Colossians Talk 7. The Means of Spreading the Gospel – how?
Welcome to the final talk in our series, Themes from Colossians.
So far in this series we have considered:
- The Supremacy of Christ – who he is (Talk 1)
- Freedom in Christ – what he has done for us (Talks 2&3)
- Living for Christ – what we should do for him (Talks 4&5)
Our final theme is:
Proclaiming the Gospel of Christ – what, why, where, how (Talks 6&7)
In Talk 6 we considered:
What is the gospel – what?
The purpose of the gospel – why?
The universality of the gospel – where?
Today our subject is:
The Means of Spreading the Gospel – how?
- There are those who are especially called and gifted to preach the Gospel
Ephesians 4:11 Apostles … evangelists
Paul was an obvious example of this:
Colossians1:1
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God…
Colossians 1:28-29
- We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.
- To this end I labour, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.
Colossians 4:3-4
And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.
- But we are all called to play our part in the spread of the Gospel
How?
- By prayer
Colossians 4:2-4
- Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
- And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.
- Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.
- Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.”
- By our behaviour
- Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.
- By our words
- Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
- By making the most of every opportunity
- Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.
- By discovering and fulfilling the role God has for us
- Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord.”
- By hard work and dependence on the Holy Spirit
Colossians 1:29
To this end I labour, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.
Conclusion
As we saw last time:
We were alienated from God by our attitude and actions.
But God by his grace has provided the basis for reconciliation through the death of his Son
This becomes effective for us when we believe.
God’s ultimate purpose is that we might be presented perfect before him
This good news is to be communicated to everyone – the whole world.
And today we have seen that:
Some people are especially called to do this, but every Christian must play a part by:
Praying for the spread of the gospel
Being wise in our actions in relation to those who don’t yet know Jesus
Kind words and knowing how to answer people’s questions
Making the most of every opportunity
Discovering and fulfilling the role God has for us
Hard work and dependence on the Holy Spirit
What are YOU doing to help spread the good news?