8/24/13

From Gary... Happy


Think she is happy?  I do!!!  And the cause of this joy? Simple running water.  Wait, I was wrong; she isn't happy- SHE IS VERY, VERY HAPPY!!!!  And she doesn't even have that new electronic toy or fancy outfit that all the toddlers are raving about!!!  We think we know happiness and then along comes this picture. I think I know happiness, then God gives me children and grandchildren and last of all -  dogs.  In thinking about happiness, it is impossible for me to think of the subject without the following...

Matthew, Chapter 5

  1 Seeing the multitudes, he went up onto the mountain. When he had sat down, his disciples came to him.  2 He opened his mouth and taught them, saying, 
  3  “Blessed are the poor in spirit, 
for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. 
  4  Blessed are those who mourn, 
for they shall be comforted. 
  5  Blessed are the gentle, 
for they shall inherit the earth. 
  6  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, 
for they shall be filled. 
  7  Blessed are the merciful, 
for they shall obtain mercy. 
  8  Blessed are the pure in heart, 
for they shall see God. 
  9  Blessed are the peacemakers, 
for they shall be called children of God. 
  10  Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, 
for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. 


  11  “Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake.


Like I said, we think we know happiness (blessed, above) and then Jesus redefines everything!!!  Many people have written books on this portion of Scripture, so I won't boor you with my limited understanding. However, just one thought comes to my mind:  If you really want to know happiness- let Jesus define it for you.  The beauty of its sincerity is in its simplicity. Well, we are back to the picture again.  Enjoy this wonderful August morning and BE HAPPY!!!

Your Friend,
Gary

From Jim McGuiggan... Since Hanna moved away

Since Hanna moved away

In a lovely little poem Judith Voist expresses marvellously the ache of a child's heart; but she really means to speak for all our hearts when we lose someone very dear to us, doesn't she? Read this and tell me it doesn't do that very thing. You've known times like these haven't you and you might even be going through one now.
The tires on my bike are flat
the sky is grouchy gray
At least it sure feels like that
since Hanna moved away
Chocolate ice cream tastes like prunes
December's come to stay
They've taken back the Mays and Junes
since Hanna moved away
Flowers smell like halibut.
Velvet feels like hay.
Every handsome dog's a mutt
since Hanna moved away. 
Nothing's fun to laugh about.
Nothing's fun to play.
They call me, but I won't come out
Since Hanna moved away

 This is one of the things Christians love about knowing that God is around and that in Jesus Christ he has given assurance that no relationship committed to his care is ever finally lost. It doesn't matter how long it's been out of sight or beyond our reach; doesn't matter how profoundly lost it feels; one day because we're all together in Jesus Christ we'll turn a corner in a better world and there she'll be, there he'll be, there they'll be—all smiles and well and as warm as ever you knew them.
William Cowper took comfort in knowing that and ended a letter to a beloved family friend like this: "There is not room enough for friendship to unfold itself in full bloom in such a nook of life as this. Therefore I am, and must, and will be, Yours for ever."

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.

From Jim McGuiggan... Shakespeare and dangerous men

Shakespeare and dangerous men

You don't have to be a Shakespeare specialist to know that he must have been a great observer of men because in his plays he entered into the depths of so many diverse hearts. And he did it with such convincing power and sensitivity that his name continues to live despite the centuries that have passed. He has Julius Caesar say to Mark Antony:
"Let me have about me men that are fat,
Sleek-headed men and such as sleep at nights.
Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look!
He thinks too much; such men are dangerous.
He reads much; he is a great observer and he looks
Quite through the deeds of men: he loves no plays…he hears no music;
Seldom he smiles, and smiles in such a sort
As if he mock'd himself and scorned his spirit
That could be moved to smile at anything
Such men as he be never at heart's ease."
Is there not too little joy, even where there is good reason to believe that joy should be? Are we not too solemn? Is gloominess really the same as depth of character and thought? Cannot a grinning, life-and-soul-of-the-party type not also be a deep thinker and a sensitive soul?
Must the awful hurt of this world paralyse us so that we can't be thankful for our comfort? Must their hunger make us feel guilty for having good food sitting there before us? Must we hate ourselves for having loving families because so many poor souls are abandoned? Is it true that the only way we can prove our sadness at their poverty is to be miserable because we are richly blessed?
There is a gospel for the sad and those in misery; is there no gospel for the happy? Must we despise happy endings? Must we hear no music, love no plays and must we scorn the spirit that could be moved to smile at anything?
Men like Cassius are dangerous, especially if they are Christians.

