“Beware of half-truths; you may have the wrong half!”

The words have been used as a church sign and I have read them quite some time ago.

But today I have the “wrong half” here in my hands in the form of a leaflet.

“Christ has entrusted to us the message of reconciliation.” This verse from Second Corinthians 5:19 I find at the end of the publication.

Looking up the  Collins English Dictionary I am learning that “reconcile” means “to re-establish friendly relationships between people.”

And that’s what the pamphlet is all about.

But what does chapter five of Second Corinthians really say? Here we are told that God has committed to us the message of reconciliation between God and people.

WHAT IS NOW THE MESSAGE OF RECONCILIATION?

We are sinners. Sin estranges us from God. But God is gracious. Through the Lord Jesus Christ He restores us. He restores us to a relationship of peace with himself through the Lord Jesus Christ.

I am reminded again of the words of one of our teachers at Bible school. He said something like this: If we take verses and words of the Bible out of context, we can make the Bible say anything.

We must always read the context in order to get the whole truth.

Let us also remember that it is easier to re-establish friendly relationships between people once they have a relationship of peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.