2 Corinthians 5:14

For the love of Christ constrains us, because we thus judge that if one died for all, then we're all dead. And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them and rose again... 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 has made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:14–21)

The love of Christ compels us—even to the doorstep—to plead with the lost to be reconciled to God.

A Knock at the Door

My day off is Monday, so Monday mornings feel like a Saturday to me—very kicked back, set aside for rest, which is a wonderful gift God has called us to enjoy. This last Monday I had just gotten the three little ones down for their naps, around noon, when I heard a knock at the door. Andrea was still in her pajamas, so I opened it. Standing there were two sincere people from the Jehovah's Witnesses, Keith and his associate Doris, with an invitation to an "Easter" service.

They said Jehovah commanded that we remember His death. I told them I thought He desired that we remember His resurrection—but they don't believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus. For the next 45 minutes I talked with Keith. I kept asking him one question: "You believe in a paradise after this life. How will you get there? Can you be sure you'll be there?" He wanted to discuss many other things, but I kept coming back to it.

After about thirty minutes he said, "I realize you're a very busy person." I said, "Keith, I'm not going to let you leave my doorstep until you answer this. If you die today, do you know for certain you'll be in that paradise?" He talked about going door to door, how important that is. I told him it's a wonderful thing, but it won't get him into paradise. The Bible is clear—you are lost, I am lost, and no work will save us.

So I walked him through it. "Have you ever told a lie?" "Yes." "What's that make you?" "A liar." "Have you ever stolen anything?" "Yes—a thief." "Have you ever looked on a woman to lust? Jesus said that's adultery in your heart." By his own admission he was a liar, a thief, and an adulterer. "If God judges you according to that, will you be guilty or innocent?" He said, "I think I'll be innocent." "Really? If you went before a court of law having broken those laws, do you think they would just dismiss you?" Again he said, "Maybe we can talk another day."

The Love of Christ Constrains Us

What do we normally do when someone knocks at the door like that? We look through the hole, we hide. "Shh—no one's home." But I had just preached the day before on these very words: the love of Christ constrains us; knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. There was no way I could pretend I wasn't there, and I'm very thankful I didn't.

We labor that, whether present or absent, we may be pleasing to Him. Knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. Paul says we are compelled to preach the gospel, knowing what is one day going to befall sinful man in the coming revelation of God's awesome and righteous wrath. If we have any understanding of that wrath, it should stir us to make sure people know the gospel. Whether they accept or reject it, we want them to know the truth, for the wrath of God will be revealed (Romans 1) against all ungodliness and unrighteousness.

Knowing the awesomeness of God, we reverence Him. We're not fearful in the sense of running and hiding, but in awe, because He is omnipotent and sees all things. No one hides from Him. We do this not to receive the commendation of men, but for the glory of God, compelled by the love of Christ.

Five Reasons We Preach the Gospel

This passage gives five reasons we do what we do in preaching the gospel. First, the pleasure of God (verse 9): "we labor... that we may be pleasing to him." Some translations say "accepted," but that word can be rendered "pleasing." After all He has done for us, we want to please Him.

Second, the fear of God (verse 11): "knowing therefore the terror of the Lord." The awesomeness of His power stirs us. Third, the lostness of man: "we persuade men." We carry the gospel to those who do not know the Lord, here in our community or in the uttermost parts of the earth.

Fourth, the glory of God (verse 13): "whether we be beside ourselves, it is for God." The world may say we're foolish, crazy, nuts to believe this. There is more and more of a push in our culture to demean Christians, especially in pop culture and media—this season there's a show on ABC that presents Southern Christians in a way that is just atrocious. It's the work of the devil to spin things so that we are the idiots, the fools holding back progress. If it appears we are beside ourselves, it's for the glory of God.

Fifth and most important, the love of God (verse 14): "the love of Christ constrains us." No event reveals the love of God more than the death of Christ, which we celebrate this time of year. Next week is Palm Sunday, when we remember Jesus' triumphal entry; then Good Friday, when He was crucified on Calvary; then His resurrection. That's why we've made these cards—so you would invite friends, neighbors, and co-workers to come hear the truth about the resurrection. As Isaiah 1:18 says, "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow."

If One Died for All, Then We're All Dead

Paul says, "if one died for all, then we're all dead." Many modern translations read "then all died," but the context of the next verse shows the meaning: all humanity is dead, sold under sin. The fact that He died for all illustrates it. There is none righteous, no, not one. Not a single person can stand and say, "I've kept it all; I'm innocent." We are all guilty.

Isaiah 53:6: "All we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his own way. And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." It's amazing—in the Bible "all" means all, everyone. (In our house the day now ends with Shaun the Sheep. Watching it last night, two sheep looked at each other, looked at the gate, and the whole flock went out. That's us. All we like sheep have gone astray.)

