Conducting Ourselves With Wisdom

[Christsfreeservant]

“Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.” (Colossians 4:5-6 NASB1995)​

We who believe in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives are the children of God, his people. And as the people of God we are to be those who conduct ourselves with wisdom, and not just toward outsiders, but in all things and in all ways with all people. And to me, wisdom has always been applied knowledge, i.e. it is us putting into practice the good that we know we ought to do. For this has to do with good judgment, the opposite of foolishness. It is not just knowing what we ought to do, but it is doing it.

And we should be getting our wisdom, our common sense, and our good judgment from God and from his word and not from the flesh of other humans. We should be praying for God to lead us and to guide us in the things we ought to do, and in the things that we should say, and to let us know when to walk away from a situation, too. And wisdom teaches us the best way to handle difficult situations which we may encounter with these outsiders, or with anyone, too, so we make the most of the opportunity.

Now this word “grace” (xáris) has to do with “leaning towards to share benefit,” such as in Jesus Christ’s favor “freely extended to give Himself away to people” (source: bible hub). And it was God’s grace to us that sent Jesus Christ to the cross to die and to put our sins to death with him so that, by God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in him, which is not of our own doing, we will now die with him to sin and live to him in walks of obedience to his commands in holy living, and no longer as slaves to sin.

The grace of God, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for Jesus’ return. For Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (See Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:8-10)

So, it is not grace to lie to people to make them feel good and/or so they will like us and will not be opposed to us. Grace confers benefit, which is what is for our good. So if our speech is with grace, which is also kindness, we must think of this grace in terms of Jesus sacrificing himself on that cross so that we can now die with him to sin and be set free from our addiction to sin so that we can now serve him with our lives in walks of obedience to his commands. So grace speaks the truth, but it speaks it in love.

So we are to let our speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person. And that reminds me of this:

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.” (Matthew 5:13 NASB1995)​

Salt not only is used to add flavor (taste) to food, but it serves as a preservative to keep the food from spoiling. So if we are the salt of the earth who are speaking words of wisdom to the people, what we say should serve to keep the word of God preserved as holy and righteous and free from corruption, and it should be words taught to the people which, if they follow them, will keep them from moral corruption and spiritual death and decay. So this engages us speaking the truth of the gospel to the people.

So we preserve the truth of the Scriptures by teaching (sharing) them in their correct biblical context, and not out of context which so many are doing today in order to deceive the people into believing the lies. We speak biblical truth to the people for their genuine salvation and not the lies which make them feel good but which do not save them from their sins nor from hell. And this is grace which is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this life.

For Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

As the Deer

By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

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Conducting Ourselves With Wisdom
An Original Work / May 8, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love