福音的大能 The Power of the Gospel
作者: Burk Parsons 譯者: Maria Marta
今年是宗教改革500週年。1517年10月31日, 馬丁·路德將其95條論綱貼在德國維滕堡 (Wittenberg) 城堡教堂 (Schlosskirche)的大門上，呼籲教會悔改並重返福音，由此點燃了宗教改革的火焰。這火焰像燎原野火蔓延到整個歐洲，乃至世界各地。正如使徒用福音把世界 (許多人的生命)都顛倒過來那樣，路德也用福音燃亮世界。但追根究底，不是使徒也非路德進行了宗教改革; 而是上帝的聖道和上帝的聖靈實施了宗教改革。
與使徒、教父、宗教改革的先驅、歷史上所有忠心的使者一樣，路德也是耶穌基督福音的僕人和管家。路德在1522年一篇反映在他宗教改革中擔當的角色的講道中, 在論及上帝的聖道時說道：「總而言之，我會傳講、教導、寫作，但我不用暴力強迫任何人，因為信仰必須自發，，而非強制。以我自己為例來說，我曾反對贖罪券和所有羅馬天主教徒，但我從不用暴力手段。我只是教導、傳講、書寫上帝的聖言; 除此以外我沒有做什麼。在我睡覺的時候（參閱馬可福音四章26-29節）…….上帝的聖道就大大削弱了羅馬教皇的權力，而皇族或皇帝從不曾使其遭受過這樣的失敗。我什麼也沒有做; 上帝的聖道作成這一切。如果我想要攪事，我早已給德國帶來巨大的流血沖突；的確，我可以發動這種把戲，甚至連皇帝也不會安全。但那又怎樣呢？不過是愚人的兒戲罷了。但我什麼也沒做; 任由上帝的聖道運行。」
從根本上說，宗教改革的主角是上帝的聖道，而非路德。 能力不在馬丁·路德或約翰·加爾文或任何改教家身上------能力是福音，拯救一切相信的人。宗教改革的燃料和火焰是帶來復興的聖靈，宗教改革不僅是教義之爭，更是敬拜、教會、家庭等方面和所有那些聖靈使其悔改並信靠耶穌基督的人的心裡的革新-------一切為了上帝的榮耀直至最後，萬國萬邦都應在三一真神的面前，在祂的臉光之中，認識、熱愛、宣揚祂的聖名，直到永遠。
本文原刊於Tabletalk雜誌2017年十月號 。
The
Power of the Gospel
By Burk
Parsons
This
year marks the five-hundredth anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation.
Martin Luther ignited the Reformation when he nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to
the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, on October 31, 1517,
calling the church to repentance and to return to the gospel. The flame that
Luther ignited in Wittenberg spread like wildfire throughout Europe and around
the world. Just as the Apostles turned the world upside down with the gospel,
Luther set the world ablaze with the gospel. But ultimately, it was neither the
Apostles nor Luther who did it; it was the Word of God and the Spirit of God
that did it all.
Like
the Apostles, the church fathers, the forerunners of the Reformation, and all
faithful heralds of the gospel throughout history, Luther was a servant and
steward of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In a sermon Luther preached in 1522
reflecting on his role in the Reformation, Luther said concerning the Word of
God: “In short, I will preach it, teach it, write it, but I will constrain no
one by force, for faith must come freely without compulsion. Take myself as an
example. I opposed indulgences and all the papists, but never with force. I
simply taught, preached, and wrote God’s Word; otherwise I did nothing. And
while I slept (cf. Mark 4:26–29) . . . the Word so greatly weakened the papacy
that no prince or emperor ever inflicted such losses upon it. I did nothing;
the Word did everything. Had I desired to foment trouble, I could have brought
great bloodshed upon Germany; indeed, I could have started such a game that
even the emperor would not have been safe. But what would it have been? Mere
fool’s play. I did nothing; I let the Word do its work.”
Ultimately,
the Word of God was the hero of the Reformation, not Luther. The power was not
in Martin Luther or John Calvin or any of the Reformers—the power was the
gospel unto salvation for everyone who believes. The fuel and the fire of the
Reformation was the Holy Spirit who brought revival and reformation not only in
doctrine, but in worship, in the church, in the home, and in the hearts of all
those He brought to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ—all for the glory of
God to the end that the nations might know, love, and proclaim the name of our
triune God coram Deo, before His face forever.
