聖靈的印記與憑據The Holy Spirit as Seal andPledge

作者: Edmund Clowney  譯者:   Maria Marta

http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/the-holy-spirit-as-seal-and-pledge/

https://plus.google.com/u/0/106695469993489516884/posts/BzL2Samc7qL

小碧玉印章上雕刻著一只怒吼橫臥的獅子，上面還有一行古希伯來字的銘刻：「屬耶羅波安的仆人示馬」。這枚精致的碧玉印章在米吉多這個聖經事蹟的地方出土，它曾經是公元前785–743年以色列國王耶羅波安二世的一個王室侍從的所有物（王下十四23–29）。示瑪可能為他的獅子印章感到自豪，但對他來說這枚印章不是一塊裝飾玉石。相反，它是他的一件日常用品。在黏土或蠟上壓印，其戳印標志著他的所有權與權力。他會在新泥土封蓋的酒甕上蓋上他的印章; 他也會在購買契約或結婚契約上蓋章。他的印章充當他的簽名。

舊約聖經經常提及印記與封印：王後耶洗別以亞哈的名義寫了一些信給那些住在拿伯城裡的長老和貴胄（王上廿一8）；王後以斯帖為猶大人寫諭旨，她被允許用王的印戒蓋上-------「因為奉王的名所寫，用王的戒指蓋上印的諭旨，是沒有人可以廢除的。」(斯八8新譯本)

使徒保羅捕捉到了這一形像，用以描述上帝的印記：「信了基督，就在他裡面受了所應許的聖靈作為印記。這聖靈是我們得基業的憑據，直到　神的產業得贖，使他的榮耀得著頌讚。」（弗一13b–14新譯本）。

上帝的印記不像美國的官方大印章，一枚必需壓印在紙上的徽章。上帝的印記是祂的聖靈，印證上帝親臨與祂的子民同在。毫無疑問，上帝也賜給我們祂所有權的外在可見的記號和印記。在洗禮中上帝讓我們歸入祂的聖名，藉此來標記我們；在主的晚餐中我們有祂屬靈的實在臨在（於信徒的信心中）的印記。這些印記甚至具有超越外在可見記號的能力：上帝臨在的現實供應我們豐富的恩惠。然而上帝賜給我們的印記甚至超越所有這些的恩惠。這個最終的印記是祂自己這恩賜。

上帝親自在我們身上烙上印記，上帝有特權擁有我們，祂又賜我們特權擁有祂。聖靈在五旬節降臨，內住在上帝的新人身上；同時，祂賜下自己，祂自己要作我們的財產，要做我們的基業。

一、聖靈是上帝的印記

我們屬於上帝，因為祂創造我們：「我們是他造的，也是屬他的」（詩一零零3）。凱撒有特權，拥有印有其頭象的硬幣；我們烙有上帝形象的印記，我們屬於上帝所有。但還有更多，其它更多要說的。作為悖逆者，我們利用上帝在我們身上烙上的形象的榮耀。由於亞當的罪，上帝形象的承載者變成上帝的敵人。人擁有了上帝之後又失去上帝？ 不，上帝藉著耶穌基督為自己買贖屬自己的人：「我們在他愛子裡，藉著他的血蒙了救贖，過犯得到赦免。」（弗一7新譯本）

這就是保羅在以弗所書讚美的難以置信的奧秘。上帝不僅平定我們的叛逆，而且再次擁有我們，就好像我們是祂的；祂甚至吸引我們來親近祂，比祂創造我們的時候更親近祂。我們比亞當更親近祂，因為我們與耶穌基督，祂的兒子聯合。我們曾在罪中遠離上帝，現在被帶到上帝的面前，比寶座旁的基路伯更親近上帝，就像上帝的兒子，我們的救主那樣的親近。上帝在創立世界的時候就這樣計劃好了。祂在創世之先，就在基督裡揀選了我們（弗一4）。上帝的子民是祂的產業（出十九5）。上帝賜給以色列一份產業，但祂亦把以色列歸作自己的產業：「耶和華的份本是他的百姓」（申卅二9；四20）。上帝如何在基督裡將我們歸作祂的產業？藉著內住在我們心裡的基督的靈。我們不敢低估聖靈降臨的意義，雖然耶穌復活後教會失去了耶穌。但耶穌說，祂不會撇下我們為孤兒，祂要回到我你們這裡來（約十四18）。復活之後祂向門徒吹一口氣，讓他們領受聖靈；祂的聖靈在五旬節從寶座上降臨。

是的，耶穌將會再來，每一個人都將看見祂，但現在我們還沒有失去我們的主。祂告訴我們，祂去是對我們是有益的，如果祂不去，聖靈就不會到這裡來（約十六7），不是因為聖靈是比祂更好，而是因為藉著聖靈，聖子與聖父上帝也住在我們心裡。在以弗所書，保羅談到聖靈充滿，基督充滿，上帝充滿（弗五18；一23；四13；三19）。這些充滿都是沒有區別的充滿行動。聖靈充滿就是被基督充滿，就是被那充滿萬有的上帝所完全充滿。

當我們思想印記，腦海裡可能會浮現泰諾（Tylenol）瓶封印的圖畫，在泰諾和同類產品的內含物遭到非法竄改而造成致命性的後果之後，精心制作的封印設計隨之出爐。上帝印記的功能也是保護，防止假冒和仿制。聖靈是我們的盾牌和保護。上帝認識並保守那些屬於祂的人（提後二19；約十27–28）。上帝的子民是活神的印（啟七2，4；九4）。聖靈作為我們的印記，親自保守我們，而不是一種機械式的過程。祂使我們這些這因信而蒙祂保守的人得著基業（彼前一5–7）。我們可能會讓上帝的聖靈憂傷，但祂仍保守我們等候得贖的日子，聖靈亦可能懲罰我們；聖靈當然也會通過各種試煉來試驗我們的信心，但其目地總是為了最後能把我們引見給上帝。

二、聖靈是我們的印記

藉著在聖靈裡的同在，上帝不僅有特權擁有我們，而且也賜給我們擁有祂的特權。聖靈印證上帝的應許，聖靈是上帝（賣贖我們）的憑據。事實上，賜下聖靈是上帝對祂的應許的信守，上帝的買契印證得贖的日子，不僅藉著外在可見的記號（如割禮這記號是亞伯拉罕因信稱義的印證[羅4:11]），而且更如耶穌所說的藉著「父的應許」的信守（徒二22，33）。聖靈降臨的應許是亞伯拉罕所蒙的福（加三14）。因此，保羅說聖靈是上帝為完全和最終的救贖付下的「頭期款」（憑據）。

如果你的信用良好，汽車銷售員會很樂意安排一筆貸款，資助你購買。但你肯定他亦會要求你先付一筆頭期款。頭期款是總價當中的金額，是要提前支付的一部分金額。這是保羅描繪的圖畫。天堂本身供應的福分沒有大得過個人與上帝的團契交通。藉著上帝，聖靈的同在，這正是現在帶給教會，帶給你的福分。在我們與耶穌基督的聯合裡，我們「在他裡面也一同被建造，成為　神藉著聖靈居住的所在。」（弗二22） 舊約的會幕充滿上帝榮耀的雲彩，起初新約的會幕是被聖靈充滿的耶穌基督的物質身體，現在被聖靈充滿的耶穌基督的教會也是祂的身體。上帝的頭期款是這世上的上帝的榮耀。

因為在上帝兒子的靈裡，上帝賜給我們祂同在的印記，所以我們呼叫「阿爸、父！」（加四6）。因為我們領受耶穌基督兒子的名分，所以我們使用我們的救主所使用的詞語。我們在死中被賜予屬靈的生命；在錯誤中被賜予真理的靈；在腐敗中被賜予榮耀的靈。

當上帝賜給我們祂自己作訂金時，祂賜給我們祂的愛的確據。「盼望是不會令人蒙羞的，因為　神藉著所賜給我們的聖靈，把他的愛澆灌在我們的心裡。」（羅五5新譯本） 當我們還是上帝的敵人時，基督為我們死，上帝對我們的愛就在此顯明了。那麼，誰又能把我們與耶穌基督的愛分開？愛的印記在祂的恩典之心与大能的臂上，因此愛比死亡更堅強（雅八6）。

