Final Comments To
Faithful Christians!
Colossians 4:7-18
As we come to the
close of our study of the book of Colossians the apostle Paul does not offer
pithy epitaphs, or catchy cliches. He
offers his own, personal final comments to a group of faithful Christians. If the book of Colossians were a journal,
these verses would constitute the last page.
This would be the final entry before the book was closed, the latchet
clasped, and laid upon a shelf.
1…The WALK that DEFINES Our Life!
Verse 5
deals with our
walk, or our behavior as Christians. We
are to:
A…There is a Responsibility to be
Exercised!
The
"walk" of which Paul speaks is directed in a very specific way, to a
very specific group.
The responsibility
spoken of here is not just a responsibility to the Lord, but to the lost. We not only have a responsibility to those
that are saved, but to those that are unsaved.
We are to live in
light of the fact that what we do, and how we do it makes an impact on an
unsaved person. What we say, and how we
say it cast a great impression on those who do not know the Lord Jesus.
B…There is an Opportunity to be Maximized!
Verse 5 not only
includes a responsibility we are to exercise, but an opportunity we are to
maximize. We maximize every God-given
opportunity by: “...redeeming the
time."
In modern
terminology, when one redeems the time, we would say, 'they are making the most
of it.' The idea is that as Christians
we are to take advantage of every opportunity that God places in front of us.
2…The TALK that DESCRIBES Our Life!
Much of the
Christian life is not only measured in how we walk, but in how we talk. In fact, what we say does much to describe
the type of life that we live. Jesus
said, in Matthew 12:34,
"...out of
the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh."
Verse 6
The word
"grace" speaks of "pleasantness, attractiveness, or charm."
The believers' interaction with others is to be based upon pleasant
speech. This not only includes what we
say, but how we say it. We are never to
speak with the motive to tear someone down, but we should seek to build someone
up.
B…The Purpose of Graceful Reaction!
Our speech often
identifies where we are from, it also identifies who we are. It is an index of ones character. One's vocabulary is often an indication of
one's spirituality. Therefore, one's
interaction, and reaction carries a divine purpose, mentioned in the last part
of verse 6:
"Let your
speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought
to answer every man."
If you would allow
me to paraphrase the Apostle Paul's words, he seems to say:
"It all comes
down to this one thing, in a nutshell. You need to know what to say, and how to
say it to every individual."
3…The CHALK that DIRECTS Our Life!
As we come to the
final section of this letter, it is almost as if the apostle Paul takes a piece
of chalk and draws out a guide, and a goal to direct our lives as
believers. He does that reminding us of:
A…The Expectation of a Faithful Life!
Verse 12 describes
what God expects from us as His people.
"...that ye
may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God."
B…The Explanation of a Fruitful Life!
Verses 7-18
Tychicus: Committed One
Onesimus: Converted One
Aristarchus
Marcus These
3 were the Comforted Ones
Justus
Epaphras: Crowned One
Luke Concerned
One
Nymphas Congratulated One
Archippus: Challenged One
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