Practical Guidance for the Shining City

“Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man” Colossians 4:2-6.

Perhaps your heart swells with delight and wonder as you consider the Shining City as expounded on in this edition of The Baptist Witness. You want to shine! You know the light of Christ and the gospel is the only light worthy of being displayed. You agree and seek to apply what was taught from Matthew 5 concerning letting your light shine. But you may be thinking, “Is there any other practical guidance Scripture would offer?” I don't have an exhaustive answer to that question, but Paul's exhortations in Colossians 4 do meet that criteria. Let's examine this guidance:

In a general way, Paul exhorts the Colossian saints to live a lifestyle of communion with God: prayerful, thankful and spiritually alert. The picture here is a believer who invests time drawing near to God with supplication and thanksgiving. Then, Paul gets specific: “pray for us that God would give opportunity to speak the gospel to others, and that I would speak it clearly and faithfully.” What the passage is calling for here is not a “special occasion” prayer, but what ought to be a normal, regular feature of our prayers. A foundational and essential (yet likely often forgotten) way to rise and shine in this world is to pray regularly in the way that Paul commands. A simple measuring stick: how often do you pray for God to open up doors for the gospel to be clearly and effectively communicated? “A door of utterance” in the text is literally “a door for the word.” The conviction behind this prayer is that what is needed most in this world is the word of the gospel of Christ. The heart behind this lifestyle of prayer recognizes that the spread of the gospel is important to God...and therefore, ought to be important to us. It is a spirit that longs to see Christ glorified in this world and longs to see needy sinners partake of the riches of the gospel. It is an attitude desiring to be useful in our calling of being “sent into the world” (John 17:18).

A “door for the word” is an image that conveys access or opportunity for the gospel. A quick trip through the book of Acts shows the marvelous hand of Providence giving access and opportunity for the gospel. God provided gospel opportunity in various ways: through imprisonment and stormy ship rides, through burdens of the soul, through people going through routine life and yet being ready when the opportunity presented itself, and even through unsuccessful attempts (closed doors) to spread the gospel, such as Paul's experience in Acts 16.

Sound theology teaches us that God is sovereign and in control of all things, including doors of opportunity for the gospel. Sound theology also teaches us to regularly pray for the sovereign God to open doors of opportunity. Let us be encouraged that God wants us to pray this way! He is able to give very ordinary access points or highly unpredictable gospel opportunities. Let me encourage you to make this a regular part of personal prayer, family prayer and public prayers offered in the church. It can be helpful to pray this generally or specifically. Prayer could be made for gospel opportunity in your community, for your church, in your nation and even in other parts (even specific nations you have in mind) of the world. Hopefully, you will see clear answers to your prayers. But, you may also have the privilege of God hearing your prayers and opening doors of opportunity that you will never even know about this side of heaven!

Our passage says, “Walk in wisdom toward them that are without...” Those without are those who don't follow Christ. It is evident from this passage and others that the Lord expects us to have interactions with unbelievers. One way Christians can err is to be too influenced by the world, allowing ourselves to be discipled by the deceptions and sinfulness of the world. However, another error is to practically avoid interaction with the world at all. From an unhealthy fear of the dark world, Christians can fail in the area of shining light. We are not called to live in Christian communes, but are sent into the world. This, admittedly, is a balancing act in which we need the continual assistance of the Holy Spirit. So, pray for open doors for the gospel and interact with unbelievers in your circle of influence. This could be co-workers, classmates, people you see regularly at the gym, in the neighborhood or fellow parents at your child's sports, music or scout activities.

The instruction is to walk in wisdom towards them, redeeming the time (taking advantage of the opportunity). Wisdom would involve getting to know them. This means sincere, meaningful, caring interactions where possible. It means being willing to share about yourself to them. It will involve questions and an understanding of their religious background if any. For example, knowing whether your neighbor was raised Catholic or Hindu will be helpful in knowing how to interact. Becoming aware that your co-worker was “burned” by a previous church experience or claims to be a Christian but is living in blatant, unrepentant sin will surely shape how you approach them.

Do people you interact with know you are a Christian? That doesn't have to come in a painfully awkward way (“Hi, my name is Frank and I am a Christian.”) It might come in a more natural way: “Frank what did you do this past weekend?” Frank: “Well, I mowed the grass, went to my grandson's birthday party and then had a great day at church yesterday.” It is also helpful to try to “knock” on doors to see if there is an opening. For instance, someone in conversation may drop in that they are anxious and stressed about some situation confronting them. Without sounding stiff and “holier than thou”, it might be a good time to say something like, “You know, I get stressed too. That's where I, as a Christian, believe I am supposed to trust everything to Jesus. I don't always do that like I should. But, I know God has loved me and since He saved me from my worst problem (sin and guilt), I should be able to trust Him with everything else.” That kind of statement may be met with a “brick wall” and nothing more come of it. But, it may reveal an interest and lead to deeper conversations down the road.

Demonstrating genuine concern for others especially at times of adversity, grief and other difficulty may be used of the Lord to open doors of opportunity for gospel conversations. Attending the funeral of a co-worker's loved one or writing an email of condolence demonstrates you really care about someone. And let me add: we must cultivate a heart that really cares instead of merely “checking off a box.”

Finally, our text says, “...that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” Put succinctly, we need to know what to say. I don't mean you have to have the perfect comeback for every potential objection to Christianity off the cuff (though it's wise to be as equipped as possible). Mainly, I mean you should be able to communicate the basic message of the gospel. This would include: the deity and humanity of Christ; human sin and guilt; the perfect life, death and resurrection of Jesus; the response of repentance and faith called for in the Scriptures. You may not get to all of this comprehensively in every conversation, but it is important to be ready to do so. Memorizing certain key verses of Scripture that touch on these points can be very helpful and will surely edify your own soul in the process! Ask your pastor or other trusted brother or sister for help if you struggle in this area or are unsure how to grow in it.

In closing, let me encourage us all to apply these practical instructions from Paul's letter to the Colossians. God doesn't require us to do what we cannot do (open someone's heart). But, He does require us—and actually give us the honor and privilege—to engage in kingdom work. Let's pray, pray and interact, and grow in knowledge while confidently leaving the results to the hands of our wise, sovereign and gracious Father in heaven.