本文原刊於Tabletalk雜誌May 1st, 1992

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克羅尼 Edmund Clowney 1917-2005

http://www.crtsbooks.net/pdf/2016catalog_interact.pdf

克羅尼於1966年至1984年擔任費城西敏神學院院長。在他的帶領下，全力發揚聖經神學、預設派護教學、聖經輔導等改革宗的特色。當時的西敏神學院教師群中，與克羅尼最熟的一位年輕教師，就是日後牧養紐約最大教會的牧師提摩太•凱勒(Timothy Keller)。常常與克羅尼一起禱告的凱勒說，克羅尼是他的靈性導師，教導他如何牧會、如何講道。

克羅尼是一位極富同情心的輔導，總是希望能幫助人把福音信息應用在生命中。他是耶穌基督熱心的僕人，熱愛祂的聖道與教會。他特別重視和睦與合一的工作，是一位有遠見、有異象的領袖。他熱心投入許多的福音事工，包括法國改革宗神學院、加州西敏神學院、三一教會（Trinity Church, Charlotteville），洛桑福音大會、美國與英國校園福音團契（InterVarsity），費城的都市宣教研究中心（Center for Urban Theological Studies）。他也喜愛研發兒童主日學與讀經夏令會的教材。

他最大的貢獻之一，就是以身作則地推廣救贖歷史（以基督為中心）的講道法。他對聖經熟悉到一個地步，可以把整本聖經串連起來，透過當日的證道經文，使聽眾看見基督一切的榮美，因而被吸引到救贖主的面前，愛祂、敬拜祂。克羅尼認為，能在神的百姓面前傳講神的話語，是極大的榮幸。一段經文，不論講過幾次，他總是苦心、徹底地再次研讀該段經文，好使他在講台上能清楚、正確地呈現出基督和祂的道。他也是一位孜孜不倦的重要作家，他的小書《天命與你》，感動了許多年輕人獻身作傳道人。他過世的前幾天，在神的保守下，寫完了《耶穌如何更新了十誡》（How Jesus Transforms the Ten Commandents）這本重要作品。

相關著作：

揭開奧秘──發現舊約中的基督

講道與聖經神學

天命與你

The Holy Spirit as Seal and Pledge

by Edmund Clowney

The figure of a roaring lion stretches across the little jasper seal. In ancient Hebrew letters it bears the inscription, “Belonging to Shema, servant of Jeroboam.” Recovered from the biblical site of Megiddo, the stamp seal was once the property of an official of Jeroboam II, king of Israel, 785–743 B.C. (2 Kings 14:23– 29). Shema may have been proud of his lion-seal, but for him it was not a decorative gemstone. Rather, he put it to daily use. Pressed on clay or wax it marked his ownership and authority. Wine jars, stoppered with fresh clay, would bear the stamp of his seal. He could seal a deed of purchase or a marriage contract; his stamp could serve as his signature.

Seals and sealing are often spoken of in the Old Testament: Queen Jezebel used Ahab’s seal to order a conspiracy against the life of Naboth (1 Kings 21:8); Queen Esther delivered the Jews when she was permitted to prepare a royal decree and seal it with the king’s ring—“for no document written in the king’s name and sealed with his ring can be revoked” (Esther 8:8).

The apostle Paul grasped this image to describe the sealing of the Lord: “Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:13b–14).

God’s seal is not, like the great seal of the United States, an emblem to be impressed on paper. God’s seal is His Holy Spirit, who is God Himself present with His people. To be sure, God has given us also outward signs and seals of His ownership. In baptism God seals us by giving us His name; in the Lord’s Supper we have the spiritual seal of His presence in the sacrament. Even these seals have a power beyond the outward sign: the reality of God’s presence provides the blessing. But God gives a seal that is even more than these gifts of blessing. His final seal is the gift of Himself.

By sealing us in person, God both claims us and gives us claim on Him. The Holy Spirit came on Pentecost to possess the new people of God; at the same time, He gave Himself to be their possession, their inheritance.

I. The Spirit Is God’s Seal

We belong to God because He created us: “It is He who made us, and we are His” (Psalm 100:3). The coin stamped with Caesar’s image could be claimed by Caesar; stamped with God’s image, we belong to Him. But there is more, much more. As rebels we exploited the very glory of the image God stamped on us. Through Adam’s sin, God’s image-bearers became His enemies. Had God, then, lost His possession? No, for God has bought back His people for Himself through Christ: “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Ephesians 1:7).

Here is the incredible mystery that Paul celebrates in Ephesians. God not only defeats our rebellion to claim us again as His; He draws us even closer to Himself than His creation could make us. We are brought closer than Adam, for we are united to Jesus Christ, God’s own Son. We who were far off in sin are brought near, nearer than the cherubim beside the throne, as near as God’s Son, our Savior.

God had planned it that way from the beginning. He chose us in Christ before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). God’s people are God’s treasure (Exodus 19:5). God gave Israel an inheritance, but He took Israel as His inheritance: “The Lord’s portion is His people” (Deuteronomy 4:20; 32:9). How does the Lord mark us as His possession in Christ? By the Spirit of Christ in our hearts. We dare not underrate the meaning of the coming of the Spirit, as though after the Ascension the church had lost Jesus. Jesus said that He would not leave us orphans, but would come to us (John 14:18). He breathed His Spirit on the disciples after the Resurrection; He came in His Spirit from the throne of glory at Pentecost. Yes, Jesus will come again, when every eye will see Him, but we are not now bereft of our Lord. He told us that it was better that He should go away so that the Spirit might come (John 16:7), not because the Spirit is better than He, but because by the Spirit both the Son and the Father are also present in our hearts. In Ephesians, Paul speaks of the filling of the Spirit, the filling of Christ, and the filling of God (Ephesians 5:18; 1:23; 4:13; 3:19). These are not distinct acts of filling. To be full of the Spirit is to be full of Jesus, to be filled with all the fullness of God.

When we think of seals, we may picture the seal on a bottle of Tylenol. The elaborate sealing developed for that and similar products came after the deadly results of criminal tampering with the contents. God’s sealing also protects against tampering. The Spirit is our shield and guardian. The Lord knows and keeps those who are His (2 Timothy 2:19; John 10:27–28). God’s people are sealed with the living God (Revelation 7:2, 4; 9:4). The Spirit as our seal keeps us personally, not mechanically. He keeps us for our inheritance by keeping us believing (1 Peter 1:5–7). We may grieve the Spirit of God by whom we are kept till the day of redemption, and the Spirit may chastise us; He will certainly prove our faith through fiery trials, but always with the purpose of presenting us at last to God.

II. The Spirit Is Our Seal

By being present in the Spirit, God not only claims us for Himself, He also gives us claim on Him. The Spirit certifies His promise, His pledge to us. Indeed, the Spirit is God’s keeping of His promise. God’s deed of purchase is sealed to the day of redemption, not merely by an outward sign (as circumcision was a seal of Abraham’s faith [Romans 4:11]) but by the keeping of the “promise of the Father” as Jesus said (Acts 2:22, 33). The coming of the Spirit is the blessing promised to Abraham (Galatians 3:14). Paul therefore speaks of the Spirit as God’s “down payment” on full and final salvation.

If your credit is good, a car salesman may be happy to arrange a loan to fund your purchase. But you may be sure that he will also demand a down payment. The down payment is in the currency of the final payment; some of that final payout is made up front. That is the picture Paul gives. Heaven itself offers no blessing greater than that of personal fellowship with the Lord. That is precisely the blessing now brought to the church, to you, by the presence of the Lord, the Spirit. In our union with Christ we are “being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit” (Ephesians 2:22). The Old Testament tabernacle was filled with the cloud of God’s glory; the New Testament tabernacle is first the physical body of Jesus Christ, who was filled with the Spirit, and now is also the body of Christ, His church, which the Spirit fills with Jesus. God’s down payment is the glory of the Lord begun here below.

Because God gives us the seal of His presence in the Spirit of His Son, we cry, “Abba, Father!” (Galatians 4:6). We use the very word our Savior used, for we have received the claim of Christ’s Sonship. In death we are given the Spirit of life; in error, the Spirit of truth; in corruption, the Spirit of glory.

In giving us the deposit of Himself, God gives us the assurance of His love. “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us” (Romans 5:5). The love that God has for us is the love that He showed when we were His enemies and Christ died for us. Who, then, shall separate us from the love of Christ? The seal of love is on His heart of grace and His arm of power, love that is stronger than death (Song of Songs 8:6).

