Conviction #2: You Are God’s Representative to the Culture

We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
–2 Corinthians 5:20

If we are going to change the world around us, then we have to understand that we are God’s representatives to the culture.

As we look through Scripture, we see the analogy of being God’s ambassador. The apostle Paul wrote, “God . . . reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18).

Do you know what the message is that God is shouting to the world? Not that He hates people, but that He loves people. God loves us so much that even though we have wandered away from Him, God took the first step in reestablishing that relationship by sending His Son to die for us. That is the message God wants articulated in the world: God wants to be reconciled to us. How does God deliver that message? He does it through you and me. That is why Paul said in verse 20, “We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” The way God voices His message of love, reconciliation, and the gospel of Christ to the world is through you. You are God’s mouthpiece, His ambassador. God has charged you with the ministry of sharing with others how to be reconciled to Him. Now, it is important to note that ambassadors do not speak their own message. Their job is not to manufacture a message but to articulate the king’s message. If we are faithfully representing God, then it doesn’t matter what we think about same-sex marriage, abortion, capital punishment, or other world religions; what matters is what God says about those subjects. The Bible clearly tells us what God says about those things. Our job as an ambassador is not to manufacture our own message but to articulate the King’s message. We are God’s ambassadors.

Elijah understood that. Elijah understood that whether he was condemning Ahab and Jezebel or whether he was dealing with the false prophets of Baal and Asherah, or whether he was calling down fire from heaven, he was simply doing the King’s bidding. And as long as an ambassador does the king’s bidding, he enjoys the power and the protection of the king. Today, God is looking for men and women just like Elijah who will dare to be His spokesmen, His representatives in the world.

One of my favorite verses of Scripture is 2 Chronicles 16:9: “The eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.”

***

Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Convictions That Will Change Your World” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2017.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.