Hungarian Church Press, 1968 (20. évfolyam, 2. szám)

1968-06-01 / 2. szám

HOP Vol XX Special Number ~ 17 - (07659)

1968 No 2

Righteousness in the whole New Testament denotes nan's conduct that is in harmony with Che will of God ard is well-pleasing in God's sight«19)

In the Word of God, the righteousness of God is not only a "doctrine” to which we must give our assent* It is righteousness that becomes event in the Word of God» Righteousness is obedience, life« The Biblical conception of righteousness is not a stationary but a dynamic conception« "Biblical thinking is never abstract, but historical and thus personal"20).

The Word of God always views iron as being in relation to God, either in the relation of obedience or that of disobedience, either of faithfulness or of unfaithfulnesso God not only wants to be Lord over man but He wants to be the Lord of man« He is not content with the homage his creatures pay him as to their Lord; He yearns for their love, for the reflection cf the love He gives them«. To seek and do the righteousness of the Kingdom means precisely this love, Man loves God by doing His righteousness* There is no other way of reciprocating His love0 "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15)«

One of the fateful failures we note in the history cf the Christian Church is the relegation of the knowledge of truth to a purely intellectual realm« The righteousness of God has been understood as a mere understanding and knowledge of righteousness and not as the search for and the doing of righteousness« God, however, wants to give us His righteousness as the righteousness of life» "We look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness" (2 Peter 3:13)«

According to the teaching of our Lard, the confession "Christ is my righteousness" means the same as to say? "Christ is my life",, The righteousness of the Kingdom has an infinitely rich content. Now let us consider only a part of this righteousness: the righteousness of God's Kingdom is also the righteousness of the sharing of material valuese We stress the word "also" far the righteousness of the Kingdom is more than a just order of material possessions, Yet this, too, is involved* This is the teaching of the Holy Scriptures, Social justice is not something added to the Kingdom of God, a kind of accessory justice, but an integral part of the righteousness of the Kingdom, The latter is mutilated if social righteousness is taken out of itc If this statement is true, then, according to the rules of logic, it is also true that we cannot seek the righteousness of the Kingdom without seeking and doing social justice0

The practice of Biblical love can be nothing else but,the practice of "social justice"* Can the Biblical conception of compassion mean anything else but the doing of this justice? "For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth alpinst judgment« What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works, can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled;