Magyar Egyház, 1970 (49. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1970-10-01 / 10. szám
14 MAGYAR EGYHÁZ MAGYAR CHURCH Sermon for Reformation ©ap “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it’s the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8) The reformation is not limited to a certain date. It did not come into history as a finished act; it will not be completed until the end of time. It had its historical background and its crucial events, and has had a continuing influence. acquire a comfortable security. But grace as God is describing to forgive sins—how could that possibly be of interest when sin is not a concern? Unless we fear God and desire to be saved by him, we show no interest in his grace. Before the reformation people sought their salvation outside of Christ. Although he was not denied, yet many people placed their trust and hope in the saints, martyrs, the Virgin Mary and the Mass. Seeing all this, Luther proclaimed: “man is justified by faith in Christ alone.” A little later John Calvin declared: “redemption is through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ alone.” The reformation was the age of rediscovery and it had spiritual causes. The reformers proclaimed that salvation is by grace alone through faith. It is offered by God and man’s part is to accept it by faith. When the reformation took place, this message was addressed to the souls of the age, and in those souls the grace of God accomplished the reformation. Those souls were misguided and mistreated. They had no clear vision of the real Christ. They lived in deep distress and darkness. Upon this darkness, the proclamation of by grace alone and through faith alone came to lift up these souls. Today the Church of Christ needs reformation. Today the Protestant Churches should return to the Bible and to the principles of the reformation. What power to move the souls of men, does the great message of the reformation have in our time? How much reformation would the proclamation of by grace alone and through faith alone bring about in 1970? Would it change our hearts? Would it bring a change in the Hungarian Reformed Church in America? Would it influence us and lead us out of our deep spiritual darkness into the light of the gospel? The Apostle Paul and with him all the reformers said: “salvation is by grace alone.” Does it make too much sense today? Does it move the hearts of men? I fear, very little! Who nowadays misses the grace of God? We still have some interest in his blessing, in whatever he can do to help us escape frustration and In our times we find many who seek their salvation outside of Christ. Probably the situation is not as bad as it was before the reformation, but it is obvious that many of us do not take our own salvation seriously. Our generation needs to understand what Jesus said: “no one can go to the Father without me.” We have to recall what was said to the jailer in Philippi: “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). We have to accept what Paul declares: “salvation is by grace alone.” But this grace is granted to the believers only by faith. Salvation is offered to us freely, but we as individuals must make our decision for Christ and by faith must personally commit ourselves to him as our Saviour. During the time of the reformation the proclamation of “by grace alone and through faith alone” was joyfully received. Souls were healed. People became aware of their sins. They turned to Christ and accepted him as the only Saviour. Many things have changed since the time of the reformation, but not the way of salvation. It is still by grace alone and by faith alone. God’s grace is boundless, and through his giving up his Son to a God-atoning death on the cross he offers free salvation to all men; but this grace can be received only by faith. Barnabás K. Röczey
