Click here for more messages from the Called series.
Click here to return to the Sermons page.

2 Corinthians 5:11-21

INTRODUCTION: We have done a number of messages this fall on the theme of “Called,” different things we are called to as believers. A few weeks back we talked about being “Called to Community” and then “Called to Holiness.” Today I would like to talk about being “Called to Communicate.”

Once again, this ties in directly with our four purposes as a church. If you look on the front of your bulletin, you will see the four purposes, or four C’s as we sometimes call them: Celebration, Community, Communication, and Cultivation. The mission of Agawam Church of the Bible is to glorify God by worshiping him, loving our neighbor, sharing the gospel and growing in Christ-likeness. If we are doing all four of these, we are fulfilling our mission as a church. If we leave any of them out, then we are not fulfilling our mission. It’s also important to remember that we are the church. So if we are not doing them, then the church is not doing them.

Called to Communicate obviously relates to our third purpose, which is Communication or Sharing the Gospel. Part of being a Christian is sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with others. That’s how we became Christians to begin with. Somebody shared with us. The word gospel means “Good News!” And good news is meant for sharing, not for keeping to ourselves.

I. Compelled by Christ’s love (verses 11-15)

How did Paul view this ministry of sharing the gospel with others? First of all, he spoke of being compelled by Christ’s love. I find that a convicting phrase. Am I compelled by Christ’s love to share the gospel? Are you compelled by Christ’s love to share the gospel with other people? Let’s look at verses 11-15 together:

Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. 12 We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. 13 If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. (2 Corinthians 5:11-15)

Wow, there is a lot going on in those verses. Let me try to break it down for you. What does it mean to be compelled by Christ’s love to share the gospel with others?

    A. Persuade others about Christ.

First of all, Paul talks about persuading others about Christ. Verse 11: “Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men.” (2 Corinthians 5:11a)

You might wonder what Paul means by “the fear of the Lord” here. In the verses just before this, he has been talking about living to please God because we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. So Paul is talking about that fear or reverence that recognizes Christ is our Judge, and we are accountable before God to live a life that pleases him. And part of living a life that is pleasing to God is sharing the gospel with others.

But notice Paul not only shares the gospel with others. He seeks to persuade others about Jesus Christ. That word “persuade” does not mean to manipulate someone or get into an argument. It is related to the word “trust or confidence.” In other words Paul seeks to live his life and share the gospel in such a way that other people will have confidence in what he says. He is compelled by Christ’s love to persuade others about Christ.

    B. Have a right motivation.

Secondly Paul talks about having the right motivation. Look at verses 11-13:

What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. 12 We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. 13 If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. (2 Corinthians 5:11b-13)

These verses are fairly complex, and they overlap with some others issues that Paul was dealing with in this letter, such as the Corinthians’ questioning his authority as an apostle. But the main idea for us this morning is the importance of having the right motivation in sharing the gospel. Paul was not motivated by pride or selfishness but rather he was compelled by Christ’s love. Paul made himself an open book to the Corinthians by showing them his heart. Paul says, “I have laid open my heart before God and men, and you can see that nothing of what I am doing is for me. It is all for the sake of God and for others.” That should also be our motivation in sharing the gospel – to glorify God and to serve others.

    C. Be convinced that Christ died for all.

Finally in this section Paul says he is compelled by Christ’s love to share the gospel with others because he is convinced that Christ died for all. Look at verses 14-15:

For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)

Paul was compelled by Christ’s love to share the gospel because he was convinced that one died for all. The “one” here clearly refers to Christ who gave himself as a sacrifice for our sins. The “all” does not mean that all are saved, but that Christ’s death was sufficient for the salvation of all who believe in him. We were all dead in our sins, but Christ died for us so that we would no longer live for ourselves, but for him. That is the good news of the gospel. And because Paul was convinced that this is true, Christ love compelled him to share that gospel with others.

Do you seek to persuade others that Christ died for them? Do you strive to have the right motivation of pleasing God and serving others? Are you convinced that Christ died for all that those who believe may be saved? As Christians we are called to communicate, which means we should be compelled by Christ’s love to share the gospel with others.

II. Seeing others through Christ’s eyes (verses 16-17)

Secondly, Paul talks about seeing others through Christ’s eyes. Look at verses 16-17:

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:16-17)

What does it mean to see others through Christ’s eyes?

    A. Regard no one from a worldly point of view.

First of all, it means we regard no one from a worldly point of view. A worldly point of view is one that is limited to the material world. A worldly point of view means interacting with people and relating to them without ever thinking about their eternal destiny. Trust me, Christ does not look at people from a worldly point of view. Jesus looks at every friend, relation, neighbor and co-worker of yours, and he sees them from the perspective of eternity. And you should too.