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.

From Jim McGuiggan... Rough justice or none at all!

Rough justice or none at all!

Here’s Harriet, she’s a single mother and a cocaine addict and she abuses her children severely and often. Here’s Henry, he’s ill and mentally challenged. He carries an iron bar and has taken to beating people with it.
What are we to do with them? We may not be sure but we are sure that we should do something to protect the defenceless and innocent and it doesn’t matter that Henry and Harriet are not in (complete) control of their actions. Harriet’s horrific background and Henry’s mental disability matter—of course—but these things have to be put aside until we deal with the very real threat these two people are to others.
“The standards of the law are standards of general application. The law takes no account of the infinite varieties of temperament, intellect, and education, which make the internal character of a given act so different in different men. It does not attempt to see men as God sees them, for more than one sufficient reason. In the first place, the impossibility of nicely measuring a man’s powers and limitations is far clearer than that of ascertaining his knowledge of law…When men live in society, a certain average of conduct, a sacrifice of individual peculiarities going beyond a certain point, is necessary to the general welfare. If, for instance, a man is born hasty and awkward, is always having accidents and hurting himself or his neighbors, no doubt his congenital defects will be allowed for in the courts of Heaven, but his slips are no less troublesome to his neighbors than if they sprang from guilty neglect. His neighbors accordingly require him, at his proper peril, to come up to their standard, and the courts which they establish decline to take his personal equation into account.” Oliver Wendell Holmes said that.
There must come a point when we render judgment because however disabled a transgressor is we simply can’t allow him to hurt his neighbour at will. At one level our response against sin (or crime) must ignore what motivates or what shaped the sinner/criminal. We have to develop, as Walter Moberly would put it, “a certain myopia” and get on with dealing with the case. He who knows all and knows how to judge all does not hold us responsible because we are not him and he expects us to judge within our limitations.
Explain it how we will, or for as long as we might, there are in fact those who are predators that hunt the defenceless. What the predator might have been or what he might be under other circumstances who can say? The man/woman before us is the one we have to deal with and not the one who might have been or might later be. When we deal severely (as we sometimes must) with transgressors we recognize our limits but we can do no other than to think that dispensing a rough sort of justice is better than dispensing no justice at all. And if we're sensitive to the fact that we too are under the Holy Father who judges all persons and takes into accountall the factors that conspire to make a life then we’ll bear Matthew 7:1-5 in mind.
Aren’t we pleased that Christ is a great Saviour?! The more complex and convoluted the entire human situation becomes to our eyes the more wondrous he has to be in order to save any of us. “For such a high priest is suited to our needs,” the Hebrew writer said. Pascal had good reason to say, “It is equally dangerous for man to know God without knowing his own wretchedness as it is to know his own wretchedness without knowing the Redeemer who can free him from it.”
But in saying Jesus Christ has to be great to save “any” of us I'm not suggesting we’re all equally bogged down in sins (plural) for manifestly we’re not. Or that we were all equally bogged down in sins (plural) because I know my record is in every way more littered with failures and positive trespasses than many I know. But whatever our individual differences are they came to us because we are part of a single human family. Neither sin nor righteousness began with me—they continue with me and whatever differences there are in the number of our sins or the grossness of our particular sins we’ve all been involved in the same uprising against God at some point and bear the sign of rebel on our forehead.
But I suspect if we had a richer biblical anthropology and a richer sense of human solidarity and if we were more enlightened about our limits as judges we could live more contentedly with “rough justice” and think we were being treated as well as is possible. Maybe resentment would be less of a hazard and we’d “do our time” with a freer heart.

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.

