On September 13, 1993 one of the most famous moments in modern diplomacy took place. President Bill Clinton was instrumental in brokering a peace agreement between Yitzak Rabin and Yassir Arafat in Oslo. It seemed like the Israelis and Palestinians would always be enemies but here was a miracle. There on national television the world was shocked to see these arch-enemies shaking hands with Bill Clinton between them. Today this picture is almost idiomatic of peace. But neither side would have come to this agreement on their own without the initiative of our president. Unfortunately, as we know, the peace didn’t last. But it was for awhile a beautiful example of reconciliation – or at least the start of reconciliation.
What does the word reconcile mean? It’s from the word “conciliate” – meaning to unite or “re-unite” – to restore a relationship. Here in 2 Cor. 5, Paul is reminding us that this is God’s objective – reconciliation with every person alive. Now, realize that no one was born WITH a relationship to God. We are born in sin, separated from God. So we were never united with God in the first place. But reconciling – restoring refers to that perfect relationship that Adam and Eve had. God wants to restore that for each one of us. We need to be brought back to God.
Last week we looked at how the relationship between humanity and God was severed. And then in the curse on the serpent in Genesis 3:15, God was immediately revealing his plan of restoring his relationship to man back to what it was. And this is what he wants for me, for you, for everyone we know. Just imagine a world in which every single person you meet is restored to God. That is not just something to imagine, but something set as a goal in our lives!
This morning we are discovering four keys to open the door of reconciliation.
1. Reconciliation is restoring relationship.
The first key that opens the door of reconciliation is realizing that God’s goal of restoration is connected with our relationship to Him.“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (17) God wants nothing more than to put in the past, the sins of our lives, our horrible failures, what we have done to him and others. He wants the old to be gone and the new to come. He wants every one of us to be in right relationship to him.
Again, the very word “reconciliation” is connected with relationship. This is crucial because it reveals that God’s goal not merely a thinking or a theology.
Remember Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son? After taking his inheritance and spending it all out in the world, he ends up in a pig sty. Finally, he comes to his senses, returns to his Father ready to repent of how he treated him. The son had already rehearsed his words of repentance when he came to his father but before he could get a word in – what happened? Luke 15:20 “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”
Do you see that this is not merely a legality – a restored acceptance of father and son? There is compassion, love, hugs and kisses. This is the picture of a restored relationship.
And this is the picture that we should think of whenever we hear this word “reconciliation.” It’s the closeness of God walking side by side with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. It’s the same closeness of him walking by you throughout your day through the presence of the Holy Spirit. God longs for and desires that relationship with every single person on this planet!
2. God has reconciled all humankind through the cross.
The second key to opening the door of reconciliation is seeing that God has already done it.
Now when we talk about restoring a relationship that has been broken we might think about marriage. When there is a division between a husband and wife, both are almost always at fault. Maybe the husband has neglected his wife by working long hours. Maybe the wife in her disappointment and frustration has said horrible things and neglected her husband in bitterness. Both should come together and both should recognize their faults and confess in order to begin the restoration process. It’s the same with any friendship and not just marriage.
With God, it’s not exactly the same. God has done nothing wrong – he has been faithful, righteous, loving, truthful while we have been unfaithful, unrighteous, hateful, deceitful… God can’t just say, “no big deal! I’ll let it go. Let bygones be bygones.” He would be unjust if he let sin slide. So in order to reconcile us back in relationship to him, he sent his Son to pay for our debt of sin against him. The cross made it possible for the Father to open his arms and welcome us like the prodigal son’s father.
Notice what it says in verse 15a“and he died for all” (15a) Does that just refer to us good believers? Does that refer only to godly men and women? All means all - men, women and children. God in his heart is right with every single person on this planet. He doesn’t bear a grudge like we do – why? Because the offense was removed through the cross. Read verse 18 where it says that God: “reconciled us to himself through Christ” (18a). And then look at verse 21: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us” (21a) Jesus became the offense that drove us away from a relationship with God.
So the fact is that the picture we have of God the Father, thanks to the cross, is that of a Father with open arms – it is ALWAYS a picture of open arms.
3. Reconciliation demands our repentance
The third key to opening the door of reconciliation is our repentance.