崇拜：福音派還是改革宗？Worship: Evangelical orReformed? 

作者：W. Robert Godfrey （加州西敏神學院院長，URC牧師）譯者：駱鴻銘
原刊於2002年4月信正長老會（OPC）雜誌New Horizon。
https://www.opc.org/nh.html?article_id=193原文
http://www.crtsbooks.net/blog/post/2012/05/17/Worship_Evangelical_or_Reformed.aspx1駱鴻銘譯版
https://www.churchchina.org/archives/170306.html2维语译 / 和卫校 版
https://www.facebook.com/groups/462030323850206/posts/4097072803679255/3 Virginia Yip譯版
https://yibaniba.blogspot.com/2017/03/worship-evangelical-orreformed-w.html 中英转载版
https://yibaniba.blogspot.com/2021/08/worship-evangelical-orreformed-w.html
 

摘要：

我們改革宗的人對敬拜的思考，有一個很大的難題，就是在許多地方，我們的敬拜已經不知不覺地遵從福音派的方法。與此同樣重要的，如果我們要欣賞領會我們改革宗在敬拜上的遺產，如果我們要向其他人傳遞它的重要性、特色和能力，我們必須明白我們敬拜獨特的性質。One of the challenges of being Reformed in America is to figure out the relationship between what is evangelical and what is Reformed. Protestantism in America is dominated by the mainline Protestants, the evangelicals, and the charismatics. After these dominant groups, other major players would include the confessional Lutherans. But where do the Reformed fit in, particularly in relation to the evangelicals, with whom historically we have been most closely linked?

正文：

在美國要作一個改革宗的信徒，其中的一個挑戰是要想清楚福音派和改革宗之間的關係是什麼。在美國，新教主義是由新教的主流，即福音派和靈恩派所主導的。在這些主要的團體之後，其他主要的參與者還包括認信的路德宗。Some observers argue that the confessional Reformed are a subgroup in the broader evangelical movement. Certainly over the centuries in America, the Reformed have often allied themselves with the evangelicals, have shared much in common with the evangelicals, and have often tried to refrain from criticizing the evangelical movement. But are we Reformed really evangelical?

但是要把改革宗放在什麼位置呢？特別是改革宗和福音派的關係，因為從歷史來看，改革宗和福音派的關係是最為緊密的。One area in which the differences between evangelical and Reformed can be examined is the matter of worship. At first glance, we may see more similarities than differences. The orders of worship in Reformed and evangelical churches can be almost identical. Certainly, both kinds of churches sing songs, read Scripture, pray, preach, and administer baptism and the Lord's Supper. But do these similarities reflect only formal agreement, or do they represent a common understanding of the meaning and function of these liturgical acts in worship?

有些觀察者認為認信的路德宗是更廣的福音派運動裡的一個小團體。當然，在美洲過去的幾個世紀以來，改革宗經常和福音派結盟，和福音派也有很多共同之處，也經常試著在批評福音派運動上有所節制。Some observers argue that the confessional Reformed are a subgroup in the broader evangelical movement. Certainly over the centuries in America, the Reformed have often allied themselves with the evangelicals, have shared much in common with the evangelicals, and have often tried to refrain from criticizing the evangelical movement.

但是，我們改革宗真的是福音派嗎？But are we Reformed really evangelical?

有一個可以檢查出福音派和改革宗之間的差別的領域，就是在崇拜這件事上。粗略地看，我們也許會看到之間的相似性大過其差異性。改革宗和福音派教會在敬拜的次序上幾乎可以是完全相同的。確定的是，兩種教會都會唱詩歌，讀經，禱告，講道，並施行洗禮和聖餐。但是這些相似性反映的只是形式上的一致，還是它們代表著對崇拜中這些禮儀的行動，它們的意義和功用有著共同的理解？One area in which the differences between evangelical and Reformed can be examined is the matter of worship. At first glance, we may see more similarities than differences. The orders of worship in Reformed and evangelical churches can be almost identical. Certainly, both kinds of churches sing songs, read Scripture, pray, preach, and administer baptism and the Lord's Supper. But do these similarities reflect only formal agreement, or do they represent a common understanding of the meaning and function of these liturgical acts in worship?

如果我們仔細查看，我相信我們會明白福音派和改革宗在崇拜的事情上，有著本質上的差別。這種差別顯明在兩件很重要的事情上。首先，對神在崇拜服事上的同在的理解；其次是對崇拜者牧師職分的理解。  If we look closely, I believe that we will see the substantive differences between evangelicals and Reformed on worship. That difference is clear on two central issues: first, the understanding of the presence of God in the service; and second, the understanding of the ministerial office in worship.

在崇拜中神的同在The Presence of God in Worship

把神在崇拜中的同在當作一個問題，似乎是很奇怪的。我們不是都相信神在崇拜中會和祂的百姓同在嗎？當然，我們是這樣相信的！但是，神是如何同在的，以及祂在我們的崇拜中如何是主動的，才是問題的關鍵。The presence of God in worship may seem a strange issue to raise. Do we not both believe that God is present with his people in worship? Indeed we do! But how is God present, and how is he active in our worship?

我認為，對福音派來說，神在崇拜中的同在基本上只是安靜地聆聽。祂離我們不遠，而是很親密地、滿懷愛心地同在，來觀察並聆聽祂百姓的敬拜。祂傾聽他們的讚美和他們的禱告。祂看到他們順服地遵行聖禮。祂聽見他們的見證和分享。祂留心聽他們教導祂的話，好確定這個教導是忠心的、也是正確的。It seems to me that for evangelicalism, God is present in worship basically to listen. He is not far away; rather, he is intimately and lovingly present to observe and hear the worship of his people. He listens to their praise and their prayers. He sees their obedient observance of the sacraments. He hears their testimonies and sharing. He attends to the teaching of his Word, listening to be sure that the teaching is faithful and accurate.

福音派崇拜的這種見解，其結果是強調敬拜的水平層面，信徒參與在崇拜中，享受一種溫暖的、個人性的團契是最關鍵的。任何可以增進參與感的事——特別在感情的層面，會很容易得到贊同。敬拜服事必須能鼓舞人、振奮人心，然後神才會關注並得著喜悅。The effect of this sense of evangelical worship is that the stress is on the horizontal dimension of worship. The sense of warm, personal fellowship, and participation among believers at worship is crucial. Anything that increases a sense of involvement, especially on the level of emotions, is likely to be approved. The service must be inspiring and reviving, and then God will observe and be pleased.

改革宗信仰對神在崇拜中的同在有著本質上不同的理解。上帝的確在場聆聽。祂傾聽百姓的讚美和禱告。但是祂也在場說話。上帝不只是作為一個觀眾在場；祂更是積極的參與者。祂在聖道中說話，也在聖禮中說話。作為改革宗的基督徒，我們不只是相信祂在教會中直接、立即地對我們說話。神也使用一些管道（或途徑）說話，但是祂是透過祂為教會所指定的管道來說話。在聖道的職事中——也就是神的話得到正當的宣講，在致敬和祝福中得到適當的執行——是神真的在說話。正如瑞士第二信條（譯按：布靈格在1560年代所寫）所說的：“宣講神的話就是神的話本身。”（The preaching of the Word of God is the Word of God.）The Reformed faith has a fundamentally different understanding of the presence of God. God is indeed present to hear. He listens to the praise and prayers of his people. But he is also present to speak. God is not only present as an observer; he is an active participant. He speaks in the Word and in the sacraments. As Reformed Christians, we do not believe that he speaks directly and immediately to us in the church. God uses means to speak. But he speaks truly and really to us through the means that he has appointed for his church. In the ministry of the Word—as it is properly preached and ministered in salutation and benediction—it is truly God who speaks. As the Second Helvetic Confession rightly says, "The preaching of the Word of God is the Word of God."

根據改革宗的理解，上帝在聖禮中也是主動同在、主動說話的。聖禮更多是關乎祂，更甚於關乎我們。祂透過聖禮說話，把耶穌同在要賜福給祂的百姓的真相傳達出來。透過聖禮，神確認基督的福音真理和應許。God is also actively present and speaking in the sacraments, according to the Reformed understanding. The sacraments are much more about him than about us. He speaks through them the reality of the presence of Jesus to bless his people as he confirms his gospel truth and promises through them.