From Mark Copeland... True Repentance (2 Corinthians 7:9-11)


                "THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS"

                        True Repentance (7:9-11)

INTRODUCTION

1. A prominent theme in the preaching of the Gospel is the call to 
   repent...
   a. Jesus wanted it to be preached in His name to all nations - Lk 24:46-47
   b. Peter proclaimed the call to repent in his first two sermons 
      - Ac 2:36-38; 3:19
   c. Paul spoke of repentance to philosophers and kings - Ac 17:30-31;
      26:19-20

2. However, the call to repentance is often neglected in modern day 
   preaching...
   a. By some who preach "faith only"
   b. By some who in reaction stress "baptism"

3. One cannot truly preach the gospel of Christ without the call to 
   repent; and yet...
   a. What is repentance?
   b. How is it produced?
   c. What are some indications that repentance has occurred?

[Perhaps the most elaborate discussion on repentance is found in 2Co 
7:9-11, which serves as the text for this lesson entitled "True 
Repentance".  Let's begin by...]

I. DEFINING "TRUE REPENTANCE"

   A. SOME MISCONCEPTIONS OF REPENTANCE...
      1. That repentance is "sorrow"
         a. 2Co 7:9-10 shows that repentance is an OUTCOME of sorrow
         b. Sorrow leads to repentance; sorrow itself is not repentance
      2. That repentance is "a changed life"
         a. Some understand that repentance is a converted life
         b. But Ac 3:19 reveals that repentance and conversion are two
            separate things
            1) Peter says "Repent therefore and be converted"
            2) If repentance is the same as conversion, then Peter is 
               being redundant
         c. As we shall see, the order is actually this:
            1) First, sorrow
            2) Then, repentance
            3) Finally, a changed life

   B. A PROPER DEFINITION OF REPENTANCE...
      1. W. E. Vine's definition ...
         a. "change of mind"
         b. "involves both a turning from sin and a turning to God"
      2. So think of repentance as simply "a change of mind" in which 
         we DECIDE to "turn from sin and turn to God"
         a. Which is PRECEDED by sorrow
         b. And is FOLLOWED by a changed life

[Repentance is therefore a decision of the mind in which one decides to
change their life;  but what prompts one to make such decision?]

II. PRODUCING "TRUE REPENTANCE"

   A. IT IS "GODLY SORROW" THAT PRODUCES REPENTANCE...
      1. This we glean from our text (2Co 7:9-10); but note carefully:
         a. It is not simply "sorrow", but sorrow that is "godly"
         b. For there is a sorrow that is "of the world"
      2. Note the difference between "godly sorrow" and "worldly 
         sorrow"...
         a. "Worldly sorrow" is a SELFISH kind of sorrow
            1) E.g., when one is sorry because HE got caught
            2) E.g., when one is sorry because what one did made HIM 
               look bad
            -- In "worldly sorrow", one is more concerned about SELF!
         b. "Godly sorrow" is sorrow directed toward GOD ("godly" is
            lit. "according to God")
            1) I.e., one is sorry because their actions are sins 
               against a Holy God -cf. Ps 51:4
            2) Also, one is sorry for the price GOD must pay to have 
               our sins removed
            -- In "godly sorrow", one is more concerned with GOD than
               self!
      3. Some more differences...
         a. "Worldly sorrow" produces regret; "godly sorrow" suffers
            loss in nothing
         b. "Worldly sorrow" produces death; "godly sorrow" produces
            repentance to salvation

   [If "godly sorrow" leads to repentance, how best to produce this
   "godly sorrow" in others?]

   B. PRODUCING "GODLY SORROW" THAT LEADS TO REPENTANCE...
      1. Nathan's rebuke to David in 2Sa 12:7-12 provides some 
         insight...
         a. He made an appeal to God's love (7-8)
         b. He revealed the sin (9)
         c. He warned of the consequences (10-12)
      2. The Gospel of Christ, when properly taught, is designed to so
         produce "godly sorrow", and in turn, repentance...
         a. It appeals to God's love as a basis for repentance - Ro 2:4
         b. It reveals our sin - Ro 3:23
         c. It warns of the consequences - Ro 2:5-11
      3. Our best hope for producing repentance in others that leads to
         salvation is proclaim the gospel in its entirety
         a. Not just the "commands" (believe, repent, be baptized)
         b. Nor just the "promises" (remission of sins, eternal life,
            gift of the Holy Spirit)
         b. But also the "facts" (man's sin, God's love, the coming
            judgment)

[If people are not responding to the "commands" of the gospel, perhaps
we need to consider whether we are providing proper emphasis to the 
"facts" of the gospel.  Finally, consider the...]

