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The Believer And His Speech (Colossians 4:6)
I. To Be Always With Grace And Seasoned With Salt
II. To Be Able To Answer Every Man
A believer is a new man in Christ. In our previous messages, we have learned that Colossians 4:2–6 is about the life of this new man in Christ. Basically, there are four parts: the believer and prayers; the believer and the gospel; the believer and his conduct; the believer and his speech.
We have since considered the first three parts. Today we will focus on the fourth part, the believer and his speech.
Our text is taken from Colossians 4:6: “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”
The Lord blessed the reading of His holy and sacred Word.
Statistics tell us that the average person speaks between 7,000 to 16,000 words a day. Some people speak more, others speak less. If you multiply that amount by 365 days a year and then multiply it by a lifetime of 70 or 80 years, the amount is tremendously massive in the multitude of words we speak.
How careful are we with our speech?
The word “let” is in the imperative, which means it is a command, and the command is to let your speech be always with grace. When such a command is given, it means we have to guard what we say, we have to consider every word we speak and only let words of grace flow from our lips.
When such a command is given, there will be a very serious consequence if we do not obey. Jesus said in Matthew 12:36, “But I say unto you that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.”
The word “idle” means callous or fruitless. This would include the things we write, whether it be in emails or letters, because essentially they are our words in written form.
To speak with grace means to say things that are spiritual, edifying, truthful, loving, kind, pure, gentle, etc.
Ephesians 4:29–30 speaks of the same thing. It is worthy for us to consider that passage. Please turn with me to Ephesians 4:29–30.
“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers, and grieve not the Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”
The original Greek word for corrupt has been used of fruits, vegetables, and meat that are rotting away. Vulgarities, sinful and unwholesome words should be as repulsive to us as a rotten apple or a rotten piece of meat.
Indeed, speech is a powerful tool. It can either be used for good or for evil. It is like the little piece of matter you put into the mouth of a horse, and it can turn that large animal either this way or that way. It is like the rudder of a ship, and it can turn that great machinery either this way or that way.
No wonder James said, though the tongue is just a little member, very small, very tiny, it is a fire, a world of iniquity.
A Christian must be a good testimony in the way he speaks. When we speak evil, sinful and filthy words and we laugh at dirty jokes, our life is in total contradiction with our positions as new creatures in Christ.
Our words must be gracious, pure, and edifying. Christians must never speak words of wrath or anger. We must never reach a point whereby our words become bitter, vengeful and ungracious.
Our words can either be used to encourage or discourage. If you are someone who is always encouraging in your words, people will certainly be encouraged by you. No one likes a cynical, sharp-tongued person.
As Christians, we must love one another and demonstrate our love for one another. The Bible tells us we can show our love by what we say about one another. If we have critical and judgmental thoughts concerning one another and we speak evil against one another, we can be sure that the love of God will not be manifested through our lives.
We must love one another even in our speech. We must never sin against our brethren by what we say.
There are some people who think that as long as it doesn't hurt anyone, it is all right to say what you like. But Ephesians 4:29 said, “Do not engage in corrupt communication, but engage in that which is good in the use of edifying that he may minister grace unto the hearers.”
In other words, if it does not edify, build up or benefit, then it is not worthy to be said.
What is our motivation for putting off corrupt communication? Verse 30 said that we will not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.
All sin is painful to God. But sin in His children breaks His heart. When God's children refuse to obey this command, the Holy Spirit is grieved.
The Holy Spirit is grieved when He sees Christians speaking corrupt communication instead of edifying words of grace.
As children of God, we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God's personal mark on us, His stamp of divine approval that you and I are His children.
In a way, Paul was saying, how can we speak in such a manner that is so displeasing to the Holy Spirit indwelling in us, the one with whom we are sealed unto the day of redemption?
How can we grieve the Holy Spirit who is our Helper, our Comforter, our Teacher, the divine resident of our hearts and the guarantor of our eternal redemption? He has done so much for us. How can we grieve Him?
Back to our text in Colossians 4:6. “Seasoned with salt.”
What does it mean to have our speech seasoned with salt? It is important to understand the characteristics of salt. Allow me to give you several examples.