C. S. Lewis once wrote: “It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare.” (C. S. Lewis; The Weight of Glory)

Now Lewis was not saying that we would become actual gods and goddesses in the sense of becoming God. But he was using imaginative language to make an important point. One day every person you have ever met will either be glorified with God in heaven or relegated to eternal judgment in hell. Lewis was encouraging us to look at people from the perspective of eternity.

And that is what Paul is doing here in verse 16. If we are going to share the gospel with people, we need to stop regarding people from a worldly point of view. Paul says we used to look at Christ that way, but no longer. We need to do the same with the people God has placed in our lives. We need to see them as Christ does — from an eternal perspective.

    B. Recognize that Christ makes all things new.

And then the other part of seeing people though Christ’s eyes is to recognize that Christ makes all things new. Verse 17 says,

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Sometimes it is hard to imagine some of the people we know becoming Christians. We hold back on sharing the gospel with them because we think they will respond negatively. But we need to realize they are no different than you or I were before we came to Christ. It is only after a person comes to Christ that a person becomes a new creation. You can’t start looking for fruit before you even plant the seed!

It doesn’t matter how far away from God or uninterested in God a person might seem. You will never know how they will respond to the gospel until you share it with them. Recognize that Christ makes all things new, and trust him to change people’s lives through the power of the gospel. That’s part of seeing people through Christ’s eyes.

III. Serving as Christ’s ambassadors (18-21)

Paul spoke of being compelled by Christ’s love, seeing others through Christ’s eyes, and then finally, serving as Christ’s ambassador. Look at verses 18-21:

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:18-21)

In serving as Christ’s ambassadors, Paul says that God gave us the ministry of reconciliation and that God has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

    A. God gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

First of all God gave us the ministry of reconciliation. After God reconciled us to himself through Christ, he then gave us the ministry of reconciliation. And what is the ministry of reconciliation? The ministry of reconciliation is the process of God removing the barriers that stand between us and him.

The ministry of reconciliation begins with God and with what God has done. Paul tells us that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. The world here represents the world of sinful humanity. We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. Our sin is the barrier that stands in our way of having a right relationship with God. But God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting men’s sins against them. It was not that God could simply overlook our sin or pretend it wasn’t there. God is holy and just, and he must punish sin. But God took care of our sin problem through Jesus Christ.

The ministry of reconciliation begins with God, but then God gave this ministry to us. So what are we supposed to do? We can’t take away anyone’s sins. We can’t restore people to right relationship with God.

    B. God has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

No, God gave us the ministry of reconciliation by committing to us the message of reconciliation. That’s what it says at the end of verse 19 into verse 20:

And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. (2 Corinthians 5:19b-20)

It is the ambassador’s job to represent the one who sends him. If an ambassador is given a certain message and either delivers a different message or fails to deliver any message at all, the ambassador has failed in his duty. As Christ’s ambassadors we have been entrusted with the message of reconciliation. If we deliver a different message or fail to deliver the message given to us, then we are not doing our job as ambassadors for Christ.

Paul takes it even a step further. He feels compelled not only to deliver the content of the message, but as an ambassador representing Christ he must deliver the urgency and the emotion behind the message as well. And so he appeals, he implores, he persuades as though God himself were making the appeal through him. “We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God!”

And how do we become reconciled to God? We put our trust in Christ who became sin for us, so that we might become righteous before God. Verse 21 talks about this great substitution:

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Jesus was perfect, sinless. He was the only man who ever walked the face of this planet who knew no sin. And yet God placed our sins on Christ at the cross. Christ suffered the penalty for our sins. Why? So that we who were sinners might become righteous before God. Christ the righteous one took our sins upon himself; we the sinful ones receive Christ’s righteousness in return. Through Christ, we may be reconciled to God.

CONCLUSION: This is the good news of the gospel. This is what we are called to communicate. In closing:

• There are people around you who do not know the gospel. They need to be told.
• There are others who have heard the gospel but do not yet believe it is true. They need to be persuaded.
• There are still others who have heard the gospel and may believe it is true, but they have never trusted Christ personally. They need to be urged and implored: Be reconciled to God!

We are called to communicate. Compelled by Christ’s love, seeing others through Christ’s eyes and serving as Christ’s ambassadors, let us share the good news of Jesus Christ with others.

© Ray Fowler

You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this message provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and that you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For any web postings, please link to the sermon directly at this website.

Please include the following statement on any distributed copies:
By Ray Fowler. © Ray Fowler. Website: http://www.rayfowler.org

Click here for more messages from the Called series.
Click here to return to the Sermons page.