To reconcile means to make peace, bring into agreement, and come into harmony with someone else or something. In the Bible it refers to people being reconciled to other people, and it refers to people being reconciled to God.
Without faith in God and His promises, everyone is an enemy of God. There is no peace, agreement, and harmony between man and God. Instead, there is hostility between man and God. Every person needs to be reconciled to God. It is only through faith in God and His promises that a person can be reconciled to God. It is not through works that we are reconciled, but only through faith in God and His promises.
In the Old Testament of the Holy Bible, it was through faith in God and His promises that people were reconciled to God. In the New Testament of the Holy Bible, including today, it is through faith in God and His promises that people are being reconciled. The major change/shift between the two testaments is the coming of the promised Messiah. The Messiah is the ultimate fulfillment of the promises of God. Since the Messiah has been revealed as the ultimate fulfillment of the promises of God, it is now through faith in Jesus Christ that we are reconciled to God. It is through believing in the person and work of Jesus Christ. To reject the person and work of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Holy Bible is to reject God and His promises. To receive Christ is to receive God; and to reject Christ is to reject God.
(Romans 5:11-12, ESV) For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
The Apostle Paul is speaking to believers, so if you are a believer, I will explain this passage in reference to us first, and then if you are an unbeliever, I will explain what this passage means for you.
Brother or sister in Christ, we were enemies of God. While we were enemies, God took the initiative and reconciled us to Himself through the death of Jesus the Messiah. If this is true, as Paul says, that God reconciled us to Himself even though we were enemies, how much more so will we be saved from the wrath of God by the life of the Messiah? This is a guarantee that because we are reconciled, we will never perish and face judgment in hell, for the life of the Messiah will save us from the wrath of God which is to come upon the whole world.
Brother or sister in humanity, you are an enemy of God. You do not have peace, agreement, and harmony with God the Creator of the heavens and the earth. None of your works and obedience to the law of God will establish peace between you and Him. You have fallen short of God’s perfect standard. You have fallen short of His holiness. You are in debt to God, and only the infinite God can remove that debt and reconcile you to Himself. The Holy Scriptures declare that this is accomplished through the death of the Messiah. Empty yourself of all your works and deeds, repent of your sins, and receive reconciliation with God through the sacrificial death of the Messiah. If you do so, you will receive the righteousness of God and the life of the Messiah will save you from the wrath of God which is to fall upon the whole world at the end of the age. You cannot save yourself from the wrath of God, but only God can save you from His wrath. This reconciliation and peace with God comes through faith in Jesus Christ.
(2 Corinthians 5:18-21) All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Brother or sister in Christ, God has given us the ministry of reconciliation and entrusted to us the message of reconciliation. The ministry of reconciliation is our duty to share the Gospel of Jesus Messiah with those who do not know Him, so that they can be reconciled to God if they repent and receive the work of the Messiah on their behalf. The message of reconciliation is that through the sacrificial death of the Messiah on the cross, our sins can be paid for and we will no longer be enemies of God, but instead will be at peace and in harmony with God the Creator of the heavens and the earth. This is good news! This is the Gospel! We must share this with others. For our sake God made Jesus Christ to be sin, even though He had no sin, so that in Christ we can become the righteousness of God.
Brother or sister in humanity, I and the church implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. Repent of your sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and put your faith in God and His promises. If you do so, then through faith in the Messiah you will become the righteousness of God. Not the righteousness of man, which is depraved and corrupt and filthy and not found to be righteous at all, but you will become the righteousness of God. One of the major points of this all is that we must trust in and depend on God for all things, including our righteousness. Our righteousness is obtained through reconciliation with God. You want to have peace with God? Be reconciled to Him through Jesus the Messiah, whom God promised to the world for this very reason: peace. Not peace with the world, but peace with God. The Messiah came not to make peace between us and the world. The Messiah came to make peace between us and God. I pray that God will grant you understanding and guidance to receive reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ.
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