• Home
  • About This Blog
  • Contact Me
  • Subscribe
  • Comment Policy

Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series
Home Bible Reflection The Ministry of Reconciliation – We Can Do Better

The Ministry of Reconciliation – We Can Do Better

Posted on September 6, 2011 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment


17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:17–18 NASB)

HandshakeHaving grown up in the church, I do not have the personal perspective of one who was outside and is now inside the circle of fellowship. I can, however, read articles and editorial comments as to how many perceive the church.

Many perceive the church as a gathering of folks who think themselves better than others because of their good behavior. Even people who might want to check out church are put off by the fact that their current lifestyle may not be acceptable and that they would have to clean up their act before coming to a worship service.

Contrast this with what we see in the Gospels. Jesus had sinners all around him. They seemed to enjoy his presence and did not feel condemned. In fact, to the woman caught in adultery Jesus explicitly told her that he did not condemn her (John 8:11).

Why then do “sinners” feel put off by the church, the gathering of people who are seeking to imitate the Jesus that sinners loved?

I’m under no delusions that if the church was perfect, that everyone would hold her in high opinion. Many willfully misrepresented or misunderstood what Jesus said when he was walking this planet; this same willfulness is in operation today.

The fact that some will not listen, does not relieve us of the duty of fulfilling our mission. Paul tells us in the verses quoted above that because we, as believers, have been reconciled to God, we have the ministry of reconciliation. God chooses to allow us to participate in the reconciliation of others to himself.

When visitors come to your church do they immediately apprehend that you are a group of the reconciled, looking to bring others into that same reconciliation that you’ve experienced? Do they feel loved and accepted? Do they perceive that reconciliation offers a way out of the struggles that they are currently experiencing?

Or, do they feel unworthy, unclean and irreconcilable when they visit? Do they feel that because of their clothing or piercings or tattoos or substance abuse or . . . that they are never to be included in the fellowship?

I’m not writing this as one who has this all straight. I can be just as comfortable doing church as the next person. I can settle into a routine and be cranky about somebody messing it up. Yet, I am convicted that there is a large chunk of our society that has no knowledge of Jesus and unless I am willing to get uncomfortable, they will remain ignorant.

I sometimes wonder if we, as the church, took our mission of reconciliation seriously if our society would not be a lot different than it is. Before we place blame for the condition of our social and political systems, we need to take a hard look in the mirror of Scripture and confess the areas where we fall short.

It is time for the church to be a fellowship of the reconciled, bringing others into the same reconciliation. We and our world will be different as a result.


Filed Under: Bible Reflection Tagged With: Church, God, Jesus

About Mark McIntyre

A follower of Jesus Christ who shares observations about how Scripture should impact the church and the world. Mark is the original author and editor of Attempts at Honesty.

Follow Attempts at Honesty

Honesty in your Inbox

To death and beyond . . .

Perhaps it is only my warped sense of humor, but this strikes me as funny. The Pharisees preferred Lazarus dead rather than have him there to challenge their beliefs. The Pharisees, who thought themselves a light to the nation, could not tolerate the presence of one whose very existence was a critique of their life and practice.

Ed Stetzer, Jeremy Myers, Terry Jones and the Apostle Paul

On Saturday, I saw this Tweet from Ed Stetzer: I agree with Ed and apparently so do others since this was retweeted 100 times to date. I also appreciated Jeremy Myers’ response in his blog. This morning I read in Acts 17 where Paul proclaimed the Living God at the Areopagus in Athens. Perhaps Terry […]

Touching the leper

Touching the leper

We need to emulate both Jesus and the leper in this story. We emulate the leper by coming to Jesus as the only means of curing our spiritual disease. We emulate Jesus by being the conduit for Jesus to show his love to others who are in desperate need of it.

Sheep with Shepherd

Irresponsible Shepherds Bring Desolation

Ed Stetzer recently wrote an article regarding the decline of the United Methodists. This decline is not unique to that denomination, other “main-line” denominations share this experience. These denominations have been in the news for abandonment of standards that held sway in Christendom for 2000 years. For example, The Presbyterian Church USA recently enacted rules […]

On bread, fish and urban ministry

I thought of a little boy who was going to a church meeting carrying his lunch. It was about two thousand years ago when Jesus was teaching the crowds and the disciples came to Jesus suggesting that he disperse the crowd so that they don’t pass out from hunger. Jesus took that boy’s lunch of bread and fish and multiplied it so that everyone could eat.

Post Series

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series
April 2023
SMTWTFS
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30 
« Feb    

Categories

Archives

Blogger Grid
Follow me on Blogarama

Copyright © 2023 · Focus Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in