2 Corinthians 5 verse 14 says, for the love of Christ constraineth us, because we judge that if one died for all, then we're all dead. And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh, yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation. to wit that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's name, be ye reconciled to God. 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. Let's just pause and ask for God's blessing as we come to his word. Our Father, we want to thank you for Your precious Word, we believe it to be the Word of God, inspired and inerrant. And Father, as we come to it, we know this is our food from heaven. This is our food for the week ahead. And our Father, as we conclude this series, looking at what it means to be an ambassador for Christ in the world in which we live. May you speak to each of our hearts, not just to the young people, but to all of us, Father, knowing that we're all commissioned to be ambassadors for the Lord. May the Holy Spirit take the word of God and speak into our hearts. May we shut out all other thoughts that would distract our minds, and Lord, leave here endeavoring not just to be a hearer of the word, but a doer of it also, in Jesus' name. Amen. I say a couple of Sunday mornings ago, we looked at this third point, the commission of the Lord, as Paul gives his motivation for ministry, as he defends the authenticity of his apostleship. He says that I have been given a commission of the Lord. I am an ambassador for Christ, and as such, we consider three or two things already, as we considered what an ambassador is. A number of weeks ago, we looked at the definition of an ambassador. how that an ambassador is a highly privileged position, that was somebody who was chosen out of society to represent the emperor of the land. It wasn't just a throwaway position, it wasn't something that everybody was given the privilege to do, it was an honoured and revered position, and so it is. Every Christian has been called to the high calling of being an ambassador for Christ. And as such, we live as God's representatives on earth. telling forth and showing forth his message. But last week we looked at the importance of being, of the distinction of an ambassador. That when an ambassador moved in the community in which they were placed, they were distinct, they weren't like everybody else. When the ambassador arrived, you would know who he was. He wasn't like everybody else. And how I endeavored to teach the importance of being a distinct ambassador for the Lord, not blending in in the world in which we're living, daring to stand out like many of our forefathers. But this morning we come to finish it off with the Judae. of an ambassador and that really takes us to verses 17 to 21 because Paul here lays out not only does he say that I am an ambassador and by definition that makes me distinct but he says as an ambassador I have very specific duties. Before we come to those I want us to draw attention to a couple of things from verse number 17. Verse 17 says, therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. As we look at that verse, and I know there's many angles we can look at it from, but it's important we note a contrast between old things and all things. Dealing with the old things first, that is everything that is connected with our old man. When Paul says, therefore, if any man be in Christ, he's a new creature, old things are passed away. Now what are those old things? Well, they're all the things connected with what we used to be before we were saved. Our condemnation, our deadness, our hopelessness. Our slavery and subjection to sin, the reign of sin in our lives, the misery of being separated from God. All that we once were. I think it was Spurgeon that said, while our old man is crucified with Christ, he's a long time dying. And that is right, because while we're no longer what we used to be, our old man daily dies. And daily, we should be more conformed to the image of Christ. And so that's what the old things are. They're everything connected with the old man. And Paul says those things have passed away. But then he says, He talks about all things which have become new. And in verse number 18, he opens this up and he says, all things are of God. Now, what are these all things? If we know what the old things were, the old things connected to our old man, what are the old things of God? Well, really it's everything that Paul has been talking about in this chapter. He's referring to things like the hope of heaven from verses one to four. He's speaking about the assurance of salvation given by the Holy Spirit in verse number five. He's speaking about the rewards that will come as a result of verse number 10. But best of all, he is speaking about the redemption and the reconciliation to himself in verses number 14 to 21. Paul says all these things are new standing, are new status. As a saint of God, are the work of God. Paul traces the source of all spiritual blessings back to God. Our redemption and reconciliation are God's unassisted work in our lives. Emphatically, Paul says in verse 18 that it is God who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ. Now, before we come on to looking at our duty as an ambassador this morning, it's