Proclamation:
"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 (NIV)
Explanation:
In this passage of his letter to the believers
in The Church at Colosse, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God, the Apostle Paul told them to be careful in the way in which
they act towards and speak to outsiders. He told them that they should
make every effort to interact with others in a Christ-like manner, displaying
the grace of Christ, so that their behavior and their words were helpful and
reflected positively on Christians.
Application:
As believers, we should speak with grace.
Our words should be spiritual and wholesome (Godly), fitting and
sensitive (appropriate), purposeful and complimentary (helpful), kind and gentle
(considerate), truthful and thoughtful (filtered by our mind before being
spoken). Our words should also be seasoned with salt. Salt adds
flavor to food, but it also prevents corruption. It was used to prevent
the bacterial contamination of meat before refrigeration in days of old. Salt
has a purifying influence by preventing decay.
By their being like salt they would have a purifying influence in a
decaying world. Jesus said that His disciples are the salt of the earth.
(Matthew 5:13) As believers, we should also know how to, and be ready to,
answer people when they question us. To do this we must read and study
The Word of God. (2 Timothy 2:15) Then, after we hear and read The Word
of God, we must be doers of The Word. (James
1:22) We must live in such a way that our Christian beliefs and our
behavior are consistent. Let us pray that God will use us to add a
Christ-like flavor to this sin-sick world, and that He will use us to
be a purifying influence in this decaying world.
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