Paul has told the Colossians, “Whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus. Christ…” 3:17 When we do anything “in the name of” someone we do it as their representative. in 4:2-6, Paul shares how Christians have the privilege of representing Christ to outsiders all around us. It begins in prayer. We should talk to God about people before we talk to people about God, since only God can save. We should pray for open doors, for others, and with others! Next we would seize opportunities as we walk in wisdom among outsiders. We do that in a number of every day, ordinary ways. We list 9 in the sermon. Qualifying them all is that there is no such thing as an insignificant conversation that includes the truth about Jesus. Finally, we must speak, and speak graciously. And any effective speaking starts with listening, then sharing what we’ve learned, and in our culture today, we should refrain from verbalizing every disagreement with have with “outsiders.” There will be many. The point of speaking graciously is to point people to Christ!
Scripture: Col. 4:2-6; 2 Cor. 5