important we understand what this term reconciliation means. Now, of course, being Northern Irish and living in the country in which we do, we're all very familiar or probably bored With this word reconciliation, governments have been trying to reconcile this country for years, and it's left us now with no government at all. And of course, relations between both sides are now much better today than they were, say, 30 years ago, but we live in what was and still is a deeply divided country. Governments working to reconcile two opposed parts of society. Here in biblical times and in the original language, the word reconciliation was actually derived from the word that meant exchange, often used in an exchequer for coins. When a number of coins were given, a number of other coins would be exchanged for the same value. It's a word that means as enmity is exchange for peace. Seemingly also in Greek society, it was a term often used in a legal setting where two disputing parties were reconciled in court. In fact, according to one definition, the word reconciliation means primarily to exchange and hence to change the relation of hostile parties into a relation of peace, to reconcile. So here in 2 Corinthians 5, Paul employs this word to describe wonderfully what has happened between the believer and God. Oh, what a wonder this morning, and so often it doesn't penetrate our hearts at times, that we, who were once irreconcilable enemies of a holy God, strangers to grace and isolated from hope, Today, thanks be to God, as Paul put it so concisely and yet wonderfully in Ephesians 2 and 13, but nigh in Christ Jesus. Ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. Is it not wonderful to be nigh unto God this morning? And you know, here's the wonder of the whole thing. It's not as if we have met in the middle. come to an agreement and form the truce with God. No, no. In verse 18, Paul says, for all things are of God. When it comes to the sinner being reconciled to God, God himself is the author and the agent of it. Man did not move towards God. As Derek has told the children, we were the ones that have gone away from God. But God, in his grace, moved towards man. The harmed party moved first, as it were, towards the hostile party and commended his great love. As Paul said in Romans 5, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Going on to say, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son. It's all of God. Oh, what an amazing portrait of the Greece, that God even desires sinners to be reconciled to Himself. What an amusing demonstration of Greece, that to reconcile this lost world to Himself, God spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all. Why? Because Christ Jesus is the only acceptable and perfect sacrifice for sinners, the only one who could reconcile a holy God and a sinful world. Now, in case there's any confusion, when Paul speaks of the word world here, he isn't teaching universalism, that eventually all people will finally be saved. Reconciled to God, we know that that won't happen. For while there is a way to life, the great majority of people choose the ways of death. While there is a path of reconciliation, for all who choose it most will continue blindly on the path of rebellion. Rather, what Paul is saying here is that on the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ died to reconcile any person in this world who will believe in Him as their Savior. Any person, regardless of their class, creed, character, or color, without exception or distinction, they can be reconciled to God through Christ. There is no person on this planet beyond the reach of God, grace or the gospel. No wonder is that a message for someone here this morning, or somebody watching in on the internet today. You're trying so desperately hard to reconcile yourself to God, get right with him through cleaning up your life, doing good works, coming along to church. Oh, dear friend, I want to tell you today we cannot be redeemed or reconciled to God through our own efforts. I want to tell you that Christ said on the cross, it is finished. He has done it all through him. And again, this is the great theme that Paul took up in Romans 5, therefore being justified by fear. We have peace with God through our Lord. Jesus Christ. Oh, just in your hearts for a moment, dear saved child of God this morning, thank God that we have been ransomed, redeemed, and reconciled to God through Christ, brought into a state and a standing of peace. But that isn't where it ends. for becoming a Christian brings with it a commission, as we have already considered. At conversion, we became ambassadors, and as such, God has in his grace bestowed a duty upon each of us to tell this lost world that there is a way that they can be reconciled to God, a way back to him from the dark paths of sin. And this is part of our duty as an ambassador for Christ. And that's what we're going to spend the remainder of our time looking at this morning, a duty that is twofold. Now I want you to look at this carefully this morning. Look at verse number 18. It says, God hath given unto us the ministry of reconciliation. And then look at verse number 19. We read how that God hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now I want you to