聖經大故事THEBIG STORY OF THE BIBLE

作者：Yancey Arrington  譯者：駱鴻銘

http://christchurchreformed.com/the-big-story-of-the-bible/

https://www.facebook.com/peddrluo/posts/10155797848404653?pnref=story

舊約聖經從表面看來會讓人懼而遠之，會讓有心學習者感覺受羞辱，備感灰心。但是有一種讀聖經法會讓你蒙福，並且不會在絕望中棄它而去，甚至是在讀民數記和利未記的時候。

The Old Testament has intimidated and discouraged many would-be students of the Bible by its seemingly unapproachable presence. But there is a way to read the Old Testament, even Numbers and Leviticus, that will bless you and not send you away in despair.

讓我們誠實點。打開聖經會是一件讓我們感到非常懼怕的事，特別是舊約的某些部分。我無法告訴你，有多少已經準備好要衝鋒上陣學習聖經的學生，在像申命記或利未記的地方就卡住了，頭腦一片混亂，只好帶著絕望打退堂鼓。老實說，這就是為什麼我相信有許多基督徒已經讀過新約很多遍，但是卻連一次也無法讀完舊約的緣故。

Let’s be honest. Opening a Bible can be an incredibly intimidating thing, especially certain sections of the Old Testament. I cannot tell you how many would-be students I know have charged up the hill of God’s word ready to “learn the Bible” only to retreat in confusion and despair after getting stuck in places like Deuteronomy or Leviticus. Frankly, this is why I believe we find many Christians who have read the New Testament several times but haven’t made it through the Old Testament even once.

舊約是通往耶穌的道路The Old Testament is a road to Jesus

我們不必讓舊約令我們感到灰心，而從此讓聖經束之高閣。反之，當我們認識到，舊約是耶穌和使徒們所使用的聖經，應當會激勵我們。他們都相信，要教導人認識基督、認識祂所帶來的國度，舊約是完全充足的。的確，路加福音廿四章記錄了耶穌教導兩個門徒功課，說明他們應該如何明白聖經。在陪伴他們前往以馬忤斯的路上，耶穌拿出自己的舊約聖經，「從摩西和眾先知起，凡經上所指著自己的話都給他們講解明白了」（路廿四27）。

We shouldn’t allow the Old Testament to discourage us from studying the Bible. Rather, it should encourage us to know that the Old Testament was the Bible used by Jesus and the apostles. Both believed it perfectly adequate to teach others about Christ and the kingdom he was bringing. Indeed, Luke 24 records Jesus giving two disciples a lesson on how they should see the Old Testament. Walking with them to the town of Emmaus, Jesus pulls out his pocket Old Testament and “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (24:27).

請思考這點：「摩西和眾先知」是整本舊約聖經的簡略表達。你明白耶穌在作什麼樣的陳述嗎？祂是在說，從創世記到瑪拉基書，所有的舊約聖經最終都是指向祂的。出埃及記指向祂，申命記指向祂；甚至利未記也指向祂！

Think about this: “Moses and all the Prophets” is shorthand for the entirety of the Old Testament. Do you see the statement Jesus is making? He is saying, from Genesis to Malachi, all of the Old Testament ultimately points to him. Exodus points to him. Deuteronomy points to him. Even Leviticus points to him!

舊約聖經不是你應該略過不讀的，因為舊約聖經是以某種形式或方式，逐漸帶領讀者走上其終點是耶穌的位格和工作的一條路。

But the Old Testament is just as much about Jesus as the New Testament is. Far from being the part of the Bible you should skip, the Old Testament, in some form or fashion, progressively moves the reader down a road that terminates in the person and work of Jesus.

聖經本身包括一個大故事Scripture’s one big story

研究聖經的每一部分如何在耶穌裏找到其故事的內容綱要，就是我們所認識的「聖經神學」。聖經神學是一種嘗試，想要認識聖經本身所包含的個大故事，上帝藉著這個大故事，逐漸地、有機地啟示出祂的計劃，要透過福音來救贖罪人。聖經神學主張，想要在耶穌以外認識舊約，不只會冒著錯過聖經重點的危險，也會讓人繼續混淆、感到灰心，會使你發現自己陷在你不知道如何處理的經文的泥沼之中。

The study of how every part of the Bible finds its plotline in Jesus is known as biblical theology. It’s an attempt to understand Scripture’s one big story whereby God is progressively, organically revealing his plan to redeem sinners through the gospel. Biblical theology argues that to try and understand the Old Testament outside of Jesus not only risks missing the point of the Bible but makes way for continual confusion and frustration, causing you to find yourself mired in passages you don’t know what to do with.

