REPRESENT JESUS

A young police cadet was taking his final exam at Hendon Police College in North London

before he was unleashed upon the British public.

One of the questions in the exam paper in his final exam read like this.

You're out on patrol in outer London when an explosion occurs in a gas main in a nearby street.

On investigation you discover that a large hole has been blown in the footpath

and a nearby block of flats is on fire with people trying to escape.

Beside the blast site is an overturned van.

Inside the van there's a strong smell of marijuana.

The occupants of the van, a man and a woman, are half naked and injured.

You notice that the woman in the van is the wife of your divisional inspector

who is at present away in the United States.

A passing motorist stops to offer assistance and you recognise him as the suspect in an armed robbery case.

Then suddenly a man runs out of a nearby house shouting that his wife, who was expecting a baby,

has gone into labour due to the explosion.

Another man who's been blown into the adjacent canal is crying out for help because he can't swim.

By now a crowd of onlookers has formed and there's a risk of a second explosion.

Then comes the question.

Bearing in mind the provision of the Mental Health Act,

describe in a few words what actions you would take.

His answer?

I would take off my uniform and mingle with the crowd.

I imagine that that's a pretty clever answer,

but I imagine that many of us, although we may not know the feeling of being in that exact situation,

know what it is to try and take the uniform off and to mingle with the crowd.

You see, the stakes are high when a police officer takes their uniform off and mingles with the crowd,

but the stakes, I think, are astronomical when the Christian church loses heart for its mission and purpose,

and in fact, loses vision for it, which is why we are doing this series now in Vision Month.

We've seen so far that we exist as a church to know Jesus and to treasure Jesus.

And what flows from that is the next part of our mission statement,

that is that we represent Jesus.

Given the infinite value of knowing and being known by Jesus,

we exist to represent Jesus.

And so I want to look at these few verses in 2 Corinthians 5 and 6,

because I think that they will help us

not to give up hope

and to effectively

keep our uniform on as Christians.

To say that we exist to represent Jesus

is not well received in our modern context in this country.

Religion, and especially Christianity in Australia,

is seen as a source of much of the world's problems.

Sigmund Freud, the Austrian neurologist and the father of psychoanalysis,

believe that all the world's problems come from the repression of deep desires for pleasure.

And so therefore the villains are the repressive moral gatekeepers in society,

like the Christian church.

That's the mood of our country.

At the moment.

We are seen, that is the Christian church,

is seen as the problem

rather than the solution to the world's problems.

And of course, given the church's track record over its history

in areas of things like morality and justice,

there has been quite a lot of trust eroded.

And so representing Jesus in a post-Christian culture

is often faced with skepticism and even hostility.

Unlike Freud, however,

the Christian worldview doesn't locate the problem of the world

in one part of the world or in one group of the world.

Christianity doesn't blame religion,

doesn't blame Muslims,

it doesn't blame terrorists,

it doesn't blame atheists,

it doesn't blame big business,

it doesn't blame immigrants.

It says the problem of the world is sin.

And it locates the solution to the world's problem in God's grace.

And so what the Christian worldview does,

it declares both a universal problem

and a universal solution.

And so thinking about what it means for us to represent Jesus,

I want to look at that universal problem

and the universal solution,

and in doing that,

I'm going to start digging around

in some core Christian beliefs

which are repulsive in our context.

things like sin,

judgment,

hell.

Sin and divine judgment

and the reality is

even God's solution

to our problem

are some of the most offensive elements

of the Christian faith today.

A good number of our society

still believe in God.

However,

the God that they believe in

is formed from an opinion

that is

that I have my own right

to choose my God

the way I want Him to be.

And so we have every right,

every individual

has every right

to arrive at their own religious belief

but independent

of all other religious groups.

And so the God that we form

in our mind

is the God

of love

who supports us

no matter what it is

that we do

or what it is

that we believe.

That's the conclusion

we come to.