make sure that we don't just gloss over this. We note the difference in these two statements. In verse number 18, we've a ministry. In verse number 19, we have a message. In verse number 18, we have a work. In verse number 19, we've got a word. In verse number 18, we've got an example. In verse number 19, we've got an explanation. And both of these are two inseparable parts of the same duty. And the Christian, who with the help of the Spirit can get these two parts to combine as God's intends, will make a mighty ambassador for Christ. So this morning, let's look at the ministry and the message of reconciliation. Number one, let's look at the ministry of reconciliation. Verse number 18, "'And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation. Now what does all this mean? Well let me put it in the simplest terms. God has sent you and I who are believers into this world as his ministers. Now don't panic. As we think about this get all notions of both clergymen and or some form of full-time ministry out of your mind. While there are some that God calls to give themselves full time to the ministry, that is not what Paul is dealing with here. Rather, remember how in Ephesians 6, when we studied the armor of God, he calls every Christian to have our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. That's shoes that all of us are called to wear. Or in other words, our whole walk in this world as believers should be characterized by the gospel, living epistles. The word ministry here, if you take it literally from the original language, simply means the service of a servant. That's what ministry is, the service of a servant. Sometimes ministers of churches are put on all kinds of high pedestals, but at the end of the day, pastors, ministers, clergy, whatever you want to call them, if you take their title from Scripture, they are simply servants, and their ministry is their service. They are the service of a servant. And so as the servants of Christ, we each have been given the service of ministering this message of reconciliation to the world in which we live. We each have been given a ministry in the environments which God has placed us. I know, I don't know how many of us are in here this morning, but every single one of us are placed in different environments, we're at different ages and stages of Christian life, and yet all of us who are saved are ministers and have a ministry of reconciliation. Where you and I spend most of our days, whether in the workplace or the home place, that is our mission field. We have been sent into this world as servants, not just to express the gospel, but to be an example of the gospel, to live it out daily. Now that's the challenge. You see, just as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve. So too we have been called to minister to the people around us. And you know, here's the thing, that isn't always preaching to them. And we're going to come to that in a moment. But remember the gospel is a message of love, a message of sacrifice, a message of selflessness, a message of kindness, a message of grace, a message of unconditional reception. We often really emphasize the whosoever will, and we believe that to include everybody and exclude nobody. But if that is our message, then that must also be our ministry to the whosoever will. You see, the ministry of reconciliation is so much more than preaching. It's a whole manner of life. Remember Paul's words in that great discourse on love in 1 Corinthians 13. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels and have not charity or love, I am become a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains and have not charity, listen to what he says, I am nothing. I could be the greatest preacher that has ever lived, the greatest theologian that has ever lived, but if I don't minister with love and grace. Paul says my ministry is meaningless. You see, ministers of reconciliation, and here's the challenge for you and I, ministers of reconciliation, reach out to those who nobody else is really interested in. That person that everyone else is gossiping about and giving off about in your office, Ministers of Reconciliation make the effort to invest in them. That man in the building site who we would say just is a bit curse, Ministers of Reconciliation go to him. Love him, invest in him. Ministers of Reconciliation will be there for that man whose marriage has fallen apart. Ministers of reconciliation draw alongside the hurting and the broken because they see sinners lost in their sin, but loved by the Savior. And you see, as we draw alongside them, we're coming at everything from a different angle. We're coming out of the knowledge of the gospel. And so often, We are quick to judge and slow to minister, quick to condemn and write people off. Oh, I wonder, and I touched on this last week, and it has really burned in my heart, how many of us would have sat beside the Samaritan woman? How many of us would have embraced the adulteress of John the 8th? Or how many of us would have been standing with the stones in our hands ready to cast her out? But as servants of the Savior, we have been given the ministry of reconciliation to reach out to those the way He did, to see past surface stereotypes and see a soul that is