2 Corinthians 5:18, New King James Version

“Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.”

What does it mean to be reconciled to God through Christ? We find a scripture in the Bible that says, “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:18, NKJV) It is important for us to understand what reconciliation means. Jesus reconciled us to our Father, but we also were called to a ministry of reconciliation. 

If we go back to Genesis, before sin entered, that is how God had intended everything to be - Perfect. There was no evil, only the perfection of God’s creation, which included humanity. Satan came disguised as a serpent and caused Adam and Eve to doubt the goodness of God, and because of this, sin entered the world. Sin, which leads to death, not a physical death, but an eternal death. Fast forward to Calvary. Christ, who is fully God and fully man, humbled Himself by coming to earth as a baby, growing in stature and the knowledge of God, and seeing what lay before Him, endured the cross. It was our sins that put Jesus, our Savior, on the cross. In doing this, Jesus restored our relationship with our Heavenly Father. He was the perfect, spotless, sinless, Lamb of God, which was sacrificed for our sins once and for all.

What does once and for all mean? That I can continue to live my life in sin because I am saved no matter what? No! This is a false doctrine that unfortunately many are deceived by! There are many scriptures from the Word of God that point to this being a false doctrine. Let us look at Ezekiel 33:10-13 (NKJV), It says, “Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: ‘Thus you say, “If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we pine away in them, how can we then live?”’ Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’ ‘Therefore you, O son of man, say to the children of your people: “The righteousness of the righteous man shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness; nor shall the righteous be able to live because of his righteousness in the day that he sins.” When I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, but he trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity, none of his righteous works shall be remembered; but because of the iniquity that he has committed, he shall die.’”

What this scripture is saying is that God, our Father, has no desire to see us die an eternal death, which is why He sent Jesus to die for our sins and reconcile us to Himself. He is also urging us to turn away from our wicked ways! He says, “Turn, turn from your evil ways!” If we continue to use our freedom to live in sin, then we will die in our sins. But, if we, who have sinned, turn from our sins and live righteously, then we will be saved. We cannot trust in our own ways, what we consider to be “righteous.” What does God call righteous?

When Jesus began His ministry, He gave a sermon on the mount. Here are some of His words written to us: “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13-16, NKJV) Think about what Jesus just said. If we believe that we are “once saved, always saved” and we continue to live in sin, then how do we be the salt that doesn’t lose its flavor? How does God be glorified through our sin? He isn’t. He is glorified by the good work we do. These good works do not come from self but allowing God to do a work in your heart that changes you. You no longer have a desire to live in sin. You want to do what is right according to God’s word because you want to please God. You want to love God. You want to love others. When we purposefully continue to live in sin, we are crucifying Christ again and again and again. His blood becomes null and void. Think about this! Why was Christ crucified? So we could be forgiven and be reconciled to God…so we could be changed…so we could be conformed not by the patterns of the world, but by the renewing of our mind (God’s word) we can prove what is good, acceptable, and the perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2)

Satan is the father of lies. He has been lying from the very beginning…it started with, “Did God really say you would die?” Truly think about this…why would Satan be so cunning and make Adam and Eve believe they wouldn’t really die? Because He knows the truth. He wants to take as many of God’s created people to hell with him as possible. I want to urge us, if you have been deceived by this false doctrine, “Turn, turn from your wicked ways!” Peter, made a bold confession in John 6:68-69 (NKJV), “But Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’” I want us to really meditate and think upon what Peter just said here. We, as Christians, should be seeking the Lord, His word and His truth. For He is the way the truth and the life. Nobody goes to the Father except through Him. When you are told something by an individual or listen to a video, ask yourself, “Does this line up with what the Bible says?” We are living in the end days. The Bible tells us there will be an increase in deception. I urge us to stay connected to the true Vine, Jesus Christ. Apart from Him, we can do nothing. A branch that does not produce good fruit is burned up. Don’t be that branch that gets burned up!