作者: John MacArthur
譯者: Maria
Marta
基督是祂的教會的主這項真理，對我們這一代人中的一個臨時聽眾來說，聽起來也許有點溫和，但教會對基督權柄的爭戰，經過大屠殺的歲月臨到我們。值得感恩的是，在這個議題上不折不扣的屠殺已不再常見。但忠心的基督徒仍為基督對教會的主權進行一場激烈的道德和思想戰鬥。
在宗教改革時期，其中一個主要的事前催化劑，是早於馬丁路德整整一個世紀的波希米亞基督徒揚胡斯（Jan Hus）所撰寫的一本書。這本書是《論教會》（De
ecclesia），該書第四章的標題清楚地表明胡斯最深刻的要點：「基督是教會唯一的元首。」
胡斯寫道，「教皇不是 [真正]聖潔、普世、大公教會的頭，紅衣主教也不是其整個身體。唯獨基督是教會的頭。」他指出，他那個時代的大多數教會領袖實際上都在藐視基督的主權，胡斯說道：「神職人員降低要求到如此低的地步，以致他們憎恨那些經常宣講並稱耶穌基督為主的人。」
胡斯的坦率使他付上了生命的代價。 在1415年他被宣布為異教徒，並被處以火刑。
一百多年後，馬丁路德與教皇當權者已經不和，那時他讀了《論教會》一書。讀完之後，路德寫信給一個朋友說：「沒想到，迄今為止我一直在教導和持守揚胡斯的所有觀點；約翰陶辟滋也是如此（譯按：約翰陶辟滋 Johann
von Staupitz 1460 –1524，是一名神學家、大學傳教士、德國聖奧斯定會修士、代理主教；馬丁路德屬靈生命關鍵時期的導師。）總之，我們不知不覺都成了胡斯派。」
改教家閱讀胡斯的著作，從中深受鼓舞，決心將基督是榮譽的「教會的真正元首」的爭戰繼續進行下去。 路德寫道：「我深信，如果在這個時候，聖彼得親自宣講聖經的所有文章，他只會否認教皇的權威、權能、與最高權力，並說教皇不是所有的基督教國家的元首，之後他們會將祂絞死。 是的，如果基督本人再次回到地上，祂亦會如此宣講，毫無疑問，教皇會將祂重釘十字架。」
從很多方面說，「誰是教會的主？」這問題打一開始就是宗教改革的首要問題。 （這就是路德在說「我們都是胡斯派」的時候所默認的。）
當然，羅馬天主教的正典法律仍然堅持，教皇是她在地上最高的元首和以基督代理人的身分管治。
但是，歷史上的新教徒對基督對教會的主權這真理的委身也受到緩慢而細微的侵蝕，這種趨勢讓我深深擔憂。 這是我多年來一直在寫的問題。
例如，一些福音派領袖積極地教導，甚至不必承認耶穌為主，以致得救。這就是所謂的「主權爭議」。難以想象，基督對教會的主權會受到這樣明顯的攻擊，但「無主權的神學」已興盛多年，似乎正在不斷壯大。
福音派也誕生了很多「顧及未信者所需」(seeker-sensitive)
的運動，其中，教會服事量身定制，以討好對潮流敏感的非信徒。從馬戲表演到打鬧喜劇等新奇事物都被刻意注入集體的「敬拜」當中，目的是要保持世俗的娛樂思想。這實際上是對基督主權掌管祂的教會的否認，將祂的話語和律例降到次要地位，同時給予享樂主義時尚權利，來決定甚至崇拜的秩序。
女權主義者想重新定義領導者的職位，從概念中消除權柄的觀念。這也是一種對基督對教會的主權的正面攻擊。
聖經翻譯者和釋義者篡改真正意義上的上帝的話語；新興教會領袖懷疑基督所說的一切的清晰性；尤其是牧師，除了聖經之外，似乎無所不談，他們所有人都做了直接對抗「基督對教會的合法權柄」所要做的事。
為了回應對基督權柄的一切挑戰，有一件事要做的更多，那就是把清晰、有能力的釋經講道重新放回到正確的，所有教會活動的中心位置。倘若我們真的相信基督是教會的主，那麽教會需要聆聽祂的聲音。每當教會的聚會聚在一起時，祂的話語必須宣講，話語的內容要準確、有系統、不松懈地教導。
楊胡斯曾說過同樣一件事。 宣稱「基督對教會的主權」的意思是強調「基督徒應該遵守基督的誡命」，然後，胡斯引用使徒行傳十章42節（[基督] 吩咐我們向百姓傳講），並呼籲當日的教會領袖要利用一切機會來傳講上帝的話語-------盡管教皇詔書當時有效，但卻嚴格限制了聖經如何、何地被宣講。
今天的教會迫切需要宗教改革。基督對教會的主權依然是我們務要恢復的核心真理，這需要再次在祂的子民當中廣傳祂的話語。我們不能只是跟著最新的福音派趨勢隨波逐流，期望局面會好轉。像揚胡斯和馬丁路德那樣，我們需要為基督是祂的教會的主之榮譽和權柄爭戰。
本文原刊於Tabletalk雜誌。
Who Is Lord of the Church?