The first characteristic of salt is the colour. Salt in its purest form is white. So many theologians believe that spiritually it represents purity. Jesus said in Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
As disciples of Christ, we are to be pure before the world and to help purify the rest of the world. So Christians must maintain the standard of righteousness and our speech must be pure.
The second characteristic of salt is the flavour. Christians are to add flavour to the world just as the food is tasteless without salt. The world is tasteless, empty without the presence of the Christians.
Here it does not mean to speak words to flatter, to exaggerate, or to add more to what is true, but rather it means words that add beauty to our testimonies as Christians.
Have you ever spoken to a person and the more you speak to that person, the more you are attracted to him or her? I'm not referring to a romantic or sensuous attraction.
For example, if you have an unbelieving spouse, let's say both of you got married when you were unbelievers, but now you became a believer. Your speech will add flavour, beauty, and attractiveness to your Christian testimony before your unbelieving spouse. He will see this radical change in your life.
And though your speech cannot save anyone, but through your speech he will be able to see that the faith you profess to believe in is real.
That is why 1 Corinthians 7:14 said, “For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband. Else were the children unclean, but now are they holy.”
So in a sense this flavourful speech has a sanctifying element in it.
The third characteristic of salt is that it stings like a bee, especially when it is applied to a wound. In a spiritual sense, our speech is to sting the world, prick its conscience, make the world uncomfortable.
And we do that through preaching the gospel.
Today the church is so concerned about pleasing and attracting people. They are so concerned about not offending others that they fail to confront the people that they are lost. That they are desperately in need of the Saviour.
We must remember this. A gospel that does not confront sin is not the gospel of Jesus Christ.
As a believer, as a church, we cannot stand for the Lord if we do not stand for His Word. And when we stand for His Word, inevitably the words we speak will oftentimes be confrontational.
For the unbelievers, our words when we share the gospel may sting them so that they would turn to God for salvation. For the believers who have fallen into sin, our words may sting them so that they may repent of their sins.
Either way, there is this element of confrontation.
The fourth characteristic of salt is that it has a healing effect. It is therapeutic. We know that salt acts as a natural antibacterial, an anti-inflammatory agent.
In a spiritual sense, our words ought to be comforting. When someone is hurt, we ought to comfort him. When someone has repented from his sins, we ought to restore him with words seasoned with salt.
The fifth characteristic of salt is that it creates a thirst. Partly because salt increases the body's craving for water. It is often given to those who work hard under the hot sun to create a thirst for more intake of water. Otherwise there will be dehydration and even death may result.
God has intended His people to live and testify before the world so that they will be aware of their spiritual dehydration and danger, without which ultimately they would die.
I believe all these characteristics of salt are good representatives of the believer and his speech.
Our speech must be pure. Our speech ought to be flavourful in that it adds this attractiveness to our Christian testimonies. Our speech ought to be true to God's Word even when it stings. Our speech ought to be comforting. Our speech ought to create a thirst in God, especially for those who do not know Him.
But I think the last characteristic of salt is the most important. It is that of preservation.
In ancient times, the only way a person could preserve a piece of meat was to apply salt onto the surface of that piece of meat. Salt has a preserving quality to stop the meat from decaying.
As God's children and as temples of the Holy Spirit, Christians represent God's presence in this world.
Living in a world whereby the vast majority speak evil, immoral and sinful words, we Christians speak words seasoned with salt that will preserve or prevent the entire world from degenerating even faster than it is.
This world is getting from bad to worse. But with the Christians, there is at least this element of preservation.
Jesus said, “Ye are the salt of the earth,” and as salt you must have all these characteristics, and it begins with our speech.
Our second point is to be able to answer every man.
The second part of verse 6 said that he may know how he ought to answer every man. We must know how to say the right thing at the right time to the person who asked us, no matter who that person is.
Here the context is about the gospel. How do we know? Because verse 2 tells us that God would open unto us a door of utterance to speak the mystery of Christ.
It is about the gospel which was hidden in the past in the Old Testament, but with the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in the New Testament it is revealed, and this gospel has been revealed unto us.
This good news has been preached to us, and it is our responsibility to give an answer to every man who asks us.
Please turn with me to 1 Peter chapter 3:15. Look at the second part. 1 Peter chapter 3:15.
