You Won the Lottery, So Claim Your Winnings!
Imagine purchasing a lottery ticket giving you the opportunity to win quite a few million dollars.
We’re talking a jackpot of winnings—the granddaddy of them all. On the night of the drawing and announcing of the winner, you are sitting in your easy chair in front of the television, and your number is announced. After the shouting and excitement in the house dies down, you sit back in your chair and announce to your family that all you have to do is sit there while they deposit your millions into your savings account. Your family tells you that you have to take your ticket to the lottery office and show it to them to claim the winning. You say they are wrong and you will just sit there until the money is safely in your account. You will die broke. They announced you won, but you have to go and claim it.
So it is with the work of the cross. Jesus died on the cross for all your sins and made peace between you and God. After His resurrection, He announced to the entire world that everyone was a winner. All you have to do is claim it and receive the work of Jesus for yourself. God reconciled the world to Himself because of Jesus. Yet the world still has to be reconciled to God and receive their winnings.
Reconciliation is part of the work of Jesus on the cross. The Greek word for reconciliation, katalasso, is the procurement of peace between two warring parties. Peace is synonymous with reconciliation.
The War Is Over
My mother used to receive the Reader’s Digest each month and would often read to my sister and me the interesting and heartwarming stories from it. One I will never forget was of an island in the South Pacific the United States bought to use for nuclear weapons testing. It was far from any place where radiation could be carried. Before our country bought it, they sent a team of inspectors to look at the island. It was supposed to be deserted, but to their surprise, they were shot at with rifles by two men on the island. After being captured, they discovered these were two Japanese soldiers remaining on the island who did not know World War II was over. Eventually, more inspectors were called to the island bringing proof and pictures that Japan had truly signed a surrender treaty. The soldiers were horrified and embarrassed. They were still fighting a war that had ended years before.
Many people today believe God is angry with mankind and is in a warfare with humanity. Yet the war ended over two thousand years ago when Jesus rose from the dead after bearing and judging our sins. Jesus sat down at the right hand of God the Father because peace had been purchased through the shedding of His blood, the giving of His life for all mankind. Jesus was engaged in three years of public ministry and His message was reconciliation, not imputing the trespasses of mankind against them. His message was “the war is over” and all that was left for man to do was receive God’s peace by accepting the work of His Son. The good news is also that after Jesus left the earth to be seated next to His Father. Jesus’ message of reconciliation was given to us. We have the same message to mankind—the war is over. God has accomplished His side of reconciling the world to Himself. All that is left is for us to be personally reconciled to God. God’s will was to reconcile us. Our will is to receive and accept it for ourselves.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word [message] of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).
It Is Time to Surrender
Because these verses teach that God has reconciled the world to Himself, many teach that all mankind is now saved. This is universalism, meaning the universal Fatherhood of God and brotherhood of man. You must finish the thought in these verses. Once God reconciled the world to Himself, now we must be reconciled to Him. He offers salvation to us by His grace, His finished work. But we have to receive His grace with our faith. In this definition, mankind is reconciled to God, not vice versa. God is reconciled to us when we receive His Son, the author of reconciliation. The war is over, but we still must accept the peace treaty.
Peace Is God’s Main Message and Ours
Peace has always been the solution man has looked for since the fall of Adam. All forms of substitutes have been tried—good works, loving others, and various forms of brotherhoods and religions. But all of man’s efforts have failed to bring internal and eternal peace. All man has been able to find is momentary appeasement and temporary, superficial happiness. Every answer of man fades away. Only God can bring eternal peace that surpasses our understanding.
Angels announced God’s peace at Jesus’ birth: “And on earth peace among people with whom He is pleased” (Luke 2:14 NASB). He is pleased with those who accept the gift of His Son.
Peace is a title for our gospel—him who brings good tidings of peace (Isaiah 52:7). Our feet are covered with the preparation of the gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:15).
Witnesses for Jesus are called “peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9).
Daily peace is our greatest guide in life. “All her paths are peace” (Proverbs 3:17).
“You shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace” (Isaiah 55:12). “Let the peace of God rule [as an umpire] in your hearts” (Colossians 3:15). “Follow peace with all men” (Hebrews 12:14 KJV).
Daily peace grows and multiplies, as a result of obedience. Peace arrives at the new birth and increases as we apply God’s word to our daily walk. Also, peace is not something we can pray for. Peace is a result of doing something right, first by receiving Jesus as our Savior and then walking in God’s will daily.
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1).
Peace Is Synonymous with Reconciliation
Reconciliation is the result of God making peace. Where you find one word, you usually find the other.
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both [Jew and Gentile] one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity [division], that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off [Gentiles] and to those who were near [Jews]. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father (Ephesians 2:13-18).
By Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross (Colossians 1:20).
All believers are reconciled to God when they believe in Christ. But the work of reconciliation took place on the cross. A life of peace between us and God and between us and mankind is the result.
The Old Testament Taught Reconciliation
The peace offering of the Levitical sacrifices taught reconciliation (Leviticus 3; 7:37,38; 8:15). Eating salt represents a peace treaty (Leviticus 2:13). God and man eating salt is a picture of reconciliation. Reconciliation, or peace, was the message of salvation in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. Reconciliation was not only accomplished between God and man but also between man and mankind.
Removal of the Barrier Between Man and Mankind
There is not only a barrier between God and man at physical birth, but there are barriers between man and mankind caused by each of us being born spiritually dead and separated from God through Adam’s fall. Therefore, natural barriers are a part of life between man and his fellow man. We had nothing to do with these barriers; we were born into them. By accepting Jesus, we have been redeemed from the barriers separating us from mankind. Understand, we did not create these barriers and we had no choice concerning them.
