2 Corinthians 5:16-21 May 27, 2001

Reaching out to Others

Larry Walters wanted to see his neighborhood from a new perspective. He went down to the local army surplus store one morning and bought forty-five used weather balloons. That afternoon he strapped himself into a lawn chair, to which several of his friends tied the now helium-filled balloons. He took along a six-pack of beer, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and a BB gun, figuring he could shoot the balloons one at a time when he was ready to land.

Walters, who assumed the balloons would lift him about 100 feet in the air, was caught off guard when the chair soared more than 11,000 feet into the sky – smack into the middle of the air traffic pattern at LAX. Too frightened to shoot any of the balloons, he stayed airborne for more than two hours, forcing the airport to shut down its runways for much of the afternoon, which caused long delays in flights from across the country. Soon after he was safely grounded and cited by the police, reporters asked him three questions:

"Were you scared?" "Yes."

"Would you do it again?" "No."

"Why did you do it?" "Because," he said, "you can’t just sit there."

"You just can’t sit there!" While we may question Larry’s common sense if not his sanity, we may want to congratulate him on at least doing something. He saw a need to do something, to make a change in his life. Unfortunately, this ill-informed reason for his crazy stunt is insufficient motivation. "You just can’t sit there" could lead to any assorted odd acts of desperation. Instead we need to know what it is we should be doing and why we should be doing it. We need a clear motivation; we need a vision.

What will move us out of the comfort of our own lives and into a world in need of the gospel? What will motivate us to see the power of the gospel, which is effective to change not only our own lives and families, but also the lives of those with whom we come in contact each and every day? What will move us from just sitting to doing and speaking?

As we examine Cornerstone’s Vision statement throughout May we’re looking at each of the four corners, the four points of what we believe God would have us do here, at this church.

Beginning with the presupposition that we are here because it is God who calls us here, so far we’ve reviewed the first three corners: God calls people to Cornerstone Church to:

Realize the need for the Gospel to be central in one’s life.

Respond to God’s call with worship that has Christ as the central focus.

Relate this life-changing message to the Cornerstone community.

The first two corners focus on the God who has called us as his sons and daughters by the Gospel, and it is to that good news that we reply with worship. The next two corners look at how we are to apply this good news of Christ’s death for our sins to those around us. We saw last week the necessity to apply gospel virtues to our lives, to those in our own body, the church. Our lives should reflect that which we believe. As God has forgiven us, we too must forgive – and that by God’s grace. This morning, how will we see that we have a responsibility to the world around us?

The fourth and final line of our vision answers this question. God calls people to Cornerstone Church to reach out to others because God reaches down through Christ.

We may not just sit there; we must respond. But what is the proper motivation, the correct reason? What should propel us from complacency to activity? What should motivate us?

Paul speaks of the motivation in his life, the impetus that God used to move him and all likeminded men and women for centuries to see that the gospel goes out into a world that is in desperate need to hear good news and to be transformed by God’s grace. 2 Corinthians 5 outlines this biblical motivation, so that we can no longer just sit there, but must, empowered by the Holy Spirit, be used of God to see the world called to Christ.

16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.

 

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

 

18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:

 

19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

 

20 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.

 

21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

We have a new life – re-creation [verses 16-17]

Our new life in Christ gives us a new perspective

Throughout the nineties the popular phrase "paradigm shift" was the buzzword tossed about to speak of the necessity to re-evaluate the way in which we view our world and what we do. But radical changes in one’s view of the world are not confined to our own day. Since the Fall, a Copernican revolution, a new perspective as to what really is the center of the universe, is needed. When God brings us to the end of ourselves and we see that our own abilities are insufficient to make us what we need to be, then change may take place.

This is what took place in Paul’s life when he was confronted on the road to Damascus. No longer were Paul’s righteous accomplishments the means by which he could appeal to God. Prior to this point, Paul’s perspective on Jesus, the reason for his persecution of the new sect of Christians, was completely understandable. How dare they proclaim as God one who died on the criminal’s cross? God’s law was clear that on such a person, God’s curse was fully displayed. But by God’s divine intervention, Paul’s perspective turned 180°.

People want a new paradigm, a new way of looking at the world around them, to help them make sense of tragedy and pain, and to give new joy to life. The difficulty is that so many people regard Jesus from a world point of view.

To many, Jesus is nothing more than a good teacher, a moral leader who met an unfortunate and untimely demise. But in order for them to see Christ differently, it takes more than just our giving them sufficient information; it takes a divine intervention, a supernatural change of heart. They must be given a new perspective. What moved Paul first was God’s confrontation in his life so that he could no longer see the universe from his limited perspective. He needed to be transformed and given a whole new life. So also must those we come in contact with each day.