We all know that reconciliation can never be one-sided. One person cannot force it to happen. God can’t force us into his arms. But he waits. And at some point you ran into his arms like the prodigal son. At some point you recognized the fact that your very life betrays God, your neighbor, your friends and you “woke up” to your sinful condition, walked away from it in repentance and ran to God.
This is the most crucial part of reconciliation – our recognition of what God has already done for us, his payment for our failures. There must be a moment in your life when you recognize you are on the wrong road and turn to trust in Christ and what he has done. We run back to the Father’s arms in tears and trust in him. The relationship then is restored.
Maybe you don’t remember the first time that happened. Honestly, I don’t. I grew up in a Christian home and from a child I remember believing in Jesus and trusting in Him. But I can definitely remember numerous times when I’ve been a prodigal son and gone my own way and I’ve had to return to him in repentance. Every time I sin doesn’t mean that God disowns me as his son though. He still loves me and waits for me to return to him.
But our relationship is severely hurt the longer we stay away. The greatest danger for any of us is that we rebel against God and never return to him in repentance and trust. We think it’s better out in the world or we think that he won’t take us back. But the Lord says: “Come to me all of you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest…for your souls.” (Mt. 11:28)
So reconciliation is restoring our relationship to God, and He has reconciled with us through the cross. We in turn receive in faith what he has done for us. We cling to our Father in love, faith, worship. Finally, the last key to the door of reconciliation is receiving it as our responsibility.
4. He committed to us the message of reconciliation.
If you are reconciled to God right now, the Father places in each of your hands a great honor and a great responsibility – be a mediator of reconciliation! Going back to the picture of the middle-east peace agreement – we are to be a “Bill Clinton” between the unsaved and God.
Just think of what that means for a moment. God could have just poured out his Scripture into the world and somehow put the message in the consciousness of people. He could have broadcast throughout the sky his message of salvation to every person alive. He could have done an infinite number of things to make certain that everyone knows what he did for them on the cross. But he chooses not to do that.
What does it say in verse 19b? “And he has committed to US the message of reconciliation.” Imagine the responsibility. All that he did for the world and the sacrifice he made he places the responsibility of communicating that directly in our hands. He could have done it himself without our help. But he laid it down and committed himself to us as his laborers.
God decided to put living, eternal souls in your hands and he tells you to communicate with them the reconciliation that he has done.
The privilege and responsibility is awesome! Do you realize that? Or do you see it more of a burden – it’s something we MUST DO as an obligation because God has told us to. Imagine what it means for someone – to bring them from not only eternal damnation, but the hell of this life with all its burdens of guilt, shame, fear, lack of peace to true joy and peace!
Baptist author and leader Russell Moore said recently: “The next Jonathan Edwards might be the man driving in front of you with the Darwin Fish bumper decal. The next Charles Wesley might be a ….profanity-spewing hip-hop artist right now. The next Billy Graham might be passed out drunk in a fraternity house right now. The next Charles Spurgeon might be making posters for a Gay Pride March right now. The next Mother Teresa might be managing an abortion clinic right now. But the Spirit of God can turn all that around. And seems to delight to do so. The new birth doesn’t just transform lives, creating repentance and faith; it also provides new leadership to the church, and fulfills Jesus’ promise to gift his church with everything needed for her onward march through space and time (Eph. 4:8-16). After all, while Phillip was leading the Ethiopian eunuch to Christ, Saul of Tarsus was still a murderer.”
Think about that – the next Billy Graham might be a drunk on the streets of our city! And God has given you and me the privilege of reconciling that person with the Lord. And one life may lead to a harvest of many others as they spread the Gospel and reconcile others. Never underestimate your testimony. It is the power of God to change lives.
I encourage you to be ready to share how God has reconciled you. This testimony may be about the first time you surrendered to God (if you remember) or you might share your return to God after failure just last week. But we are commanded by the Lord to be ready to share the faith that the Lord has given us. Share YOUR story!
Let's pray that God would help each of us to prepare a short personal testimony of our own to share – it could be to share with a group, or with an individual. But every one of us has a story of our walk with God. And that will be our starting point for being a "reconciler" for Christ. Pray about it! And walk with the Lord as he has called you and watch doors open!
