地獄的重要性THE IMPORTANCE OF HELL

作者：Timothy Keller   譯者/修訂：楊忠道/誠之

https://corechristianity.com/resource-library/articles/the-importance-of-hell

http://peddrluo.blog.163.com/blog/static/194801312201811594320204/

提要：今日有許多人不相信在聖經裏教導的永恆刑罰，甚至還有些人認為它是個不真實、離我們很遠（和我們無關）的概念。

There are plenty of people today who don't believe in the Bible's teaching on everlasting punishment, even those who do find it an unreal and a remote concept.

2003年有一個研究小組發現，64%的美國人認為他們死後會上天堂，但只有不到1%的人認為他們可能會下地獄。今日不但有許多人不相信聖經裏教導的永恆刑罰，甚至還有些人認為它是個不真實、離我們很遠的概念。然而，這是基督信仰很重要的一部份，有幾個原因：

In 2003 a research group discovered 64% of Americans expect to go to heaven when they die, but less than 1% think they might go to hell. Not only are there plenty of people today who don't believe in the Bible's teaching on everlasting punishment, even those who do find it an unreal and a remote concept. Nevertheless, it is a very important part of the Christian faith, for several reasons.

1.這很重要，因為耶穌關於地獄的教導，比其他所有聖經作者加起來還要多。

1. It is important because Jesus taught about it more than all other Biblical authors put together.

耶穌說到「永恆的火和刑罰」是拒絕神的天使和人類的最終居所（太25:41、46）。祂說那些向罪屈服的人會面臨「地獄之火」的危險（太5:22、18:8~9）。耶穌用來稱呼「地獄」的字詞是「欣嫩子谷」（Gehenna），那裏每天燃燒成堆的垃圾，和沒有家人埋葬的屍體。在馬可福音9章43節，耶穌提到一個即將要去「地獄（欣嫩子谷）」的人，「在那裏蟲是不死的，火是不滅的。」耶穌指的是靠垃圾堆上的屍體而活的蛆蟲，當肉體被吃光了，蛆蟲就會死去。然而，耶穌是說，地獄的靈性腐敗卻是沒完沒了的，這就是為什麼「他們的蟲是不死的」原因。

Jesus speaks of "eternal fire and punishment" as the final abode of the angels and human beings who have rejected God (Matthew 25:41,46) He says that those who give into sin will be in danger of the "fire of hell" (Matthew 5:22; 18:8-9.) The word Jesus uses for 'hell' is Gehenna, a valley in which piles of garbage were daily burned as well as the corpses of those without families who could bury them. In Mark 9:43 Jesus speaks of a person going to "hell [gehenna], where 'their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.' " Jesus is referring to the maggots that live in the corpses on the garbage heap. When all the flesh is consumed, the maggots die. Jesus is saying, however, that the spiritual decomposition of hell never ends, and that is why 'their worm does not die.'

在馬太福音10章28節，耶穌說：「那些殺身體卻不能殺靈魂的，不要怕他們；倒要怕那位能把靈魂和身體都投入地獄裏的。」這話是對門徒說的，他們當中一些人會被嚴刑拷打、被鋸成一半、活生生被剝皮和火燒。然而，祂說，和地獄比起來，這只算是野餐。顯然，對耶穌來說，地獄是個真實的地方，因為祂說在審判日之後，人們會在他們的身體上親身經歷到地獄。地獄不僅僅是身體上的苦痛，更是精神上的苦痛。

In Matthew 10:28 Jesus says, "Do not fear those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." He is speaking to disciples, some of whom will eventually be tortured, sawn in half, flayed and burned alive. Yet, he says, that is a picnic compared to hell. Clearly, for Jesus hell was a real place, since he said that after judgment day people would experience it in their bodies. Hell is a place not only of physical but also of spiritual misery.

耶穌經常把地獄描繪成痛苦的火和「外面的黑暗」（太25:30；比較：猶6、7、13節），一個無法想像的痛苦和不幸的地方。如果耶穌、愛的主和恩典的作者比其他人更常談到地獄，而且是以一個比任何人更生動、更血淋淋的方式，這一定是關鍵的真理。但對耶穌來說，地獄為何這麼重要呢？

Jesus constantly depicted hell as painful fire and "outer darkness" (Matt 25:30; cf. Jude 6,7,13,) a place of unimaginably terrible misery and unhappiness. If Jesus, the Lord of Love and Author of Grace spoke about hell more often, and in a more vivid, blood-curdling manner than anyone else, it must be a crucial truth. But why was it so important to Jesus?

