Ambassadors for Christ
(If reading on a phone or small screen, turn to landscape mode for best viewing.)
Ambassadors for Christ
"So we have been sent to speak for Christ. It is as if God is calling to you through us. We speak for Christ when we beg you to be at peace with God" (2 Corinthians 5:20).
"What is an ambassador? An ambassador is a person, a friend of authority. He is a servant of the government in a foreign land. He is not free to develop his own message. In the same way we are called to live under the authority of Jesus and the authority of the Scriptures. We are servants. We must live under the authority of the Word of God. We are called not to do our will, but Christ's.
What does it mean to live under the authority of the Word of God? First of all, it means that we live under the authority of God in our personal lives. "Be holy because I am holy" (Leviticus 20:7), says the Bible. We are to be holy people of God. The world today is looking for holy men and women to live under the authority of the Word of God. They're not going to listen to what we say unless we back it up with the way we live in our personal relationships.
Second, we are under the authority of the Word of God in our social relationships as well. As Christians we're not isolated persons; we are part of society with all of its difficulties and problems and hopes. Human society is affected by sin, and we know that any effort we make to improve society will always be incomplete and imperfect. Only Christ can change hearts, but that does not mean that we neglect social and political responsibilities.
Christ is concerned about the whole man, including the society in which he lives. Many of the great social reforms of the nineteenth century in Great Britain and America were inspired by evangelical Christians.
Third, we are under authority in our service. It is God who has called us to serve. We are not free to choose the place or the manner in which we serve Him. I am always amazed at the variety of gifts that God has given to the church. Every person has been given a gift from God. You may be a farmer, or a laborer, or a doctor, or a professor, but you have been given a gift of the Holy Spirit. Paul says, "...use the gift that is within you" (2 Timothy 1:6). What is your gift? Each of us is to put his gift into action for God."
Billy Graham (1918-2018)
"So we have been sent to speak for Christ. It is as if God is calling to you through us. We speak for Christ when we beg you to be at peace with God" (2 Corinthians 5:20).
"What is an ambassador? An ambassador is a person, a friend of authority. He is a servant of the government in a foreign land. He is not free to develop his own message. In the same way we are called to live under the authority of Jesus and the authority of the Scriptures. We are servants. We must live under the authority of the Word of God. We are called not to do our will, but Christ's.
What does it mean to live under the authority of the Word of God? First of all, it means that we live under the authority of God in our personal lives. "Be holy because I am holy" (Leviticus 20:7), says the Bible. We are to be holy people of God. The world today is looking for holy men and women to live under the authority of the Word of God. They're not going to listen to what we say unless we back it up with the way we live in our personal relationships.
Second, we are under the authority of the Word of God in our social relationships as well. As Christians we're not isolated persons; we are part of society with all of its difficulties and problems and hopes. Human society is affected by sin, and we know that any effort we make to improve society will always be incomplete and imperfect. Only Christ can change hearts, but that does not mean that we neglect social and political responsibilities.
Christ is concerned about the whole man, including the society in which he lives. Many of the great social reforms of the nineteenth century in Great Britain and America were inspired by evangelical Christians.
Third, we are under authority in our service. It is God who has called us to serve. We are not free to choose the place or the manner in which we serve Him. I am always amazed at the variety of gifts that God has given to the church. Every person has been given a gift from God. You may be a farmer, or a laborer, or a doctor, or a professor, but you have been given a gift of the Holy Spirit. Paul says, "...use the gift that is within you" (2 Timothy 1:6). What is your gift? Each of us is to put his gift into action for God."
Billy Graham (1918-2018)