III. INDICATIONS OF "TRUE REPENTANCE"

   A. OUR TEXT (2 CO 7:11) MENTIONS SEVERAL...
      1. "diligence" (KJV, carefulness)
         a. This can be defined as "earnestness, zeal, sometimes with
            haste accompanying it"
         b. I.e., being quick to do what is right!
         c. Examples of conversion in ACTS demonstrate this diligence
            in that every case described in detail shows people obeying
            the gospel after just one lesson!
      2. "clearing of yourselves"
         a. To clear one's self of blame
         b. E.g., quick to stop doing what is wrong, if such is the
            case
         c. E.g., quick to respond to the offer of forgiveness when one
            realizes their guilt
      3. "indignation"
         a. This involves a sort of anger, or moral outrage
         b. I.e., toward the SIN which required the repentance
      4. "fear"
         a. Lest the sin should be repeated
         b. Lest the sin should not be entirely removed
      5. "vehement desire"
         a. I.e., a fervent wish
         b. Especially to be right in God's eyes
      6. "zeal"
         a. This involves an "eagerness and ardent interest in pursuit
            of something"
         b. In this case, to turn from sin and turn to God
      7. "vindication" (KJV, revenge)
         a. As the NIV puts it, "what readiness to see justice done"
         b. I.e., to do the right thing!

   B. SUCH ARE THE "SIGNS" OF TRUE REPENTANCE...
      1. Not apathy, not half-hearted service
      2. But a desire to do "works befitting repentance" - Ac 26:20

CONCLUSION

1. Is this indicative of OUR repentance?
   a. Can we look at our lives and see signs that we have really had "a
      change of mind"?
   b. That we have truly made "a decision to turn from sin and to turn
      to God"?
      1) If we have not yet obeyed the gospel ...we have not repented!
      2) If we have become slack in our service...we are in need of
         repentance!

2. If so, then we are in need of a healthy dose of "godly sorrow", 
   brought about by realizing...
   a. God's love for us
   b. The fact we have all sinned
   c. And the consequences if we do not repent!

May the love of God and the reality of the coming judgment move us all
to "True Repentance"! The blessings for those who do repent are 
wonderful... - cf. Ac 2:38-39; 3:19



Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

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From Mark Copeland... Hearts Wide Open (2 Corinthians 6:11-13)


                "THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS"

                       Hearts Wide Open (6:11-13)

INTRODUCTION

1. The apostle Paul was a man who loved his brethren...
   a. He loved his CO-WORKERS - 2Ti 1:2; Phm 1-2
   b. He loved the CONGREGATIONS he worked with - 2Co 11:28
   -- Because of his love, he was willing to give of himself and become
      close to them - e.g., 1Th 2:7-12; 2Co 12:14-15

2. The passage in 2Co 12:15 indicates that sometimes Paul's affection
   was one-sided; he elaborated on this in 2Co 6:11-13...
   a. Paul's heart was "wide open" towards the Corinthians - 11
   b. But their love for him was "restricted" - 12
   c. His exhortation, therefore, was "be open"! - 13

3. In our study, I would like to...
   a. Offer reasons why we all need to have "Hearts Wide Open"
   b. Explain why some may have "restricted hearts"
   c. Suggest how we can be sure to have our "Hearts Wide Open"

[Let's first examine...]

I. WHY WE NEED "HEARTS WIDE OPEN"

   A. BROTHERLY LOVE IS A MARK OF TRUE DISCIPLESHIP...
      1. Note what Jesus said about brethren loving one another in 
         Jn 13:34-35
      2. Such love would be a visible sign by which the world would
         know Christ's true disciples
      3. People with "restricted hearts" would have a difficult time 
         displaying a visible love!