And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings (Acts 17:26).
God is the One who chose these things for us. We had no choice as to the time we would be born, in what country, state, or city. We did not choose our nationality, skin color, socio-economic environment, gender, looks, or parents. If God chose these, why do we separate ourselves from others over them? Why do we act as superior or inferior to others over things we had no choice in?
Apparently, if God chose all these things for us, He has a destiny for us that includes them all. We are born for such a time as this. God did not create us this way to separate us from others. This is what man does. This is a result of Satan and the world’s system. Through the blood of Jesus, we can come together and unite with others to benefit from our differences, not use them as weapons.
Reconciliation removes these barriers at salvation and the result is peace.
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ [salvation] have put on Christ [the walk of holiness]. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26-28).
What Separates a Person from God?
The barrier between God and man and man and men was the nature of sin and the acts of sin it produced. Jesus took them all on the cross and became sin for us. He was the righteous One dying for the unrighteous. He was the spotless, virgin-born Redeemer dying for cursed humanity. Jesus became the barrier and now that barrier exists no more. Jesus is now the only barrier between God and man and man and man. Sin no longer stands between God and man because Jesus became sin. What you think about Jesus is all that separates you from eternal life. You might be crying out like the Philippian jailer, “What must I do to be saved?” Paul’s answer is still the same for you today: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:30-31).
We Stand in the Place of Jesus
Jesus’ message has now become our message. His calling and position with God when He walked the earth has become ours. Jesus was God’s ambassador to this earth, and He had one main message—reconciliation. His message has now become our message and His calling, our calling. We are God’s ambassadors in the earth (2 Corinthians 5:19,20). The office of an ambassador has existed for centuries. Embassies worldwide are filled with representatives from other countries. They are sent into each nation to be visible advertising, examples of the goodness and compassion of another nation. They also rep- resent a safe haven for the citizens of the nation represented to flee to when injustice is inflicted on them. So how does being an ambassador apply to our calling today as ministers of reconciliation?
Ambassadors
An ambassador is a high-ranking minister of state, chosen of royalty, sent to another state to represent his own country. We are all members of the royal family of God. We joined this family when we received the Lord Jesus as our Savior. There is no higher family in the universe and no greater royalty than God’s family. We are chosen from the best family to represent the Lord Jesus in this earth.
An ambassador does not appoint himself. The king or president of his home country chooses him as an ambassador. We did not choose ourselves to represent the Lord Jesus; God the Father chose us. If God chose us, He must have faith in us. He also must know we can do the job. He has supplied us with the message of the gospel and power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish our task.
An ambassador is not a citizen of the country he is in but of the country he is from. In other words, an ambassador lives in the country but is not of it. We also are in this world but not of it. Philippians 3:20 says “our conversation is in heaven” (KJV). The Greek says our citizenship is in heaven. The moment we became born again, our citizen- ship was changed from this world to heaven. One day we will go to our true home.
An ambassador does not support himself. An ambassador does not live off the economy of the country he is in; he lives off the economy of the country he is from. He is not worried about his own needs when the local economy drops; his needs are supplied from home. Philippians 4:19 tells us, “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” This gives a whole new meaning to “take no thought (don’t worry) for tomorrow.” We know the economy of our home country is secure and God’s riches will never be depleted. Our needs are not supplied according to Wall Street or the First National Bank. If the country we are in goes into depression, God would still supply for us like He does for the birds and flowers (Matthew 6:25-30). The animals and flowers of the earth are not connected to our economy. Birds never even knew we had a Great Depression in the 1930s. They flew over the bread lines every day. We never read of birds committing suicide over the stock market falling. Why then should we worry? Are we not more valuable than birds to God? Jesus did not die for birds. He died for us. He will supply for us. And He hasn’t lost the recipe for manna. He will supply for us every day; we are His ambassadors.
An ambassador’s instructions are always in written form so he has no doubt as to what he should do. We have the scriptures of the word of God. The only way the world or Satan can deceive us is when we are ignorant of our rights. We need to study our written manual, God’s word, and stay current on our daily instructions.
Ambassadors do not live off the laws of the country they are in but the laws of the country they are from. In most cases, the laws from both countries will be the same. Yet there may come a time when the laws will differ. An ambassador is obliged to honor the laws of his home over the country he is in. In this case, he is free from prosecution. He can claim diplomatic immunity. When the world or Satan tells us we have to accept their worry, sickness, sin, immorality, or religious philosophy, we can claim diplomatic immunity. Our written instructions tell us, “No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling” (Psalm 91:10). There are over seven thousand such promises in the word of God. This is another good reason to stay current with your written instructions so you can have daily success.
An ambassador does not live in a country for his own personal interests. He does not treat any insult to himself as personal. Our function is to represent Jesus Christ and hold no grudges. God will be our defense and He will vindicate His ambassadors. The apostle Paul called himself “an ambassador in chains” (Ephesians 6:20). He left his deliverance in the hands of the Lord, His king and master. We are God’s prize possession, the apple of His eye. To touch us is to touch Him (Matthew 25:45).
When one nation declares war on another nation, the first ones removed are the ambassadors. In fact, the recall of ambassadors constitutes a declaration of war. You never bomb your ambassadors with the enemy. Ambassadors, good ones and bad ones, are brought back and dealt with at home. One day, the trumpet of God will sound and the ambassadors will be recalled. Satan knows what this means. God has declared war on a Christ-rejecting world. All of us, God’s ambassadors, will be taken to heaven where we will all go through the Judgment Seat of Christ (Romans 14:10; 2 Corinthians 5:9,10). It is there we will be rewarded for our witness for Jesus, our works done as ambassadors while we were on the earth.
