In Christ We Have Reconciliation

Introduction

Relationships can be difficult - have you experienced this? You love someone, you care about someone, but they frustrate you to no end because they don’t listen, they don’t understand, or maybe they continue doing something that is simply wrong. Studies show that 45%, nearly half, of adult siblings have relationships marked by rivalry between one another. A few years ago there was a story from the Wall Street Journal of twin brothers, Al and Elliot who not only were brothers but also roommates, graduates of the same college, and they even got married in the same month of each other! Eventually they had their own families and careers and drifted apart… Elliot became a lawyer and eventually a State Supreme Court Judge. Al started a business and then sold life insurance. The two brothers began to jab back and forth with one another - Al was jealous of Elliot’s fame as a lawyer and purchased a big boat… Elliot was jealous of Al’s boat and the fact that his life insurance selling brother made more money than he did.

Their relationship got worse and worse the older they got, and eventually after losing their mother, the brothers didn’t speak to one another for over a year… until one day Elliot heard a remarkable story of two men who had properties next to one another with a creek separating them. One man hired a carpenter to build a fence along the stream, but the carpenter built a bridge that connected both properties by mistake. Elliot emailed this story to his brother, Al, and said, “I’d like to walk over that bridge.”

We love stories of reconciliation where people are separated and brought back to one another. Maybe you’ve had a story like this with another person, but I pray that you’ve had this type of reconciliation story with God! God is in the business of reconciling us to Himself and building bridges to save our souls. This morning as we wrap up our series: Crosses, Crowns, and Celebration, we’re in 2 Corinthians 5:16-21, and we’re going to look at the incredible work that Jesus has done to save us and change our relationship with God forever!

2 Corinthians 5:16–21 CSB

16 From now on, then, we do not know anyone from a worldly perspective. Even if we have known Christ from a worldly perspective, yet now we no longer know him in this way. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! 18 Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. 19 That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” 21 He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Aren’t you thankful this morning for the work of Jesus? If you’re in Christ, you’re a new creation! Today, are you in Christ?

The Gospel Changes Our Mindset (16-17)

There are some things that are hard for us to understand until we experience them - not impossible, but extremely hard. As a young couple that discovered that we were going to have a baby, what did everyone tell us after the initial congratulations? SLEEP WHILE YOU CAN! We’re 23 years old - just graduated from college a year or two ago - how hard will it be to operate with a little less sleep than we’re currently getting? We’ll put our son to bed, get a couple hours of sleep, wake up for a few minutes to feed him, and go right back to sleep! How hard could that be to get a little less sleep!? Then you become parents and your mindset changes when it comes to sleep. Instead of just being something that you know you need, you genuinely have a craving for sleep - just a few hours of uninterrupted sleep! Praise God for this transition of becoming parents, praise God for the gift of children, praise God for new life, and praise God for a changed mindset that comes whenever we become parents!

We’ve all experienced a changed mindset - whether it’s becoming a parent, learning something new, playing sports, taking a new job, whatever it is. Paul in this passage talks about the change that happens whenever we are saved by grace through faith in Christ and become a Christian. He says “from now on” - meaning there is a specific time in your life where something changes. We know that whenever we meet Jesus, everything changes. John 3 tells us that we must be born again, and whenever you become a Christian, you are born of the Spirit.

John 3:6 CSB

6 Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit.

In our flesh, we’re tempted to have a certain mindset that is primarily centered on self. Self-help. Self-preservation. Self-promotion. There is a temptation to view Jesus in a self-serving way… the Jesus who is always there to do what I want Him to do. The Jesus who helps me get an A on the test I didn’t study for (you remember those 5 second prayers before a test in school?). The Jesus who brings about healing and prosperity. We love that Jesus because of the benefit that He brings… but that Jesus is like the genie from Aladdin. Often times we want Jesus to change our circumstances, when in actuality, Jesus wants to change us! Even as a believer, we wrestle with this at times - but Paul is saying that this is not where we’re supposed to stay. “Even if we have known Christ from a worldly perspective, or a self-serving mindset, we no longer know Him in this way.” As we grow in our understanding of the Gospel - as we see the depths of our sin and the heights of God’s grace, we better understand how desperately we need God to not only change things, but ultimately to change us. And the primary agent God uses to bring about that change is His Word! That’s why at South Gate Baptist Church we preach the Word - this is what God commands of His under-shepherds

2 Timothy 4:2 CSB

2 Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and teaching.

