Ambassadors For Christ

This post originally published at taberstruth/modernchristianliving.com    Bill Petite


I remember the first time I heard the phrase, "ambassadors for Christ", as a very young, in the faith, Christian. The phrase seemed to have such an impact to it; we are ambassadors for Christ, we represent Him in this world. To know and understand what the role of an ambassador is, really brings home the impact of this in our Christian lives. Webster defines ambassador as this: "The highest ranking diplomatic representative appointed by one country or government to represent it in another." Also this: "An official agent with a special mission." The first definition is what we would commonly understand as an ambassador, one representing our country to another while residing in that specific country. But, the latter definition is the one which really defines our role as Christians in this world. When we are saved, we become an agent for Jesus and we have a special mission to perform for Him. This is not the cloak and dagger type of stuff we see coming out of Hollywood. This is a real world type situation. There are many people dying every day without knowing Jesus as their savior and when a person dies without Jesus, they are doomed to hell for eternity. There is that phrase which nobody wants to hear, "doomed to hell." But the truth is, a person who dies without Christ as their savior will spend eternity in hell and we, as ambassadors for Christ, must realize the absolute, in your face truth about this!

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.   Jn. 3:17-18  NKJV    www.biblegateway.com

Jesus tells us here that His first coming was not to condemn but to save. His second coming will be to judge those who failed to give their life to Him; those who refused to accept Him into their lives, as savior and Lord, will spend eternity in hell with the devil and his demon followers. We Christians have a tendency to lose sight of this truth sometimes. We fail to recognize what our role truly is in this world as ambassadors for Christ. This is not a slam on the Christian community, it is a fact and at one time or another, we all are guilty of it. It is easy to get sidetracked or distracted by the things in our lives or those things which surround our Christian lives. The business of Church sometimes gets in the way of what we actually should be doing for Jesus.

“We should be more concerned with reaching the lost than pampering the saved.

― David McGee

I have spoken with Christians who have never witnessed to anyone about Jesus. I remember how scary that seemed to me as a Christian young in my faith. To talk to somebody about Jesus? I was afraid the person would go off on me and tell me where to go! Well, I was wrong; after that first time, I discovered how easy it really is to talk to people about Jesus. Yes, there will be those who really don't want to hear and will tell you so, but overall, it is a blessing to witness to others about Jesus.

I mentioned earlier, as an ambassador for Jesus, we do have a special mission and that is telling others about Him and what He has done for us. He has given His life for us so we can have eternal life with Him. There are so many ways to convey this message; we must pray for the boldness to stand and deliver the message about the good news concerning Jesus. In this country we have it pretty easy when it comes to telling others about Jesus. There are other countries in the world where telling someone about Jesus can cost a Christian their life. It hasn't come to that yet, in the U.S. We know the truth and we must be ready to share that truth with others. Some of us have family and close friends who are not saved; we have to understand the seriousness of this. We have to be in prayer for these people constantly and seek ways to let them know about Jesus and what it really means to follow Him. The world has some crazy ideas when it comes to following Jesus or being a Christian. We have to know our Bible and we must be a student of the word in order to counter these crazy notions and be able to tell them the truth. The world sees Christianity as bigots, money hungry, fools, out of touch with reality, narrow-minded, wimps and as more recently described, "monsters." Monsters?? Really? That was from a government official regarding Christians in the military. But, we must be ready to tell these people the truth about Jesus and what He has done for us and the love He has for us. They need to know how He allowed Himself to be brutally treated and put on the cross to die in our place. Don't hold back on the details; they need to understand the price He paid to clear our sin debt, which we can never pay. Some of these people are really hurting and they can't find any relief. We need to be there telling them where they can find that relief; they can find it in Jesus! Every one of their situations is different but if we know what the Bible says, we can deliver the message they need to hear.

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;   1 Pet  3:15  NKJV

 

Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.  2 Tim. 2:15  NLT

 Conducting Ourselves As Ambassadors

If an ambassador of our country conducts him or herself in an inappropriate manner, it will have the same reflection on the entire country. It is the same with Jesus; as Christians and ambassadors for Christ, we represent Him to the world. If we conduct ourselves in any manner other than Christ-like, that is the Jesus the world will see. There are many areas of the Church which represent Jesus in a manner which is not true of the real Jesus and what He represents. We must be very conscious of our actions, our language and the way we handle ourselves in general. For the Christian who is a dedicated Bible student, prayer warrior and walking close to Jesus every day, this will not be a problem. But, for the Christian who is a little bit lazy in Bible study or simply just reading their Bible or is not in prayer daily, they might have a tendency to slip up and their conduct will reflect it. Remember what we were called to and how we need to live our Christian life.

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.   Col. 3:1-3   NLT

Our lives should reflect what Jesus really is all about; we don't have to change it, soften it, sugar coat it or do anything to it. It will speak for itself. The world doesn't know the real Jesus from the imitation one; there are many ambassadors in the world today who don't represent Jesus but they use His name. They have a different message with Jesus' name attached to it. The world doesn't know the difference but they think they do. I often think about Westboro Baptist Church misrepresenting Jesus to the world and how that sets back any good work which might have been done by any true ambassador. This is a classic example of why we need to be conducting our Christian lives in a way which brings glory to Jesus. When the world sees the real Jesus, they see love and compassion, not the message which Westboro Baptist brings! Yes, to the world which does not know, when they hear these misrepresentations, it does make our work harder but Jesus still paves the way and clears a path for us to do the work. The Apostle Paul, writing to the young pastor Titus, told him this concerning the Westboro Baptists of the world,

They must be silenced, because they are turning whole families away from the truth by their false teaching.  Titus 1:11  NLT

 

 Paul, here, was referring to the Judaizers who were teaching the need for gentiles to be circumcised for salvation but the point is made and is the same requirement for anyone who misleads those who don't know the truth. Our conduct means everything when we present Jesus to the world. We don't have to be extremely formal or extremely loose either. We need to know who we are talking to or speaking with. If we attempt to use fifty dollar religious terms, which is not understood by the everyday unsaved person, it will sound like gibberish. If we are speaking with highly educated individuals with street slang, the same will be true. Know who you are witnessing to and meet them at their level. Whatever that level is, allow the person or the people to see who Jesus really is and be prepared to answer questions and clear up any misconceptions they might have concerning Jesus and Christianity. And, if you don't know the answer, tell them you don't know the answer and you will find the answer for them. Don't try to bluff your way through. Be the ambassador Jesus wants you to be. He is the one who has sent us out.

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Matt. 28:19  NLT

 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  Acts 1:8  NLT

In the world we live in today, we will experience and see some crazy stuff. We will hear people saying things and doing things we would not have 20, 30, or even 40 years ago. The devil has stepped up his plan of attack because he knows that his time is running out. We have to be the ambassadors which Christ has called us to be and tell the world about Him. They have to have the opportunity to know the truth and be saved. We have been called to deliver that message and whether some Christians know it or not, we are ambassadors for Christ.

Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.2 Cor. 5:20  NKJV