2. 這很重要，因為它表明我們每件事都是無限地依賴神。

2. It is important because it shows how infinitely dependent we are on God for everything.

實際上所有的注釋家和神學家都相信，聖經中的火和外面的黑暗都是「隱喻/比喻」（既然靈魂現在在地獄裏，是沒有身體的，那麼，火怎麼會是字面上、實在的火呢？）連約拿單愛德華茲都指出，形容地獄的聖經語言是象徵性的，但是他補充說：「聖經用隱喻來說明屬靈事物時……這些隱喻在字面上都不是真的。」（摘自耶魯版愛德華茲作品集第14集，「地獄的折磨是超乎想像地強烈」）說聖經中的地獄之火的圖像不完全是字面的，並不會給我們帶來任何安慰，因為現實遠比圖像還要更糟糕。那麼，「火」和「黑暗」是象徵什麼呢？它們是以生動的方式來描述當我們失去神的同在時會發生的事，黑暗指向隔絕，而火是指向與神分離的崩解。離開神的恩惠和面容，我們就會真實地、按照字面地，可怕而無止盡地解體。

Virtually all commentators and theologians believe that the Biblical images of fire and outer darkness are metaphorical. (Since souls are in hell right now, without bodies, how could the fire be literal, physical fire?) Even Jonathan Edwards pointed out that the Biblical language for hell was symbolic, but, he added, 'when metaphors are used in Scripture about spiritual things . . . they fall short of the literal truth." (from "The Torments of Hell are Exceeding Great" in volume 14 of the Yale edition of Edwards works.) To say that the Scriptural image of hell-fire is not wholly literal is of no comfort whatsoever. The reality will be far worse than the image. What, then, are the 'fire' and 'darkness' symbols for? They are vivid ways to describe what happens when we lose the presence of God. Darkness refers to the isolation, and fire to the disintegration of being separated from God. Away from the favor and face of God, we literally, horrifically, and endlessly fall apart.

在耶穌的教導中，神所說的終極定罪就是「離開我吧！」。這是非常驚人的——光是離開神就是可能發生在我們身上最糟糕的事！為什麼會這樣呢？我們原初被造的時候，是為要在神直接地同在中，與祂同行的（創世記第二章）。當然，在某種意義下，神是無所不在的，祂托住萬有，只有在祂裏面，我們才能說話、動作、存留（徒17:28）。那麼，在這個意義上，離開主是不可能的；甚至可以說，若不是神托住它，連地獄也不可能存在。可是，聖經說罪惡使我們與神的「面」隔絕（賽59:2）。我們所尋求和渴望的生命、喜樂、愛、力量和意義，這一切都只有在祂的面前才能找到（詩16:11）——也就是在祂的恩惠、同在、團契和福樂中。

In the teaching of Jesus the ultimate condemnation from the mouth of God is 'depart from me.' That is remarkable—to simply be away from God is the worst thing that can happen to us! Why? We were originally created to walk in God's immediate presence (Genesis 2.) In one sense, of course, God is everywhere and upholds everything. Only in him do we all speak and move and have our being (Acts 17:28.) In that sense, then, it is impossible to depart from the Lord; even hell cannot exist unless God upholds it. But the Bible says sin excludes us from God's 'face' (Isaiah 59:2.) All the life, joy, love, strength, and meaning we have looked for and longed for is found in his face (Psalm 16:11)-that is, in his favor, presence, fellowship, and pleasure.

