[Transcript represents full sermon's text]

       Colossians chapter 4, starting in verse 5: “Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time” (ESV).

       Paul’s discussion today moves toward the church’s outside actions, the way they conduct themselves with the outside world. As was pointed out at the beginning of Colossians 3, we are going to live our lives, as Christians, among those who are in the world. That’s just the way it works, and even for more collective societies, as undoubtedly the Colossians were part of a more collective society. It’s not that we are just going to stay in the church building all week long, or only associate with fellow Christians. Every one of us, no matter who we are, are going to be out in the world dealing with those who don’t believe yet—those who aren’t part of the body of believers. In America, we know that all too well. In fact, for many of us, we will probably associate more with those who are unbelieving rather than those who are believing. And the focus is on how we present ourselves before those people—how we look before them, and how we interact with them.

       Notice that Paul said the believers are to “walk in wisdom.” First, let’s focus on the verb “Walk.” We all walk in a certain way—we all present ourselves in a specific way. We value certain things, and we move our feet toward those things, and we talk about those things. There are numerous examples we could use to show what contradictory behavior might look like for the Christian. For instance, it certainly doesn’t make sense for us to call ourselves Christians if we live with our lover, not being married to that person. That’s will cause a non-believer to scratch their heads. We probably shouldn’t be adamant gambler, walking in the casinos and doing this and that, and then going around and telling are non-Christian neighbors about our gambling exploits. That won’t make a whole lot of sense to our unbelieving friends, will it? “So you’re a Christian, you say, and you like to gamble?” That could be something they ask. And then, after we’re gone, they might look at their spouse and say, “Well, he goes gambling every week, so why don’t we? There must not be anything wrong with it.”

       Thus, it’s these kinds of contradictory behaviors, contradictory walking, if you will, that Paul is warning us against. He says, rather, that we need to have “wisdom” in how we walk. To “Walk in wisdom toward outsiders.” That means being generally consistent with what seems to be of noble character, what the common society (in our case the United States), thinks to be of good character. That’s how we “Walk in wisdom.” If we are walking in ways that seem questionable—ways that even unbelievers wouldn’t do—that’s not good. Even unbelievers have limits, and we should still yet rise above those so that we are standing out in a good way. We don’t want to be the same as them, where, one can hardly tell the difference. If there really isn’t anything different you can tell about us, as Christians, then what’s the point? How are we going to shine our lights, be trustworthy models, and perhaps indeed lead individuals toward the truth, toward a relationship with God, if we are, in fact, pretty similar to everyone else. If we involve ourselves in questionable things, hang around the “gray areas,” people aren’t going to get it. And they won’t see a need for God, or to have anything much of what we have.

       We can’t make the best use of our time if we are taking all the time to explain away our behaviors, to explain away why we do what we do. No, we are to shine our lights well, so that when we do explain Christian ways, again, making the best use of our time—for that is how we do that—that folks actually benefit from being in our presence. Each of us has a presence before others, a way that we are before others. We want that presence to be truly admirable. This leads us to make the best use of our time before others. If we are a person that others admire, a person of which they wish to be around, then when we are around them we will be able to tell them why we are the way that we are. They will want what we have. When they see our peace, our lack of worry; when they see our good work ethic, when they see our kindness, when they witness our speech as encouraging, they will ask questions. And because we have walked in wisdom, because we have acted like a proper Christian, we will be able to tell them why we are peaceful, kind, and all the rest. We will be able to make the best use of the time because we have set ourselves up for the moment.

       Verse 6: “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person” (ESV).

       It’s seems that Paul certainly cares about the reputation of the church, for he emphasizes how are speech is to be—to be “always” gracious. That’s a tall order, isn’t it? To always say the right things in front of those who don’t believe, of those who are outside the church? That’s what he says, nonetheless, and it would seem likely that most of us, if not all of us, fail at one point or another when it comes to this. A lot of people have short tempers, for instance, and blow their stacks before those who don’t believe. A lot of people might find it difficult to not laugh at a joke they know they shouldn’t laugh at. It can be hard to be kind toward others even when they aren’t treating us how we think they should be. Yet, continuing in our higher calling here, we are to have speech that is loving, pleasant, and kind. Paul goes the extra mile by saying that it should be “seasoned with salt.” So, it should be appealing to others, drawing them in in a way (a good way), where they care to ask more, where they have the inclination to question what is behind it. We should have a pleasant taste about us, where, when individuals experience what we have to say, they aren’t left with a bad taste in their mouth, a bitter taste, and where they wouldn’t mind if they didn’t so much as see us again.

