PRECEPTS FOR LIFE
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The following is an actual transcript of the PRECEPTS FOR LIFE Broadcast. For the purpose of filling transcript requests quickly, they have received only light editing. If you have questions concerning the material covered in this broadcast, Kay has published a number of books explaining the Scripture in depth. These books may be ordered by contacting the telephone number or address printed above.
SERIES: Romans (The Constitution Of Your Faith)
TITLE: Program 21 – Reconciled – What A Word!
MONDAY (12/14/09)
OPEN
Have you ever had a falling out with someone so much so that you didn’t want to see that person again? And yet this was your loved one. I sat down on the plane with a woman, that was on her way to see her stepdaughter, a daughter that she had adopted, a daughter that ran away, daughter that got into drugs, a daughter that’s now fifty years old and the daughter had called her even that morning and said, momma, I’m so excited, I can’t wait to see you. They were going to be reconciled.
PART ONENow that chasm between you has been bridged and you have come back together. It means as I was sharing in the illustration that a mother and a daughter are going to be reconciled. They’re going to share their love again. They’re going to have a time together, a time to catch up on life, a time to express their love. Oh, reconciled, what a word. And you know what, the best reconciliation in all the world is when you are reconciled to God. That is the much more of our justification. It means that not only are your sins taken care of but it means that you who were separated from God has now been brought near, brought near by the blood of Jesus Christ, brought near never to be separated again, brought near and dear to the one that you separated yourself from. Let’s look at it as we look at Romans, chapter 5. In Romans, chapter 5, we’re looking at the much more of our justification. And we’ve seen much more used several times in this chapter. But let’s start right at verse 10 because we really don’t have time to review. It says, “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son much more having been reconciled we shall be saved by His life.” What does he mean that we’re going to be saved by His life? You say I was saved by His death. That’s right. You’re saved by His death, but you’re also saved by His life. You’re saved by His death from the penalty of your sins, but the fact that He died and was buried and was resurrected from the dead means that you are saved by the fact that Jesus Christ lives, the fact that God raised Him from the dead. And that’s the much more that takes you and raises you from that place of an enemy to now a place of a friend of God. Because, let me take you to John 15 for just a minute.
Because in John, chapter 15 this is what Jesus said to His disciples.
He said, “Greater love …,” verse 13, “… no one has than this that one lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what the master is doing, but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.” In other words when this mother and this daughter were going to be reconciled and brought back together again, all the things that they had missed, all those years, they would just talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. They would catch up on the grandchildren. They would catch up on their lives. They would catch up on the experiences. They would catch up on the lack of love that they had been able to express and now it would be poured out abundantly. They would be saved, so to speak in that relationship by the lives of one another. I want to show this to you. I want to take you to Hebrews, chapter 7 and you might want to write it right there in your Bible next to verse 10, that, “We shall be saved by His life.” Hebrews, chapter 7: 24 and 25. In Hebrews, chapter 7, they’re contrasting Jesus’ priesthood with the Aaronic priesthood, the Aaronic priesthood that eventually fades out, but Jesus is a priest forever.
It says,
“But He on the other hand abides forever and He holds His priesthood permanently; since he holds it permanently, hence, also He is able to save forever or completely those who draw near to God through Him ….”
Those who draw near to God, how?
Through Jesus.
It’s by Jesus that we have our introduction into the grace of God in which we stand.
It’s by Jesus that we have salvation.
It’s by Jesus;
everything is by Jesus.
It’s by Jesus.
That’s why it doesn’t matter to you and who you are and what you aren’t and what you don’t have or what you have, it doesn’t matter, it’s all through Jesus. Jesus has been made to you, Precious One, everything that you need, everything that pertains to life and godliness.
So watch what he says,
“Since Jesus holds His priesthood permanently He is able to save forever, completely those who draw near to God through Him since He always lives to make intercession for them.”
He always lives to make intercession for you. And because He lives and because He is interceding for you He is able to save you forever. He saves you from the penalty of sin. He saves you from the power of sin.
So watch what it says. Now, “If while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more having been reconciled we shall be saved by His life; and not only this, we also exalt in God.”
Yeah, you’re right, you remembered, didn’t you? It’s there again. It’s the word exalt.
So we saw it in verse 2, when it says, “… we exalt in the hope of the glory of God.” We saw it in verse 3 where it says, “… we exalt in our tribulations.” And now we see it in verse 11, “… we also exalt, we also rejoice in this reconciliation. We exalt in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have received the reconciliation.”
