Magyar Egyház, 1969 (48. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1969-02-01 / 2. szám

MAGYAR EGYHÁZ

11

or not he will succeed. The results are up to his Lord — his duty is hut to obey.

Long ago, to be a worker in the church was a great honor and men accepted this commission gladly. Today it is hard to find willing church workers. We don’t like to leave our comfortable Samarias — we have friends, we have various organizations, and many things that take away our free time. God has Illessed us witli the gift of life — we have talents, we don’t want to give back anything to the Lord. We are slow to accept the practical duties of our church so that the Word of God might increase and disciples he multiplied. Yet, into our lives at some time there comes the great “But” which changes everything. We must hasten away in an unexpected direction. The well known paths must be left behind and perhaps God might even send us on the way of the cross, on the way of loneliness. The Lord today does not send an angel to us but here is His Word which gives a clear command and we must obey. It is fearful for us if our negligence and disobedience hinder us from following Christ.

The Lord bestowed the office of ministering upon man, not upon angels. Philip — not the angel — was sent to the lonely man into the desert by God.

The Lord tests our obedience by calling us. In our peaceful life, when everything is going along smoothly, there appears a “But” which changes our whole life.

God may call to His service through a vision, or through the inner voice of our conscience, or through the lips of our fellow church members. The call is always the same: “"Rise and go”. By your life or deeds you must be a witness for Christ. Someone must come to know Christ through you. “Rise and go”. Be always ready to serve Him.

Barnabas Rőczey:

THE CHURCH IN THE MISSION OF CHRIST

The Word of God puts tremendous emphasis on the duty of the church to preach the gospel of good news to all, especially to those who are willing to listen, repent and come to God through Jesus Christ with the help of the Holy Spirit.

To this end in his last word to the disciples, the Lord said, “go therefore and make disciples of all nations,... teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Mt. 28:19, 20).

Christ established the church to exercise its reconciling mission, both to individuals and to the power-structures of the world. It is the duty of the

believers to witness the love of God, to persuade people to believe in Jesus Christ, to accept him as their only Lord and Saviour, to be his faithful followers and to witness among their contemporaries the presence of God who rules and overrules the affairs of men and nations. The Church of Christ needs to understand today that it does not exist for itself, hut for others — for the world and for the salvation of all sinners.

Mission, then, is the church’s reason for existence; and the church is called today to understand its role in mission. Perhaps, the official statement of the Presbyterian Church in the United States may help us to understand the primary mission task of the church. The statement says:

Christ has established his Church in the world that he might have a people to serve him, and that they should be the instruments of his reconciling ministry in the world.

The Christian is sent by his Lord into this world, as the Father sent the Son into this ivorld. He is to live in this world as his Lord lived in the world; love it because God loves it; serve it because his Lord came to serve it and to redeem it.

The primary witness of the Church to her King and Head is made as Christians, obedient to their Lord’s commands, love and serve their neighbors for Christ’s sake.

The Church witnesses by word and action to the lordship of Christ over human society and to the love, justice and righteousness of God over against the evils of the world; praying “.. .Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven”.

(The Directory for the Worship and Work of the Church, in The Book of Church Order of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, rev. ed., 1963).

Christ established the Hungarian Reformed Church in America to serve him, to witness to his teachings and deeds and to proclaim the reconciling love of God. He called its members to respond with obedience to his mission command and to become “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world.” Our mission should take place in our local churches. Our churches must proclaim and teach the Word of God to their members. But, beyond our local churches, we have our mission responsibility toward the Hungarian Reformed Christians in the United States and in any other country of the world. In our mission program, the suffering Reformed Church of Hungary and its members should definitely he included.