AR 6 Ambassadors for Christ II Corinthians 5:20-6:2 6/28/2026 Austin Rugh Good evening. Welcome back to the Sunday night service. We’re going to be in II Corinthians 5 as has been announced a couple of times. Please turn in your Bibles to II Corinthians 5. Our High School group was at Camp and the theme Was Running the Race. You must be part of a church to go to the Camp. But does that mean that everyone there, since they came with churches where they hear the Bible taught every week, is a Believer? No. Which is why they’re so heavy on evangelizing as part of camp. Why there is so much time spent during the sessions evangelizing because even those that “go to church” are people that are still not really part of church. That might be true of the group here tonight as well in our audience. Some of you might be part of the family of God and some of you might not be. Just a sidenote because I appreciated it. Something that one of their Pastors highlighted is “why camp works.” Why it seems like so many kids come to Christ at camp. Why does it seem like camp allows so many to be saved? We have at least two staff Pastors that would attribute their moment of salvation to camp. That would be Pastor Aaron Nicklesen and Pastor Grandpa Gil Rugh. Why does it work? Adam, one of the Pastors that spoke, “Says camp works because God said it would.” How does God reach sinners and change their lives? He uses Believers, like you and me, people who have already come to know Jesus Christ to proclaim the Gospel to the lost. He tells us to study His Word. He tells us to gather together to spur one another to love and do good deeds. So, in addition to the games and activities, that’s all camp is! It’s just a lot of it. There were seven moments we had for small groups. There were 11 sermon sessions, and then 12 times we gathered for musical worship. God saves people at camp because we’re doing what God said would save sinners. These kids are taken out of the normal world, and we get to spend every moment for these days among professing Believers. But once again, why is there such an emphasis on Evangelism when all of these people already spend Sunday at Bible-teaching church? Because those that “go to church” may not be part of it. That’s what Paul is I believe, addressing tonight in II Corinthians 5. Within the group of people he writes this letter to, he knows that there are Believers and unbelievers in their midst. So, this is the second letter that we have from Paul to Corinth. Before Paul visits the Corinthians again, he sends this letter ahead. So, he’s going to visit them again, but before he gets there, he’s going to send this letter out ahead of time. Paul says, “I’m coming to see you all. And when I get there…” Kind of three things. 1. I don’t want there to be any question about my authority as an Apostle. 2. I’m going to collect a gift that we’ve already talked about for the Jews back home in Jerusalem. 3. I’m going to give the remaining unbelievers another chance to trust in Christ as their Savior. When I get there, we’re going to work it all out. This urgent call for unbelievers to place their faith in Christ is what we’re going to focus on tonight. Those that need to repent, while there’s a world full of unrepented sinners, may also be here tonight. Let us read II Corinthians 5:20 into chapter 6:2, remembering that these verse breaks, they are for your convenience. Paul wrote a letter, not a chapter book. II Corinthians 5:20–6:2 “So then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as God is pleading through us. We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. And working together with Him, we also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain for He says, “At the acceptable time I listened to you, and on the day of salvation I helped you.” We will provide some context here. For one, we're jumping into a passage that we have not studied the last several weeks. And then two, the passage starts off in verse 20 with “So then” or “Therefore” depending on your translation. Paul, he’s just finished up the section of the letter dedicated to explaining to the Church that he, as well as every Believer, will get to go home to heaven soon. But while he’s here on earth, he has a job to do, II Corinthians 5:9, “Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.” In other words, while I’m using this physical body or the day I’m departing from it, I am to be pleasing to God. That’s the reason I am here as a Believer is to be pleasing to God. Why? II Corinthians 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” Paul, he says to live is Christ and to die is gain. Whether He lives or whether he dies, he has a job to do. His aim and responsibility is to be pleasing to God and we’ll see that as an ambassador here in just a second. So, this itself is a privilege that is only available to Believers. You cannot please God unless you have been made right through the washing of His Son’s blood with us. Plenty of people can do what they would consider to be good things. But those good deeds we understand are filthy rags up until the point He saves you from your sins. It is at that moment you’ve become a new creation. II Corinthians 5:17–19, “Therefore if anyone (Paul, Timothy, Silvanus or the church he’s writing to) is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. (Notice here now how many times he uses the word, reconciled or some version of it. (Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their transgressions against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” Getting to where we are at, to summarize where we are at this point in Paul’s letter; Paul uses verses 17-19 to defend his Apostolic authority by proving that his ministry was not based on worldly credentials. Paul has been commissioned by God, who transformed him into a new creation and entrusted him with the word of reconciliation. Verse 19, “Namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their transgressions against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” So that’s what we are here on earth to do. That’s what a Believer’s