Amen. And as we trust the Holy Spirit to lead us into God's truth, let's turn to Colossians chapter four today. Colossians chapter four and verse five will be our text. As we consider walking in wisdom toward outsiders, having a just society. And as the Spirit's prophetic word calls us to life in the kingdom of God, In faith, we want to do what the prophets tell us to do, to hate evil, to love good, to establish justice in the gates. But what does that look like? This has been our endeavor in this little series of sermons on having a just world with Jesus at its heart. So in obedience to what we've heard from the word of God, we've looked to our God, we've looked to how he's revealed himself in Jesus Christ, to know what this just world looks like. In a just world with Jesus at its heart, the church is the soul of society, the faithful family is the basic social unit, and then as we envision the world the way God wants it to be, we look to the power of the Holy Spirit present on the basis of Christ's work to produce peace and justice. And we work for that in hope in the Kingdom of God. Jesus is Lord. Our common good as human beings is found together in God. True religion is essential to this, and society works by serving one another. In that context, then, we are to be subject as free men. That's what we've learned from the scriptures so far. Now, let us add more to our ability to live in a just society by considering this instruction from the word of God right here in Colossians chapter four, verse five. Conduct yourselves wisely or walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Here's our instruction. We are to walk, live our lives in wisdom making the best use of the time. How do saints and faithful brothers, as this book is written to, carry out their lives with respect to outsiders? You can see right away we're dealing with human society. How do we live in this world? Well, the Bible says here you are to do so in wisdom. And it's that truth that we need to ponder today. So first of all, I want to bring to your attention Christ, the wisdom of God. I want to probe this whole idea of wisdom and what the Bible is telling us to do here so that we can have a just society. I think too often when we think about wisdom, we default to a conception of this that isn't quite up to what the scripture is calling us to here. I don't want to leave us stuck in that. Sometimes when we say something is a wisdom issue, perhaps you've wrestled with various issues in life and you say, well, this is a wisdom issue. Too often what we mean when we say that is there's no real right or wrong on the issue, so you simply have to figure out what you think is best and do that. Therefore, it's a wisdom issue. I think we use that in that way. But by saying it that way, we mean that wisdom has no specific content. We're treating as if it's simply a way of going about life. You know, well, you should probably think about it, and you should pray about it, and then, you know, do what you think is best. And we call that wisdom. And in that vein, Many people come to this instruction right here, this command, and take it to be something like, well, walk in wisdom toward outsiders. That means be very thoughtful people toward outsiders, to people who are outside the church, who are not believers, let's say. Well, that's certainly true as far as it goes. We should be thoughtful people without a doubt. Sometimes people take this instruction to mean, well, conducting yourselves in wisdom toward outsiders who might be tempted to think badly of Christianity, badly of Christ, badly of the church, means we need to be very tactful people in how we conduct our lives in this world. And once again, I would say that's certainly true. Wisdom does call upon us to be tactful people, to use what we would say wise approaches to various things. Be winsome people, perhaps we could think of it. Even be savvy. We might think of Jesus' instructions that we as his followers are to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. You gotta learn how to be kind of savvy in this world because it's a difficult place to navigate. And there's truth in that too. None of these things are wrong in and of themselves. And yet I think if we leave it there, we're not really filling out the command. Because what happens too often when we leave it there is basically this boils down to be a nice person toward unbelievers. Don't be contrary. Don't do things that they find hard to understand. But of course, if we apply that consistently, we might even wanna say, why are we doing what we're doing right here? Why would we invite unbelievers to watch us publicly worship God? Do they understand what's going on here? No. Could we even say things here that might be offensive to them? Well, yes, actually. Sometimes walking in wisdom toward outsiders might even look like a little bit of confrontation. So what is this wisdom that we're supposed to be gaining here? Pardon me. I think the potency of this text can be neutered in some ways by ways of applying it. And in Scripture, wisdom does have specific content, and this comes out if we simply read the context of this instruction. Because the letter to the Colossians has already set the stage for us for how we ought to read wisdom with regard to outsiders when we come to chapter 4, verse 5. If we look back to chapter one, verse nine in the book of Colossians, we find here a prayer for wisdom. And so the apostle Paul writes in the inspiration of the spirit, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. Paul asks that we as believers would be filled with a knowledge of God's will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. Spiritual wisdom is wisdom that belongs to the Holy Spirit and is taught by Him. It's a contrast to the wisdom of the world, the wisdom of the flesh. This is the spirit of wisdom that Jesus the Messiah was endued with. That what was prophesied would be upon him, and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And this is exactly what came about. In Luke 2, verse 40, we read that