Take the plunge
Lessons for persuaders, reconcilers and ambassadors from 2 Corinthians 5:11-21
The mp3 file of this talk can be downloaded from the Bethany City Church website here
Being a student in a medical and dental school you hear about some pretty amazing things. In a lecture on one occasion we heard about a young man who had been born with a facial profile in which his bottom jaw was too large in relation to his top jaw. It can affect the appearance considerably and can be a very uncomfortable condition and make eating difficult when it is extreme. With him it was.
But he was a very confident and sociable guy, and loved to head down to his local with his mates for a few drinks.
He wanted it sorted out so he secretly organised to have an operation which would effectively reduce his jaw and correct his facial profile. After the operation and when he had healed and the inflammation and bruising had disappeared he headed back down the pub to meet his mates. He arrived at the pub a little early so he bought his pint and settled at the bar. When his friends arrived they walked straight past him taking him in as they did, purchased their drinks and took there normal seats in the corner. Despite seeing him and knowing him so well they didn’t recognise him.
It is amazing how someone you have known well can be so unrecognisable. You know the feeling when you meet someone you once knew well has moved away for a number of years. Are they the same or different?
In 2 Corinthians 5 Paul speaks about people who have been made ‘new’. He speaks in v17 of -
‘Christians becoming new persons. They are not the same any more, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun.’
But how do you recognise these ‘new’ people – and what makes them different from when they were 'old'?
In the previous talk in this series (see ‘Earn the right’ and downloadable talk from Dave Burke) we were considering how Jesus was a man who ‘grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men’ (Luke 2:52).
The implications for us were that we are called to be salt and light – making a difference to those around us through the way we live and the kind of people we are. The problem is, people may see something different in us, but do they recognise what it is. Do they sit behind their pint knowing we are different to them but are not quite sure why? The fact of the matter is, we need to not only live as different people, but we need to be explaining what has happened to us, and can change them to. We are new people, but why?
What has actually changed us is amazing, startling, and humbling.
A catalyst for change
In v18-19, Paul explains what has happened to Christian people to change them.
In v18a he says we have been brought back to God – we were distant from him, separated by our desire to be our own god, but he has ‘brought us back to himself’.
He did this through what Christ did (v18) Christ’s actions on the cross was the crucial act to enable this bringing back because it meant that God was ‘no longer counting people’s sins against them’ (v18b). Our sin has already been counted, and dealt with, dealt with in the body of Jesus, and all this being initiated, acted and dependent upon God, for it was ‘from God’ (v18a) and ‘God was in Christ’ acting on out behalf(v19a).
And the word the bible uses for this change - reconciled.
Reconciled is a word we hear today in points of conflict between husbands and wives, employees and managers or nations. But if you look this word up to find its meaning you will find that in the original Greek it is ‘katallasso’. The word from which we get our word ‘catalyst’.
In 2000 I spent some time in Zambia doing dentistry in a school in the north of Zambia near the Congo border. During my visit my brother came for a few weeks holiday, and flew into Lusaka in the south. I borrowed a car from a very generous family to go and pick him up. To say thank you, whilst in Lusaka I bought them a really nice large hand crafted and painted pottery plate and transported it up in the car. You can imagine what happened; I hadn’t packed the plate properly and the trauma of the journey took its toll. Upon arrival it had broken into 2 large pieces. I was irritated with myself and frustrated that I didn’t have anything else for a thank you gift. So you can imagine what I did under the circumstances. I did what any resourceful man would do. I got out the Araldite.
Araldite is amazing stuff, providing you have got both tubes that you then mix together. One is the base and the other the catalyst that changes the base into a really strong glue.
It saved my bacon and I gave the reconstructed gift with sincere apologies. All thanks to the catalyst that stuck the 2 halves of the plate back together.
