Fearless Evangelism

Text: Colossians 4:2–6 ESV

I would venture to guess that when you find out that this is principally about evangelism, you already feel guilty. There's just very few of us who feel like we’re hitting outreach out of the park. 

So my prayer is that if you came feeling guilty and burdened when it comes to evangelism that you will finish reading with a glad heart, a glad heart that knows some steps forward.

The reason I have hope this morning is because Paul comes with a very simple plan for believers to begin to engage in evangelism. The plan is summarized very simply like this: “Let us pray to God and pursue him in order that we could make the best use of our time with unbelievers.” Paul wants us to pray to God and he wants us to pursue God so that when we have opportunities with non-believers, we make the best use of that time. We don’t have to be professionals. God doesn’t need you to feel like you have the perfect plan for evangelism. He simply wants you to be reliant. 

Sin has this ugly way of distracting believers. In evangelism, it makes us feel like we can’t do it. It makes us think that the first steps are to get training, to practice, to have all the answers. Sin works really hard to blind us to the fact that one of the reasons evangelism is so hard is that when you engage in it, you’re actually entering a war zone. Sin distracts believers by distorting reality so that we forget what's actually going on in the world. 

Welcome to the War Zone

I think this is why Paul finds it so important to remind the Colossians that they need to pray. We're actually entering a war, a raging battle that's going on. We're going to get creamed if we show up to the battle with a foam sword.

But God has given us a mighty weapon. The weapon is prayer. You'll see in Paul's opening exhortation to believers how important he thinks prayer is. Here's how he frames it. He says to the Colossians, 

“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” (Colossians 4:2 ESV)

He is calling believers to have a kind of fervency in prayer that is watchful, like a guard who's watching the camp at night. He is watching knowing there's a battle raging right in front of him. He knows that if he were to fall asleep, the enemy will storm the gates. 

Paul sees prayer as something that brings us into battle. Prayer is a wartime walkie talkie. That's how John Piper helpfully made me see it this week—Prayer is not this casual thing that we have with the creator of the universe, as if it’s a casual conversation on a cool evening. Paul wants us to see that prayer is a major weapon in this war. 

Turn over to Ephesians and you will see what I mean: 

“Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18 ESV)

Notice in what section this exhortation comes: 

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12 ESV)

God nestled this call to prayer right in the middle of talking about how to fight in this cosmic battle. So prayer is not simply a casual conversation but a wartime walkie-talkie with the greatest commander in all the world. 

But we so often slip into neglecting prayer altogether, and then when we pick it back up, we use it so casually, rather than as a wartime advancing strategy.

Let me give you an example. Some mornings, I’m tired enough that I don’t want to get out of bed to spend time reading my Bible. So I just decide I’m going to read in bed. Well, as I read and pray, you can guess what happens. I doze off in between prayers and verse. This looks nothing like using prayer as a wartime weapon. Instead, I’m treating it like it’s no big deal.

Sharpening our Sword

But instead of feeling guilty for not using it, I want to encourage you to start engaging in prayer in a way that corresponds to reality. This is a weapon. So let me show you what it does:

“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At 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— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.” (Colossians 4:2–4 ESV)

Paul sees prayer as effective. When believers pray for open doors, it actually happens. Let me just bring you into the world of what Paul means when he says open doors:

“And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.” (Acts 14:27 ESV)

“For a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.” (1 Corinthians 16:9 ESV)

So what appears to be happening is that people were going out with the gospel, and they were hitting a brick wall. It was just going nowhere. But when the believers prayed, all of a sudden, the door opened and that word went flying through. 

Paul was also convinced that upon the prayers of the saints, he will have a kind of clarity that he would not have had if people had not been pleading before the throne. 

God hears these prayers, and it changes situations and times and tears down walls and opens people’s eyes to sin. 

So on the one hand, we can go at evangelism by just storming the gates. But we have absolutely no reason to think that our attempts will be able to give life to a dead heart and then even more so to resist an enemy who is actively working against us. 

But there is every reason to think that the God who upholds the world by the word of his power can. And the way he does is through our prayers. When we start with prayer, now when we storm the gates, the gates are open, and the word just flies right in. 

So this is super easy to apply. 

Who are you praying for? By name? It doesn't matter how strong the resistance is. It doesn't matter how big that wall is. It does not matter. If God wants, he will demolish the opposition in response to your prayer. 

But let’s take the application one step further. Paul is writing to other believers to pray for him and his ministry. Do you know who your friend is praying for and are you joining them in prayer for that person? 

Relentless Pursuit

That's step one: pray to God. Paul wants us to pray to God and pursue God in order that we might make the best use of our time with non-believers. Now let’s turn to step two: pursue God. 

“Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” (Colossians 4:5–6 ESV)

 Now, why do I say pursue God? I mean, how is that going to help evangelism?

