The third reason we go to others with the Gospel is that the love of Christ constrains us. If you do not know Jesus Christ, then you do not have the kind of love for other people that would compel you to go in difficulty and endure all the sufferings Paul describes in order to present the Gospel to them. You might have a genuine but limited benevolence for other people, where you want to help them if you can as long as it does not demand too much. But that is not what missions is about. It is the love of Christ, who loves those who are lost in their sins and who suffer the consequences of living in a sinful world. Because Christ loves them, and because Paul has been joined to Christ, Paul finds that the love of Christ works within him and constrains him to go and tell people about Jesus.
Someone might ask at that point, “Well, what is the Gospel?” At the end of chapter 5 Paul refers to it as the message of reconciliation. “Reconciliation” means to bring back together those who have been drawn apart, to establish peace between those who formerly were at war. That is what happens in the preaching of the Gospel as the Holy Spirit is at work. In our natural state, we are not merely imperfect; we are hostile to God who of course is our Creator. We are trying to set ourselves over against God. We are going our own way, attempting to build our own kingdoms. We do not want Jesus Christ to rule over us, or anyone else for that matter. That is the nature of the human heart. As a result, we not only have all the tensions that exist within human relationships, but we are at war with God.
In response to our wretched condition, the Lord Jesus Christ came and made peace by the blood of the cross. He did it in two ways: by bearing our sin when He died in our place, and then by giving us what we do not have, which is the new life from His righteousness. That is the great message of God’s reconciling sinners to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. Paul knows that God has committed to him the great privilege of ministering this message of reconciliation.
Having talked about that great message of reconciliation, Paul then in chapter 6 begins to urge it upon us, saying at the end of verse 2, “I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” Do you see what that means? It means that Paul is not just a professor of theology, though he knew a great deal of theology. It is not even to say that Paul was just a great teacher, though he certainly was and he wanted to share his knowledge with as many people as he could. But above all that, Paul was an ambassador of Jesus Christ. He was a preacher and a witness concerning truths of eternal significance. Paul did not present these things simply to tickle our fancy or to fill our minds. He presented this great message of reconciliation in order that those to whom he spoke might be reconciled to God.
As we come to the end of a chapter like this I must ask, “Are you reconciled to God?” Here is the apostle Paul, pouring out his life with this message, the greatest message that anyone could ever hear. Has this message of God’s reconciliation in Christ had its effect on you, or are you merely thinking about how many times you might have heard it before and how interesting it is to know what Christians believe? And yet, for your familiarity with Christianity you are not reconciled to God. This is a message of grace and love as God Himself tells us to come, and that there is no need for you to be alienated from Him and to remain under His wrath. Come through Jesus Christ, through whom the door is opened and the way is made plain. Do it now because you do not know what tomorrow may bring, or even if you will be here tomorrow. Now is the time of God’s favor. Now is the time to come.
