The Duty is Ours - 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

Introduction

Approaching this time of the year in 1776, the American troops had won the Boston campaign, and were just about to declare America’s independence from England. For their independence to be complete, they still had one more big step ahead of them. America needed to have countries around the world to recognize their independence. This was a big task ahead of them, but it wasn’t too big for a diplomat like Benjamin Franklin.

The United States sent out Benjamin Franklin as an ambassador on a mission to have the American independence recognized by European powers. The natural choice was France, as they were enemies of England for ages. In December of 1776, Franklin set sail to France, determined to accomplish the goal for his country.

Having arrived in Paris, Franklin did his best to understand how French democracy worked. Unlike the Americans, French democrats did their business late at night at fancy dinner parties. When people were gathered around good food dressed up with sophisticated clothes were the best times to woo them with your politics. Benjamin Franklin caught that, and did his best to adapt to this environment.

Often times, he would join the democrats at their late night dinner parties, convincing them of the revolution happening in the western world. Franklin won the French over by painting a picture of a country full of people that had a fresh start, unaffected by the past. (Simple clothes, raccoon skin hat)

After more than a year of patient work and convincing, France finally decided to join the American cause, signing the Treaty of Paris on February 6th, 1778, recognizing America as a free nation. The war with England was finally over in 1782 when England agreed to give full independence over to America.

We’ve been sent as messengers of the Son of God, sent on a mission to share the hope of the Gospel. Having been reconciled to God, we have the duty to share the message of reconciliation to the world.

Open in prayer

I. The Messengers of Reconciliation - 2 Corinthians 5:17-18

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If you could sum up 2 Corinthians in one big idea, it would be Paul’s ministry as an apostle. The church in Corinth was no stranger to false teachers, they would infiltrate the church and spread their false doctrines. They especially focused on Paul, doing their best to undermine his authority as an apostle in order to lead the church members astray. This is mainly the reason why Paul writes 2 Corinthians, commotion and division was growing, and he wanted to keep things under control in the church. So, throughout the entire letter, Paul emphasizes the fact that God had chosen him to be an apostle of Jesus Christ with the Gospel. That’s what leads us to our passage in chapter 5, he has answered the where question with the circumstances of his ministry and the why question with his motivations. But now he turns to answer the what question. What is our duty as Christians?

Before we even consider what it is that we need to do, we must consider, who are the ones that are sent out on the Gospel mission?

a. They Are A New Creation - Vs. 17

The responsibility lies with those who have been transformed by the grace of God.

2 Corinthians 5:17

17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

The people that God chooses to send out are the ones who have been made a new creation. But in order to become a new creation, we have to be in Christ. To be “in Christ” means that we have been united with Him. We used to live in the sphere of the world, but because of the cross, we are brought into the sphere of His power, and we have a new relationship with Him we become one of His own. This is such a deep relationship, because we are not just with Christ, or around Christ, we are actually in Christ. We become a part of His body as we are united with Him by faith.

Illustration: Just like how grape branches get their life by being connected to the vine, we are vitally connected to Jesus if we have trusted in Him for our salvation.

What is true for all who are in Christ is a dramatic change in character. Verse 17 says that the “old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” The old things are passed away, they are gone, not to be seen again! Did you know that you are a completely new person if you’ve come to Christ? People notice the change!

Illustration: It’s funny how it works too. We come to Christ, and people notice that God is working on our lives. “You aren’t taking an extra half hour on your breaks anymore… what happened?!” “You started working harder and you actually volunteered to clean the washrooms, what’s going on with you?”

But that is the truth when we come to Christ, we are different people, changed by the grace of God, now living for the glory of God.

b. They Have A New Relationship - Vs. 18

Not only are God’s messengers transformed by His grace, they are also brought into a new relationship with Him.

2 Corinthians 5:18

And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

God uses those who have been brought into a right relationship with Him. That’s all that reconciliation is. as sinners, we have broken God’s perfect law, we have rebelled against Him and have offended Him. Our sins have cut the ropes of the bridge that brought us to God, and now we stand hopeless, with an infinite gap between us and God. But Christ came to do the work of reconciliation, He is the third party that comes in to restore the bridge that kept us from God. He brought us back to friendly terms with God, and so now we have a relationship with Him if we have accepted that offer.

Reconciliation means that there needs to be a messy relationship at first. In our case though, it is always we who need to be reconciled to the Lord. God has never rebelled or done wrong. We are the ones who have rebelled against His righteous standard, thus severing our fellowship with Him. It is our human sinfulness that created the problem, this sinful condition needs to be dealt with before there can be any reconciliation with God.

Think of the prodigal son. In his desire to fulfill his own lusts and “live it up” for once, he leaves his father and takes his inheritance. Like him we have lived our lives of that son; enjoying the pleasures of sin that last only for a season. But time came when we realized that we desperately needed to be received by our Father. Once we came to Him, He ran to us and lavished us with His grace.

If you’ve been made a new creature in Christ and you have a relationship with God, you are the person that God has sent on a mission, you are called and chosen by God to be His messenger!

2 Corinthians 5:18

and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

We are the ones who have been selected to serve the world on God’s behalf. It’s our duty to plunge in this world plagued in sin and blinded by the Devil so that we can save some from the destiny in hell that waits for them. You specifically have been called by God to jump into the lives of people around you so that you can point them to the Savior that can give them reconciliation.

Your co-workers are waiting to hear something more profound than small talk about your weekend plans; people all around you are waiting to find answers to life’s biggest questions, and you have the answers! You have the news that will set them free from their sin. You know the God who can give them comfort in this world of anxiety. You have the solution to your neighbor's problems.

II. The Responsibility of Reconciliation - 2 Cor. 5:19-20

We have the responsibility to share what we have been given, but what is that message that we share to the world? What does our ministry of reconciliation look like?

a. Our Message - Vs. 19

2 Corinthians 5:19

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.

