COLOSSIANS: OVERCOMING SYNCRETISM THRU CHRIST

Part VIII: Living In View Of Christ’s Sufficiency And Supremacy, Colossians 3:1-4:6

F. Effective Evangelism

(Colossians 4:3-6)

I. Introduction

A. Recent research indicates that the average American adopts beliefs and practices from approximately nine distinct worldviews, what produces a jumble of often contradictory philosophies known as syncretism.

B. The epistle to the Colossians handled a mixture of Jewish legalism, Greek philosophy and Oriental mysticism (Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, p. 1690, “The Colossian Heresy”), so it applies to the syncretism that we face.

C. In view of Christ’s sufficiency and supremacy, Colossians 4:3-6 directs us on conducting effective evangelistic outreach, and we view the passage for our insight, application and edification (as follows):

II. Effective Evangelism, Colossians 4:3-6.

A. Evangelizing unsaved people for Christ is a wonderful ministry, but often, believers report that their efforts to witness are either unproductive or counterproductive, and that without understanding why it is so.

B. In reality, evangelism is a supernatural ministry, for the unsaved are of their “father the devil,” and the “lusts” of their “father” they “will do,” works like being a spiritual “murderer” and not abiding “in the truth” to cite Jesus at John 8:44. Furthermore, Satan as the “god of this world” has “blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ . . . should shine unto them,” 2 Corinthians 4:4 KJV.

C. Thankfully, regardless of such formidable obstacles to evangelism, God led Paul to reveal the practice of effective Biblical evangelism in Colossians 4:3-6 for our insight, application and edification (as follows):

a. Effective evangelism, being a supernatural ministry, requires intercessory prayer for the evangelizer, v. 3a.

b. That prayer is to be directed toward specific needs we have in even presenting the Gospel, Col. 3:3b-4:

i. Prayer needs to be given that God might open a door of opportunity for the Gospel to be effectively given, Col. 3:3b. Since Satan has blinded the unsaved to the Gospel so that they cannot perceive it, since the unsaved will do the works of their spiritual father the devil in not abiding in the truth and being murderous in intent and if the Gospel convicts them of sin as it must (cf. John 15:18-19, 22), then the evangelizer of necessity must prayerfully rely on God to counter Satan and the sin that exists in the unsaved so that the evangelizer’s unsaved audience will even listen to the Gospel!

ii. Prayer needs to be given that God might equip the evangelizer to make the Gospel understood or “clear” to unbelievers who hear it, Colossians 4:4 ESV. Paul asked for prayer that he might make the Gospel “manifest” (KJV), the Greek verb being phaneroo, “reveal, make known” (Arndt & Gingrich, A Grk.-Eng. Lex. of the N. T., 1967, p. 860), to make it comprehensible.

c. Effective evangelism, being a supernatural ministry, also requires the supernatural credibility to the evangelizer himself that the unsaved might view him as a credible messenger of the Gospel, Col. 3:5-6:

i. Those who evangelize the unsaved must be wise in the way they act, Col. 4:5a NIV. “This wisdom (sophia; cf. 1:9, 28; 3:16), which is God’s, not man’s (cf. James 3:13, 17), should be evident to outsiders,” to unbelievers. (Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 684) For such a credible life, a believer must rely by faith on the Holy Spirit to produce the credible godliness required, Gal. 5:16, 22-23.

ii. Those who evangelize the unsaved must also “make the most of every opportunity” (Col. 4:5b), to be ready “in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2) to proclaim the Gospel. (Ibid.)

iii. Those who evangelize the unsaved must make their speech always be full of grace (Col. 4:6a), that is, make it graciously pleasing, while also balancing this pleasantness with “salt,” what is pure and penetrating (Col. 4:6b), what will equip the evangelizer to answer everyone who asks him the reason for the Christian hope that is within him, 1 Peter 3:15; Ibid. Unbelievers often respond to an attempted Gospel presentation with some question that demonstrates opposition to or doubt about some aspect of the Christian faith, so an evangelizer must be prepared to answer them well.

Lesson: Due to the supernatural requirements of evangelizing the unsaved, the evangelizer must prayerfully rely on the Lord for the opportunity and the clarity of speech needed to communicate well, backing up this effort with a reputable life lived by the Holy Spirit’s power, an eye for utilizing opportunities to evangelize well and preparation ahead of time to know how to answer questions the unsaved may ask him about the Christian faith.

Application: May we Biblically prepare to evangelize before we give the gospel that God might make us effective.