"To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."— 2 Corinthians 5:19-21.

Verse 20 of 2 Corinthians 5 will suffice as the text for this evening’s discussion. Paul said, "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God."

By way of introduction, I would like to point out two things: First, I am quite cognizant of the fact that Paul is speaking concerning the ministry in particular and the Lord’s church in general, for, said he, "Unto us he hath committed the word of reconciliation," and secondly, Paul presents GOD as the One who is doing the BESEECHING.

You know we have people today that get the idea that it is the alien sinner who is admonished to beseech the Lord, but here in the text we are told that God does the beseeching. He said, "we are ambassadors for Christ, as though GOD did BESEECH you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God." He said that God is the One who does the beseeching. The alien sinner doesn’t believe in Christ. He does not have the BLOOD. He cannot approach the Throne of Divine Grace because he has no right. The only way whereby men can approach God and get into the Holiest of Holies is by the BLOOD of Jesus (Heb. 10:19-20). Let us keep the record straight then, and point out to men that it is GOD who beseeches the alien sinner to become reconciled to Himself.

It is said that God is PROPITIATED and man is RECONCILED. Certainly, the Bible does NOT teach that God becomes reconciled to man, but that MAN becomes reconciled to GOD, and in Christ’s vicarious suffering upon the cross God is said to be propitiated. The word PROPITIATION has more than one meaning. It has been said by some that it means to appease God. However, I don’t like that expression. I do not think of God as some avenging God waiting for someone to appease His wrath. It is used in the particular sense that Christ, in His death upon the cross, satisfied the justice of God, and in that respect God has been appeased, and only in that respect.

But tonight we are concerned primarily with the central thought of verse 20 of 2Corinthians 5. We are concerned with being "ambassadors for Christ." I know that the Divine Commission was given to Christ’s church, I know that the preaching of the Gospel and the baptizing of the ones who hear and believe was given exclusively to Christ’s church; but I do know, also, that there is such a thing as CHRISTIAN RADIATION, Christian WITNESS and Christian TESTIMONY.

This is presented in the last invitation found in the Word of God. Jesus said, "The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst say, Come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely" (Rev. 22:17).

In the first part of the text you will note that it is the church, the Spirit and the Bride. The Bride is the Lord’s church (2 Cor. 11:2). And notice again in the text: "Let him that heareth say, Come." That is Christian radiation, individual Christian radiation.

Incumbent, therefore, upon every child of God is this solemn obligation to invite men to COME to Christ. And then he said, "Let him that is athirst say, Come. And whosoever will, let him come and take the water of life freely." So I am not doing violence to the Word of God when I use verse 20 in the sense I am going to use it this evening—INDIVIDUAL Christian radiation. We are "Ambassadors for Christ."

I think couched in this verse are three major thoughts: namely, an ambassador must represent and be a citizen of a certain country; second, how is it that one becomes a CITIZEN of a country; and third, what is the solemn obligation incumbent upon an ambassador? Those are the three thoughts that are suggested and taught in this marvelous verse.

First of all, let us notice that the Apostle Paul is suggesting in the text that in order for one to be an AMBASSADOR, he must be a citizen of the country he represents. Certainly, the United States would not employ some foreigner, someone who was not a citizen of this country, to represent it as an ambassador to another country. So in order for us to be ambassadors for Christ, we must be citizens of the country that we represent.

"Well," you say, "now, Brother Cox, of WHAT country are we citizens?"

In the third chapter of Paul’s Epistle to the Philippian brethren and verse 20, the Apostle Paul makes it plain that we are citizens of HEAVEN. The word for CONVERSATION there means CITIZENSHIP. So Paul said, "For our citizenship is in HEAVEN." Therefore, we are citizens of Heaven. I said last Sunday morning, and I repeat again tonight, that the old songs that some of these hillbillies sing and call religious hymns, have more truth than poetry in them. You know the song that says we are strangers just passing through? There is a lot of truth in that. God’s people ARE strangers upon the earth, inasmuch as they are NOT a part of the world in which they live. Jesus said repeatedly, in the prayer that is recorded in John 17—and certainly, it is a marvelous prayer because of the things taught therein — (talking about believers), "They are not OF the WORLD, even as I am not of the world."

However, He went on to pray that God would not take them out of the world, but that He should keep them from evil, or the evil one. Now Jesus said that His people, those for whom He was praying, were not OF the WORLD any more than He was of the world. And then second, He also said that He did not pray FOR the WORLD, but He prayed for those whom God had GIVEN Him OUT of the WORLD. God’s people LIVE in the world, to be sure, but they are to remain aloof FROM and OF the world.

James said in the Epistle that bears his name, "If any man"—I want you to get this now— "If any man is the FRIEND of the world, he is an ENEMY of God" (Jam. 4:4). And in 1 John 2:15-16, the Apostle John points out that we are not to have anything to do with the world; that we are not to LOVE the world, and he goes on to say "The world passeth away and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever."

So the child of God is a citizen of Heaven, and so being citizens of Heaven, then it is our duty to REPRESENT Heaven. We have something to tell. We are representatives of ANOTHER world. We have something to tell the people with whom we come in contact. We have a story to tell. If we would be ambassadors as we should, and the ambassadors that we OUGHT to be, we should tell others about the COUNTRY of which we as Christians are citizens.

You may say, "Brother Cox, how is it that men become citizens of Heaven?"

Well, that is a good question and it deserves an answer. We become citizens by the NEW BIRTH and by ADOPTION. Tonight, I want to point out to you the meaning of ADOPTION and its benefits, but first: we become citizens of the heavenly country by the NEW BIRTH. Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3, "Except a man be born from above he cannot see the kingdom of God." In verse 5, "Except a man be born of water, even the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." Then again in verse 6, "That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be BORN again."