Paul tells Timothy there is "one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all" (1 Timothy 2:5–6). Hebrews 2:9 says Jesus, by the grace of God, should "taste death for every man." And 1 John 2 says He "is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." His death is sufficient for the salvation of all mankind—but this is not a universal-salvation passage. It is only efficient in the lives of those who place their faith in Him, not in themselves.

Man defaults to idolatry and self-worship to deal with sin, but the problem of sin resounds in every heart because God has given man a conscience. Even those who have never heard the gospel have a conscious recognition of their sinfulness, and creation itself calls them to account that there is a Creator they have offended.

Dead in Sins

We are all dead in sins. Paul tells the Ephesians, "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1). That was our former position—dead, lifeless—walking according to the course of this world, "children of wrath, even as the others." That is the Christian's past condition: under the wrath of God because of sin.

Jesus said, "the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live" (John 5:25). Even with physical vital signs, we are spiritually dead because of sin. God told Adam and Eve, "the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die," and they died. "By one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and death spread to all men" (Romans 5:12).

But Jesus said to Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life. He that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live" (John 11:25). He makes the dead alive, both physically and spiritually—illustrated when He raised Lazarus from the dead.

The Greatest Expression of Love

His death for all demonstrates His great love for all. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life." It's the most translated verse of the Bible, and rightly so—the gospel given so clearly and concisely. God loves all humanity so much that He gave His Son, and not just to die on a cross; it's greater than that, as we see in this very passage.

"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace are you saved" (Ephesians 2:4–5). Jesus said, "Greater love hath no man than this, than a man would lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13)—the greatest human love is to die for a friend you love. But Romans 5:8 says God demonstrates His love toward us in that "while we were yet sinners," while we were His enemies, Christ died for us.

1 John 3:16: "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us." And in that same verse: "we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." 1 John 4:9–10: "In this was manifested the love of God... not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins." God had a redemptive plan before He ever said "Let there be light," knowing we would choose rebellion over His glory.

A New Creation

He died for all, that we which live "should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them and rose again." It should change us, transform us. As Paul says, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice... which is your reasonable service" (Romans 12:1). It's the only right response.

Paul continues: "henceforth know we no man after the flesh; yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more." He's bringing us to verse 17. We no longer regard people by their outward appearance, and though some had known Jesus personally in the flesh, we no longer know Him that way—He is in heaven, on the throne, awaiting His return.

"Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature"—a new creation, completely new in form and substance. Although the person may look the same, everything has changed. It's like the risen Christ: His character was the same, but there was something different. On the road to Emmaus the disciples didn't recognize Him until He broke bread (Luke 24); Thomas didn't recognize Him until He saw the wounds. Something was unrecognizable, yet it was the same Lord.

You may have seen this transformation. A couple are both unbelievers, then one becomes a Christian, and the next day the other says, "What happened to you?" Or you go to work and people say, "Something's weird about Bill—what happened to him?" Recording the pastors' testimonies last week, Pastor Richard described how, the moment he came to Christ, he went home and told his two roommates, "I'm moving out, I'm born again, here's my 30 days' notice." They thought, "What happened to Richard?" As 1 Peter 4:4 says, they think it strange that you no longer run with them. "Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." And I'm very thankful the old things are dead and gone. All means all.

In Christ: Eternally Safe

"In Christ" is one of Paul's most-used descriptions of the Christian's position—he uses it fourteen times in the first chapter of Ephesians alone. You are in Christ, and because He is righteous, that's the best and safest place to be. After last week's Sunday night service, someone texted in a question about eternal security—can you lose your salvation? I say what I always say: you're in Christ, you're eternally safe. There are warnings in Scripture, and I don't want to play around with them—I want to be in Christ.

Consider the Old Testament cities of refuge. When God brought Israel into the land, He commanded six cities of refuge for anyone who killed someone unintentionally—what we'd call manslaughter. If your axe head flew off and struck someone dead, the victim's next of kin could come to avenge his blood. So you fled to a city of refuge, always within a day's journey, and presented your case to the elders. If the killing was unintentional, you could live there safely—but if you left, your blood was on your own head. So you would certainly stay. You wouldn't say, "I wonder how far past the gate I can get."

Much tax money supported these cities; the Levites oversaw them, kept the roads clear, posted the signs—yet there is no reference in Scripture to one ever being used. After a few hundred years someone might have called for abolishing the line item. But God had ordained them as a foreshadow of Christ. The reality is that every human being is guilty of manslaughter—by our sin we have killed the Son of God, and His Father is righteously angry. So what do we do? We flee for refuge. The only time the word "refuge" appears in the New Testament is in Hebrews 7, where it speaks of Jesus Christ as our refuge. We want to be in Christ, stay in Christ, abide in Christ, because there is safety.

