Magyar Egyház, 1959 (38. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1959-05-01 / 5. szám
14 MAGYAR EGYHÁZ HOLY BAPTISM Holy Baptism is one of the two sacraments of the Christian Church which Jesus instituted before his ascension to heaven, with these words: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matt. 28.) Also He said: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16.) Since in our Reformed church we baptize not only infants but also adults if they were not baptized before, therefore let us see first the significance of the sacrament for adults and how they should be prepared to partake in it; and later let us explain why we administer the sacrament of Holy Baptism to infants, too. The following Bible verses clearly indicate the blessings a person receives from God in Holy Baptism: “We are buried with Jesus by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in the newness of life.” (Rom. 6:4.) And: “According to his mercy God saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” (Tit. 3.) And: “Jesus loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.” (Rev. 1:5.) In Holy Baptism we receive the forgiveness of our sins and the Holy Spirit. God from his infinite mercy forgives the sins of a baptized person because Jesus shed his blood for that person on the cross. But God not only forgives the sins of a baptized person, He also renews, regenerates him through the Holy Spirit that that person might dedicate and conduct his life to the glory of God as a faithful, obedient follower of Jesus Christ. However, one must be prepared spiritually in order to be able to receive these blessings through the sacrament. “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38.) These words of the Apostle Peter show that repentance of sins is the main requirement of a person to be baptized and to receive the blessings of the sacrament. He has to be conscious of his total sinfulness, he has to sincerely desire a purified and renewed life, and he has to feel his need of the help of the Holy Spirit in his endeavor to dedicate and conduct his every day life for the glory of God. If some one partakes in the sacrament without these feelings, for him Holy Baptism will remain just a ceremony without any spiritual blessing. The baptismal water and ceremony alone cannot affect a man in any way. It is God who is able to forgive the sins and give the renewing power of the Holy Spirit into the human soul. He can do this to anyone and anywhere, even without the sacrament of the Holy Baptism. Yet He wants us to be baptized because He strengthens our faltering faith through the sacramentt in that He indeed forgives us and gives us the blessing of the Holy Spirit. Through the cleansing and refreshing effect of the baptismal water upon our body, God reminds and assures us that the shed blood of Jesus cleansed us of our sins and secured for us the refreshing, renewing power of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, God wants to incorporate us through Holy Baptism into the fellowship of his believing children, the Body of Christ, that is, the Christian Church. Therefore, he who does not want to be baptized manifests his ignorance of the significance of the sacrament. Or if he knows it and still rejects it, then he rejects from himself the blessings of the sacrificial blood of Christ, too, the forgiveness of his sins and the Holy Spirit, and shuts himself out of the spiritual communion of the Christian Church, to his own destruction. STEPHEN KOVÁCS k k k “ONE WAY TO SEE THE BIGGEST PRISON IN THE WORLD” With this title, William Attwood, the foreign editor of the American magazine “Look” wrote an article about his traveling far and wide in the East European countries. To the inquiry, what are the most obvious things one notices after crossing the Iron Curtain, he said: “First, the lack of cars”, and ironically credits Communism with the achievement of having “solved the traffic problem by making cars too costly to buy.” “Second, the universal drabness . . . everything more than 20 years old looks shabby, and everything newer looks shoddy. Third, the monotony. State stores are all alike . . . the same dreary slogans are plastered or stenciled on walls, homes and even churches. Fourth, the lack of animation. In restaurants, we were always consicuous . . . because we laughed and talked normally. Most people are subdued.” Last but not least, the tyranny is total: “Even the great despots of history never exercised such complete power.” Comparing and contrasting the satellite countries with each other, Attwood noted that Hungary and Rumania “both non-Slavic, are the most oppressed, although the Hungarians, since their revolution, are at least able to trust each other.” Czechoslovakia he finds depressing. “People live better, but the party is well disciplined, and so are its eyes and ears. A man told us he felt freer with us than with any other Czech except his wife.” “Children are pampered. If you have to live under Communism, the thing to be is a child”, — remarked Attwood and a Hungarian friend of his agreed: “Ees”, he said looking at the sky, “and then, when you grow up, to be a bird!” HUNGARIANS FOR TIBETAN REFUGEES Refugees of the Hungarian Revolution are contributing for the aid of Tibetan refugees in India. The first $1,000 was sent today per cable to the Central Relief Committee for Tibetans in New Delhi, India. The campaign was launched by the Kossuth Foundation, a non-profit Hungarian-American organization in New York (207 East 37th Street). The Hungarian language press in the free world has unanimously joined this appeal for further contributions. Professor Janos Horvath, a refugee of the Hungarian Revolution, is visiting New Delhi on behalf of the Kossuth Foundation to establish co-operation with the Indian Relief. The campaign bears the name of Alexander CSOMA de KOROS, famous Hungarian Asia explorer, who compiled the first Tibetan-English dictionary and grammar a hundred years ago, and is buried near the Tibetan borden in Darjeeling, India.