Now, Jesus becomes the mediator.
He’s the mediator between God and man.
It says, “There is one God and there is one mediator between God and man and that’s the Man, Christ Jesus.”
And so you and I need to know, doesn’t matter what denomination you are. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Buddhist or a Hindu or a Muslim or a Jew or a Gentile, there’s only one way for you to get rid of that enmity that you have between you and God.
You were in Adam. You walked your way. You did your own thing. You called the shots. You were going to be God. You played God. You lived according to your desires instead of according to the commandments of God and you were an enemy, the only way you can be reconciled is for you to go to God through Jesus Christ.
Now this doctrine of reconciliation is so important.
And what I want to do is I want to take you to 2 Corinthians, chapter 5. It’s an awesome awesome chapter. I’ve written a book and it’s called, “Lord, Give Me A Heart” for You. And it’s all on the book of 2 Corinthians. And there’s no book in the Bible like 2 Corinthians as far as understanding the apostle Paul, because what he does is, he bears his heart to you. And what you see is you see it is a heart that throbs for God. It is the anatomy of a heart for God. And that’s what you want. You really want a heart for God.
In 2 Corinthians, chapter 5 in the first part of the chapter he talks about what’s going to happen when we die. He talks about what Romans talks about in that hope of glory, only he explains it. And he explains how we’re going to get a brand new body and how we’re waiting and groaning and travailing until that day and how we’re eager to get rid of this body and put on a new body.
You say, I’m not, unless I can do it by exercise or by weight or by plastic surgery or something like that. Listen, Precious One; he’s talking about an eternal body. Why? Because you and I are going to live forever and ever and ever and so He’s going to give us a brand new body.
And you know, we are so earth bound aren’t we, that we just want to stay here and that’s because we don’t know how great heaven is. But listen to what he says.
He says in verse 9, “Therefore we have as our ambition whether at home or absent to be pleasing to Him, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may be recompense for his deeds in the body according to what he has done whether good or bad.”
Now when he’s speaking, he’s speaking to believers, not speaking to someone that’s lost.
He’s speaking to someone that knows Jesus. He’s speaking to someone that has been justified by faith. He’s speaking to someone that stands on the grace of God. He’s speaking to some that has peace with God. And he says to them that they’re going to stand at the judgment seat of Christ.
You say, I never knew that.
I’ll tell you something, the first time I heard it I didn’t like it and I didn’t believe it. I wasn’t shown it in the Word, I was just told. When I went home and studied the Word, I thought I better like it. I better believe it because it’s going to happen and I better be prepared for it.
Now in Romans, chapter 14, he discusses the judgment seat of Christ, so we’re not going to discuss it right now. But he says, “Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, knowing that we are to respect God and honor God as God, we persuade men.”
He says, “But we are made manifest to God and I hope that we are made manifest also in your conscience.”
Now what does he mean, we persuade men? Well, he’s persuading men to be reconciled to God just know this, there’s nothing in all the earth like knowing that the enmity between you and God is gone and you can have peace, a peace that no one can take away from you.
The much more of our salvation is this; that, “While we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, through the blood of Jesus Christ and being reconciled, now you and I are saved by His life.”
In other words, once that enmity is removed there is life for you and me. It is life abundant. It is a life of joy. It is a life, though, of responsibility because, “… we, having been reconciled are now given the ministry of reconciliation.”
PART TWO Remember the dear woman that I told you about on the plane, this dear dear precious woman? Do you know that when she sat down next to me, I thought Lord, I have so much to do, so much to read, but if You want me to witness to her, I will witness to her? Well almost all the trip passed and I didn’t witness to her and I didn’t share with her because I thought, well Lord, either she’s saved or this is going to be a waste and finally she turned and she said something to me.
And I had my new book on my lap, called, “Sex, According to God” and she looked at that book and she said, are you Kay Arthur? Did you write that book?
And I said, yes. She says, Kay, I know you. And we began to talk and that’s when she poured out the story of where she was going and how she was going to be reconciled with this daughter.
It was so precious because there on the plane, we just held hands and I prayed for her and she cried and I cried.
Why? Because here was a mother whose stepdaughter had left her, whose stepdaughter had disappointed her, whose stepdaughter had walked away in rebellion. Although she kept reaching out those arms of love, the daughter would say, get back, get away, I want nothing to do with you. And now she gets in contact with the daughter again and the reconciliation is happening.
