Going to Others

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a) Today we are going to wrap up our series we began at the beginning of the year walking through our mission & vision here at CrossWay. Our mission is to Love God, Love People & Make Disciples. But we’ve also looked at our vision, or how we live out that mission.

b) We seek to be a Rom. 12 community that makes much of Jesus by gathering to worship Him, by growing to become more like Him & by going to others to tell them about Him. The local church is called to be a people who gather to worship the Lord & grow to become more like Him.

c) But the church is also a sent or scattered people. We are sent & scatter not just to live out the gospel, but to go to others w/ the gospel. We gather & grow to be equipped, inspired, challenged & reminded of our mission to go & tell others about Jesus, which is the 3rd & final part of our vision.

d) If you have your Bible let’s begin by hearing God’s holy word in 2 Cor. 5:17-20. Read & Pray

Introduction

I’ve titled today’s sermon “Going to Others.”

a) Several years ago, we gathered in our home to study a book called Gospel Centered Community. Here’s a quote from that book: “A gospel-centered community is a people moving toward others as God has moved toward them. It’s a people increasingly orienting their lives around God’s mission”

b) Today, many churches & Christians have adopted a “come to us” mentality. It’s like that famous line in the movie the Field of Dreams: “If you build it, they will come.” Now, that line made for a great movie, but it makes for a bad way of being ambassadors for Christ. And why?

c) B/c it doesn’t accurately reflect how God treated us. If God waited for us to come to Him, we would still be dead in our sins. Rom. 3 says none of us were seeking God, so God moved toward us. He stepped out of heaven & into time & space & took on flesh & dwelt among us.

d) The message of the gospel is God moved toward us when we weren’t moving toward Him. To be His ambassadors means taking His appeal to others. We take the initiative & go to them.

Here’s out 1st point. The mission of going to others is given to those God has reconciled to Himself

a) God sent His Son into the world so sinners like us might be reconciled to Him. Christ came not to bring judgement, but salvation. Jesus said in Jn. 12:46-47: “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. If anyone hears my words & does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.”

b) As the 1st part of v19 says, “in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them.” And how does God do that in Christ? Look at v21: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

c) Jesus, the eternal Son of God, who existed w/ the God the Father for all eternity was sent by the Father, & came into the world, to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. The Son of God took on flesh & became like us, fully God & fully man, to do what Adam failed to do.

d) He lived a perfectly obedient life, perfectly obeying His father in heaven. He perfectly loved His Father in heaven w/ all His heart, mind, soul & strength. He perfectly loved His neighbor.

e) He perfectly imaged God on earth as we were created to do. As v21 says, Jesus was like us in every respect except for 1, He was w/o sin. God the Father in His love & grace & mercy sent His Son not only to live a perfect & holy & righteous life, but to be the perfect sacrifice for us & our sin.

f) As 1 Pet. 2:24 says, Christ came & bore our sins on the cross. Our Lord allowed the sin of all those the Father had given him to be placed on Him. Our sin was reckoned to be His sin. On the cross, Jesus took our sin, guilt & shame upon Himself & paid the penalty & punishment for us & our sin.

g) He paid the debt our sin deserved. He not only died a physical death, but was forsaken by His Father in heaven. As Jesus cried in Matt. 27:46: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” He was separated from His Father in heaven, who He had shared fellowship w/ for all eternity.

h) God the Father made Him, His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to be sin who knew no sin. And why according to v21? So that in Him, being united to Him by faith, we might be made righteous. So we might be made acceptable in God’s sight & be reconciled to a right relationship w/ God.

i) Christ not only takes away our sin, but gives us His righteousness. And He not only gives us His righteousness, but He gives us new, abundant & eternal life. As v17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

j) Although Paul doesn’t use the language of being born again, born from above, or born of the Spirit as Jesus did w/ Nicodemus in John 3, it’s the same thing. It’s a new birth. It’s being made spiritually alive to God. It’s not merely mending our ways or changing our bad habits.

k) It’s a radical work of spiritual re-creation of our inner being. In Christ, you are a new creation by the gracious & life-giving power of God. In Christ, you have a new identity: a beloved son & daughter of God. A fellow heir w/ Christ. An adopted child of the one true & living God.

l) United to Christ by faith, you have a new master. You are no longer a slave to sin & death, but a slave to God & righteousness. United to Christ by faith, you have a new power. God’s Spirit now dwells in you. United to Christ by faith, you have a new hope & destiny. In Christ, you are new.

m) As 2 Cor. 4:6 says: “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” In Christ, we are new creations. We are forgiven & accepted by God. We are made new & reconciled to God.

