Be Ye Reconciled Unto God ll Cor. 5:17 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
Paul implored those who were among the lost in Corinth, Be ye reconciled to God. We are ambassadors for Christ to beseech the lost to be saved.
Paul implored those who were among the lost in Corinth, Be ye reconciled to God. We are ambassadors for Christ to beseech the lost to be saved.
In 2 Cor 5:17-21, as an ambassador for Christ you need to be a ready messenger to preach the message that the Lord has for any sinner to whom he sends you. We need to speak the words that the Lord wants us to speak rather than the words that we want to speak. An old evangelist told a young evangelist, “You preach the word and let the word preach to the people.”
The word of God delivered to any soul will not return void. Be a wise reprover upon an obedient ear. When we leave here we need to have our Bible ready at hand – in your hand and in your heart. There are a lot of people who need to hear from God. God speaks through these words. He never speaks contrary to the words of the Bible. When you speak what this Bible says you are speaking as the oracles of God. God just needs a prepared messenger.
All of us who are saved are preachers – you preach by your life and example and by your words. Paul arrested men and women for preaching the words of the gospel [Acts 8:4]. We are all ambassadors for Christ. We represent God and heaven. Being ambassadors is not what we do it is who we are.
God was in Christ… not imputing their trespasses to them [v.19]. He said, “I have something against you but I am not going to account it to you.” God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself [v.19]. There were pages in God’s book against us and God accounted them to his Son, not to us. Jesus didn’t do these trespasses; we did and yet they were put on Christ and he died for them.
We are reconciled to God when we come to Christ. A sinner must come to God through Jesus Christ. In Christ the iniquities are gone. It’s not important that they see the ambassador. It is important that they see Jesus and that they hear God’s words.
God hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation [v.19]. I can go with the word of reconciliation and others can hear from God. They can hear Eph 2:8-9 and Rom 3:23 and Rev 21:8 and Rom 10:9-10 and so on. When we meet sinners who are not yet in Christ, we as ambassadors, can preach to them the words of reconciliation. We must tell them, “You are a sinner.” A real messenger, a real ambassador will tell the truth. Sinners without Christ go to hell.
Most preachers in great big churches are not ambassadors for Christ because they only tell the positive things of truth not the negative things. They don’t speak as the oracles of God. If you are having a good time in church on this side of eternity and wind up in hell on the other side, you got the short end of the stick.
You will be judged – the sin of unbelief will send you to hell because all of the other sins are paid for. John the Baptist said, “Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world” – the first part of the equation in 2 Cor 5:21 is done – but you are not the righteousness of God in him until you trust him [Rom 10:4].
You may say, “I don’t think I am all that bad” – but you are not the judge. When Job met the judge, he said, “I am vile.” The worst thing today, if you are not reconciled to God, is that you would walk the rest of your life without Jesus and wind up at the judgment saying, “I didn’t believe.” He’ll say, “Did you not hear my ambassador?”
The Spirit of God is telling you right now, “You are not reconciled to God.” Listen to him. Jesus did something for you when he took every lie, every cuss word, every wrong intent, every wicked imagination, every theft, every wrong step, every impurity in your heart, and so forth, and paid for every iniquity so you could get off free. You say, “That’s too easy.” Why would God make it any harder than it was when Jesus died for those sins? There is nothing left to pay.
We are ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us [v.20]. Today, you are hearing a man’s voice but you are really hearing from God. God speaks through his words in the Bible, even though he uses a man to speak his words. Paul said, “We pray you in Christ’s stead.” At 8:30 this morning two dozen people were in here praying for people who don’t know Jesus Christ – we prayed for you – I’m praying now.
He gave us the ministry of reconciliation [v.18]. I am not the only one in the ministry – you and you and you are all ambassadors. God called you to do it. Be a prepared messenger with a prepared message and go where God opens the door for you to go – God didn’t tell us to pick the field – God picks the field. He wants to speak through us – God might say to us, “Just open my word and let me talk to them; they need to be saved.”
Conclusion: If you are saved you are an ambassador – don’t leave home without the words of God – and don’t be so scared that you refuse to tell someone you know – we need to speak. And if you are lost, after all Christ did for you, what excuse do you have for leaving here lost? Give me one good reason why you cannot receive Jesus today? You can be reconciled to God today and be a new creature in Christ [2 Cor 5:17]. No doubt there are some here that don’t know Jesus as their Saviour – I beseech you in Christ’s stead be ye reconciled to God. Others already have been reconciled – today you should be reconciled, as well.