Ambassador For Christ 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
1. Paul has a message we are ambassadors for Christ
• Apostle Paul says: “So we are ambassadors for Christ, (2 Cor. 5:20).
• It’s not just Paul who is an ambassador, but This applies to all Christians
• William Barclay observes that, in the Roman Empire, when it was time to form a new province, ambassadors played a key role.
• When a new territory was conquered. The military governor would rule it for a while, but eventually the Senate, back in Rome, would dispatch a team of 10 ambassadors to the place (it’s the same Greek word Paul uses here.) It would be the job of those 10 people “… [to determine] the boundaries of the new province, [to draw] up a constitution for its new administration, and then [return] to submit what they [have] done for ratification by the senate.
• They [are] the men responsible for bringing others into the family of the Roman Empire. Bringing others into the ideas, ideologies, the culture, the life of Roman rule. So, Paul thinks of himself as the man who brings to others the terms of God, whereby they can become citizens of his empire and members of his family.”
2. Paul tells us He began his role as an Ambassador right after the Encounter on a road
• Paul told King Agrippa He was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. About noon, King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.' "Then I asked, 'Who are you, Lord?'
• "'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied. 'Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me'" (Acts 26:12–16, NIV). The one, (Jesus) I once persecuted I now beg men and women to give their hearts to him I am an Ambassador of Jesus
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3. As an Ambassador Paul has a message “And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation” vs 18
• Paul’s Message we are forgiven, justified, made ready for the kingdom were reconciled
• Paul’s message we have access to Grace For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God
• Paul’s Message Heavenly Citizenship is yours Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners
• Paul’s Message old is Gone Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new vs 17
• Paul’s message Gone is self-centeredness now we are Christ centered
4. As an Ambassador we Share the righteousness of God living in this heart of mine
• The believer in some sense actually shares the righteousness that characterizes God
• I live right, I live according to Gods Word, Live in humility, live in peace, live in love, live a life of forgiveness, Live a life of generosity, live a life full of faith, living a life of compassion
5. We are Ambassadors for Jesus
• Everywhere we go, we are Christ’s ambassadors, whether we like it or not.
• The only way some people will experience the love of God, in Jesus Christ, is if disciples like us demonstrate it for them.
• Recall The words of the old hymn continue to be true for every sort of Christian:
• Christ has no hands but our hands to do His work each day;
• He has no feet but our feet to lead men in His way.
• He has no tongues but our tongues to tell men how He died;
• He has no help but our help to bring them to His side.
