The Ministry Of Reconciliation
2 Corinthians 5:18-21
A story is told of two brothers. They lived on adjoining farms, but they had a deep quarrel. They had often shared their resources, but that practice stopped; and there was nothing left but bitterness. One morning a John answered a knock at his door. It was a carpenter. The carpenter asked if there was any work to do. John said that there was something he could do. He took the carpenter to where the two properties met and showed him how the other brother had taken a bulldozer and created a creek where the meadow used to be. John said, “I know he did this to make me angry. I want you to help me get even by building a big fence so I won’t have to see him or his property ever again.” So the carpenter worked hard all day. When he reported back to John, John noticed there was no fence. The carpenter had used his skill and built a bridge over the creek instead of a fence. John’s brother saw the bridge and was quite moved that his brother would do such a thing. The two brothers met in the middle and embraced. They saw the carpenter packing his tools and asked him to stay a while and do more work. The carpenter replied, “I’m sorry, but I have other bridges to build.”
Phil Cross wrote a song that says: “With only 3 nails and 2 pieces of wood, with one rugged cross, Jesus built a bridge”
I want to look at that bridge and speak today on “The Ministry Of Reconciliation” This Ministry Of Reconciliation is the bridge that Jesus built allows unholy man to be reconciled to a Holy God!
Webster’s defines the term “Reconcile” this way: 1) to restore friendship or harmony. 2) To settle or resolve.
I know a couple who had been separated for almost a year. They got together and talked out their differences and reconciled their relationship. You see there was an offense, a separation or a barrier in their relationship and now that they are together again they have experienced a reconciliation.
Many of you may have had relationships that have faced difficulty and after a while you too have experienced reconciliation. This is a great event in one’s life or a couple’s relationship! There is one form of reconciliation that is more important than any other, I am speaking of your personal reconciliation to God!
Sin is the cause of our need for reconciliation. - Isaiah 59:1 ¶Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
Even before the first sin in the Garden, before the foundation of the world God made a way of reconciliation - Ephesians 1: 4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Our text shows us that God in His abundant love provided a bridge for us to be reconciled to Him! Let us examine a few things about “The Ministry Of Reconciliation”
I. The Ministry Of Reconciliation Declared - v18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
Through the Ministry of Reconciliation, God designed a way for sin to be pardoned and for us to have a personal relationship with Him!Man's sin caused the separation between he and God, but God was the one who initiated the possibility of restoration.
Sinful Man does not seek God, God seeks sinful man - Isaiah 64:6 ¶But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. 7 And there is none that calleth upon thy name… A sinful man seeking a Holy God is the equivalent of a criminal seeking a policeman.
In verse 18 Paul declares the Ministry of Reconciliation. Paul experienced this reconciliation on Damascus Road. The reconciliation that I speak of is a product of God’s grace. Without reconciliation we would still be lost in our sins! We would still be the vile wretched sinners that we once were. But look to verse 17 and see what happens in reconciliation - verse17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.
Have you ever been changed by the power of Jesus Christ? Are you different than you once were? If not you are lost and need to be reconciled. Some believe that they are going to live “good enough” to get to heaven! Nowhere in the Bible will you find that Man reconciles himself to God, in every case GOD RECONCILES MAN TO HIM! Before the world was formed God cared enough about you, to send His only Son to be a sacrifice in order to reconcile you to Him!! Do not pass up this opportunity, surrender to Christ today!!
In verse 18 Paul declares the possibility of reconciliation, as we look to verse 9 he will describe the details of this reconciliation:
II. The Ministry Of Reconciliation Described v19
A. The Source Of This Reconciliation - v19a To wit, that God was in Christ,
As I mentioned earlier, we cannot reconcile ourselves to God, Jesus is the only way! - Romans 5: 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
In order for us to be reconciled there was a price that we could not pay! That is why Jesus came “to give Himself a ransom” You cannot get to the Father without entering into His Kingdom and the only way to see the Kingdom of Heaven is through Jesus Christ - John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
B. The Scope Of This Reconciliation – v19b reconciling the world unto himself…
Notice the reach of reconciliation, this verse says He reconciled “the world unto Himself” Does this mean that the whole world is or will be saved? Absolutely not! But it does show that there is no limit to the power of Jesus blood. The sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary is sufficient enough to cover the sins of the world, but many refuse to take the simple steps to receive this salvation! We also see:
