I have reached the end of the line with reconciliation, but I wanted to address the what, why and how of reconciliation. I want to extend thanks to sister Talley from church, Southwest Christian Fellowship, for a deeper introspection into reconciliation. Sister Talley coordinates scripture memory at church. The key verse, Isaiah 59:2, which really highlighted my great need for is Isaiah 59:2. It says, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.”
Because of our sin, as Cool Hand Luke said, “what we have here is a failure to communicate.” That’s probably the most quoted verse from the 1967 film starring Paul Newman. Isaiah 59:2 plainly tells us what is our problem. Sin has separate us from God and hidden his face from us. The result is that God will not hear. If separated from the source, any living thing will die. As man is separated from the creator and sustainer of life, man is dead. We were dead in our sins. As people dead in our sins, we were subject to the wrath of God because of our disobedience. God is holy and hates sin. As Isaiah 59:2 states, sin creates separation between God and man. In Mark 2:7, everyone who knew the law knew that God alone could forgive sins. Man’s problem is that he needed to be forgiven of his sin. Since we know that God does not hear us because of our sin, how could we even get a word in to God for help. We can’t. It appears that we are doomed in the sinful state. Listen to what Paul said in Ephesians 2:1-3:
1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
The answer is found in what John the Baptist said in John 1:29, “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Let’s look to the Word again for answers.
Colossians 2:12-14 - 13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.
It is through Christ and Christ alone that man can overcome the effects of sin in his life. This is why we need to be reconciled. Without reconciliation, we are still at odds with God. In fact, we are enemies of God when we continue to live our lives for ourselves and not for God – James 4:4. Forgiveness is in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 “18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”
Be reconciled and participate in God reconciling man to Himself.