FROM John MacArthur
The truth that Christ is Lord of His
church may sound somewhat benign to a casual listener in our generation, but
the struggle for Christ’s authority in the church has come to us through the
ages on a sea of blood. Thankfully, literal bloodshed over the issue is no
longer very common. But faithful Christians are still waging a fierce moral and
intellectual battle for Christ’s lordship over the church.
One of the major early catalysts in
the Protestant Reformation was a book by Jan Hus, a Bohemian Christian who
preceded Martin Luther by a full century. The book was De Ecclesia (The
Church), and one of Hus’ most profound points was proclaimed in the title of
his fourth chapter: “Christ the Only Head of the Church.”
Hus wrote, “Neither is the pope the
head nor are the cardinals the whole body of the [true] holy, universal,
catholic church. For Christ alone is the head of that church.” Pointing out
that most church leaders in his era actually despised the lordship of Christ,
Hus said, “To such a low pitch is the clergy come that they hate those who
preach often and call Jesus Christ Lord.”
Hus’ candor cost him his life. He was
declared a heretic and burnt at the stake in 1415.
More than a hundred years later,
already at odds with the papal establishment, Martin Luther read De Ecclesia.
After finishing the book, he wrote to a friend, “I have hitherto taught and
held all the opinions of Jan Hus unawares; so did John Staupitz. In short, we
are all Hussites without knowing it.”
Emboldened by his reading of Hus, the
reformer took up the fight for Christ’s honor as true head of His church.
Luther wrote, “I am persuaded that if at this time, St. Peter, in person,
should preach all the articles of Holy Scripture, and only deny the pope’s
authority, power, and primacy, and say, that the pope is not the head of all
Christendom, they would cause him to be hanged. Yea, if Christ himself were
again on earth, and should preach, without all doubt the pope would crucify him
again.”
In many ways, the question, who is
Lord of the church? was the over-arching issue of the Protestant Reformation
from the start. (That’s what Luther was tacitly acknowledging when he said “we
are all Hussites.”)
Of course, Roman Catholic canon law
still insists that the pope is her supreme earthly head and the ruling vicar of
Christ in that capacity.
But the historic Protestant
commitment to Christ’s lordship over the church has also subtly eroded, and
that is a trend that deeply concerns me. It’s an issue I have written much
about over the years.
For example, some evangelical leaders
aggressively teach that it is not even necessary to confess Jesus as Lord in
order to be saved. That’s what the so-called “lordship controversy” is about.
It would be hard to imagine a more obvious attack against the lordship of
Christ over His church, but “no-lordship theology” has thrived for years and
seems to be gaining strength.
Evangelicals also gave birth to the
“seeker-sensitive” movement wherein church services are tailored to please
trend-savvy unbelievers. Novelties ranging from circus acts to slapstick are
deliberately injected into corporate “worship” in order to keep worldly minds
entertained. That is a practical denial of Christ’s lordship over His church,
relegating His Word and ordinances to secondary status while granting
hedonistic fashions the right to determine even the order of worship.
Feminists want to redefine the idea
of headship, eliminating the idea of authority from the concept altogether.
That, too, is a frontal attack on Christ’s lordship over His church.
Bible translators and paraphrasers
who tamper with the true sense of God’s Word; emergent church leaders who
question the clarity of everything Christ has said; and above all, preachers
who seem to talk about everything but Scripture — all of them do what they do
in direct defiance of Christ’s rightful authority over His church.
One thing would do more than anything
else to answer every challenge to Christ’s authority: the restoration of clear,
powerful, expository preaching to its rightful place at the center of all the
church’s activities. If we truly believe Christ is Lord of the church, then the
church needs to hear His voice. His Word must be proclaimed and its content
taught accurately, systematically, and unrelentingly whenever the church comes
together.
Jan Hus said the same thing.
Declaring that the lordship of Christ over His church means emphatically “that
the Christian ought to follow the commandments of Christ,” Hus then cited Acts
10:42 (“[Christ] commanded us to preach to the people”) and called on church
leaders of his day to preach the Word of God at every opportunity — even though
a papal bull was then in force, strictly limiting how and where the Scriptures
could be proclaimed.
The church today is badly in need of
reformation again. And Christ’s lordship over His church is still the central
truth we must recover, which requires the unleashing of His Word among His
people again. We cannot merely float along with the latest evangelical trends
and expect things to get better. Like Jan Hus and Martin Luther, we need to
fight for the honor and authority of Christ as Lord of His church.
This post was originally published in
Tabletalk magazine.