   B. BROTHERLY LOVE IS AN INDICATION OF SPIRITUAL GROWTH...
      1. Peter lists brotherly kindness (and love) among those graces
         involved in growing in the knowledge of Jesus Christ - 2Pe 1:5-8
      2. Whereas having a "restricted heart" is an indication of:
         a. Spiritual immaturity - cf. 2Co 6:13
         b. Or spiritual ailments (short-sighted, even to blindness) 
            - 2Pe 1:9

   C. BROTHERLY LOVE IS AN ASSURANCE OF OUR SALVATION...
      1. It is one way that we know we have passed from death to live 
         - 1Jn 3:16-19
      2. The one who truly loves is one who is born of God - 1Jn 4:7-8
      3. Having "restricted hearts" would not be very reassuring in
         light of such verses!

[Notice 2Pe 1:10-11...If we want assurance, if we want to convince
the world, we need to have "Hearts Wide Open"! Now let's consider some
reasons...]

II. WHY SOME HAVE "RESTRICTED HEARTS"

   A. IT  MIGHT BE DUE TO "IGNORANCE"...
      1. Some Christians may not have been give proper "follow-up"
      2. Their follow-up may have been "unbalanced"
         a. With an emphasis upon the externals 
         b. To the neglect of the internals 
      3. This cannot be our excuse any longer - 1Jn 4:20-21

   B. IT MIGHT BE THE RESULT OF "SPIRITUAL AMNESIA"...
      1. As Peter indicated in 2Pe 1:9
      2. Which occurs when we...
         a. Forget God's love for us in purging us from our sins - 2 Pe 1:9
         b. Do not apply "all diligence" - 2Pe 1:5,10
      3. With the passing of time, we may simply forget how important
         love is in the mind of God - cf. 1Co 13:13

   C. IT MIGHT BE WE HAVE "SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET"...
      1. Some people refuse to get close to others for fear some hidden
         secret may became known
      2. If we have such "skeletons in the closet", we had better get
         rid of them!
         a. For they will eventually become known - cf. Num 32:23
         b. It may be now or later, but it will come out - 1Ti 5:24
      3. With skeletons removed, we won't mind how well people know us
         a. Besides, no one is perfect, and we can use the help
            brethren can give - Ga 6:1-2
         b. Of course, this requires that brethren be trustworthy and
            not gossip!

   D. IT MIGHT BE WE HAVE A "FEAR OF GETTING HURT"...
      1. Loving does involve the "risk of rejection"
      2. Paul experienced rejection, not only at Corinth, but also at
         Rome - 2Ti 4:16
      3. But the joy of true fellowship and love can more than make up
         for the few times some may reject us
         a. The apostle John had experienced both love and rejection 
            - cf. 3Jn 1-4,9-11
         b. But if he had never taken the risk of running into a 
            "Diotrophes", he would have never found a "Gaius"!

   E. IT MIGHT BE THAT "TRUE CONVERSION HAS NOT TAKEN PLACE"...
      1. As indicated before, brotherly love is an assurance of 
         salvation; similarly, it is an indication of true conversion!
         - cf. 1Jn 3:14-15
      2. Unfortunately, some people simply go through the "form" of 
         conversion
         a. Conforming, not converted
         b. Out of convenience, not conviction
         -- When this happens, there is no "life" to begin with!
      3. Those with "restricted hearts" might need to examine 
         themselves
         a. A process that all Christians should undergo periodically 
            - 2Co 13:5
         b. While there are reasons why true Christians may not love as
            they should (see above), we can't discount the possibility
            that the problem may be more serious!

[Whatever the reason, there is really no excuse for having "restricted
hearts". What can be done to "open wide" our hearts?  Here are some...]