In a similar way, we have been changed, we have been catalysed. In so doing what was broken – a relationship with God has been mended. The two pieces brought back together - peace with God. As Paul said -
‘Whatever we do, it is because Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for everyone, we also believe that we have all died to the old life we used to live. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live to please themselves. Instead, they will live to please Christ, who died and was raised for them.’ (2 Cor 5 v14-15)
So the catalytic act of Jesus on the cross has changed us permanently and forever. We need never worry that we are inadequate to meet our own standards, others standards or God’s standards because the cross has qualified us. We need never fear death again, we need never fear rejection by God again, we need never have to live for things that are only temporary.
We have been changed – we have been reconciled.
But, as we just read we have been changed for a purpose - we have been changed to please and serve Christ.
He has ‘given us the task of reconciling people to him’ (v18) and ‘This (message of reconciliation) is the wonderful message he has given us to tell others’ (v19). People rarely recognise their need for Jesus simply by the way we live. At some point we must tell them. Just as the catalytic reaction of the cross sticks us back to a relationship with God, so also it makes us the catalyst to stick others to a relationship with God by our telling others, our service of God.
Right thinking about being a Catalyst
To do this our thinking about the task must thing right.
Dallas Willard a Christian writer and Philosopher wrote in his excellent book ‘Renovation of the heart’1 about thinking straight. He said
‘To serve God well we must think straight. Crooked thinking, intentional or not, always favours evil. And when the crooked thinking gets elevated into orthodoxy, whether religious or secular, it always costs lives.’ p74(Leicester, IVP: 2002)
We need to learn to think straight about our role as reconcilers, about telling people this message but it in a number of ways our thinking is more often crooked than we might admit. So often we say things such as.
- ‘I don’t know enough to do it.’
- ‘I am too scared to be any good at it’
- ‘It is the job of the professionals and other people.’
None of these are true, they are crooked thinking and crooked thinking always favours evil. That is not to say telling others is always easy. We may say – ‘but I feel scared to tell others’. Not only can out thinking be crooked but our feelings can stop us too.
We need to learn to shape our feelings by directing our thinking. Elsewhere in the same book, Willard says–
‘It is easier for us to evoke and to some degree control our feelings by directing our thoughts, than it is for us to evoke thoughts by feeling a certain way. We cannot just choose our feelings. Our feelings are not directly under the control of our will, but they can be directed by our thoughts’ Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart (Leicester, IVP: 2002) 68-69
In other words, we must allow our right thinking to shape the way we feel. And right thinking will acknowledge that we are new people, that God has given us the task of reconciling people to him. But the catalytic power to change comes not from us, but the cross. So no matter what we feel (and my feelings will change with time, and as we tell others) our thinking must tell us that we can do it.
Becoming a Catalyst
Paul uses three different phrases to explain the how of telling people the wonderful message of the life changing work of the cross.
We find the first in v11. Paul speaks of working ‘hard to persuade others.’ To persuade someone is to bring about a change of mind by explaining and providing understanding.
The second is the word we have already considered from v18 - ‘the task of reconciling people to God’. To reconcile people to God is to take them from being distant from God to knowing God. From being an enemy of God to a friend of God through the cross of Jesus.
And the third is found in v20 – ‘We are Christ’s ambassadors.’ To be an ambassador is to represent Christ in the way we act, think, speak. We say those things that Jesus would say whether hard, easy, comfortable for us or not. We introduce people to Jesus.
And Paul says our role in telling others is to be these people. Within the church we have all three types of people. Persuaders, Reconcilers and Ambassadors. Which are you or which are you strongest at?
Persuaders
Some of us are persuaders. We are good at hearing people’s questions and objections and we don’t mind finding out the answers and discussing with people who disagree with us. We might not see people come to faith very often ourselves, but we help love to help people to find the answers to their questions and persuade them that Jesus way, the truth and the life, the saviour sent from God.
A helpful thing for persuaders to do is to learn to predict the types of questions that people might ask and to try and discover how to answer them. There are only really 7 and learning to discuss the answers is not difficult as long as you don’t mind thinking hard and being stretched.