       And notice, Paul expects that people are going to ask us questions due to our commendable behavior, due to our out of the ordinary pleasantness. For Paul states, “so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” People are going to want to know what our drive is—why we are the way that we are. And they will set out to ask questions. Let us bring to mind what the Apostle Peter has told us in his first epistle. He noted, “Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience” (1 Peter 3:14-16, ESV). So, even Peter emphasized the “gentleness and respect.” This just isn’t a Paul thing—a thing that we can try to somehow maneuver around or get ourselves out of. Peter’s addition of “having a good conscience” helps us to gauge perhaps when we have said something we think we shouldn’t have, or when we have crossed the line. Thus, our conscious becomes our friend in how we act toward outsiders, and we wish to be walking in a way in which our conscious isn’t regularly violated. We desire to have that peace within our hearts, ruling in our hearts, as Paul mentioned in the last chapter.

       This verse would appear to imply, then, if we take a reverse side look at it, that we aren’t to go around and rebuke unbelievers for their sin, at least, on a one-on-one basis. What is meant by this is, is that it isn’t wrong for the minister of God or the Bible teacher to call out sin for what it is, as in the case of delivering a sermon. That should be done; that is necessary and definitely needed. But what we are discussing are one-on-one interactions in the outside world. If we are trying to get or make non-believers to act like Christians we are going to find ourselves in real trouble. And this may be more of a temptation for those who are recent coverts, as, for the speaker, it definitely was in the year or two after becoming saved. There was that temptation to tell people what was known was written in the Bible, and to try to correct them in order to get them to believe. That was the approach that was often taken in telling others about God. Yet, Paul says that our speech is to always be gracious, to be seasoned with salt. If we are in the habit of telling people how they are wrong, this verse from Paul is will be found to be pretty hard to keep. People probably aren’t even going to want to be around us all that much. So, we need to be careful.

       Now we start to move into the conclusion part of the letter. Paul is going to start to wrap things up for us. Moving along to verse 7: “Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord.”

       Tychicus is set up to be the letter deliver to the Colossian church; he is going to be the one that brings them this writing from Paul. In fact, he also did so for Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, as well as the the epistle to Philemon. This minister of God also had a cameo appearance in the Book of Acts, in chapter 20 specifically, when he is named with many other brothers that accompanied Paul to Jerusalem, going ahead of him, when he was leaving behind the city of Philippi, in Greece. Nevertheless, in this case, in addition to delivering the letter, he is tasked with informing the church of everything Paul has been up to, not just what is contained within the letter. This certainly had to be an encouragement to the Colossians, for they were receiving someone who had literally been with Paul, right alongside him. And, Tychicus, of course, didn’t know the Colossians, for Paul explains to them that he is “a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord.” We would expect this in someone working alongside Paul. But the description nonetheless gives us a model of something to aim for, of what we would want spoken about us, if we are a minister of the Lord—that we are loved by the church, that we are faithful in our work, and that we are serving as we should be.

       Verse 8: “I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts” (ESV).

       We have to remember that back in those days, some 2,000 years ago, that the spreading of information was surely limited. We are so used to having any information we want (well, almost) at our fingertips, easily assessable through the Internet via social media. We can know so much nowadays, and likely too much. For often it seems that we know of circumstances and events that we shouldn’t know, that we follow persons we probably shouldn’t follow because they are no longer part of our lives, If our attention is spread out too far and wide, we find that our relationships might be miles wide but only an inch deep. God never intended for us to keep contact with so many individuals, to be so interconnected with seemingly everybody. Back in the time of Paul, Tychicus had to physically travel to Colossae to talk with the church, to physically tell them how Paul and his companions were doing. This would bring encouragement to their hearts. There was no social media feed they could jump on to see instantaneously how Paul and his fellow ministers were doing. That’s probably a good thing, for then Tychicus would have never traveled to the church in the first place. But it’s nice that Paul was able to send a real life person to actually commune with them, one of which had been with him, to actually encourage them face to face.

       It always gives a high quality appearance when churches can have a minister who in actuality travels to it from another body of believers, one of which is far away, and learn how that other church is doing. There is nothing like having a visiting minister who is physically present, and can literally communicate to the members what has actually been going on in the life of the other church. This is a far cry from the use of technology, as in the case of some kind of video software on a computer or tablet whereby a ministry is just digitally brought up to talk to everyone. And that includes our presentation today. It’s not the same thing—not nearly. But when the person is physically present it truly brings real encouragement to the church. And sometimes, depending on the group in question, the person will stay with a family at the church, actually in their house, and thus hospitality is practiced. And the minister will then be able to dine with that family, and probably also other families, folks from the church, and truly have fruitful one-on-one interactions. Appears like something that is needed more in our current world, and it should not be thought that such a practice is surely out-dated and shouldn’t be done anymore. The total dependence on that which is digital can be our downfall.

