Reconciled to God (July 8, 2007)
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Corinthians 5:17-21
Did you know that the blood of Jesus Christ purchased God's forgiveness for you? Some of you who are strong in the faith will, no doubt, think that that is the most elementary notion there is in the Christian faith. But to some, perhaps most, it is not understood. This morning, let us look carefully at the doctrine of reconciliation.
Reconciliation is a Bible word. "He has reconciled us to Himself." He has committed to us the "word of reconciliation." And the Apostle Paul pleads "be reconciled to God." Since it is a Bible word it is important that we understand the concept of reconciliation.
Let us look at the doctrine of reconciliation under four headings: First, what is reconciliation? Second, why was reconciliation necessary? Third who was reconciled? And fourth, how was reconciliation accomplished?
WHAT IS RECONCILIATION?
There are several Greek words that are translated "reconciliation." The one that is used here is "katalasso." The word means "to change completely." I have translated v. 17 so as to bring out some this aspect of its meaning.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new kind of creation; archaic things have passed away; behold all things have a new quality and meaning. Now all things are of God, who has changed completely our relationship to Himself through Jesus Christ."
Other passages in the New Testament, however, tell us how our relationship to God is changed. We are changed from being an enemy of God, to being a child of God. That is why the word is rendered "reconciled."
No passage brings this out more clearly than Romans 5:6-11.
"For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation."
Did you catch that? "While we were still sinners," and "when we were enemies."
Reconciliation, then, is God taking away our sin and completely transforming our relationship to Him so that it is possible for sinful man to have fellowship with a Holy God. The best definition I know of reconciliation is found in 2 Samuel 14:14: "Yet God does not take away a life; but He devises means, so that His banished ones are not expelled from Him."
Perhaps this will be better understood when we consider . . .
WHO IS RECONCILED?
Or put another, more literal, way . . . who is changed completely?
Certainly not God! The Bible is absolutely clear on this point. The 102 Psalm states it very clearly:
"Of old You have laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
They will perish, but You will endure;
Yes, they will all grow old like a garment;
Like a cloak You will change them,
And they will be changed.
But You are the same,
And Your years will have no end."
God is not the aggressor. God is not the sinner. God does not, in fact cannot, be changed. We must be changed.
And this is exactly what Romans 5 and 2 Corinthians 5 teach. Consider Romans 5. "If when we were enemies we were reconciled to God" . . . "we have now received the reconciliation." God doesn't need to receive reconciliation, we do. Now consider 2 Corinthians 5. "God has reconciled us to Himself." And "be reconciled to God." It couldn't be any plainer. We are the ones reconciled and God provided the reconciliation.
WHY WAS RECONCILIATION NECESSARY?
Reconciliation was necessary because we are sinners. We are sinners because of what we have done. We are sinners because of what we have not done (to know to do good and do it not is sin). We are sinners because of what we have felt and thought. Greed, envy, bitterness, unbelief. We are sinners because of our nature. We were born with the black drop of sin in our hearts. We inherited it from Adam. The truth is that your not a sinner because you sin. You sin because you are a sinner. So sin is not just a part of your habits, it is a part of your very nature.
You can tame a dog, a horse, a cat, but you cannot tame a rattlesnake. In a similar way, sin is a part of our nature just as striking is a part of a rattlesnake. There had to be reconciliation. Something on our side needed to be changed completely so that we could have fellowship with God.
This comes into sharper focus when we see what the Bible has to say about God. God is holy. The Bible says His eyes are so pure He will not even look upon sin. He said "Be holy, just as I am holy." Yet we are sinners. It is our sin and God's holiness that makes reconciliation necessary.
But we are not through. There is another aspect to God's character that makes reconciliation necessary . . . His love. Never think of Jesus as loving and kind and the Father as stern and unmerciful. It was the Father who loved us and gave His Son for us. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16 It was His love that demanded reconciliation from His side.
I am reminded of a time when Kathleen was just a little girl. We were at a swimming party and she was bouncing up and down in the water on a ledge in the pool. I knew the water was deep just over the ledge and warned her about it. She just kept jumping and I waited by her just in case she went into the deep water. I didn’t take long. In a silent second she went down and I grabbed her. It was Kathleen who broke her father’s law, but it was the love of the father that rescued the daughter. In a similar way, God says “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
HOW WAS RECONCILIATION ACCOMPLISHED?
The holiness of God demanded that our sins be judged. The love of God compelled Him to satisfy His righteous demands by taking upon Himself our sin, dying in our place.
There is a old story, often told, of pioneers crossing the great planes of America. They saw a prairie fire coming towards them to the north, then the south, then east and west – from a hill they could see that the flames surrounded them. What could they do? An experienced guide knew exactly what to do. He set a fire. The settlers told him he was crazy, but he explained to them that the fire could not go where the fire had already been. Friend, the fire of God -- the righteous wrath of God -- fell on Jesus at Calvary, and if you would escape that fire you must go where the fire has already been.
To the believer, I want to tell you something. You have as much of God's forgiveness now as you will ever have. God isn't going to forgive you when you get to heaven. You have His complete and unchanging forgiveness right now.
Again, let some of the light from Romans 5 shine upon us. "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died -- in our place, as our substitute -- for us. And 2 Corinthians 5:21 -- "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
Do you want to see your standing before God? This text says that a great transaction has taken place. You know what a transaction is. When I trade my shovel for your axe -- that is a transaction. Yes, a great transaction has haken place. He took my sin and gave me His righteousness. That is your standing before God. When God sees you, He sees the righteousness of His own Son.
And what righteousness this is! It is a higher and purer righteousness than even Adam had before he sinned. It is a righteousness that is higher than that enjoyed by the angels who never sinned. We have a higher righteousness --- the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
Is this cause for boasting? No, for it is not my righteousness, but His righteousness. We sing
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus name
On Christ the Solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand.
No, this is not a motive for my boasting, but for His praise.
Now, if you are not a believer, I have a few comments for you.
Christ has removed every barrier for you. You don't have to clean up your life before you become a Christian. You can never remove the stain of sin on your life, for it goes right down into the soul. But, Jesus has paid the penalty for that. He has satisfied to an infinite degree the righteous demands of God.
What, then, must you do? You must receive what He has done for you. A pardon is not effective until it is received. A remedy does not cure if it is not taken. That’s why Paul said "be reconciled to God."
Listen, if you go to Hell it won't be God's fault. Our sins created a great chasm between us and Holy God, but the cross of Jesus provided the bridge whereby we could cross over from our sinfulness to His righteousness. He has done everything He could do to save your soul. He has accomplished the work of reconciliation, and He has brought you to this place today where you could hear this message.
Will you, this day, receive the wonderful gift of salvation? Will you put your trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ? O this will be a glad day, a glorious day if you do. Angels will rejoice, the heavens will resound in praise, and you will be saved.
site administration* site map | log out
Contents © 2008 First Baptist Church of Alto, Texas | Site Provided by mychurchwebsite.net | Terms of Service | site map