改革宗對敬拜的這種理解，其果效是強調敬拜的垂直層面。水平的層面不是沒有，但是焦點不是溫暖的感覺和分享，而是聖約群體作為一個統一體，面見他們的上帝。我們與肢體彼此的相交是在這種合一的活動中，即共同在詩歌和禱告中，向神說話；在神向我們說話時，一起聆聽。我們敬拜服事的這種垂直層面，會保證上帝是我們崇拜的焦點。任何崇拜的行動，其首要的重點不是激勵鼓舞百姓，而是是否忠於神對崇拜所啟示的旨意。我們必須按照討上帝喜悅的方式來面見上帝。我們進到上帝的同在中，聆聽祂說話而產生敬畏和喜悅，才是塑造我們崇拜服事的外型，以及賦予我們崇拜活力的動力。The effect of this understanding of Reformed worship is that the stress is on the vertical dimension of worship. The horizontal dimension is not absent, but the focus is not on warm feelings and sharing. Rather, it is on the community as a unit meeting their God. Our primary fellowship with one another is in the unified activities of speaking to God in song and prayer and of listening together as God speaks to us. The vertical orientation of our worship service insures that God is the focus of our worship. The first importance of any act of worship is not its value for the inspiration of the people, but its faithfulness to God's revelation of his will for worship. We must meet with God only in ways that please him. The awe and joy that is ours in coming into the presence of the living God to hear him speak is what shapes and energizes our worship service.

崇拜中的牧者職分The Ministerial Office in Worship

改革宗信仰和福音派信仰對神在崇拜中的服事的差別，與他們對牧者在崇拜中職分的看法差別有緊密的關聯。對福音派來說，牧者（或敬拜的帶領者）似乎被視為是會眾中最具天分和最有知識的會友，神呼召他做領袖來計劃和教導。牧者們用他們的天賦來促進會眾的敬拜，並教導百姓。他們不認為牧者是特別代表神來說話，或具備來自神的特殊權柄。反而，他們的權柄只在於他們教導的可靠性，對所有的會眾來說，都同樣適用。The difference between the Reformed faith and evangelicalism on the presence of God in worship is closely tied to their differences on the ministerial office in worship. For evangelicalism, the ministers seem to be seen as talented and educated members of the congregation, called by God to leadership in planning and teaching. The ministers use their talents to facilitate the worship of the congregation and instruct the people. The ministers are not seen as speaking distinctively for God or having a special authority from God. Rather, their authority resides only in the reliability of their teaching, which would be true for any member of the congregation.

福音派這種對教會職份的觀點，其果效是創造了一種非常民主的敬拜風格，會眾中有許多人參與帶領敬拜的當中，是一件好事。越多人可以分享就越好。上帝賜給會眾的眾多恩賜，應該用在彼此的建造上。再次。這種敬拜強調的重點是水平的層面。The effect of this evangelical view of office is to create a very democratic character to worship, in which the participation of many members of the congregation in leading the service is a good thing. The more who can share, the better. The many gifts that God has given to members of the congregation should be used for mutual edification. Again, the horizontal dimension of worship has prevailed.

改革宗對牧者職位的看法是相當不同的。神透過會眾來呼召牧者，讓他們透過這個職分的權柄來帶領敬拜。他要受檢驗並被分別為聖，在神面前代表會眾。在崇拜的偉大對話中，他向百姓說出神的話，也向神說出百姓的話——除了在一些例子上，會眾要作為一個整體，一起揚聲頌讚上帝之時。The Reformed view of ministerial office is quite different. The minister is called by God through the congregation to lead worship by the authority of his office. He is examined and set apart to represent the congregation before God and to represent God before the congregation. In the great dialogue of worship, he speaks the Word of God to the people and he speaks the words of the people to God, except in those instances when the congregation as a whole raises its voice in unison to God.

我們這些改革宗的人，不是因為我們反對民主制度，或是因為我們相信牧者是會眾中唯一具有天賦的會員才喜歡這種安排。我們之所以遵循這種模式，是因為我們相信這是合乎聖經的，也是神所指定的敬拜模式。We who are Reformed do not embrace this arrangement because we are antidemocratic or because we believe that the minister is the only gifted member of the congregation. We follow this pattern because we believe that it is biblical and the divinely appointed pattern of worship.

這種對職分的觀點，會增強以敬畏和正式的方式來面見上帝的觀念。它也保證那些帶領公眾崇拜的人是神所呼召的，神賦予他們權柄來執行這項工作。讓會眾中未經訓練和未獲授權的會員，對會眾給予稍長或稍短的信息，改革宗很正確地懷疑這種做法。在崇拜中，我們是聚集在一起聆聽神說話，而不是聆聽會友的意見。崇拜的垂直層面仍然是最重要的。  The effect of this view of office is to reinforce the sense of meeting with God in a reverent and official way. It also insures that those who lead public worship have been called and authorized for that work by God. The Reformed are rightly suspicious of untrained and unauthorized members of the congregation giving longer or shorter messages to the congregation. In worship we gather to hear God, not the opinions of members. The vertical dimension of worship remains central.

總結Conclusion

我對福音派和改革宗的敬拜所作的比較，無疑地在許多方面需要加以微調。我是用非常粗略的筆觸試圖說明我的論點。不過我相信基本的分析是正確的。The contrast that I have drawn between evangelical and Reformed worship no doubt ought to be nuanced in many ways. I have certainly tried to make my points by painting with a very broad brush. Yet the basic analysis, I believe, is correct.

我們改革宗的人對敬拜的思考，有一個很大的難題，就是在許多地方，我們的敬拜已經不知不覺地遵從福音派的方法。與此同樣重要的，如果我們要欣賞領會我們改革宗在敬拜上的遺產，如果我們要向其他人傳遞它的重要性、特色和能力，我們必須明白我們敬拜獨特的性質。One great difficulty that we Reformed folk have in thinking about worship is that our worship in many places has unwittingly been accommodated to evangelical ways. If we are to appreciate our Reformed heritage in worship and, equally importantly, if we are to communicate its importance, character, and power to others, we must understand the distinctive character of our worship.

做出這種區分的目的不是為了要貶低福音派。他們的確是我們的弟兄和朋友。但是我們的確與他們有一些真實的差別。如果要讓改革宗的敬拜不會像恐龍一樣滅絕，我們作為改革宗的人必須對它有一個清楚的了解，以及熱切的委身。為了達成這點，我們必須不只是看到表面的相似性，而是更重要地要看到深層的神學差異，這是福音派的崇拜和改革宗的崇拜不同之處。Our purpose in making this contrast so pointed is not to demean evangelicals. They are indeed our brethren and our friends. But we do have real differences with them. If Reformed worship is not to become as extinct as the dinosaurs, we as Reformed people must come to a clear understanding of it and an eager commitment to it. In order to do that, we must see not just formal similarities, but more importantly the profound theological differences that distinguish evangelical worship from Reformed worship.

Dr. Robert Godfrey is president of Westminster Theological Seminary in California and a minister in the United Reformed Churches. This article is reprinted, with permission, from New Horizons, April 2002

快樂來自哪裏？ Where does happiness come from?

作者: Denny Burk  譯者: 誠之 

http://www.dennyburk.com/where-does-happiness-come-from-2/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/462030323850206/[聖經神學研究推廣小組]

https://plus.google.com/u/0/105106813742373627205/posts/eBmPiYFS3s2

詩篇一章1～2節一般的翻譯有時候會遮掩了經文真正的重點。我的意思是通常被翻譯為「有福」（blessed）和「喜愛」（delight）的這兩個詞。以《NASB》為例（這裡採用《新譯本》，因為更貼近原文的文法結構）：Sometimes English translations of Psalm 1:1-2 conceal the real point of the text. I have in mind the words that are commonly translated as “blessed” and “delight.” Take the NASB for example:

有福的人！不從惡人的計謀，不站罪人的道路，不坐好譏笑的人的座位；他喜愛的是耶和華的律法，他晝夜默誦的也是耶和華的律法。1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.