罪使我們與祂這方面的能力隔絕了，使我們與祂維護和支持我們的能力隔絕了。這對我們來說，就像水之於魚——離開它，我們的生命就會漸漸衰敗，這就是在整個歷史中發生在我們身上的事。這就是為何對保羅來說，地獄裏不滅的火和毀滅就是「離開主的面」（帖後1:9），與神和祂的祝福永遠隔絕，是所有的象徵所表明的現實。例如，當耶穌說到在地獄中「滅亡」時，祂用的字是「apollumi」，意思不是消滅不存在，而是「被報廢」（totaled）、被毀滅，以至於無法達到原先預期的目的。

Sin removes us from that aspect of his power that sustains and supports us. It is to us as water is to a fish-away from it our life slowly ebbs away. That is what has been happening to us throughout history. That is why, for Paul, the everlasting fire and destruction of hell is 'exclusion from the presence of the Lord." (2 Thessalonians 1:9.) Separation from God and his blessings forever is the reality to which all the symbols point. For example, when Jesus speaks being 'destroyed' in hell, the word used is apollumi, meaning not to be annihilated out of existence but to be 'totaled' and ruined so as to be useless for its intended purpose.

「gehenna」和「蛆」的圖像意指解體。身體一旦死去，就失去了它的美麗、精力、內聚力，開始分解，成為其構成的成分，發臭、解體。所以，「被報廢」的人類靈魂是什麼呢？它並非停止存在，而是變得完全無用，失去人了類靈魂原先的一切目的——理性思考、感受、抉擇、給予或享受愛或喜樂。為什麼會這樣呢？因為人類的靈魂是為了敬拜和享受真神而被建造的，而且一切真實的人生都是從這裏而來的。在這個世界裏，所有的人，甚至是那些背離上帝的人，仍然是被「仁慈的護理」或「普遍恩典」所滋養著（徒14:16~17、詩104:10~30、雅1:17），保守我們仍然能夠有智慧、愛和良善。可是，我們一旦失去神的保守、神的同在，結果就是地獄。

The image of 'gehenna' and 'maggots' means decomposition. Once a body is dead it loses its beauty and strength and coherence, it begins to break into its constituent parts, to stink and to disintegrate. So what is a 'totaled' human soul? It does not cease to exist, but rather becomes completely incapable of all the things a human soul is for—reasoning, feeling, choosing, giving or receiving love or joy. Why? Because the human soul was built for worshipping and enjoying the true God, and all truly human life flows from that. In this world, all of humanity, even those who have turned away from God, still are supported by 'kindly providences' or 'common grace' (Acts 14:16-17; Psalm 104:10-30; James 1:17) keeping us still capable of wisdom, love, joy, and goodness. But when we lose God's supportive presence all together, the result is hell.

3. 這很重要，因為它揭露出你為自己而活的嚴重性和危險。

3. It is important because it unveils the seriousness and danger of living life for yourself.

在羅馬書第一～二章裏，保羅解釋，神在祂對那些拒絕祂的人所發的怒氣中，「任憑他們」順著他們心中的私慾。註釋家（參：穆爾的羅馬書注釋）指出，這不是說神驅使人去犯罪，因為以弗所書4章19節說過，罪人會任憑自己、放縱罪惡的情慾，意思是說神可以給人的最厲害（也是最公平）的懲罰，就是允許他們縱情地發洩在他們罪惡內心中的最深的慾望。

In Romans 1-2 Paul explains that God, in his wrath against those who reject him, 'gives them up' to the sinful passions of their hearts. Commentators (cf. Douglas Moo) point out that this cannot mean God impels people to sin, since in Ephesians 4:19 it is said that sinners give themselves up to their sinful desires. It means that the worst (and fairest) punishment God can give a person is to allow them their sinful hearts' deepest desire.

那是什麼呢？罪人心中的慾望就是要獨立自主，我們想要選擇自己的路、走自己的路（賽53:6）。這不是無所事事地「在路上徘徊」，如同耶利米所說的：「沒有人為自己的惡行後悔…各人繼續走自己偏差的路，像戰馬直衝入戰場」（耶8:6）。我們想要離開神，但是如同我們看到的，這對我們來說是最具破壞性的事。該隱被警告不要犯罪，因為罪是奴役（創4:7、約8:34），它破壞你選擇、愛、喜樂的能力。罪也帶來瞎眼——你愈是拒絕關於神的真理，你就愈不能察覺任何關於你自己或世界的真理（賽29:9~10、羅1:21）。

What is that? The desire of the sinful human heart is for independence. We want to choose and go our own way (Isaiah 53:6.) This is no idle 'wandering from the path.' As Jeremiah puts it, 'No one repents . . . each pursues his own course like a horse charging into battle. (8:6)' (We want to get away from God-but, as we have seen, this is the very thing that is most destructive to us. Cain is warned not to sin because sin is slavery. (Genesis 4:7; John 8:34.) It destroys your ability to choose, love, enjoy. Sin also brings blindness-the more you reject the truth about God the more incapable you are of perceiving any truth about yourself or the world (Isaiah 29:9-10; Romans 1:21.)

那麼，什麼是地獄呢？那是神主動地放棄我們、任憑我們去做我們自由選擇的路——偏行己路，作我們自己「命運的主宰、靈魂的隊長」，遠離祂、遠離祂的掌管。這是神把我們流放到我們一生拼命想要到達的領域。巴刻寫道：「聖經視地獄是人的自我抉擇……地獄似乎是神尊重人的選擇的一種姿態。所有的人都必得著他們實際所作的抉擇：或是選擇與神永遠同在、敬拜祂，或是永遠不與神同在一處、只敬拜自己。」（巴刻《簡明神學》，頁222。譯按：部分文字有略作修正。）如果你最想要的是在祂聖潔的榮美中敬拜祂，那就會是你會得到的（詩96:9~13）；如果你最想要的是成為你自己的主，那麼神的聖潔將會變為痛苦，而神的同在會是恐懼的來源，是你將要不斷逃離，直到永遠的（啟6:16、比較賽6:1~6）。

What is hell, then? It is God actively giving us up to what we have freely chosen-to go our own way, be our own "the master of our fate, the captain of our soul," to get away from him and his control. It is God banishing us to regions we have desperately tried to get into all our lives. J.I.Packer writes: "Scripture sees hell as self-chosen . . . [H]ell appears as God's gesture of respect for human choice. All receive what they actually chose, either to be with God forever, worshipping him, or without God forever, worshipping themselves." (J.I.Packer, Concise Theology p.262-263.) If the thing you most want is to worship God in the beauty of his holiness, then that is what you will get (Ps 96:9-13.) If the thing you most want is to be your own master, then the holiness of God will become an agony, and the presence of God a terror you will flee forever (Rev 6:16; cf. Is 6:1-6.)

在我們今天的講道和教導之中強調這點，為什麼會如此重要呢？地獄的觀念對人們來說是難以置信的，因為他們視地獄為不公平，上帝竟然會為了相對較小的罪、微不足道的小錯誤（比如不接受基督教）就給予人無窮無盡的懲罰。還有，幾乎沒有人認為，有任何人（包括他們自己）會壞到足以下地獄的程度。但是聖經關於地獄的教導回答了這兩種反對意見。首先，聖經告訴我們，人只有在死後才會得到他們最想要的——或是以神作救主和主人，或是成為自己的救主和主人。第二，聖經告訴我們，地獄是自然的結果。即使是在這個世界裏，使你悲慘和盲目的是自我中心，而不是以神為中心，這是再清楚不過的了。人越是自我中心、只顧自己、自憐和自以為義，就有更多敗壞的事發生，關係上的、心理上的，甚至是身體上的。他們也更深地否認他們問題的根源。

Why is this so extremely important to stress in our preaching and teaching today? The idea of hell is implausible to people because they see it as unfair that infinite punishment would be meted out for comparably minor, finite false steps (like not embracing Christianity.) Also, almost no one knows anyone (including themselves) that seem to be bad enough to merit hell. But the Biblical teaching on hell answers both of these objections. First, it tells us that people only get in the afterlife what they have most wanted-either to have God as Savior and Master or to be their own Saviors and Masters. Secondly, it tells us that hell is a natural consequence. Even in this world it is clear that self-centeredness rather than God-centeredness makes you miserable and blind. The more self-centered, self-absorbed, self-pitying, and self-justifying people are, the more breakdowns occur, relationally, psychologically, and even physically. They also go deeper into denial about the source of their problems.

