"The ministry of reconciliation " by Rod Bayley, 27 Jauary 2008, 2 Corinthians 5:11-21

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On Sunday the 11th of December 2005, Cronulla beach was the site of
some very ugly scenes between alienated young Australians, fuelled by
alcohol. Sutherland youth of Anglo-celtic heritage attacked youth of
middle-eastern appearance, apparently as a reprisal for the prior
attack on some Anglo surf-lifesavers by a group of Lebanese youth.
This Sunday protest which went wrong was followed by retaliation from
gangs of Lebanese youth in the Maroubra area and elsewhere. Efforts
at reconciliation then followed this deep alienation. The Anglo
ringleaders delivered written apologies to Sydney's Lebanese community
on the Wednesday following these events. Two representatives of the
United Muslims of Australia group met the board-riders before publicly
accepting the apology. This meeting followed a similar meeting the day
before at Maroubra between the Lebanese "Bra Boys" gang and Islamic
leaders.

Peter van Vliet (On line Opinion, 13-12-05), one of the many to offer
social commentary after the so-called ‘Cronulla race riots’, said:
“The riots in Sydney are a timely reminder to all that peaceful
relations between all people can never be assumed or taken for
granted.” It’s not hard to agree with this, but I believe these
events highlighted something deeper - that alienation and division
always exist between people at some level, and that it just needs a
trigger to be brought to the surface. It is one indicator of our
sinfulness, of the human condition. There are a lot of broken
relationships in our world, there is a lot of alienation of people -
between family members, between those who were once friends,
alienation of ethnic groups, and even nations. This is a very sad
truth in our world - there is an overwhelming need for reconciliation
for so many people.

But the bible tells us that our greatest alienation, and our greatest
need for reconciliation is in our relationship with God. In fact,
this needs to happen before true reconciliation between people is
possible. Indeed, not only is this our greatest personal need, which
will determine our eternal destiny, but therefore the sharing of the
message of reconciliation is the great purpose of those who have been
reconciled to God. God’s people or the church is entrusted with
sharing the possibility of reconciliation with God - apart from
edifying those who are already believers, that is why it exists in the
world and that is how we bring glory to God. So as we start a new
year, I want to remind you from the passage read for us: 1) firstly,
the centrality of evangelism in the ministry of the church; 2)
secondly, what the motivation for this ministry is; 3) and thirdly,
how we have already been commissioned for our important role.

Firstly, what is the message of reconciliation that should be a
priority in our church’s ministry? The apostle Paul summarises it in
verses 18 and 19 of our passage. He states:
“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and
gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the
world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And
he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.”

Notice that reconciliation is “through Christ” and it is through our
sin being dealt with so that it’s not counted against us. “Through
Christ” is a short-hand way of talking about Christ’s death and
resurrection on our behalf. Paul refers to this briefly in verses 14
and 15, where he says “one died for all” and “him who died for them
and was raised again.” This idea of Jesus dying in our place as our
substitute - “one died for all”, is also the key to how his death
dealt with our sin. Notice in verse 21 that Paul states: “God made
him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become
the righteousness of God.” There is a great exchange here - our sin
is placed on Jesus, or debited to him, while we are credited with his
righteousness. As a result, he takes the rap, he is punished for our
sin, while we are forgiven and go free - our sins are not counted
against us if we admit our need for forgiveness, and trust in his
actions on our behalf. Now, there is a wonderful message of
forgiveness offered - that is why it is referred to as the gospel or
literally ‘good news.’ This message can bring reconciliation between
human beings and a holy God, a reconciliation desperately needed
because of our sin which has alienated us from Him.

And notice in verse 18 that it is God who is reconciling us to himself
- the offended party, God, is the one who initiates all of this. In
our rebellion and rejection of Him, we are undeserving of such an
offer of forgiveness - as verse 15 states, until we hear this message
we are simply living for ourselves unconcerned by the huge rift in our
relationship. And yet God acts in love to send His son Jesus to die
in our place and bear our sin. God, the one in the right, is the one
who brokers the reconciliation for us the rebels.

