Only Jesus Opens Doors For Evangelism (Colossians 4:2-18)

Bible Passage: Colossians 4:2-18

In this final chapter of the letter, Paul turns his attention to the mission of spreading the gospel. He encourages the Colossian believers to pray for opportunities for evangelism for themselves and also for Paul, and to take the opportunities that they do get to speak for Jesus. He also shares updates and greetings from some of his fellow workers, who are sharing in the mission with him.

Evangelistic Prayers (v2-4): Paul begins by encouraging the Colossian Christians to devote themselves to prayer. As well as general thanksgivings, he is particularly keen that they pray for opportunities for him to share the gospel, and that he would do so clearly. Given that Paul is in prison, it would understandable if his prayer request had been for release, but Paul is single minded in his gospel focus. How much is our prayer life shaped by the mission of sharing the good news with those around us? Praying each day for an opening to share the good news with somebody today is a great practice that we can take on in light of this passage.

Evangelistic Conversations (v5-6): The next thing Paul highlights is the way the believers speak to non-Christian friends. He wants them to be wise and to make the most of the time they have. We do not know how many opportunities we will have to share the gospel with those we meet, so we should make the most of every opportunity. In particular, he instructs us to be gracious and salty in speech. By this he means that we should speak with respect and an empathetic tone that shows love and care, and yet still not be afraid to say things that cause people to reconsider their way of looking at the world. He also points out that we will know how to answer everyone, which suggests that we are living in a way that causes them to ask questions!

Evangelistic Community (v7-18): By ending his letter with mentions of lots of his coworkers, Paul highlights the fact that we are not called to a solo mission but to be a community on mission together. He highlights a diverse range of people, including men and women, Jews and Gentiles. He also mentions Mark who had previously walked away from the mission but has now been restored. We have been united to other believers in our church, and to other churches around the world. We stand together in the mission, and reaching out to those around us often works best as we introduce them to the Christian community that we are part of rather than doing it on our own. .

Potential Applications:

• Spend some time praying for open doors to share the gospel. Perhaps there are particular friends God is putting on your hearts to pray for.
• How are you doing when opportunities to speak of your faith come up? Perhaps you could learn a quick gospel outline to share with people when you get the chance.
• Are there events or socials you can invite non-Christian friends to where they can meet some other Christians?