舊約聖經的解讀法不是「按照字面」，而是「以基督為中心」。

The interpretation of the Old Testament is not “literal” but “Christological.”

但是舊約聖經的內容，和新約一樣，都是關於耶穌的。高偉勳，第一流的聖經神學專家之一，談到耶穌是舊約最基本的內容。他寫到：

But the Old Testament is just as much about Jesus as the New Testament. Graeme Goldsworthy, one of the foremost experts on biblical theology, addressed the Jesus essentialness of the Old Testament when he wrote:

因為新約宣告，舊約若少了基督就是不完整的，我們必須在「舊約的目標是基督」這個亮光下來認識舊約。要真正明白舊約，耶穌是必不可少的。新約也一樣。

Because the New Testament declares the Old Testament to be incomplete without Christ we must understand the Old Testament in light of its goal which is Christ. Jesus is indispensable to a true understanding of the Old Testament as well as the New.

他後來補充說，「舊約聖經的解讀法不是『按照字面』，而是『以基督為中心』」。

He later adds, “For the New Testament, the interpretation of the Old Testament is not ‘literal’ but ‘Christological.’”

想要享受聖經的整個內容，以至於能蒙福而不至於感到混亂嗎？請學習聖經神學，以及聖經的每一卷書如何能適當地與整個救贖故事完整地配合在一起，因為除非我們和耶穌一樣，把舊約和耶穌的位格和工作關聯在一起，否則我們就無法正確地解讀聖經的任何部分。Want to enjoy the entire bandwidth of Scripture in a way that blesses instead of confuses? Learn biblical theology and how each book of the Bible fits into the big story of redemption, because we cannot properly interpret any part of Scripture unless, like Jesus, we relate it to his person and work.

聖經神學會……Biblical theology . . .

• 幫助你避免誤用聖經。例如，聖經神學保護你不會將舊約的故事道德化，而是明白舊約的人物和故事在基督和祂的工作的影子裏找到他們的位置。你會注意到這些故事如何被應用在聖經的大故事裏，以及為什麼把它們變成基督徒的伊索寓言是犯了一個大錯，對聖經非常不公平。Helps you avoid misapplying the Bible. For example, biblical theology will guard you from moralizing the stories of the Old Testament by seeing how those characters and stories find their place in the shadow of Christ and his work. You’ll notice how the stories serve the Story, and why turning them into a kind of Aesop’s Fables for Christians commits a great injustice

• 幫助你問正確的問題。你會感到自信，無論你是在讀利未記或聖經的任何其他書卷，都知道你必須找什麼答案：這段經文在上帝逐漸展開的救贖計劃裏位在什麼位置？這段經文和耶穌有什麼關連？在這段經文裏，上帝要啟示出祂的救贖計劃的哪些特性？

gives you the right questions to ask. You will have confidence that whether you find yourself in Leviticus or any other book of the Bible you know what answers you need to discover: Where does this stand in God’s progressive plan of redemption? How does this section tie to Jesus? What is God revealing to the characters about his plan?

• 揭示出從創世記到啟示錄可以被追溯和得到發展的一些主題、中心思想和概念。你會學會看見交織在整本聖經裏的各色各樣的救贖脈絡，這些脈絡是從老亞當開始的，而在新亞當裏得到了結。它也會使你確信這個真理，即聖經是一本統一的書，而不會錯誤地將舊約和新約對立起來。

reveal themes, motifs, and concepts that can be traced and developed from Genesis to Revelation. You will learn to see all kinds of redemptive threads woven throughout the Bible, beginning with Old Adam and tying off at New Adam. It will also convict you of the truth that the Bible is a unified book instead of wrongly pitting the two Testaments against each other.

• 使你和耶穌一樣地讀聖經——從開頭到末了都是關於祂的一本書。耶穌自己在約翰福音五章39節提醒他們，藉著斥責祂那個時代的宗教領袖，「你們查考聖經，因你們以為內中有永生；給我作見證的就是這經。」舊約和新約都是關於耶穌的。

Lets you read the Bible like Jesus read the Bible—a book that from cover to cover is about him. Jesus himself reminds us in John 5:39 via a rebuke to the religious leaders of his day, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me.” The Old and New Testaments are about Jesus.

• 提醒你只能在耶穌裏找得到的偉大和榮耀——聖經最終是關於祂的！。

Reminds you of the greatness and glory that can only be found in the one whom the Bible is ultimately about: Jesus!