In The Master's Service

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AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST

Elder Mark Green

"Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us" (II Corinthians 5:20). Paul here describes the role of the gospel preacher. We are ambassadors for Christ. When the minister preaches to the congregation, if he is preaching the truth in love, it is as though God were speaking to them. We must be careful to emphasize that we are not saying that the preacher's method of expression is perfect, or that men's sermons are infallibly inspired, as were men of old when they wrote the Scriptures. On the other hand, the importance of a gospel sermon must not be set aside. A true minister of the gospel is speaking on behalf of Christ, just as surely as the Ambassador to the Court of St. James (the official name for the Ambassador to the United Kingdom) speaks on behalf of the United States of America. Surely we can see something of the importance of gospel preaching in this expression.

We should also be able to see the seriousness with which the gospel minister should approach his work. He is speaking on behalf of heaven, as an ambassador from the throne room of God. The pulpit as a geographical location is no more holy than any other plot of ground, but the work that goes on there is holy work, serious work, a labor that transcends any other. We must be careful not only what we say, but how we say it. Consider that the ambassador as a representative or public figure has no business "ad libbing" when he addresses a foreign dignitary. His job is to express as accurately as possible the intention of his government - no more and no less. The term "ad lib" is a musical one which is a contraction of a phrase that means "at liberty," indicating that the performer, at that place in the music, is told to use his discretion as to what is played or how it is to be played. An ambassador has no such liberty. He is to "preach the word." He dares not "play fast and. loose" with the Scriptures. His statements must be truth. He is authorized to speak what God was conveying in holy writ. That is why it is so important that a preacher "search the Scriptures" to find out what is the correct meaning of the words.

Notice also that it is not the job of an ambassador to make citizens, but to serve them. Not only does he serve as a representative of the citizens of his country, but also he is to care for any of them that may be visiting in the foreign country where he is stationed. We are strangers and foreigners in this sinful world. It is not our home. We are only passing through. While we are here, we have the distinct privilege of having God-called ministers to care for us, see to our needs, see that we are instructed, to bring us the news from our homeland and to bind up our wounds when we are bruised by Satan's devices.