Conducting yourself as a Christian

(Colossians 4:5-6)

As we walk with Christ we need to change, and we do go through changes as we learn what is pleasing to the Lord. All forms of worldly conduct need to be stripped away as we grow.

Conducting yourself as a Christian is one of those changes that need to take place. And to be honest it is not hard to do to make small changes that grow over time.

In fact conducting yourself as a Christian becomes an outward manifestation of your new life in Christ. It becomes like a testimony of your new found faith in Jesus for the whole world to see.

Walking wisely

In this scripture today we see that conducting yourself as a Christian requires a measure of wisdom. You need to learn how to walk wisely toward outsiders. This is what the verse says:

Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer every one. (Colossians 4:5-6)

Walking wisely towards outsiders should not be too difficult, however it will take practice for new Christians. In the beginning of your walk in Christ it can be hard to change your ways and to break old habits. But as you continue to learn what is pleasing to the Lord, old habits will fall away.

Using wisdom is not that difficult. It doesn’t require a PhD to be wise, just a little forethought.

The types of things that a Christian can and should do are things like, not getting mad when provoked, staying away from people, places, and things that would cause you to fall. Also, removing the temptations in your daily life, abiding by the laws of the land, not provoking others to argument and frustration and not getting into arguments yourself.

There are lots of common sense things we can do that would fall under the category of walking wisely towards outsiders. And all of these sorts of things form the basis for conducting yourself as a Christian.

I should also add that you won’t get it right first time or every time. Mistakes will be made and you will fall down or fail from time to time, especially as a new Christian.

Don’t worry about it. The Lord knows you are a new creation and also a work in progress and He knows it takes time. What is most important in making these changes as you learn about conducting yourself as a Christian is that when you fall you get back up and keep on going. Continue moving forward with Christ and don’t condemn yourself for the bumps along the way.

Gracious speech that is seasoned with salt

The second part of this verse today tells us that we need to always let our speech be gracious and seasoned with salt so that you know how to answer everyone.

Paul gives us a good example of the kind of things we can do in this regard. He said:

20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews; to those under the law I became as one under the law–though not being myself under the law–that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law–not being without law toward God but under the law of Christ–that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. (1 Corinthians 9:20-22)

Now, even though Paul was not talking here about speech, it is a good principle for conducting yourself as a Christian.

Depending on who you are in company with, you need to modify your behaviour and your speech so that you can fit in with them. Now that doesn’t mean you should swear like a trooper if you are with people who speak that way, but it means you need to speak and communicate with them in ways they can understand and accept.

Conversely, if you are with highly educated people you may need to mind your speech and speak differently.

As an example, think about it like this.

Let’s say you have a university education and work in a professional environment. The kinds of speech you use when working will be quite different to how you speak with young children. And it will be different when mixing with working class people, and different again when amongst political leaders, and so on.

But the point in the scripture above is that in ALL situations and with all different kinds of people, we are to speak well. Speak as if you are talking with the Lord or that He is listening to what you say, because He actually IS listening.

And that doesn’t mean you have to be all “preachy.” You don’t have to fill your conversation with what has been know as “Christian-ese,” which is a kind of speech that is sometimes heard among some Christian groups. You don’t have to speak about “brother” this or “sister” that and offer blessings in every other sentence.

Just be natural, but considerate of who you are speaking with and remembering that the Lord is listening.

And believe it or not, people will notice the difference. Some will say, “Hey man, you’ve changed! You’re different somehow. What’s happened?” And often that can be a great opening to share the gospel with them. Some may reject it and some won’t. But they will understand. And what you often find is that they start to mind their “p’s” and “q’s” around you too. Your good behaviour may rub off on them so that their speech becomes “seasoned with salt” too. It doesn’t always happen but when it does it make conversation much simpler.

Conducting yourself as a Christian with believers

As a final aside, we should also consider conducting yourself as a Christian both with other believers as well as outsiders. There are some things that Paul wrote that provide a good guide for us.

5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you once walked, when you lived in them. 8 But now put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and foul talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old nature with its practices 10 and have put on the new nature, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

11 Here there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scyth’ian, slave, free man, but Christ is all, and in all. 12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, 13 forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 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. (Colossians 3:5-17)

There is a lot in these words that we need to take note of, and as you read through this section of scripture you begin to see the principles of how your new life in Christ should look.

And as mentioned earlier, it will take time and you may make many mistakes, especially in the things that you say. The Apostle James in his letter wrote that the person who makes no mistakes in what they say is a perfect man or woman.

So don’t expect to get it right from day one. Conducting yourself as a Christian take effort and time. But it is well worth learning as it benefits you in many ways. It helps bring peace to your life and you gain the respect of those around you. Plus, it is pleasing to the Lord and that is the most important reason for conducting yourself as a Christian.

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