Magyar Egyház, 1993 (72. évfolyam, 1-5. szám)
1993-12-01 / 5. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 9. oldal Sándor Toth. Amy Kulcsár and her husband Paul who came to be with us from our sister Church in Allen Park, Michigan. To our knowledge they are the only relatives alive from our charter families. The afternoon included many other activities; music for listening and dancing pleasure was offered by “our Gang.” Truly this day was a great success. It was a time to share our faith our love for one another, it was opportunity to recall the goodness of the Lord. It was a great day to be Thankful for His love toward His Church. QUALIFICATIONS, CONFLICTS, COMPENSATIONS Presentation at the Annual Conference of the American Hungarian Reformed Presbyters’ Association QUALIFICATIONS A young man wanted to become a surgeon. Unfortunately, the Great Depression blocked the fulfillment of his dreams and woke him up as a butcher. Since the kolbas workshop of his church needed a chairman, his profession qualified him to become an elder. Scores of similar examples could be listed how our professions, possessions, social positions, special skills have been translated into qualifications for eldership. Unfortunately, no matter how needed and useful they may be, none of them are mentioned in the Bible. When the Apostle Paul instructed Titus to appoint elders in the churches of Crete, he required these qualifications: ...’’someone who is blameless, married only once, whose children are believers, not accused of debauchery, and not rebellious.” (Titus 1:6.) From verse seven, however, we find the needed character traits of another principal office bearer of the church. “For a bishop, as God’s steward, must be blameless, he must not be arrogant or quick tempered or addicted to wine or violent or greedy for gain; but he must be hospitable, a lover of goodness, prudent, upright, devout, and self-controlled.” (Titus 1:7-8.) When the Apostle Paul gave his farewell message to the elders of the Ephesus church, he said, “Keep watch over yourselves and over the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseer (episkopos!) to shepherd the church of God.” (Acts 20:28.) Consequently, when we study the qualifications for the office of elders, we should not stop at encountering the term bishop in our translation. As far as Christian character and lifestyle go, there is no difference in requirements. Distinction exists only in the range of duties and in the extent of responsibilities. (Please read also 1 Timothy 3:2-7 and 1 Peter 5:1-4 for further qualifications.) An honest study of the requirements for eldership may lead us to a discouraging conclusion. Nobody among us is truly qualified to be an elder in the church of Jesus Christ. No matter how hard we would try to achieve even some of those character traits, we could not pull ourselves up to their level by our own bootstraps. Providentially, in Titus’s list, we find a modest, seemingly insignificant Christian attribute which may lead us to the other endowments. Servants of Jesus Christ, no matter what office we hold in His church, should be devout. Our devotional life, our relationship with God through Jesus Christ is the key to all the listed qualifications. Our church fathers taught us the biblical principles of Christian life and ministry in the doctrines of Sola Gratia, only by grace, sola Fide, only by faith, and Sola Crtiptura, only by the scriptures. They mean that we can receive new life, new character, new qualities only in Jesus Christ our Lord. Antaeus, a Greek mythological figure, the son of mother earth Gaea, had to touch the ground, the source of his life ever so often just to keep alive. Every time, however, when he did so, he became stronger than before. Even when his enemies wrestled with him and threw him on the ground, he bounced back twice as strong because he touched the source of his life and strength. We Christians should be just like Antaeus. In order to become truly qualified elders, we have to be in constant communion with the Lord, the source of our life and strength, the Creator of our Christian character and qualities. Study the Bible with a good commentary, have Bible study in you church and attend it, go to conferences, take courses for lay people at neighboring seminaries. Obey God’s Word, pray, meditate in solitude, with your family, with the members of your church. Get deep in you devotional life: ask Christ for a new heart, a new life, a new character. We need these magic touches to keep us in contact with God’s divine power as He transforms us into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. The fall of Antaeus also teaches us a lesson. Hercules defeated him by simply lifting him into the air. Separated from the earth, his source of life and power, Antaeus perished. In colonial times, the lifestyle of the officers the British crown sent to the colonies cracked a lot of