job is. We are bearers of the word of reconciliation. We are messengers for the Gospel, that would be another way of putting it. That’s a little bit of background. Tonight, though we’ll try three points about what it means to be an Ambassador for Christ. First is What We are Commissioned to do. Second will be The Message which is reconciliation. Third and then finally will be The Urgency of Grace where we’ll spend the majority of our time. Verse 20, our passage. II Corinthians 5:20, “So then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as God is pleading through us. We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” We are Ambassadors. The time that Paul is writing, they would have thought of Roman Ambassadors, someone from Rome that represents the empire that came to a foreign land to communicate something specific that Rome would like communicated. So, it’s sent to a foreign people, they did not speak on their own behalf, but they carried the full authority of the one who commissioned them. I think Jonah would be a nice example for us to think of. He was an Ambassador for God. Jonah was not God but the word that he came to deliver, eventually to the Ninevites, was that in 40 days they would be overthrown unless they repented. So, God sent Jonah, Jonah delivered the words of God, and the people listened to Jonah as if he was God. He was speaking God’s Word. So being an ambassador for Christ means that you don’t represent yourself. Everywhere that Paul traveled, he wasn’t there to represent himself, but Christ. When a nation sends an Ambassador, they are there to represent the ideas and values of the people that sent them. They are not there to use it as a platform for themselves or in Paul’s case, and in our case, we are there to represent the ideas and values of the One who sent us. Part of the Ambassador’s role is to a specific region. You can argue that we are citizens of heaven so that our territory is to be Ambassadors on earth or more specifically Paul, he was an Ambassador to the Gentiles. Meanwhile he would say that Peter was entrusted with the Gospel to the Jews. An Ambassador speaks with full authority and carries the exact message of the person they represent. We speak on behalf of God to those God puts before us, wherever you might be. Yes, generally to the earth, the unsaved, the lost, but we’ll get a little bit more there when we figure out who God has sent each of us to. This is the title that we are to carry on earth. It’s a very high honor to be able to represent God here and we need to take the opportunity seriously. That’s part of our commission, our authority as Ambassadors from God. And that’s emphasized in II Corinthians 5:20, “So then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as God is pleading through us.” The words that come out of my mouth, the words hopefully that come out of your mouth are not my own, but they are God’s. Again, this is a privilege. God doesn’t have to use me to communicate His plan but chose to and that should be exciting. I get to communicate on behalf of the God of the entire universe. What I say so long as I’m saying what the Bible says is what God would say to you. I can do that accurately because I have God’s completed Word. A Believer, this is specific to them, they have the unique privilege of speaking on behalf of God. Meanwhile, anyone can speak on behalf of themselves. This is what differentiates us from the rest of the world. Plenty of people have plenty of opinions that they’ll contradict, they’ll change their minds. If you think about your favorite podcast, or news, or Sportscenter, it’s a lot of people making a bunch of hot air about their own thoughts and opinions. And it’s all subject to change. These people will walk all over themselves by contradicting, lying, changing their minds, or just getting something wrong. But the message that’s supposed to be on my tongue to the rest of the world is not what I think is best or what I think is right. Instead, I want to use my voice as God’s. I want God to use me as His own. I have His unchanging and completed Word. All I have to do is repeat it. It’s perfect. Believers are God’s appointed representatives on earth. God decided to use our voices to communicate His Word. Paul was so widely known for his role as an Ambassador. He was good at it. He was intentional. He wouldn’t shut up. People would try to kill him, and he’d come back that that same city and proclaim. Everywhere Paul would go, He would perform his role as an Ambassador for Christ and God would speak through him. We’re going to look at one example of this. Turn to Acts 19. I want to look at one example of Paul’s broad reputation as an Ambassador. Before Paul writes II Corinthians, he’s in Ephesus for a while. Acts 19 records that all of Asia at least heard the word of the Lord. Paul’s routine was to go from city to city proclaiming the Gospel. First, he would start in the Jewish synagogues and then he would head off to the Gentiles. For context, we’ll start in verse 8 and we’re looking just for the reputation, how Paul acted as an Ambassador. Now, he walked into a room, you’d point to him and say that’s an ambassador of Christ, making no mistake about anything else Paul was up to. Acts 19:8, “And after Paul entered the synagogue, he continued speaking out boldly for three months, (the message he is carrying) reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.” Paul preaches for months about the kingdom of God in the synagogue and then moves to teach in a school. Verse 10-12, “This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that cloths or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out.” Just a picture of how identifiable Paul was that he was from God. We’re going to take this guys’ clothes and share them so that people are healed. This is how obviously positioned as an Ambassador Paul was. God would use miracles to validate Paul’s message. Paul wasn’t just sent out to heal as many people as he could, but like verse 8 said, to “persuade them about the kingdom of God.” That’s the job. Paul was so outspoken about