the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of God was upon him. When we start to look at Jesus, we're starting to see the kind of wisdom embodied that we're supposed to be following in this text when we walk in wisdom toward outsiders. Jesus indeed had wisdom that was greater than Solomon. And it shows, even in the very prayer that we're reading here in Colossians, what this kind of wisdom looks like. It results in, verse 10 of chapter one, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God. Who are we really aiming to please if we're walking in wisdom? The Lord, right? He's the one that we're aiming to please. He's the one we're coming to know, to be able to actually carry out with the skill of wisdom what is actually good, every good work in this world. Now, in this context here, in Colossians, the scripture moves seamlessly from this prayer into the preeminence and the supremacy of Jesus Christ above all things. Look with me at chapter one of verse 15. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him, all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether in earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. The scripture moves our eyes to look to Jesus Christ in light of this prayer, because this really is the heart of the matter. You want to know wisdom? You want to walk in wisdom? You need to know Jesus Christ. He is the image of the invisible God. He is the one that by Him, it says, all things were created. Through Him and for Him, all things were created. He is before all things. In Him, everything consists and holds together. Everything that exists takes its bearings from Jesus Christ. If you don't understand that, you don't know what wisdom is. You see, creation itself is unexplainable apart from Jesus Christ. You really don't understand it if you don't know Christ. You have not really understood anything if you cannot see its connection to Jesus Christ. And you don't know how to live in this world. You don't know how to live in the world that God has made and that he governs and that he's bringing redemption in Jesus Christ if you don't know its relationship to Christ. So, whether you're washing the dishes, or playing the guitar, or taking a walk, or getting married, as some of you are here, or coming to church, as all of you are here today, wisdom means you have the skill to carry it out in relation to Christ. This is what we're talking about. This is the prayer for wisdom that's setting the stage for our command. If you look further on down in the same chapter, we see now an example of wisdom. The apostle Paul, demonstrates this kind of wisdom in his life in ministry. And so in chapter 1 verse 24 down to chapter 2 verse 5, he speaks about his ministry. He teaches us how he was going about his ministry, how he was carrying out his life before others. And he shows a deep understanding here of union with Christ. In fact, he even says that his sufferings are filling up the sufferings of Christ. That this is a stewardship entrusted to him to make known the mystery of Christ. This is what he's about. Pardon me. He is personally making known the riches of the glory of the mystery of Christ. And so we read in verse 28 then, Him we proclaim. That's Christ we proclaim. warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom that we may present everyone mature in Christ. Note the scope of his ministry here. This certainly applies to believers, but yet this is his goal for everybody he interacts with. I am proclaiming Christ to all the world because I want to present everyone mature in Christ, and that means I'm warning and I'm teaching with all wisdom. So here's a lived example of what walking in wisdom toward outsiders looks like. Now, there's a whole lot more here going on than simply be nice to outsiders, be kind to them. We're beginning to see that walking in wisdom toward outsiders means teaching men Christ. And this is reinforced in the next reference to wisdom in Colossians, if you just keep on going down here in chapter two, where we see Christ as the treasury of wisdom. For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. God's mystery is Christ, and in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And let me emphasize the all here. Of course, this follows obviously from what we already read about Christ in chapter one. There is no wisdom and knowledge apart from Christ. There simply isn't any. He is the fulfillment of this created order. It was all created through him and for him. He is the one who in his person and work is bringing all of this in union with God to its fulfillment. And this is where we will find wisdom. We need to pursue Christ, to know Christ, to know him is to know wisdom, to walk in him is to have the skill that wisdom talks about. That practical lived skill of how to live life rightly before the face of God, well, You have to know Christ. He is the revelation of God to us. And as we go on in Colossians here, this is all in contrast to worldly wisdom. Notice how the Apostle Paul continues to speak in verse six. Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus, the Lord, so walk in him. Remember, we're talking about walking here, walking in wisdom, walking in him. Rooted and built up in him and established in the faith just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving, See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to tradition of men, human tradition, according to the elementary principles of the world, not according to Christ. For in him, the wholefulness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him who is the head of all rule and authority. If it's not according to Christ, then it's not sufficient. There's a kind of appearance of wisdom. In fact, Colossians chapter two verse 23 will use that language, the appearance of wisdom. There's a kind of an appearance of wisdom which worldly or Christless tradition can attain, human tradition. But if it's not according to Christ, it's not adequate. It isn't the real thing. And God's wisdom in Christ is what guides us and teaches us how to live. God's