Statement On Reconciliation

“A Promise Keeper is committed to reaching beyond any racial and denominational barriers to
demonstrate the power of biblical unity.” Promise #6, from “The Seven Promises of a Promise Keeper”

				Add me to your address book
				The Christian Counter

Promise Keepers holds to the biblical view of reconciliation. The Bible instructs that God the Father, by sacrificing His own Son on the cross, “reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation”(II Corinthians 5:18). Whether a man desires to reconcile with his family, the members of his church, or with his brothers and sisters of a different race or denomination, he must first be reconciled vertically with God through Jesus Christ. Only then can he be reconciled horizontally to his brother.

The impact of the cross, then, is that God’s love breaks down the walls of separation between God and man, and between man and man, regardless of race or denomination. Therefore, genuine biblical reconciliation is a divine mandate given every Christian believer by God, predicated upon the atoning blood of Christ. (See Colossians 3:11, Ephesians 2:14.)

To execute reconciliation, Promise Keepers has adopted four key biblical principles detailed in the book Breaking Down Walls, by Raleigh Washington and Glen Kehrein (1993, Moody Press):

Commitment to Relationship (Ruth 1:16-17)

• take risks to reach out to someone different;
  
• seek opportunities to meet them at work or in the neighborhood;
  
• take time to get to know them beyond superficial greetings or conversations.
  

Intentionality (Ephesians 2:14-15)

• invite someone different to dinner at your home, making necessary adjustments;
  
• visit an ethnically or denominationally different church at least four times a year;
  
• expect painful challenges, even rejection early on.

Godly Sincerity (John 15:15)

• spend time together to develop trust;
  
• be willing to be candid and honest revealing hardships and weaknesses;
  
• recognize how our actions and perceptions can build walls that alienate and divide.

Empowerment (2 Corinthians 8:9)

• repentance empowers the other person to lay aside anger and blame;
  
• forgiveness empowers others to relate and minister free of defensiveness and guilt;
  
• repentance and forgiveness acknowledge our personal responsibility and our ability to correct injustice and initiate healing.