We would know the Ambassador for a country, He or she is the highest ranking Diplomat of the country appointed by the Govt to represent the Country, He represents the country’s people, country’s principles and value of the country. He is the voice of the country. He is expected to represent the people, support prosperity with trade, work for peace to maintain cordial relationship with Govt’s across the world. If an ambassador speaks anything out of line of the Govt, he is relived from his post.
In the same way, we christians are the ambassador for Christ and Paul talks about this in 2 Corinth 5
'Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. ' 2 Corinthians 5:17-20
Qualifications that Paul gives an Ambassador to have
Old habits of you is gone, you are a new person born again with Christ’s characters.
We have been given the ministry of reconciliation, were we are to keep away from Sins, so that the holyness of Christ is exhibited in us.
The work of an ambassador is following the kingdom of God, like how a country’s ambassador would do.
The goal of an ambassador is to persuade men. He understands that he has to know the Word of God so that he can reason with the minds of this world, but he knows that he can’t persuade anybody. Only the Holy Spirit of God makes that appeal through him as we’ll see in the message today. He’s the One who changes hearts.
The ambassadors for Christ are constrained, they’re controlled by the love of Christ which is a selfless love.
God gives His ambassadors a special discernment. They don’t see people like the world sees them.
An ambassador for Christ sees people the way God sees them: they’re either lost or they’re saved. And even if they’re saved, maybe they’re walking after the flesh.
They see more of the spiritual condition of man rather than the color of their skin or the wealth or poverty that they experience. They don’t see through the eyes of men, they see through the eyes of God.
An ambassador for Christ has had such a radical, spiritual change in their life that Paul even calls them and himself a “brand new creature.”
Many of us as christians may say, what Paul said is for Corinth church, it may not apply for me, thats not true. We who call ourselves as Christians are ambassadors of christ, we tend to ignore the following three things ,thats why we don’t consider us to be true Ambassador for Christ
1. We waste the Grace Given to Us
'As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. ' 2 Corinthians 6:1
As soon as we are born again in Christ, we have the grace of God to do his will that he has called us to do.
What Paul is saying to believers is, we who have received the grace of God with great eagerness and “not to receive God’s grace in vain.”? You see, grace is good, it is received with eager expectancy, but how many believers receive God’s saving grace with outstretched arms but are wasting the opportunity in the times in which they live to allow that grace to work through them and in the context persuading others in the ministry of reconciliation?
Actually, they’re of no use to God at all if this grace is wasted, Can you imagine a believer who is so excited about receiving God’s grace but not willing to live in it? Not willing to die to the flesh daily by saying yes to God and moving away from the old habits that we used to live in the past, that’s what Paul is saying “we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain”, Paul has covered this in a detailed way to explain 'I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”' Galatians 2:20-21
In another way to look, we want to have the Grace of God selective to what we use and throw away to our comfort of old life, We want to use Grace only when we need it, God’s grace does not work that way. He is slow to anger, but his grace given to us is not for ever, there will be days of wrath of God that will come where you will be asked for account of the grace given to you and how you misused that.
2. We waste the Ministry of Reconciliation
'All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ' 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
What is this Ministry of reconciliation that Paul is talking in 2Corinth 5:18, it starts from Adam
We sinned from the roots of Adam, God was so angry with the Sin and he cursed man that he will return to dust from where he came, our human body will die and decay in death to become dust 'To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” ' Genesis 3:17-19
But God did not stop there, he waited for so long that man will repent and turn to his ways so that the curse can go away, finally he decided to send Christ himself to the world and Christ bore for our sins. God reconciled to humans to give Jesus who will save us from our Sins 'She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ' Matthew 1:21-22
After we are born again in Christ once the grace is given to us, we are supposed to die to self and get rid of the old in us, but as humans we may fall off to keep up to God’s standards as the world is filled with so much of Sin’s around us, we are expected to reconcile with God to confess our Sin’s and ask for his forgiveness so that the Sin does not enter our life forever.
3. Maintaining right relationship in the world
'Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? ' 2 Corinthians 6:14
We as believers have to deal many things of the world, in this process, how is our relationship with the world are we getting yoked with the unbelievers of the world and posing a thread to the spiritual holiness of your christian life ?
Paul is saying don’t be around them. “Do not be yoked “, He’s not saying don’t be around them for the purpose of sharing Christ with them. That’s not what he’s saying. A boat in the water is by design; water in the boat is a disaster. He is saying don’t form a binding relationship with them. He gives illustrations of how light cannot coexist with darkness.
God’s light guides the believer to live righteously. The spirit of God councils and gives us light and understanding to walk righteously on this earth. But behind the unbeliever who lives lawlessly is darkness.
You will know when you’re around somebody who is a poisonous individual. That word in Ephesians says, 'Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. ' Ephesians 4:29
That word “unwholesome” has the idea of rotten. It’s a smelly rotten thing, when a food gets rotten, I mean smelly and rotten.Many times we get this when people start talking Gossips on others. Don’t entertain this “unwholesome” talk come from you or encourage this behaviour.this will corrupt the holiness you have with christ.
Summary
Reflect on your life to see ,are you an ambassador of Christ ?What qualities prevent you from being an ambassador ?
God is merciful, he still longs for you with a great love, he does not care your past, he can reconcile and start a fresh relationship with you that lasts for eternity. turn from your past and shed your old to come to him.
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