And who is moving? Who is in the process of going to the daughter who was the enemy? It is the One that is the Reconciler. You and I once reconciled to God, once no longer enemies, once now at peace, once that the enmity is gone; we become reconcilers. Listen to what it says. It says, “For the love of Christ controls us …,” It means shuts us up to one purpose. I’m in 2 Corinthians 5, excuse me, verse 14. “For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died.” What does it mean, all died?
Well when we get to Romans 6, you’re going to understand that. And so I’m going to leave it alone now, except to say that you die in Christ and you’re raised in Christ and you have newness of life and that’s part of the much more of salvation too. And, “He died for all that they who live …,” now listen carefully, “… should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.” Do you know what my friend could have told her daughter? I am sorry, but I’m not the one that moved away. I’m not the one that walked in rebellion. I’m not the one that did all those things that you did. I’m not the one and I’m sorry, but you did it, you’re going to life with it and that’s it. We are not going to be reconciled.
Atliene didn’t do that.
Do you know why? Because of the love of Christ that was shed abroad in her hearts, because when Christ comes to live inside of us through the Holy Spirit, He gives us the ministry of reconciliation.
Listen to what it says. “He died for all that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf; therefore from now on we recognize no man according to the flesh.” Do you know that her daughter got saved by ending up in prison? And now set free from prison, then they are reconciled. And yet when she looks at her daughter now, she doesn’t look at her daughter as she used to be, a daughter on drugs, a daughter in rebellion, a daughter who has done all these things, so that she ends up in prison. No, she looks at a daughter who is now a new creature in Christ Jesus.
It’s like when somebody comes to Christ like I did and I was an adulteress.
You no longer look at me and think adulteress.
When a lesbian comes to the Lord, you don’t think lesbian anymore. You don’t think thief anymore. You don’t think homosexual anymore. You don’t think liar anymore. You don’t think reviler anymore. You don’t think drunkard or alcoholic anymore. You don’t think porno addict anymore. They’re changed.
And so what we see right now is verse 17, “If any man is in Christ, or any woman is in, Christ he is a new creature; old things have passed away, all things have become new.”
And he says;
“Now all these things are from God …,”
Now listen carefully,
“… all these things are from God who reconciled us, who reconciled us to himself …,”
How?
“… through Jesus Christ. And gave us …,”
what?
“… the ministry of reconciliation.”
You see when God reconciles you, when He brings you back to himself through Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ is the reconciler, He takes you by the hand. You’re a sinner. You’re helpless. You’re ungodly. You’re without hope and you’re an enemy and He takes you by the hand and He washes you in His blood and He takes you into the presence of the Father and says, Father, here is the one who was once Your enemy. And the Father throws His arms open wide. You’re reconciled. And then He says to you, now My child go forth. You have the ministry of reconciliation.
He says, “He has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry ….” And you know what I put over ministry there? I put a megaphone. That’s the way I mark gospel because that’s the ministry of the gospel, the ministry of reconciliation. Namely that, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.”
Now listen, this is not a western message.
This is a message that was born in the Middle East and was spread to all the world. And it’s the message of reconciliation.
And he says,
“Not counting their trespasses against them.”
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to know that when this mother gets to her daughter, she never sits down and says now what a minute, I want us to go over the list of everything that you’ve done wrong to me. I want you to remember what you did. I want you to remember the pain you caused me. I want you to remember what that did to my heart. I want you to remember how that hurt us.
No, no, He does not.
And you and I are therefore not to count our trespasses, not to remember those trespasses. Why? They were all taken away by Jesus Christ on that day when He became sin for you and me.
And it says,
“Not counting their trespasses against us and He has committed to us the Word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ as though God were entreating through us, we beg you on behalf of Jesus Christ to be reconciled to God. For God made Him, Jesus, who knew no sin to be sin for you that you might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”
What do I do today? I beg you, Precious One, to be reconciled to God.
God has not moved. God has not changed. God is a God of love and His arms are open wide and He’s just waiting for you to return. He’s waiting for you to come home. I beg you on behalf of God that you would be reconciled to God.
You say, I can’t. I can’t. I can’t face Him because of all that I’ve done.
I want to tell you something. That girl could not wait to see her mother although she was the transgressor because she knew that her mother loved her.
Precious One, if you only knew how much God loves you. You say, but my sins, listen, Jesus paid for all your sins. Are you going to tell Jesus, it wasn’t sufficient, that it wasn’t total, that it wasn’t absolute? What a slap in His face. What more could He do than give His life for you? Now what should you do? Give your life to Him.
Say God, here I am. I want to be reconciled to You through Jesus
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