lost and perishing. And in a moment, whatever that man or woman's lifestyle is, in a moment, if they close their eyes in death and lose their last breath, they'll drop into hell. And yet we wouldn't reach them because of who they were. Christ's challenging declaration from John 13 comes to mind. After having washed the disciples' feet, he commissioned them to do the same, saying, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Oh, we are to live as Christ lived, seeking to serve those around us, minister to them, invest our energy in them, show a real Christ-like love for them, that we actually do care that they're lost in their sin and separated from God. And sometimes, before we can share the message of reconciliation, we have to show it. Sometimes a practical ministry precedes a preaching ministry, and that, of course, must be our ultimate goal as we'll come to. Let's keep this in balance, but building relationships, breaking down barriers, is a massive part of the ministry of reconciliation. Again, this was Paul's approach as he detailed back in 1 Corinthians. If you want to turn back, you can. 1 Corinthians chapter 9, those familiar verses. In verses 19 to 23, The thing about Paul that I find amazing is, yes, on one hand, he could reason with rulers and had the ability to be an apologist before the Stoics and Epicureans on Mars Hill, but on the other hand, he became a minister to all men. Verse number 19 of 1 Corinthians 9. For though I be free from all men, yet I have made myself servant unto all, that I might gain them more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews to them that are under the law, as under the law that I might gain them, that they that are under the law. To them that are without the law is without the law, being not without the law to God, but under the law to Christ, that I might gain them that are without the law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak. I have made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be a partaker thereof. with you. And really verse number 19 is the crux of all that I've been trying to sum up. I made myself a servant unto all that I might gain the more. Summing it up brilliantly, Warren Wearsby says, Jesus Christ died to make reconciliation possible. You and I must live to make the message of reconciliation personal. Oh, what a challenge. But as we come back to 2 Corinthians 5, and it's vital we balance this for the fear of slipping into the dangerous waters of a social gospel. Remember how I said these two things are inseparably linked and should, where possible, go hand in hand together? Look at what Paul then says in verse number 19 as he now speaks about the message of reconciliation. Verse 19, to wit that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and has committed unto us the word of reconciliation. See the change here. We now come to this message. You see, if all we do is live by example without explanation, then really our whole witness is futile. We mustn't conclude that the entirety of our witnessing for Christ is about showing our faith rather than ever sharing our faith. You know, that can be a bit of an easy way out of sharing the gospel. But that is not what the Bible says. That is certainly one part of it. It's a big part of it. But at the end of the day, the Bible doesn't say, you know, that faith comes by looking at a Christian's life, seeing they're different, realizing I'm lost from God, I'm separated in my sin, and therefore I'm gonna get saved. Rather, Paul plainly said in Romans 10 and 17, faith cometh by hearing. hearing by the Word of God. And beloved, it's vital we balance this. And therefore, as we live out the Word, we must then look for opportunities to share the Word, to tell our testimony, to explain why we are different, speak about the old things that are passed away, and about all the things that God has done for us and can do for them. And if you're anything like me, there's a battle within us for this balance. You know, the easiest thing in the world is to say nothing. But God has given us a wonderful message of reconciliation, and we must seek to share that as God gives opportunity. You know, Christ didn't just show people God's message of reconciliation. He shared it in a way that marveled the masses, causing them to conclude that no man ever spake like this man. Now that Christ has gone back to glory, he has handed this solemn ministry over to us to share the message. He says that he has committed unto us the word of reconciliation. He's committed it to us. In fact, when we come to verse number 20, Listen to how J.B. Phillips renders it in his paraphrase of the New Testament. He says, we are now Christ's ambassadors as though God were appealing directly to you through us. Paul was saying that as an ambassador, he was now the means and the mouth through which God directly ministered. He was the mouth through which God spoke into people's lives. Likewise, when you and I come into contact with the unsaved and conversations come up, God appeals to those people by His Spirit directly through us. And when we begin to think of it like that, what an awesome responsibility that God should speak through us, that we should be chosen vessels for the Master. Oh, it shows us the importance