The Gospel of Reconciliation and the Promise of a New Identity

• Published in: International review of mission Vol. 110; no. 2; pp. 217 - 230
• Main Author: Kääriäinen, Jukka A.
• Format: Journal Article Magazine Article
• Language: English
• Published: Geneva Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.11.2021
• Subjects: ambassadors of reconciliation; Christianity; gospel and reconciliation; Identity; Lutheran missiology; mission and reconciliation; New Testament; Plot (Narrative); theology and development; theology of reconciliation
• ISSN: 0020-8582; 1758-6631
• DOI: 10.1111/irom.12384

Reconciliation is a fundamentally theological reality grounded in the being, work, and aims of the triune God. In light of this, how ought the reconciling ministry of Jesus inform and shape the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:17‐21) to which Christians are called? In this article, I argue that a sufficiently robust gospel of reconciliation has dynamic, identity‐shaping power, informing a rewarding mission and ministry of reconciliation. My classical theological approach will use “promise” to interrelate gospel, reconciliation, and identity, situating reconciliation within the overarching biblical narrative plot. In doing so, I will distinguish my proposal from a progressive Christian “alter‐globalism” approach, identifying and constructively critiquing the latter’s shortcomings. These include truncating the reconciliation and the flourishing life to an immanent vision, reducing reconciliation to concepts and tasks of justice work, insufficiently connecting reconciliation to its larger soteriological framework, and failing to use the gospel for identity formation.