From these passages one could pause and preach a lengthy sermon on the New Birth, but suffice it to say, Jesus points out the NECESSITY of the New Birth if one hopes to be a CITIZEN of the kingdom of God. It is absolutely necessary. If one is to enter the kingdom of God, he must first experience the New Birth. There are no if’s, and’s, or but’s about it; he must be BORN AGAIN. It is the birth of the spirit. It is the spirit of man being born of the Spirit of God.

1 John 3:9 John points out that, "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his SEED remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God."

That word SEED comes from the Greek word SPERMA, and it means the very LIFE of GOD. In the New Birth, therefore, God imparts His own LIFE in the believer’s heart; then the believer becomes a CHILD of God by BIRTH, and he has the life of God imparted to him. I would like to throw this in for good measure: how in the name of common sense can one who has experienced the New Birth, one in whom God has imparted His own life, how can that one so sin as to be finally lost in Hell? HOW can that be?

So we become citizens first by the New Birth. Now the birth of the Spirit is NOT an act of REFORMATION on the part of the would-be religious fellow, but it IS actually a birth of the Spirit. Reformation of life, good works, nothing, takes the place of the New Birth. There is no substitute for it. If men would enter the kingdom of God, they must first experience that BIRTH that is from ABOVE. This is NECESSARY; this is a prerequisite. God said that men "must be born again."

Now, I want you to notice in John 1:11, 12, 13, the Apostle John said (talking about Jesus), "He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

They were BORN by the WILL of GOD. So men actually are BORN into God’s family, and by THAT they become citizens along, however, with experiencing the act of adoption. Now, WHAT is ADOPTION? Adoption is that free and sovereign act of God, by the which, He takes one that has been born of the Spirit and ADOPTS him into His family, giving unto him all the rights and privileges that belong to His mature sons and daughters. We are, then, prepared for the INHERITANCE. I said once before—and I think some people misunderstood, but it is true nonetheless—there is no way for a man to become UNBORN. We are born into this world and are the children of the Devil. Now you just might as well face up to that fact. No use hiding your head in the sand as the proverbial ostrich and say, "I just can’t see that." Notice Psalm 51:5, Jeremiah 17:9, Genesis 6:5, 6, Romans 8:7, 8, Ephesians 2:1, 3. On and on I could multiply the Scriptures that teach specifically that men are born into the world CHILDREN of the DEVIL. You can’t undo a BIRTH, whether it be spiritual, or whether it be physical. There is no way whereby that birth can be nullified or voided. Alright, that is the SECOND reason that ADOPTION is necessary. We experience the New Birth, we are born as children of God, but we are still—I want you to get this—there is still an affinity, a relationship to the Devil, so God ADOPTS us into His family and transfers us OUT of the kingdom of the DEVIL into the kingdom of His own dear Son. That is exactly WHY adoption is necessary. So we become citizens BOTH by BIRTH and by ADOPTION.

Paul said in Ephesians 1:5: "Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will."

And in Galatians 4:4, 5: "When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the ADOPTION of sons. And because ye are sons"—not shall be after awhile but "because ye ARE sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying Abba, Father.

Then, the third and last thought I want you to see tonight is this: to be a good AMBASSADOR, we have a message to tell. We should be concerned about the country that we REPRESENT, and at the same time, concerned about those with whom we come in contact. You know, you rub elbows every day with folk who are lost. I said last Sunday and I say it again tonight, for it will bear repeating over and over, that men without Christ are LOST. There is no use denying that; they ARE. The most pathetic person in this world, therefore, is the person who is lost, without hope, without God. One that is void of spiritual life, one that doesn’t have Christ, one that is dead in trespasses and sins, one for whom the very flames of Hell is licking at all times, that is the most pathetic person in the world. For whenever a person dies without Christ, there is only one place to which he can go, and that is to Hell. He cannot go where CHRIST has gone, but he MUST go to Hell. The man, the woman, the boy and girl who dies without Christ, they die and go to Hell.

We are citizens of a BETTER world than Hell, and we should be so much in love with that OTHER world that we would be inviting other folk, those with whom we come in contact every day, we should invite them to go with us, and we will "do thee good." We ought to TELL them about the other world. Tell them about the Ruler of the other world. Tell them about the CHRIST we love and serve and believe in. We ought to become CONCERNED about people about us who are without Christ.

The average Christian doesn’t give the lost a thought. He is contented to go his own way. He doesn’t CARE whether the world goes to Hell or not. He is not concerned with anyone but himself and his own little private world. Well, I’ll tell you the greatest Apostle that ever lived, the greatest preacher outside of the Lord Jesus, was Paul, and here is what he said in Romans 10:1, "Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved."

Paul had a DESIRE for Israel’s SALVATION, and he PRAYED to that end, that they might be saved. And in 1 Corinthians 9:20, 21, 22, he further adds, "To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: To the strong, I became strong that I might gain the strong. To the Jew, I became as a Jew that I might gain the Jew, and was made all things to all men, that by all means, I might save some." Paul was determined, regardless of the cost, to represent Heaven as it ought to be represented. He was willing to go to any lengths to try to win people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. I’ll tell you the time has come when the average Christian cares nothing for it. He won’t represent the country of which he is a citizen. He doesn’t tell folk about his country. He doesn’t talk about the heavenly country. He doesn’t talk about the other world. He talks about THIS world, because the world has gotten INTO the Christian. It is bad enough for a child of God to have to live IN the world without the world getting INTO the Christian.

Let me tell you this in closing: if you are a Christian, a child of God, then it BEHOOVES you to become an AMBASSADOR for CHRIST, that we might beseech the lost to become reconciled to God; that we might do all that we possible can to get folk saved. THAT is our DUTY as Christians. Amen.