What does it mean to be reconciled to God?
Reconciliation means God does whatever a sinner needs done on his behalf to bring him back to Himself. It is not achieved by adding human works; it comes to the one who believes in Jesus, namely His death, burial, and resurrection. Full reconciliation is God's completed work, and every reconciled believer receives a ministry of reconciliation.
Les explains that reconciliation is tied to the same concept in 2 Corinthians chapter 5. God is not going to stand for any human being to add to what He has done, because if He says He has done everything needed for salvation and a man says he must do this or that, it makes God a liar. Les illustrates with a friend disturbed at a funeral who asked whether God will bend; Les says he does not think God can bend, since He has said He has done it all. On the basis of God's Word, we are on thin ice if we say we must do such and such to have salvation, because it is not in Scripture. Justification comes to him who believes in Jesus, which Paul connects with His death, burial, and resurrection. Reconciliation means God will do whatever this sinner needs to have done on his behalf to bring him back to Himself, full reconciliation. It does not stop there: Paul says God has given to us, not only himself but every reconciled believer, a ministry of reconciliation.
And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
More Questions
How has God reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ?
God has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, meaning through Christ's death on the cross, His shed blood, and His resurrection power.
What does reconciliation mean for a believer's relationship with God?
Reconciliation is another biblical word that deals with believers' relationship with God.