Ironically,

no,

if you look out

in the world this week,

circumstances of our world,

you don't have to look much further

than Paris and go,

it's hard to believe

in a God of love.

If you look through history,

history doesn't affirm

a God of love.

If you look to world religions,

the only world religion

that says

that this world

was created

because of the love

and desire

of a merciful God

is Christianity.

It is the only world religion

that comes to the conclusion

that God is love

and is essential being.

And so to come to the conclusion

that God is love,

it has to flow

ultimately from a biblical

Christianity perspective.

But that same Bible

says that God

is also a God of justice.

But in our society,

for Christians to think

that there are people

who are bound for hell,

the conclusion is

that we must perceive

that such people

are unequal

in dignity and worth

as us.

And therefore,

they conclude

that that belief

leads to exclusion

and abuse

and division

and even violence.

And unfortunately,

throughout the history

of the Christian church,

it has.

And so let's unpack

some of this stuff

from

2 Corinthians 5

and see why

it is so essential

for Christians

to keep their uniform on

and to keep representing

Jesus against that climate.

2 Corinthians 5 verse 10,

2 Corinthians 5:10

For we must all appear

before the judgment seat

of Christ,

and each one must receive

what is due him

for the things done

while in the body,

whether good or bad.

What that's saying there

is that God will hold us

all accountable

for how we live.

Notice that the judgment seat

of Christ is universal.

We must all appear.

That's everyone,

no exceptions.

Notice too that while

it is for everyone,

we'll all be judged

individually.

Each one must give

an account.

Now Romans chapter 2

Romans 2 · chapter mention

gives a vivid account

of what that day

will look like

and there are only

two outcomes

for the final reckoning

with the Lord Jesus.

Romans 2 verse 7,

Romans 2:7

To those who by persistence

in doing good

seek glory,

honour and immortality,

they will give eternal life.

But for those

who are self-seeking

and who reject the truth

and follow evil,

there will be wrath

and anger.

There will be trouble

and distress

for every human being

who does evil,

first for the Jew,

then for the Gentile,

but glory,

honour and peace

for everyone

who does good.

Now Sigmund Freud

suggests that self-seeking

is the solution

to the world's problem.

These verses suggest

that self-seeking

is the problem.

The Bible calls it sin

and sin is the universal problem.

Sin is not just doing bad things,

this is what we saw last week.

Sin is making good things

into ultimate things.

Sin is building your life

and meaning on anything,

even a very good thing

instead of God.

And so if you love

your reputation

more than truth,

you're likely to lie.

If you love money

more than family,

then you are most likely

going to neglect

your spouse and your children

for your career.

Sin is where we look

to good things

like money and career

and family

and to give us

that sense of significance

and acceptance.

and security

instead of God.

It's idolatry.

It's an idolatry

that leads to drivenness,

addictions,

severe anxiety,

obsessiveness,

envy of others,

resentment.

That is,

idolatry ruins.

Sin has the effect

of putting us

in,

like all addictions,

putting us into denial

about our hostility

towards God.

We become trapped

and enslaved

to our spiritual idols

in a way

that a person

might be addicted

to drugs

or gambling

or alcohol.

We live in denial

about how much

we are trampling

all over God

in a way that

an addict

is in denial

about how they're

trampling all over

their family

and their loved ones.

sin.

And the terrible

consequences

of a life of sin

is what Romans 2 verse 8

Romans 2:8

calls wrath and anger

from God.

I don't know

of anyone

who has

ever overstated

the terrors

of this wrath

and anger.

A God

who is both

a God of love

and a God

of justice

seems like

a contradiction.

But is it not true

that all

loving people

are sometimes

filled with anger

and seek justice?

when they do it

it's not because

of their love

sorry

when they do it

it is because

of their love

rather than

in spite of it.

Think of how

we feel

when someone

we love

is ravaged

by the wrong

actions

or

by a bad

relationship.

Do we respond

with a benign

intolerance?

Far from it.

You see

anger and justice

is not

the opposite

of love.

