Sermon Tone Analysis

*"Friends for Life" (Reconciliation)*

 

 

As we move from the cradle to the cross – from Christmas to the atonement – I thought it might be helpful to look at three Bible words which find their centre in the cross of Christ: reconciliation, justification and faith.

These words are related, but each on its own reminds us about the centrality of the cross of Christ.

A good book to read as we move through this series is one by John Stott, "The Cross of Christ".

/prayer/

Heavenly Father,

as we well and truly move away from Christmas and toward Easter, we pray for renewed vigour to ponder the wonders of the cross.

As we consider the words /reconciliation/, /justification/ and /faith/ over the next few weeks, may our hearts be stirred and our lives illuminated by the amazing outpouring of your love.

Help us now as we read your word, may your Spirit help us in our weakness and train us in righteous living.

Amen.

/reconciliation is a live issue/

When I typed "reconciliation" into google earlier in the week I got  about 32 million hits.

Mind you, whenever you type anything into google you get millions of hits and this is no less true with the word "reconciliation".

Narrowing the search a little, I soon came across "National Reconciliation Week" which is scheduled for 27 May – 3 June this year.

The blurb says:

 

/The theme of National Reconciliation Week for 2007 will be *One People.

One Place.

One Future*.

It reflects the reality that there is currently a 17 year life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children in Australia.

National Reconciliation Week offers people across Australia the opportunity to focus on reconciliation, to hear about the culture and history of Australia’s Indigenous people, and to explore new and better ways of meeting challenges in our communities.

\\ \\ National Reconciliation Week is a time for us to renew our commitment to reconciliation and to think about how we can help turn around the continuing disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians./

There's even a reconciliation flag and an "Australian Reconciliation Party" – all of which are concerned with ending the conflict between European settlement and indigenous Australians.

Reconciliation is a live issue.

/the meaning of reconciliation/

What is reconciliation?

I wouldn't want you to have sleepless nights wondering what the Greek word for "reconciliation" is and so let me tell you its *καταλλαγή* and it carries with it the idea of "change" or exchange".

In secular Greek and the Bible a change of relations, antagonism transformed into harmony, enemies turning into friends.

To reconcile means to bring together persons who have fallen out, to replace hostility and opposition by a relationship of peace and goodwill.

When people are reconciled it puts their relationship on a whole new positive footing.

George Harrison died in December 2001.

He was one of the Beatles (not of the crawling variety).

During his final days his wife and child, and his sister, Louise were at his bedside.

It was Louise's presence that was especially moving.

She and George had been feuding with each other for almost forty years.

Their feud began when Louise opened a bed and breakfast named "A Hard Day's Night".

The rift was healed only when George realised he would probably die from his cancer.

Louise reported that their reconciliation was difficult but satisfying.

"We sort of held hands like we used to do" she said.

"We used to talk for hours about life and God and the universe.

We were able to look into each other's eyes again with love.

It was a very, very positive and loving meeting".

This episode tells us exactly what reconciliation is at a human level - two people who have been at odds with one another coming together in a renewed and restored relationship.

/the need for reconciliation/

Now the Bible makes it clear that there is a need for reconciliation between God and humanity.

And the estrangement is mutual.

We are sinful people and a holy God  rejects those who sin.

 

            /we are sinful people (Rom 3:23, 8:7)/

Men and women are born rebels.

By nature we rebel against our Maker.

Paul says in Colossians 1:21 that before we were reconciled to him you were "alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behaviour".

This is the natural state of every child of Adam.

Our birth disposition is alienation from God.

Elsewhere Paul says, "the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God" (Rom 8:7).

Sinful people are opposed to God and to everything that is of God; it is his nature to disobey God's law, it is his nature to disbelieve his gospel and to reject his restraint.

In summary, "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23).

Men and women are born rebels.

There is a wicked opposition of the sinner to God.

/ /

            /a holy opposition of God to the sinner (Ps 5:5-6; Rom 1:8)/

The other party in the reconciliation equation is God.

There is a holy opposition of God to the sinner.

And so we talk about God's anger, the wrath of God, a divine response to sin.

Psalm 5:5-6 isn't quoted very often because it's so politically incorrect.

The psalmist says, "You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; with the wicked you cannot dwell.

The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; you hate all who do wrong.

You destroy those who tell lies; bloodthirsty and deceitful men the Lord abhors".

God's anger means that he intensely hates all sin.

WAYNE Grudem, whose systematic theology sits on my shelf (I suggest it’s a worthwhile addition to your shelf) - Grudem makes an interesting comment.

He says that God's anger is an attribute that that ought to attract our thanks and praise.

We are not used to praising negative things.

Grudem says, "It would be helpful for us to ask what God would be like if he were a God that did not hate sin.

He would then be a God who either delighted in sin or at least was not troubled by it.

Such a God would not be worthy of our worship, for sin is hateful and is /worthy/ of being hated.

It is in fact a virtue to hate evil and sin and we rightly imitate this attribute of God when we feel hatred against evil, injustice and sin".

God's anger against sinful man is not a fitful flicker or an unsteady temper.

God's anger but an expression of righteousness by the just Judge of the earth.

And Paul tells us that all sinners are exposed to this hostile reaction by God.

The first truth in Romans is that "the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men" (Rom 1:18).

Men are opposed to God in their sin, and God is opposed to men in his holiness.

Those who are under the rule of sin are also under the wrath of God.

It is against this background that the gospel of reconciliation is explained.

The background of the good news of grace is the bad news of judgment.

God's grace burst forth from his active wrath.

/the making of reconciliation/

Now it's unusual for an injured party to seek reconciliation.

But in the Bible it is God, the injured party, who takes the initiative.

We see this in 2 Cor 5:19, "God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ".

We never read of man reconciling himself to God, or a third party working with God so that he can be reconciled with man.

God himself is the Reconciler and he takes the initiative in Christ.

Paul says the same to the church in Rome, "We were reconciled to God by the death of his Son" (Rom 5:10).

At least three important ideas flow from the death of Jesus: sacrifice, propitiation and substitution.

Each one of these is a sermon in itself, some brief comments:

 

            /the idea of sacrifice (Rom 5:10)/

Firstly, reconciliation made through the blood of Christ points to the idea of sacrifice.

According to the Old Testament the shedding of blood is required to cancel the effect of sin.

The only way that reconciliation between God and man could be affected was by the spilling of blood.

/the idea of propitiation (Col 1:20)/

Secondly, through the shedding of Christ's blood, peace was made between God and man.

Christ came as the "peace-maker".

We are told in Col 1:20 that Jesus made peace "by the blood of his cross".

At the cross the divine anger is turned away forever.