Why the Word? Because the Word is living, active, inspired, and authoritative. The Word changes our minds just as it changes our hearts and we should have a hunger and thirst for more of God’s Word, for Him to increase and ourselves to decrease, because verse 17 reminds us that if we are in Christ, we are a new creation!

Think about the access you have from being associated with certain people. My dad has been a pastor my entire life and because of that, I’ve experienced the pro’s and con’s of being a PK. All the eyeballs and hearing the criticisms about the church… but also being able to see God’s hand at work in ways I wouldn’t have known or seen otherwise. Why? Because I grew up in my father’s house and he was a pastor. Imagine if your dad was the President… think about all the things you’d see and hear and the access you’d have to do things all because of your dad! If anyone is in the President’s house, they have access to seemingly any earthly thing you could desire. But these things, as awesome as they might be, don’t hold a candle to 2 Corinthians 5:17 - if anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation.

Is this your story today? If you’re a born again, blood bought believer, this is your biography! Whenever you are saved by grace through faith in Christ, you become a new person! Your burden, your guilt, your past is just that, the past, you’re a new person. In Christ changes everything. If you’ve driven down Highway 65 to Branson, you see those massive rock formations that the highway cuts in between… imagine the explosion that was needed to cut through that rock and pave that road. What was there before is no longer there, something new is present. This is your story as a believer. Whether it was a sudden explosion or whether it was a year long process with a pick axe and a shovel, the result is the same - What was there before is no longer there, you’re a new creation as one who is in Christ. You are forgiven. You are adopted. You are delivered. You have a new heart - listen to the promise God made about the New Covenant

Jeremiah 31:31–34 CSB

31 “Look, the days are coming”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32 This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt—my covenant that they broke even though I am their master”—the Lord’s declaration. 33 “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days”—the Lord’s declaration. “I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “For I will forgive their iniquity and never again remember their sin.

How does God do this? By giving us a new heart. He forgives us of our sins forever! Friend, in Christ you are a new creation and this Gospel truth changes our mindset about the things we face today and the way we view the future.

The Gospel is Our Message and Mission (18-20)

As we think about the good news we call the Gospel, we know that this message starts out with bad news. Typically we don’t enjoy hearing bad news, but we also know that sometimes bad news is necessary news. A few months ago, my dad was told that he was going to have to have open heart surgery… that’s not necessarily news that you want to hear because to a normal person in a normal situation, that’s bad news! But for someone having heart complications, this bad news was necessary news to get to feeling better! The Gospel starts with good news, transitions to bad news, and then to glorious news.

Here’s the good news - God created a good world! A world where He walked in the Garden with mankind and everything was great… but shortly after this we see bad news as man sinned against God. How did this happen? In Genesis 3 we see a 3 tier problem: Eve followed the snake. Adam followed Eve. No one followed God. It’s all backward! They should have followed God. Adam should’ve smacked the snake. Eve should’ve followed Adam. But Adam was passive and Eve was deceived. Sin entered the world and sin causes problems. The bad news of the Gospel is that sin separates us from God. We all have sinned. We all fall short of God’s standard. See, we usually compare ourselves to other people. I do more good than they do. I don’t do the bad things that person does. At least I’m not like them! I’m above average. I’m pretty good compared to everyone else! Other people aren’t the standard, though… God is. What is God’s standard? The Bible says this

1 Peter 1:15 CSB

15 But as the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct;

God is holy. Meaning He is set apart. He is morally perfect. He is without sin. God’s standard is perfection! Do you see our problem today? We might look fine compared to other people, but we all fall woefully short here compared to God’s standard of sinlessness. This is the bad news of the Gospel. We fall short. We need help because we can’t save ourselves! Enter the great news of the Gospel - Jesus saves those who recognize they can’t save themselves! In other words, Jesus saves sinners who realize they are sinners in need of a Savior! Look at verse 18 - we see that God has reconciled us to Himself through Christ. This is the Gospel. Not that we save ourselves. Not that we are good enough… but that God knew we were separated. He knew we were without hope. He knew our failures, and He determined to send His Son to save us! Reconciliation means that there are two parties (at least) who are at odds with one another. We can think of reasons that we need reconciliation - maybe friends who are mad at one another, maybe a couple that is struggling to understand one another, maybe two co-workers who are frustrated about a miscommunication. What do we need? Reconciliation. The Bible shares that this work of reconciliation is what GOD does for us - not something we do, but what He has done! We were His enemies. We were separated. And He reconciled us to Himself through Christ.

