Hungarian Church Press, 1968 (20. évfolyam, 2. szám)
1968-06-01 / 2. szám
HOP Vol XX Special Number 1968 No 2- 67 -(07771) obligation of complete obedience* It is in this way that Jeremiah reprocess the new order of wcrTshdp--evolving after the cultic reform since the full wealth of the Covenant was lacking in that ordere Religious man often hides himself behind the fapade of piety in order to evade the obligation of perfect obedience to the will of God0 The task of the prophetic service is to expose such a corduct (Acts 5;l-ll)o Hence the courage of the prophetic message is in the fact that, while proclaiming the message of God’s new creation, it condemns what has become obsolete (Isaiah 43s 18, 19: 2 Cor 5.17)a The danger of opting for false solutions threatens the Church from two directions« Henoe prophetic preaching points to these two points of tension at which the old comes into conflict with the new, with the attendant temptation that faith degenerates into religion and the Church becomes a religious institution« These two points of tension are hist cry sind man’s neighbour- Jesus, too, in a specific merner, takes his people to task for their insensibility as to the "signs of the times", and proclaims to Hie people impervious to the call of repentance the judgment coming to them in history (Luke 19?41-44)3 At the sane time, He condemns the loveless attitude towards the • neighbour which he found in Israel (Luke 10:25-37) s a) Prophecy is A Special, Gift cf Cod The originality of the prophetic service lies in th^fact that God himself reveals his thought and plan to his servants; "Surely/lord God will do nothing, but he revqaJbth his secret unto his servants tie prophets" (Amos 3:7) a The obedient people cf God, tie ref ore, has the privilege not to lag beliind historical events but to understand those in advance, before they come to pass, and properly having prepared for thorn, it may live in the events of history (John 16;13)0 The prophetic message, being the Word cf God, is not at the disposal of man, neither is the possession of man; vre can only pray and strive for it, Thus prophecy is not at cur disposal? Against the vie-v of a mechanical Biblicism, we must even emphasize that it does not derive directly from the Scriptures« We agree with the statement of Professor Scdmauch ? "It is in the prophecy that the congregation, as fellowship, makes its decision on such questions of Christian action clue here and now as are impossible to be answered directly fraa the Bible"» The divine authentication of the prophet ic service is in the fact that it shows the way when the people cf God is uncertain as to the future, not knowing the way forward and being unable to make its choice between the existing opportunities« This sense of uncertainty and of the loss of orientation may also beset the life of Hie whole world« The primitive church faced a momentous decision when, in the missionary service, it was the matter of entering into a new way, of leaving the world, of Israel fenced in by the
