Introduction
Brief setting (MAP). We are in the middle of a long section on what Paul calls "the ministry of reconciliation." Last week, Mike taught the first part in 2 Cor. 5:11-21 (read 18-21). Let's briefly review Paul's main points:
God offers to reconcile us (i.e., those who receive Christ) to Himself through Christ. Reconciliation is the restoration of relational closeness (not merely the cessation of hostility) by resolving the root cause of the alienation. The root cause of our alienation from God was our true moral guilt, which requires His condemnation. Jesus took on our true moral guilt and the condemnation He didn't deserve, and gave us right standing with God that we don't deserve. So when we turn to God through Christ, He is no longer our enemy, but instead becomes our Friend/Ally.
God gives us the ministry of reconciliation. He has made us His ambassadors to communicate His offer of reconciliation to others who are still alienated from Him. This ministry of reconciliation consists of two important responsibilities. The first responsibility is to speak His "word"/message of reconciliation . . .
Speak the message of reconciliation
Mike covered the "speak" part last week, so I'll just briefly recap it. Re-read 5:20. There should be a colon after "through us." And there should be quotation marks beginning with "Be reconciled . . ." and going all the way through 6:2 (read). In other words, Paul is here distilling the message God wants us to communicate to those who don't yet know Him. Let's take a closer look at it:
It's good news: "God is inviting you to be reconciled to Him just as you are. You don't have to clean yourself up before you can come to Him, because Jesus has already made you acceptable through His death on the cross."
It's simple: "Just decide that you want to be reconciled to God, and ask Him for this. Don't leave His offer on the table ("don't receive the grace of God in vain"); take Him up on it today!"
This is our message! It's the most wonderful message anyone has ever had the privilege to communicate! It's a powerful message because it resonates with the deepest longings of the human heart. And as we speak it, we can be confident that God's Spirit will whisper: "This is true; you should be reconciled to God."
But just as Paul spends 5 verses describing the message we speak as Christ's ambassadors, he also spends 5 verses on the way we conduct ourselves as Christ's ambassadors. If you read through the rest of the NT letters to churches, you will find that they usually emphasize our conduct even more than speaking this message. This is their way of saying that our conduct is just as important as speaking this message. The reason for this is obvious: the way we live as Christ's ambassadors can either validate or invalidate the message we speak. Everyone knows that hypocrisy in church leaders (e.g., sexual scandals; financial greed & embezzlement; etc.) has invalidated Christianity in the minds of many Americans. But what if we adorn our message with appropriate conduct? Paul believed that this was essential for Christ's ambassadors, which is why he describes in autobiographical detail what this conduct looks like in 6:3-7 . . .
Live in a way that commends the message
Read 6:3. The language here is very strong ("giving no offense at all to no one") to emphasize how important this is. Our message may offend people's pride, but our conduct should never discredit our ministry of reconciliation. We may have certain personal rights and freedoms – but we don't live to preserve them if that might negatively affect Christ's reputation (e.g., taking alcoholic non-Christian to a bar; refusing to mask around masking non-Christians). We may have strong opinions about certain issues (e.g., political opinions; sexual ethics) – but we don't die on this hill if doing so may alienate people from giving a fair hearing to the message of reconciliation.
But our conduct should not just not give offense. Read 6:4. It should also commend ("demonstrate the reality of our faith") us as God's servants (6:4a). Paul speaks of three ways we can do this.
We can live lives of costly commitment (read 6:4b,5). We are willing to endure mistreatment by those who oppose us (read 1 Cor. 4:12b,13a to explain what this looks like). We are willing to endure hardship and make personal sacrifices in order to help people to be reconciled to God (e.g., live simply in order to be generous; cost of hospitality). This life of costly commitment doesn't in itself prove that our message is true (e.g., committed Communists), but it demonstrates the sincerity of our belief that it is true – which is a powerful attractant. "How can we (inspire) a healthy respect for the truth? . . . One way is for (us) to faithfully live the Christian life and pay the price for doing so. We need (Christians) who are willing to give up comfort, convenience, and even a good name for the sake of truth. We need (Christians) who while suffering for the truth still maintain the joy of the Lord and thus testify to the greatness of the gospel they (communicate). Then (some) people will conclude that if suffering does not take away our joy, the life of (following) God is indeed the best way to live."
We can live lives of genuine godliness (read 6:6), which includes:
Moral integrity ("purity") vs. dishonesty, sexual shadiness, etc. Not that we are perfect in this area – but when we are inconsistent, we humbly acknowledge and apologize (EXAMPLE).
A biblically informed world-view ("knowledge") vs. ignorant opinions. We know what God thinks about every area of life because we know His Word.
"Genuine love" toward non-Christians (including forbearance & active goodness) vs. superficial niceness, ranting against the enemy, etc.
This demonstrates moral and intellectual and relational consistency with the God/Savior that we proclaim.
We can live lives of dependence on God (read 6:6 ["by the Holy Spirit"]; 6:7). The above lifestyle is impossible without God's enabling. We don't rely on celebrity pastors or slick marketing or entertainment or manipulation or intimidation to influence people toward Christ. We rely on God's power working through us to speak His Word and transform our lives. And we appropriate His power by having real prayer-lives. This demonstrates the supernatural Source of our conduct and message.
To the extent that this conduct adorns our message, we will see more people take Jesus seriously rather than cynically write Him off without a second thought. And we will have more opportunities to speak about Jesus – including people asking us about our faith (c.f., 1 Pet. 3:15). If we embrace this way of life, we will also experience a paradoxical "quality of life" . . .
A paradoxical "quality of life"
Read 6:8a. Some will respond positively to us in various ways – liking our lifestyle and message, defending us to others, receiving Christ. But others will respond negatively – staying cynical and suspicious, rejecting Christ's invitation, slandering us and criticizing our message. This is the way it was in Jesus' day, in Paul's day – and this is how it is (increasingly) in our day. We're glad when people respond well (for their sakes), we're sad (not mad) when people respond poorly (for their sakes).
But we keep on going as ambassadors, because no matter how people respond to us, our quality of life is ensured by our reconciled relationship with God (read 6:8b-10).
Most of us will never be famous, but we're well-known and well-loved by God.
We suffer and die like everyone else in this fallen world, but we are alive in the truest sense of the word because we have Christ's resurrection life.
We experience sorrow like everyone else, but we have an endless Source of joy in our love-relationship with Christ.
Most of us will not be rich financially, but we don't mind because we are rich spiritually through Christ, and we can make others rich by sharing Christ.
I chose this path 50 years ago, and I have no regrets! And neither will you (Isa. 28:16b)!
Conclusion
NEXT WEEK: 2 Cor. 6:11 – 7:1 – The Peril of Spiritual Compromise
QUESTIONS & COMMENTS
The ratio is approximately 3:1. If we include these letters' emphasis on loving unity between Christians as an important part of our conduct before the watching world (Jn. 13:34,35; 17:21,23), the ratio is approximately 5.5:1.
Ajith Fernando, The Call to Joy & Pain (Crossway Books, 2007), p. 108.