Staying the Course

Faith in a Divided World

The Apostle Paul wrote the book of Colossians to a church fighting against syncretism—the “syncing” up of the church with the surrounding culture. Colossae was a city where the prevailing religion was a mashup of various beliefs, built on the idea that instead of one absolute truth, all paths work together. The church was beginning to fall into this trend, prompting Paul to write a letter centered on the Supremacy and Sufficiency of Christ.

The Foundation: Christ is Enough

Paul begins by going “full send” into the reality of who Jesus is. Christ is not just one option among many; He is supreme. He has delivered us from the kingdom of darkness, He is the image of the invisible God, and He is the one who presents you holy and above reproach.

Because Christ is supreme and His grace is active in our lives, we have only one true response: to put to death the sin within us and run freely in His grace. This requires breaking away from the “nominal Christianity” that infects so much of the modern Church. To illustrate the urgency of this, consider a grizzly bear cub: it may look cute now, but if you don’t “put it to death,” it will eventually grow up to destroy you.

Avoiding the Two Extremes

As we look at Colossians 4, we see two common but mistaken responses to a secular culture: Sectarianism and Assimilation.

• Assimilation occurs when the church begins to reflect the culture, making people feel comfortable at the cost of proclaiming the life-changing reality of Jesus. We begin to mold the gospel to the culture rather than molding the culture to the gospel.

• Sectarianism happens when everyone runs to their own corner, afraid of living alongside those who believe differently.

The problem with these choices is the Bible itself. Scripture knows nothing of a Christian life lived in a “Christian bubble”. The Great Commission assumes we are going toward the lost. Paul’s point is that in a fallen world, we should be different—not by hiding, but by living fearlessly in advance of the gospel. The Scriptures are meant to offend both the righteous and the sinner; as the saying goes, “anyone can get all the smoke” when it comes to the Bible.

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The Path Forward: Prayer, Wisdom, and Grace

Be Consistently, Specifically, and Dangerously Prayerful

Paul urges us to “continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving”. It is telling that he begins and ends his letter focusing on prayer, but notice his specific request: he asks for opportunities to spread the Gospel. He prays for open doors, the right words, and the right tone. Ask yourself: Do you pray dangerously?

Walk in Wisdom

Paul instructs us to “walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time”. We must understand that knowledge is not the same as wisdom. You can have “head knowledge” of Scripture and still lack wisdom.

• Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.

• Wisdom means heeding your spouse’s input even if you think you know more about a subject.

• Wisdom recognizes that your child needs to know they have your heart before they need your success strategies.

• Wisdom understands that even if your parents don’t know what it’s like to be your age in 2025, you should still heed their advice.

• Wisdom realizes that posting a “win” in a Facebook comment section won’t actually bring a relative closer to the truth.

We live in a world that expects you to be an expert in everything you disagree with, urging you to “learn their arguments to beat them”. This has created a society with “graduate degrees” in whatever Fox News or CNN spits out, but who haven’t “graduated high school” in studying the Bible.

True wisdom comes from above. As James 3:13–18 describes, earthly wisdom is marked by jealousy and selfish ambition, leading to disorder. Heavenly wisdom, however, is pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, and full of mercy. If you want to protect your family from the “craziness” of the world, don’t go “scorched earth”. Fighting the devil with his own weapons means you’ve already lost. Even Jesus only expressed anger toward religious leaders who were leading people to destruction.

Speak Graciously (4:6)

“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt”. Whatever is in the well will eventually come up in the bucket. Your mouth reveals your heart. Does your speech reveal anger and contempt? This begins at home—do your wife and children get the best of you or the worst of you?

Run Together

The Gospel takes flight when we run, celebrate, and share in successes and failures together. Paul lists many names—Tychicus, Onesimus, Aristarchus, Mark, Luke, and others—to show that we are part of something greater.

Sunday worship should be a celebration of what God has done and a launching point into our week, not just a box to check off. If you aren’t in a life group, get in one. Stay the course, and may God bless you this week.