Magyar Egyház, 1981 (60. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1981-09-01 / 9-10. szám
MAGYAR QQYhni 15. oldal THE BIBLE — — _ _ _ _ _ — , I,I,,n.. .I-», I. in-»I — .in —«.... —«...—I. —I —» i' The Bible is a book of life dealing with the relationship of God to man, man to God, and man to man. The revelations of God are recorded in the Bible. From time to time God revealed himself, his will, and his laws to those men who devoted their attention to God and were willing to serve him. These revelations were written in scrolls and books. Under King Josiah the books were read to the people of Judah, 621 B.C. After the Babylonian Exile Ezra and others collected the books of the Old Testament. In 250 B.C. the Old Testament was translated from Hebrew into Greek. The recording of the teachings of Jesus and of the apostles began with the first generation of Christians and the circulation of this record among Christian groups took more than a century. Thus the Bible was written by devoted men guided by God’s Spirit. “No prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (II Peter 1:21) We believe that the Bible contains the Word of God and the Bible contains the standard of our faith and conduct. The word Bible is derived from the Greek word Biblia—originating in biblos, the inner bark of papyrus (paper)—meaning little books. The Bible has two main parts: the Old Testament which tells us the history of Israel and the New Testament which contains the life and teachings of Jesus Christ; it also contains the teachings of the disciples and the formation of the Christian Church. A) THE OLD TESTAMENT God is merciful and after the Fall of man God promises that of their seed will come a Deliverer who will save man from the servitude of sin; therefore, to prepare man for the reception of the fulfillment of this promise, God made a covenant with Noah. God renewed his concenant with Abraham and promised him that the Deliverer will come from his descendants. The people of Israel through Moses and the prophets were prepared and educated to wait and receive the Deliverer or Savior. The Old Testament is a collection of 39 books. The first seventeen books contain historical elements; the following five contain general teaching; and in the last seventeen prophetic teachings are recorded. The Old Testament reveals God, the Creator, Governor, and Sustainer of the world, who provides for it. It teaches that God is righteous and just, that he condemns the guilty and vindicates the righteous by rewarding them according to their righteousness. We learn from it, furthermore, that God is gracious and merciful, that he promised a Deliverer who will save man from the servitude of sin. We learn the will of God from the Old Testament, especially from the Decalogue or Ten Commandments, which are as follows: 1. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. 2. You shall not make yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. 3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain-, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. 4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work-, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God-, in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your manservant, or your maidservant, or your cattle, or the sojourner who is within your gates-, for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh daytherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it. 5. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you. 6. You shall not kill. 7. You shall not commit adultery. 8. You shall not steal. 9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house-, you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor's. (Ex. 20) The Meaning of the Commandments In that time, as even today, men believed in many gods. Therefore, the First Commandment clearly states that there is only one God, the Creator of the world, and this commandment forbids us to acknowledge and worship any created thing as a substitute for the true God. The Second Commandment is a re-emphasis of the first, that God is spirit; therefore, we cannot make a likeness of Him and any such attempt is forbidden forever; and God is visiting the iniquity of the fathers, i.e., those who will transgress his commandments, upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of those who hate Him; and God will show mercy to thousands of generations of those who love Him and keep his commandments. In the Third Commandment God requires the reverent use of his name and forbids us to use it in a profane and abusive manner. Israelites even now, whenever God’s name appears in their worship, substitute the word Adonai. They regard His name as being an ineffable name and prefer to call him Adonai or Lord.
