Salt and Light
Pastor Jake
“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person”
Henry Ford, the man credited with the invention of our first automobile, once purchased a large insurance policy for his business. The Detroit newspapers featured the transaction because the amount of money paid for the policy was quite large. One day, one of Ford’s old friends who was in the insurance industry was reading the newspaper, and at the sight of this story he became outraged. “How could he do this to me? I thought we were friends?” he thought to himself. In his anger, he met up with Ford to see if the papers were true, and much to his dismay, it was. The friend asked ford “why did you not purchase the policy from me, your own friend?” Ford replied simply, “you never asked me.”
The book of Colossians is Paul’s response to false teachers, and his advice is that the only way to combat false teaching is with the truth of the gospel. We live on the far side of the empty tomb, which mean we possess a great hope that we must share with the world. But if you never ask, don’t be surprised when you see loved ones, friends and family purchasing their divine “insurance policies” at “fraudulent companies.” False teaching is everywhere today, and if we struggle wondering how those whom we love have followed these teachings, perhaps we should be wondering, “did I even ask?”
When Paul says, “Let your speech always be gracious,” he is assuming one vital reality – that you would speak up. In order for speech to be gracious, there first needs to be speech. So our passage is telling us to speak up. Share. By walking in biblical wisdom we must also be voicing that Biblical wisdom – by the strength of Christ, who himself said in Luke 12:11-12,
“…when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” (Luke 12:11-12)
But that speech has a qualifier – it must be gracious. This word for “gracious” is the widely used term that we typically see when describing God’s grace. But, the question is, what is this word modifying? Is it explaining the content of the speech or is it explaining the quality of the speech? In other words, are our words about grace or our words gracioius, kind and attractive? Well, in essence… its both! Of course your words should be about grace – that is the gospel. But, your speech must also be gracious, kind and attractive.
Winsomeness is not anti-biblical. We are not to be harsh in the way we deal with outsiders. Our words must convey patience, kindness, and attractiveness. This is the kind of temperament prescribed by God’s Word.
But what does Paul mean when he says “seasoned with salt” in this verse? There are those who have sacrificed the foundational elements of the faith to make the gospel more attractive. This is why Paul adds, “seasoned with salt” to the gracious speech. Salt is a preservative, so if something is seasoned with it, its primary characteristics would be preserved. So, we are to be winsome – or gracious – without compromising the foundational elements of our faith – or salty.
Scholar Douglas J. Moo writes that when we are dealing with outsiders who question or even antagonize our faith,
“An appropriate Christian response will, of course, communicate the content of the gospel, but it will also be done in a manner that will make the gospel attractive.”
Have you considered ways you can be both filled with light and salt? In which of those two areas could you be doing better? With Easter close behind us, it is important to keep in mind that we have good news of great joy that we’ve been called to share. May we go forth boldly as those who carry a gospel that is both winsome and true!