III. SUGGESTIONS FOR HAVING "HEARTS WIDE OPEN"

   A. LET GOD'S LOVE TEACH YOU...
      1. This is what enabled the Thessalonians to excel in love 
         - 1Th 4:9
      2. So take to contemplate upon God's love for you!
         a. As manifested through the blessings He has bestowed upon
            you
         b. Especially the blessing of being His child! - 1Jn 3:1
         c. And the blessing of Jesus as our propitiation - 1Jn 4:9-10
      3. This will help motivate us to love as we ought - 1Jn 4:11

   B. NEVER BE CONTENT WITH THE PRESENT STATE OF YOUR LOVE...
      1. Paul did not let the Thessalonians rest on their laurels 
         - 1Th 4:10
      2. The key idea is to "increase more and more"; or as Peter would
         say, "abound" - 2Pe 1:8
      3. So we need to look for more people and more ways to express 
         our love

   C. LOVE TAKES TIME, SO TAKE TIME TO LOVE...
      1. Take advantage of opportunities to be with brethren
         a. I.e., ACCEPT invitations
         b. E.g., to people's homes, potlucks, church services, gospel
            meetings, etc.
      2. Make opportunities to be with brethren
         a. I.e., OFFER invitations
         b. E.g., practice hospitality - 1Pe 4:8-9

CONCLUSION

1. What is the condition of our hearts?
   a. Are they "restricted", suffering from "spiritual hardening of the
      arteries"?
      1) Where the love of God is hindered from freely flowing?
      2) By the "plaques" of ignorance, selfishness, hypocrisy?
   b. Or are they "wide open"?
      1) Where God's love flows freely
      2) Nourishing not only our own lives, but the lives of those 
         around us!
   -- May we all be "taught of God" to have "Hearts Wide Open"!

2. For those who may not yet be Christians...
   a. Consider God's love for you, which is wide open in Jesus Christ
      - Jn 3:16
   b. Why not open wide your love for God...by keeping His
      commandments? - cf. 1Jn 5:3; Jn 14:15

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

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From Mark Copeland... The Ministry Of Reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-21)



                "THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS"

                The Ministry Of Reconciliation (5:18-21)

INTRODUCTION

1. An important concept fundamental to the gospel of Christ is that of
   "reconciliation"

2. In 2Co 5:18-21, Paul expounds upon this subject...
   a. He discusses how there is some sort of reconciliation between God
      and man
   b. He describes the role he played in what he calls the "ministry" 
      of reconciliation

3. There are a couple of questions I would like to address in this
   lesson...
   a. Exactly what is the nature of the reconciliation between God and
      man?
   b. What roles might we play in the gospel of Christ as the "ministry
      of reconciliation"?

[It is important that we first properly understand the meaning of
"reconciliation" and its concept as it relates to God and man...]

I. THE PROCESS OF RECONCILIATION

   A. DEFINING RECONCILIATION...
      1. Vine's definition of "reconcile" (Grk., katallasso)...
         a. "It properly denotes to change, exchange (esp. of money)"
         b. "Hence, of persons, to change from enmity to friendship,
            to reconcile"
      2. He goes on to add:  "With regard to the relationship between
         God and man, the use of this and connected words show that 
         primarily reconciliation is what GOD (emphasis mine, MAC)
         accomplishes..."
         a. I.e., there is enmity between God and man (because of man's
            sin, cf. Isa 59:1-2)
         b. Yet the gospel proclaims how GOD has taken the initiative 
            to reconcile man back to Himself
      3. We should note this fine distinction:
         a. God is not reconciled to man, as though God were partly to
            blame for the enmity
         b. Rather, man is reconciled to God, for it is man who moved
            away from God!
      4. Thus the reconciliation between man and God is slightly 
         different, though the difference is important!
         a. When people need to be reconciled to one another, it 
            normally involves a situation where fault lies on both 
            sides to some degree
         b. Not so with the case between man and God; man has moved 
            away from God, and it is man who needs to be reconciled
            back to God, not God back to man!