NASB（《新譯本》）並沒有錯翻這兩個詞，事實上它和其他譯本一樣，都是沿著正確的路徑翻譯的（例如ESV，NIV，RSV）。問題不是出在翻譯，而是出在傳統。The NASB has not mistranslated these two terms. It in fact tracks right along with many other major English versions (e.g., ESV, NIV, RSV). The problem is not translation, but tradition.

俗話說，「親則生狎，近則不遜」（familiarity breeds contempt）。我會主張，太熟悉一件事物也會助長粗心大意。有一些宗教的語詞如此安坐在基督教傳統裏，以至於我們因為太過於熟悉而忽略掉其實我們從來沒有認真去思考它們真正的意思。例如，「榮耀」這個詞，就屬於這類。你可以問問一般常常上教堂的基督徒，看他們如何定義任何經文裏「榮耀」這個詞，看他們是否正確地定義這個詞，就可以明白。It has been said that familiarity breeds contempt. I would argue that it also breeds thoughtlessness. There are certain religious words that have become so ensconced in the Christian tradition that our familiarity with them distracts us from the fact that we have never really pondered what they mean. I think, for instance, that the word “glory” falls into this category. Ask your average pew-sitter what “glory” means in any given verse of the Bible, and see if they get it right.

「有福」這個詞也屬於這類。一般的讀者知道「有福」是一個正面的語詞，但是他們知道在什麼意義上，它是個正面的詞嗎？在英文字典裏，「有福」這個詞的意思有點像「尊崇」（consecrated）或「被神喜愛」（consecrated），而我認為許多英語讀者很直覺地就把這個詞沿著這些線索來解讀。但是這是這個詞在詩篇第一篇裏的意思嗎？不盡然。The word “blessed” also falls into this category. The average reader knows that “bless” is a positive term, but do they know in what sense it is positive? In the English dictionary, the word “blessed” means something like “consecrated” or “divinely favored,” and I think many English readers instinctively interpret the term along those lines. But is that what the underlying term means in Psalm 1? Not quite.

「有福」這個詞所翻譯的希伯來字，簡單說就是「快樂」（happy）的意思。這節經文不是說一個「快樂」的人就是一個不過邪惡生活的人，而是說，「高興」或「喜樂」來自認識神的話，相信神的話，並遵行神的話。快樂來自哪裡？來自神。我們在哪裏可以找到神？在祂的話裏。The word “blessed” renders a Hebrew term that simply means “happy.” The verse is saying that the “happy” person is one who does not live a life of evil. Rather, “delight” or “joy” comes from knowing the word of God, believing the word of God, and obeying the word of God. Where does happiness come from? It comes from God. Where do we find God? In His word.

說「快樂來自聖經」並不是誇張的說法——這不是說聖經本身是目的，而是說聖經是神明文的啟示，是我們認識祂唯一的途徑。因此我們若想要快樂，我們就必須遠離邪惡（第1節），並全心全意投入到研讀聖經、應用聖經（第2節）裏。只有那些晝夜思想聖經、並順服聖經的人，才能和詩人同聲高唱，「你面前有滿足的喜樂；在你右手中有永遠的福樂。」（詩十六11）It is not an overstatement to say that happiness comes from the Bible—not the Bible as an end in itself, but the Bible as God’s written revelation and as our only means of knowing Him. Thus if we want to be happy, we have to shun evil (v. 1) and give ourselves to the study and application of scripture (v 2). Only those who meditate on and obey the Bible in this way will we be able to sing with the Psalmist, “In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).

只有在聖經裏我們能找到神為那些在世上沒有指望、沒有神的人（弗二12）所提供的良藥。這個良藥是人類所有的快樂和昌盛的基礎。這就是耶穌基督為罪人被釘十字架並且從死裡復活的福音。這才是快樂真正的來源。Only in the scripture will we find the remedy that God has provided for those who are without hope and without God in the world (Ephesians 2:12). That remedy is the basis of all human happiness and flourishing. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ crucified and raised for sinners. That’s where happiness comes from.

快樂的人啊！不從惡人的計謀，不站罪人的道路，不坐好譏笑的人的座位；他的喜樂是耶和華的律法，他晝夜默誦的也是耶和華的律法。1 How happy is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,Nor stand in the path of sinners,Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!2 But his joy is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.

不要和喜樂形同陌路。打開你的聖經。讀它。默想它。相信它。在裏面看到基督。順服它。讓它成為你每天的食糧。要快樂。Don’t be a stranger to joy. Open your Bible. Read it. Meditate on it. Believe it. See Christ in it. Obey it. Make it your daily bread. Be happy.

靠恩典成聖？Sanctified byGrace?

作者：霍頓（Michael Horton）譯者：駱鴻銘

http://www.whitehorseinn.org/blog/entry/general/2012/03/23/sanctified-by-grace

http://www.crtsbooks.net/blog/post/2015/04/25/%E9%9D%A0%E6%81%A9%E5%85%B8%E6%88%90%E8%81%96%EF%BC%9F%EF%BC%88%E9%9C%8D%E9%A1%BF%EF%BC%89.aspx

https://plus.google.com/106695469993489516884/posts/8JKw1g7teuC

有人問了一個問題，我認為非常值得探討。他問道：Chris Jager asked a good question in response to the first post in this series and I thought it was important enough to explore in more than a couple of lines. He asks:

成聖唯獨是聖靈的工作，還是同時是聖靈和信徒的工作？成聖是雙方面的工作，還是只是聖靈的工作？我努力獲得我的義，會變成「我的行為」嗎？什麼時候才是真正的成聖呢？真正的成聖難道不是藉著聽信福音而來的嗎？Also, is sanctification a work solely of the Holy Spirit, or both the Holy Spirit and the believer? Is the work attributed to both, or just the Holy Spirit? When does it become “my work,” trying to attain my own righteousness, and when is it true sanctification? Isn’t true sanctification produced through the hearing of the gospel?

被動領受恩典，積極行善（Passive Recipients, Made Active in Good Works）

在整本聖經中，重生，也就是在新創造中有分，是由聖靈作成的。不只是在一開始，在我們的一生當中，聖靈都是藉著恩典更新我們，用祂的道使我們越來越有耶穌基督的形象和樣式。Throughout Scripture, regeneration, which is nothing less than a sharing in the new creation, is brought about by the Holy Spirit. Not only in the beginning, but throughout our lives, the Spirit is renewing us by grace, conforming us to the image of Christ by his Word.

律法主義（或新律法主義）的危險是把福音壓縮到律法裏，只剩下律法；而反律法主義則是把律法壓縮到福音裏，只剩下福音。The danger in legalism (or neonomianism) is to collapse the gospel into the law, while antinomianism collapses the law into the gospel.

無論是哪一種，把律法和福音的特點抹殺掉，結果就是完全模糊了律法和福音。更有甚者，儘管律法主義把稱義壓縮到成聖當中，只剩下成聖，反律法主義則是把成聖壓縮到稱義裏，只剩下稱義。再次說，其結果是一樣的，即使是用不同的方法。Either way, the office peculiar to each becomes murky until finally it is obscured entirely. Furthermore, while legalism collapses justification into sanctification, antinomianism collapses sanctification into justification. One more, destination is the same, even if arrived at by different routes.

因此，區分律法和福音，區分稱義和成聖就是至為關鍵的。它們各自扮演了一個不可或缺的、不同的角色。律法啟示出上帝公義的要求，而福音啟示出上帝在祂兒子身上所賜下的公義禮物；在稱義裏，上帝把基督的義歸算給罪人，成聖則是祂每天更新他們。律法的作用是審判的威嚇，差遣我們到基督那裏，以尋求我們的義；但是它也是父神在我們成聖當中的命令。It is crucial, then, to distinguish law and gospel as well as justification and sanctification. Each plays its own essential but distinct role. The law reveals God’s righteous demands, while the gospel reveals God’s gift of righteousness in his Son; in justification God imputes Christ’s righteousness to sinners, while in sanctification he renews them day by day. The law functions as the threatening judge to send us to Christ for our justification, but it also functions as the command of our Father in sanctification.

