Long Island Abundant Life Church 長島豐盛生命教會
  • Home
  • About Us 關於教會
    • Mission Statement - 使命宣言
    • Statement of Faith - 信仰立場
    • Biblical Marriage - 合乎聖經的婚姻
    • Church Leadership - 教會同工
    • Directions - 路線圖
    • Documents - 表格與文件下載
    • Contact Us - 聯絡我們
    • Ministry openings
  • Chinese Ministry 華語事工
    • 崇拜
    • 講道集 >
      • 主日信息
      • 特會 / 講座
    • 主日學
    • 門訓小組 >
      • 門訓小組介紹
    • 團契
    • 讀經
  • English Ministry 英文事工
  • Youth 少年事工
    • Worship
    • Sunday School
    • Youth Fellowship
    • Events
    • Our Vision
    • Connect with Us
    • Parent Resources
    • Youth Prayer Requests
  • Children's Ministry 兒童事工
    • Children's Worship - 兒童崇拜 >
      • Children's Songs - 歌曲
      • Junior Worship, Archive - 學習內容
      • Junior Worship, Current - 學習內容
      • Preschool Worship, Archive - 幼兒崇拜
    • Sunday School - 主日學 >
      • Preschool - 低年級
      • Middlers, Current - 高年級
      • Elementary, Archive - 高年級
    • VBS-特别暑期聖經班 >
      • EVENTS- 特別活動
    • Nursery - 幼兒照顧
    • Resources - 資源
  • Missions/Evangelism 宣教/佈道
    • Global Mission 全球宣教
    • Missions Ministry 宣教事工
  • Chinese School 中文學校
  • Church Activities / News / Calendar 教會活動 / 消息 / 行事曆
    • Special/urgent 特別/緊急
    • Calendar 教會行事曆
    • Bulletin 週報
    • Archive 檔案 >
      • Pray for Hindus 2018 為印度人禱告
      • Seek God 2019 尋求神
      • Misc. 其他
  • Chinese Student Ministry 学生事工
    • Campus Ministry 校园事工
    • CSF 衣
    • CSF 食
    • CSF 住
    • CSF 行
  • Links 资源鏈接
  Long Island Abundant Life Church 長島豐盛生命教會

Colossians 3:18–4:18

10/21/2012

 
Click here to read today's passage on Bible Gateway.

Salty Speech
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone. 

In the US, "salty" speech is an idiom for vulgar or inappropriate speech.  To the people Paul was writing to, however, this phrase had a very different meaning and it's important for us to understand it.  In short:

"“Seasoned with salt” was used to refer to witty, amusing, clever, humorous speech. Their saltiness will prevent them from being ignored as irrelevant bores." [1]

If you're like me and not sure exactly what that means, here's a fuller explanation:

"The believers were to be wise in how they acted (4:5), but their witness should be more than actions alone. The spoken word would be the communication method; therefore, they should be wise in how they spoke.
Speech that is gracious is kind and courteous. Speech that is seasoned with salt is interesting (as opposed to dull), invites interaction (as opposed to refusing to listen and discuss), adds “spice” to a discussion (by penetrating to deeper levels), and is pure and wholesome (as opposed to “filthy language,” 3:8). According to the parallel passage in Ephesians 4:29, the salt symbolizes that which preserves our conversation from being corrupt. Believers who are “the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13; Mark 9:49–50; Luke 14:34) should have speech that is tasteful. Believers should always be ready to answer questions about their faith and be ready to share words of personal testimony. As Peter wrote: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience” (1 Peter 3:15–16 NIV).
No Christian should have a dull, tiresome, know-it-all monologue of his faith. Instead, Christians, who have the most exciting news in the world to share, should be able to share that message with excitement, ability to invoke interest, an understanding of the basics, a willingness to listen and discuss, and a desire to answer everyone’s questions graciously."
[2] (emphasis mine)

How can we make our speech more "salty"?  Christian conversation seems many times to lack the excitement and joy that one would assume we should have if we truly believe what we say we believe.  What do you need to change to make your speech more salty and Jesus-centered?

[1] David E. Garland, Colossians and Philemon, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1998), 274.
[2] Bruce B. Barton and Philip Wesley Comfort, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1995), 229.

Comments are closed.

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.