the message of reconciliation that even the demons knew what Paul did. Look at verse 13-15, “But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted (key word) to invoke over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, “I implore you by Jesus whom Paul preaches. Now seven sons of one named Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. And the evil spirit answered and said to them, I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” These men, sons of a Jewish priest, were trying to cast out demons. These are pagans, these are not real worshippers of God. They don’t know God. They thought they could recreate Paul’s recipe for casting out a demon by mentioning the guy that Paul knows, Jesus. So, these guys are ultimately overpowered by the demon. They have to run away stripped and naked. You can turn back to II Corinthians. You would not make a very good Ambassador if you didn’t know who or what you were representing. If you call yourself a Believer, which would mean you are an Ambassador for Christ, then you should be able to represent Him. These “exorcists,” they didn’t know Jesus. They knew a guy, Paul, that knew a guy, Jesus. I know of Paul who knows Jesus. Hopefully that’s not the case for anyone here. If you are identified as an ambassador for Christ and someone approaches you, “tell me about Jesus.” You’d have to talk to this other guy. You’d have to go to my church where they could tell you about Jesus or maybe you should talk to my Pastor. You are all qualified to talk to someone about Jesus because we know Him first-hand. Each of us do. You don’t have to go through me. You don’t have to through a priest. We all know Him personally. His Spirit lives in us. Paul, he was an excellent ambassador. People knew his purpose on earth, that wherever He was, he spoke God’s Word. Unlike these men, who pretended to know God. The demon, he asked a good question. I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you? A question that hopefully we would all be able to answer confidently. So, part of being commissioned to be an Ambassador means I speak God’s word in authority. To do that, I need to know Him. Another part of the commission is the message we carry and the message is this, II Corinthians 5:20 picking up in the middle, “We beg you on behalf of Christ, (the message) be reconciled to God.” I have a message from Christ. I am His Ambassador, you are an Ambassador. Paul speaking to the Corinthians here, be reconciled to God. I can’t change a person’s heart, but God can. Only God can do it, but He uses people like you and me to alert people that they need their heart changed. Paul, I believe, is dealing with a church where he believes there are unbelievers present. Just like there might be unbelievers present here tonight. These people here, and all around everywhere, need to know that we have message from Christ, for them personally. It is of eternal importance that we deliver this message. We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. So, you and I have a relationship with God through His Son who paid our penalty on the cross and forgave us of our debts. He demands that we pass that message along. That we share it with others and with urgency. It says we beg you, which means, Christ begs you. Christ hands you a note. When you see Austin, you need to pass along this message from Me to him. “Austin, Christ begs you that you to repent and believe so that you could be made right with God.” Be reconciled to God. This is our message. Our commission. We know what an Ambassador is. We have God’s authority as Ambassadors and the message we bring is to be reconciled to God. What’s that? What for? It mentions it so many times. Verse 19 says that He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. So, we need to know what that means. It’s a fancy word and we just say it over and over again and maybe you can pick it up from the context. But we need to know what it means. And it is simple. We have all sinned against a perfect and a Holy God and that separated us from God, and we cannot have a relationship with Him on our own. This is our second point. This is the message we carry which is Reconciliation. To tell someone that you need to be reconciled to God means they are a sinner that needs to settle their account with God. To be reconciled, this is a passive imperative. The sinner is commanded to yield or receive the gift that God alone accomplishes. The work of reconciliation it is already done, and itis already been accomplished. You simply need to be saved by grace. How was it accomplished? God doesn’t count our transgressions against us. Instead verse 21 says, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” We have the privilege to carry the most important message that has ever existed. How can you have a relationship with God? How can a sinner have the opportunity to have a relationship with God? God alone made it possible. Grace through faith. For those that have faith, the sins that we have accumulated on our account have been transferred to Christ’s account, through his paying of our debt on the cross. We call this imputation, so that I can be made right with the God I’ve sinned against. If you want to learn more on imputation, Pastor Jesse has a 153-page thesis on it that is a super light page turner, I encourage you all to read. A lot of people out there, and maybe even in the church like Paul is dealing with, don’t understand how this is the only way you can be saved. Christ must take on my sin debt and pay it, or I’m headed to an eternal hell. Hell, the place of eternal torment and separation from God. If you do not have a personal relationship with God and you were to die, you would enter into your eternity in hell. Eternal punishment. That is what you and I owe for sinning against a perfect and a Holy God. We owe God a crushing debt. One that we could never pay in any number of lifetimes. In Matthew 18, the parable that we have of the slave that owes his master, and the math comes out to something like 150,000 years’ worth of wages. So even in all his life, and entire