Reconciled is a significant salvation word - justification is a legal declaration, reconciliation is a word that marks friendship. If you are a Christian, you are not only God’s child but God’s friend. How? Through the finished work of Jesus on the cross. He couldn’t overlook our sin - He sent His Son to pay for our sins and as those who are saved, He gives us the ministry of reconciliation! What this means in the context that Paul is writing in is that an ambassador was given authority from what we would consider a military general to go and speak with an enemy. The ambassador didn’t speak on his own authority, but on the authority of the general who sent him. He was respected not because of his own credentials, but the credentials of the person he was representing. Friends, if you are saved, you are an ambassador of the Lord Jesus and your message is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and your credentials are “In Christ.” Whenever we share the Gospel, Paul is arguing, we speak God’s truth and God’s Words, and God works through His Word. God doesn’t share this message of reconciliation by writing it in the sky or playing it through a microphone or blasting a trumpet, He speaks through redeemed people like you and me who obediently share the Gospel message far and wide. This is our message - Jesus Christ Still Saves Sinners! Our mission is to declare this message to our neighbors and the nations.

Do you see this in our text?

We are God’s ambassadors. This means that you are a representative for Christ wherever you’re at and with whatever you’re doing. That’s a humbling thought, isn’t it? That means that whenever we’re at work, we are an ambassador for Christ. Whenever we’re at the grocery store, we’re an ambassador for Christ. What does that mean for us, practically? We are to represent Christ well. It means that we demonstrate the fruit of salvation which is the Fruit of the Spirit. Ask yourself this: Whenever I leave a place or conversation, is the takeaway that I was kind, gentle, peaceful, loving, and patient? Y’all, can I be honest? There are times whenever I do a poor job being am ambassador for Christ. Anyone else? We don’t know what other people are going through, but we can always point them to Christ with our conduct and with our message. There are two ditches that people often fall into when it comes to evangelism - it’s only works, or it’s only words. In other words, some want to preach the Gospel without words and love people into heaven… and others want to yell hell, fire, and brimstone and get people out of hell.

As Christ’s ambassadors, we are called to proclaim the Gospel, and hear this: The Gospel is a message that you speak. You can’t preach the Gospel without using words. If all that we do is love on people, meet tangible needs, and say that we go to South Gate and we exist to love you then one day they will be told “Depart from Me for I never knew you” and wish that you and I had told them the truth of the Gospel as they go to hell believing that Christians are just a bunch of people who do nice things for other people. I pray that that’s our reputation! That we do meet needs and love others as Christ has loved us, but I pray more than that that we are known as those who have been radically changed because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that the same Gospel that saved us and changed us is the same Gospel that we proclaim to our neighbors and the nations as we plead for others to be reconciled to God through the blood of Jesus! See, Reconciled People Live Reconciled Lives. We desire to see lives changed because of the Gospel message and by living a changed life!

Our message is not pull yourself up by the boot straps. Our message is not try harder. Our message is not reconcile yourself to God… our message in the Gospel is be reconciled to God through the finished work of Jesus Christ. This is not simply good advice, but good news that changes everything and this is our message to proclaim and it’s our mission as a believer to share this far and wide as ambassadors who are commissioned by Jesus

The Gospel is A Miracle (21)

The Gospel changes our mindset as we look at the world differently because of what Jesus has done. The Gospel changes our daily lives as we realize that our life is no longer about ourselves… but about our Savior and our mission is to share His Gospel. Finally, as we look at this good news we realize that the Gospel truly is a miracle. What do we mean by that? If you look up miracle in a dictionary, you’ll find something along these lines: A surprising event that is not easily explainable. I’ve shared the story before of a Sunday School teacher I had in Junior High who was pronounced brain dead and who was all but dead one minute… fast forward a few days and he starts talking. That is a surprising event that is not easily explained as the doctors literally had no answer for what happened! This is a miracle.