“And be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.”
The original Greek word for “give an answer” is from where we get the English word for apologetics. Christian apologetics means to provide an intellectual defence of the Christian truth and faith.
We are to speak in defence, not with a proud attitude but with meekness and fear. This fear is toward God, not men.
In other words, we do not retaliate. We do not fight. We defend our actions and what we believe in and humbly explain.
When people ask you, why are you speaking like that? Why are you behaving like that? Why do you have to hold to your Christian principles so rigidly? Why must you say the Bible is perfectly inspired and preserved? It is infallible and inerrant.
Don't you know when you do that you will be ostracised? You will be accused of breaking fellowship. Can't you just compromise and say that perhaps Jesus is just one of the ways to heaven?
Well, we do not compromise. By the same time, we must not be arrogant.
We humbly reply, I believe in a God whose eyes are always on His children. I believe in a God who says what He means and means what He says. I believe in a God who cannot make mistakes.
And if I were to say anything or do anything or think anything against Him, man may not know, but He knows. And one day I would have to stand before Him to give an account of the things I've said and done.
One theologian asked this question. Allow me to quote him. When we defend the Christian faith, which is more important, a heart that is directed at God or a theology that is correct?
Well, both are equally important.
When it comes to the Christian faith, we have to affirm the importance of the heart and the mind. The truth of God's Word cannot get to the heart unless it is first processed by the mind. Our hearts cannot embrace what the mind does not know or what the mind finds unbelievable.
It is important for us to make this distinction because if we separate the heart from the mind and try to get to the heart by bypassing the mind, we are left with a blind emotionalism without any valid basis at all.
How true.
Take a moment and consider all the contemporary worships today. They appeal to the feeling without the thinking.
Some people will tell you that it does not matter what you believe in as long as you have this warm feeling in your heart for Jesus.
Have you ever met someone who says to you, I have no doctrine and I am not interested in doctrine but Jesus Christ, or it doesn't matter what you believe in as long as you embrace Jesus Christ, or it is the heart that matters?
It may sound very nice, but that kind of statement is immediately destroyed as soon as you ask this question: Who then is Jesus Christ?
The moment he or she tries to answer that question and say something about Christ and His identity and His nature and His attributes, the thinking will be involved. The mind will be engaged in the doctrine of Christ.
Inevitably, this person would have to explain what the Bible says about Him.
That is why it is so important to study and be equipped with the Word of God so that you and I are ready to give an answer to every man that asks us a reason of the hope that is in us.
If we are brought before judges and placed on a trial because of our faith, are we ready to say why we believe what we believed?
If our neighbour asks, “I notice you go to church every Sunday. I see you carry a huge book with you. What is that you believe in?” Are we ready to explain not only what we believe but why we believe?
After the time of the apostles in the second century, there was a man named Justin Martyr who was one of the most prominent early Christian apologists.
His most famous writing was named the Apology, which he addressed to Emperor Antoninus Pius.
Justin wanted to defend the Christians against the false charges being spread around the empire.
In those days, the Christians were accused of being atheist because they did not embrace polytheism, the worship of many gods and emperor worship which was widely practised in Rome because they would not worship the emperor.
They were accused of being traitors of the empire. They were accused of cannibalism. Rumours spread that the Christians met secretly to eat somebody and drink someone's blood.
That rumour was nothing more than just a terrible distortion of the Lord's Supper.
Justin Martyr clarified what the Christian church believed in, and he told the emperor that Christians were not atheists because they believe in one God and not many.
He explained that Christians did not worship Caesar because only Jesus Christ was Lord. But nonetheless, Christians were obedient to the king and judges. They paid their taxes and they prayed for those who ruled over them. They were not rebellious.
He also explained the nature of the Lord's Supper which was far from cannibalism. There's a spiritual significance in eating the bread and drinking the cup.
By apologetics, be ready always to give an answer. He corrected the misunderstanding and distortion that was spread throughout the Roman Empire about the Christians.
Only with this knowledge of God's Word, he was able to do that.
What about you, dear friend? Are you able to defend the faith? Are you able to give an answer to every man that asks you why you believe what you believe in?
