Complimentary Story
March 2022“Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.” (Colossians 4:5-6 New King James Version)
I have been hearing this in my mind, over and over lately, “Redeem the Time.” I believe in the imminent return of Christ. Scripture teaches us that no man knows the day nor the hour of Christ’s return, and that we are to watch and be ready. Sadly, many have distorted the truth in their ignorance. The truth is that we do win in the end, but that information should not cause us to step out of the fight.
I believe the believer who knows how things will end will be drawn to a sense of urgency concerning the calling which we have to preach the Gospel. I may not get a second chance to share the truth of the Gospel with someone, so I know I must make every encounter be a meaningful one. Advance knowledge of victory must not be an invitation for inactivity on the part of the believer. The victory we have in Christ over sin and death demands that we use the time we have with a sense of urgency which has eternal consequences.
The book of Colossians has so much great stuff in it for the believer. I think from the above passage we must understand that it is a wise thing to make the best use of our time on this earth as believers.
Redeeming the Time seems to imply that we are to take something back. Every moment we live without God is a moment given over to the darkness.
I say that the adversary has taken enough time, and that we need to take it back. What we take back every moment we speak the truth of God is the lies of the enemy. What we take back each chance we must be a witness for Christ is the darkness and confusion of the world. We are the salt and the light, so we must ask ourselves, are we preserving anything for the Kingdom? Is our life a beacon of light to those who are lost and trapped in the darkness of this present age?
We must be wise in our use of time. I am tired of seeing the wisdom of the world prevail against the society we have been called to be a witness to. I say the wisdom of the world is darkness and death, but the wisdom of God is light and life!
Our speech must be gracious, but it also must be seasoned with salt. We need to allow the grace of God to bring forgiveness and freedom. We must never forget that we, too, were once lost and deceived, trapped in the darkness until we were freed by Christ. We must remember that salt preserves. Salt cleanses and it heals. We have all likely heard the saying, “That is like rubbing salt in a wound.” Prior to modern medicine, salt was used not only to preserve food, but to heal wounds. When salt gets into a wound, it stings. We often soften the truth of the Gospel to remove any unpleasant sting, lest we offend someone. I do not desire to cause offense for the sake of hurting someone, but if I give the truth of the Gospel and do it in love, I believe that any sting is conviction.
Conviction brings repentance and repentance brings us to a right relationship with God in Christ Jesus. We must realize that our speech must be gracious, it must be loving, and love requires we tell the truth. I can not overstate that we must be aware that being told you are a sinner is offensive to those who are lost and deceived. However, the truth must be told. We cannot be out beating people in the head with the truth, hoping to inflict pain, but we also can not censor Scripture to sedate the masses with a powerless “gospel.” The Gospel of Jesus Christ is POWERFUL, it quite literally transforms the life of an unrepentant sinner into a justified new creation in Christ Jesus.
We will know how we are to answer people if we spend time in His Word. Sometimes situations will arise that are uncomfortable, sometimes even confrontational, but we must allow the Holy Spirit to give us the words that we are to speak. We can not shrink back from the duty to go into all the world, preaching and teaching the Gospel. We must not allow comfort to rank higher than conviction. We must be gracious, because we, too, were once dead in our trespasses, which is precisely why we must redeem the time.
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