2 Corinthians 3

"He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant —not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."

 {2 Corinthians 3:6} (NIV1984)

Humans love rules. We love to be told what to do, and preferably we would like that in writing. When religion becomes a matter of obeying do's and don’ts, we are deceived and lost. The Word of God becomes to us what Isaiah 28:13 declared,  “So then, the word of the Lord to them will become: Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule; a little here, a little there —so that they will go and fall backward, be injured and snared and captured.”  We miss the rest that is promised to all who seek God. Our religion is not be carried out by following the letter of the law, but by following the Spirit of God. Religion is actually the wrong word. The word faith better describes Christianity. We believe God and are declared righteous. We believe that His Holy Spirit dwells within us, and we surrender our will to His. We believe that our Lord will give us rest and so we seek His face, His kingdom, His righteousness and we are filled. We believe and our life changes because our faith is the channel through which God’s grace pours into our lives. Let us not make the mistake of following the letter in this matter of reconciliation. NO! In this matter of reconciliation, let us follow the Spirit, may He, through the grace of God, bring us into reconciliation with each other.  

Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me.

Hosea 3

  Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.

{1 Peter 1:22} (NIV1984)

Reconciliation is more than the ending of hostility. Hostility must end, and there must be a stop to the enmity. Wrongs must be forgiven, the slate wiped clean. However wiping the slate clean is not enough; a new beginning must be made. God doesn’t forgive us and leave us alone. No - God forgives us, draws us into fellowship with Him and loves us as His children.

Hosea did not just forgive his wife. He bought her back from her lover; brought her back into his home, and bound himself to her again. When our Lord told us to “go and be reconciled”, He was telling us to end our hostility, forgive from our heart and love one another deeply from our heart. Love is always an action, and in this matter of being in right relationship with fellow Christians, we can deceive ourselves into thinking that we just have to stop fighting, and we have done what our Lord asked. No friend, we should stop fighting, we should then forgive from our heart, and we should then love deeply. To obey the law is to love God and to love one another.  

What a blessing each of us would be, if we would go and be reconciled. Oh Heavenly Father, may your grace abound in us, may your Spirit work in our innermost being so that we can love each other out of hearts full of Your love.

Matthew 18:35

“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you 

forgive your brother from your heart.”

{Matthew 18:35} (NIV1984)

Reconciliation is impossible apart from forgiveness. We can say, “I forgive you” to another person. We can then tell other people that we forgave them. We can tell God we forgave them. Yet did we really forgive them? 

Our Lord tells us that we are required to forgive each other from our heart. We pray and ask God to help us to forgive. We thank Him for His forgiveness towards us, and ask Him to forgive us for our unforgiving attitude towards this person. We ask Him to change our hearts, that we would see this person with God’s eyes. We then are satisfied that we have truly forgiven, and a peace settles in on us. Days pass, we meet this person accidentally- HEARTCHECK- there is an instant of an emotion, it is hard to pin down. What did I think exactly, what did I feel exactly? We smiled and said hello, we even chatted, but we are troubled by that flicker of emotion. Could it be that I still hold something? Could it be that I haven’t forgiven from my heart? And so we once again open our hearts up to the great heart Surgeon, and He cleanses us, and changes our heart. 

Friend, our Lord has forgiven us completely from His heart. The only flicker He feels in Himself when He sees us, is a deep warmth and love for us. May His forgiveness and His love fill our hearts, so that we can forgive each other from the heart!

Colossians 1:13-23

 "But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation." 

{Colossians 1:22}  (NIV1984)

In these verses we have the clearest definition of biblical reconciliation. Once we were enemies in our minds towards God; now we are reconciled through Christ’s death and are holy in His sight. 

God doesn’t just forgive us and put up with us. He doesn’t say to Himself, “I suppose I can put up with John for another 50 years, because of what my Son went through.” No - we are reconciled to Him. That is, we are in fellowship with Him; He enjoys us and we can enjoy Him! 

This is the biblical definition of reconciliation, the restoration of fellowship. We tell our kids; “Kiss and make up.” We expect them as family members to forgive and to be reconciled, to be in fellowship as members of the same family. Our heavenly Father expects the same of us. We are in the family of God; children of the blessed King. We are reconciled with Him and we should be reconciled with all of our brothers and sisters. "First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift" (Matt 5:24). Oh friend, doubts arise, objections begin. May God Himself change our hearts, and create in us His heart towards our brothers and sisters.

Deuteronomy 16:16,17

"Three times a year all your men must appear before the Lord your God at the place he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles. No man should appear before the Lord empty-handed:  Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you."

{Deuteronomy 16:16,17}  (NIV1984)

Here is the stipulation of the old covenant. Each of us is to appear before the LORD 3 times a year. We must travel to the place where the Ark of the Covenant (the manifest Presence of God). We must bring a gift for the LORD relative to His material blessing in our lives. 

Compare this to the new covenant we have in Christ. 

We are to pray continually, and daily acknowledge that He is near us (Phil 4:4-6). His manifest Presence is within us and travels where ever we go (1 Cor 6:19). We are to offer our lives as a daily gift to Him (Rom 12:2).  

These comparisons are all a blessing! But this last one is tremendous! They must appear with something in their hands. We must appear empty-handed. Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Our Lord brought all that God required. We have nothing to offer, except empty hands. If we bring anything to Him, except in thanksgiving, we fall away from grace (Gal 5:4). 

The words of the old hymn Rock of Ages speak to this tremendous truth, about the grace of God in our lives.  

Nothing in my hand I bring. Simply to the cross I cling.
Naked, come to Thee for dress; Helpless look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly; Wash me, Savior, or I die. 

 {"Rock of Ages", Text: Augustus M. Toplady, 1740-1778,
Music: Thomas Hastings, 1784-1872}