Why not have a bash at thinking through how people might phrase the following questions
- Is Jesus Christ the only way to God?
- Isn’t the Bible full of errors?
- Isn’t Christian experience only psychological?
- How can miracles be possible?
- What about those who have never heard the gospel?
- Why do the innocent suffer?
- Won’t a good moral life get me to heaven?
Science and faith, the resurrection, issues of truth and why did Jesus die will be covered by any thorough answer to these questions. So, if you think you are a persuader, why not give them a go? (You’ll find a list of resources to help you at the bottom of this talk2.)
Reconcilers
Some of us are Reconcilers. We are really excited about seeing people come to faith, but more than that - we are the sort of people who know what it feels like to have friends or family become Christians. We seem to find that people turn to us when they are done with thinking and asking questions and have decided that the want to turn to Christ. People don’t necessarily come to us with questions and answers – we are not necessarily confident at dealing with those answers, but when people are aware of a need for Christ, reconcilers feel confident to know how to lead people to the Lord.
One thing reconcilers can do is befriend people and be very open and overt about their faith. Reconcilers would find it very helpful to be able to explain the basic message of the Christian gospel in just a couple of minutes, and to know the implications. If this is you, do you know how to explain the Christian message? Could you tell people your own story of coming to faith? How about writing both down on the back of a postcard and sharing it with someone. It really isn’t that difficult.
Ambassadors
All of us are ambassadors. We all have the sorts of relationships with people where we can introduce people to Jesus. Often this happens by inviting them to church, to Alpha, our cell group or some other event. We arrange meetings between people and all the time we know we are representing Jesus and need to speak the words he would speak and do the things he would do. Ambassadors are networkers and socialites – or could be with a little forethought and effort.
One thing ambassadors might choose to do is become an accomplished party organiser. Bringing together friends from church, home and work, creating environments for people who don’t know Jesus to mix with those who do know him. Ambassadors create opportunities for reconcilers to reconcile and persuaders to persuaders.
And you know what, through these 3 groups of people, God has provided the church with everyone he needs to build his Kingdom. Our role it to find out who we are and get stuck in. We need to take the plunge and dive in.
So, which are you?
Persuader, Reconciler or Ambassador?
It may be that we don’t know because we have never tried. To some degree we all have elements of all three, but we will be more equipped and better equipped for some than others.
To be honest, the best way of finding out is to give them a go.
Get your feelings under control of correct thinking, learn to think the right things and take the Plunge – give it a go.
The cross of Jesus is the Catalyst that has changed us and he calls us to be catalyst for changing others too. So, speak to friends and family, put yourselves in situations where they can ask questions, invite them to come along to an event. Tell them how Jesus has changed you – and see what happens!
1 Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart (Leicester, IVP: 2002). This book is not a complicated book to read, but well worth reading a few pages at a time and chewing it over. It tackles the issue of what spiritual transformation in the life of the Christian looks like, is solidly biblical and warmly applied.
2 Books -
Josh McDowell, The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict (Nashville, Nelson publishing: 1999) A text book for dipping into. Lots of detailed arguement and specifics.
Alister McGrath, Bridge Building: Effective Christian Apologetics (Leicester, IVP: 1992) Less detailed that McDowell but still fairly heavy reading and more of a text book
Nicky Gumbel, Searching Issues (Eastbourne, Kinsgway publications: 1994) Easy to read and easy to follow arguments
Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ (Grand Rapids, Zondervan: 1998) Extremely readable and easy to pass on to enquirers
Websites -
Other books of more general interest in explaining the gospel
Rebecca Manley Pippert, Out of the Saltshaker (Leicester, IVP: 1979)
Michael Green, Sharing your faith with a friend (Leicester, IVP: 2002)
Rico Tice, Christianity Explored (London, Authentic Media: 2002)