Sunday, October 19, 1997 In Your Absence:
In this week's lesson, which came from II Corinthians 5:11-6:2, we saw that the Apostle Paul was trying to motivate those in the Corinthian church to try to reach others for Christ. He used the term "reconciliation" as a way to describe what happens to each of us when we place our trust in the finished work of the Lord. In Romans 6:23, Paul had spoken about the death which has been brought upon all of us because of sin and had essentially shown that our sins have separated us from God. In and of ourselves, there is nothing that we can do to bring ourselves back to our heavenly Father, but through Jesus, we can be returned to or reconciled back to God. By offering Himself on the cross of Calvary, Jesus paid our sin debt and made a way for us back to God.
As we have seen in earlier lessons, the Apostle Paul never got over what happened to him on the road to Damascus. He had had an encounter with Jesus, that encounter had changed him dramatically and forever, and he wanted the whole world to know. Paul was motivated by Christ's love. He knew what that love had done for him, and he knew that Jesus coming into the life of any unbeliever would be a wonderful thing. We learned from this lesson that the Apostle Paul had many critics. One of his objectives in writing this particular passage was to provide the church at Corinth with some solid evidences of his own conversion and ministry. He wanted them to know that a walk with Christ is real, and he wanted them to know that he had committed his life to the One Who had died for him. Most people view others from a worldly point of view, and he wanted his followers to consider the new life which he had been given. He also wanted them to understand their own responsibility before the Lord. Those who have been reconciled to God have been given a similar ministry of reconciliation. We do not save anyone, but each of us should be doing our best to bring others to the One Who can.
In Luke 12:48, the Bible teaches that those who have been given much are expected to do much. If we have accepted the Lord as our Savior, then we should be about the business of trying to reach others. There is much hurt in this world, and that hurt needs the loving touch of Jesus. The problem is that most people will never know about Him if someone does not tell them. As Christians, we need to keep our spiritual ears and eyes open and always be ready to share with others our hope in Christ. In I Peter 3:15, we are told to be ready to share with others the hope that is within us. In I Peter 4:10, we are encouraged to be ministers to others. In II Corinthians 4:3, we are told that if our gospel is hidden, then it is hidden to those who are lost. All of these verses and many more are given so that we might be encouraged to pass on to others the salvation which we have been freely given. In the coming week, let the Holy Spirit use you as a minister to others.
Tom of Spotswood"He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (I John 5:12)
"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)
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