Friend, your salvation is a miracle. It is a surprising event that is not easily explained. What does that mean? Think of the cost of our salvation - the life of the eternal Son of God. Think of the recipients of salvation - fallen sinners who have dropped the ball a million times. Think of the duration of salvation - eternity. Do you see how this truly is not easy to explain on one hand. Why would God send His Son to the cross to die for sinners who could never deserve salvation so that we could be with Him forever? See, salvation makes a lot of sense if we think that we’re perfect. Salvation makes a lot of sense if we view ourselves as sinless. But that’s not the story that we see in Scripture, look at Romans 5:6

Romans 5:6 CSB

6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.

We were helpless. We were ungodly. We were separated from God. This is true of all of us before Christ!

Isaiah 53:5–6 CSB

5 But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds. 6 We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished him for the iniquity of us all.

Your salvation is a miracle because you, like me, were separated from God. You were going your own way. You were dead in sins and trespasses… but God, because of His grace and mercy and love, sent His Son to die for your sins and His Spirit to change your heart and save your soul. We might expect, as Romans 5:7 does, someone to die for a just person. A family member. A close friend… but an enemy? No way! Yet, this is what reconciliation means - it means that you were once an enemy of God but because of Jesus you are now at peace with God.

How does this happen? Verse 21 answers this for us. 2 Corinthians 5:21 shows us that we are accepted by God not because of what we bring to the table, but because of what Jesus brings. Not because of what we have done, but because of what Christ has done for us. We stood condemned, separated, alienated, dead in our sins… but God imputes the righteousness of Jesus onto our account so that whenever God looks at you He see’s the righteousness of His Son.

Martin Luther, “Who can even begin to appreciate what this royal marriage means? Who can comprehend the riches of this glorious grace? Christ, the rich and divine groom marries this poor, wicked, unfaithful bride. Redeems her from all of her evil, and adorns her with all of His goodness. It is now impossible for her sins to destroy her, for they are laid on Christ and swallowed by Him… I have sinned, nevertheless, the one in whom I trust, Christ, has not. Because of our marriage, all that is His is mine, and all that is mine is His.” This is the Great Exchange. You give Jesus your sin… and Jesus gives you His righteousness. This isn’t fair. This is Amazing Grace. This is Radical Love. This is the Christian Gospel and, friends, it is a miracle!

Whenever you see a miracle happen, what do you do? You share that news! If someone was facing a terminal diagnosis but they survive, you’re excited to share that story. If someone was facing a problem they couldn’t solve, but it was taken care of for them, you share that exciting news. Whenever we are reconciled to God through the Cross of Christ, there is a natural excitement to share this miraculous news with others. We were lost, but now we’re found. We were blind, but now we see. We were dead, but now we’re alive! We are reconciled to God and our desire is to see others come to have this same hope and joy and peace as well - we do this by sharing the Gospel message!

We share this good news faithfully and fervently. We can think of this message in 4 scenes:

Creation

God made a perfect world

Fall

Man sinned against God and sin creates problems

Redemption

God provides redemption for sinful humanity through the cross of Christ

Restoration

We respond to God’s redemption and are reconciled to God as God works out His plan of restoring this broken world one person at a time

These are the main scenes of the Bible and they’re all important! God made a perfect world, but we dropped the ball. We sinned. And because Adam was the first human and because he sinned as the head of humanity, we inherit this sinful, fallen nature. Because of this, God would be justified in saving none of us. It would be perfectly right for God to give us what we deserve right now, which is eternal separation from Him. Many in our world get uncomfortable whenever we talk in these absolutes. Our society says that this isn’t tolerant. It’s not kind. It’s not loving. Even in our hearts, we struggle at times because of our emotions and connections with people who think and believe differently than us about very important things. Titus 1:9

Titus 1:9 CSB

9 holding to the faithful message as taught, so that he will be able both to encourage with sound teaching and to refute those who contradict it.

It’s been said before that as a pastor, you have to have 2 voices: one for gathering sheep, and one for driving away wolves. What does that mean? At one moment, you’re encouraging, uplifting, and exhorting Christians to continue in the Christian life and grow in their walk with the Lord… and at another moment, you’re correcting and rebuking false teaching. Christ has given us the ministry of reconciliation and the only way we can be successful in this ministry is to share the message of reconciliation. All that stands between eternal heaven and eternal hell is the message of the Gospel. Whenever the Gospel is faithfully preached, that preaching will undoubtedly step on toes because it forces us to remember where we are without Jesus. Lost. Dead in sins. Hopeless. It also forces us to realize that Jesus is the only hope that we have. It’s not Jesus plus good works. It’s not be a nice person. It’s not another person or prophet. It’s just Jesus… and that means that we have to get Jesus right. If the only way to be reconciled and redeemed is through the finished work of Jesus, it’s imperative that we believe rightly in Jesus!

