Jesus was the plan before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). God worked out the plan of salvation through the ages (Genesis 3:15/Matthew 1:16; Genesis 12:3/Galatians 3:8). When we discuss our salvation, we must acknowledge that God has been working out a plan for a long time, and He has done the heavy lifting.
There is no plan; there is no solution; there is not even a chance without the work of God.
When presented with these facts, many of the people in the New Testament asked a similar question: “What should we do?” (Acts 2:37; 9:6; 10:4; 13:42; 16:30). They understood that the overwhelming work of God demanded a response on their part.
Today, if we agree that God has made salvation possible, and we agree that it demands a response on our part, let us ask the same question the people in Acts asked: “What should we do?”
Consider this.
Hearing the word of God is a lot of work. We must clear our schedule, find some alone time, and read. Hearing takes work.
Belief is a lot of work. Humbling ourselves to the point where we can be taught is hard. Changing what we have thought for years, or what our family has thought for generations, is tough! Belief takes work.
Is repentance hard? Ask the person who is addicted to sin. Changing our behavior after 5, 10, or even 50 years is hard. Repentance takes work!
Confession can be challenging. Confessing Jesus in a crowd may put us out of our comfort zone. Confessing Jesus with our words, and the way we live, as we go back to work and into our family can be new and difficult. Confession takes work!
Although each of these things requires work on our part, most people have no problem understanding their role in our salvation. However, even though the majority of conversions in Acts specifically mention baptism, some people object to baptism, calling it a work.
Did you know that only one verse calls baptism a work? This verse does not say that it is our work, but the “powerful working of God” (Colossians 2:12).
Baptism is the most passive part of our conversion. In baptism we give up control, both physically and spiritually, and let someone immerse us in water while God does the work. This is a divine precedent for the rest of our Christian walk: we will need God and other people.
Yes, God has done the heavy lifting. But His hard work demands a response from us. In light of what God has done, what will you do?
You have probably seen the black and white photograph at some point in your life: a triumphant Harry Truman, aglow in the joy of his presidential victory, holds up a newspaper that falsely declares ‘Dewey Defeats Truman.’ The paper in question, the Chicago Tribune, had been so sure that Truman would lose his election that they printed many of the Dewey victory papers before the results were in – and by the time it became clear that Dewey was not, in fact, the victor, it was too late to retract many of the published pieces. The error did no real harm (save for some wounded pride), but the paper’s reputation was severely damaged.
I do not imagine any of us have ever had a chance to misrepresent something so important as a United States presidential election. Still, I fear that if our own record of speech were reviewed, we would find ourselves just as lacking as the Tribune. Modern media has made sharing falsehoods as easy as clicking that little ‘share‘ button and even Christians have proven all too willing to join the fictional parade. But lest we think this a new problem, gossip and slander have always been a thorn in the side of the church.
Paul, writing in 2 Corinthians, worries that, when he arrives in Corinth, he will find false reports rampant among them:
“20 For I fear that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish—that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder.” (2 Corinthians 12:20)
The world might not care much about fidelity to the truth anymore, but as followers of Christ, we are called to a higher standard. The veracity of our speech is of grave importance for a believer. The law which God gave to Israel is filled with commands to refrain from falsehoods:
An idea is pressed upon God’s people: to deal in falsehoods is to dishonor God. Yet, far too many in the church have become comfortably numb to the sin of a false report. It should not be so. To be a Christian is to represent Christ to the world; how tarnished is that witness when we peddle half-truths? We declare a message to a lost world that they must put their faith in Christ’s saving power, but to believe this message, they must know Christ is trustworthy. How will they have such faith if they find Christ’s followers so willing to deal in fiction?
If someone held up a photograph of the newspaper of your life, what would it read?
Resolve that the headline will be one of truth: Jesus Saves and you can count on it!
Christians are Ministers
Luke 3:23 says, “Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age…”
Let me ask you a couple of questions.
How old were you when you began your ministry? What is your ministry?
We often mistakenly act like someone must be on staff somewhere to have a ministry. The truth is, every Christian should be a minister with a ministry. Eph. 4:11-12 says that one of the reasons we have been given official church leaders is “to equip the saints for the work of ministry.” Every Christian should see themselves as a minister and a missionary in their area.
The Bible is filled with encouraging examples of normal Christians like you and I letting God use them for amazing things.