lifetime, it would be useless. It would be futile to try to pay God back. Any effort, not worth it. What it’s like to have a student loan, a car payment, medical bills, a mortgage. Once in a while something in politics will come up where they’ll tease you to forgive certain types of debt, usually around election season. Most recently like student loans. And even to be teased with that idea is euphoric for some. Can you imagine that this monthly payment that I have to pay every single month doesn’t feel like it takes a dent out, of vanishing forever. Could you imagine if someone came along and paid it all for you? Because owing something to someone, it is a burden. The borrower is slave to the lender. It’s not a good feeling to owe your university the student loan that has been around for longer than you’ve been in school. The bank, the hospital. It’s not good to feel like you owe them money. It’s not good to owe them money. Maybe some of us have even received calls from debt collectors. But this looming cloud that follows you around everywhere and constantly reminds you that you are indebted, is similar. People need to know that in addition to their monetary debt that they owe, that they may owe, they also owe God an eternity to be spent in hell. Every month, I get a letter in the mail, a bill from my bank that explains what I owe for my house. Or maybe it’s a credit card statement, car loan, whatever. You know what it’s like to receive this thing. From day one, you have been amassing a sin debt. Imagine if God were to send you a bill every single month or every single day for all the sins you have committed. Eventually, that bill becomes due. It’s been stacking up, it’s been taking up space, but eventually it comes due. But our plea with the world or the debt collector, is to take their debt. To collect it. To be reconciled with God. I wanted to let you know, that there is a Man here who has provided you with a sacrifice that is fully sufficient to cover your entire debt, if you will trust and place your faith in Him. II Corinthians 5:21, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf.” God is offering to transfer your entire balance of sin onto His Son. Christ incurred an incredible debt on my behalf. My sins weren’t only erased and forgotten. I sinned against God and justice had to be paid. He had to die on the cross. Jesus did it for me. It’s been taken care of. Christ bore my sins on the cross so that I might be forgiven. He never sinned. Jesus was not a sinner. But he paid the debt that I owe for my sins. Why? So that I might be justified, made right before God. End of verse 21, “So that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” This is the greatest acceptance letter you’ve ever received, and you never even sent in an application for it. You and I have no business being accepted as righteous before God. I’ve done absolutely nothing to deserve it. But in Christ, we are righteous. God has already signed it, and it’s signed with His Son's blood. As the Ambassador my message to everyone else is “I beg you also to be reconciled to God.” How will you respond? And that’s our third point. This is where we’ll spend the rest of our time together. The urgency of grace. Paul, he has a message as an Ambassador but it’s actually two parts. As Ambassadors, specifically Paul, Timothy, and Silvanus, who are the “wes” referred to when we are reading this passage. They plead with the Corinthians not to do something and to do something. So, we read, we plead with them to be reconciled to God. And we plead with them not to receive the grace of God in vain. A two-parter message as Ambassadors. Look at II Corinthians 6:1. It says, “And working together with Him, we also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.” So, we get to work with God. We’ve already seen this in II Corinthians 5:20. “We are ambassadors for Christ, as God is pleading through us.” In verse 1 of chapter 6 it says, “with Him” and that’s in italics. It’s added for our translation and it’s in context. That’s why it’s in italics. But you and I are Ambassadors. We don’t represent ourselves. We’ve covered that. I’m not here to forgive anyone of their sin debt. I can’t. But I know someone you can call. I work with Him all the time. In fact, He is speaking to us right now through His Word. I can’t fix your sin problem, but I know who can. Like I really know Him. It’s not like I know a guy who knows a guy, like the people who try to cast out the demons, the exorcists. But I personally know Him and He can deal with your sins. He already has if you place your faith in Him. But what happens so often when we make our plea? A lot of times, I can offer someone the truth about how they can have eternal life, and their answer is no, or not right now, or I’m good. Or it’s faith plus something else. That’s often what we hear as Ambassadors, which is why it’s part of our plea that those we share with what? II Corinthians 6:1, “And working together with Him, we also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.” Back in verse 20, we plead with them to be reconciled to God, to receive His grace. And here in verse 1, we also plead with them not to receive the grace of God in vain. I can’t force someone to accept Christ. But as His Ambassador, I need to explain the situation clearly. Christ died for you. PLEASE, do not receive the grace of God in vain. Because you can. Many of us have. People can grow up hearing the Gospel every week. Some people can explain every aspect of the Gospel, maybe even teach it to others effectively. Maybe others have brought others to Christ with their proclamation of the Gospel. But those same people may have never believed it themselves. What is the point of hearing the Gospel but refusing to do anything with it? Nothing. That’s what it is to receive the grace of God in vain. Turn back chapter 11, Paul is concerned for the Corinthians. An Ambassador is entrusted with a message, and we need to keep it clear and accurate. Paul, the urgency that he’s trying to communicate, there is going to be a warning and a timeline that we’re going