wisdom in Christ, in fact, makes foolish the wisdom of this world. The wisdom of, you might say, various contemporary ideologies. Some of which, and I mentioned them, just ticked them off here today, even though we haven't talked about them in detail. Some of which people appeal to the prophets that we've been studying to support. Contemporary ideologies such as are called critical theory. When it comes to critical theory, the true story of the world as God made it and redeems it completely falsifies the idea of, well, just to use their kind of language, the social binary. There's the privileged and the not, the powerful and the not. their social binary, which they also would tie into what they call hegemonic power. The people who have the power, whether they know it or not, that forces others to live in ways that are not authentic. This is what they call, when you undermine this hegemonic power, then they call this social justice. You can see how foreign that is to the whole story that God is telling. It simply is not the reality. It's a false construct, a false way of seeing the world, and therefore a false pursuit of justice. That's worldly wisdom. But this plays out in all kinds of ways in our lives, sometimes even in the name of Christ. It's pursuing the truth as it is in Jesus. that we come to know what really is wise. And therefore, Colossians, in this letter, moves on to communicating wisdom with one another in Christ in chapter three. Here's how you live in Christ. Here's how you walk in him. If you've then been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. So you put away all the things that are not in keeping with Christ. You put on, as verse 12 says, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another. And if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other, as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these, putting on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. Here's what a wise community is starting to look like. It's looking like life in Christ, resurrection life in Christ. Life by the power of the Spirit. And then we gather together as God's people and we do what the scriptures tell us. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness or with grace in your hearts to God. And whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Pardon me. Here's how we live together as God's chosen ones. We find ourselves doing exactly what the Apostle Paul did in his ministry. Did you notice that? Teaching, admonishing, warning, instructing. How? In all wisdom. What is that? That's the mystery of Christ. This is how life works in Christ. That's what we're supposed to, we actually know if we're teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom if it's all in keeping with Christ. We're bringing Christ to bear on all of life. Pardon me. So that leads me to my second main point here today. If Christ is the wisdom of God, then what it means to walk in wisdom toward outsiders could be summed up in saying, we proclaim Christ. We live Christ. That whole idea of wisdom ought to come right down into chapter four, verse five here, which says, walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. We are being called upon as God's people to, well, we like to say today, seize the day, to make full use of where God has put us, when God has put us here, to serve God well, make Christ known well, to bring Christ to bear well upon our world right now. And I would submit to you today that it is time for the church to exercise great confidence in Christ. We need to know the time in which we live. And we've rehearsed this together. This is what has to control your thinking, if you're a wise person, on the time in which we live. It has nothing to do with, say, relations between the United States and China. It has everything to do with Jesus has come. Jesus has died on the cross. Jesus has risen from the dead and ascended to the right hand of the Father, and he reigns there right now, exercising his authority over all the earth. That's what time it is. In other words, we live in the end times. We live in the times of fulfillment. This is the day of salvation, the way the scriptures describe it. This is wonderful, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to the risen Christ. And we are therefore to go and to make disciples of Jesus Christ, teaching them everything that he has instructed us. So let me urge you church today, stop letting anyone or anything else set the agenda for how we are to live. Do you see how, by the way, how inadequate that interpretation is of Colossians 4 or 5, which says basically this means be nice? Because who's setting the agenda then? Well, we just react to whatever the world thinks is nice. No, we actually show the world what is good. We live in God's truth. We live in Christ together. We don't play the game of human civilization by the rules that the world system sets. The God of this world is not the one giving us our marching orders. The ascended Christ is, and that is how we are to walk in wisdom. And as soon as we start letting the world set the rules of the game, set the rules of engagement, so to speak, we're not walking very wisely anymore. Something else is starting to interpose itself and tell us how we ought to live. Now, if we're gonna have this kind of confidence, this faith, this hope, this love, it is going to take great patience and endurance in this present world. The scriptures have told us this, be patient, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. It's going to take great endurance in being faithful to Christ, no matter what the world system around us does. But this is our calling. If you want a just world with Jesus at its heart, walk in wisdom toward outsiders. Start seeing Christ as the all in all and start orienting everything toward that. Bring that to bear on everything in our lives. And by doing that, I do believe that by the power of the Holy Spirit, the church really can be salt and light, can transform human society. I believe we live in a time, speaking of making the best