Study day 13 May 2006

Originally posted on April 27, 2006 – by Andre Piet

On Saturday 13 May, the annual study day is scheduled for the 11th time. This year with the theme: what is reconciliation? There are hardly any topics in the Bible about which there is as much misunderstanding as about reconciliation. That already begins with the phenomenon that, in the vast majority of cases where the standard Bible translations speak of “reconciliation,” the original text uses a word that has a completely different meaning. As a result, in the Dutch language, the word verzoening (“reconciliation”) has come to carry two meanings that have only a distant relation to one another.

A second reason for misunderstanding is (as so often)… theology. What do you think of phrases like “reconciliation through satisfaction” or “God was reconciled through the death of His Son”? However familiar such expressions may sound, they are certainly not Biblical. On the contrary, they suggest that God’s wrath first had to be appeased before He could enter into relationship with mankind. As if God still had a debt to settle… That is a distortion of what really took place at Golgotha.

At Golgotha, no price was paid to God, but by God. There, God allowed Himself to endure the greatest crime of all time: the gruesome murder of His Son. Yet it was precisely this that gave Him the ultimate opportunity to prove His love to humanity and… thereby win their hearts. For no crime or offense is so great that it cannot be outdone by the love of God! A love that, through the death of the Son, will bring Life to all mankind.

The study day consists of three sessions. The first has the theme: “reconciliation or covering?” with a particular focus on the Hebrew kaphar (and its New Testament equivalent hilasmos). The second session will address reconciliation (katallagé in Greek) in Paul’s letters, and the closing session will deal with frequently asked questions about this theme. It promises to be an exciting day, not least because no sacred cows will be spared. So consider yourself warned…

For more information (how, where, etc.), please check the agenda page.

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