另一方面，一個決定要以神和祂的榮耀為生命中心的靈魂，會越來越喜樂，越來越感到完全。甚至在今生，我們也可以看到這兩個「軌道」。但是，正如聖經教導的，我們的靈魂會持續到永遠，那就想像一下這兩種靈魂在幾十億年間會變成怎樣吧！地獄就是一個人自由選擇的永無止境的路。我們想要離開神，神就以祂無限的公義，把我們送到我們想要去的地方。

On the other hand, a soul that has decided to center its life on God and his glory moves toward increasing joy and wholeness. We can see both of these 'trajectories' even in this life. But if, as the Bible teaches, our souls will go on forever, then just imagine where these two kinds of souls will be in a billion years. Hell is simply one's freely chosen path going on forever. We wanted to get away from God, and God, in his infinite justice, sends us where we wanted to go.

在路加福音16章19節以下所說的比喻裏，耶穌告訴我們，有一個下到地獄的財主，他如今正因為火而飽受煎熬、飽受可怕的饑渴（24節）。但是聖經讓我們看到他的靈魂正在發生的事。他央求亞伯拉罕差派一位使者去警告他還活著的兄弟，告訴他們地獄的實況。注釋家指出，這不是一種同情的姿態，而是一種諉過卸責的努力，他是在說，他沒有機會，沒有充足的資訊可以逃避地獄。這很明顯是他的觀點，因為亞伯拉罕強而有力地說到，人們在今生藉由聖經已經有充分的知識了。發現到這正是我們所預期的，是很有意思的——即使他知道他現在正在地獄裏，而且也知道神已經送他到那裏，他仍舊深深地否認這個事實，對神發脾氣，無法接受那是公義的決定，希望他能少受點痛苦（24節），卻無論如何都不願意悔改或尋求神的同在。

In the parable of Luke 16:19ff, Jesus tells us of a rich man who goes to hell and who is now in torment and horrible thirst because of the fire (v.24) But there are interesting insights into what is going on in his soul. He urges Abraham to send a messenger to go and warn his still-living brothers about the reality of hell. Commentators have pointed out that this is not a gesture of compassion, but rather an effort at blame-shifting. He is saying that he did not have a chance, he did not have adequate information to avoid hell. That is clearly his point, because Abraham says forcefully that people in this life have been well-informed through the Scriptures. It is intriguing to find exactly what we would expect-even knowing he is in hell and knowing God has sent him there, he is deeply in denial, angry at God, unable to admit that it was a just decision, wishing he could be less miserable (v.24) but in no way willing to repent or seek the presence of God.

我相信聖經告訴我們有關地獄的事的其中一個原因就是，這樣它就可以像「嗅鹽」一樣，告訴我們真實的危險和甚至是微小的罪的嚴重性。然而，我發現在講道時只強調地獄的象徵（火和黑暗），卻沒有進到象徵所指的（永恆、屬靈敗壞），實際上不會讓現代人對地獄感到害怕。幾年前我記得有一個人說過，談論地獄的火根本嚇不到他，它似乎太牽強附會，甚至可以說是愚蠢。所以我把魯益士（C. S. Lewis）寫的一段話讀給他聽：

I believe one of the reasons the Bible tells us about hell is so it can act like 'smelling salts' about the true danger and seriousness of even minor sins. However, I've found that only stressing the symbols of hell (fire and darkness) in preaching rather than going into what the symbols refer to (eternal, spiritual decomposition) actually prevents modern people from finding hell a deterrent. Some years ago I remember a man who said that talk about the fires of hell simply didn't scare him, it seemed too far-fetched, even silly. So I read him lines from C.S. Lewis:

「地獄始於充滿抱怨的情緒、時常抱怨、總是責怪他人……但你仍然與它有別。它在你裏面，你甚至可以批判它，而且希望你能阻止它，但是總有一天，你不再能這麼作。到那時，你這個人也不復存在了，讓你可以批判這種情緒或甚至享受這種情緒，只剩下抱怨本身，它會像機器一樣不斷地運轉。問題並不是出在神「把我們送進」地獄，而是在我們每個人心中，都有個東西不斷在滋長，除非它在萌芽時被捏死，否則就會成為地獄。」（譯按：The Great Divorce,《開往天堂的巴士》）

Hell begins with a grumbling mood, always complaining, always blaming others . . . but you are still distinct from it. You may even criticize it in yourself and wish you could stop it. But there may come a day when you can no longer. Then there will be no you left to criticize the mood or even to enjoy it, but just the grumble itself, going on forever like a machine. It is not a question of God 'sending us' to hell. In each of us there is something growing, which will BE Hell unless it is nipped in the bud.

