What's Our Ministry?

Read 2 Corinthians 5:11-21

Second Corinthians 5:11-21 answers the question what's our ministry. It tells us we are to be in ministry trying to persuade people to fear the Lord. This phrase fear the Lord is familiar in the Old Testament and conveys the image of awe and reverence. It's about putting God first in our lives and then being compelled by Christ's love, living for Him.

Writing to the Corinthian believers in this second letter, Paul reminds them and ultimately us that we are not to regard anyone from a worldly point of view. Instead since we ourselves are a new creation because of our faith in Jesus Christ, we are to be compelled by the same love Jesus has for us. Compelled to love others so much that we are God's ambassadors willing to do whatever it takes to help others in this world know what God's word says. In other words, since we have been reconciled to God (since we now have a right relationship with God because of faith in Jesus) we are to help others be reconciled as well.

Listen, our ministry is simple - preach and teach and model Jesus Christ. Motivated by Jesus' love for us, we are to love others in this world so much that our ministry is to persuade people to come into a reconciled relationship with God through faith in Christ.

Will this ministry be easy? No. Will it be received by everyone? No. Will our ministry glorify God? Yes. Because we are living for Him and doing what He has asked us to do, helping people become rightly related to our living God as we learn to place our faith and trust in Jesus as the forgiver of our sins and leader of our lives.