Hate

is the opposite

of love.

And the final

form of hate

is indifference.

God's justice

is not a cranky

explosion

but his

subtle

opposition

to the

cancer

that is

eating out

of the

insides

of the

human race

that he

loves

that he's

created

God's

justice

flows

from his

love

and his

delight

in the

creation

that he

loves

with all

of his

heart.

He is

angry

at evil

and injustice

because it

is destroying

its peace

and its

integrity.

that sits

I think

with our

hearts

that sits

with us

with our

inner

beings

the human

impulse

to make

perpetrators

of violence

pay for their

crimes

is almost

overwhelming

when you

look at

that

and you

see the

scenes

on television

about what's

happened in

Paris

do you have

a benign

intolerance

or benign

tolerance

or is it

we pray for

perpetrators

of such evil

to be brought

to justice

and the

best resource

to satisfy

that innate

desire

for justice

is belief

in a God

who will

finally put

all things

right and

settle all

accounts

and so in

view of this

verse 11

since then we

know what it

is to fear

the Lord

we try to

persuade men

you see the

judgment of

God

leads Christians

to pursue

reconciliation

not vengeance

you see anyone

who thinks

that the

Christian response

to injustice

is to pick

up a gun

and to fight

for the

honour of

God

or to

exercise

God's

justice

is a

lunatic

now the

fear of

God is a

right motivation

but it

isn't our

only motivation

to represent

Jesus

and persuade

people of

this truth

the fear

of hell

and of

God

is no

proof

that you

actually

treasure

Jesus

we are

told in

verse 14

that fear

of judgment

is not

Paul's

only motive

he says

for Christ's

love

compels

us

and these

verses

are rich

in the

wonder

of Christ's

love

verse 18

God who

reconciled us

to himself

through Christ

and again

in verse 19

God

God

was

reconciling

the world

to himself

in Christ

to reconcile

is to render

two parties

to be no

longer opposed

to each

other

it is to

win over

from hostility

to friendliness

and these

verses say

that it is

God who

took the

initiative

to reconcile

us to

himself

see it there

in verse 18

all this is

from God

verse 19

God was

reconciling the

world to

himself

verse 21

God made

him who had

no sin

to be sin

for us

the initiative

the momentum

and the purpose

of reconciliation

all come

from God

and God

does something

about sin

that has

caused this

enmity

between us

and him

verse 19

is the

preliminary

explanation

of how the

reconciliation

is brought

about

it says

God

was

reconciled

the world

to himself

in Christ

not counting

men's sins

against them

and verse 21

describes

how it is

possible

that God

doesn't count

sins

against us

God made

him

who had

no sin

to be

sin

for us

so that

in him

we might

become the

righteousness

of God

the end of

verse 19

says that God

doesn't want

to count

our sins

against us

and frankly

we don't want

God to count

our sins

against us

but the

picture here

is of

an account

book

the account

book

has written

in it

all that

we've said

all that

we've done

all that

we've thought

all that

we've treasured

verse 21

says

that my

sin

is not

put to

my account

my debt

is not

put to

my account

but it's

put to

Jesus'