to work through. For now, it is the warning. Don’t do this. II Corinthians 11:2–4 says, “For I am jealous for you with a Godly jealousy, for I betrothed you to one husband, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I fear that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be corrupted from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we did not preach, or you receive a different spirit which you did not receive, or a different gospel which you did not accept, you bear this beautifully.” Sort of a sarcastic remark there at the end. Paul is saying there’s going to be other Ambassadors out there. And if they come presenting a different message that over complicates things, that adds to the Gospel, adds to the work that Christ already did on the cross, you bear this beautifully. You’re acting like it’s not even happening. The Corinthians, you have received the grace of God. The message is simple and pure. Do not abandon it for a false one. And don’t choose to do nothing with it. We must tell people that just hearing the Gospel isn’t going to cut it. Knowing what the Bible says or who Jesus is will not save you. Think of those exorcists. I know Paul who knows Jesus. God sent me to plea with you that you are at risk of hearing the Gospel, receiving the message of the grace of God, and deciding to do nothing with it. It’s as if God offered you a brand-new heart. Yours is filthy, it’s decaying, it is stained with sin. And there’s an organ donor available. So, you’re on the door of eternal death. As far as you know, you have 60 years or 60 seconds left before this wicked heart finally fails. That is NOTHING. In relationship to eternity, your heart is failing and you are about to die. As far as we know, God sent you His ambassador right in the nick of time. God has provided a way for you to receive eternal life. He has a new heart for you, right here. In other words, you have received it. But you decide no thanks. Now, I don’t think it’s the appropriate time, the right place in my life to respond to this grace. What use is the new heart? It would be nothing. It would have been received in vain. Remember the audience that Paul is dealing with here. He’s writing to the Church. I think this urgency though can just be as appropriately applied to the whole unsaved world. There are also people in the Church that receive the grace of God in vain. Every time we share the Gospel and those who hear choose not to respond, it is heard in vain. Layla, if she’s here tonight, I think extremely highly of her and for what she shared in her testimony. She was baptized a few years ago here. I went back and I listened to it. She described how she was involved and part of things around this church for 30 years but did not have her own relationship with God. She said that she thought she did, but when faced with whether or not she had abandoned her first love, Jesus Christ, she became honest with herself and at that point repented and has since been walking with the Lord. But for 30 years, you can serve in this place, be part of things, be useful, share in the lives of those here, fellowship with us afterwards and still receive the grace of God in vain. Paul’s plea, part two of the message is please don’t. Please, you are at risk of hearing this message and choosing not to respond to it or twisting it, defiling the simple pure message of the Gospel. Because to the Believer, especially ones that are in the Church, this is all we do, our things. We just are busy with each other, and I hold one side and you hold the other and we carry things. That’ all an unbeliever can perceive. There is a risk of self-deception. I don’t think anyone here would say I believe works could save me. Whether you’re saved or not we do a good job of teaching that works will not save you. But for those of us that were raised up in the church, we know all about what it looks like to conform. We know exactly how a Christian is supposed to act and we may be able to pull it off to some extent without actually having a relationship with God. Maybe you could explain the Bible because you have the knowledge. Or maybe you can serve in a variety of areas and you’re actually useful at it. But those are either works, genuine fruits, that a produces as evidence for their salvation, or they are the rock on which the unbeliever’s faith is built. The deception occurs when I’m saved because I do these things. I believe I’m saved because I can explain the Gospel to somebody else. It sounds close. It’s so close. But the true child of God is saved because of Jesus Christ and He has equipped me to serve Him. He is the rock that my faith is built on. You and I can experience salvation because He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf. It is faith alone in Jesus Christ that allows me to become the righteousness of God in Him. That was all accomplished on the cross. So this is the message that we bring to the world in its simplest form. It is repent and believe. The urgency our last point here, includes a warning, which is do not receive the grace of God in vain. But additionally, our message for the world is today, right now, is your opportunity. God will hear you today. Very big claim that I can speak on behalf of God that He’s listening to you today. II Corinthians 6:2, “For He says, “At the acceptable time I listened to you, and one the day of Salvation I helped,” behold, now is “the Day of Salvation.” Paul is quoting from Isaiah 49:8 where Isaiah records a psalm about Christ liberating Israel. Paul uses this as his application for the Church in Corinth. Now is the acceptable time. Now is the day of salvation. Paul understands that salvation is an open invitation today. Wouldn’t June 28th be a wonderful day to give your life to the Lord, be made right before God? Believers, that’s the message we carry. Whatever the date is you should know because that day is a good day to come to the Lord. Turn to Romans 9. As Ambassadors for Christ, I like to keep two things constantly in mind while I share the Gospel with someone. This is what gives me confidence when I share the