Jesus wasn’t created by God - Jesus is God.

Jesus isn’t Satan’s brother - Satan is created, Jesus is eternal.

Jesus isn’t just a wise person - Jesus is the Lord of Lords.

Jesus isn’t kind of God and man - Jesus is fully God and man - if He isn’t fully God and fully man then He couldn’t die for sinners and forgive sins!

Jesus isn’t one way to God - He is the ONLY way to God.

God is so gracious that He made a way when there was no way. He sent His Son to seek and save sinners. To give us a new life and a new hope and an incredible future. AW Tozer once said, “The only sin Jesus ever had was ours and the only righteousness we can ever have is His.” We celebrate the Gospel of Jesus Christ not as a message that we add to, but a message that we rest in. We don’t celebrate that God needed us, but that we desperately needed God and God did for us what we could not do for ourselves. He reconciles us. We are released from our sin and shame and we are set free to follow Jesus and proclaim His good news! This is what we exist to do at South Gate, as those who have been reconciled to God, we desire to see others reconciled too! How do we do this? We all have a role to play!

Matt Smethurst recently shared this helpful and healthy statement: Pastors/Elders lead ministry. Deacons facilitate ministry. Congregation does ministry. We all play a role in this ministry of reconciliation. Our statement of faith, the BFM 2000 reminds us that Scripture is clear: Pastors/Elders/Overseers are the spiritual leaders of the New Testament Church and they are tasked to lead this ministry through the preaching and teaching of the Word when we gather. Through the ordinances of the church - Baptism and Lord’s Supper. Pastors/Elders lead ministry. Deacons facilitate ministry - you want to know where to serve? Ask a deacon! At that same point we could say, ask a staff member! These folks facilitate ministry as they provide for needs and get people plugged in to help those in need. Finally, though, we all have a role to play in ministry. See, sometimes we think that ministry is only for paid people but a “minister” is one who serves in the church. Every pastor is a minister, but not every minister is a pastor. A minister is not an office in the church. A minister is one who serves publicly and this is ultimately the call for every member of the local church: Paid or Not! Every member at South Gate is a minister and we all have a role to play in this process of sharing with others the Gospel message of Jesus Christ and of their need to be reconciled to God!

So, how are we doing with this God-given task?

Embrace Your Newfound Identity as a Reconciled Person

You are IN CHRIST and you are a new creation! This means that you think, live, and talk differently because of your newfound identity of being in Christ. In your conversations, actions, and relationships, remember that Jesus has saved you and given you peace and friendship with God - let that guide you as you walk throughout this life

Extend Reconciliation With Others

God sought to reconcile you to Himself whenever you had sinned against Him. We have had people wrong us that we need to forgive… and we’ve wronged other people who we need to ask forgiveness from. This isn’t easy - and this doesn’t mean that you have to have the same relationship with the person as before… but this text demands that we seek reconciliation with others because God has sought this with us and gives us this task today

Enter Your Mission Field with Reconciled Eyes

God saved you whenever you were a sinner and God continues to save sinners today. As you go throughout your week - at home, at your job, at summer school, at your sport practice, ask the Lord to help you see people where they are at and bloom where God plants you! Enter your mission field this week as someone with reconciled eyeballs - you were saved by grace and you have a mission to help others see their need for Christ and the salvation that He alone can provide!

Today, you can receive a crown because Jesus bore your cross! But there will be no crown-wearers who were not first cross-bearers. Today, friend, look to God’s Word and see the good news of Scripture! Jesus died for sinners and gives sinners an incredible hope of a new life, a new purpose, a new standing, a new name, a new family. Today these things are available to YOU and it’s all because of Jesus.

How can you be reconciled to God? Realize your situation - you are separated from God because of your sin… but God is so good and gracious that He sent Jesus to deal with that problem once and for all. So today, He calls on you to turn away from sin and trust alone in the finished work of Jesus. Repent of your sin and be reconciled to God. If that is your need today, as we pray, ask the Lord to save you and change you, and come talk with someone about this incredible news!