Colossians 4:5-6 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.
It is the nature of humans to desire wisdom, to be able to comprehend how things work, and can answer a dilemma that someone might have. But unfortunately, many seek worldly wisdom because the knowledge of God does not make sense to them. (1 Corinthians 1:27) What the world's wisdom analysis might be, God sees as foolishness, and strength according to worldly standards is a weakness in God's sight. Therefore, the wisdom in this verse Is not the wisdom of the world but the wisdom of God.
When
we encounter someone lost and in need of the Lord Christ Jesus, we can never
lead them to Christ using worldly wisdom. The gospel's truth would seem foolish
to an outsider because they cannot understand it without the indwelling of the
Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:14).
Our
actions toward the worlds lost are our functioning resources; our testimony is
like having money in the bank. If our checking accounts are bare, we would
never cut a check with no money to back it up. So likewise, if we do not walk
according to the wisdom of God, then we have insufficient funds in our
spiritual coffer. It is the old "talk the talk or walk the walk"
theory; if we fail to walk the walk, people will not accept our talk.
The
term "outsiders" here in this verse refers to anyone outside of the
justification from Christ Jesus, meaning the lost of this world. God expects
all Christians to use Godly wisdom when interacting with those who do not know
Christ as their Lord and Savior. The danger of failing to live according to
Godly wisdom is that it could cause someone to drift farther away from Christ
Jesus instead of coming to Him for salvation. We will never have Godly wisdom
in its fullness here in this life, but God will set us on the path to the
beginning of His wisdom (Proverbs 9:10).
This
path points to our spiritual growth or life's sanctification process. Just like
there is a difference between worldly wisdom and Godly wisdom, there is a
difference between worldly fear and Godly fear. Worldly fear is to cower in
terror. Godly fear is a love for God. When we turn our backs on our love for
th world and set our hearts towards love for God, He will open the gates to
Godly wisdom. Godly wisdom is critical in our witnessing for Christ Jesus;
however, today's verse of Scripture reminds us that we must be ready to answer.
Proverbs 9:10 also tells us that our love for our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus
is also the beginning of our knowledge of God. Time spent in His Holy Word,
along with a consecrated prayer life, will drive our spiritual growth, leading
us down the pathway to the Godly Wisdom we need.
Today, our verse also tells us to "season it with salt," speaking of our witnessing for Christ and how we interact with those around us. The only way we will ever ensure that our salt does not lose its saltiness is complete and total surrender to Christ Jesus and complete and total estrangement and disconnection from the world.
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