Seasoned Speech to Share the Gospel
5 Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person. (Colossians 4:5-6)
Continuing yesterday’s challenge of sharing the gospel, Paul advises the believers to “act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time.” Max Anders writes, “Wisdom enables us to employ the proper approach in specific situations and with particular individuals.” In order to be wise, believers must ask of God, as seen in James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”
Once filled with the wisdom that God provides through the Holy Spirit, believers are then challenged to take advantage of every opportunity given to them to share. As a reminder, Paul was in prison while writing this letter, and yet, he still saw it as an opportunity to share the gospel to his fellow prisoners and guards. In the same manner, believers should see every opportunity and whatever setting they are in to share the gospel.
In order to be effective in this gospel sharing, Paul says, “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person.” During this time, salt had two purposes: worked as a preservative for food and seasoned for flavor. First, believers are to protect their speech, preserve it from corruption. Second, believers’ speech is to enhance life and be appealing to others without compromising the message.
With these guidelines in mind, Paul closes this section of sharing the gospel by telling believers to be ready to answer each person, which would require wisdom and delivery with sound speech. Jesus is the perfect model for this aspect, answering questions skillfully of those who asked, wanting them to find the truth.
May we ask of wisdom from God in order to be able to share the gospel. May we season our speech with salt, preserving it from the corruption of the world, and instead, help lift others up with our speech. Finally, may we take every opportunity to share the gospel message.
Blessings,
Isaac De Guzman
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