Well, we can break this down into two commands. He wants us to walk in wisdom, and then he wants us to speak in wisdom.

When Paul calls us to walk in wisdom, he's calling for us to have the kind of wisdom that would look at a situation with non-believers and know how to be ‘all things to all people’ in that moment. We know where we need to flex. We are aware of what are cultural-Christian traditions in our life that we can give up, and what are biblical mandates. 

For example, should I play poker with these guys? What about joining in their jokes? How can I really be ‘all things to all people’ in that moment? 

Walking in wisdom also includes the ability to know when to speak and when to listen, what questions to ask, etc. 

Then, Paul calls us to have words of wisdom, to have wise speech. He uses this very interesting phrase, “salty words:: 

“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt.” (Colossians 4:6 ESV)

I think Paul's picturing salt because it makes all food taste better. When we think about salty words then, it means we would be the kind of person who when we speak about Christ, the person listening to you’s mouth begins to water. What you're saying causes them to say, “I want that.” 

But how do you get to this point of having salty words? How do you get to the point where when you are sharing your faith people say, “Yes, wow, that guy's got something.” 

Furthermore, how do you get the wisdom that Paul is calling for in the beginning, or the answer to people’s questions like he calls for at the end of the verse? Where does that come from? 

Once again, I hope you hear this as a refreshing next step in evangelism. The only way you get this is to taste the sweetness of the Lord and dwell upon and love his wisdom. 

Our gut instinct might be to pursue the right method or talk to the right people. You might think the first step is to go and talk to Andrew and Sara Knight or David Lund, all who have been working for years in ministries focused on evangelism. 

But that is far from the first step. That step may come, but that’s not the first step. 

Here’s how James puts it:

 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” (James 1:5 ESV)

Here’s another one:

“The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple” (Psalms 19:7 ESV)

So don’t start with Andrew, or me, or anyone else, start with God. Ask him for wisdom in walk and speech. This is great news! This is great news for evangelism. You don’t actually have to be a professional, just reliant. 

If you’re looking for the right words to say, words seasoned with salt, you don’t first turn to curriculum, but rather, you first turn to the God that delights your heart! 

Here’s Psalm 19 again, this time verses 9–10:

“The rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.” (Psalms 19:9–10 ESV)

This means that our pursuit of evangelism begins by us getting a fresh taste of the Lord’s feast. We must refresh our delight in the Lord. Evangelism begins by reminding yourself everyday why this is such good news, why this is so delightful.

Dig and dig in the word of God until you can answer the questions: Why is it that you actually love this story, and why does it actually makes you happy? Why is it that it is far greater news than anything you've ever heard before? 

Search and figure out each day—whether it's morning, afternoon, night, whenever it is that you're reading God’s word—search until you get to the point of saying, “Oh yeah. That’s why I love this.” Do it each day and do it the next day and the next day.

Let’s just stop for a minute and realize how sweet this really is. Maybe you’ve heard this news one hundred times or maybe by the grace of God this is the first time. But the great news is that the God of the universe—the very God who created the world by his words—looked down on you and said, “I want you in my family, and I’m going to do everything necessary to make it happen.” The cost was his very Son who died on the cross so that your sins, if you are in him, are taken away because Christ took on the penalty you deserved to pay. And now, you are God’s son or daughter. Nothing will take you out of his family. From now until forevermore, you are his. 

Let that sink into your bones and let it sink in every day. 

When this gets rediscovered everyday, marvelous consequences follow. Oh, how much easier it is to share about something when you're delighted in it, when you're excited about it. 

I think of Disney musicals. These princesses are walking around, and then prince charming sweeps them off their feet. What erupts is an uncontrollable joy that bursts out in song. 

That’s the image of what happens when we delight ourselves in the Lord and all of a sudden, it just overflows. Sharing of the gospel becomes as natural as Cinderella singing a clean up song. 

Now this does not mean that because these are the first two steps to grow in evangelism that they need to be the only two steps. Proverbs is full of encouragement for us to seek the wisdom of wise counselors. So, we are all for getting some helpful training. 

But we are taking some baby steps. We need to start with these first two steps. I would love it if we left this morning with a goal to share the gospel this week with someone. But if you're like me, that might cause some nervousness still. So let me put these two steps before you again. If you are thinking that sharing the gospel will be hard, and it makes you nervous, start with these two steps: 

1. Pray. Pray that this impossible brick wall would give way to the word. 

2. Pursue God. Delight yourself in God so that what comes out is the fruit of your joy in him. 

So if you think sharing your faith with someone this week sounds daunting, then take this week to pray for them and soak in the word of God. Then, share with them next week. But don’t let this just stay in the theoretical. Add to your prayers a prayer I read from a pastor, “Lord, don’t let a year of my life go by when I’m not involved in seeing someone come to you in faith.”