The Rev. Walter Everett, is a pastor in the United States. He
answered his phone one day in the 1980s, unprepared for the words he
heard: “Your son Scott was murdered last night.” Walter’s natural
grief soon turned to anger towards his son’s killer, and it raged
through him, growing even worse when a plea bargain resulted in a
reduced sentence for the attacker. He said, “My rage was affecting my
entire life. How am I going to let go of this anger I wondered. The
answer came the first time I saw Mike, almost a year after Scott’s
death. Mike stood in court prior to his sentencing and said he was
truly sorry for what he had done. Three-and-a-half weeks later, on
the first anniversary of Scott’s death, I wrote to Mike. I told him
about my anger and asked some pointed questions. Then I wrote, ‘Having
said all that, I forgive you.’ I wrote of God’s love in Christ and
invited Mike to write to me if he wished. Three weeks later his
letter arrived. He said that when he had read my letter, he couldn’t
believe it. No one had ever said to him, ‘I forgive you.’ That night
he had knelt beside his bunk and prayed for and received the
forgiveness of God. Additional correspondence led to regular visits
during which we spoke often of Mike’s growing relationship with
Christ. Later I spoke on Mike’s behalf before a parole board, and he
was given an early release. In November 1994 I was the officiating
minster at his wedding. When asked about his early release, Mike
said, ‘It felt good, but I was already out of prison. God had set me
free when I asked for His forgiveness’.”

The gospel, the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection which can
pay for our sin, is God’s message of reconciliation to us, and it is
to be shared by those who have received it. It has always been, and
should always continue to be a primary purpose of Christians, or
collectively the church. The ministry that God has given us Paul says
in verse 18, is the ministry of reconciliation. In verse 19 that
ministry or role is through the sharing of a message which God has
committed to us - the message of the gospel. This is one of our
priorities here at Wollongong Baptist, and we intend for it to become
more and more central every year. Our vision not only for 2008, but
for every year, is that we share the gospel more and do so more
effectively. That is what we are here for - it’s one of our primary
purposes - to make known the good news about Jesus. I hope you’re
excited by the prospects in the year ahead, and keen to be involved,
not only collectively but as an individual with the opportunities that
God gives you to share your faith.

Well, the raising of whether you’re excited about the opportunities to
share the gospel in 2008 leads in to my second point: the motivation
for ministry. What will drive us on to commit ourselves
wholeheartedly to this ministry of reconciliation that God has given
us? The writer Paul offers two motivations, the first of which is the
‘fear of the Lord’, which is stated in verse 11. Notice what verses
10 and 11 state:
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each
one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body,
whether good or bad. 11Since, then, we know what it is to fear the
Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope
it is also plain to your conscience.”
This ‘fear of the Lord’ does not refer to cringing fear, as if God is
like an uncontrolled angry parent that a child cowers before. Rather,
it refers to standing in reverence or awe of God because He has not
only acted to save us, but is our holy judge to whom we are
accountable. It is an acknowledgment of who we are dealing with, and
‘fear of the Lord’ is demonstrated by obedience to God’s word - ‘fear
of the Lord’ is to live our life in response to God’s revealed will
for us in the bible. Paul knows that God’s word instructs him and all
others to share the gospel, and he knows that he will have to give an
account for his life on the day of judgment, and so he tries to
persuade men in verse 11. The phrase “persuade men” refers to
removing intellectual barriers, to overcoming prejudice and ignorance,
to convince by argument and testimony. Our accountability to God
should motivate us to be diligent in our efforts to “persuade men.”
But this is not a persuasion that lacks integrity - the second half of
verse 11 makes clear that Paul’s approach is not one which sacrifices
the truth - there is nothing underhanded about it. As he says, “what
we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your
conscience.” Paul’s actions and motives lie open before God and he
hopes that his readers will also recognize his integrity.

The second motivation for being fully committed to sharing the message
of reconciliation is “love.” Notice what Paul expresses in verses 14
and 15:
“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died
for all, and therefore all died. 15And he died for all, that those
who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for
them and was raised again.”

Paul says that ‘love compels’ him - the word compels could be
translated ‘controls‘ or ‘constrains’ - he is compelled to take
action. The verb here is in the present tense, which emphasises the
continuous nature of this motivation - so, he is constantly compelled
to share the gospel with those who have not heard or responded. And
notice that it is “Christ’s love” which compels him. This refers to
Christ’s willingness to give up his life so that others might live,
that they might be forgiven of the sin that condemns them before God.
Paul refers to this love of Christ in action in the second part of
verse 14 - “one died for all.” Paul has experienced this love
personally by being forgiven himself - Christ’s love which he has
benefited from, spurs him to share the gospel with others, as Christ
died for all people. He summarises his own attitude in verse 15 - he
no longer lived for himself, but for Jesus who died for him, and part
of the way he did that was to share the message of the gospel. Are
you compelled by Christ’s love for you to share the good news with
everyone you meet? Does Jesus’ death that paid for your sin spur you
to share the message of reconciliation?