在重生和稱義中，我們是被動的。悔改和信心是上帝賜給我們的禮物。然而，在歸正（即悔改和相信的行動）的過程裏，我們是主動的——聖靈已經藉著福音，使我們從死裏復活。我們最初和一生的歸正，都不是我們的功勞，這功勞只能歸給三一上帝。每當我們轉離偶像和特定的罪（包括信靠自己，還有其他肉體的果子），歸向永活的上帝，都是父神藉著聖靈，在基督裏賜給我們的禮物。然而，悔改的不是父神，相信的不是聖子，行善的更不是聖靈；而是與基督聯合的信徒，是在愛心和善行中結出信心果子的信徒。救恩不是只局限在稱義裏，而是涵括了我們在基督裏所享受到所有福分：揀選，救贖，有效的呼召，稱義，成為上帝的兒女，稱義，得榮耀。In the new birth and justification we are passive. Repentance and faith are given as a free gift. However, in conversion—the act of repentance and faith—we are active, having been raised from death to life by the Spirit through the gospel. Our initial and lifelong conversion cannot be attributed to us, but only to the Triune God. Every moment our turning from idols and specific sins (including self-trust, but also other fruits of the flesh) to the Living God is a gift of the Father, in the Son, by the Spirit. Nevertheless, it is not the Father who repents, nor the Son who believes, nor the Spirit who does good works; it is believers who, united to Christ, bear the fruit of faith in love and works. Salvation is not restricted to justification but encompasses all of the blessings we enjoy in Christ: election, redemption, effectual calling, justification, adoption, sanctification, and glorification.

要避免兩種危險Two Dangers to Avoid

因此，有兩種危險需要避免。So there are two dangers to avoid.

首先，我們絕對不敢把稱義當作一個完全根據基督是誰和祂在福音裏的工作所賜下的白白的禮物，然後把成聖當作是出於我們自己和我們行為的事。正如加爾文所主張的，聖靈乃是藉著福音創造出信心，而這個信心會在愛裏結出果子，從而產生出好行為。「愛心的來源是基督的恩典」（哥林多後書註釋，404頁）。「治死肉體是基督十架的果效」（加拉太書註釋，169頁）。他在其他地方加上說：First, we dare not treat justification as a free gift that is based entirely on Christ’s person and work in the gospel and then treat sanctification as something that is based on our person and work. As Calvin observes, the Spirit creates faith through the gospel, and this faith bears fruit in love and from love proceed good works. “The source of love is the grace of Christ” (Commentary on Corinthians II:404). “The mortification of the flesh is the effect of the cross of Christ” (Commentary on Galatians, 169). Elsewhere he adds,

雖然我們可以區分這兩者（稱義和成聖），但是在基督裏它們卻是密不可分的。你願意在基督裏被稱義嗎？那麼你必須先擁有基督；而你若擁有祂，必定有分於祂的成聖，因為基督是不能分開的（林前一13）。既然基督已經把這些福分和自己一同賜給信徒，所以祂不可能只使我們稱義而不使我們成聖。由此可見，稱義會伴隨著善行，但這卻不是因著善行而稱義，因為在基督裏就包括了稱義和成聖。（《基督教要義》，3.16.1）Although we may distinguish them [justification and sanctification], Christ contains both of them inseparably in himself. Do you wish, then, to attain righteousness in Christ? You must first possess Christ; but you cannot possess him without being made partaker in his sanctification, because he cannot be divided into pieces [1 Cor 1:13]. Since, therefore, it is solely by expending himself that the Lord gives us these benefits to enjoy, he bestows both of them at the same time, the one never without the other. Thus it is clear how true it is that we are justified not without works yet not through works, since in our sharing in Christ, which justifies us, sanctification is just as much included as righteousness” (Inst. 3.16.1).

加爾文的重點是，你如果沒有領受基督自己，就無法領受基督的恩賜，而如果你已經與基督聯合，你就不可能不領受祂所有的恩賜。Calvin’s point is that you can’t receive any of Christ’s gifts without receiving Christ himself and if you are united to Christ, then you cannot fail to receive all of his gifts.

其次，在成聖當中，我們絕對不敢把我們自己視為是被動的，像我們在重生和稱義裏一樣。基督在所有的行動中，永遠是我們信心的目標，但是信心有許多不同的行動。在稱義裏，信心只是「接受並靠託（rest in）基督和祂的義」（威敏思特信仰告白=WCF，11.1），然而信心對聖經各處經文會以不同的行動來回應：「對命令要順服；對警戒要畏懼；對上帝所賜今生和來生的應許要歡喜領受、牢牢持守。但得救之信心的主要表現是：憑恩典之約接受、領受、並單單依靠基督，得以稱義、成聖、得永生。」（WCF 14.2）因此，為了回答提問人的問題，我們可以這樣說：我們是藉著這樣的信心被稱義的：「這個信心單單靠託基督；而我們是藉著這樣的信心，靠著恩典得以成聖的：這個信心是靠託基督，並且藉著愛心來行事。」新約裏有許多的勸勉，要我們與聖靈合作：「我們若是靠聖靈得生，就當靠聖靈行事……」（加五25-26）。聖經也警告我們不要熄滅聖靈的火（參：新譯本；帖前五19）。Second, we dare not see ourselves as passive in sanctification, as we are in the new birth and justification. Christ is always the object of faith in every act, but there are different acts of faith. In justification, faith merely “receiving and resting on [Christ] and his righteousness” (WCF 11.1). Yet faith responds variously to different passages in God’s Word: “yielding obedience to the commands, trembling at the threatenings, and embracing the promises of God for this life, and that which is to come. But the principal acts of saving faith are accepting, receiving, and resting upon Christ alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life, by virtue of the covenant of grace” (WCF 14.2). So in answer to Chris’s question, we can say something like this: We are justified by grace through a faith that simply rests in Christ and we are sanctified by grace through a faith that, resting in Christ, is working through love. There are many exhortations in the New Testament to cooperate with the Spirit: “Since we live in the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Gal 5:25-26). We are warned not to quench the Spirit, or as the NIV has it, “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire” (1 Thes 5:19).

我們的確有必要把成聖作為禮物來接受。不只是在一開始，更是在每天生活中的更新，信徒所以能每天以愛心積極行動，是因為他們唯獨藉著信心、唯獨與基督聯合。然而，我們領受恩典的結果，是我們靠著這個恩賜，可以積極行善（弗二8-10；腓二12-13，等等）。如同路德所說，「信心是一件忙碌的事。」它總是在找事做，不是為了稱義，而是為了上帝的榮耀，為了鄰舍的益處。成聖要倚靠稱義，但是它和稱義不同。那些殷勤使用恩典管道的人會日漸成熟。他們不再是孩童，而是和基督身體裏其他的肢體一同長進，連於元首基督（弗四14-15）。We do indeed receive our sanctification as a gift. Not only in the beginning, but throughout the life of daily renewal, believers are always active in love because they are united to Christ alone through faith alone. Nevertheless, the consequence of our being mere recipients of grace is that we are by this gift made active in good works (Eph 2:8-10; Phil 2:12-13, etc.). As Luther said, “Faith is a busy thing.” It is always looking for something to do, not for justification, but for the glory of God and the good of our neighbors. Sanctification is dependent on justification, but it is not the same as justification. Those who make diligent use of the means of grace will mature. They will no longer be children, but will grow up together with the other members of Christ’s body into their head (Eph 4:14-15).

無數的呼召要我們保守合一，治死肉體的惡行，禁戒爭吵、淫亂、拜偶像，要竭力追求，把自己看成是向罪死、向義活，這些都是以稱義為前提，並且包含了與稱義不同的內涵。在免受律法定罪的基礎上，我們破天荒地有能力愛上帝和我們的鄰舍。我們還未達到完全，但是我們已經煥然一新。新的創造已經破曉，聖靈如浪潮已經將我們捲入其中——並且使我們靠著來世的能力繼續泅游——藉著施恩的管道。Myriad calls to preserve the bond of unity, to crucify the deeds of the flesh from which quarrels, immorality, and idolatry emerge, to press on, to consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to righteousness in Christ, both presuppose justification and entail something distinct from justification. On the basis of our freedom from the law’s condemnation, we are able for the first time truly to love God and our neighbors. We are not what we will be, but we are not what we once were. The new creation has dawned and the Spirit has swept us into it—and keeps us swimming in the powers of the age to come—through his means of grace.

