61 救贖 Atonement
作者: 史鮑爾 (R.C. Sproul) 譯者: 姚錦榮
摘自《神學入門》《Essential Truths of the
Christian Faith》p.164 , 更新傳道會出版
使徒保羅曾說，他定意不知道別的，只知道耶穌基督並祂釘十字架。他 用這種方式 來宣告，十字架對基督教是極其重要的。有關救贖（Atonement) 的教義是所有基督教神學思想的中心，馬丁路德稱基督教為十字架神學。十字架乃是基督教的普世標記。救贖的概念可追溯至舊約聖經，神那時已經為以色列民設立了一個贖罪的制度。所謂贖罪就是修正，消弭所犯的罪過，並賠償所造成的傷害 。
新舊約聖經裏都很清楚地提到，全人類都是罪人。由於我們的罪是向一位無限的、聖潔的神犯的（而祂是一位絕不能容忍看到罪的神），所以若想要與神恢覆交通，便需要贖罪。因為連我們最好的行為都遭到罪的汙染，我們自己不可能獻上足夠的祭物——甚至我們所有的祭物也都是汙穢的，需要靠另一個祭物來遮蓋其瑕疵。我們祭物的價值不足以贖罪；我們的義行也不足以贖罪。我們是負債的一方，永遠無力還清罪債。
基督在十字架上承受了父神的忿怒，為自己的子民贖罪；祂承擔了人類所有罪的刑罰。借著擔下世人犯罪所當受的刑罰，祂為我們贖罪。舊約聖經中的約書宣告說，任何違背神律法的人都當受咒詛，耶穌在十字架上，不但承受了律法的咒詛，也為我們成了咒詛（加3：13；申21：23）；祂在十字架上遭父神棄絕，為我們體驗到地獄全然的痛苦。
正統基督教堅信，救贖必定包含代替和滿足兩方面。當耶穌親身承受神的咒詛時，祂滿足了神聖潔而公義的要求，代替我們承受了神的忿怒，救我們脫離那將要來臨的大忿怒（帖前1：10）。
聖經中關於救贖最重要的一個詞就是代替。耶穌不是為自己死，而是代我們死。祂的苦難是代人受的，祂是我們的代替品。為要除去世人的罪，祂以神羔羊的身份代替我們死。
雖然聖父的忿怒是真的，但我們也千萬不要以為基督的救贖之工與聖父的旨意相違背。祂並不是把我們從聖父的手裏搶救出來；聖子並沒有強使聖父拯救那些祂不想拯救的人。相反地，救恩乃是聖父和聖子同心一起完成的合作計劃，誠如使徒保羅所說：“這就是神在基督裏叫世人與自己和好。”（林後5：19）
總結
1. 救贖涉及還清罪債。
2 .人類不能救贖自己的罪。
3 .耶穌的完美無瑕疵使祂有資格完成救贖之工。
4 .基督承受了舊約約書中的咒詛。
5 .基督的救贖包括代替和滿足兩方面的工作。
6 . 由於聖父和聖子的合作，才使我們得以與神和好 。
思考經文：
羅3 ：21-28 ；羅5 ：17-19 ；弗1 : 7 ；腓3 ：8- 9 ；多3 : 1-7
Atonement
The
apostle Paul declared that he was determined to know nothing save Christ and
Him crucified. This was the apostle's way of emphasizing the extreme importance
of the Cross to Christianity. The doctrine of the Atonement is central to all
Christian theology. Luther called Christianity a theology of the Cross. The
figure of a cross is the universal symbol of Christianity. The concept of
atonement reaches back to the Old Testament where God set up a system by which
the people of Israel could make atonement for their sins. To atone is to make
amends, to set things right.
Both
the Old and New Testaments make it clear that all human beings are sinners. As
our sins are against an infinite, holy God who cannot even look upon sin,
atonement must be made in order for us to have fellowship with God. Because sin
touches even our best acts, we are incapable of making a sufficient sacrifice.
Even our sacrifices are tainted and would require a further sacrifice to cover
that blemish, ad infinitum. We have no gift valuable enough, no work righteous
enough to atone for our own sins. We are debtors who cannot pay their debts.
In
receiving the wrath of the Father on the cross, Christ was able to make
atonement for His people. Christ carried, or bore, the punishment for the sins
of human beings. He atoned for them by accepting the just punishment due for
those sins. The Old Testament covenant pronounced a curse upon any person who
broke the law of God. On the cross, Jesus not only took that curse upon
Himself, but He became "a curse for us" (Galatians 3:13). He was
forsaken by the Father and experienced the full measure of hell on the cross.
Orthodox
Christianity has insisted that the Atonement involves substitution and
satisfaction. In taking God's curse upon Himself, Jesus satisfied the demands
of God's holy justice. He received God's wrath for us, saving us from the wrath
that is to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10).
A key
phrase in the Bible regarding the Atonement is the phrase, "in behalf
of." Jesus did not die for Himself, but for us. His suffering was
vicarious; He was our substitute. He took our place in fulfilling the role of
the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
While
the Father's wrath is real, it should be noted that the atonement Christ made
was not a case of the Son working against the Father's will. It is not as if
Christ were snatching His people out of the Father's hand. The Son did not
persuade the Father to save those whom the Father was loathe to save. On the
contrary, both Father and Son willed the salvation of the elect and worked
together to bring it to pass. As the apostle Paul wrote, "God was in
Christ, reconciling the world to Himself" (2 Corinthians 5:19).
1. Atonement involves a payment to make amends
for a debt.
2. Human beings cannot atone for their own sins.
3. Jesus' perfection qualified Him to make
atonement.
4. Christ fulfilled the curse of the Old
Covenant.
5. Christ's atonement was both a work of
substitution and satisfaction.
6. The Father and Son worked in harmony to
effect our reconciliation.
The
Essential Truths of the Christian Faith devotional is excerpted from Essential
Truths of the Christian Faith Copyright © 1992 by R. C. Sproul. All rights
reserved.
https://www.biblegateway.com/devotionals/essential-truths-of-the-christian-faith/2015/08/20