Nicholaus Ludwig von Zinzerdorf was born into one of Europe’s leading
families in the year 1700, and they happened to be Christians. He
excelled in school and seemed to possess all the qualities for
national leadership. After finishing his university studies in
Germany, Zinzerdorf embarked on a tour of Europe, attending lectures
and visiting museums, palaces and universities. But while visiting
the art museum at Dusseldorf the young Count had an experience that
stayed with him for the rest of his life. Seeing Domenico Feti’s
painting of a thorn-crowned Jesus on the cross, entitled ‘Behold the
man’, he was struck by the inscription below it: “I did this for you!
What have you done for me?” Zinzerdorf said to himself, “I have loved
Jesus for a long time, but I have never actually served Him. From now
on, I will do whatever he leads me to do.” His life was never the
same again, and he went on to start a spiritual community at his
property Herrnhut. It provided hundreds of Moravian missionaries over
the next several decades and sparked the modern missionary movement.
Thousands and thousands of people heard the message of reconciliation
as a result of him being compelled by Christ’s love for him.

Thirdly and finally, Christians are automatically part of this
ministry of sharing the message of the gospel. It’s not a case of
choosing to opt in - you are in, and you cannot opt out. It’s not the
church’s responsibility, as if it was a distinct entity from you - the
church is the body of Christ, God’s people. If you are a Christian
then by definition you are part of the church, you have become part of
God’s family, and one of the main aims of your new family is to share
with others how they might enter the family. Look at verse 20:
“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his
appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: be reconciled
to God.”

Notice here that we are ambassadors - past tense - it is already true,
we are automatically in. Paul uses the past tense to make this point
earlier also - notice in verse 18 that God “gave us the ministry of
reconciliation”, and in verse 19 “he has committed to us the message
of reconciliation.” We already have this role of being ambassadors or
representatives for God - notice in the second half of verse 20 that
we implore on Christ’s behalf - that is we appeal to people to heed
his message, just as a nation’s ambassador represents his home
country’s interests, and conveys their messages. We represent Jesus,
the one who has saved us and to who we owe our allegiance. Sharing
the message of reconciliation is not an optional extra for the
Christian faith, something just for zealous Christians or paid pastors
or missionaries. No, we are all part of God’s grand plan, His vision,
to see the message of reconciliation spread.

Well, what will that mean for us as we relate to people day by day -
are we meant to give up our jobs and stand on street corners every day
with placards saying ‘Jesus can reconcile you with God?’ Well, not
necessarily - we are not given a method here other than to share the
message - we will share it by whatever means we can. What it means is
that we have to realise our identity in Christ, and the great need of
those who have not become Christians to hear the message of the
gospel. The result will be that we look at people differently. Look
at what Paul says in verses 16 and 17:
“So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though
we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the
new has come!”
Worldly assessments no longer count - things which once had been
regarded as important now are seen to have no real value. Rather than
judging people by human categories such as their career, or wealth,
ethnic background, or where they live, we need to recognise that God
only sees two categories of people: those who have responded to the
message of reconciliation, and those who have not. It is a person’s
spiritual position, not worldly position, that counts.

Notice that verse 17 emphasises the huge contrast that exists between
those who have responded to the gospel and those who have not. Here
is the effect of this ministry of reconciliation. The Christian is
described as a “new creation” - this is a radical picture of a life
completely changed or renewed. There is a distinct break with the
past - notice that the “the old has gone, the new has come!” Paul is
well aware of such changes because his own life had changed
dramatically - love was now the controlling factor in place of hate;
serving the one who died for him had taken the place of selfishness;
and true understanding of Jesus had replaced ignorance and error.
Just as God created the world with a word, so now people are re-
created by his reconciling word, the good news about Jesus.

Well, how are you going as an ambassador - are you doing your job?
God has given each Christian the role of sharing his good news
message. How can we be effective in this huge privilege and yet huge
responsibility which is ours? I think the number one thing is to
realise you are already an ambassador - so start representing your
ruler Jesus. You have the job already - don’t wait for a tap on the
shoulder, don’t just hope that somebody else will do your share - be
about your Father’s business because you’ve already been
commissioned. Christ died in your place - love should compel you,
reverence for the Lord should drive you on to share what has been a
life changing message for you. So ask yourself the question: “Am I
sharing the message of reconciliation that saved me and can save
others?” Look and pray for opportunities this week and every week
this year.