By: Dale Weckbacher
2 Corinthians 5:17-18
Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.[a] The old has passed
away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from
God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the
ministry of reconciliation
(ESV)
A fresh start, that is what God
provides by His grace to those choosing to make Jesus their savior. I remember growing up and having the pastor
of my church having people share their testimonies of how they came to accept
Jesus as their savior. For some these
stories were stories of great transformation from lives of sin or addictions to
a renewed life as a devout Christian, but for others, the stories were more
about a process of salvation usually from someone raised in the church coming
to realize their need for a savior through the accumulation of teaching in
their life. Having been one raised in
the church all my life my testimony leans more toward a process with the
accumulated teaching bringing me to the realization I need Jesus in my
life. I used to have some doubts about
my salvation since it was not some instantaneous process and dramatic change in
life but as 2
Corinthians 5:17 reminds us, we all are viewed by God as new creations when
we accept Christ and have a new identity of one reconciled to God through the
sacrifice of Jesus on the cross with a new identity.
Because of this new identity of
reconciliation to God, we are now called to a ministry of reconciliation or a
calling to spread the Gospel message by how we live and what we say so others
can experience reconciliation with God (Mark
16:15; Matthew 28:19-20). However,
for one to be an effective minister of reconciliation for God, one must have an
intimate relationship with God which involves experiencing forgiveness,
reconciliation with God, and trust in God.
1) Forgiveness: After the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden
of Eden, all of humanity fell under the curse of sin that carries with it a
death penalty (Genesis
3; Romans 3:23; 6:23). The only hope
for humanity is forgiveness from God that can only occur through the shedding
of blood (Hebrews
9:22). The Levitical rituals involving
animal sacrifices were symbolic of forgiveness of sin through the shedding of
blood but since these animal sacrifices under the old covenant were only
symbolic, it was necessary to perform them continually (Hebrews
9:18-21). However, under the New
Covenant, we have a high priest who knew no sin and once and for all entered the
most holy place, sacrificing not just the symbolic sacrifice of animal blood,
but his own blood (2
Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 9:11-14). Not only did Jesus sacrifice his own blood
initiating the will of God to once and for all forgive humanity of their sins,
but He resurrected from the dead to administer forgiveness to all who want to
receive it (Hebrews
9:15-17).
2) Reconciliation: Forgiveness only requires one person
forgiving someone who has wronged them, but reconciliation is when one accepts forgiveness
from someone they have wronged. Reconciliation
to God requires action on our part but that action is simple for it only
requires believing and confessing that belief (John
3:16; Romans 10:9-10). This action
on our part results in us having a reconciled relationship with God and gives
us a ministry of reconciliation as we become a witness of a life reconciled to
God by how we live and what we say (Acts
1:8). However, to achieve a deeper
and more intimate relationship with God requires trust.
3) Trust: The Church is not a building, but a gathering
together of believers in Christ. References
in Scripture of the Church as the bride of Christ, therefore, indicates the
desire of Christ to have intimacy with those believing in Him similar to the
intimacy between a man and a woman (2
Corinthians 11:2). However, the
bride must prepare herself for her wedding day (Revelation
19:7). This preparation includes the
development of trust, or faith, in the bridegroom Jesus Christ. This is the major part of the ongoing
sanctification process that involves our learning to surrender more and more
control of our lives over to God out of trust He has our best interests in mind
(Jeremiah
29:11).
Potential for a deeper
relationship or intimacy with Christ began at the cross with God forgiving the
sins of humanity with reconciliation to God occurring as we accept God’s gift
of salvation. God has already forgiven
our sins and now waits on us to reach out to Him for reconciliation. If you are reading this and have never
reached out to God accepting his gift of forgiveness, I invite you to do so now
by praying with me,
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans
3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans
6:23). I ask you to forgive me of my
sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1
John 1:9). I believe you died, spent
three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord
of my life.
Those that have a reconciled life
with God must prepare for the bridegroom by developing trust. Trust in a relationship comes through spending
time with each other and communicating with each other. We spend time with God through worship which
includes the spirit of offering praise to God and study of the truth of God’s
Word (John
4:24). This development of trust is
an ongoing process in the life of one professing faith in Jesus as Savior and crucial
in the development of a deeper and more intimate relationship with Christ. A dark and divided world dominated by hatred needs
more ministers of reconciliation who have accepted forgiveness from God, experienced
reconciliation to God, and are developing greater trust in God. The challenge for believers reading this,
including those that just prayed for reconciliation to God, is will we become
effective ministers of reconciliation by developing intimacy with God through
the development of greater trust in God.
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