2 Corinthians 5:11-6:2

Paul moves into this topic by referring to his critics who apparently have claimed that he was out of his mind for believing that Christ died for our sins and then rose again from the dead. Come to think of it, nothing much has changed; people today say that we are “deluded” in our beliefs along these lines. Yet for Paul, and hopefully for us as well, it was a great deal more than just a belief in Christ, for that belief brings with it far reaching implications:

For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. (5:14-15)

We don’t simply believe the historical fact that Jesus died for our sins on the cross, was buried, and then rose again from the dead; now, what’s for lunch? Instead, when we accept this set of facts, we are compelled by His great demonstration of love for us, to make changes in our lives, not because He forces us to, but because we want to. When this transformation takes hold, people say we’re crazy. Paul sums up the changes this way:

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (5:16-17)

In verses 18-19 Paul restates his message of Christ’s ministry on the cross and its result, and then says…

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (5:20-21)

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are His ambassadors in this world, which is no longer our home; everything has changed. God is making His great appeal to all humanity to be reconciled to Him through Christ, and His great appeal is being made through us. Just think for a moment, God’s eternal plan to redeem humanity, the plan that was hidden for ages is now underway. We have been reconciled to Him, and now we have a part to play in achieving God’s ultimate purpose, which is that we would not keep His grace only for ourselves, but that we would share it with everyone we come into contact with, and by putting His grace into practice, we would become His righteousness in a world where true righteousness is in short supply. Notice that this righteousness is not about keeping rules, but instead, is all about sharing God’s love.

With a message like this, we are faced with a question: What will I do today to bring His message of reconciliation to someone who needs it?