“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:17-21 ESV)
There are many people in America claiming to be Christians and/or they are professing to believe in Jesus Christ to be Lord (Owner-Master) and Savior of their lives. But for the vast majority of them, it seems, the old has not passed away, and so the new has not come. For by faith in Jesus Christ we are to be crucified with Christ in death to sin, and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but as slaves to God and to his righteousness (Romans 6:1-23).
For, as those whose old self was crucified with Christ in death to sin, so that we will no longer be enslaved to sin, we are no longer to let sin reign (be in control, rule) in our mortal bodies, to make us obey its passions. For if sin is what we obey, it leads to death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it leads to righteousness and sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God. For Jesus died on that cross to put our sins to death so that we will die with him to sin and live to his righteousness (Romans 6:1-23; 1 Peter 2:24).
Yet there are many professers of faith in Jesus Christ who are being taught that all they have to do is to “believe” (rarely biblically defined) in Jesus and now all their sins are forgiven (past, present, and future), and heaven is secured them for when they die, and it can’t be taken away from them, but regardless of how they live. For not many are teaching today the necessity of us dying with Christ to sin daily and us now walking in obedience to his commands as part of the God-persuaded faith required for salvation.
So, how many interpret these words is that if they profess faith in Jesus Christ that it means that they are now in Christ and that God/Jesus Christ has now forgiven them of all their sins and so they are now on their way to heaven. But we aren’t reconciled to God merely on the basis of lip service to God. For to be reconciled means that we change, that we exchange our old lives of living in sin and for self for our new lives in Christ whereby we now walk in obedience to his commands in righteousness and in holiness.
For when Jesus Christ shed his blood for us on that cross he bought us back for God (he redeemed us) out of our lives of slavery (bondage, addiction) to sin so that we will now live holy and righteous lives in walks of obedience to his commands. For this involves us being rescued from what enslaved us so that we can now live for our Lord and honor him with our lives (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). For our salvation and redemption are about deliverance from our old lives of living in sin so that we can now live holy lives, pleasing to God.
Is part of this reconciliation God’s forgiveness of our sins? Yes, if our faith is God-honoring God-ordained God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ as is taught in the Scriptures (in context). And is our faith and our salvation of God and from God and not of our own doing? Absolutely! We can do nothing in our own flesh to be saved from our sins and to have eternal life with God. But does this faith and salvation include genuine repentance (forsaking our sins) and following Jesus in obedience to his commands? Yes! Absolutely!
So, if we are being implored here to be reconciled to God, we are being strongly urged to die with Christ to sin and to self, and to now follow our Lord in obedience to his commands. For when this says that God made Jesus to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God, this is not speaking of some status or some badge that we wear. For it is those who practice righteousness who are righteous in the sight of God, and whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil and does not have eternal life.
[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Acts 26:18; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-29; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
Lead Me Gently Home, Father
By Will L. Thompson, 1879
Lead me gently home, Father,
Lead me gently home;
When life’s toils are ended,
And parting days have come,
Sin no more shall tempt me,
Ne’er from Thee I’ll roam,
If Thou’ll only lead me, Father,
Lead me gently home.
Lead me gently home, Father,
Lead me gently home;
In life’s darkest hours, Father,
When life’s troubles come,
Keep my feet from wand’ring,
Lest from Thee I roam,
Lest I fall upon the wayside,
Lead me gently home.
Lead me gently home, Father,
Lead me gently home, Father,
Lest I fall upon the wayside,
Lead me gently home.
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