BEHIND THE BOOK Connecting to the Bible (Observation) COLOSSIANS 4:2-6 (READ VARIOUS TRANSLATIONS) AUGUST 23, 2017 We believe that each of us was designed for Eden, living in perfect relationship a state of shalom with ourselves, each other, and God. But now, shalom has been shattered and we are separated from Eden, living in a world marred by brokenness, disconnection, and trauma. By trying to protect ourselves in the midst of harm and cut ourselves off from future harm, we create a false Eden in which our hearts are hardened to both the reality of our trauma and the hope of our restoration. The defensive structures we turn to, often marked by vows, dissociation, addiction, and sabotage, further bind us to our trauma and separate us from the true goodness and delight of living in relationship with ourselves, others, and God. Only when we recognize that shalom has been shattered, and that our attempts to recreate it have left us even more broken and disconnected, can we move authentically toward the restoration of shalom and the promise of deep, lasting healing. From the ministry of Dave Allender - https://theallendercenter.org/about/allender-theory/ (accessed August 22, 2017). Speech, talking with one another as Christians and nonchristians, plays a large part in restoring God s shalom to our lives and the world. Let s talk about our speech. In Matthew 12:34 Jesus told the Pharisees that the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. In other words, because speech is so difficult to control, so immediate and spontaneous, it reflects our truest character. Matthew 12:37 - by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned The Bible has much to say about the speech of both the redeemed and the unredeemed mouth. The unredeemed mouth is characterized by: 1
Evil...But the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil. [Prov 15:28] Sexual immorality [Prov 5:3] Deceit Their tongue is an arrow shot out; It speaks deceit... [Jer 9:8] Curses His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression... [Ps 10:7] Lies Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD,... [Prov 12:22] Destruction [Prov 11:11] Vanity [2 Peter 2:18] Flattery...a flattering mouth works ruin. [Prov 26:28] Foolishness...the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness. [Prov 15:2] Carelessness I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, [Matt 12:36] False doctrine...devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, [ 2Tim 4:1] Evil plots The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him [Ps 37:12] Gossip A talebearer [means gossiper] reveals secrets... [Prov 11:13] Hatred An ungodly man digs up evil, And it is on his lips like a burning fire. [Prov 16:27] Too many words A fool also multiplies words... [Eccl 10:14] On the other hand the redeemed mouth is characterized by... Confession of sin If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. [1 John 1:9] Confession of Christ that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. [Rom 10:9-10] Edifying speech Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. [Eph 4:29] Praising God...let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips... [Heb 13:16] Blessing our enemies not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing... [1 Peter 3:9] Kindness...on her tongue is the law of kindness. [Prov 31:26] Graciously...And sweetness of the lips increases learning. [Prov 16:21] Proclaim the Gospel And they were preaching the gospel there. [Acts 14:7] In our text today, Paul continues his discussion about the new person that he began in 3:5. 3:15-17 The characteristics of the new person 3:18-4:1 The home of the new person In 4:1 he broadened the discussion to include nonbelievers. He focuses particularly on our speech because this is something the watching world can easily hear/see about us. 2
Next to Thoughts Attitudes Motives Speech is the most difficult thing for us to control. ILL An ancient Greek story tells that Bios was sent an animal for sacrifice with instructions to send back the best and worst parts of the animal to the owner. Bois returned only the tongue because it is simultaneously the best and worst part. James 3:2-12 - For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 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. 5 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! 6 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. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. In this part of Colossians, Paul emphasizes four kinds of speech: First: Praying Speech 4:2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. Paul begins with the most important and meaningful speech a human being can utter. Prayer is the most important speech a believer can utter. Prayer is the strength of the believer s fellowship with the Lord and the source of his power against Satan and his demons. Many believe that Paul considered prayer as one of those pieces of a Christian soldier s armor. Ephesians 6:18 praying always Satan trembles when he sees, The weakest saint upon his knees. 3
a) Devoted Prayer - continue steadfastly in prayer Continue stedfastly = proskartereo = devote - a compound word of two English words: to be stedfast, and to endure with an added preposition that intensifies the meaning. Luke 18:1, Man ought always to pray and not to faint. (lose heart) always a God consciousness that relates every experience in life to Him Devoted prayer is important because God s delays are not always God s denials. IMP: First, His love wants the best for you. Second, His wisdom knows the best for you. Third, His power gets the best for you. b) Dynamic Prayer 2b watchful be alert; spiritual energy Matthew 26:40-41 - And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. This implies a broad awareness; means the believer should look for those things about which they ought to be praying. We must be alert to something in order to pray persistently. c) Thanksgiving Philippians 4:6 - Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. Second: Sharing Speech 3-4 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 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. In reality, only after we speak to God are we prepared to speak to God. a) When to speak to others door in NT can refer to opportunity 1 Corinthians 16:8b-9 - I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, 9 for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. b) What to speak - to declare the mystery of Christ 4
