When the first man sinned in the Garden of Eden, that sin caused a separation between mankind and God. From that point, God has been doing everything possible to reconcile all people to Himself. He will not force anyone, but He pleads with people to be reconciled to Him.

We read about this in 2 Corinthians 5:19-20, where we are told that “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.” These verses explain that those of us who have experienced reconciliation with God have been entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation, and for that purpose we have been made “ambassadors for Christ.”

An ambassador is one who is sent to a foreign land as a representative. He does not act of his own volition, but on behalf of and in the interests of the government that sent him. As ambassadors for Christ, we are indeed foreigners in this land. This world is not our home; our true home is the one in Heaven that Christ has gone to prepare for us. While we live here as ambassadors, our job is to represent Christ to lost souls. We act in His interests, which is to carry out the ministry of reconciliation—to help others be reconciled to God as we were.

This assignment from God is wonderful and a great privilege, but it is not always easy. Much of the world today is not friendly to the Gospel message. Jesus Himself told us in Matthew 10:16, “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves.” Jesus went on to declare that Christians would be delivered up to councils and brought before governors. That sounds like the world we live in today—society does not generally accept the message of Christ and in many ways condemns righteousness. I cannot speak about every location, but in European and Scandinavian countries, I can tell you that none of their policies are friendly toward Christians. The governments today are moving in a direction that is anti-Christ.

Does that mean that as ambassadors, our job is done? Not at all, because among those who oppose the Gospel, there are some who will turn and receive it. Recall God’s words in Ezekiel 33:11, “As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live.” How would the wicked of Ezekiel’s day turn, unless somebody would tell them? And how can people today turn, unless they hear the Gospel message? You and I are the carriers of that Gospel message. Though many do not want to hear it, some will embrace it just as we did.

Being an effective ambassador for Christ is the central calling of our lives. As people who love the Lord, we do not want to be only potential workers for Him; we want to use everything God has given us to win souls for Him. To be more effective, after being saved we consecrate our lives fully to Him and experience sanctification. Then, we seek to be filled with His Spirit, God’s power for service. These three experiences are the basic preparation God has designed for His ambassadors. From there, we take on our role in earnest and serve faithfully. Here are just a few practical ways we can be effective ambassadors for Christ to those He came to save.

Pray

We read in 1 Timothy 2:1-4, “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” To carry the Gospel message to the world around us, we must spend time in prayer interceding for others.

I was the beneficiary of someone’s prayers. Like many who were born into this glorious Gospel, I had a mother who prayed fervently for me before I was saved. I am the firstborn of six siblings and she believed that my siblings were likely to follow my example. She felt that if I would ask God to save me, the others would follow, so she focused more on praying for me. I remember hearing her cry in prayer to God for me. Thank God, she saw me get saved before He took her to Heaven at a very young age. Now, I have joined that cause of praying for the lost. Even those who came from unsaved homes had people who prayed for them, and now it is our turn to pray for others.

Our prayer time is not limited to our daily quiet times with God and at the end of church services. We can pray in the morning when we wake up, at work or school, as we run errands, and when we pillow our heads at night. Of course we pray for the needs that arise, but consider praying this prayer: “Lord, lead me to a soul today. Just one soul today.” If we could reach one soul with the Gospel each day, in a year that would be 365 souls! Imagine the impact in our community if we all did that, and the effect we could have as a global church body. Great revivals have started out of prayer meetings, including the Azusa Revival in 1906 that resulted in the founding of our own church. Prayer is important, and it is a key way that we can perform our duty as ambassadors.

Talk about Jesus

Jesus told us, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid . . . Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14, 16). Considering these words, we must ask ourselves, Is our light shining? Do the people around us see Christ in us? We may prefer to blend in when we go to our campuses, offices, or other places, but Christianity by nature will stand out. The Lord wants our lights to shine brightly, so we will be noticed.

In casual situations, strangers often ask, “How is your day going?” This could happen while riding an elevator together, waiting in line somewhere, or checking out at a grocery store. That common question can be an opening to share about the Lord. We might respond, “My day is going great. I’m getting ready to go to church.” Or we could share something we are grateful to God for on that day, or something we are praying about. Let’s take every opportunity to let others know that we are blessed of the Lord.

My office colleagues know what to expect when they see me on Monday morning and ask, “How was your weekend?” I tell them, “It was wonderful. We went to church yesterday.” Some of them will ask, “Oh, really? So what happened?” and I will tell them about everything we heard in church and about salvation. It is an opening to be an ambassador for Christ.

Even with the restrictions on evangelism that we experience in Western societies, we can preach the Gospel by the way we live. If we are looking for opportunities, we will find ways to let people know about how Jesus has changed our lives.

Use whatever God has given you

Whenever I think about winning souls for the Lord, I remember the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. Three servants were entrusted with different amounts of talents. The servant who received five talents used them to earn five more and the servant who received two talents earned two more. In the end, they both got the same response from their lord: “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of thy lord.” They were rewarded not for the total number of talents they ended up with, but for their faithfulness as stewards of what they had been given. The third servant had been given one talent, and he did nothing with it. As a result, his one talent was taken away and he was cast into outer darkness.

We must consider, “What am I doing with the opportunities God has given me?” We have only a short time before Jesus returns. He could come at any moment, and our chance to work for Him will then be over. We want to use whatever God has given us now.

In Mark 16:15-16 Jesus told His disciples, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” This was Jesus’ final instruction for His disciples, commonly known as “The Great Commission.” Some may think that preaching is only the work of a pastor or minister of the church, but everyone who has been reconciled to God has been given the same ministry of reconciliation. The Great Commission was a charge for the disciples who were physically present that day as well as us who follow after.

I love the verse in Proverbs 11:30 that tells us, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.” We also know from Daniel 12:3 that “they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” Here again, Scripture does not stipulate that “pastors” or “ministers” who win souls are wise. It does not mention Sunday school teachers or any other role. These verses are a promise to anyone who will win souls for Christ. We can and should use whatever resources God has given us to accomplish this goal.

Take up the challenge

Though we may feel underqualified, God is the One who makes us qualified. He said, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you” (John 15:16). Let us remember that God only requires faithfulness on our part. A diplomatic ambassador can represent his government in a foreign country and share its proposals, but he cannot force the foreign government or its citizens to agree. Nor can we impose reconciliation to Christ upon others. It is not our responsibility to make them believe. Our duty is only to share the Gospel and allow the Spirit of God to do His work in their lives.

Another wonderful promise is given in 2 Corinthians 9:8, “God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” As we seek to represent Christ in the world, if we lack courage, strength, or anything else, but God is more than able to supply what we need. He will make all grace abound for us to perform what He has called us to do.

We have received so much from God, and now He entrusts us with the wonderful ministry of reconciliation. With His help, we can be faithful ambassadors for Christ, and our reward will be great when we meet Him in Heaven.