64. 信心 Faith

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.170 , 更新傳道會出版

https://plus.google.com/u/2/105106813742373627205/posts/3BpNfqGcxF3

一般人稱基督教為一種宗教，其實更正確地說， 基督教乃是一種信仰，我們之所以認為基督教是一種信仰，乃是因為基督教裏包含了一套信徒所堅守或相信的道理；而且，要了解救恩必須具備信心。

信心是甚麼呢？今天人們把信心誤解為對不合理事情的盲目相信。但稱基督教為「盲目的信仰」，不但是藐視基督徒，也是對神的一種冒犯。當聖經用盲目或瞎眼的喻象時，是形容那些因犯罪而行在黑暗中的人。基督教呼召人離開黑暗，而非進入黑暗。信心是醫治瞎眼的密方，卻不是其肇因。

信心一詞的根本意思是信靠。信靠神並不是一種非理性相信所產生的行 動。神顯明自己是非常可靠的，祂賜我們許多理由去信靠祂，祂也證實了自己是信實的，是值得我們信靠的。

信心與輕信截然不同，輕信是指在沒有合理的理由下，去相信一些事，它與迷信同出一轍。但是信心卻不同，信心是建基在縝密而一致的理性 之上，有健全的實證為據。彼得見證過： 「我們從前將我們主耶穌基督的 大能 ，和他降臨的事告訴你們，並不是隨從乖巧捏造的虚言，乃是親 眼見過他的威榮。」 （彼後1 ：16)

基督教並非建基於神話和傳說，而是建基於那些親眼看見、親耳聽見者的見證上。福音的真理是根據 歷史的事實而來。如果這些事實的記錄不可信，那麼我們的信仰便歸於徒然。神並不要我們相信一些建基於神話的信仰。

希伯來書為信心下這樣的定義：「信是所望之事的實底，是未見之事的確據。」 （來 11 : 1 ) 可見信心包含對未來盼望的成分。簡單來說，信心就是我們根據神在過去所成就的，而相信祂在將來所要做的。相信神將來也是可信的神，並不是一種無根據的信心；我們有充足的理由相信，神既然在過去信實地實現祂的應許，將來也必實現祂的應許。我們有理由，且有充足的理由，使自己心中的盼望一 直燃燒下去。

作為未見之事之確據的信心，在本質 上— 不是單單地—但卻與未來有關。沒有人能知道未來的事，但我們每個人都是憑信心 —而不是憑眼見—邁向未來。我們可以計畫，可以預測，但是本領最高的人也只是根據我們的知識對未來作出估計而已。沒有人能確實知道明天的事。我們觀察現在，回顧過去，我們都是「事後的孔明」；但對將來我們所持的惟一確據就是神的應許，這時，信心就成了未見之事的確據。我們深信神掌管明天。

我們也相信神存在，雖然眼不能見，但是聖經已清楚說明，肉眼所不能見到的神 ，卻能透過可見之物顯明祂自己（羅 1 : 2 0 ) 。雖然我們看不見神，但是我們相信祂的存在，因為祂在創造界和歷史中，已經很清楚地顯明了祂自己。 信心包括相信神 ，但是這樣的信心並不夠。雅各說 ：「你信神只有一 位 ，你信的不錯；鬼魔也信，卻是戰驚。」（雅 2 :1 9 ) 雅各筆下流露譏諷之詞 ：我們若只相信神的存在，那只不過夠資 格作鬼魔而已。相信神是一回事，信靠神又是另一回事。相信神，並且孤注一擲地信靠祂—這就是基督教信仰的精髓！

總結

1. 基督教是一種信仰，因為基督教是根據神所啟示的一套真理而來。

2 . 信心不是盲目地躍進黑暗，而是信靠領我們出黑暗入光明的神。

3 . 信心是單純的 ，但不是簡單的。

4 . 信心不是盲目地相信，而是建基在健全的理性和歷史的證據上。

5 .信心為我們未來的盼望提供確據 。

6 .信心包含相信眼所不能見的事。

7 . 信心不單是相信神，也包括信靠神 。

思考經文：

羅 1 : 16- 32 ；羅5 ：1- 11 ；羅 10 ：14- 17 ；加3: 1-14 弗2 ：8- 9； 雅2 ：14-26

Faith

Christianity is often called a religion. More properly it is called a "faith." We often speak of the Christian faith. It is called a faith because there is a body of knowledge that is affirmed or believed by its adherents. It is also called a faith because the virtue of faith is central to its understanding of redemption.

What does faith mean? In our culture it is often mistaken for a blind belief in something that is unreasonable. To call the Christian faith a "blind faith," however, is not only demeaning to Christians, but an outrage to God. When the Bible speaks of blindness it uses this image for people who, by their sin, walk in darkness. Christianity calls people out of the darkness, not into the darkness. Faith is the antidote to blindness, not the cause of it.

At its root, the term faith means "trust." To trust God is not an act of unreasonable belief. God demonstrates Himself to be eminently trustworthy. He gives ample reason for us to trust Him. He proves that He Himself is faithful and worthy of our trust.

There is a huge difference between faith and credulity. To be credulous is to believe something for no sound reason. It is the stuff of which superstition is made and thrives on. Faith is established upon coherent and consistent reasoning and upon sound empirical evidence. Peter writes, "For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty" (2 Peter 1:16).

Christianity does not rest upon myths and fables but on the testimony of those who saw with their eyes and heard with their ears. The truth of the gospel is based on historical events. If the account of those events is not trustworthy, then indeed our faith would be in vain. But God does not ask us to believe anything on the basis of myth.

The book of Hebrews gives us a definition of faith: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). Faith comprises the essence of our hope for the future. In simple terms this means that we trust God for the future based on our faith in what He has accomplished in the past. To believe that God will continue to be trustworthy is not a gratuitous faith. There is every reason to believe that God will be as faithful to His promises in the future as He has been in the past. There is a reason, a substantive reason, for the hope that is within us.

The faith that is the evidence of things unseen has primary but not exclusive reference to the future. Nobody has a crystal ball that works. We all walk into the future by faith and not by sight. We may plan and make projections, but even the best foresight we have is based upon our educated guesses. None of us has experiential knowledge of tomorrow. We view the present and can recall the past. We are experts in hindsight. The only solid evidence we have for our own future is drawn from the promises of God. Here faith offers evidence for things unseen. We trust God for tomorrow.

We also trust or believe that God exists. And although God Himself is unseen, the Scriptures make it clear that the invisible God is made manifest through the things that are visible (Romans 1:20). Though God is not visible to us, we believe that He is there because He has manifested Himself so clearly in creation and in history.

Faith includes believing in God. Yet that kind of faith is not particularly praiseworthy. James writes, "You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!" (James 2:19). Here sarcasm drips from James's pen. To believe in the existence of God merely qualifies us to be demons. It is one thing to believe in God; it is another thing to believe God. To believe God, to trust in Him for our very life, is the essence of the Christian faith.

1.Christianity is a faith because it is based on a body of knowledge revealed by God.

2.Faith is not a blind leap into darkness, but a trust in God that moves us out of darkness into light.

3. Faith is simple, but not simplistic.

4. Faith is not credulity. It is based on sound reason and historical evidence.

5. Faith provides the substance for our future hope.

6. Faith involves trusting in what is not seen.

7. Faith means more than believing in God; it means believing God.

8. The Essential Truths of the Christian Faith devotional is excerpted from Essential Truths of the Christian