Magyar Egyház, 1955 (34. évfolyam, 1-10. szám)
1955-08-01 / 8. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 11 SALVATION OF THE SINFUL MAN Rev. STEPHEN KOVÁCS Our last article was concluded with the statement that all men without exception deserve sufferings, death and damnation in hell as just punishments for their sins. God, however, decided in His mercy to save man from these punishments, and also the sins which had brought these punishments upon man. In our previous articles, we tried to describe both the oroginal, holy and righteous life of man in the Garden of Eden, and then his fallen, sinful state. Now we shall try to understand the life of the “saved”’ man, in other words, we would like to know the blessings of salvation which God prepared for the sinful human race. The meaning of the salvation of man is that the merciful God helps the sinful man to regain his original, holy and righteous life which he possessed in the Garden of Eden and which he lost as the result of his disobedience to God. Between the original and the saved state of man, however, there is a great difference. Although the salvation of man means the restoration of his original blessed state, yet this does not mean God will create a new Garden of Eden that the saved, purified man should live in it as Adam and Eve lived in the first Garden of Eden. The man who will receive salvation from the merciful God will live in heaven after his earthly life, and there he will possess that restored perfect life which will be free of all kinds of sufferings, death and fear of damnation. We say, therefore, that man had first his original state in the Garden of Eden, now he is in a sinful, fallen condition, but after this present earthly life he will possess his heavenly, saved, perfect eternal life. The detailed description of our future heavenly life is impossible because God did not reveal everything about it in the Bible. John the Apostle in the Book of Revelation gives us some knowledge and conception concerning our heavenly existence. He writes in the 21st chapter: “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He shall dwell with them, and they shall be his people. And God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. . .” Also we should note that not only our souls, but our bodies, also, will receive this heavenly life. At the moment of our death, our soul will return to God, and our body will become dust. But God at a certain time will resurrect our body from the dust and will unite it with our soul, again, and then we shall possess our heavenly life in its fullness as saved, beloved children of God. Our next question will be: how does God carry out our salvation and what should we do that we could partake of that blessed heavenly life. . .--------------o-------------BOOM IN RELIGION? America’s boom in religion, as measured by church membership and other statistics, may be a spiritual bust. This is the warning sounded by Dr. Eugene Carson Blake, President of the National Council of Churches, in an article in the September issue of Look magazine. Despite evidences of a great national upsurge in religious interest, morality seems to be on the decline, the Presbyterian leader declared. Acknowledging a new era of “robust faith” in the 1950’s, replacing the confusion and frustration of the twenties and thirties, Dr. Blake termed this new faith a good thing. But he singled out the possible danger that this faith may become “a prop and justification for an essentially unreligious life instead of an aid to new moral and spiritual insights.” Much of the new faith seems to be a revival of allegiance to old gods, he said, a seeking after job security, health and peace of mind — in return for “being polite to God.” One “tribal god” seemingly in process of revival, he said, Mammon, god of industrial prosperity and worldly success. Another form of escapist religion, practiced by rapidly growing emotional sects, springs“ from a confusion of sexual and religious impulses,” Dr. Blake said. In conclusion, however, Dr. Blake predicted that a competent and dedicated ministry will guide America away from any widespread “idol” worship in the religious boom. “I believe that the churches, in increasing co-operation with each other, will lead most of us to a fuller knowledge of God and a greater obedience to Him. Such a spiritual revival, however, is dependent upon keeping the idols from the sanctuary. Just any religion will not do. The crucial question remains: ‘What kind of God will you serve?”’, he said.--------------o-------------Why Bother With Sunday School? by the Rev. Charles A. Daroczy 1. My children need their rest on Sunday morning. They are too busy all the week to get enough sleep. 2. The teachers don’t really know very much. When I was little they were much smarter. 3. My children are better than most of the others on the block, even though they don’t go to Sunday School. 4. The stuff they teach at Sunday School is dull and uniteresting. I know, I went a couple of times when I was young. 5. Our family knows that all the Church wants is to grab our kids and get after us next. No thanks. If these reasons just don’t sound familiar to you, you haven’t been interested enough in your Church program. The complaints are interesting and informative. They come from folks who feel that Sunday Schools don’t achieve anything and are therefore not worth bothering with. Our responsibitily as Christians is to set up the type of educational program that will simply turn these five points inside out, so that they may read this way: 1. My children can hardly wait to get to Sunday School. That’s all they look forward to all wees long. 2. If I enroll in a leadership training course and study seriously I may become a teacher too. 3. My children now realize that there is a tremendous need for humility and in setting a good example for others. 4. The classroom materials are far better than anythink they had when I was young. 5. Our family has learned through the Sunday School program that we are better people since we became active members of our Church.