C. The Salvation In This Reconciliation – v19c not imputing their trespasses unto them….
For those who will surrender to Christ, the price has been paid, and the consequences of their sins are accounted for and covered in the blood!! Through His amazing Grace and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, God will not hold the believer’s faults against them. Through faith in Jesus Christ we are not separated from God rather we have access to God! - Ephesians 2:18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. 19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; - Praise God this is exciting! I don’t know about you but when I have exciting news in my life I can’t wait to call and tell somebody! How many people have you told about the blood of Jesus recently? For the believer, it is a requirement that we share the Ministry of Reconciliation with others? Notice our third and final portion of scripture: Paul begins by sharing the possibility of being reconciled, then he goes in depth describing the process And now he takes it to another level and states this the ministry in our hands
III. The Ministry Of Reconciliation Delivered v18-21
As a result of our reconciliation God has called us to share the message of restored relationships to others. He could have chosen any method He wanted for delivering the good news of Jesus. He did not burden us with this duty, He blessed us with this opportunity.
A. The Method Of This Ministry – v20 “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.”
We are “ambassadors of Christ” … This literally means that we are representatives of Jesus! How are you representing Jesus? If you profess to be a Christian, people are watching your every move. Every action and reaction in our lives are either pointing people to Jesus or turning them away from Him.
A company that I worked for years ago sent several of the supervisors to a convention in Mobile. They were there as representatives of that specific company. One of the men decided to go to a bar and when he returned to the hotel he would have made Otis Campbell look sober. He destroyed his room, woke up the entire floor and got into a brawl in the lobby. When he returned to work the next Monday he was relieved of his duties. Why? Because he brought shame on the “good name” of the company that employed him.
Have you brought shame upon the name of Jesus Christ? Are you a fitting ambassador for Christ? There are many under the banner of Christian who do more damage for the cause of Christ than good. TRUE RECONCILIATION BRINGS A CHANGE! v17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.We are completely new creatures! We are examples of a life that has been reconciled to the Father. When people watch our lives they should want to have what we have. The hard question we must ask is “do they?”
B. The Motivation Of This Ministry – v20c “be ye reconciled to God.”
We have been blessed by the Grace of God, We have been saved from our sins and given eternal life! Because of the ministry of reconciliation our “trespasses are not imputed unto us! “ This opportunity abides for all who will surrender to Christ! Our motivation must be to point the lost to His saving Grace.
C. The Message In This Ministry - v21 for he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Jesus is the heart of this ministry! Our message is simple; CHRIST ALONE CAN SAVE YOU FROM YOUR SINS!!We cannot reconcile anyone to God but we can and must point them to the One who can!We must make it clear to a lost world that JESUS IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH & THE LIFE!!
Conclusion:
1) To the Christian, are you living as a true ambassador of Christ? Are you doing your part to share the Ministry of reconciliation?
2) To the unbeliever, do you understand that you cannot see the Kingdom of God unless you are reconciled to the Father?
A childhood accident caused poet Elizabeth Barrett to lead a life of semi-invalidism before she married Robert Browning in 1846. There's more to the story. In her youth, Elizabeth had been watched over by her tyrannical father. When she and Robert were married, their wedding was held in secret because of her father's disapproval. After the wedding the Brownings sailed for Italy, where they lived for the rest of their lives. But even though her parents had disowned her, Elizabeth never gave up on the relationship. Almost weekly she wrote them letters. Not once did they reply. After 10 years, she received a large box in the mail. Inside, Elizabeth found all of her letters; not one had been opened! Today those letters are among the most beautiful in classical English literature. Had her parents only read a few of them, their relationship with Elizabeth might have been restored. - Daily Walk, May 30, 1992.You see, Elizabeth had committed no wrong and she is the one who initiated the reconciliation. And her parents who had committed the wrong had no desire to connect with her.
The same is true in your life, God has done no wrong but He loved you enough to initiate the reconciliation.He did so by sending His son to suffer and die for your sins. Those same sins can be covered in His blood if you will only surrender to Him today. With only 3 nails and 2 pieces of wood Jesus built a bridge… and it was a bridge of reconciliation
