Magyar Egyház, 1962 (41. évfolyam, 2-12. szám)
1962-10-01 / 10. szám
10 MAGYAR EGYHÁZ WHY WAS REFORMATION NECESSARY ? The Word of God must be regarded as the highest authority and rule in the Christian church. God’s Word is above all ecclesiastical orders, customs, or regulations. Therefore, everything in the church must be built upon this solid foundation. The church’s teaching must correspond to the Word of God, the life of the church, the doctrines, and everything connected with the church, must be in harmony with God’s eternal laws. During the centuries in the Middle Ages, many pagan customs and teachings gradually crept into the church, so that the life and organization of the church of Christ did not correspond to the tenets of the Bible, to the doctrines set by our Lord. When the deformation of the church grew out of bounds the reformation became inevitable! First of all the doctrines became deteriorated. Not the Word of God, but the laws of the church were the dominant rules in matters of controversies. The voice of the Pope and the tradition of men became the guiding principles. False doctrines spread far and wide; especially, concerning the Lord’s Supper, confessing the sins, praying to the saints, and bringing into the church statues and relics; not to mention the teaching that penance and forgiveness of sins can be purchased by indulgence letters. Reformation was essential because of the corrupted ecclesiastical organization which was as far from the original biblical concept as East is from the West. In the early Christian church, the elders, presbyters, pastors were all similar as far as their duties and responsibilities were concerned. As time went by, a gradual hierarchy developed from the lowest village priest through the bishops, archbishops, cardinals, up to the Pope, who claimed absolute power over matters of religion and government. The ecclesiastical order with its rights and falsely claimed prerogatives became a separate class from the laity. The pomp and ceremony was more important in the Papal court than the true service of Christ. So, because the ecclesiastical hierarchy was contrary to the Word of God, reformation was essential! The need for reformation was most imperative in the life of the Church. The morals on every level in the church became corrupted. Many cardinals and priests followed the scandalous examples of some Popes. Ignorance, vulgarity, Simony, nepotism, and uncleanness were the every day topic of contemporary preachers and people. Monastic orders were nurseries of ignorance and superstition. The forerunners of the Reformation in many countries all tried but in vain to bring the desired purification of the church. The Waldensians, the followers of Wycliff and John Huss, and the flaming Savonarola, almost without exception ended their lives as martyrs. But in due time Almighty God raised his heroic leaders in Germany, France, Switzerland and other lands who actually carried out the great Reformation movement. Let us be thankful for their unselfish, sacrificial lives and remember them not as Martin Luther, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli and others who have founded a new church, but as such who carried out this work of God, the Reformation, in doctrines, in ecclesiastical order, and in the life of Christians. They have not founded a new church, only restored the purity of the church of Jesus Christ. If we have any errors creeping into our church today, let us learn from them: that the church must continually be reformed according to the Word of God! D.A. RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD According to the Bible, the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ will be followed by the resurrection of the dead. Before we would examine the teachings of the Bible concerning the resurrection, let us remember our Christian belief as to death itself. What happens with us when we die? At the moment of our death our body will begin to dissolve or to become dust. But our soul returns to God. “The dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” (Ecc. 12:7). Our soul exists in a conscious state with God and waits its reunion with its body from which it was separated at the moment of death. However, our soul can be united with our body only if our body is resurrected or reconstructed from the dust of the earth. And this, indeed, will happen at the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. God by his almighty power will reemake our body and unite it with our soul. After this reunion of our body and soul will come the final judgement over us, and our full enjoyment of the heavenly eternal life or the eternal sufferings of hell for those whose final destiny is damnation. Although our death and the resurrection of our body cannot be fully understood by our human mind, yet our gracious God gives us some light to look into these great mysteries to know as much as we need to know. The following we know: 1. The faithful children of God who strongly believed that God forgave their sins because of the sacrifice of Jesus and who sincerely struggled to conquer their sins, will become entirely pure of all filth of sin at the moment of their death. “They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God.” (Rev. 7). There is no need for them to be purified further after their death. Also, those who die as hardened wicked unbelievers will not be saved from hell after they died. 2. Furthermore, we know that our resurrected body will be imperishable, will not get older or die. We will enjoy our eternal happiness in heaven in our imperishable resurrected body and the condemned will suffer their fate in hell eternally also in their imperishable, resurrected body. “The hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear the voice of Jesus, and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgement (damnation).” (John 5:29). 3. At the time of the resurrection there will be people on earth living. Paul says that these peoples’ body will be changed in a moment into the same imperishable body in which the dead will be risen. Thus all men will be ready to stand before the judgement seat of Jesus Christ. In our next article we shall consider the final judgement. Stephen Kovács
