16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 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. 20 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. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. At the end of last week, we talked about our bodies, and how we are thankful that the Bible addresses our bodies, but we now know that our bodies were never meant to be the focus (as is prevalent in our culture). So, as we continue in this verse with that mind set, we are reminded that we no longer look at people from a worldly point of a view. That is, we don't judge people by the way they look.
Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Paul reminds us that to look at Christ and judge Him mere by what we see, we would not have thought highly. Isaiah 52:2 tells us that "He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him." Can you believe that?! Did you know that Jesus was probably not the handsome character that we see painted all over the place? Nothing about Him physically would have been attractive to us! Yet, He was God! I can't point fingers at the people back then, because I'm sure I would've dismissed Him, too, based on looks alone. How sad. But that's why it's about SO much more than just looks. God didn't want us to come to Him based on His looks! He wants us to come to Him based on who He is and what He did for us.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! Anyone who is united with Christ through faith in Him and commitment to Him can be reconciled to (at peace with, on the same team as) God, and a total renovation happens and continues in us. We are no longer identified by our past, our looks, or anything else -- we are identified as His.
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 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. And God initiated this. This struck me in a fresh way this morning! We didn't even have to ask Him to consider to help us, excuse us or save us. He came up with the idea millenia before we would ever think of it. This is all from Him! He chose that He would not count our sin against us if we would trust Him and choose to love and follow Him. And now, He has asked that we continue to spread this Good News!
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. It is a choice. We must choose to be reconciled. He can dangle the carrot in front of us, have person after person tell us what this means, surround us by a church of people who love us, and yet, if we have never chosen to follow Him, we are still lost. And so I join with Paul, my friend, and I implore you: be reconciled to God this moment. Confess your sins to Him, believe He is the Lord, and then choose to follow Him from now until forever. It will be the best decision of your entire existence!
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. This is the sacrifice He made for you and me. Though it wasn't a lamb on the altar this time; it was God Himself. He died to pay for my sin and for yours. God put the wrong on Jesus who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.
Become friends with God; He's already a friend with you.
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