The Ministry Of Reconciliation

In the past I have written a series of articles under the rubric of "Going out on a limb," the following is one of those.

2 Corinthians 5:16-19 (NIV) states:

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. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 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. 20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Paul says in verses 16 & 17,

16 We have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Now, he continues in verse 18 with,

18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world (that is, the Kosmos, the world of human beings) to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

All of this is said against the backdrop of Calvary and the prayer of our Lord recorded in John 17:21 (NIV) 

“that all of [the disciples] may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

Now, if we get nothing else out of these verses, certain facts clearly stand out:

This Godly reconciliation is not for Christians only. It is also for Muslims, and those of all faiths, including those who may even embrace atheism.

So, in light of what God has committed to us, let us briefly consider what this ministry of reconciliation is.

Dr. La Verne Tolbert about the text has said that Paul attributes his change in attitude to two things—

First, [God] reconciled Paul to himself through Christ, and second, He gave [Paul] the ministry of reconciliation (v. 18). This is an amazing statement.

[In other words, she continues]

The reconciled become reconcilers.  (Tolbert 1983:68).”

(In passing, it is also interesting to note that Paul is the only New Testament writer to use the noun katallage (reconciliation) and the verb katallasso (to reconcile). The basic idea is to change or make otherwise.)

I have been told also, that in Greek social and political spheres the term denoted a change in relationships between individuals, groups, or nations, while in the religious arena it was used of relationships between gods and humans. Or, in this case, God and humanity.

So, I think we can safely say that in Paul's writings, God is always the reconciler. Those in need of reconciliation are hostile human beings (2 Cor 5:18-19; Rom 5:10-11). This is the reverse of Hellenistic religions, where it is the human being that seeks restoration of the gods' favor, and also of Judaism, where confession of sin and repentance are how reconciliation with God is sought (as in 2 Macc 1:5; 7:33; 8:29, Vorlander 1978:167).

The initiative now is with God who changes a relationship of enmity to one of friendship. The work of peace within and without is the work of God, who wishes above all that peace will reign supreme within the hearts of men ever where and therefore, we should, as the writer to the Hebrews said,

“Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness, no one will see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:14 (NIV)

This peace is achieved through Christ, that is, through his death on the cross (Rom 5:10).

And, it is thus with worthy cause that George Kitchin, the great hymnologist wrote:

"Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim / Till all the world adore his sacred name."

I don’t know what you think of Karl Barth as a theologian, I feel he got one thing right, however; and that is that there is a Christological principle (or as I prefer to call it, the spirit of Christ) at work in the kosmos reconciling mankind to God.

I also found great comfort and reason for a personal optimism when E. Stanley Jones spoke about the prevenient grace at work in all cultures and religions. He, too, was right on this.

For this, Jones was criticized and accused of syncretism, I do feel he carefully distinguished between the reconciliation principle (or as Barth called it, the Christological principle) at work in Christ with that of syncretism, which is just the opposite.

Reconciliation is not compromise. Reconciliation is good news! The good news of the Gospel. And, that news is that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself.

And, that means that in truth Christ is the answer. This I believe, however, certainly does not exclude making an effort to find common grounds on which we may dialogue for peace, and reconciliation with men of all faiths.

Muslims believe in the unity of God, and so do we. Muslims believe in the Virgin Birth, and so do we. Muslims believe in the original in inerrancy of the New Testament, or as they say, the Ingil, and so do we. Yes, even surah Maida 5:72 refers to Jesus as the Messiah, and sura An-Nisra 4:171 refers to him as a messenger from God and His word.

So—to me, at least this gives us a common ground from which we can and should reach out to Muslims—all Muslims, but to men like Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf[i][1] who initiated the Cordova Center project near Ground Zero and Professor Tariq Ramadan[ii] who has long sought a dialogue with the West. Why should I not? God has given me the ministry of reconciliation, and if you are a sincere and informed Christian—whom, I believe you are, it is your ministry also.

Why do I say this? I say this because it is true, and many of these men are sincerely searching for truth.[iii]

Does this mean I agree with Muslims theologically, certainly not; but it can facilitate a dialogue and reconciliation in the truest sense of the word—and that is reconciliation between God and mankind.

This is not a statement that I make lightly either.

And, how fitting it is today for us to celebrate in fellowship one with another the sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the great reconciler.

I wish to close with a quote from Tony Blair, former British prime minister, that my wife brought to my attention as we discussed my message to you today. In a topic entitled, “Why Faith Matters,” he writes:

I remember very clearly what would nowadays be called my spiritual awakening, the moment when faith became something personal to me. Until that day, I had been an extremely lucky child. I had a loving family and a comfortable life, and my father was a successful lawyer.

When I was 10, my father, just 40, suffered a severe stroke and was rushed to the hospital. The doctors were uncertain if he would survive. My mother, trying to keep a sense of normality for her children, sent us to school that morning.

To provide comfort to a frightened and bewildered boy, the head teacher, who was ordained, suggested that he and I kneel and pray for my father's recovery. I knew this was not as straightforward as he thought, and I plucked up the courage to whisper, "I'm afraid my father doesn't believe in God."

My teacher's reply was to make a lasting impression on me. "That doesn't matter," the man said. "God believes in him. He loves him without demanding or needing love in return."

Considering what I have said today, I wish to ask three simple questions of each of us:

1. Have we stopped evaluating others from a human point of view?
2. Are we willing to commit to our ministry of reconciliation?
3. Are we willing to allow God to initiate this course of reconciliation?

For we dare not force His hand, or use unethical means to advance our causes.

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[i]Feisal Abdul Rauf (born 1948) is an Egyptian-American Sufi imam, author, and activist whose stated goal is to improve relations between the Muslim world and the West. Since 1983, he has been Imam of Masjid al-Farah, a mosque in New York City. It should be noted that this Sufi imam belongs to a sect of Islam that has a long history pacifism, and choses to reconcile through dialogue rather than the tradition jihadism we find in other Islamic sects.

[ii] Tariq Ramadan (born 26 August 1962, Geneva, Switzerland) is a Swiss academic. He is a Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies in the Faculty of Oriental Studies at Oxford University. He advocates the study and re-interpretation of Islamic texts, and emphasizes the heterogeneous nature of Western Muslims.

[iii][However, I must admit that The principle of Al-Takeyya in Islam does allow one to lie or decieve to advance the cause of Allah. (Sura 3:28) So, we can never be 100% sure that muslims are not hiding under a cloak of peace to cover their true intentions. The same of course could be said about Christians; however, no where do we find lying acceptable in the teachings of Christ or any of the New Testament writers; whereas, the Koran is resplendent with deciet in order to advance the cause of Islam.