account

instead

my account

of sin

has been

put

by God

to the

account

of the

sinless

son

and Jesus

has taken

my place

and borne

my sins

in his

body

on the

cross

it means

that he's

been judged

in my

place

he was

made

sin

he became

my

substitute

not only

is my

sin put

to his

account

but his

perfect

unblemished

righteousness

is

put to

my

account

I

cannot

be

condemned

because

my

record

reads

perfect

it's

the

ultimate

exchange

in a

trivial

kind of

way

it's

kind of

like

the

day

nearly

18

years

ago

quick

calculation

that

I

married

Nat

and

on that

day

I

said

to

Nat

with

all

that

I

am

and

all

that

I

have

I

give

you

and

honor

you

and

other

stuff

like

that

basically

you know

it's a bit

vague

after all

these

years

now

which was

a massive

promise

everything

that I

have

all that

I

am

I

give

to

you

and

now

after

five

years

of

doing

ministry

training

and being

a student

that

meant

that I

had a

hex

debt

I

had a

small

car

loan

and I

even

had to

borrow

two

thousand

dollars

from

my

father-in-law

in order

to marry

Nat

and so

when I

said

with

all

that

I

have

it's

like

there

we

go

it's

all

yours

Nat

she

didn't

have

any

debts

but

she

did

the

moment

that

she

married

me

that's

a trivial

kind

of

thing

it's

a trivial

kind

of

exchange

understanding

now

while

some

of us

think

that

it's

unjust

of

God

for

Jesus

to

die

in

our

place

this

substitutionary

sacrifice

is not

a foreign

concept

it is

in our

blood

literally

in our

blood

you see

when you

have an

infection

you have

white

blood

cells

to attack

the

infection

and if

you have

a wound

you will

notice

this

stuff

coming

out

it's

called

technical

term

pus

I mean

I'm

assuming

there's

a more

technical

term

than

pus

for it

the

pus

is

just

the

corpses

of

white

cells

which

have

died

so

that

you

might

live

it's

in

your

blood

you know

if a

mother

bird

jumps

in

the

way

of

a

snake

and

dies

to

protect

their

lives

of

their

young

birdies

and

you

see

it

on

YouTube

you

go

oh

that's

oh

I'm

moved

by

that

and

we

consider

in

our

culture

heroes

of

those

soldiers

and

others

who

given

their

lives

to

protect

their

mates

and

their

family

and

their

country

that

is

sacrifice

is

of the

highest

principle

of

virtue

in

our

culture

and

we

admire

it

no

end

and

so

this

must

surely

be

something

that

God

does

as

well

otherwise

the

creature

us

would

be

more

moral

than

God

and

I

can't

imagine

how

that

would

be

and

God

has

done

this

he

came

to

earth

in

Jesus

Christ

suffered

and

died

why

because

Jesus

takes

our

shame

and

our

guilt

he

does

not

merely

die

he

dies

on

a

cross

the

most

shameful

of

deaths

he

is

cast

out

of

the

community

crucified

outside

of

the

city

absolutely

humiliated

though

he

obeyed

and

treasured

his

father

and

was

faithful

to

his

friends

and

deserved

all

honour

he

got

shame

and

rejection

why

he

took

the

shame

and

rejection

we

deserve

for

our

failings

to

love

God

to

treasure

him

ultimately

so

that

we

could

be

forgiven

and

set

free

in

order

to

treasure

him

ultimately

and

it's

absolutely

essential

for our

confidence

in this

work of

reconciliation

that we

see the

centrality

of

Jesus

in it

all

verse

18

it was

through

Jesus

verse

19

it was

in

Jesus

the

reconciliation

of the

world

to

God

happens

through

the

death

and

resurrection

of

Jesus

it is

something

that has

happened

in

history

it is

something

it is

finished

and the

word

world

in

verse

19

is

staggering

it says

that what

God

did

in the

death

of

Jesus

in

history

on a

hill

outside

of

Jerusalem

in

AD

33

concerns

the

reconciliation

of the

whole

world

to

its

maker

that's

the

Christian

world

view

and

that is

the

claim

of

verses

14

and

15

we are

convinced

that

one

died

for

all

and

therefore

all

died

and

he

died

for

all

and

so

Jesus

death

has

universal

significance

there is

no

reconciliation

with

God

outside

of

Jesus

you

don't

need

anything

more

than

Jesus

but

