《認識預定論》中英對照摘錄
(內容不斷補充)
《認識預定論》Chosen By God, R. C. Sproul著/黃吳期馨、郭瑞英譯, 校園書房出版社, 2010。
若要合乎聖經,問題不再是該不該接受預定論的教義,而是應該採取何種預定論的教義。如果聖經是神的話,而非人的揣測,而且如果神已宣告有預定這回事,那麼無可否認的,我們必須接受某種預定論的教義了。9頁
“If
we are to be biblical, then, the issue is not whether we should have a doctrine
of predestination or not, but what kind we should embrace. If the Bible is the
Word of God, not mere human speculation, and if God himself declares that there
is such a thing as predestination, then it follows irresistibly that we must
embrace some doctrine of predestination.”
如果宇宙中有一個分子是隨意自主、完全不在神主權管理之下,那麼我們就不再能保證神的任何一個應許必然應驗。 19頁
If
there is one single molecule in this universe running around loose, totally
free of God’s sovereignty, then
we have no guarantee that a single promise of God will ever be fulfilled.
在墮落之前,亞當具有兩個可能性,他有犯罪和不犯罪的能力;但在墮落之後,亞當仍有犯罪的能力,卻失去了不犯罪的能力。 47頁
Before
the Fall Adam was endowed with two possibilities: He had the ability to sin and
the ability not to sin. After the Fall Adam had the ability to sin and the
inability to not sin.
在墮落之前,亞當具有兩個可能性,他有犯罪和不犯罪的能力;但在墮落之後,亞當仍有犯罪的能力,卻失去了不犯罪的能力。在拉丁文中就是non posse non
peccare。換言之,在墮落之後,人就在道德上不可能活著而不犯罪。在墮落時,人失去了不犯罪的能力;這種道德上的無能為力,就是我們所說的原罪。47頁
Before
the Fall Adam was endowed with two possibilities: He had the ability to sin and
the ability not to sin. After the Fall Adam had the ability to sin and the
inability to not sin. The latin formula was “non posse non peccare” . Stated
another way, it means that after the Fall man was morally incapable of living
without sin. The ability to live without sin was lost in the fall. This moral
inability is the essence of what we call originai sin.
我們都聽過佈道家引用啓示録:「看哪,我站在門外叩門,若有聽見我聲音就開門的,我要進到他那𥚃去,我與他,他與我一同坐席。」(啓三20)通常佈道者應用這段經文對未信主的說:「耶穌正在敲你的心門,假如你將門打開,他就會進來。」然而,這段經文原是耶穌對教會說的,它並石頭傳福音的說詞。到底怎麼呢?重點就是不信的人不會自動地來尋求。不信的人不會尋求;不信的人不會叩門。尋求是信徒的事,愛德華滋說:「尋求神的國是基督徒生命中的首要之事。」尋求是信心的結果,而不是信心的成因。79頁
“We
have all heard evangelists quote from Revelation: "I stand at the door and
knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and
dine with him and he with Me." Usually the evangelist applies this text as
an appeal to the unconverted, saying, 'Jesus is knocking at the door of your
heart. If you open the door, he will come in.' In the original saying, however,
Jesus directed his remarks to the church. It was not an evangelistic appeal. So
what? The point is that seeking is something that unbelievers do not do on
their own steam. The unbeliever will not seek. The unbeliever will not knock.
Seeking is the business of believers. Edwards said, "The seeking of the
kingdom of God is the chief business of the Christian life." Seeking is
the RESULT of faith, not the cause of it.”