When panic is prevailing in the hearts of people all around us, what should the followers of Christ do? In Paul’s letter to the churches of Colossae and Ephesus twice he uses the expression – “redeem the time;” in fact these are the only two instances of the phrase in the entire New Testament. One man suggested that in redeeming the time you and I are to take ownership of it and if we take ownership of it, if we treat it as the precious gift that it is – we will also make the most of it. We all know what that means in simple human terms: life is short; cherish the moments; spend time with those you love – make the most out of today because tomorrow doesn’t always come; we know what it means in general terms – what does it mean for the follower of Jesus Christ?
Redeem the Time for the Lord’s Purposes…
In his letter to the Ephesians Paul adds something to the expression “redeeming the time” in [v.17] taking it all together, [v.15-17] read like this:
“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
If we are to understand how we as believers are to make the most of our time on earth we must first understand what God wants us to do with the time He has given us – what is His will? The simplest answer to the question of God’s will pertains to His primary purpose in sending His Son among us – His Son came to redeem us. Therefore we make the best use of our time as believers – we redeem time best when we use it to share the message of God’s redeeming love with those who have yet to trust in Jesus themselves. It is in this context that we might best understand the Great Commission given by Jesus Christ as read in [Matt. 28:18-20]:
“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”
God’s will is also clearly expressed in [2 Peter 3:9]:
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
And in [1 Corinthians 5:9-10]:
“I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.”
Clearly God’s will according to these verses alone is that as we live our lives we are to strive to lead as many people (regardless of their background as unbelievers) as each of us can to a relationship with Jesus Christ.
In light of the fact that the will of the Lord is redemptive in nature and that as the redeemed the use of our time must be redemptive as well, there are two other points that we should consider:
- The world is on a collision course with God’s wrath. (2 Peter 3:10-18)
- Life is short.
Redeem the Time for the Lost’s Sake…
Paul not only instructed believers to consider and understand what the will of the Lord was and is but also to “walk circumspectly.” That expression means to live in such a way as to consider the consequences before hand of what you might do or say. The writer of Proverbs wrote in [Prov. 12:18];
“There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes health.”
That’s a hard one; most of us are not that measured in our speech. For most of us, we say what comes to mind as soon as it does and we are nearly as spontaneous in our actions as well. If we’re wronged, for example, often our first response is to pay it back. But Paul’s instruction leads us to understand that there are consequences to consider in terms of accomplishing God’s will which are dependent on what we say and do before the lost. Will your actions and or deeds bring the unbeliever closer or push him or her further away from faith in Jesus Christ?
Paul instructed the Colossians (Col. 4:5) to “walk in wisdom toward those who are outside” (outside the faith). In other words, believers should be careful how they live before unbelievers, choosing to live holy lives on a daily basis (to practice what we preach), pursuing the will of God, and striving to do good at every opportunity rather than pursuing the evil that lurks in every day. Paul’s words in (Ephesians 5: 8–13), especially, (vs. 8) shed additional light on his instruction in (vs. 15) to conduct our lives wisely and carefully before a watching world – in (vs. 8) he said, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.” If we are followers of God, who is described metaphorically in the Bible as “light” (light being synonymous with God’s pure and holy character, and His integrity) we should ourselves conduct our lives as children of light – every moment of the day should be lived with God and His will as the driving force behind every choice we make and every word we say.
Listen, the gravest consequence of all is that unbelievers will face the full wrath of God in hell and I think that it is in light of this truth that we must double our efforts to make the most of our time with the people that we meet as we live our lives.
How are you redeeming the time for the lost’s sake?
The call of the Christian is to rescue the perishing; the consequence of not heeding the call, the consequence of not casting the “gospel” net or reaching out to the lost is the unbelievers eternal doom.
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