如果人無法作選擇，怎麽能說上帝是公平的呢？Howcan God be Fair if Man has No Choice?
作者: John Samson 翻譯: 駱鴻銘
問：如果人無法作選擇，怎麽能說上帝是公平的呢？
答：我們對事情應該要怎樣，會有我們自己的看法。但是聖經所教導的——我盼望你會同意——比起我們的感覺要重要得多。也許這會讓你感到吃驚，就是加爾文主義者會同意，聖經的教導是：每個人都有一個選擇。但是因為人不愛光、倒愛黑暗（約三19），他們天生是與神為敵的，也認為屬靈的事是愚拙的（林前二14），所以他們會自願地選擇拒絕基督。上帝並沒有強迫任何人拒絕祂。我們所有的人拒絕祂都是出於自願的。因此，如果上帝沒有選擇拯救任何人，而讓所有的人都留在他們自我吹噓的自由意志裏，祂仍然是公正的。但是相反地，上帝是憐憫人的，祂選擇從地上一大群不配的人當中，拯救了許多不配的人。一旦你以為上帝因為某種原因有義務要拯救你，那麽，你的救恩就不再是出於憐憫。所以，人在這個世界會領受兩樣東西其中的一樣：公正或憐憫，但是沒有人會領受到不公平。如果有人下了地獄，那是因為他們配下地獄，而且是自願選擇到那裏的。如果任由我們自己，這就是我們會做的選擇，我們也配得到這樣的結果。這就是我們為什麽需要恩典才能相信的原因。我們自己的心，堅硬如石。上帝必須改變我們的心，我們才有可能相信（申三十6；結廿六36；約六63，65），而這就是聖經所教導的。難道你是說一個人能不靠恩典，光靠他自己的自由意志就會相信基督嗎？聖經裏面那裏可以找到這樣的教導呢？
Question: How can God be fair if man has no
choice?
Answer:
What the Bible teaches, and I hope you would agree, is more important than our
feelings about the way we think things should be. And perhaps to your surprise,
Calvinists would agree with you that the Bible teaches that everyone has a
choice, BUT because men love darkness and hate the light (John 3:19, 20) are
naturally hostile to God and think all spiritual truth to be foolish (1 Cor
2:14) they will CHOOSE willingly to reject him. God is not coercing anyone to
reject him. We (all of us) do so voluntarily. God would therefore be just if he
chose to save no one and leave everyone to their own boasted free will. But
instead God is merciful and chooses to save many ill-deserving folk out of the
mass of ill-deserving folk on the earth. As soon as you think God is somehow
obligated to save you then your salvation is no longer of mercy. So men receive
one of two things in this world, justice or mercy, but no one receives injustice.
If anyone is in hell it is because they deserved it and chose to go there
willingly. Left to ourselves that is what we all would choose and deserve. That
is why we need grace to believe. Our own hearts are hard as stone. God must
change our hearts if we are to believe (Deut 30:6, Ezek 26:36; John 6:63, 65)
and that is what the bible teaches. Are you saying that a man can come to faith
in Jesus of his own free will apart from grace? Where do you find this in the
Scripture?