Gospel with somebody. One. Long, long, long ago, before time even existed, God appointed me at this particular time, with this particular person, to have the opportunity to witness to them. God knew this would happen. I’m not in over my head. God ordained this. I’m going to take advantage of it. Two, only God can change the heart. There is no amount of wordsmithing that I can go through to save this person or to finally shove them over the edge and finally convince them with my wisdom or logic, that they need a Savior. It is fully on God. So, I can rest that He will save whom He will save. Look at Romans 9:15-16, “For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So, then it does not depend on the one who wills or the one who runs, but on God who has mercy.” Our job is just to be communicators. Live as living testimonies of Christ. Communicate God’s message and God will handle the work of transformation. I believe in election, that God has preordained every single person who will experience adoption into God’s family. God knows exactly who is and who is not written in the Book of Life. But I better not allow myself to become casual about the Gospel and misunderstand the doctrine of election. God is going to accomplish His plan with or without you. Wouldn’t you like to be the instrument He uses to accomplish His plans? In order to be an effective ambassador, we need to know the urgency that comes with the gift that we are offering from God. The warning you are at risk of hearing this and doing nothing with it. It’s almost like the warning label on a product. Before you use this thing, I want to let you know where after hearing it, what happens a lot of times is that there is no response. The grace that you receive is received in vain. The second part though is the timing. Today. Right now, today is the day of salvation. I can’t make any promises about tomorrow. God’s Word doesn’t say anything about it. Sinner, be reconciled to God and do not receive His grace in vain. God has told me that today the door is open. It says it right here in His Word that salvation is available today for any person that asks anyone. All you have to do is have faith. All of the arrangements have already been made. You don’t have to bring anything, you don’t have to pack anything, pass any tests, be a certain age. Salvation is available right now. He has not told me that it will be available tomorrow. Sometimes, as Ambassadors, we might like to act like tomorrow is a sure thing. Speaking personally, I think that’s why I can think of individuals I have yet to have a serious conversation with because the urgency may not be as urgent to me as it needs to be. It’s true of me so I assume it’s true of some of you too. God has told you that today is the day of salvation. Who do you need to tell before tomorrow? Who are you an Ambassador to? Your coworkers, your parents, siblings, kids, friends. God has appointed you to be His ambassador in their life. Have you been an effective Ambassador to the people God has placed in your life? Do the people that God has sent you, understand that there is an urgency to the message that you believe? Or are you just the guy that goes to church? Do they know that you are urgently beckoning them, please be reconciled to God. Say I’m having a conversation with someone. “What If I told you that today, anyone that asked to have their financial debt forgiven would be forgiven?” All of it. Car, house, student loans, credit cards, anything. I don’t know if it will be available tomorrow. Anyone would say you would be a fool to wait, to risk it tomorrow. You might have thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of dollars riding on the fact that this could be forgiven today so long as I act today. I bet that opportunity of this small lifetime would be executed every single time. But we have the opportunity of eternal life and what do people do? Turn to Luke 23. This will be the narrative we spend the rest of our time in. This is the story about the thieves on the cross. Two guys did know that today was the only day they had left. We’re going to take a look at the account of the thieves on the cross next to Jesus. Both of whom started off by mocking Jesus according to Matthew. On the literal day that Jesus made atonement for your sins and my sins, two men hung on either side of Jesus. These men were actually deserving of their punishment, unlike Jesus who was blameless and perfect. One of them acknowledges that and the other does not. Luke 23:33, “When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.” Verse 39, “And one of the criminals hanging there was blaspheming Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” The first thief demonstrates no faith. He’s asking for evidence. Jesus prove that you are God, save us, blaspheming Him it says. Verses 40-43, “But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? “And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for what we have done; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom! And He said to him, Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” For both of these men, “NOW was the acceptable time. NOW was the day of salvation.” It really meant right NOW! There was no wondering about tomorrow because before tomorrow, eternity begins for these guys. The opportunity will have passed. We refer to this passage often about the thief who gave his life to Christ. Look he wasn’t baptized, baptism isn’t necessary for salvation or just how gracious God is to save sinners. But I wanted to come here to tonight to highlight that God may not soften your heart tomorrow or in your final moments. The urgency we communicate as Ambassadors is that you might never have another opportunity to repent of your sins. We’ve had a number of people from our body pass away rather slowly and I hear good news about our Ambassadors being there at their bedside as they do. God has given some people the time to say goodbye and examine their hearts before Him. Even some gave what little bit of their life was left to Him and we’re extremely grateful for that. But as