WHAT AM I? (part five)
INTRODUCTION: So far in this series we’ve learned that we are a child of God, we are a temple of the Holy Spirit, we are a slave of God, we are a part of the body of Christ, and we are God’s workmanship. Today we will see that we are ambassadors of Christ.
1) It’s about reconciliation. 2nd Cor. 5:17-19. Those of us who are in Christ are new creations. We who were once separated from God because of our sin have now been reconciled, brought back together with God, through Christ. Now we have an obligation-to pay it forward. Since we have benefited from someone sharing the message of reconciliation with us now it’s our turn to do it for someone else.
We should want others to experience the same love, mercy and grace we have received. We should want others to experience the same joy and peace we have found. It’s selfish to want to keep it to ourselves. It’s wrong to think, “I’m saved and that’s all that matters”. It’s wrong when my attitude is, “let someone else do it”.
I have to remember that someone cared enough about me to share the gospel with me so that my soul wouldn’t end up in hell. They cared enough about me that they wanted me to experience the freedom from sin and bondage that they had. Now I need to get outside of myself and care about someone else.
Interesting-in vs. 18-the ministry of reconciliation and then in vs. 19-the message of reconciliation. The message of reconciliation is the gospel. But the ministry of reconciliation has to do with serving as a whole. So, we are given the responsibility of spreading the gospel as well as serving others and being an example of Christ. It’s not just the gospel message that will win people over it’s also the conduct of the messenger. Showing people the character of Christ will help to win them over to accept the gospel of Christ.
2) We are Christ’s ambassadors. 2nd Cor. 5:20. Therefore: since we are new creations, since we have this ministry, since we have this message of how people can be reconciled to God (like we were) that makes us Christ’s ambassadors. What’s an ambassador? Webster’s defines it as “an authorized representative or messenger”.
If I am an ambassador of the United States that means when I go to another country I am there to represent the USA. When they see me and hear me they are getting a picture of what an American citizen is. They might not get the chance to meet another American; I might be it. Therefore, their impression of Americans is going to be built on my behavior. If I go over there an act a fool, being rude or obnoxious then Americans as a whole will gain the reputation of being rude and obnoxious.
Being an ambassador is an important position. “President William McKinley had to decide who to appoint as an ambassador to a foreign country. Two candidates were equally qualified, so McKinley searched his mind for some "yardstick" by which he might measure the true character of the men. Later he revealed that the unkindness of one of them was the determining factor in his decision. Many years earlier, when McKinley was still a Congressman, he had observed an inconsiderate action by one of the men. He recalled boarding a streetcar at the rush hour and getting the last vacant seat. Soon an elderly woman got on, carrying a heavy clothesbasket. No one got up to offer her a seat, so she walked the length of the car and stood in the aisle, hardly able to keep her balance as the vehicle swayed from side to side. One of the men McKinley was later to consider for ambassador was sitting next to where the woman was standing. Instead of getting up and helping her, he deliberately shifted his newspaper so it would look like he hadn't seen her. When McKinley noticed this, he walked down the aisle, graciously took her basket, and offered her his seat. The man was unaware that anyone was watching, but that one little act of selfishness would later deprive him of perhaps the crowning honor of his lifetime.”
Being an ambassador is no small thing. It’s a great honor and privilege. Jesus isn’t here anymore. He’s gone back to heaven until he returns to claim his own. In his absence, we who are his followers are called on to be his representatives. We need to show Christ to the world. We need to share his message; we are his voice.
It’s like the prophets of the OT. They were God’s representatives to the people. They spoke as God led them. They did as God commanded them. Now it’s our turn. We are the ones who are called upon to be God’s voice to the people. We are like John the Baptist-the voice of one calling out into the desert-we are the ones telling thirsty people where they can find water.
Paul understood the importance of being a voice for the truth. He also understood that it was no small task. In Eph. 6 he talks about the armor of God. In vs. 18 he highlights the importance of prayer. Then in vs. 19-20 we find him asking for prayer. Eph. 6:19-20, “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.” Paul, knowing he was an ambassador, knowing he was to be Jesus’ representative, Jesus’ voice, wanted the saints to pray for him to fearlessly share Jesus’ message.
Being the voice of Jesus isn’t easy; it’s risky. There were times when Jesus received some pretty harsh responses when he spoke the truth. The religious leaders often hassled him and even made a couple attempts to kill him when Jesus told them what they needed to hear. And at one point when Jesus was teaching some things that were hard to accept many people stopped following him. Being an ambassador isn’t easy but it’s an honor and a privilege to be called upon to perform such an esteemed mission. We need to see the importance of being a true reflection of Christ to a world who doesn’t know Christ? When people see us, do they see Jesus? How are we doing at being an ambassador of Christ? How are we doing in the ministry of reconciliation?