       Continuing on; “I have sent him to you for this very purpose… and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here” (ESV).

       Paul describes his intent in sending these men to the Colossians, both Tychicus and Onesimus. We should be aware of who Onesimus his, for he is the person who is the topic of conversation in Paul’s Letter to Philemon. Philemon, of course, was the slave-master who owned Onesimus. And Paul refers to Onesimus as a “faithful and beloved brother.” So, again, there is no distinction in what race individuals are in Paul’s mind, and this strikes at the heart in those in the past who have wanted to say the Bible supports slavery, or something in that vein. In fact, if we look over in Philemon, we read the following; this is Paul speaking: “I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord” (Philemon 10-14, ESV). Thus, Paul thought highly of Onesimus, and kept him on broad with his ministry till toward the end.

       Verses 10 and 11: “Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him), and Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me” (ESV).

       Let’s start first in talking about Aristarchus. We first meet him in Acts 19 where he is among Paul’s companions who are seized with Paul at the riot in Ephesus. That was when the idol-makers came against him because of what he was preaching, and they feared they were going to be put out of business, He is also with Paul when he sets sail to Rome in Acts 27, wherein, in verse 2, Luke says, “we put to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica” (ESV). Now, the second man here we have a lot of knowledge about, for this is Mark, who wrote the Gospel of Mark, and had even had a falling out with Paul at one point. If we remember, Paul and Barnabas got into a disagreement about Mark in Acts 15. In fact, why don’t we go ahead and turn there and read that passage. Acts 15, starting in verse 36: “And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches” (ESV).

       In reading this passage in Acts 15, it has some particularly interesting points to note. One thing that can be pointed out is that Paul and Barnabas actually had “a sharp disagreement.” This appears to show that no matter how high up a person may be on the Christian ladder, or serving-God ladder, they can disagree with another important person on what should be done. Strange as it may seem, Paul, as great as he perhaps was, was not immune to these types of issues. Second, it shows that a resolution between Paul and Barnabas couldn’t be met. That’s interesting. One would think that with two Christians as leader-worthy as these two fellows were, certainly they would have been able to come to an agreement between themselves. Yet the Scripture tells us they weren’t. They ended up separating into different directions. And third, we could note that perhaps Paul suffered from a pride issue, and this is the manifestation of that. We can recall what Paul told the Corinthians in his second letter to them: “So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9, ESV). It seems that perhaps Paul struggled with pride, and this instance in his disagreement with Barnabas was a manifestation of that.

       Nonetheless, by the time Paul is writing to the Colossians, he mentions to them referring to Mark, “concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him.” This verse looks to insinuate that perhaps in the past Paul had surprisingly spoken bad about Mark to the church in Colossae, in some way, shape, or form, or perhaps word had spread from other churches. Anyhow, Paul apparently has to correct himself because he now says Mark is to be welcomed which implies there was a point in time where he wasn’t to be welcomed. Pretty unsettling this becomes considering the fact that Barnabas himself had approved of Mark all along. Yet, Paul hadn’t approved of John Mark all along. This obviously raises some questions, and they are questions that we really cannot answer. But it goes to show that by this time in Paul’s writing to the Colossians that he was willing to correct within himself whatever incorrect behavior had taken place of his part, or incorrect assumptions regarding Mark. It shows that Paul himself wasn’t hardly perfect, and he wasn’t always correct in his own, personal deductions concerning things. No matter how highly we might think of him, he was a human. He was a Christian with flaws, and a Christian who had to correct himself at times.

       Now, Jesus who is called Justus we really don’t know anything about. Anything that could be remarked here would be mere speculation. Perhaps he took the name Justus because he did feel worthy to be called Jesus, or felt funny about it. Nonetheless, we do know what Paul states in the verse in that he was a Jewish man who had converted to Christianity. And, so, he is named along with Aristarchus and Mark as the only Jewish men who were currently working him for the sake of the spreading the Gospel along. Thus, Paul had other workers, which were Gentiles workers, but these were the only three Jewish guys, at least, at the time of his writing of Colossians. He probably comments, “they have been a comfort to me” because they shared this same kind of background that Paul himself had—that of being a Jew. The way Paul says it, that these were “the only men of the circumcision among [his] fellow workers” shows that Paul had more success in working with the Gentiles versus the Jews. Of course, he was the Apostle to the Gentiles, but we remember what he remarked to the Roman believers, who were Gentiles themselves, concerning his fellow kinsmen in the flesh. There, he said, “Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved” (10:1, ESV). Paul always had his mind on his people, and yet interestingly, God had called him to go to the Gentiles.

- Daniel Litton