Building the Body Through Evangelism
Body Building 2020 • Sermon • Submitted
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Transcript
Handout
Handout
Introduction
Introduction
Attention (Why should they listen to you?)
What is the Hearer’s problem?
What is the Biblical Solution?
What do the hearers need to know?
Main Textual Idea:
Main Idea: Because You are Reconciled BY God, You are a Reconciler FOR God!
Main Idea: Because You are Reconciled BY God, You are a Reconciler FOR God!
Interrogative:
Interrogative:
Transition:
Body
1. You Have A New View of Jesus (vs. 16-17)
1. You Have A New View of Jesus (vs. 16-17)
Lead in...What is the tension here?
From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
2 Cor
Explanation -
Explanation -
“From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh.” - Paul had a new view of people because he had been made new by Jesus. He no longer evauated people on their outsides, but instead he viewed them as eternal creatures. People destined for heaven or hell. We would do well to look at people in the same light...
“Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.” -
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” - Paul understood this transformation better than anyone!
Paul wasn’t simply a passive unbeliever that kept to himself. No! He was a persecutor of the church! ()
And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
Paul was “in Christ” - In other words, he had a spiritual relationship with Jesus because he believed the message that he was confronted with. He believed the gospel. And because he believed the gospel, he was identified with Christ (; )
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
To be “in Christ” is brought about by the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He is the “Agent of regeneration” and the “giver of divine birth”
he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
This happens through belief in Christ
Paul was once a slave to sin and self.
to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,
That slavery for Paul was gone! He was a “New creature in Christ.”
and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
And because he was new, He now had a new perspective of Jesus and, for that matter, all people! He no longer looked at people according to the flesh and he no longer looked at Jesus according to the flesh. He, because of his conversion, because of the transformational ministry of the Holy Spirit in his life, now looks at People and Jesus with an spiritual and eternal perspective.
To paraphrase C.S. Lewis, everyone you meet is an eternal being. One who will spend an eternity in Hell, or one who will be eterally praising the Lord in the Glories of Heaven!
Illustration - How other faiths view Christ...
Muslims view Christ as a prophet and good teacher.
Buhdists view Christ as
Atheists view Christ as a charlatan
Prior to my salvation, I didn’t give Christ much thought...
Argumentation - How you view Christ and other people is a barometer on your relationship with God.
Application - Are you reconciled? Do you have a right relationship with God? The God of the bible? The ONLY way you can have a right relationship with God is if you have the proper view of Jesus. Because if you have the proper view of Jesus, you will recognized your need to repent of your sin and selfishness and believe that Jesus is the only way you can relate to God.
Are you reconciled?
Review - Because You are Reconciled BY God, You are a Reconciler FOR God!
A Reconciler Has a New View of Jesus
You Have a New View of Jesus
Because you are a reconciler...
2. You Have A God Given Message (vs. 18-19)
2. You Have A God Given Message (vs. 18-19)
Lead in...What is the tension here?
All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
18-19
Explanation - Messages are an important means of communication...
Explanation -
“All this is from God,” - All of what is from God? The “this” is referring to the regeneration and reconciliation that Paul and every believer has experienced!
In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Important reality check - God is the creator of all things! “All this is from God!”
Christ’s first creative work called all things into existence.
For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
But God didn’t stop there. Not only did he create, but He recreated!!
Christ’s re-creation work gives eternal life to all that believe. And this re-creation work was accomplished through the finished work of the cross.
“who through Christ reconciled us to himself” - God the Father used God the Son to solve the problem that He has with humankind. How? Well, we can understand it more clearly when we understand what the word “Reconciliation” actually means.
Reconciliation - “The emphasis of reconciliation is that of making peace with God. Man who was estranged from God is brought into communion with God. Sin had created a barrier between man and God and rendered man hostile toward God. Through Christ that enmity and the wrath of God was removed. Reconciliation may this be defined as ‘God removing the barrier of sin, producing peace and enabling man to be saved…the word reconciliation comes from the Greek word katalosso, which means ‘to effect a change...’(The Moody Handbook of Theology).”
God desired to be reconciled with His creation. He desired to be reconciled to you! And it was the sacrifical death of Christ on the cross that made this possible.
This is what Paul means when he says...
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
My dear friends! If you are in Christ like Paul was in Christ, you are no longer considered an enemy of God but you are right with Him! You are right with the one who could cast you into eternal Hell!
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
But for those of us in Christ, we no long need to fear! We, like Paul, are RIGHT with God! We are FREE in Christ! We are no longer SLAVES to SIN and SELF!
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
You and I have PEACE with God!
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,
Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
Now, I have a question for you. Do you think the Apostle thought that he should keep this glorious message to himself? Do you get the idea that he thought that he should just hold on to the fact that God has provided reconciliation for the lost world, to himself?
in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison,
Well we get the answer to this question in the next part of verse 18. Paul recognizes that God gave him a job to do!
