The text is in 2 Corinthians 5, and I'm zeroing in on one verse, verse 20. 1 Corinthians 5.20. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for the grace that you give us in Christ. We thank you for your word. We pray that you'd be pleased to open our hearts to a good understanding of it. And we pray that as we do so, we may also be, come in your grace, instruments of that grace to others, that they too might know the saving, work of Jesus Christ in their hearts. Bless us, we pray, to this end. We ask in Jesus' name. Once more, 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 20. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. The query or the question came to me and to Pastor Joel this past week with regard to this text, what does the text mean with regard to ambassadors? Is the text referring to Christ or is the text referring to Paul as an ambassador, as an apostle? Does it mean that Paul is an ambassador because he is an apostle, or can we understand it as being an ambassador as a Christian? So, it would be in the narrow sense, as an apostle, or in the broad sense, as a Christian. That was the basic question. Of course, the question has to do with biblical interpretation, right? with hermeneutics. Everything comes back to hermeneutics. It's very interesting how this is the case. And so we have to understand how to interpret our Bibles. Most of you are familiar with the idea of inductive Bible study. That is starting with a text and looking at the meaning of the words and beginning with the small pieces and working out. But there's also such a thing as deductive Bible study. You probably haven't heard of that. That is beginning with the big picture. And both of these work together, the inductive, the small pieces, and the deductive, the big pieces, they always work together. And you and I need to understand that this is the case. So keeping this in mind, let's look at this text. and see what we learn from it. First, let's just start with the word, ambassadors, as it's given in 2 Corinthians 6, 20. We are ambassadors for Christ. It turns out that the word ambassador in the Greek language is a technical term. that is used and was used in the day in which Paul wrote this letter is a technical term in which Paul was using and which Rome used to designate individuals who were appointed officially by the government to represent the government in Rome in the various places of the empire. As similar today, the United States sends ambassadors to various countries, and those ambassadors represent the United States in various countries. We have a lot of this in the news here lately, that this is the case. And so, the term is actually, as we find it, a technical term. And so first of all, we come to grips with that fact. And as most of the commentators reflect on this, they say, and I was quite interested that this was the case, most of the commentators say that the word ambassadors, as it's brought from the New Testament context into our present era, refers to ministers. Because ministers are individuals who are called and designated and given authority to preach the gospel in the church and on the mission field. And so that's where the bulk of the commentators go. And I thought, well, that's really interesting. because none of the commentators, at least the ones that I read, and it was several, none of the commentators zero in on the little pronoun we. We. We are ambassadors. That's a plural, isn't it? I don't think Paul was using the regal we. Speaking, you know, we, as we sometimes write, we have this opinion. No, I don't think Paul was speaking in that way. And we should understand that this is likely the case because Paul didn't travel alone. Paul didn't minister alone. There was what some have called an apostolic company. There were those who traveled with Paul. And when Paul was originally designated to go out on the mission field in Acts chapter 13, it was Paul and Barnabas who were commissioned, was it not? And we also know from the book of Acts that Luke was often traveling with the apostle Paul. Well, keep your, those of you who have a real Bible, Keep your finger in 2 Corinthians and turn back if you would with me to Acts 19. Acts 19 and verse 29. Paul in this text in Acts is in Ephesus. And there's a little conflict that's there. And verse 29 says, So the city was filled with confusion, And they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul's companions in travel. So here are two individuals who were traveling with Paul, traveling companions. The text doesn't indicate that they were ordained ministers, as we would look at it today. The text doesn't indicate that they were ordained elders, as we might look at it today. The text just takes note of the fact that these were traveling companions, individuals who were in the company of Paul. Then look at Acts 20, might just have to go across the page, verse 4. Sopater the Berean, son of Pyrrhus, accompanied him. That is Paul. Oh, there's someone else who accompanied him. And of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus, and Gaius of Durba, and Timothy, and the Asians, Tychicus and Trifomus. Here are several other folks. traveling companions with the Apostle Paul. Now keep this in mind. You can go back to 2 Corinthians now. We are ambassadors for Christ. The we seems to include These traveling companions and perhaps others, as