Reaching Outsiders With our Lives

Colossians 4.5-6 are two of the most helpful verses I know for giving Christians teaching about evangelism. It’s amazing how much Paul packs into just a few words. Verses 3-4 describe how missionaries and preachers are to declare clearly the mystery of Christ to unbelievers, but evangelism is not just for the ‘professionals’. In verses 5-6 he tells his readers how they are to relate towards ‘outsiders’—non-Christians who know nothing about the gospel.

Conduct yourselves wisely towards outsiders… (v5) Literally he says “Be wise in the way you walk towards outsiders.” Paul uses the word “walk” 32 times, and almost every time he is describing our normal everyday lifestyle. All Christians evangelise by our day to day living. If you’re going to be an effective personal evangelist, a godly lifestyle is essential.

These outsiders that Paul has in view had never read Bible or attended a church. The only way they would know what Christianity was like was if they saw it modelled in the lives of these Colossian Christians.

It may well be that many of us are the only real Christians around the ‘outsiders’ in our workplace, neighbourhood or family. They don’t have the first clue about Christianity and they desperately need to see consistent examples of Christians who wisely live out their faith.

But Paul wants more: we are to conduct ourselves wisely towards outsiders …making the best use of the time (v5). The verb he uses means ‘buying up the time’ and Paul puts it in an intensified form. Think of the videos of people in the stores on Black Friday—they are intensely earnest about buying up stuff, even coming to blows with other shoppers in their zeal for cut-price deals. That’s the picture (without the violence!) that Paul is using here: just as you might pounce on a bargain, so Christians are to ‘snap up’ every opportunity they can to show outsiders what Christian faith looks like in practice.

This is a great reason to bring outsiders to church events (not just worship services). It gives them a chance to see what a Christian community looks like—how people love one another, care for one another, show genuine interest in one another. So many people today are desperately lonely and disconnected—they long for community, because God has hard-wired us that way. So we should jump at every chance we get to bring outsiders into God’s new community of the church.

We should grab hold of every opportunity we can to let the fragrant scent of the fruit of the Spirit envelope outsiders. We should leap at the chance to show what gracious, uncomplaining, self-sacrificing love looks like by going the extra mile to help someone in any way we can. We should be the kindest, most joyful people on our street, in our class, in our office. We should be outstandingly patient and gentle in every situation, so that outsiders are forced to say, ‘I really don’t agree with what those Christians believe, but I have to admit they are the best neighbours/co-workers/friends anyone could wish for!’

Isn’t this just what Jesus meant when he said in Matthew 5.16 …let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Of course we have to do much more than just live godly lives before outsiders—we must speak words as well (we’ll come to that next time). But our lives are preaching sermons constantly and outsiders will never take our words seriously if our lives are saying the opposite.