What is necessary is to be "in Christ". Paul’s common phrase is shorthand for all that salvation entails. To be "in Christ" is to be united with Him, to be so joined to Christ that all the benefits that the Son of God confers upon his people are now fully ours. With that comes a new status. To be "in Christ" is to be a new creation, to be made new, to be radically changed.

By way of brief background to this letter, the church in Corinth had been infiltrated by those claiming to be apostles of Christ, but rather than speaking of Christ’s accomplished work on behalf of his people, their message was one of personal obedience to the law of Moses. Jesus became nothing more than a new Lawgiver. The answer to the problem of sin remained the same as it has been since the Fall – personal righteousness is all we can hope for. To this Paul gives a resounding NO! The answer we have to a world in need of hope is not to try harder, but to trust God to make us new and thus give us a new status. To say that we are "in Christ" says much. It speaks of...

Security in Him who has himself borne in his own body the judgment of God versus our sin.

Acceptance in Him with whom alone God is well pleased.

Assurance for the future in him who is the resurrection and the life.

The inheritance of glory in Him who, as the only begotten Son, is the sole heir of God.

Participating in the divine nature in Him who is the everlasting Word.

Knowing the truth and being free in that truth, in Him who himself is the truth.

This is a whole new way of living and relating. To be in Christ is to be re-created.

The old has gone – past tense, completed action.

The old things – in this context Paul speaks of the old way of looking at the world and people, the prejudices, misconceptions and enslavements – are no longer a part of our present life. That which characterizes life outside of Christ no longer has the hold and power in your life.

The new has come – perfect tense, continuing action.

In Greek this is introduced by "Behold", "Look!" The newness that is ours in Christ is not the newness of a car we purchase bright and shiny, but which after a month shows the normal wear and tear of age. This is not a newness that fades with age.

What does this mean about what we communicate?

We may speak with confidence and hope when we share the gospel. This is not just a wish to be made new, but a declaration. The same God who with the word of his mouth brought heavens and earth into being will change your heart, your mind, and your life.

But a mistake is often made here, as the content of this new life is not primarily a new lifestyle, that is, doing the right things, but a new status. We are a new creation because of reconciliation. That is the focus of what we communicate to the world.

We have a new ministry – reconciliation [verses 18-19]

This new life we have comes about not by means of what we do, nor even is it most clearly seen in how we live. The life we are called to live before our world is one that reflects the heart of the gospel. That core of the good news is reconciliation enacted, beginning to end, by God. What is reconciliation?

The term is repeated five times in this passage. Originally the word in Greek meant to exchange money, and it is still used that way today when we talk about reconciling our checkbooks after we get a statement from the bank. In our context, if reconciliation is necessary, then alienation is presumed; there is a quarrel, or breach of friendship. Sin has made a breach; it has broken the friendship between God and man. The heart of the sinner is filled with enmity against God, and God is justly offended with the sinner.

To reconcile implies a change in two directions, both of which are necessary. What is implied?

For us to be reconciled to God there must be the removal of our offense.

Our sins brought about the alienation between God and us. This is seen in verse 19 where, for us to be reconciled, our sins must not be counted against us. Again a banking term is used – for us to be in a right relationship with God our sin can no longer be in our account.

For us to God to be reconciled there must be the propitiation of God’s wrath.

The reason for our estrangement with God is not just our enmity against God. It is not as though God is more than willing to overlook our sin if only we would say we are sorry. God is not the helpless victim of our mutiny. God needs to be reconciled as well, for our sin is such an affront that his justice demands that his wrath be propitiated, or satisfied. The Father’s justice demands that sin be atoned for, and the Father’s love provides the means.

Notice who initiates this process – verse 18 all this is from God.

God takes the first and last step. In the world of human alienation it is usually a third party who seeks to reconcile the alienated – a marriage counselor where husband and wife are estranged, an impartial conciliator in the event of industrial dispute, or the Secretary-General of the UN if there is hostility between nations. But God, even though He is the wronged party, initiates the action. But God has designed to use us in the process – as his servants.

God has done this work, but it is to us he has entrusted its communication. Notice at the end of verse 18 and verse 19 – he gave us the ministry of reconciliation and he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

The word ministry carries with it the technical connotations of clergy work, and to a certain degree Paul is referring to his work as an Apostle here, but there is much more. The word ministry simply means to render assistance or service. The word here is diakonos, from which we get our word deacon. In Matthew 20:28 Jesus makes serving the heart of his ministry, so it should be ours as well. We are all ministers of the gospel, for we are called to serve one another.

