HOW WELL DO YOU REPRESENT YOUR LEADER?

2 Corinthians 5

We're going to start today's lesson near the end of our text, then work our way back. In 2 Corinthians 5:20, Paul wrote:

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.

In the text, Paul used the term ambassador to describe spokespersons for the cause of Christ. The term occurs in only one other New Testament passage. In Ephesians 6:20 Paul said that he was "an ambassador in chains." The word ambassador means messenger or interpreter. It occurs a number of times in the Old Testament. Sometime it refers to an official envoy as it does in Isaiah 30:4, but at other times, it's just someone who is communicating a message. In 2 Chronicle 35, we're told the story of Judah's king Josiah, going out to fight with Neco the king of Egypt. Neco, didn't want to fight, so he sent Josiah a messenger to announce his intent. Note the reading in verse 21, "But Neco sent messengers to him, saying, 'What quarrel is there between you and me, O king of Judah?' It is not you I am attacking at this time, but the house with which I am at war. God has told me to hurry; so stop opposing God, who is with me, or he will destroy you." Josiah should have listened. He didn't and got himself killed as a result.

In 2 Corinthians Paul used the term as a figure of speech to describe those who speak for Christ. There are some Bible students who claim that an ambassador is an appointed, specially designated spokesperson for governments, who are given official sanction. Thus they think that the term "ambassador" can only be applied to an apostle or an inspired writer of scripture.

I don't see the point in limiting the term that severely. Paul used the plural pronoun "we." I don't see any reason to conclude that "we" means the other apostles. Earlier in this chapter, he used the term "we" to describe those who have "a building from God, an eternal home in the heaven" and that's not just the apostles. As a matter of fact, if you follow his thought, he was talking about the evangelistic activity of the church from 2:15 forward.

I don't have any problems thinking that you and I are supposed to be ambassadors for Christ. If you are happier in using the term "representative" I have no quarrel with that, but it is absolutely essential think of ourselves as agents of Christ.

WE REPRESENT CHRIST WHEREVER WE GO

It's important for us to understand that we represent Christ wherever we go. We are never "off duty." Whether you're in the church service, in your home, in your car or in your car, you're a representative for Christ. And if you think that's not important, then ask yourself the question, "Would Christ let himself give way to road rage?" If you are at work, on vacation, eating out at a restaurant or participating in the world of commerce, you are a representative of Christ. That to me is a very sobering thought, because it says that some people will determine their view of Christ on the basis of what they see in us.

That concerned Paul. There were some problems in the church at Corinth, as there are in all churches. Paul's concern involved the church's evangelistic zeal, but his concern was not quite the same as ours. Paul approached the subject of evangelism in a way that is quite foreign to our practice. You will never find a single line of Scripture devoted to scolding the church for their failure to be evangelistic. Paul assumed that evangelism was normative. He said in verse 11,

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.

That last statement is crucial. It's not enough to be evangelistic. We must practice evangelistic integrity. He spoke of integrity in 2:17, when he said,

Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.

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