Reconciliation

“Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid
arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must
not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not
resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God
will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that
they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has
taken them captive to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:23-26).

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation
has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who
reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of
reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message
of reconciliation. 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. 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 5:17-21).

These two passages teach how to minister and how not to
minister. The passage in 2 Timothy speaks of four wills that are involved in a
man’s conversion:

•           God’s will

•           The
Christian’s will

•           The
non-Christian’s will

•           Satan’s
will

The key will in the passage is the Christian’s will. He is
told how not to witness and why. He is told how to witness and is told what the
effect of that witness will be.

In 2 Corinthians, we find out five things:

•           The
Christian is reconciled.

•           He has been
given the ministry of reconciliation.

•           He has been
given the message of reconciliation.

•           He has been
given authority to speak for Jesus Christ.

•           God has
given us the gospel.

This post coordinates with today’s reading in the Same
Page Summer Bible Reading Challenge. If you are not in a daily reading
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