A Lifestyle of Mission

Bible Passage: 2 Corinthians 5:14-21

In this passage, Paul explains to the Corinthian church about what drives his ministry. He is motivated by the love of God, and his transformed identity as a new creation in Jesus, to what he calls a ‘ministry of reconciliation’. Just as he has personally experienced reconciliation with God through the blood of Jesus, so now he gives himself to seeing other people also reconciled to God. This same mindset is not something that is unique to Paul, but should characterise the priorities of everyone who is a follower of Jesus, as we seek to share his love with others around us.

The Motivation for Mission (v14-15): In the verses before this passage, Paul has been explaining to the Corinthians about his desire to persuade others, and now he tells us why. In his own words, ‘Christ’s love compels us.’ As he sees it, there is something about the love of Jesus that is so powerful and beautiful that once you have received it, you cannot help but share it with other people. This love is particularly shown in the gospel truth (articulated in verse 15) that Christ died for our sins and rose again so that we could have new life. The primary motive to share the gospel is the gospel itself. What Jesus has done is such incredible good news that we cannot keep it to ourselves; everybody must know about the incredible offer of new life that can be found in Jesus. Our evangelism is not to be motivated by guilt, obligation or fear, but love.

The Identity of Mission (v16-17): The urgency of sharing the love of Jesus comes from the new identity that we have in Christ. God has given a new perspective that shifts us from our old way of looking at things that is limited, worldly and status-conscious to something new that is spiritual, hopeful and shaped by the resurrection. Because we know Jesus, we are new creations. We have been born again by the power of God. This means when we see others we can have compassion. Every person we meet has been made by God and though sin has led to people being estranged from God, the same gospel that we have received is available to them, and so as we share our faith we do so as new creation people holding out the hope of God to other precious image-bearers who we care about deeply and long to see finding the same hope that we ourselves have received.

The Calling of Mission (v18-21): The reconciling works starts with what God has done. Paul highlights the gospel once again and speaks of how through Christ, God has reconciled people to himself. Because Jesus was made to be sin for us, our sins were no longer counted against us and we were made into the righteousness of God. Moreover, this reconciliation suggest not only forgiveness but also a restoration of relationship. This is good news that is on offer to every person, and God has entrusted the message of this news to us. We are now called God’s ambassadors into the world, and we have the calling to share God’s love with other people and tell those around us about what Jesus has done. The passage even says that God is making his appeal through us – it is in our words to our friends that God’s salvation offer will be heard. As we come to the end of this series on evangelism, there is a clear calling for us to take out this message of hope and share God’s reconciliation with the world.

Potential Applications:

• As this message often finishes out the series, it would be good to end with a clear call to evangelism. This is not just a short term focus over a few weeks but something we should carry forward as an ongoing priority.
• It would be helpful to have some concrete follow ups to invite people to do – whether this is an Alpha course to invite friends to, or a challenge to write down some names to commit to praying for their salvation.
• As you are speaking about being reconciled to God, it would be natural to create a moment where you invite people to respond to the gospel and be reconciled to God through Jesus.