far as what God records for us in the Gospels, one thief repented and the other did not. As Ambassadors, we must remember that our time is limited. Today may be all that we have to act as Ambassadors for our own lives and for the lives of somebody else. If you think you can wait to come to God until you’re on your death bed, you’re arrogant. If you think that you can come to terms with God even as soon as tomorrow, you’re arrogant. I was too once upon a time. Once upon a time probably everyone in here was. Anyone that decided not to place their faith in God the moment they heard the Gospel, ran the risk of not seeing tomorrow. You received it in vain. But you and I can praise God that He’s been patient and that His grace has lasted the past these last 2,000 years. But think for a second, consider the situation on these three crosses. You have in the middle, the undeniable Son of God, who performed miracles in the site of the whole world, hanging between two criminals. All three men know, even the thieves know, not the omniscient One, but even the thieves know, without a shred of doubt, they are going to die. They are hanging on a cross and will not come down from that cross alive. There are procedures in place that will guarantee they are dead before their feet touch the ground again. For the thieves, all hope of escape is lost. Death is about as certain as it can possibly get. If there were ever an opportunity to give your life to the Lord, it would be while He’s dying right next to you. Yet, we have two different responses. One man blasphemed and the other confessed his sins. They knew they wouldn’t see tomorrow. None of you know if you will see tomorrow. These guys knew and still one chose not to repent. You and I have no idea what will happen. So, what are you going to do today? That question, that’s not just for Believers, it is also for unbelievers. If you are a Believer today, you are an Ambassador. If you are a Believer that means that you are responsible for communicating the message within the time that you are given. I don’t know how long that is. We do not know if tomorrow will be a day for salvation. It might not. That wasn’t in the materials that we received from the Person that we represent. The only date I have is today. Do you act with that level of urgency? Do you understand that grace can be received in vain and that now is the acceptable time? Everyone knew that Paul was an ambassador for Christ. Is that true of you? Do you understand that you represent our perfect and Holy God and carry an urgent message from him? Have you identified who you’re an Ambassador to. Who has God placed in your life in this brief time you can minister to. To help us be a little practical, we can ask who are you an Ambassador to? The easy answer is to the whole world. Well, anyone I come in contact with. But it helps to get specific. It’s one thing to say, “pray at all times” or “in all your ways acknowledge Him.” But I love breaking things down and figuring out what that actually means daily. So that means I can pray during the two minutes it takes to brush my teeth. Or every time I’m pumping gas in the car or when I walk to get the mail. I can make it part of my routine which, maybe it is part of your routine and if it’s not, you think oh I could also pray then. That’s why it’s helpful to be specific. Or “In all my ways” means I should acknowledge Him while I’m picking out my clothes for the day. It’s just good to get specific when thinking through these absolute statements. Which we agree with, but it is helpful in application. When Andrew talked about God’s lovingkindness this morning. If I told any of you that God possessed lovingkindness, you would agree. But then going on and explain what that means requires more careful thought. I appreciate him using Jonah as an example, that Jonah was so familiar with God’s lovingkindness that it actually frustrated him. So, who has Christ made me an Ambassador to? Who would be in my territory? Start with Sunday and work through Saturday night. Just be thinking who do I come across daily that I need to share the Gospel with. Who has God placed in my life? These are people that you are an Ambassador to. Do people recognize you as an Ambassador. Maybe you have talked to them, and they know, this guy, he talks about Jesus all the time. Or would they not recognize you like the demons didn’t recognize the exorcists. We recognize Jesus and we know about Paul, but who are you? Wouldn’t it be great to be known as the guy that represents Christ. Not for my own credit, but for His. I was convicted in a very untimely manner this morning. There was a visitor that came through, maybe you’re here tonight. But they came through and I’ve seen this guy for a very long time, at least a year at the gym. I think I have probably seen him weekly. And he came to church not because I ever invited him, but because Aaron knocked on his door during a door-to-door outreach. So, I’d seen him weekly and what have I done. It was convicting for me. Who are you? Who am I? We are Ambassadors for Christ with an invitation from God. Is that obvious about each one of us? Or would people be surprised? I had to tell this guy that I’m actually a Pastor at Indian Hills Community Church and I can use the excuse that I’m just there to get in and out of the gym. But who cares. Anyway, I was just very upset with myself. What about your own kids? Are you an Ambassador for Christ to your own children? What would your kids say? Oh ya, my dad? He’s on earth to tell me and others about the Gospel. Or maybe you’re not much of an Ambassador at all. Maybe you’re more just transporting to the Ambassadors. I take them to church where they can find the Ambassadors. I don’t share Christ with them. Hopefully, the people that teach them here aren’t the only Ambassadors in their life. Have you handed out God’s invitation of reconciliation in any of the territories God has given you? Something I ask myself periodically is if anyone would try to blame me for why they end up in hell. If anyone could ever accuse me of not sharing the message of