God has already laid the foundation for us; thankfully, we don’t have to do the hard work. In God’s incredible plan, He was at work bringing the world back to Himself through Christ’s death on the cross. Now that doesn’t mean that everybody is going to be saved. What Paul is saying here is that Christ’s death on the cross makes it so that everyone is savable. The responsibility still lies in our hands whether or not we will accept the offer of being reconciled.

Verse 19 says that God was “not imputing their trespasses unto them;” This is an amazing truth that Jesus accomplished when He was on the cross. We’ve sinned against the Lord, Paul calls it transgression. Transgression is deliberate sin on our part, it is all of our choices that are against God’s righteous standard. We’ve defied our eternal creator, the debt we owe Him for our sin is beyond our ability to pay back to Him. But in grace, God chose not to impute our sins on us. Imputation is the simple idea of placing something into a person’s account. When we purchase our weekly batch of groceries at Costco, the cost of the groceries is charged to our account, and now we owe money to the bank. We’ve committed the sins against God, and because of that, our debt is infinite. But God chose not to put that debt into our own account. How is that possible? It’s all possible because on the cross, Jesus had your debt imputed to Him, it was all put into His account, He paid for the sin debt which is impossible for us to pay. The bank files that show records of your debt have been washed away, all because Jesus took that debt on Himself.

Illustration: Isn’t this great news? Imagine finding yourself with 1.5 million dollars in debt because all of a sudden your business fell through. Easy to say that you wouldn’t be a happy camper. Everything becomes a great burden, and the debt hangs low over your head wherever you go. How would you feel if you got a call from the bank, telling you that someone chose to pay that debt in full? I’d be having the best day of my life!

That is our state in Christ, the debt has been paid for the sins of the entire world.

Did you know that your debt for sin has been paid for. None of us can hide from the fact that we have rebelled against God.

Ecclesiastes 7:20

For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.

God’s Word testifies against you, whether or not you like to admit it, you have sinned against a just God. The debt is all accounted for, and if you don’t do anything about it, you will be punished in hell.

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Because of our sin, we must die, our lives on earth will end, and we will decay. But without Christ, you will face the second death, which is torment in hell for eternity. But your story doesn’t need to have this sad ending. You don’t need to face hell, there is a rescue. That rescue is Christ. Can’t you see that He died for you? Can’t you see that He loves you? He loved you so much that He was willing to bear the punishment for all of your sin. All of your bitter thoughts, all of your selfish desires, all of your wrong actions; He bore it all so that you don’t need to! I pray that your eyes would be opened so that you may see. What better day to come to a relationship with God the Father than Father’s day! If you come to Christ, asking for His grace and trusting that He will save you, you will receive eternal life.

This is the message that we have been given as believers who are sent out on God’s mission. We’ve been committed with the word, the logos of reconciliation. That means that we have a duty at hand, we’ve been given a divine responsibility to go fulfill. We’ve been sent on a mission to tell of this good news; that anyone can be reconciled to God if they but believe.

b. Our Role - Vs. 20

Knowing that we have been entrusted with the message of reconciliation, what is our role as we go out to do God’s work?

2 Corinthians 5:20

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 God’s ambassador. An ambassador is someone who is sent as a representative of their own country or ruler to another country. Ambassadors are highly respected for what they have to say because they represent the authority that sent them.

Illustration: Back in ancient times, ambassadors were sent out to others as a sign of friendship. They were essentially bearers of good news. Whenever a king would see a foreign ambassador coming, he knew that he was sent by another king to offer friendship and an alliance.

This is our role in the world. We have been selected by God to bear the good news of the Gospel and extend God’s offer of friendship. This truth is enough to keep us all dumbfounded. In God’s vast wisdom and perfect sovereignty, He chose us weak humans to be His representatives and spokespersons to the world. He could’ve used angels to spread the Gospel, He could’ve even spoken it to the world with His own voice. That would be pretty convincing, wouldn’t it be?

1 Corinthians 1:27

But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

God has chosen foolish little people like us to share His great news! We have the most precious gem that anyone could ever dig up, and we get to share it with the world! We are God’s spokespersons, so when you share the Word to your boss, to your co-worker, to the cashier, to your family, it is as if God is literally speaking to them through you. Just think of that, you get to be the mouth of God to the unsaved!

With that great privilege, we go to others, urging them “be ye reconciled to God.” “I’ve received His grace, I know He is real, I know He has saved me, and I know that He can save you!”

III. The Tidings of Reconciliation - 2 Corinthians 5:21

Knowing that we are the ones chosen to go in the world and that we’ve been entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation, the question is… What do I say? What do I talk about as I go into the world?

2 Corinthians 5:21

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.

A Perfect Savior

Our precious message is one that presents a perfect Savior. He “knew no sin”. It tells of a perfect person, fully man and fully God who is untouched by the curse of sin and has never had a sinful desire, thought or action. The message we share is one of our Savior who is perfect through and through.

A Vicarious Sacrifice

And this perfect Messiah “is despised and rejected of men; A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief:” We tell a message of Jesus Christ being wounded for our transgressions so that by His stripes we are healed.

A Reception of Righteousness

All this pain and sorrow so that we may become the righteousness of God by simple faith in Christ.

This is the content of our message, we share the hope that Jesus cared enough for the lost that He died for them!

Conclusion

For all of his efforts, Benjamin Franklin is recognized even today as America’s most important diplomat. He’s done incredible things, all by representing America to the world. As Christians, we represent an even higher Authority. What story will eternity tell by the efforts that you make as God’s ambassador? The call is clear, if you are a believer, you are qualified to join God’s mission. Will you fulfill your duty?