Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. The Bible teaches that salvation is a free gift for us, that we can be reconciled to God, our sins forgiven, by placing our faith in Jesus. But it's only free because the Son of God paid a most costly price. William Barclay writes that God alone can pay the terrible price that is necessary before men can be forgiven. Forgiveness is the most costly thing in the world. In today's message, Pastor Rich examines the ultimate reconciliation.
Let's listen in. This is part three of a message from 2 Corinthians 5, 18-21. It was first preached on April 20, 2014. To hear the whole sermon, check out www.delightingrace.com. God pleads through us to you, be reconciled to God. The offer is there. It is a plea, it is an invitation.
There's no coercion. There's something very interesting about this, where it says, Be reconciled to God. The last four words of verse 20.
Be reconciled to God. This is, in the original language, the Greek, this was written. This is a passive imperative.
It almost sounds like an oxymoron, doesn't it? This is a passive imperative. What are you going to do with that? It goes back to the beginning of verse 18, Now all things are of God. We don't reconcile ourselves to God. God reconciles us. And so the plea is this, in the passive imperative, be reconciled to God. What does that mean?
Let me paraphrase it for you. Surrender yourself to His grace. You and I were born with a problem. That problem is self-preeminence. We think we're it.
We're not it. God is. And when I surrender myself to His grace, it is at that moment that that exchange happens.
He bore the wrath for me, and He gives me His righteousness. And therefore, I am reconciled to God. If you do not surrender to His grace, and without the reconciliation of God, the best you can do is die. And again, death, as I speak, it is not an annihilation. It is not a ceasing to exist. You will exist for eternity. The question is, will you exist in a state of life, or will you exist in a state of death? Without reconciliation to God, you can do nothing but die, and you will be destined, you are destined to a godless eternity of despair. And so, the plea goes out, be reconciled to God.
The invitation is there. Some of you may be here this morning. I ask these questions often. How do we know? Yes, I'll acknowledge that Jesus was a historic man that walked this earth in history, and He was a good teacher, and yes, He died a tragic death. But how do we know that this is true? How do we know that what the theological implications say that we can be reconciled to God, that He died in my place? How do we know? That's why we worship on Sunday. Do you know what happened on Sunday? The Lord walked out of the grave.
That's how we know. The resurrection of Christ is our guarantee. The resurrection, the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ, is our guarantee and proof to all of four things.
Number one, that Jesus is God. What other man can walk out of the grave? It doesn't happen. This man did.
This man did. Romans 1-4 says very clearly that He was declared, proclaimed, declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of Holiness by the resurrection from the dead. Uncontestable, He is God. That means that His claims are believable that He is God. God's testimony is true. The second thing, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is our guarantee and proof for all that His payment for our sin was accepted. How do I know that Christ died for my sins? How do I know it stuck?
How do I know it worked? Because He walked out of the grave. That's how we know. Romans, I'm sorry, Romans 4-25, He was delivered up for our trespasses and was raised for our justification. Raised for our justification. Justification means that I am made acceptable before a holy God.
And He is then willing to reconcile me to Himself. My guarantee of that is when Jesus walked out of the grave. Thirdly, the resurrection of Christ is our guarantee that we who are in Christ will live. We who are in Christ will live. 1 Corinthians 15 makes it very clear Christ is risen from the dead and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. Firstfruits is an agrarian term.
You take the first product from the fields, that means there's a lot more to come. And the fact that Jesus rose from the dead in space and time in history because He did, I will too. He is the one who said, because I live, you shall live also. What mere man could make a statement like that?
No, not just a mere man, the man who walked out of the grave. Fourthly, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is our guarantee and proof to all that we will stand in the judgment. We will stand in the judgment. There is an accounting coming and I will stand, you and I will stand before the one who made us. And the resurrection of Jesus Christ is a guarantee to me that I will stand in that judgment.
Why? Because I have His righteousness. If you do not have His righteousness, you will not stand. You will fall. And that day of judgment is coming.
That's why the plea goes out. And the Apostle Paul, in history, was in Athens, a great city of a great deal of philosophy and religions, and he was speaking to a very philosophical people and it's recorded in Acts chapter 17 verse 31. He says, He has appointed, God has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom He has ordained.
And who is that man that He has ordained? He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead. Very, very clear message. The plea is there. Be reconciled to God and I plead with you this morning. Are you reconciled to God?
It is the number one foundational paramount issue for every man, woman, and child. God has done the work to reconcile you to Himself. And that passive imperative this morning is, be reconciled to God.
Question. Why wouldn't you be reconciled to God as if He's ever wronged us? He is the benevolent sovereign, the Creator who made all things good. He made all things good. He made all things for Himself knowing that He is the best thing for us. And He is a benevolent sovereign.
The things that He has made are good. All the blessings of creation you look outside and the beauty of creation, it is all a blessing from Him. The relationships that we enjoy, they are a blessing from Him.
The dinner we are about to enjoy today, it is a blessing from Him. And think about this. What if God who made us says, I'm going to provide food for my creatures. And what if He provided us something like dog food.
We have a dog and that dog eats dry, bland dog food. He demands people food. He can't relate to God.
But you and I can and one of the blessings of the Creator is that He has made so much variety for us to enjoy in this life. It is a testament to His benevolence. Why would you not be reconciled to Him? One of Christ's shortest parables in the Gospels is that where He compares the kingdom of heaven is like a man who goes and he digs in a field and he finds a priceless treasure. And he puts it back, he goes and he sells everything he has.
Why? So that he can go and buy that field because he knows the priceless treasure that is there. To gain the greater you have to forfeit the lesser. But do we understand it to be the greater? The God of this world wants you to believe you don't need God. But that is very much in contrast to our hearts and minds being opened by our Creator Redeemer who came to reconcile us to Himself. He is our God. And so I plead with you this morning be reconciled to God.
That is my plea. That is the invitation this morning. The Bible tells us that in Adam all die but in Christ, in Christ all shall be made alive. Christ's righteousness will be credited to us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. You've been listening to Rich Powell, the lead pastor at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. The Delight in Grace mission is to help you know that God designed you to realize your highest good and your deepest satisfaction in Him, the one who is infinitely good. We hope you'll join us again on weekdays at 10am.