But 2nd notice in our passage that’s not the end of our story. In Christ we have a new role & mission

a) Look at v18, “All this is from God who through Christ reconciled us to himself & gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” v19, “entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” Or as v20 tells us, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.”

b) We are not just reconciled & made new in Christ, we have a new role & mission in Christ. Paul uses the image of an ambassador so we understand this role & mission. An ambassador’s purpose is to deliver a message. Not just any message, but the message they’ve been sent to proclaim.

c) Think about a US ambassador. The President selects & empowers a person to deliver his messages. An ambassador doesn’t alter those messages, nor do they fail to deliver those messages, no matter how they or their message might be received. Ambassadors deliver the message given to them.

d) See, if we understand our role as ambassadors for Christ, it removes our excuses. The fear of offending or being rejected doesn’t change our responsibility to deliver His message. Some of us have become so fearful about offending, or being rejected, we simply don’t go to others.

e) We don’t deliver His message. We don’t allow God to make His appeal through us. But we are His ambassadors. What was Paul’s message at end of v20: “We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” We’re called to implore those apart from Christ: be reconciled to God.

f) That was Paul’s life mission & message. And as v18 says, “All this is from God.” Not only is salvation of & from God, so too is our new role & mission. God is at work in His redeemed & reconciled people to make His appeal through us so others might be reconciled to Him.

g) God has not just saved us through Christ to gather & grow, but to go. The Creator of the universe, who holds everything in His hands, all the galaxies, every grain of sand, who governs all that happens from the rise & fall of nations to every bird that falls from the sky.

h) He has decreed that He will accomplish His work of reconciliation through us – His people. Think about that. As we open our mouths, God makes His appeal through us. See, don’t think this was just meant only for the Apostles. Remember what Peter said to Christians in 1 Pet. 2:9:

i) “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” You & I are the voices of His excellencies. See, this also isn’t a missionary calling.

j) It’s our Christian identity. We are those saved by God, who gather to worship to Him & grow to become like Him & who go to proclaim His excellencies to others. God doesn’t thunder the gospel from heaven. He speaks it on earth through those He has already reconciled to Himself.

So 3rd & finally, how do we go about fulfilling this role & mission we’ve been given.

a) Turn w/ me to 1 Pet. 3:13-15. Peter is writing her to Christians who are suffering & being persecuted for their faith. What advice did Peter give to them about their mission of being Christ’s ambassadors? Look at what he says in 1 Pet. 3:13-15:

b) “Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness & respect.”

c) Peter was like us. He understood that fear will keep you from being a faithful ambassador for Christ. So Peter 1st urges those of us in Christ: “have no fear of them.” The fear of others enslaves us. It traps us. It keeps us from doing what we’ve been called to do.

d) So how do you overcome this? Peter says by fearing God more than man. Look at v14: “have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”

e) We must redirect a fear of man to a fear & honor of the Lord. It’s awe of Christ that makes us good ambassadors for Christ. He has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love & a sound mind. We must live w/ a humble confidence in Him & a humble reverence for the work He’s given to us.

f) But notice also, we must be prepared. We are to be ready at all times & places. When I was young & played Little League baseball, 1 of the 1st things the coaches taught us was to be in a ready position. Our eyes couldn’t be wandering around & we couldn’t be picking flowers in the outfield.

g) We had to be attentive to the batter & to when the ball was pitched & be ready for the ball to come our way. Why? B/c if you weren’t ready the ball could go right past you or even hit you. To be ready didn’t mean knowing what would happen, but being ready for what would happened.

h) See, being ready doesn’t mean having all the answers to every big question someone could ask. I don’t know about you, but I always have the perfect answer, but it’s usually 2 hours after someone asks me a question. No, we must be ready to have conversations w/ people.

i) Being an ambassador for Christ is having a conversation, not simply a dialogue or a download of information. If we simply provide a 5-minute monologue about the gospel, w/o knowing that person & where there hope & faith lies, we will be less effective.

j) See, Jesus never used a canned presentation or long monologues. He had conversations w/ individuals. He asked questions to search their heart. Faith is personal. It’s about that person coming to saving faith & placing their trust in the person & work of Jesus Christ.

