2Cor 5:19-20, 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. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
Saul was on a murderous rampage, carrying legal documents, to persecute and snuff out any and all that were followers of Christ. However, while traveling to Damascus, a light from heaven shone around him, knocking him to the ground. “He heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord.” Saul was converted instantaneously, and the Lord caused a sudden heart change in Saul’s life and made him born again (Acts 9:1-5; John 3:3). And Saul, later called Paul, would pen the words of 2Cor 5:19-20 concerning carrying the message of reconciliation as ambassadors of Christ.
First, one must be reconciled to God, which means to have harmony between two enemies, or formally warring parties. How does God reconcile wicked sinners to Himself? He regenerates our hearts with the truth of Christ and His Gospel. This is what occurs when God chose to reconcile Himself with Paul. God reconciles the world to Himself through Christ’s death on the cross. Does this mean the whole world, every single person? By no means (John 3:16)! He changes the hearts of His chosen ones (Eze 36:24-26), which He chose from before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4).
He no longer counts our trespasses, our sin, against us, because He makes us new in Christ (2Cor 5:17). When he makes us new, like a caterpillar in a butterfly, He entrusts to us the message of reconciliation, because we are His reconciled ones. God reconciled His servant Saul, who formally carried legal documents to murder Christians and upon being converted, He carried the message of reconciliation which is to say the message of Gospel. We too are to carry this same message, as ambassadors for Christ. The former message we carried such as, “try harder, do good, believe in yourself, believe it and achieve it,” or whatever mantra we carried, offered no hope but death. Now we have the message of eternal life. An ambassador represents the will of his or her own sovereign but in another country that is not their own. If a weaker nation planned to fire a warhead against a stronger nation, the stronger nation would send his ambassador and call for the disarming of the warhead and call for peace, reconciliation.
If the weaker nation doesn’t disarm, the more powerful nation will administer a swift and decisive military strike and pour fury on the other nation that refused the terms of peace. If someone refuses to make terms of peace with God through Christ, God will pour out His just wrath upon up the guilty party. His wrath is currently, presently upon the rebel to His will (Rom 1:18). We come on behalf of our Sovereign King, the Lord Jesus, and represent the Kingdom of God, to the kingdom of this world, and implore, beg, plead with them on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God to have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom 5:1)
Soli Deo Gloria: Are you a faithful and obedient ambassador of God, carrying the Gospel and calling sinners to be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ? If not what is keeping you from doing that today?