you

cannot

have

anything

less

than

Jesus

and

if

you

are

sitting

here

right

now

someone

who

is

not

trusting

in

the

Lord

Jesus

then

I

want

to

suggest

to

you

the

stakes

could

not

be

any

higher

for

you

right

now

chapter

6

verse

2

says

now

is

the

time

of

God's

favour

now

is

the

day

of

salvation

and

so

I

would

implore

you

on

Christ's

behalf

be

reconciled

to

God

today

through

Jesus

the

message

of

reconciliation

is

what

God

has

done

and

can

only

do

through

Christ

the

ministry

of

reconciliation

on the

other

hand

is

what

God

can

only

do

through

us

this

is

what

God

is

calling

us

to

do

if

you

are

reconciled

with

God

through

Jesus

verse

20

says

we

are

therefore

Christ's

ambassadors

as

though

God

were

making

his

appeal

through

us

and the

main

thrust

of

verses

20

onwards

is

what

Christians

that is

the ones

who have

been

reconciled

to

God

through

Jesus

those

who

treasure

Jesus

above

everything

else

must

do

if

the

message

of

reconciliation

is

to be

heard

that

is

the

message

of

reconciliation

is

our

ministry

of

reconciliation

to

Chatswood

and

beyond

this is

what God

does

through

us

verse

18

all

this

is

from

God

who

reconciled

us

to

himself

through

Christ

and

gave

us

the

ministry

of

reconciliation

this

ministry

is

given

to

us

it's

not

given

to

Christ

it's

not

given

to

the

angels

verse

19

and he

committed

to

us

the

message

of

reconciliation

again

given

to

us

not

to

Christ

not

to

the

angels

verse

20

we

are

therefore

Christ's

ambassadors

as

though

God

were

making

his

not

the

angels

verse

20

makes

our

ministry

very

clear

we

are

Christ's

ambassadors

and

as

an

ambassador

you

have

a

very

distinguished

job

as

an

ambassador

the

honor

of

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

is

at

stake

if

you

have

received

the

message

of

reconciliation

then

you

have

the

responsibility

of

the

ministry

of

reconciliation

see

the

connection

in

verse

15

he

that's

Christ

died

for

all

that

those

who

live

that

is

through

Christ

should

no

longer

live

for

themselves

but

for

him

who

died

for

them

and

was

raised

again

as

a

recipient

of

the

message

of

reconciliation

your

whole

life

is

now

deployed

to

the

diplomatic

service

I

am

to

speak

and

to

live

in

such

a

way

that

Jesus

looks

magnificent

that

he

is

the

treasure

that

we

declare

him

to

be

as

our

society

is

moving

deeper

and

deeper

into

a

post

Christian

culture

that

wants

to

jettison

all

vestiges

of

its

Christian

heritage

I

think

there's

a

temptation

for

us

to

be

feeling

a

little

overwhelmed

as

ambassadors

and

wanting

to

get

that

uniform

off

it's

a whole

lot

more

comfortable

being

ambassador

for

Australia

in

New

Zealand

than

it

would

be

in

Baghdad

right

now

slightly

different

perspective

there's

a couple

of

questions

that we

want to

be

thinking

about

as we

move

forward

one

is

because

the

culture

shifted

so

much

that

we

exist

in

the

way

we

go

about

our

ambassador

job

is

going

to

be

very

different

than

the

way

things

were

done

30

years

ago

number

one

you've

got

to

understand

that

I

can

nearly

guarantee

any

program

that

worked

20

to

30

years

ago

is

guaranteed

not

to

work

now

it

shifted

that

quickly

and

this

is

this

for

me

over

the

last

six

years

or so

has

been

a

very

rapid

relearning

of

ministry

I

got

trained

I

got

trained

who

thought

in

terms

of

Christendom

that

is

where

the

Christian

church

Christian

faith

influences

the

morality

and

the

thinking

of

society

that's

gone

and I

had to

relearn

retrain

it's

a scary

thing

it's

kind

of

daunting

how

to

engage

as a

Christian

church

in

a

new

society

two

things

are

really

important

for

us

as

we

look

ahead

as

a

church

number

one

broadly

speaking

these

are

two

very

broad

categories

number

one

how

do

we

as

a

Christian

church

in

Chatswood

lead

with

love

in

Chatswood

that's

absolute

paramount

for us

to be

thinking

about

lead

with