Further Instructions

 2Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison– 4that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.  5Conduct yourselves wisely^[b] toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Final Greetings

 7Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant^[c] in the Lord. 8I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, 9and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here.

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Today, I want to focus on verses 2-6, and bring up a somewhat touchy/controversial issue…but first, on prayer. 

Paul calls the Colossians to pray continually…to really devote (NASB) ourselves to it.  To be continually persevering, to be steadfastly adherent, to give constant attention–to prayer.  I know God definitely speaks to us through His Word, that is the Bible (the very thing we are doing in these devotions), but all relationships requires communication that is not just one-way but two-way: when God talks to us–and boy does He do that constantly–it means that we gotta talk back!  Even if we don’t know what to say to Him, or how to express it coherently–just do it–pray!  …But hey, don’t get trapped in the “me, me and me” type prayers when it’s about all we want and need from God.  Paul reminds us to give thanks (=praise) to God in our prayer!  And lastly…pray for evangelism, for those who are in places and positions of preaching (this should include all of us, His royal priesthood) so that we can share His good news with unbelievers.

Which brings us to the issue of relating to “outsiders”: how do we do it? 

Consider this: what if a couple (man+woman) came to visit your church this sunday for the first time, really enjoyed the service, but at the end of it had one question for you–”What is your church’s stance on homosexuality?”  How would you answer them?  Would you straight up tell them your church’s position, that is the Baptist General Conference’s position, on homosexuality?  Or recite the passage from Leviticus & Romans that explicitly says it’s wrong?  Or will u act wisely and season your speech with salt and grace, inviting them to experience the grace and power of God to forgive and give them life when they’d repent+accept Christ as their Lord and Saviour?

Often, and I think in most situations in life, there’s more to the question than just being honest about the truth or saying what is right.  We have to “pastoral” in a sense, to see the motivations & understand the actual question that lies beneath the question voiced.

If you’ve been paying attention to the chatter that’s been going on between the reformed/conservative and the pomo/emergent sides, this was the question that was asked of Brian McLaren a few weeks ago.  Basically, McLaren has so far avoided answering the question directly.  Personally, I agree that finding a pastoral response is a Biblical way of dealing with the Question…but considering I lean towards a reformed theology, I also affirm Pastor Mark Driscoll’s responsive question to McLaren– “Do you personally believe that all sexual activity between two persons of the same gender is always a sin?” 

Reading God’s word and sow it deep down into our lives,  is not meant to build up our theology but to change our reality…  And I hope we all answer YES to Driscoll’s question–an overflow of our theology into our reality. that we could bear witness to the power of God for the salvation of those who believe…to give testimony to the great hope for all of us sinners to be made alive in Jesus Christ.

Long post, but to end of, a quote from McLaren’s first post to finish off the story:

Later that week I got together with the new couple to hear their story. “It’s kind of weird how we met,” they explained. “You see, we met last year through our fathers who became . . . partners. When we get married, we want to be sure they will be welcome at our wedding. That’s why we asked you that question on Sunday.”