   B. HOW RECONCILIATION IS MADE POSSIBLE...
      1. It is possible because of the initiatives that GOD took first!
      2. It is possible through Jesus Christ, in particular by His
         death for our sins!
         a. Note these verses that teach reconciliation comes through 
            Jesus - 2Co 5:18; Col 1:19-20a
         b. Note these verses that teach reconciliation comes through
            Jesus' death on the cross - 2Co 5:19,21; Ro 5:10; Col 1:
            20b-22
         c. In other words...
            1) God took Christ, who knew no sin, to represent our sin
               and to receive the punishment due for sin in His death
               on the cross
            2) So that we, who were enemies, alienated from God by our
               sins, might be reconciled back to God!
            3) And through Christ's death:
               a) We might become the righteousness of God in Him 
                  - 2Co 5:21a
               b) We might be holy, blameless and irreproachable in His
                  sight, because our trespasses are not imputed to us 
                  - Col 1:22; 2Co 5:19; cf. Ro 4:6-8
      3. Indeed, reconciliation is possible because God has offered 
         Jesus as a "propitiation" for our sins!
         a. The word "propitiation" describes a sacrifice that is 
            designed to appease for sins
         b. It was used to describe those sacrifices that Gentiles 
            offered to their gods
         c. But in the NT, it is GOD who offers the "propitiation", not
            man!
            1) Cf. 1Jn 2:1-2; 4:10
            2) This illustrates the great love God has for us, and how
               far He has gone in trying to reconcile man back to 
               Himself!

[It is when we understand the meaning and process of "reconciliation"
(along with "propitiation") that we begin to appreciate the wonderful
extent of God's grace and His love for mankind.

But God went beyond just sending His Son to die on the cross as a 
propitiation designed to reconcile man back to God; He has also 
developed...]

II. THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION

   A. GOD SENT "AMBASSADORS"...
      1. Note that Paul says God:
         a. "...has given to us the ministry of reconciliation"
            - 2Co 5:18b
         b. "...has committed to us the word of reconciliation"
            - 2Co 5:19b
         -- There is a ministry (service) in which the word of 
            reconciliation is to be made known to others!
      2. The apostles in particular had this "ministry"...
         a. The word apostle means "one sent"
         b. In a special way they were sent to serve as Christ's 
            "ambassadors" to the world! - 2Co 5:20
      3. Therefore, through the apostles...through their word...
         a. God is pleading with us...
         b. Christ is imploring us...
         ...be reconciled to God! - 2Co 5:20
      -- Thus God's great love is manifest in the fact that He also 
         sent ambassadors to tell the world what He has done to 
         reconcile man back to Himself

   B. HIS "AMBASSADORS" TODAY...
      1. The "ministry of reconciliation" continues today!
         a. For people are still lost in their sins
         b. And God still loves those who are lost
      2. But who are God's "ambassadors" today?
         a. Who will take the "word of reconciliation" to others?
         b. Who along with God and Christ will plead and implore:  "Be 
            reconciled to God!"?
      3. While there may not be "formal" ambassadors like the apostles
         were, Christ still has His ambassadors:
         a. The people of God, who proclaim His praises - 1Pe 2:9-10
         b. Faithful individuals, who properly taught can teach others 
            - 2Ti 2:2
         c. In fact, ALL Christians should be involved in "the ministry
            of reconciliation"!
            1) Some may "go", while others may "send" - Ro 10:14-15
            2) Some may "teach", while others may "invite" - Jn 1:45-46
      4. In whatever way we serve, we must remember that we play an 
         important role in God's ministry of reconciliation today!

CONCLUSION

1. How important is "reconciliation" and "the ministry of 
   reconciliation"?
   a. If God is "pleading" and Christ is "imploring", then it must be
      very important!
   b. Indeed, the eternal destiny of one's soul depends upon whether he
      or she has been reconciled to God!

2. Does this not move us?
   a. First to be reconciled ourselves?
   b. And then to participate in the ministry of reconciliation for the
      sake of others?

3. A final thought:  The fact that God "pleads" and Christ "implores"
   us to be reconciled tell us some things that are very important for
   us to realize...
   a. Reconciliation is not unconditional (we must respond!)
   b. Reconciliation is not universal (some will be lost!)

Indeed, the grace and mercy of God offered in the death of His Son must
not be received in vain!  As Paul goes on to say:

   "We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not 
   to receive the grace of God in vain." (2Co 6:1)

Only through an obedient faith can we be sure to receive God's grace, 
and have Jesus as the author of our eternal salvation! - cf. He 5:9

Have YOU been reconciled to God?


Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

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