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Part 3 of 5 - TO BETTER UNDERSTAND OUR POSITION AS AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST
Let us consider the position of ambassadorship itself.
1. An ambassador is an official representative of a ruler or state. It would do us all good to realize anew that God has left us here for one great purpose: to represent His Son. Our first responsibility is not to build the Church or even to get souls saved—it is to represent Christ and to bring His message to the world. As God beholds us in Christ, so the world must behold Christ in us. As Christ represents us before the Father, so we must represent Christ before the world.
How far even the fundamental Church has departed from this! Imagine the Lord Jesus or John the Baptist or Peter or Paul using some of the methods our modern evangelists are using to attract crowds and get people saved! Let us write it down as a principle and never depart from it: We are ambassadors for Christ in this world of sin—the official representatives of God the Son. If we are true to our calling souls will be saved, to be sure, and not only saved but established and knit together in love. They will not be won to Christ merely through some emotional story or the thrill of a crowd or a prolonged invitation, but because the living Word of God has exercised its mighty power in their hearts.
We realize that this is contrary to popular opinion, but “What saith the Scripture?” Where in its pages do we find room for the shallow, frivolous entertainment which is being offered in many a fundamental church today? All about us Christians are saying: “Our first business is to get people saved.” The Church has been putting man first instead of putting God first. The result of this philosophy is that many of our leaders are stooping to the most unscriptural practices to get souls saved somehow. And as they forget the dignity of their position they lose their spiritual power as well as the respect of thinking people. No wonder the apostle exhorts us to “walk worthy of the Lord!” (Col. 1:10). Let us then remember it and never forget it: “We represent God in this world of sin.
2. An ambassador is always sent to another nation, never to his own. It may at first seem unnecessary to point this out but it is most important here, for the fact that our Lord is sending ambassadors to all the world implies that He has no nation on earth which He can call His own. All mankind has been alienated from God by sin. We speak of Christian nations, but in reality there is not one single government on earth of which it can possibly be said, “This is the kingdom of God. Christ reigns here.” Indeed, our blessed Lord is quite left out of the best governments on earth.
Israel was once on the way to becoming the kingdom of God, but she refused the King from heaven and the kingdom of heaven and has been cast out of God’s favor until “the day of His power” when He will make her “willing” (Psa. 110:3).
3. An exchange of ambassadors denotes a state of peace. It must be remembered that until the kingdom was offered to Israel, her position before God was very different from that of the Gentiles. As we have said, all mankind had been alienated from God by sin, but whereas the Gentiles were enemy aliens, God still maintained diplomatic relations with Israel. There were covenants between God and Israel and they exchanged ambassadors. There were the priests to represent Israel before God and the prophets to represent God before Israel. The Church of Rome has reversed this order, for her priests assume the position of prophets and presume to speak for God. In the Scriptures, however, the priest is the pray-er while the prophet is the preacher. From the very beginning of Israel’s national existence it was so. Aaron the priest appeared before God on behalf of the people, while Moses, the prophet, brought God’s Word to the people. Whatever may have been Israel’s unfaithfulness to God during the centuries after; there was still a state of peace, a covenant relationship, so long as God and Israel exchanged ambassadors.
There is a wonderful sense of peace and assurance I have only because of the One who said, "And I will build my Church" is the same One who said, "I will make you witnesses unto Me"!
Likewise Christ said, "I have called you to Be me to this world.
Rich
Let us consider the position of ambassadorship itself.
1. An ambassador is an official representative of a ruler or state. It would do us all good to realize anew that God has left us here for one great purpose: to represent His Son. Our first responsibility is not to build the Church or even to get souls saved—it is to represent Christ and to bring His message to the world. As God beholds us in Christ, so the world must behold Christ in us. As Christ represents us before the Father, so we must represent Christ before the world.
How far even the fundamental Church has departed from this! Imagine the Lord Jesus or John the Baptist or Peter or Paul using some of the methods our modern evangelists are using to attract crowds and get people saved! Let us write it down as a principle and never depart from it: We are ambassadors for Christ in this world of sin—the official representatives of God the Son. If we are true to our calling souls will be saved, to be sure, and not only saved but established and knit together in love. They will not be won to Christ merely through some emotional story or the thrill of a crowd or a prolonged invitation, but because the living Word of God has exercised its mighty power in their hearts.
We realize that this is contrary to popular opinion, but “What saith the Scripture?” Where in its pages do we find room for the shallow, frivolous entertainment which is being offered in many a fundamental church today? All about us Christians are saying: “Our first business is to get people saved.” The Church has been putting man first instead of putting God first. The result of this philosophy is that many of our leaders are stooping to the most unscriptural practices to get souls saved somehow. And as they forget the dignity of their position they lose their spiritual power as well as the respect of thinking people. No wonder the apostle exhorts us to “walk worthy of the Lord!” (Col. 1:10). Let us then remember it and never forget it: “We represent God in this world of sin.
2. An ambassador is always sent to another nation, never to his own. It may at first seem unnecessary to point this out but it is most important here, for the fact that our Lord is sending ambassadors to all the world implies that He has no nation on earth which He can call His own. All mankind has been alienated from God by sin. We speak of Christian nations, but in reality there is not one single government on earth of which it can possibly be said, “This is the kingdom of God. Christ reigns here.” Indeed, our blessed Lord is quite left out of the best governments on earth.
Israel was once on the way to becoming the kingdom of God, but she refused the King from heaven and the kingdom of heaven and has been cast out of God’s favor until “the day of His power” when He will make her “willing” (Psa. 110:3).
3. An exchange of ambassadors denotes a state of peace. It must be remembered that until the kingdom was offered to Israel, her position before God was very different from that of the Gentiles. As we have said, all mankind had been alienated from God by sin, but whereas the Gentiles were enemy aliens, God still maintained diplomatic relations with Israel. There were covenants between God and Israel and they exchanged ambassadors. There were the priests to represent Israel before God and the prophets to represent God before Israel. The Church of Rome has reversed this order, for her priests assume the position of prophets and presume to speak for God. In the Scriptures, however, the priest is the pray-er while the prophet is the preacher. From the very beginning of Israel’s national existence it was so. Aaron the priest appeared before God on behalf of the people, while Moses, the prophet, brought God’s Word to the people. Whatever may have been Israel’s unfaithfulness to God during the centuries after; there was still a state of peace, a covenant relationship, so long as God and Israel exchanged ambassadors.
There is a wonderful sense of peace and assurance I have only because of the One who said, "And I will build my Church" is the same One who said, "I will make you witnesses unto Me"!
Likewise Christ said, "I have called you to Be me to this world.
Rich
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