A mystery is something hidden in the OT and revealed in the NT Luke 24:25-27 - O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory? 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. c) The cost to speak on account of which I am in prison Paul was imprisoned at the end of his third missionary journey. He was falsely accused of bringing Gentiles into an area of the Temple forbidden to Gentiles. A Roman guard rescued him and he was sent to Felix, the governor of Judea. After spending two years in custody, Paul exercised his Roman right to appeal to Caesar (Acts 25:11). The book of Acts ends with Paul under house arrest in Rome (Acts 28:16, 30). During that imprisonment, Paul wrote Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians and Philemon. He also evangelized those with who he came into contact: Roman soldiers, Herod Agrippa, members of Caesar s household and Rome s Jewish community. d) How much to speak that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak Three popular types of evangelism are not found in the Scripture: Experience-centered Rather than focusing on the Scripture and what it says, we focus on a person s feelings and experiences, making conversion an emotional experience Ego-focused This sells Jesus as the answer to all of life s problems and the source of earthly comfort, well-being and/or prosperity. Expedience evangelism High-pressure tactics, manipulation, cleverness, The gospel is an announcement. Whereas modern evangelism centers on what we should do, biblical evangelism is all about what God has done in Jesus. In its simplest form, the gospel is God s reconciling work in Christ that through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, God is making all things new both personally for those who repent and believe, and cosmically as He redeems culture and creation from its subjection to futility. Trevin Wax Acts 17:30-31 - The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead. 5
Third: Living Speech 4:5-6 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. walk in wisdom be careful not to say or do anything that would make it difficult to share the gospel. them that are without - not in the family of God. redeeming the time - buying up; a commercial term and pictures the Christian as a faithful steward who knows an opportunity when he sees one. Just as the merchant (or Janet) seizes a bargain when he finds one, so a Christian seizes the opportunity to win a soul to Christ. Psalm 90:12 - So teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom. The point here is that opportunities to speak with unbelievers are limited. We must use what time we have before them to use our lives/time wisely in an effort to demonstrate the gospel To do this our speech should be: a) Gracious Look again at the characteristics of unredeemed speech. These things should not be part of our daily conversation. Ephesians 4:29 - 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. b) Seasoned with salt Gracious speech has an effect, especially redeemed speech in the midst of unredeemed speech Salt adds flavor to food. It also prevents corruption. Believers speech should act as a purifying influence, rescuing conversation from the filth that so often engulfs it (JM). c) Responding to each person appropriately We should strive to say the right thing at the right time to the right person/people 6
Conclusion: The speech of the new man is vitally important. James 3:2 - if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. Unlike the ungodly person who says Our lips are our own; who is lord over us? (Psalm 12:4) believers pray Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips. (Ps 141:3). Small Group Interaction: 1 What does Matthew 12:34 mean when it says, the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. 2 Review the characteristics of unredeemed speech and discuss each one. How do you see them demonstrated in your world? 3 Look at the characteristics of redeemed speech. How are you portraying each one of those in your life? 4 How is the tongue the best and worst part of the body? 5 What does it mean to be devoted to or continue steadfastly in prayer? 6 What part does thanksgiving play in prayer? 7 How does prayer prepare us to talk with people about spiritual matters? 8 What does Paul mean when he says make the best use of your time concerning speech? How can we do that? 9 How can our speech be salt in the world? Provide an example. Behind the Book is only one aspect of Heritage s teaching ministry which seeks to employ our church s mission statement: Connecting to God, Growing with Others and Impacting the world. On Wednesday evenings we connect to Sunday morning s Bible passage and discover what it says through in-depth Bible study. Sunday morning in corporate worship (9:30am) we grow from the passage by learning what it means for our daily living. In Community Groups (10:45am) we practically apply the text, being impacted by it and learning to impact the world with it. CGI provides a balanced approach to life and Bible study; an upward look (Connect), an inward look (Grow) and an outward look (Impact) ensuring that our mission fulfils our vision to be a God-centered, Great Commission congregation. It s a well-known and beneficial way 7
to approach the Bible Connect/Observation, Grow/Interpretation, Impact/Application. It s also a Trinitarian approach to Scripture: Connecting to the Father, Growing in Christ and Impacting the world by the Spirit, so that the way we study the Bible daily reminds us about who our God is and how he is unique among all religions of the world. 8