One example is in Acts chapter 9 where we read about a sister named Dorcas. Her ministry involved being “full of good works and acts of charity.” She was so important that when she died, the people in her area wouldn’t let her stay dead. They sent for Peter and asked him to heal her. When Peter raised her from the dead, “it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.” Dorcas’ ministry of good works and charity coupled with Peter’s ministry of healing led to the Gospel being spread. Not to over-simplify it, but to see the simple beauty: Because Dorcas made some pants, Peter got to preach the gospel of reconciliation and souls were saved. Dorcas had a powerful ministry.
2 Cor. 4:7 says, “…we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” How do you use your jar of clay to minister for God?
A ministry of reconciliation
Jesus commissioned his followers in Matthew 28:19-20 to
“19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
When we become Christians, we are a fulfillment of that commission. And when we do what they commanded, we are a part of that commission. We are to take the gospel as we go, wherever we go.
Each Christian has this privilege and this responsibility.
In the book of 2 Corinthians this command is laid out as a ministry of reconciliation.
2 Cor. 5:17-20 says:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. 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; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”
When we were reconciled with God through Christ, we were given a ministry of reconciliation, we were entrusted with the message of reconciliation, and we are to be ambassadors for Christ. (See also 2 Cor. 6:3 and 2 Cor. 9:1-2; 10-15).
Who do we Reconcile to God?
Us to God
The first person we need to reconcile to God is ourselves. We do this initially in our conversion, but also continually as we progress in our walk (1 John 1:9). As we try to gently restore our brethren, we also have to keep a watch on ourselves (Gal. 6:1). When we were lost we had set ourselves up as enemies of God, but “now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life…” (Rom. 5:10). Our primary goal is to stay reconciled, or “walk in the light.” (1 John 1:7).
We were lost. Jesus came to reconcile us to God. We want to stay reconciled, or “to continue in the grace of God.” (Acts 13:43).
Others to God
We want to share the reconciliation we have with other people (Rom. 5:11, Eph. 4:15.)
We want to share the gospel with the non-Christian. Jesus came to “seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10), and His people want to do the same. We want to be the “fishers of men” that the early disciples were (Matt. 4:19).
While sharing the gospel may look like going across the world, it may also look like going across the street, because we want to reconcile former brothers and sisters who have fallen away.
James 5:19-20 says, “19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” Gal. 6:1-2 says, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
We were lost. Jesus came to reconcile us to God. Now we share a message of reconciliation with those who have never known Jesus and those who have walked away.
Us to Others
We want to reconcile ourselves to our brethren.
In Matthew 5:22-24 Jesus prioritizes reconciliation over worship. It’s not a competition between the two, but our worship isn’t right without reconciliation. Jesus says, “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. 23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”
Jesus expounds upon this in Matthew 18:15, where He says, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.”
I know we believe these verses, but do we obey them?
Here is a test: Name a time when you have done this.
Scripture is full of examples of people being reconciled to each other. Every scenario imaginable is given, and with each, a solution of reconciliation.
With Jacob and Esau, Jacob was wrong (Gen. 27) but eventually showed humility (Gen. 32:3-4). With Joseph, his brothers were wrong, but Joseph was still willing to fix it (Gen. 50:20). Onesimus seems to have been wrong (Phile. 1:11), and Paul asked Philemon for forgiveness and love (Phile. 1:8-10, 17).
When Paul tried to join the disciples as a new Christian, they did not believe him and were afraid of him (Acts 9:26). It was Barnabas that served as a minister of reconciliation and gave him acceptance among the group (Acts 9:27-30). Later, when Paul and John Mark had a disagreement, it was Barnabas who worked with John Mark to keep him involved in the ministry. At the end of his life, in the last Biblical letter he would write, Paul says, “Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.” Where there was once division, now, reconciliation.
Reconciliation may look like going across the world, going across the road, or going across the auditorium.
We were lost. Jesus came to reconcile us to God. Now we practice a ministry of reconciliation with our brothers and sisters, making sure that we are in fellowship with everyone that is in fellowship with God.
Your Ministry of Reconciliation
Each of us has a multi-faceted ministry of reconciliation. We are asked to save ourselves (Acts 2:40, Phil. 2:12), the lost (1 Tim. 4:16, Jude 1:21-23), our former brothers and sisters in Christ (James 5:19-20), and our relationships with the saved (Matt. 5:22-24, Matt. 18:15).
How old were you when you started your ministry?
Matt Wallin
House to House Heart to Heart
Email: matt@housetohouse.com