I just mentioned, Luke is not mentioned in this context, but it's very likely that Luke is traveling with Paul. And these that we've just... mentioned from Acts 19 and Acts 20 may be individuals who are traveling with Paul as representatives of the various churches because Paul is going back to Jerusalem with a gift from the churches to the church at Jerusalem. And it very well could be that these men, these others who are traveling with Paul, are representatives of the various churches and are traveling with Paul for this very purpose. And so suddenly, the whole idea of we are ambassadors for Christ opens up from not just Paul as an individual, Not just individuals who might be ordained to the ministry or ordained to the eldership, but others in the church who are representing the various churches on this journey. And so this we includes Christians in general. And you and I should take notice that this is the case. We are ambassadors for Christ. Paul is saying this in the context of writing to the church at Corinth. Well, let's see what else we can learn here. We've already noted that Paul is not alone, that there's a plural here. And Paul is making an appeal now. But it's not just Paul, is it? We are ambassadors for Christ. God making his appeal through us. Imagine this now. Not only as a pastor, ostensibly retired, Not only as a pastor and an elder in the church, but as a Christian, God is pleased to make his appeals with regard to faith in Jesus Christ, through me and through you, through us. Notice again, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. I think we need to let that sink in a little bit, because no matter who you are as a Christian, and where you go as a Christian, as a Christian, you are representing Jesus Christ. And you know this is the case, because if you hear about someone in the news who's a professing Christian who's done something really evil, You know that that evil act reflects upon the church at large and upon Christians at large. People are watching. If you bear the name of Jesus Christ, people are watching. If others know that you are a Christian, people are watching. In school, the other young people are watching you. And you and I need to keep this in mind. And so God is pleased, to me this is one of the amazing things, God is pleased to make his appeal through us, using us, ordinary Christians, as instruments of grace. Very often we have the privilege here in the congregation to have sending services where we've sent people off to various locations, South Sudan in particular. My wife and I have a daughter and a granddaughter who have gone to Eastern Europe to minister the gospel, to take the gospel to a place called Moldova. And when my daughter said to me, Dad, we're going to Moldova, and I said, you're going where? No, I don't think you want to go to Moldova. I wasn't real comfortable with that. But in the grace of God, they went and they represented Jesus Christ there in that little Eastern European country. Again, the text. We are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ be reconciled to God. Let's get a little context here now. Verses 18 and 19. Paul says, all this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. So now here, three times we've got this idea of reconciliation, being reconciled to God. What does this mean? Verse 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. What does it mean to be reconciled to God? Well, Paul tells us very plainly here, doesn't he? That God was not counting our trespasses against us. You see, God has a problem with us. God has a problem with us as sinners. God has a problem with us when we curse and swear. God has a problem with us when we look at others with lust in our hearts. God has a problem with us when we desire the property of others and sometimes take the property of others. God has a problem with us when we don't tell the truth, when we, oh, it's just a little white lie. No, it's an untruth. It's an actual lie. There aren't white lies. God has a problem with us. And as this is the case, we need to be brought back into fellowship with Him. And how does that happen? Christ dies on a cross. to pay the penalty due to you and me for those sins. And as a result, God does not count those sins against us. What a wonder that is. What a wonder that actually is. Years ago, after graduating from college, I had a falling out with my father. And part of the story is that My father was embroiled in some deep sin. And I was very angry. I was not a Christian. I was very angry. And I wanted out. I wanted away. And as a second lieutenant in the army, you usually don't do this sort of thing. As a second lieutenant in the army, I went to the administrative offices on the post where I was stationed, and I asked to be sent to Korea. I thought, East Coast of the United States? Where's the farthest place I can go? Korea. Lo and behold, they sent me there. And I was glad to be away. But for a year in Korea, I knew that I was at odds with my father. And I knew the time of reckoning would come when I would have to go home. I needed to be reconciled with my father. This is a story with each one of us. We need to be reconciled with our Heavenly Father. The text again. Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, Be reconciled to God. Other translations say, we beg you. We beg you. I had a little correspondence not too long ago with the senior Ken Smith, who lives in Pittsburgh. And he said in his email, I don't hear much in the pulpit these days of ministers really begging individuals to come to Christ. imploring individuals to come to Christ, pleading with individuals to come to Christ. And I guess that's the case. But this is what Paul is doing here. I implore you. I implore you, Paul says, on behalf of Christ. See, I'm a representative of Jesus Christ, and I implore you on behalf of Christ. In his sermons on the book of Acts, Calvin gives us a good example of this sort of thing. He says, if you see someone walking by the edge of a cliff, what do you say to them? Oh, be careful. You might fall. No, Calvin says, you would shout and you would beg, don't go there, don't go there, come back, come back, you're gonna fall. And if you fall, you're gonna lose your life and you might lose your life forever. He said, we would plead with such an individual, we would beg such an individual, don't go there. And this is the idea in the text. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. Now, there's an imperative. And of course, we go back to verse 19 to get this idea of reconciliation. That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them. How are you reconciled to God? You know that through Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven, and God does not count your trespasses against you. They're there. They're real. They're actual sins. They're actual trespasses, but he does not count them against you. Thank you, Lord, that this is the case. This is the idea of reconciliation. And the interesting thing is, at the end of verse 20, the injunction is, the exhortation is, be reconciled to God. Something has to happen to you. This is what Paul is saying, something has to happen to you. It's not as much that you do something as that God does something. I want to go back up to verses 18 and 19. All this is from God who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, in God, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself. not counting their trespasses against them. In Christ, God came and took action to reconcile, Paul says, the world to himself. And I think the best way to interpret that is the people of the world to himself, or people in the world to himself. which would include people like you and me. That God took action by sending Jesus Christ into the world to die on a cross to pay the penalty due to the sins of others, people like you and me. And He's committed this message of reconciliation to us. He's committed this message of reconciliation to us in His church. Let me go back to the story of my falling out with my father. I did have to come home from Korea. That was good. And when I got off the plane, flying from Korea and then into the States and then to Philadelphia, when I got off the plane, I called home and talked to my mother. I didn't want to talk to my dad. And I said, Mom, will you come to the bus stop and pick me up? She knew exactly what I was saying, because many times We had gone through this routine. I'd take the bus from Philadelphia and get off at a particular location in New Jersey. And I'd get picked up at this drop-off point. And my mom said, sure. So I didn't think anything of it. I went and got on the bus. When I got to the drop-off point, of course I expected my mother to be there to pick me up. And when I got off the bus, it was dark, it was night, and there were just a few lights in the parking lot, and I stooped to see who was there. There was a car sitting at a distance off in the parking lot, and I stooped to see who was there. And it was my dad. And he stooped down, too, to see if it was me getting off the bus. And what he saw was me. He ran. He ran to me, and he fell on my neck and wept. And I wept, too. You see, it was an act of my Father who brought reconciliation between the two of us. And that's the miracle that happens in your life and in my life when you are reconciled to God. You hear the message of the gospel. And God, who others have called the hound of heaven, is after you. And he runs. And he casts himself on your neck. And he says, you belong to me. It's like the prodigal son, isn't it? When the prodigal son comes home, and the father sees the son at a distance, and he runs. He runs. The son says, I'm not worthy. I'm not worthy to be called your son. And the father says, you are. You are my son. This is what reconciliation with God is all about. And so the injunction is, be reconciled to God. And that occurs when you hear the words of the Gospel and God opens your heart and you say, yes, Lord, I see it now that you are pleased to forgive all of my sins. It's this message that's committed to us. Who are the ambassadors? We are. We are. We are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. Understand that this is the lesson. And as you walk day by day in this world, and talk with others, and interact with others. Remember, remember who you are. We, the Apostle Paul says, are ambassadors for Christ. Let's pray. Lord, thanks for your grace. You're good to us in every respect. Unworthy though we be, you are the one who is worthy, and you are great. Thank you that this is the case. Bless us, strengthen us, mold us, make us. into those who are indeed fit representatives for you, ambassadors for Christ. Hear us, we pray, in His good name. Amen.