有時候人們會說，稱義是神恩獨作，但是成聖是神人合作。我明白其重點是為了區分這兩種恩賜，如同我在上面所做的。沒有錯，我們在成聖當中是積極的，而我們乃是藉著恩典的賜予，在每天生活中回應上帝的吩咐和應許，而在基督信仰上日漸成熟。然而，我認為，這是很不尋常的，也是不恰當的，就是把「神恩獨作-神人合作」這個對立的觀念（通常隸屬於有關重生和稱義的辯論）引進到成聖裏面來。最好只說我們要努力做成基督已經為我們贏得的救恩，這救恩乃是藉著福音，由聖靈所賜給我們的。雖然在成聖裏（和稱義不同），信心是積極行善的，福音卻永遠是基礎，而聖靈永遠是我們成聖的源頭，也是我們稱義的源頭。如同約翰歐文所說的，「稱義的教義指導著基督徒的實踐，也沒有其他的福音真理和我們的順服如此相關；因為我們對上帝全部的責任，其基礎、理由和動機，都已包含在其中。」換句話說，律法總是告訴我們上帝所要求的，而福音總是告訴我們上帝為罪人所作的，以及他們如今為何應該使自己順服於公義之下。It has sometimes been said that justification is monergistic, but sanctification is synergistic. I understand the point: namely, to distinguish these gifts, as I’ve done above. It is certainly true that we are active in sanctification and that we grow in Christian maturity through our grace-given responses each day to God’s commands and promises. However, it is unusual and, I think, inappropriate to import the monergism-synergism antithesis (typically belonging to the debate over the new birth and justification) into sanctification. It is better simply to say that we are working out that salvation that has Christ has already won for us and given to us by his Spirit through the gospel. Though in sanctification (unlike justification) faith is active in good works, the gospel is always the ground and the Spirit is always the source of our sanctification as well as our justification. As John Owen expressed it, “The doctrine of justification is directive of Christian practice, and in no other evangelical truth is the whole of our obedience more concerned; for the foundation, reasons, and motives of all our duty towards God are contained therein.” In other words, the law always tells us what God requires and the gospel always tells us what God has done for sinners and why they should now yield themselves to righteousness.

在羅馬天主教和其他神人合作的架構裏，我們是努力與上帝聯合——按著行為得到最後的稱義。然而在福音派的教導裏，我們的行為是出於，或者更好的說法是，我們是出於已經屬於我們的、與基督的聯合而工作。在成聖當中，我們是竭盡全力，不斷操練，不停朝著終點線而賽跑——不是朝向稱義，乃是從稱義朝向我們的得榮耀。我們乃是「存心忍耐，奔那擺在我們前頭的路程，仰望為我們信心創始成終的耶穌」（來十二1-2）。In Roman Catholic and other synergistic schemes, we are working toward union with God—a final justification according to works. In evangelical teaching, however, we are working out of, or better, from the union with Christ that is already ours. In sanctification, we are striving, training, and running a race to the finish line—not toward justification, but from justification to our glorification. We “run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith…” (Heb 12:1-2).

律法的能行與不能行What the Law Still Can and Cannot Do

在這場賽事裏，律法的作用仍然是上帝給我們的命令，但是卻不再有能力將那些在基督裏稱義的人定罪。這時候，很容易把律法的第三重功用（給信徒的指引）轉成回到定罪的功用，或者如古時清教徒習慣說的，從恩典之約轉回到行為之約。一開始，在首次聽聞福音時，信徒對上帝在基督裏的恩典感到驚訝。不過，到了最後，勸勉會變成上帝無罪開釋的「準」條件（quasi-conditions），彷彿是說，人藉著福音從聖靈入門，然後在成聖當中，藉著人的努力，得到最後的稱義。（見加三3）。In this race, the law still functions as God’s command for us, but no longer with the power to condemn those who are justified in Christ. It is easy at this point to turn the third use of the law (to guide believers) back into the condemning use, or as the old Puritans used to say, to turn back from the covenant of grace to a covenant of works. At the beginning, upon first hearing the gospel, the believer was amazed by God’s grace in Christ. Eventually, though, exhortations have become quasi-conditions for God’s aquittal, as if one began by the Spirit through the gospel and then attained final justification through one’s efforts in sanctification (see Gal 3:3).

我們再次看到，加爾文的教牧智慧對我們很有幫助：Again Calvin’s pastoral wisdom is helpful:

信徒的良心在尋求稱義的確據時，應當完全棄絕律法上的義，而在律法之外尋求。……因為稱義的問題不是我們如何成為義人，而是既然我們是不義和不配的，如何才能被算為義。在稱義這事上，人的良心若想獲得確據，就應當完全棄絕律法。 然而我們也不能因此推斷，對於信徒而言，律法毫無用處，因律法不斷地教導和勸信徒行善，雖然善行在上帝的審判台前與他們的稱義完全無關。（《基督教要義》，3.19.2）The consciences of believers, in seeking assurance of their justification before God, should rise above and advance beyond the law, forgetting all law righteousness…For there the question is not how we may become righteous but how, being unrighteous and unworthy, we may be reckoned righteous. If consciences wish to attain any certainty in this matter, they ought to give no place to the law. Nor can anyone rightly infer from this that the law is superfluous for believers, since it does not stop teaching and exhorting and urging them to good, even though before God’s judgment seat it has no place in their consciences (3.19.2).

歐文在《論罪與恩典的統治》中，也說到同樣的事，這律法是指道德律法：Owen says much the same thing in A Treatise on the Dominion of Sin and Grace, referring to the moral law:

基督不在律法裏；基督不是靠律法的提議，也不靠律法來傳達——我們不是藉著律法與祂有分。這是福音恩典的工作。在福音裏，基督被啟示出來，靠著福音，祂被提議出來，也展示給我們看；藉此我們與祂有分，也與祂中保一切的福分有分。唯有藉著祂的道成肉身，可以摧毀魔鬼的工作……這就是『上帝的兒子顯現，為要除滅』的意思。惟有祂才能毀壞撒但的國度，而撒但的能力乃是表現在對罪的統治上。至此，我們對這個令人安慰的真理的確據，基本上就得到了解決。基督過去和現在為這個目的所成就的，是福音啟示最重要的部分。Christ is not in the law; he is not proposed in it, not communicated by it, – we are not made partakers of him thereby. This is the work of grace, of the gospel. In it is Christ revealed, by it he is proposed and exhibited unto us; thereby are we made partakers of him and all the benefits of his mediation. And he it is alone who came to, and can, destroy this work of the devil…. This ‘the Son of God was manifested to destroy.’ He alone ruins the kingdom of Satan, whose power is acted in the rule of sin. Wherefore, hereunto our assurance of this comfortable truth is principally resolved. And what Christ hath done, and doth, for this end, is a great part of the subject of gospel revelation.

在這部作品的最後一段，他總結到，律法命令我們，但永遠無法摧毀罪的統治，無法給我們一顆新心，也無法使我們稱義：Then in the last section of that work he concludes that the law directs us but can never destroy the dominion of sin and give us new hearts any more than it can justify:

這是律法和它所有的責任無法獲得的。如同我們已經宣告的，律法及其責任無法摧毀罪的統治。所有真正扎心知罪的人，在此等權能之下的人，都會發現這個真理。當他們承擔著罪的重擔，擔心害怕罪的後果，他們就會發現到律法的軟弱，肉體的軟弱，他們責任的軟弱，他們的決心和誓言的軟弱——這些都不足以解救他們……他們犯罪，並承諾要改善，努力也帶來一些責任，然而卻無法拯救他們脫離罪的轄制。因此，我們可以學到這個特權的優點；首先，從其理由來說，我只提幾點：1. 實現此自由之具有功效的理由是耶穌基督的死和寶血。這是彼前一18-19，林前六20、七23所宣告的。沒有其他任何事物可以賺得這個自由……『因此基督死了又活了，為要作死人並活人的主』（羅十四9），如此就拯救我們脫離所有其他主人的權勢。It is that which the law and all the duties of it cannot procure. The law and its duties, as we have declared, can never destroy the dominion of sin. All men will find the truth hereof that ever come to fall under the power of real conviction. When sin presseth on them, and they are afraid of its consequents, they will find that the law is weak, and the flesh is weak, and their duties are weak, and their resolutions and vows are weak; – all insufficient to relieve them. … They sin and promise amendment, and endeavor recompenses by some duties, yet can never extricate themselves from the yoke of sin. We may therefore learn the excellency of this privilege, first, from its causes, whereof I shall mention some only:- 1. The meritorious procuring cause of this liberty is the death and blood of Jesus Christ. So it is declared, 1Pet.1:18-19; 1Cor.6:20, 7:23. Nothing else could purchase this freedom… ‘Christ died, and rose, and revived,’ that he might be our Lord, Rom.14:9, and so deliver us from the power of all other lords whatever.