Spurgeon said: “It will not save me to know Christ is a Savior. But it will save me to know Christ is my Savior.” What makes them tick? What idols are in their heart? What fears do they have? But to have this conversation, as v15 says, we must do so w/ gentleness & respect.

l) That’s what Jesus did. We need to listen just as much as we speak. Ask them questions. If you want people to ask you about your faith, ask them questions to see where their faith lies. See, the spread of Christianity in the 1st C. was astonishing.

m) It advanced b/c Christians took their responsibility to go to others seriously. But it also advanced b/c they believed God & His gospel possessed the power to change hearts & lives. It advanced b/c they prayed for opportunities & for the courage & boldness to go.

n) We read in Acts 4:29, “And now, Lord, look upon their threats & grant to your servants to continue to speak your word w/ all boldness, while you stretch out your hand…” See, Peter doesn’t say be prepared to defend the faith, but to defend “the hope that is in you.”

o) Biblical hope is a sure confidence. To be an effective witness you need more than a good answer or argument. You need a rock-solid confidence in the gospel. As Paul says in Rom. 1:16-17:

p) “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” If we understand that even our faith is a work & gift of God, then we rightly understand being His ambassadors doesn’t depend on our eloquence, knowledge or ability.

q) It frees us to simply & deeply trust God & His power & the power of the gospel to produce the fruit He desires. We realize although we are ambassadors for Christ, it is God Himself making His plea through us. See, you & I need more than logical answers to be ambassadors for Christ.

r) We need a heart captivated by Christ. To His ambassador, He must be your true & living hope. That’s why a new Christian w/o formal theological training or vast Biblical knowledge can be an ambassador. They radiate hope in Christ. Every true Christian possesses this hope.

s) An unbeliever may not grasp your theology, but they can grasp your hope. We proclaim who God is, who we are apart from Christ, what sin is, who Jesus is, what He has done for us & how they must respond. As Paul says in 1 Cor. 3:7, we plant & water, but we trust God w/ & for the growth.

t) Being ambassadors for Christ is sharing the good news that Christ died for sinners & then calling others to repent & believe. John the Baptist proclaimed that message in Matt. 3. Jesus Himself proclaimed that message in Matt. 4 & throughout the gospels.

u) Peter at Pentecost proclaimed that same message in Acts 2. Every healthy member of the body of Christ proclaims that same message.

Conclusion. Let me end this way.

a) Are you confident that the gospel is the power of God to save? Does the way you speak to others about Jesus demonstrate confidence in the gospel? Can others see your hope in the way you live & work & play? Can others see your hope in how talk to & treat them & other people?

b) See, you & I can take an evangelism course. We can read evangelism books. We can write out our gospel presentation & testimony. We can memorize verses. Those things are good things. But that still doesn’t mean you will go & engage w/ non-Christians & be an ambassador for Christ.

c) See, allowing God to make His appeal through us is 1st & foremost a heart issue, not an ability or methods issue. Although the how is important, the want to is usually the biggest problem. This heart issue can arise for several reasons. It could be b/c you had a lack of success in the past.

d) It could be the inconvenience or risk associated w/ sharing the gospel. But as Jesus said, we always speak out of the overflow of the heart. We always talk most about what we love, treasure, revere & hope in. Ask yourself honestly, do I long to see those who separated from God reconciled to Him?

e) Do you have genuine friendships w/ non-Christians? Are you praying for specific non-Christians? The 1st step in being an ambassador for Christ is not possessing all the answers, but possessing a true hope in Him. It’s about Christ being in you & others being able to see Christ through you.