use of the time, that it is necessary that we rebuild the institutions of our social life, and that we do so upon the solid rock of Jesus Christ. We labor to present every man mature in Christ. That's how we walk in wisdom toward outsiders. In order to see a just world with Jesus at its heart, we have to bring the preeminence of Christ, the supremacy of Christ, to bear on the time in which we live. So it becomes a question to you. Are you bringing Christ to bear in your workplace? Are you bringing Christ to bear in your home? Are you bringing Christ to bear then on everything relating to the society around us? Law, medicine, entertainment, finance, science, however you want to describe it, even education. And I do believe that walking in wisdom and teaching all men with all wisdom does highlight a particular aspect of education. Because what is education but disciple-making? Jesus has told us, go into all the world and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. That's exactly what the Apostle Paul was doing. That's exactly what we're commissioned to do and need to bring that to bear in our day, which is why we cannot settle for education apart from Christ. I consider this to be one of the great failures of American Christianity over the past couple centuries. We completely lost the sense which some of the founders of our civilization, the founders of Harvard College, had at the beginning of our civilization. Listen to their sense of education. Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well. The main end of his life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life. John 17.3. and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning. There is only one foundation of sound knowledge and learning, and it's Jesus Christ. That's walking in wisdom toward outsiders. Seeing the Lord, they continue, seeing the Lord only giveth wisdom. Let everyone seriously set himself by prayer in secret, pardon me, to seek it of him. That's education. That's discipleship. And that's what educational institutions should be doing. But if we take influential educational reformers like Horace Mann or even the famous Beecher family as examples, by the mid-19th century at least, American schools no longer laid Christ in the bottom as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning. This didn't just happen in the 1960s. This happened a long time before. We still had the Bible in schools. In fact, many of these educational reformers thought it essential to have the Bible in schools. We need to read the Bible in schools. That in itself, by the way, became a flashpoint of controversy even in the 19th century. in America, but they thought we need the Bible, we need morality, we need religion. It's not by accident, however, that the very people I've just named were Unitarians. That is, they didn't really believe the fundamental Christian truths, like our God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that Jesus Christ is God and man in the flesh, And you realize, folks, if you don't understand that, you actually don't understand the Bible. You really don't get it. This book is the voice of the triune God, who has revealed himself in his word, Jesus Christ. And if you reject who that word is, you're actually rejecting this, even if you're trying to uphold the morality that it teaches. You're making up your own religion. And we were doing that well in our schools. Now, God in his grace was working in multitudes of ways in our civilization so that that wasn't the only word then. There were many true believers who were reading their Bibles in faith, in Jesus Christ. But we no longer taught publicly Jesus Christ is the only foundation of knowledge. If you're going to be wise people, if you're going to have a just society, a just civilization, there is no other foundation than Jesus Christ. We have to have this. And so with mainline Protestant denominations at the helm of higher education into the 20th century, in our civilization, we basically jettisoned the wisdom of Christ and adopted the elementary principles of the world. And I believe Christians largely went along with it. We didn't often see what was happening. We thought that as long as, well, you know, the Bible is still influential, then we had something to say, or maybe we can pray at schools. So maybe that's a good thing. But do you see what a distance we've come from the way it was in our founding? We've squandered our inheritance, I believe. Today it's considered some kind of a victory, a great victory for Christ if you are allowed, let's say, to offer a prayer to Jesus at a football game. Like, wow, that was really bold public witness, because we prayed to Jesus at a football game. I think Satan's laughing all the way to the bank. Why? He's perfectly happy to let you have your little private faith in Jesus and say what you want to say, as long as that's not the rules of the game. As long as you play the game by the world's rules, which means your faith is your private little business. You can believe whatever you want there. What you can't say is, Jesus is Lord, and there is no knowledge and wisdom apart from him. Oh, well, that's offensive. So that would not be walking in wisdom toward outsiders, right, if you said something like that, because that would be offensive to many people who don't believe that Jesus is Lord. Who is setting the terms of wisdom here, right? Walk in wisdom toward outsiders. Jesus is Lord. We need the vision and the courage to build new educational institutions that teach based on what is real, like real reality. Isn't that what our educational institutions claim to teach? What is reality? Well, what is real reality? Jesus is Lord. That's as real as you can get in human history. That's foundational. So, by all means, walking in wisdom toward outsiders certainly includes compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience. the things we've talked about already. How can the wisdom that's from above, which is first pure and then peaceable and gentle, how can it not include those things, right? If we're