In 2 Corinthians 5:18-21, the apostle Paul says;
And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Who would disagree with this passage. A ministry of reconciliation was given to us? We pray for people to be saved. We pray for people to be reconciled to God. All Christians can have a ministry of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors! We represent Christ as ambassadors, teaching that men SHOULD repent, not MAKING them, or forcing their hand. We are not to call a man’s bluff so to speak, and get them to show their cards, to give ourselves an occasion of the flesh to show our lofty knowledge of the scriptures.
Does it matter that the Lord’s disciples were told to be fishers of men, but Paul was given a ministry of reconciliation, and treated it like ambassadorship. Commercial fishermen, and ambassadors for nations are 2 entirely different trade crafts. We should be mindful of the distinctions. We can learn some things from them.
The Lord told the disciples these things about being fishers of men in Matthew 4:19. Mark 1:17. However, we within the body of Christ, far removed from any apostolic age, completely dissolved of any miraculous gifts, commissions, calls, or powers, we are to be more like ambassadors, who represent a King in a foreign world that is not our home.
We should be authoritative messengers and defenders of his gospel. We should be diplomatic as a ambassadors and not demanding as a dictator. Ambassadors get nothing by force. They get no where by pushing for decision. Their job is to represent and testify of their King. Their job is to represent a heavenly land. This world is a foreign field to us, no matter where we reside.
The world is our mission field, not the 10/40 window, not the un-reached lands, and not just the glorified foreign field. As ambassadors, we have a great ministry! It may not be the glorified foreign locales such as Africa, England, India, etc. The LOST are the field, wherever you reside. The harvest is as evident in the grocery store as it is in Papua New Guinea.
Christians, as ambassadors, have a sense of obligation to testify. It’s what a ambassador does. We are ambassadors in the world we live in wherever we are. It is not our world. We represent a King.
If men WANT to be reconciled to God, as ambassadors of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ:
We can show them how to join the heavenly Kingdom (2 Timothy 4:8)!
We can direct their hearts to the heavenly calling (Hebrews 3:1)!
We can offer them the taste of the heavenly gift (Hebrews 6:4).
They can urge them to join the citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22)!
Ambassadors do not represent the sin and the penalties thereof of breaking their laws. You learn the laws of the land once you become a citizen in the land. Some fish for men by preaching on sin. Sinners unconverted only do what is natural to them. Once they join the heavenly kingdom by a blood atonement, then they can begin to understand the law, sin, death, judgment, and all the inner workings therein more perfectly. If the law is broken, a penalty may follow it. It is up to them to join our nation. What are we representing? The judgment seat or Jesus Christ and his sacrifice?
Ambassadors represent a country and a King. A ambassador can show you the “heavenly places”, the “goodly land”, the King who is for the people, and literally by the people (the body of Christ).
We can show and tell them how we can all be under ONE BLOOD, but in Christ, our King. (Acts 17:26)
He is the head of the BODY of Christ. This is the throng that we represent. We do not represent judgment. We represent His grace. Not his wrath, and his judgment on all those who killed HIS SON! He will deal with that. He will judge in righteousness and judgment.
We preach Christ, we warn people of the judgment of sin, but God remains the judge, not us. We are the messengers. The ambassadors. We are not the prophets. We are not “his disciples”. We are the disciples. We are not the holy Apostles! We are many disciples that are to make up a collective body in Christ. We are given our orders of what to preach and what to proclaim as ambassadors, and there is no apostolic charges connected to them associated with any commission.
If we told travelers who ask us of the reason of hope about our Kings everlasting prison and punishment, without the preaching of Christ crucified, we have run our race in vain, and have given them nothing to escape to, but only something to escape from. This is not the seed planting that early apostles intended.
If we as national ambassadors continually pointed to the horrors of our national prison system, and always pointed men to a law, and always showed the penalties of breaking the law, would any one want to visit our country?
By doing that, we have become a castaway to the hearer already. We are representatives, all of us. People have to believe that he was made sin for them, not a belief in Hell. A lot of folks believe in hell and reject God. Hell is in Greek mythology and other odd referenced material and is accepted. I know it’s conflicting, but many people are just ignorant to the word of God and true Christianity.
Paul never warned anyone of Hell! Is that of some importance? We are quick to always reference our Lords use of Hell almost 30 times in the gospels. But yet we know that Paul was given many mysteries and admonitions for those within the body of Christ living in the age of grace, removed from apostolic progression.
He referenced everlasting destruction, but that is about it. Paul absolutely believed in Hell, as he believed in the virgin birth of Christ, though he never mentioned that as well. Hell is a place. The lake of fire is a place. And people will after their mortal life is over find these places to be their final destination as souls. But we must preach Christ, not judgment and hell.
No where in the word of God is belief in Hell necessary or to be a requirement for salvation. Belief in Hell is not part of the gospel! Hell is a biblical doctrine. Hell is a common belief among many. Belief in Hell is something the lost already believe in. They sing about it. The boast about it. They preach it. They use it’s terms. And they are scared to death of it.
We MUST believe in HIM. We must advocate others to believe in Him. It is the gospel message. Jesus Christ, God manifested in the flesh, died according to the scriptures, was buried, and rose again according to the scriptures, this is the gospel. This is what they preached in late Acts. This was the faith! It is the belief in Christ that determines our eternal destination of our souls. Not whether or not we repented of our many sins, or turned a corner.
The same way men must choose Jesus Christ, men must choose to forsake their life of being a habitual sinner. Men cannot forsake being a sinner by nature. There is no such thing as sinless perfection of the Christian until we get a new body. Many people will accept Christ but many struggle leaving their sins. Many people receive the word gladly and believe on Christ through faith, but that faith never grows, and some fell among thorns and stones. Many people never see the importance of a relationship, they just accept it’s religion. Many people never see the importance to read the word of God, and therefore, the new man in Christ remains in infancy until our translation to him. God keeps ALL his children.
We must believe that he is. This is the gospel. We believe the gospel of the grace of God by faith. Faith in him is our first priority as new Christians. Repentance of certain sins is a life long journey for some people, for others, it is not. We are different members of his body, inpaticular!
Our faith is what brings the power and increase of God. People can hear the word preached their entire lives. They can repent of sins for a season. They can be warned, How shall ye escape the damnation of hell, and so on. Unless the words we hear preached are exercised with faith and believed, there will be very little, if not any profit.
Hebrews 4:2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:3 3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
As ambassadors of the Lord, if the emphasis or message is placed on Hell, or repentance, it is no longer pleasing to Him. It is a perverted message and gospel. It has to be of faith, believing.
Can we go to the gospels and show a sinner our Lord Jesus Christ referencing Hell, yes we can. He believed in it, and preached it harder than anyone else in the word of God. He knew it was the place prepared for the Devil and his angels. He knew his Father in heaven is not willing that any should perish, and would have all men everywhere be saved.
But man has to choose Christ, not the fear of Hell for salvation or the repentance of every sin our bodies are able to commit. Man must come to terms with what they are as sinners by nature. This is the repentance that guides men to salvation. Realizing that He is, and He was our substitute and propitiation. Man has to believe in the gospel of Christ. We should not warn and preach of hell or repentance stronger or more than Jesus Christ crucified or the gospel of the grace of God.
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