What is our role as ministers? The service we render is communicating a message, literally a "word", of reconciliation. We are to proclaim it through our words and demonstrate it in our lives. At the core of why we are here on earth is to exclaim the Father’s pleasure in sending Christ and calling all who will hear to turn to Christ in faith.

But it is important to keep in mind that ministry is messy. Churches often do not engage in this kind of work. They set the standard high enough that they get only likeminded people to join: good, clean, nice people, who do not have obnoxious sins, contagious sins, or illegal sins.

But a church that admits only saints would be like a hospital that admits only healthy people. It would be a lot easier to run, and a more pleasant place to be, but it wouldn’t do its job.

What we must realize is that if we are going to be serious about proclaiming that God’s wrath is satisfied and our sins atoned for, if we are intentional about reconciliation, then we will often get more than we bargained for. It's like the fellow on the Titanic who said, "I ordered ice, but this is ridiculous."

The ministry of reconciliation cannot be exercised in a detached and cold manner. The language Paul uses is deeply emotional and passionate. Through us, God appeals to men and women; Christ implores them. This ministry can never be performed coldly or with a "take it or leave it" attitude.

We have a new message – righteousness [verses 20-21]

Paul uses another image to describe our response to the gospel in our life. We are ambassadors.

An ambassador is a spokesperson: someone who advocates and champions the agenda, the convictions, the truths and the causes of his or her sovereign. We too are representatives, here today representing the light and the life and the truth of our God and King. We champion his cause, his agenda to bring people into a life-changing relationship with Him.

An ambassador is also a representative: someone who represents the identity, the nature and the lifestyle of his or her homeland. We also are to represent and characterize the identity and nature of our King, to be living, walking, talking representatives of who He is and what He is like.

This position is one that we must take seriously. As a church, it is our duty to be certain we are properly representing the cause of Christ accurately and clearly.

Religion tells us how to make ourselves acceptable before others and God. Christianity tells us how God has accepted us in Christ. Sin is at the center of that problem and the gospel tells us that the sin is removed. But how it is removed is equally important.

God made the Sinless One sin for us. It is important to notice that he does not say that God made him a sinner; for if Christ was sinful, redemption would fail, for the sacrifice must be pure. But God made him sin: that is to say that God the Father made his innocent incarnate Son the object of His wrath and judgment for our sakes with the result that in Christ on the cross the sin of the world is judged and taken away. In this truth resides the whole logic of reconciliation. It is in Christ we find our shelter from that judgment. It is in Him precisely because he is righteousness itself, that the sinner is made the righteousness of God. (Hughes, NICNT, 2nd Corinthians, p213)

With Christ taking on our sin, we then are declared righteous. This message of double imputation, of the great exchange of our sin for Christ’s perfect law keeping, is the core of the message of reconciliation.

It is our duty, our privilege, to proclaim the new life – that we are new creations not by our design, but by God’s favor. We must tell others that God is now reconciled with us because of Christ’s death in our place. The gospel must never stop here. This wonderful news is not something we can keep to ourselves.

Let me highlight some of the ways in which we can reach out to others because God in Christ reaches down to us, ways in which we as a church and as individuals can serve as ambassadors.

Mercy Ministries are a wonderful opportunity to express to our community our concern and to live out our standing in Christ. Taking on the problems and challenges of others is an opportunity to live out the truth of Christ.

Outreach can be done in a variety of ways. The simplest is through growth groups. They are designed to expand and multiply, to incorporate new people not just as they become a part of Cornerstone, but those who do not yet profess faith in Christ. Inviting people to worship with us on Sunday morning is another easy form to take.

New Churches have the opportunity to expand the outreach of a new church in tremendous ways. While we are at this building phase in our history, the Session does not intend to put new churches on the back burner, as though they are mutually exclusive. It is our desire to begin a work in Oak Creek to Racine, not stopping there, but actively participate in planting one new church every four years in our Presbytery.

World Missions Cornerstone has set aside 10% of its income for the purpose of world evangelization, but now as we enter this period of land purchase and building, we will increase that amount by 1% each year. The Missions Committee periodically brings to our attention missionaries during our worship service, Adult Education time, and in growth groups, so that our people will be better educated in missions. Short-term mission projects and guest missionaries are opportunities for you to not only learn but participate in these ministries of reconciliation.

You can’t just sit here. That is not an option. We are called to work. To sit, to refuse to respond, is to neglect the gospel’s power in our own lives.