God's people, that's the kind of wisdom that we are putting into place. At the same time, it is much more than that. It means bringing the preeminence of Christ to bear on each moment, on each action, on each person, on our human life together in our society. Jesus is Lord and all of life is ordered around that. Pardon me. I think that's the challenge for us as a church in America today. We do want a just society. We want a society in which we can live at peace, every man under his vine and fig tree, as many of the founders like to quote. We want a prosperous, good society, don't we? As the church, how are we gonna achieve that? How are we gonna work toward that? We're gonna walk in wisdom toward outsiders. In other words, what we're gonna do is bring Christ to bear on everything and show the world how good this is. Show the world the treasures of wisdom and knowledge that are to be found in Jesus Christ, that this really is the love you want. This really is the knowledge you need. This really is the good life. Let's take the courage to obey this command in its fullness. And I think the spirit, the spirit that Jesus poured out at Pentecost can accomplish great things through his church today. If you would believe this, respond to this command in faith, would you confess your faith together today, Jesus is Lord, all together. Jesus is Lord. Amen. Let's look to him in prayer. Lord, we confess that we lack wisdom, and so we ask you for it. We need to know how to live out the Lordship of Jesus Christ well and wisely, and yes, winsomely, in this world system. We need to understand how to conduct our lives in ways that bring out your goodness, that demonstrate your steadfast love and faithfulness that's been shown to us in Jesus Christ. To that end, Lord, we need the courage of our convictions. We need the confidence to say this really is true. And if it's true for me, it's true for everybody. It's true for the United States of America. It's true for China. It's true for Russia. It's true for everywhere in this whole world. And it's good. Lord, let us not shrink back from that simply because, well, other people might not agree. Other people might think that's wrong. Other people might get upset or offended about that. Lord, you've already given us multitudes of examples in the scriptures of faithful people who walked in wisdom, that even gave their lives because of that walking in wisdom. I think your Lord of Stephen, who was full of the spirit and wisdom, and it's precisely because he testified of Christ that he gave up his life. May we have that same kind of courage of our convictions. to say this is real and this is how we live and it's actually really good. May we live that way together as your church, as your body. May we be a counterculture of love that is a living demonstration to the world of what the gospel looks like and how good it is to submit ourselves, to surrender to Jesus as Lord, to entrust ourselves to him entirely, to look to him as our leader and guide, to follow the path that he's blazed for us to your kingdom. Let us be willing to be known as citizens of a heavenly country, walking by faith, looking for a city that you build. I pray that that would be true of us as a church here at High Country. And I pray that you would use it in a powerful way, even if it's beyond what we can see or know or experience in our lifetime here. Perhaps we'll be laying foundations for new institutions that teach people the way of Christ, and that say that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found in Jesus Christ. Lord, equip your people for this. Equip us with all that we need to carry out this mission that you've called us to. Provide for our needs, we ask. I'd also like to pray in light of this for everyone in our society today here in the United States of America, that has the responsibility of teaching. Yes, we have certain people that are called teachers, that maybe have that as their employment. And we certainly include them. But we think of everyone who has a responsibility of teaching. That is a truly, a sacred trust, a responsibility, a stewardship. And we want to communicate truth to those we teach. We want to see them flourish because they know the truth and the truth is setting them free. So I pray for all teachers in our land that they would teach what is true, always. They would always be committed to the truth. They wouldn't hold it back. They wouldn't say, well, I can't say that here. They would always teach the truth. And I pray that you would do great things through that. I pray that you'd bring about repentance in the hearts of those who are tasked with teaching who have not been teaching truth, but have been willing to muzzle the truth for whatever reason, Lord. Sometimes probably even thinking they're doing good. But they've not been willing to press into the truth together. Lord, bring repentance to their hearts. bring change of life, let them see the reality that's in Jesus Christ, and not fear man, but fear you, which is the beginning of wisdom. And I pray for teachers, pardon me, who are endeavoring to do that, however imperfectly, who are endeavoring to live in the truth in this world. who are hearing your command to walk in wisdom toward outsiders. And honestly, before you are trying to do that, Lord, strengthen and encourage, teach them, give them the skill to speak the truth in love. to understand your ways, to live them out well in their own character, and then to share that well with all who are around them in whatever place, in the workplace environment, the corporate environment, in what we call educational settings, in our homes. Lord, may teachers teach the truth. Lord, give us a generation of young people growing up who know the truth well, who can speak it well, articulate it well, live it well, so that we can have a just society, justice in our legal systems, justice in our medical systems, justice in our educational systems. Lord, we need these things. We ask you for them so that you can be glorified as a great savior. In Jesus' name we pray now, amen.