Canada has sent about 180 ambassadors to other countries, and their primary work is to strengthen diplomatic relationships between Canada and the nations to which they are sent. Ambassadors speak with the authority of our Prime Minister and are expected to reflect the views and goals of the government of Canada. We view ambassadors as working to maintain good relationships between two equal parties, two sovereign nations.

In 2 Corinthians 5:20 Paul names himself (and, by extension the church) as Christ’s ambassadors. Using our understanding of what an ambassador is, we might say that our role as Christians is to restore diplomatic relationships between God and the world. In political settings it is expected that ambassadors do not criticize the nation to which they are sent, so when an ambassador voices his disapproval of his host nation, the people of that nation take offense and call him to account. (Think of the criticism the ambassador that the USA sent to Canada received when he spoke in negative terms about some of our policies and practices.) In the same way, we might get the impression that as ambassadors of Jesus Christ sent to this world, we must not speak critically about what is going on in this world but rather show love and acceptance. This is something that is being taught in many parts of western Christianity.

To understand ambassadors in this way is to misunderstand the meaning of the Greek word that is translated as “ambassador”. The word that is used in Scripture speaks of an emissary sent from God to this world to deliver the message of God’s will to the world. But more than that, the ambassador not only speaks the message from God; he also involves himself in ensuring that that message is put into action. There is no concept of negotiation or diplomatic efforts on the part of the ambassador, as the word is used in the Greek language. The ambassador, as a messenger from God, makes God’s will known, and then he engages the people to whom he is sent, seeking to evoke the change that God’s message envisions. In other words, the ambassador is sent by the King (God) to both call the people to whom he is sent to compliance and to work to see that they do comply.

With that in mind, we might ask the question, “What is the message that God has for the world?” In complete contrast to those who wish to engage in diplomatic conversations with the world on God’s behalf, some propose that as ambassadors our job is to call people to compliance with God’s law. They call for the cessation of immorality, for the end to illegal activity of all sorts, for the abolishment of unbiblical relationships, and so on. Our job as ambassadors is to not only call for compliance to God’s law but also to ensure that compliance becomes reality, or so some believe.

But this is not what Paul says. In his letter to the Corinthians, (and the Corinthians church was among the most immoral, unethical, self-gratifying churches of the New Testament), Paul does not call the church to compliance, at least not here, but rather, says that as ambassadors, we are called to bring this message: “Be reconciled to God” and with that message engage in the ministry of reconciliation.

Reconciliation, as we know, is only necessary when a relationship is broken. Our relationship with God is broken because of our sin, and we cannot avoid that. Those who would say that ambassadors should be of the kind who simply seek to restore the relationship between God and his people omit the grave problem of sin. Sin has ruined the relationship that we had with God, and reconciliation is needed, and that sin must be acknowledged and confronted. On the other hand, those who propose that what is needed is compliance to God’s law miss that reconciliation is about restoration of relationship. Compliance to God’s law omits the reality that what we need is a restored relationship.

What is lacking in both misunderstandings of our message is the cross of Christ. If the message of the ambassador is only about building relationships without talking about sin, then why did Jesus have to die? If on the other hand, the message of the ambassador is only about complying with God’s law, what is the point of the cross of Christ?

Paul says that the message of the ambassador is neither of these. Rather, it is simply this: be reconciled to God. Notice that the command is passive. Paul does not say, “Reconcile yourself to God.” That would put the work of reconciliation upon us. Instead, he says, “Be reconciled,” as if reconciliation is something that happens to us. And that is the heart of the matter. He goes on to say, “God made him who had not sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” And earlier he says, “God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting people’s sins against them.”

The message of the ambassador, then, is the truth that God reconciled (active, not passive) us to himself through Christ. God sends us with that message to the world so that the world can know that it is God who restores the relationship by forgiving us our sins even as Jesus takes them upon himself on the cross. Jesus was obedient on our behalf, and he removes the sin from our lives so that our relationship with God can be restored. We involve ourselves in the ministry of reconciliation by calling people to recognize their sin so that they can also receive God’s restorative forgiveness.

This is not diplomatic work done at arm’s length. We cannot engage in the ministry of reconciliation without loving those around us, and we cannot engage in that ministry without also recognizing sin for what it is.

I write this because I perceive that in the western church, we are becoming polarized. On one hand, there are those who seek to bring reconciliation to the world without mentioning and confronting sin. On the other, there are those who believe that reconciliation is primarily about compliance to God’s laws. These two sides are becoming increasingly distant from each other as they criticize one another. If the church continues down this road, we will lose sight of the centrality of the cross. But, if we hold the cross front and centre, we will have to both acknowledge the destructive nature of sin, and we will be compelled to bring the sinner the message that in Jesus Christ there is the hope of a restored relationship. The ministry of reconciliation, then, must acknowledge both sin and relationship and make known that in Christ sin is forgiven and the relationship is restored.