3) We are the fragrance of Christ. As a representative not only are we the voice of Christ we are also the fragrance of Christ. 2nd Cor. 2:14-16. In a Roman triumphal procession there would be garlands of flowers and incense so there would be a very pleasant aroma in the air. The knowledge of God is here the aroma which Paul had scattered like an incense bearer.
When you have a flower or something like that and you want to duplicate its pleasing scent you take some of the scent-causing properties and you incorporate it into something else like a candle or air freshener. That’s what has happened with us. We have been given God’s extract-his Holy Spirit. The fragrance of the Holy Spirit now needs to flow through us.
In Exodus 30 God gave instructions to make a special fragrant blend of spices and oils. The only people this special formula could be used on were the priests. Now we, as followers of Christ, as a royal priesthood, are anointed with the uniquely fragrant oil of the Holy Spirit. To those who receive the message of the gospel our fragrance is sweet and pleasing. But to those who are offended by the message, the aroma of Christ is putrid.
The reality is the fragrance of Christ is pure and the best smelling stuff on earth or in heaven but some people can’t realize that. The scent of Christ is being masked by something else. It’s not that the scent of Christ can’t overpower the scent of death but people have to allow themselves to smell it. I won’t smell the tantalizing scent of the rose when I have a skunk sitting under my nose. I must remove the skunk in order to smell the rose. So it is with the fragrance of Christ. His scent won’t be pleasing until I remove the scent of evil from under my nose.
Paul said in 1st Cor. 1:18 that the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. It’s anything but foolish but to those who can’t see it (or smell it) it is the opposite of what it really is. We need to pray for people like that in hopes of them being able to see, smell and taste that the Lord is good.
One thing this made me think of is how are we coming across to people-pleasant or putrid? As representatives we need to consider how we are sharing the message. Are we an ‘in-your-face” “turn-or-burn” type of messenger or are we spreading the truth in love, as Jesus did? We can give it to them straight without being condescending. We are to try our best to make the message of Christ alluring. To some it won’t matter how well you present it they still won’t want to hear it (many wouldn’t listen to Jesus) but we need to make sure the reason they reject the message isn’t due to the inappropriate actions of the messenger. We are to exude a pleasing and alluring aroma to those around us. We are the fragrance of Christ.
4) We are foreigners. As an ambassador is a representative from their home nation to a foreign land such as it is for us as Christ’s ambassadors. 1st Pet. 1:3 calls us ‘strangers in the world’ and in 2:11, ‘aliens and strangers in the world’ as echoed in Heb. 11:13, ‘aliens and strangers on earth’. At one time, as Paul put it in Eph. 2, we were aliens and foreigners in regards to heaven. But now, as Christians we are citizens of heaven and are therefore, aliens and foreigners of earth. But, until we are taken to our homeland we are in this land.
Most of the time it’s easy to spot a foreigner. They look different; they talk different; they act different. Often times they are treated differently. People make fun of them. It’s no different for us. We, as new creations, as ambassadors for Christ, as representatives in a foreign land, look, talk and act differently; we stand out. And because of it we are made fun or; even hated by the citizens of the world.
1st Pet. 4:3-4, “For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you.” People will think it’s strange that we don’t think, talk and act like they do. We are now the weird foreigners.
We have to be careful that we don’t fall back into the customs of the world that we have been called out of. When foreigners come to live in another country they often adopt the customs of that country. Sometimes that can be rather harmful. There are plenty of bad habits that can be picked-up in America.
In Lev. 18 God warned the Israelites to not do as the Egyptians did when they were there or as the Canaanites do when they would eventually take up residence there. He told them to not follow their detestable customs. We as God’s people are not to follow the vile practices of the world. We are to be in the world but not of the world.
John 17:14-18, “I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”
Jesus said earlier in chapter 15 that if they belonged to the world it would love them but he has called them out of the world and that is why they were hated. We have to be prepared that as foreigners and aliens in the world we are sharing a message that will be foreign and alien and many people will think it too strange to accept. For some, it won’t just be strange; they will find it downright offensive and hate us for it. Why? Because the message of reconciliation involves accepting that I am a sinner and I need salvation. It involves change; it involves surrendering to the Lordship of Jesus.
CONCLUSION: We have been given the message and the ministry of reconciliation. We represent the most important person the world has ever known. We possess the most important message the world will ever hear. We are the voice of truth in the sea of lies. We are the light of Christ shining into the darkness. We are giving bread to the hungry. What greater honor could be bestowed upon a person? We are ambassadors of Jesus.