of being clean vessels fit for the Master's use. You see, God desires to appeal to sinners through each of his ambassadors, but here's the thing, and I love this thought this morning, he remembers our freedom, that we are but dust. He knows that we all stammer and stutter and are often lost for words, which is why he has given us the message. Which is what? Well, verse 20 gives it to us in its simplest form, be ye reconciled to God. It's not that God needs to be reconciled to us, but we need to be reconciled to God. And this is, the message is essentially and exclusively the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Ephesians 1 and 13, Paul describes it as the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. He wrote the message, all we have to do is deliver it. plainly tell people that He has condemned Christ, laid our sins to His account. Or as verse 21 puts it so plainly, God hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Here's the thing, beloved, this morning, when you go into work tomorrow or next week and you begin to have that conversation, you remember your words don't matter. My words don't matter. Our opinions are as Much good to the lost, as we would say as a chocolate fire guard. They're not going to help them in eternity. But God has given us, rather, as Paul says, committed unto us His message. Just share it. Give the people the Word of God. Just share with them a verse. Here's the verse that saved me. Here's the verse that God spoke to me through. Just get them the Word of God, and let the Word of God do its quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. However, and if you bear me just a couple of minutes to finish this, I want to, this is a very vital point when we come to the message of reconciliation. When it comes to sharing the message, we must be so very careful. of our approach. We must be careful not to be cold and callous with sinners. Oh, we must be so careful of not appearing to them as little more than salesmen for God. You know the way when you go into a car showroom and the salesman's all over you, and you think that you're the only person that he's ever sold a car to, and then you soon see through the whole thing that he's just interested in numbers. He's just trying to sell you a car, and the next customer comes in, he'll just be exactly the same. We aren't salesmen of God. We're ambassadors for Christ. Yes, we're to speak the truth, but we're to speak the truth in love. As that old adage says, it isn't what we say, but it's how we say it. The story is told that Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert, had a spot not long after they were married. Albert went away and angrily locked himself in their private residence at the palace. The Queen pounded furiously on the door, and when Albert asked who was there, the answer was the Queen of England, who demands admittance. But the door did not open. Victoria knocked again, and again Prince Albert asked who was there, and the answer was the same, the Queen of England. The prince would not open the door. Finally, the story goes, Victoria knocked in a more restrained way, and when asked who was there, responded, your wife, Albert. And the door immediately opened, and the royal couple were reconciled. Two approaches. Ram, Stam, batter the door, or gently knock and draw alongside. That just about sums it up when we come down to people's levels, remove all arrogance, and remember that we once sat where they sat, talked to them in love as one sinner to another. Oh, what a difference that will make. And I think it's vitally important we understand this. When it comes to telling people about the consequences of not getting saved, being eternally lost. I don't believe ranting and roaring, shouting, banging pulpits is the way that God intended it, because that's only going to turn people off. Shouting at them achieves nothing. Oh, it's important we tell them the whole gospel, we tell them those truths. But a far better way is in gentleness. because it's their eternal soul on the line. Not as if we're taking pleasure in telling people they're going to hell. Remember, God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, and certainly we shouldn't boast that we're going to heaven and you're going to hell if you're not saved. Some way put it arrogantly. Dear friends, we're to share how that they can have what we have. Give them the message simply, God's ambassadors are His avenues for appealing to this world. God has given us, given His ambassadors His word and His spirit, and all He asks us to do is share His message as it has been given. Oh, dear friend, as I finish this morning, He doesn't want us to dilute it, just deliver it. He doesn't want us to excuse it, just expound it. And He certainly never wants us to apologize for it, just announce it. not worrying about the results. That's the Lord's domain, just being faithful in showing and sharing His message till He comes or calls us home. A ministry and a message, the definition of an ambassador, the distinction of an ambassador, the duty of an ambassador. Every one of us in here who are saved, they're ambassadors for Christ. May the Lord help us to be more diligent in our duties for him as we seek to live before this lost world. Let's just pray.