Romans 6:3–6: "Know ye not that so many as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death... that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should walk in newness of life... our old man was crucified with him." If any man is in Christ, the old has been crucified; behold, all things have become new—an internal, spiritual transformation that begins on the inside and remakes the whole nature.

The Ministry of Reconciliation

How does this happen? "All things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ" (verse 18). He produces the newness. He restored us to Himself—we who were once enemies, at enmity with God—not by our works of righteousness, not by keeping the law, but by Jesus Christ. And then He goes a step further: "and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation."

It would have been more than enough if He had merely saved us. But He says, "I'm going to make you my ambassador, a minister of reconciliation." We go into the world seeking to restore fallen people to God. Colossians 1 says it pleased the Father that in Jesus all fullness should dwell, "having made peace through the blood of his cross," to reconcile all things to Himself—including those who were once alienated and enemies in their minds by wicked works, now reconciled, "to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight." We become unblemished not through our own washing, but through the work Jesus did on our behalf.

So why do we do it? Because of the fear of the Lord, the pleasure of God, the lostness of man, the glory of God, and the love of Christ. The ministry of reconciliation is the ministry of the gospel—restoring people to God by the good news of what Christ has done. God made the way, and then He works in and through us to restore lost people to Himself.

Ambassadors for Christ

"Now then we are ambassadors for Christ" (verse 20)—representatives of the kingdom of God. "As though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." When we present the gospel of grace, it is as if God Himself is working through us, pleading with the person in rebellion. His love and compassion move us.

Why? "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" (verse 21). That word "made" could be translated "appointed"—God the Father appointed His Son to stand in our stead and to be sin for us. Where? On Calvary's cross. God may have used the Jewish leaders and Roman soldiers, but recognize it was the Father who appointed the Son to that death—because of our sin. The Jews did not kill Jesus; the Romans did not kill Jesus. We killed Christ because of our sin.

Falling Short of the Glory

"All have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). The best explanation of that verse is Romans 1:23. Paul says, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes" (1:16). There is a God, and we see it—that is sufficient evidence to convict us on the day of Christ. No one will be able to say "I just didn't know." Especially in our day of science, when we can look inside a single cell and see it is anything but simple—the invisible things of God, even His eternal power and Godhead, are clearly seen by the things that are made, so that man is without excuse (1:20).

Yet when men knew God, they glorified Him not as God, nor were they thankful, but exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image like corruptible man, birds, beasts, and creeping things (1:23). Man sees the awesomeness of God's glory in creation and, instead of worshiping the Creator, worships the creature. He always defaults to idolatry, diminishing God's glory to something carnal. That is what it means to come short of the glory of God.

But Romans 3:24: "being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood." God passed over our past sins through His forbearance, when He could have obliterated us at the first sign of sin. He is patient, longsuffering, "that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."

He Became Sin That We Might Become Righteousness

The Father appointed Jesus to be sin for us—this is what propitiation means: Jesus is the appeasing, atoning sacrifice who exchanges Himself for us. "Reconcile" is an accounting term—exchanging this for that. He exchanges Himself to buy us back from sin and death. Why? Not because we are lovely people, but because of His great love, even when we were dead in sins. By grace are you saved.

"My little children, these things I write unto you, that you sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:1–2). "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust... being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit" (1 Peter 3:18).

This is one of my absolute favorite verses in the whole Bible—I think on it more than any other. God the Father appointed His Son to be sin in my stead, that I might be made righteousness. He takes my sin and gives me His righteousness. Humanly, that seems like a terrible purchase. Why would He do something like that? His love. God is love.

Be Reconciled to God

So Paul says the love of Christ constrains us, because we judge that if He died for all, then everyone is dead. Seeing the lostness of man, and compelled by the love of Christ, we should ask—even at the risk of being thought foolish—"Do you know Christ? If you died tonight, are you certain you'd be in heaven, at the right hand of God? Or are you banking on your knocking on doors, your giving, some good thing you've done or hope to do?"

As we saw last week, Revelation gives the answer at the end of the book: the books were opened, and people were judged by their works, whether good or bad, and anyone not written in the book of life was cast into the lake that burns with fire—the second death. If we genuinely believe that to be true, it changes everything about the way we live. May the Lord stir it into us and imprint it on our hearts and minds.

Closing Prayer

Father, I thank You for this great truth. Jesus, You were appointed to die; You were born for the purpose of dying on our behalf; You were incarnate here on earth for that sole reason. Lord, stir us, remind us of Your awesome love as we prepare to go from here. Compel us in such a way that we can't help but proclaim this glorious gospel of Your awesome grace. We thank You that You became sin that we could receive Your righteousness, and that it is because of Your righteousness—and no work of our own—that we will stand in Your presence one day and hear You say, "Well done, good and faithful servant." Stir my heart and the hearts of my brothers and sisters to be passionate about bringing the gospel to lost people, because Your love compels us. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.