In this chapter, evangelistic integrity means that we view the gospel in spiritual terms. You might wonder why that's a concern. It was clearly a concern. Notice the assertion he made in verse 16,

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.

There's a different way of looking at people when you realize you are Christ's representative wherever you go. If we're not careful, we will allow the world to establish the priorities for the church. We'll think the priorities are budgets, numerical goals, and construction of facilities (among other worldly things). And while some of those things may be essential to the success of the church at this juncture in time, they aren't the main things. The main thing is that we are to understand that we have been changed as the result of our encounter with Christ.

He says in verse 17,

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" If there has been no change in our lives, then we are not credible representatives of Christ. How has Christ changed the way you treat your spouse, your children? Has it made you a better employee at work? Does it make you a more courteous person when you get behind the wheel of a car? Do you have more patience with people is business?

To have that kind of perspective, it is absolutely essential for you to understand the principle of reconciliation.

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 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.

In order to be faithful in the evangelistic enterprise, we must understand that

1. we are reconciled to God and
2. the message we communicate, is one of reconciliation.

RESISTING THE WORLD'S VALUES

We will never behave as a part of the new creation and we will never view our ministry as one of reconciliation, unless we fully understand that we are representatives of Christ wherever we go. While it serves no useful purpose to put down one another, could we not all agree that our performance in the ministry of reconciliation could stand some improvement? We need to ask the question, "Is the ministry of reconciliation a matter of utmost concern?" Or have we relegated to an area of lesser importance.

Back in the sixties, Frank Pack and Prentice Meador wrote a book titled, Preaching to Modern Man. They were describing the church as they viewed it thirty years ago. They said that church members talked a lot about the Bible. They also observed that church members were very much concerned about what goes on in church - the preaching, the worship, etc. But they questioned whether Jesus was at the heart and core of the lives of church going people. They made two statements about the church of the sixties that I find very interesting today.

They said.

1. "In too many church members, there tends to be interest without commitment."
2. "There is a tendency in some congregations to substitute an hour of worship for righteous living."

Coming a little closer to our time, eleven years ago, I attended a preacher's retreat in Wisconsin. The featured resource speaker was Jim Woodroof. I took extensive notes on his messages. Here's a paraphrase of some of his thoughts.

We have majored in reactionary theology. Our historical roots are anchored deep in doctrinal purity, but have for the most part ignored Christ. He's out on the periphery somewhere if he has any place at all and it has created a watchdog mentality that has caused us to view everyone else in the religious world as adversaries. When they would no longer fight with us, we turned on one another. We have practiced genocide against ourselves in way that's unparalleled in history.

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