If you are not able to give an answer as to why you believe what you believe in, how then can your unbelieving grandparents, parents, children, relatives and colleagues at work come to know Jesus Christ for salvation?
Many of our unbelieving loved ones and friends have misunderstood Christianity and the Bible. Are we able to correct their misunderstanding and distortion?
When your unbelieving loved one lies on the death bed, will you be able to look him in the eyes and say, “Well, Dad, it doesn't matter what you believe in. It doesn't matter who you believe in. As long as you say these words, I believe you are saved.” Do you think that is the right thing to do?
Most certainly not.
We have to point our unbelieving loved ones to the one who came from heaven into this earth, who lived a perfect life. Ultimately, He suffered. He was crucified on the cross. He died. He shed His precious blood.
For what purpose? Because only His precious blood can wash away our sins.
He was buried, but the grave cannot keep Him. On the third day, He rose again from the dead. And He said to those who believe in Him, whosoever believeth in Him, he shall also rise again.
We need to have this proper understanding of the gospel in order to give an answer to every man. It is our responsibility.
God gave us this mouth that we may speak. Not just to converse with one another, not just be able to sing songs that we love. Not just to be able to communicate with our friends.
He gave us this speech that we will be able to give an answer to every man that asks us.
In a sense, we owe every man the gospel of Jesus Christ.
So as believers, our speech have to be always with grace, seasoned with salt, have the characteristics of salt. And our speech must always be focused on this one very thing: to be ready to give an answer to every man, and that is the gospel.
Dear friend, this same tongue that preaches the gospel must not be used to speak words of gossip, lies, anger, and wrath.
This same tongue that offers praises to God must not be used to speak hurtful words, whether it be to strangers or to our loved ones and friends or our colleagues.
It is amazing how some people can worship God, sing praises to His holy name, and then immediately after that they gossip and slander one another.
Do you think God will accept our worship? Do you think God does not know? He knows.
Remember, an average person speaks between 7,000 to 16,000 words a day. If that statistic is true, how many of those words we have spoken are careless, idle words and sinful?
There's a serious consequence. Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
Said who? The Lord Jesus Christ.
If He said so, we believe it. It will surely come to pass.
One day we will be held accountable for the words we speak, which includes the things we write.
So be careful.
God knows. That is the reason why He gave us this command: “Let your speech be always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”
May the Lord's name be praised.
May each and every one of us obey this command.
“Be careful, little children, what you hear. Be careful, little eyes, what you see. Be careful, little mouth, what you speak.”
But we ourselves ought to be careful of the words we speak because every word will be held accountable.
Let us pray.
Our Father in Heaven, we give Thee thanks for this opportunity to continue our study on the book of Colossians. And we have come to the fourth part of this life, this new life in Christ.
As believers, we know that we have this new life in Him. And out of this new life, we are taught about the believer and prayers, the believer and the gospel, the believer and his conduct. And today we have learned the believer and his speech.
And we pray that we will not just be hearers only, but we will examine our own lives.
If there be any words that we have spoken or we are about to speak that are not right, sinful, careless, idle, hurtful, words that are of gossip, lies, and of all sorts, may Thou convict our hearts that we stop in our corrupt communication.
And we not only do not let corrupt communication proceed out of our mouths, but we engage ourselves in that which is good to the use of edifying, that our words may minister grace unto the hearers.
So we want to guard whatever we say. We want to consider the words that we speak, every word that we are about to utter. And we only allow words of grace to flow from our lips because we know that not only our actions but our speech will be judged by Thee.
And ultimately if we are obedient we will receive a reward from Thee. But in our disobedience we will have to give an account in the day of judgment.
As believers, we may not be judged for the penalty of our sins, for we are already saved, but we will be judged at the Bema Seat of Christ. We will be waiting to receive our rewards from Him.
God forbids that we will receive nothing because of our speech.
So we pray that we would be mindful that our words will always be with grace, seasoned with the characteristics of salt. That our words will always be focused on the one most important thing, and that is to be ready to give an answer to every man, the gospel message.
And how can we do that? But to study and be equipped with Thy Word.
So teach us Thy precious Word. We humble ourselves before Thee to learn of Thee and to put into rightful application whatever Thou would teach us to the glory of Thee.
We pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.