65. 得救的信心 Saving 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.177 , 更新傳道會出版
耶穌有一次說 ，除非我們擁有像小孩子般的信心，否則便不能進天國。孩童般的信心是天國子民的必備條件。然而，孩童般的信心和幼稚的信心是不同的，聖經教導我們要在惡事上作嬰孩，但在心志上要成熟像大人。使我們得救的信心該是單純的，但卻不是簡單的。
聖經既然教導，我們只能憑著信心稱義，而信心又是得救的必要條件，因此明白得救的信心（saving faith) 究竟是甚麼便非常重要了。雅各清楚解釋了得救的信心不是甚麼：「我的弟兄們，有人說自己有信心，卻沒有行為，有甚麼益處呢？這信心能救他嗎？」（雅 2 : 14)
雅各在此把宣稱的信心和實際的信心作了一個區分。人人都可以說自己有信心，雖然我們都有責任表明自己的信心，但是單單宣稱有信心是救不了我們的。聖經曾清楚提到，人會用嘴唇尊敬基督，心卻遠離祂。嘴唇的事奉若無信心的果子相伴，便不是使人得救的信心了。
雅各接著又說：「這樣，信心若沒有行為就是死的。」（雅 2
: 17) 雅各所形容的死的信心乃是指不能結出果子的信心，這樣的信心沒有效力，不能夠使人稱義。
當馬丁路德和宗教改革者宣稱，我們是惟獨靠信心稱義時，他們知道，必須小心地為得救的信心下正確的定義。他們界定了得救的信心必須包括的內容：得救的信心包括福音的知識、理智的認同和個人對神的信靠。
得救的信心是有內涵的，我們不是隨便信甚麼都可以得救。有人說： 「只要出於真誠，不論信甚麼都不要緊。」這種看法與聖經實在背道而 馳。按聖經的教導，我們信的內容事關重大。稱義不能單靠誠心而已，因我們很可能真誠地信錯了。正確的教義 —至少是有關福音的基要真理—至是得救的信心不可或缺的要素。我們相信福音，相信基督的位格和祂的工作，這就是得救信心的內容。如果我們偏離這些重要的真理，便 不可能得救。比方說，如果我們相信基督，卻否認祂的神性，那麼我們便沒有能使我們稱義的信心。
雖然正確地認識福音中的基要真理，是得救不可或缺的一 部分，但是正確認識真理的人，並不一定能得救。一個學生可以在基督教神學的考試中得甲，他可以 握住基督教的真理，但他仍有可能不信這些道理是真的。得救的信心必須包括在思想上認同這些福音真理。
但一個人也可能明白福音的真理 ，又認同這些真理 ，卻還是一樣缺少 得救的信心。魔鬼知道福音是真實的，卻對它恨之入骨。得救的信心還包含一 個要素，那就是個人對福音的信靠。我們相信椅子能承擔體重，但是如果沒有坐上去，便不能顯出我們對椅子的信賴。
信靠包含我們的意志和思想。得救的信心使我們愛慕福音的真理，並且 願意活出那真理，願全心擁抱基督的甜美。
從字面上說 ，個人的信靠可以附屬於理智的認同 下。魔鬼也認同有關耶穌的某些真理，但卻不認同所有與祂有關的真理。他不同意基督的可愛和可慕，就是一 例。至於我們應該區別還是結合理智的認同和個人的信賴，關鍵全在於我們是不是擁有馬丁路德所講的那種活潑的信心—個 人活潑地信靠基督為主和救主的信心。
總結
1.得救的信心是孩童般的信心，卻不是幼稚的信心。
2 .單單宣稱自己有信心，並不能使人稱義。
3 .得救的信心包含理智上對福音真理的認同 。
4 .得救的信心包含了個人對 基督的信靠和愛慕。
思考經文：
太 18 ：3 ；羅 10 ：5-
13 ；弗2 ：4- 10 ；帖前2 ：13 ；雅2 : 14-26
65. SAVING FAITH
Jesus
once remarked that unless we have the faith of a child we will by no means enter
the kingdom of heaven. A childlike faith is a prerequisite for membership in
God’s kingdom. There is a difference, however, between a childlike faith and a
childish faith. The Bible calls us to be babes in evil but mature in our
understanding. Saving faith is simple, but not simplistic.
Since
the Bible teaches that justification is by faith alone, and that faith is a
necessary condition for salvation, it is imperative that we understand what
comprises saving faith. James explains clearly what saving faith is not: “What
does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but
does
not have works? Can faith save him?” (James 2:14). Here James distinguishes
between a profession of faith and the reality of faith. Anyone can say that he
has faith. Though we are certainly called to profess our faith, the bare
profession itself saves no one. The Bible makes it clear that people are
capable of honoring Christ with their lips while their hearts are far from Him.
Lip service, with no manifestation of the fruit of faith, is not saving faith.
James
goes on to say, “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead”
(James 2:17). Dead faith is described by James as a faith that does not profit.
It is futile and vain and doesn’t justify
anyone.
When
Luther and the Reformers declared that justification is by faith alone, they
realized that it was necessary to give careful definition to saving faith. They
defined saving faith as including necessary constituent elements. Saving faith
is composed of information, intellectual assent, and personal trust.
Saving
faith involves content. We are not justified by believing just anything. Some
have said, “It doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you are sincere.”
That sentiment is radically opposed to the teaching of the Bible. The Bible
teaches that it matters profoundly what we believe. Justification is not by
sincerity alone. We may be sincerely wrong. Right doctrine, at least in the
essential truths of the gospel, is a necessary ingredient of saving faith. We
believe in the gospel, in the person and work of Christ. That is integral to
saving faith. If our doctrine is heretical in the essentials, we will not be
saved. If, for example, we say we believe in Christ but deny His deity, we do
not possess the faith that justifies.
Though
it is necessary to have a correct understanding of the essential truths of the
gospel in order to be saved, a correct understanding of them is not enough to
be saved. A student can earn an A on a Christian theology exam, grasping the
truths of Christianity, without himself affirming that they are true. Saving
faith includes the mind’s assent to the truth of the gospel.
Even
if people understand the gospel and affirm or assent to its truth, they may
still fall short of saving faith. The devil knows the gospel is true, but he
hates it with every fiber of his being. There is an element of trust in saving
faith. It involves personal reliance and dependence upon the gospel.
We
can believe that a chair will bear our weight, but we do not exhibit personal
trust in the chair until we sit on it.
Trust
involves the will as well as the mind. To have saving faith requires that we
love the truth of the gospel and desire to live it out. We embrace with our
hearts the sweetness and loveliness of Christ.
Technically
considered, personal trust could be made a subpoint or further delineation
under intellectual assent. The devil may give assent to the truth of certain
facts about Jesus, but he does not assent to all of them. He does not assent to
the loveliness or the desirability of Christ. But whether we distinguish or
combine intellectual assent and personal trust, the fact remains that saving
faith requires what Luther called a living faith—a vital and personal trust in
Christ as Savior and Lord.
Summary
1.
Saving faith is childlike but not childish.
2. A
person is not justified by a mere profession of faith.
3.
Saving faith requires intellectual assent to the truth of the gospel.
4.
Saving faith involves a personal trust in and love for Christ.
Biblical passages for reflection:
Matthew 18:3 Romans 10:5-13 Ephesians 2:4-10 1
Thessalonians 2:13 James 2:14-26