
call them the insiders,
those who are outside of faith
or in faith,
our talks should be
building one another up.
Our language is to be
seasoned with salt.
Salt is purifying.
Something is,
if you have a wound,
salt is a way
that you can heal that wound,
that you can kill
the stuff in the wound
that's bad for the wound.
It's purifying.
It's preserving.
Most of us know this.
In case you don't know this,
a lot of your preserved food
has salt in it.
It helps with that process.
And it's flavorful.
It's the way
that our speech should be.
It should be purifying,
preserving,
and it should be flavorful.
I really tried to find you
a third P there
for flavorful,
but pungent didn't have
the white ring to it.
So it's purifying,
it's preserving,
and it's flavorful.
And our speech
should also be such.
And we should know
how to answer
each person.
Again, verse 4,
that I may make it clear,
which is how I ought
to speak.
Because God employs
human means
in His salvific purposes,
we should give clear
presentations of the gospel
and appropriate responses
to objections
to the gospel.
We should be able
to do this.
If you're found in Christ,
you should be able
to do this.
And if you can't do this,
in even the basest of ways,
you may feel foolish
as you're doing it,
you may not think
you're giving clear
explanation,
but if you can't do this
in the basest of ways,
I have a concern
for your soul.
Hear me carefully.
If you have responded
in faith to the gospel
of Jesus Christ,
you should know
the doctrines
of the gospel
of Jesus Christ.
Not that you give them
fancy terms,
not that you use
flowery speech
to explain it,
that you give up
and you give a sermon
and someone's interested
in your faith
and you stand up
and you go,
well, let me tell you
and you thunder on with it.
But if you can't lay out
the simplicity
of the gospel,
I try to do this for you
week in and week out.
It's not all that complex.
But if you can't do that,
then I'm concerned
that you've believed
in something
that you don't even understand.
You can't possibly
be found in Christ
if you don't know
the gospel.
And there are too many churches
that don't preach
the gospel.
Churches that ignore
sin altogether
and the just punishment
of it.
And that's where
the gospel starts.
The gospel starts
with a holy God
who had a standard
for us.
We're covering it
with the kids.
He had one rule
and man broke it.
Separated us from him
eternally.
Nothing we could do
to get back
to that place.
We were then
by nature
sinful.
Adam is our
federal head.
We are all sinful
in Adam.
Born into sin.
If you don't have kids,
you'll know one day.
Born into that sin.
Willfully committing
sin.
In all kinds of ways
saying to God
that we hate him.
I've said this to you before.
We want to be king.
We want to be like God.
This very problem
that Adam and Eve had,
the very lie
that they believed
that Satan told them
is that they would be
like God
and they said
that sounds great.
We don't want to be creation.
We want to be creator.
And that's what
was disrupted there.
Christ sets that
straight for us.
Christ came and lived
a perfect life.
He had to.
He had to be both
human and divine.
He came and lived
a perfect life for us.
The perfect righteousness,
the fulfillment of the law,
God's holy standard
given to his people
to keep
in order for him
to keep his covenant promise,
we couldn't do.
Christ did it for us.
He came and lived
a perfect life,
right?
So that if we believe in him,
we're given righteousness.
We have his righteousness.
And he died a sinner's death.
He took our sin
and put it on himself,
right?
Just the death
wasn't enough,
right?
That would have brought us
back up to neutral.
That would have put us
at ground zero.
No longer a debt to God,
but we hadn't yet
made the payment
that was necessary,
which was righteousness.
So we have this
double imputation
that happens,
right?
Our sin given to Christ,
his righteousness
given to us.
Martin Luther called it
the great exchange,
right?
So that if we place
believing faith in him,
we are found right
before God.
You should be able
to explain this to people.
It doesn't have to use
the words I use.
You should be able
to do it.
There are resources
for you to do it with,
right?
You get all jumbled
and nervous.
There's some great tracks.
I'm not against tracks.
I'm just against you
putting them in random places
like on the back of your journals
and leaving,
right?
You ought to be able
to share the gospel.
You ought to be able
to entertain objections
to it,
right?
You have to have
all the answers.
No one expects you
to have all the answers.
But you ought to be able
to entertain
and go find the answers,
right?
You have resources
abounding at your fingertips.
You have resources
in this church.
Many, many faithful
men and women
who are wonderful
at sharing their faith
that you can pull
that information
from.
Now,
in the sharing
of the gospel,
even in the clearest
of ways,
right,
illumination by the Spirit
is required,
right?
For God to do
a work in people's lives,
our sharing
has to be combined
with His work
to change the hearts
of people
that they would believe it,
right?
Dark hearts
don't hear the gospel.
They don't want
to hear the gospel.
It's foolishness
to them.
So this won't
always find success,
but we ought to know
how to answer each person,
and we ought to make it clear
and let God work.
And sometimes this is going
to come out
in favor of what we would
think is the right outcome,
that people would turn
to Christ,
and sometimes it won't.
And that's up to God.
It's our job to share
and to go
and to do so faithfully.
2 Corinthians 2,
14-17 says,
But thanks be to God
who in Christ
always leads us
in triumphal procession
and through us
spreads the fragrance
of the knowledge
of Him everywhere.
Is this true
of our church?
For we are the aroma
of Christ to God
among those
who are being saved
and among those
who are perishing.
To one a fragrance
from death to death.
To the other a fragrance
from life to life.
Who is sufficient
for these things?
For we are not
like so many
peddlers
of God's Word,
but as men of sincerity,
as commissioned by God,
in the sight of God,
we speak in Christ.
If we go out this week
with that in mind.
In Thessalonica,
Paul and Silas
are accused of being
men who have turned
the world upside down.
And here Paul is just saying,
I just want to make it clear.
Just give me the opportunity
to make it clear
to preach the Gospel.
In other places,
in Ephesians,
he talks about
the way in which
we're to share
and to not be of offense.
1 Peter 3,
15-16 says,
In your hearts,
honor Christ the Lord
as holy,
always being prepared
to make an offense
to anyone who asks you
for a reason
for the hope
that is in you.
Yet do it
with gentleness
and respect.
Have a good conscience
so that when you are slandered,
those who revile
your good behavior
in Christ
may be put to shame.
These men shared
the Gospel in that way,
speaking it clearly,
in love,
and the Thessalonians
said that they were
turning the world
upside down.
These weren't
happy recipients
of the Gospel
of Jesus Christ.
They were disrupting
everything
with this kind
and loving,
amazing message
of Jesus Christ.
And so we are
to display
the supremacy
of Jesus Christ
in all things
to all people.
We are to proclaim it
as well.
And beloved,
I believe
that if we would
begin to pray,
if we would get
on our faces
and we begin
to ask that God
would pour His Spirit
out on our community
and that we would
be faithful
in our own experience,
not looking to this world,
not setting our mind
on it,
setting our mind
on things that are above,
pursuing holiness
in our living
so that we can display
that to people around us,
that we say
to people around us,
Christ is precious
and everything
that I do
should be a chorus
to that end.
Everything that I do
says Jesus Christ
is better
than anything else
and everything else.
Jesus Christ
is the way
back to God
and He is mine
and I am His.
And that if we would
just say that,
that God would bless it.
That God has a purpose
for our community.
God has a people
to call out of it.
But He wants to use us,
not because He needs us,
but because He loves us.
He wants to draw us
in to His purposes.
Do we love Him
in a response
to the Gospel
in such a way
that we will?
Please join me in prayer.
of God.
!
of God.