salvation with them. Why didn’t you ever tell me? You knew I wasn’t a Believer? You knew this whole time how to have eternal life, and you never said anything? I know each person is personally accountable to God. It wouldn’t be my fault if someone goes to hell. It wouldn’t be your fault. But would anyone question why you kept the Gospel from them? Especially these people that you see on a routine basis. We do not have time to break down every verse in these next few sections here. But Paul continues in II Corinthians 6 by describing the lengths he goes to in his own life to protect the ministry. We’ll read through it. Look at II Corinthians 6:3, “Giving no cause (as Ambassadors) for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited.” And he goes on to describe what an authentic, sacrificial Ambassador looks like. Ambassadors, this is what you’re here to do. This is why you were given life today. Now on the other hand, finally, if you are an unbeliever today, God has given you today as the (day of) salvation. How will you respond to His plea? What are you going to do today? Believers, we’re going to proclaim the message we bear with urgency and accuracy. Now unbelievers, just like me and everyone else in here, you are a sinner. Because of your sins, you have been separated from God. And you will give an account for every evil thought and action you have ever had. The consequence for your sin is eternal separation from God. That separation ultimately takes the form of you spending eternity in hell. But God, being rich in mercy, sent His Son to die on the cross for you. While you were a sinner, Christ died for you. Then He rose from the grave. He’s alive. He defeated death and because He lives, so can you. God sent me to tell you about what He’s done. And I’m probably not the first person that He has sent! There’s probably been plenty of Ambassadors before me. Every person that has witnessed to you is an Ambassador that God sent to you. God preordained every time and place you would receive His grace. But up until now, you’ve received it in vain. You have either followed a defiled version of the Gospel, where maybe the rock of your salvation were your good works. Or you’ve just refused to respond to grace. How long has God been stretching out His hand for you? How long have you been attending here? 30 years like some? Why haven’t you taken it? I can tell you, you haven’t taken it because you don’t believe what God says. He tells me, He tells you that today is the acceptable day. He doesn’t say tomorrow, but you don’t believe Him. There’s plenty of time, there are other opportunities that I’ll have. I can focus on that at another stage of life. Right now, I’ll live my life the way I’d like to. You don’t know if you can. You don’t know if you will. If you think you know better that tomorrow will be available, who’s right? You or God? Repent of your sins, turn to Christ. Place your faith and hope entirely on what He has already done. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” Today is a great day for salvation. Your sin debt can be paid, and you can be forgiven. Andrew read this morning I John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Last Sunday happened to be a day for salvation. Yesterday happened to be another day of salvation. But the Bible says that today is the day of salvation. Be reconciled to God. Don’t receive His grace that you heard today in vain. Then, you will become an ambassador for Christ and God will begin to use your voice to deliver the same message to those that He has been putting in your life. To the rest of the church, Believers, with regards to what it means to be an Ambassador, just to review and then we’ll get into a quick workplace situation. This is what it means. We need to understand our commission. We are sent by God to speak on His behalf. The message we share is for all to be reconciled to God. In that message reconciliation, that’s what we carry. Through Christ, we can be made right before the God we sinned against. Our debt has been transferred from our account to Christ’s. And finally, as Ambassadors we would not be doing our part if we didn’t understand the second part to the message that there is a warning. There is an urgency that people are prone to receiving the grace of God in vain and that God promises today, He does not promise tomorrow. You and I are Ambassadors that He has strategically placed in different areas of this city or maybe cities outside of Lincoln where He wants you to be. And in those places are the people He wants you to share with. Before we go out into the world again, we have some time to read our working conditions as I call it, at the beginning in verse 3. Look again at II Corinthians 6:3. Earlier in II Corinthians 5:13 he says, “For if we are out of our mind, it is for God, or if we are of right mind, it is for you.” This really puts in context why Paul has to defend himself. I’m not insane. I’m not crazy. I’m not out of my mind because this is what you signed up for. II Corinthians 6:3–10, “Giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited, but in everything commending ourselves as ministers of God, in much perseverance, in afflictions, in distresses, in hardships, in beatings, in imprisonments, in disturbances, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger, in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in unhypocritical love, in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; regarded as deceivers and yet true; as unknown and yet well-known, as dying and yet behold, we live; as punished and yet not put to death, as sorrowful but always rejoicing, as poor but making many rich, as having nothing and yet possessing all things.” We aren’t promised it will be easy, in fact, it is quite the opposite. But it’s the best job in the world. A Christian gets to be an Ambassador for Christ, the Son of God. You get to speak on His behalf, and God pleads through you. And we can understand that God is sovereign and He alone saves. But we remember that He uses people like you and me to accomplish His will. Let’s pray. 1