“and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” - In other words, Paul isn’t to simply sit on this message, but the message is a ministry in and of itself. Paul’s distinct privilidge is to let the world know that they can be RIGHT with God! Paul, a weak and frail human was used of God in his weakness to deliver the most powerful news ever!
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
And if you read through the New Testament, you will surely understand the broad and eternal impact of Paul! He, most defiantly did NOT sit on this powerful message. What is this message? Paul clarifies in verse 19...
“that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them,” - This is a world-wide endevor. God isn’t merely working in one localized area. He has a global vision of reconciliation
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
“not counting their trespasses against them,” -
By the way, reconciliation isn’t a given for every person in the world. That’s called Universalism and that is a heresy of the highest order. God’s process of reconciling includes in it the stipulation that one, by faith repents of their sin and believes that Christ is their only hope for eteral life.
God’s reconciliation goal is global! He desires for all to be saved and come to repentance. And he desires to use men like Paul. In fact, He TRUSTED men like Paul to get the message out.
“and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” -
As you can see from Paul’s words, the ministry of reconciliation is directly related to the message of reconciliation. What is the message?
God has made peace available with all people through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross which satisfied the much deserved wrath of God to be poured upon us.
The bottom line here is this, the ministry of reconciliation is sharing the message of reconciliation. Paul was entrusted with this message and I say he did an amazing job of communicating this message to whomever he could. And because he was faithful in this task, you and I have heard the gospel in our age.
Paul was a faith messenger of reconciliation.
Illustration - imagine being entrusted with a message that, if delivered properly, would have the potential of preventing millions of deaths...
Argumentation - Paul’s was faithful, but Paul is resting and worshiping Jesus now. The job has been left to this generation. It only takes one generation to forget about God.
And in his book “You Lost Me,”
Application - Christian, you have a message to share! The message of reconciliation! If I live to 85 years old, I’ve got 34 years left to do my part. Some of you have more time than me and some have less. But we all have a finite amount of time to faithfully transmit the message of reconciliation.
Would you say you share Paul’s desire and passion to let people know that there is peace with God available to them through Christ alone?
Review - Because You are Reconciled BY God, You are a Reconciler FOR God!
You Have a New View of Jesus
You Have a God Given Message
Because you are a reconciler...
3. You Are More Than A Delievery Service (vs. 20-21)
3. You Are More Than A Delievery Service (vs. 20-21)
Lead in...What is the tension here?
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
-22
Explanation - The clarification Paul makes in these last two verses is quite interesting. He makes it clear that he and his group are much more than delivery people. They are, in fact, in a much more nobel ranking. Look again at verse 20...
Explanation -
“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.” - an ambassador is a far cry from a mere messenger. John MacArthur says an ambassador is “a representative of a kind from one country to another…a messenger representing the King of heaven with the gospel, who pleads with the people of the world to be reconciled to God, who is their rightful King.”
“” -
Quite literally Paul claims to be a mouthpiece of God Himself.
παρακαλέω parakaleō urge; implore; exhort
BDAG call to one’s side; appeal to, urge, exhort, encourage; request, implore, entreat; comfort, encourage, cheer up; invite in, conciliate, be friendly to; speak to in a friendly manner
Imagine! God appeals to His rebellious creation! That is an amazing demonstration of grace in and of itself. God doesn't force Hiself on the unbelieving, he urges them.
How does He urge them? Through the passionate mouth of Paul...
“We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” - Implore means to “beg.” Can you imagine this? This one word speeks to the passionate heart of the apostle. Paul knew the realities awaiting those who would never come to faith in Christ - the gruesome, horrific realities. Paul also knew better than most the glories that were awaiting those who trust Christ.
So, he ain't to proud to beg!
Nor was Spurgeon...
“If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for.” ― Charles Spurgeon
― Charles Spurgeon
This is exceedingly convicting to me! I’m so far from this kind of attitude.
God will save and he is using me, as his ambassador to convince people of reality and need of the gospel!
And this is the gospel...
“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” -
Folks, Paul was more than a messenger, he was an ambassador for Christ! He spoke the authoritative message of God on behalf of God!
Illustration -
Argumentation -
Application - Paul isn’t the only one called to be an ambassador and speak on behalf
Review - Because You are Reconciled BY God, You are a Reconciler FOR God!
You Have a New View of Jesus
You Have a God Given Message
You Are More Than A Delievery Service
Because you are a reconciler...
Conclusion
Review opening illustration (if appropriate)
Action they should take
Land the Plane
Connection Group Reflection Questions
1. What do these verses teach me about Man and His character?
2. What do these verses teach me about God and his character?
3. Because these words are from God, they are TRUTH! What truth he asking me to believe?
4. What do I need to do to obey him?
5. With whom can I share these truths?