Evangéliumi Hírnök, 1973 (65. évfolyam, 2-24. szám)
1973-02-01 / 3. szám
1973. február 1. EVANGÉLIUMI HÍRNÖK 7. oldal tak a Buenos Aires-i első magyar baptista gyülekezet tagjai nagy számban Pintér Sándor prédikátor testvér vezetésével. Az Istentisztelet alkalmával Pintér testvér hirdette az Igét. A vendégek nagy része spanyol nyelvű testvér volt. Jelen volt néhány szláv testvér és volt vendég a szomszédos államból, Paraguajból. A Buenos Aires-i magyar testvérek távol élnek a magyar hazától, de amint Nagy testvér írja, nem érzik magukat egyedül: ott is szerető — bár más nyelvű — testvérek veszik körül őket. A gyülekezet taglétszámban gyarapodott. 1972. évben kétszer is volt alámerítési ünnepélyük. Február 6-BAPTIST HERESIES A Sinner Saved by Grace by Fred L. Fisher How many times have you heard some Baptist say, “I am a sinner saved by grace?" This statement is made with the best intention in the world. It attempts to say two things at once. One, I am saved by grace; my being a Christian does not in any way rest upon any merit or goodness in me; it is all by the unmerited favor of God. Two, I am still sinful; I do not claim to have reached perfection in my Christian life. Now, what is intended by this statement is entirely true and Biblical and necessary for us to remember. Nevertheless, the statement itself is heretical, un-Biblical, and likely to give outsiders the wrong impression of Christianity entirely. First, this statement asserts that the Christian is still a sinner. This is not Biblical, and it is not true. One is a sinner because he is in rebellion against God, because he has not surrendered the reins of his life to God, because he has not believed into Jesus Christ as his Lord. A Christian cannot be a sinner; he has surrendered to the lordship of Christ; he has believed into Jesus Christ. MAKES A DIFFERENCE Second statement implies that one can be a Christian without it making any difference in his life. We are so afraid of appearing self-righteous, so conscious of our imperfections, Platanosi gyülekezet. that we give the impression that the coming of Christ into our lives is meaningless. It seems to the outsider that we are saying that God plays favorites. He accepts us into his fellowship; he assures us of a place in Heaven; He calls us His own. Yet, we are left to continue in sin with no real change of heart or life. This is manifestly untrue. According to the New Testament, one who is united with Christ is a "new creature” (2 Cor. 5:17); he has been "born again” (John 5:3); he has been freed from the bondage of sin and death (Rom. 8:1,2); and sin no longer rules his life (Rom. 6:14). Our own consciousness gives testimony to the reality of our changed life. We may be far short of realizing the capacities given us in the grand transaction of salvation, but we Jcnow that they are there. There is a thirst in us for a righteous life; there is a concern in us for others which could only come from God; there is a set of values in our hearts which is different from that which is in the world. When we grow cold and wayward, there is an inner voice in us that will not allow us to remain at ease in sin. Looking back, we can see spiritual improvement in our lives. Christ has made a difference; he does make a difference. Why not admit this? Why not boast about it? Why don’t we glory in it? If we were terribly sick and some surgeon should perform a successful operation that restored our healt, we would not hesitate to speak of it. We certainly would not say, “I am a sick man saved by the surgeon’s án, mikor három megtért egyént, köztük Nagy testvér kisebbik fiát, és november 8-án, amikor két ifjút, Varga Tibort és Nagy Jánost (Nagy testvér másik fiát) merítették alá. Nagy János testvér kifejezte azt a reményét, hogy az építéssel járó adósságot képesek lesznek kifizetni az 1973. évben. (Ha itt északon néhány szív megnyílik, akkor a reménység valóra válhat. Szerk.) Az Evangéliumi Hírnök olvasói együtt örülnek a platanoszi testvérekkel. Nagy János Calle 748-en 701 y. Platanos, Argentína knife.” No, we would say, "I am a well man who once was sick. I have been saved from death by my surgeon.” Why should we hesitate to give a like testimony to the divine physician who has saved us from the death of sin and made us well again. There is such a thing as hypocrisy in reverse and many Baptists are guilty of it. There is no need to try to appear worse than we are; we are bad enough without that. No one is likely to mistake us for a sinless saint. Certainly it is wrong for a man "to think of himself more highly than he ought to think” (Rom. 12:3). Is it not just as wrong to think of yourself "more lowly” than you ought to think? Certainly, Paul could say and mean it, "I am not... already perfect” (Phil. 3:12). But in the next breath he says, "Let those of us who are mature be thus minded” (Phil. 3:15). He could say, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am the foremost of sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15). But he could also say, "I am what I am by the grace of God, and his grace toward we was not in vain” (1 Cor. 15:10). Why not, then, be true to our own confession. Why not say, “I once was a sinner, but now I’m saved. I once hated God, but now I love God. I once sinned without restraint, but now I try to live a righteous life. All that I am is due to the grace of God in Jesus Christ.” If we say such things, we say the truth. If we show by our lives that they are true, we give a Biblical witness to the power of God to change our world.