……願一切相信的，所有與罪爭戰的，可以靠基督的血所做成的，在這個買贖得來的自由的基礎上，運用信心來生活。如此，就會帶來兩件事：1. 他們會隨時準備好，會有強而有力的論證，反對罪惡的謊言和暴力……見羅六2。 2. 這個自由的內在有效因，或者說，摧毀在我們裏面的罪的權勢和統治的，是聖靈自己；這進一步表明此憐憫的偉大。治死罪的每個行動，都是直接來自基督，正如使我們得以成聖的積極的恩典一樣。我們乃是「靠著聖靈」，「治死身體的惡行」（羅八13）。基督所在之地，也唯有基督所在之地，才有自由。… Let those that are believers, in all the conflicts with sin, live in the exercise of faith on this purchase of liberty made by the blood of Christ; for two thing will hence ensue:- [1.] That they will have a weighty argument always in readiness to oppose unto the deceit and violence of sin… See Rom.6:2. [2.] The internal efficient cause of this liberty, or that whereby the power and rule of sin is destroyed in us, is the Holy Spirit himself; which farther evinceth the greatness of this mercy. Every act for the mortification of sin is no less immediately from him than those positive graces are whereby we are sanctified. It is ‘through the Spirit’ that we ‘mortify the deeds of the body,’ Rom.8:13. Where he is, there, and there alone, is liberty…

因此，要獲得並保存這個自由，有一大部分的智慧是要運用信心，抓住我們救主的應許，即我們的天父會『將聖靈賜給祈求祂的人』。每當罪在任何情況下，要藉著任何的誘惑，鼓動我們內在的罪的權勢，要統治我們時，我們就要立刻轉向我們的內心和我們自己的決心，這些就它們本身來說是不能忽略的；但是我們也要立刻向上帝哀求，求祂賜下祂的聖靈，因為若非聖靈的幫助，我們就無法制服罪，也無法為自己解除痛苦。…Wherefore, a great part of our wisdom for the attaining and preserving this liberty consists in the acting of faith on that promise of our Saviour, that our heavenly Father will ‘give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him’ of him. When sin in any instance, by any temptation, urgeth for power and rule in us, we are ready to turn into ourselves and our own resolutions, which in their place are not to be neglected; but immediate cries unto God for such supplies of his Spirit as without which sin will not be subdued, we shall find our best relief.

如此，在這場戰役中，成功總是來自「思想我們主耶穌基督的職分和眷顧，祂的搭救」，歐文補充說。「赦免的恩典，根據聖約的進程，總是會解除罪在信徒身上定罪的權勢；以至於，罪儘管百般阻撓，那些『因信稱義』的人，仍得以與上帝相和。」倘若我們只看自己，依靠我們自己的進步和決心，是無法摧毀罪及其根源的，歐文總結到。In this battle, therefore, success is always due to “considering the office and care of our Lord Jesus Christ for our relief,” Owen adds. “Pardoning mercy, according to the tenor of the covenant, doth always disarm this sin in believers of its condemning power; so that, notwithstanding the utmost endeavours of it, ‘being justified by faith, they have peace with God.'” Looking to ourselves, depending on our own progress and resolutions, will not destroy sin at its root, Owen concludes.

在此亮光下，就可以明白反律法主義和律法主義，是如何來自同一種錯誤，都是沒有仰望基督的情況下，尋求脫離罪的罪咎和權勢。他們是一個銅板的兩面，如同湯瑪斯•波士頓（Thomas Boston）指出的：Viewed in this light, one can see how antinomianism and legalism come from the same failure to look to Christ for relief from sin’s guilt and power. They are two sides of the same coin, as Thomas Boston pointed out:

這個反律法主義的原則是說，充分因信稱義的人，沒有必要努力遵行律法、做善工。這是一個至為明顯的證據，說明律法主義是如此根深柢固，深入到人敗壞的本性之中，以至於一個藉著信心來到基督面前的人，其律法的意向仍然在統治著他；使他自己的意志臣服於宗教的外形和原則之下。即使他躲到反律法主義裏頭，他仍然帶著他律法主義的精神，一直存著奴僕和不聖潔的心態。正如筆者觀察到的，他會因為害怕受處罰而被迫去作所有他所做的事，且希冀得到報酬；而一旦他心意已決，明白懲罰或獎賞都不存在，且迫使他前進的重擔已經被除去，他就會固步自封，像個壞掉的鐘錶一樣，或者像一個不再受鞭子威脅的奴隸一樣，一動也不動；再也沒有什麼比這令人厭惡的律法主義更明顯的了（Thomas Boston, "The Marrow of Modern Divinity", 207）。This Antinomian principle, That it is needless for a man, perfectly justified by faith, to endeavour to keep the law, and do good works, is a glaring evidence that legality is so engrained in man’s corrupt nature, that until a man truly come to Christ, by faith, the legal disposition will still be reigning in him; let him turn himself into what shape, or be of what principles he will in religion; though he run into Antinomianism he will carry along with him his legal spirit, which will always be a slavish and unholy spirit. He is constrained, as the author observes, to do all that he does for fear of punishment, and hope of reward; and if it is once fixed in his mind that these are ceased in his case, he stands still like a clock when the weights that made her go are removed, or like a slave when he is in no hazard of the whip; than which there cannot be a greater evidence of loathsome legality (Thomas Boston, “The Marrow of Modern Divinity”, 207).

波士頓在其他地方說到，「當教會處在一個墮落的狀態裏面時，律法和福音是被混淆的，而且律法會擠壓福音，道德的幽暗黑影會取代福音的光；這是今日教會的大病，也是未來教會的大災難。」（Gospel Truth, 106）另一個十八世紀的蘇格蘭牧師John Colquhoun加上說，「如此，把律法和福音混為一談，或者教導人把律法的行為加到耶穌基督完美的義裏頭，當作罪人稱義的基礎，根據我們使徒的說法，在上帝的眼中就是在教導另一個福音。」（A Treatise on the Law and the Gospel, 142）“In a sinking state of the church,” Boston wrote elsewhere, “the law and gospel are confounded, and the law justles out the gospel, the dark shades of morality take place of gospel light; which plague is this day begun in the church, and well far advanced” (Gospel Truth, 106). Another 18th-century Scottish minister, John Colquhoun, adds, “To mingle, then, the law with the gospel, or teach men to join the works of the law to the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ as the ground of a sinner’s title to justification in the sight of God is, according to our apostle, to preach another gospel (A Treatise on the Law and the Gospel, 142).

今天在我們改革宗和長老會的圈子裏，有些人不同意律法和福音的區分，或者是在他們的信仰告白裏行為之約和恩典之約的區分。的確，我們墮落的心原始的設定是更容易屈服於反律法主義或道德主義。稱義唯獨只能靠恩典，唯獨在基督裏，但是如今我們感到，為了成聖，我們必須以不同的基礎和不同的條件，去另找其他的根基。然而，正如我們的主所說的，智慧是由它的果子來證實的（太十一19；和修本）。我們的救恩不止是稱義而已。因為上帝所已經成就的和祂正在作的，我們如今有更多的事要做。然而，任何假冒的順服，不是根植於基督完成的工作歸算給罪人的順服，同時是對一位聖潔而憐憫的上帝的冒犯，更是一種無用功，想要在保留罪惡之根的情況下摧毀罪惡之果。There are some in our Reformed and Presbyterian circles today who do not approve of the distinction between law and gospel or the covenant of works and the covenant of grace that they find in their Confession. Far easier it is indeed to yield to antinomianism or moralism, the default setting of our fallen heart. Justification is by grace alone, in Christ alone, but now we feel that we must go on to some other foundation, with a different basis and different conditions, for our sanctification. Yet, as our Lord said, wisdom is vindicated by what she accomplishes. There is more to our salvation than justification. Because of what God has done and is doing, there is much for us to do now. However, any pretended obedience that is not grounded in the finished work of Christ imputed to sinners is both an offense in the nostrils of a holy and merciful God and a fruitless effort to destroy the fruit of sin while leaving its root in tact.