Ministry of Reconciliation

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (New International Version)

17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that 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. 20We 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. 21God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

This is an amazing scripture. Not only did God reconcile us to himself but He has given us the ministry of reconciliation. Take a look at verse 19: ' And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.' It is us who point people to Jesus who has reconciled man to God. This is why it is imperative that we are preaching the correct message, we need to be preaching the gospel. It is only by people seeing the grace (favour) of God found in Jesus that people will understand and see the truth that they have been reconciled to God and that access to Him has been opened.When law is brought upon people they are unable to see the door clearly, this does not make clear the reconciliation that has been achieved. This happens because when law is preached, the focus is taken off Jesus and placed on man, man can but only try to perform when faced with the law. The law will activate us into self-effort mode, placing man into a 'works' frenzy, which has no end except failure. But we have been given the amazing task of ministering reconciliation to man. We have the most amazing message, which is the truth, and which places peoples vision on Christ and thus opens the door to new life, a life lived with God and God in us.

Since we have such a great privilege, let us preach the truth and see people reconciled to God.