令我驚訝的是他變得非常沉默，然後說：「這真的嚇死我了。」他幾乎立刻開始明白：1) 地獄是完全公平和公正的，而且，2) 他開始意識到，如果他不作改正，地獄可能就是他未來的去處。如果我們要懷疑論者或非信徒對地獄有正當的恐懼，我們就不可以只是一再重複地說，「地獄就是有火的地方」。我們必須更深地進入到聖經所描繪出的實況。我們若這麼做，我們會發現即使是世俗的人也會有所觸動。

To my surprise he got very quiet and said, "Now that scares me to death." He almost immediately began to see that hell was a) perfectly fair and just, and b) something that he realized he might be headed for if he didn't change. If we really want skeptics and non-believers to be properly frightened by hell, we cannot simply repeat over and over that 'hell is a place of fire.' We must go deeper into the realities that the Biblical images represent. When we do so, we will find that even secular people can be affected.

我們逃離神的同在，所以神主動地任憑我們放縱私慾（羅1:24、26）。因此，地獄是一座監獄，是我們先把自己反鎖在牢門裏，而上帝因此把我們從外頭鎖上（路16:26）。每個跡象都表明，那些門會繼續留在那裏，而且永遠是從裏面被鎖上的。雖然在地獄裏的每一個人都知道耶穌是主（腓2:10~11），卻沒有任何人會在沒有聖靈的情況下去尋求或渴望這個主權（林前12:3）。這就是為什麼我們可以說，沒有一個下地獄的人，是自己沒有選擇要去、且選擇留在那裏的。有什麼能比這更公平的呢？

We run from the presence of God and therefore God actively gives us up to our desire (Romans 1:24, 26.) Hell is therefore a prison in which the doors are first locked from the inside by us and therefore are locked from the outside by God (Luke 16:26.) Every indication is that those doors continue to stay forever barred from the inside. Though every knee and tongue in hell knows that Jesus is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11,) no one can seek or want that Lordship without the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3.This is why we can say that no one goes to hell who does not choose both to go and to stay there. What could be more fair than that?

4. 地獄的教義很重要，因為那是唯一可以讓我們知道耶穌有多愛我們、祂為我們成就的有多少的方式。

4. The doctrine of hell is important because it is the only way to know how much Jesus loved us and how much he did for us.

在馬太福音10:28，耶穌說身體上任何的毀壞都無法與地獄屬靈上的毀滅、失去神的同在相比。但是這正是耶穌在十字架上被父神離棄時所發生的事（太27:46）。路加福音16章24節說到在地獄裏的財主口渴至極（24節），而在十字架上的耶穌說：「我渴了」（約19:28）。生命的水、神的同在都從祂身上被奪走了。關鍵是：除非我們緊握這「可怕的」教義，我們甚至永遠不會開始明白耶穌在十字架為我們所成就的事的深度。祂的身體遭到最嚴重的毀壞，但這跟發生在祂靈魂上的事情相比，只是像被跳蚤咬到而已。當祂喊叫說，祂的神已經離棄祂的時候，祂正在經歷地獄本身。但思考一下，如果我們的罪債大到永遠無法償還，我們的地獄卻拉長到永恆，那我們從耶穌僅僅在三小時後說罪債已經「成了」（約19:30）的事實可以做出甚麼結論呢？我們學到祂在十字架上感受到的，遠比我們配得的地獄的一切的總和還要更糟、更深刻得多。

In Matthew 10:28 Jesus says that no physical destruction can be compared with the spiritual destruction of hell, of losing the presence of God. But this is exactly what happened to Jesus on the cross-he was forsaken by the Father (Matthew 27:46.) In Luke 16:24 the rich man in hell is desperately thirsty (v.24) and on the cross Jesus said "I thirst" (John 19:28.) The water of life, the presence of God, was taken from him. The point is this. Unless we come to grips with this "terrible" doctrine, we will never even begin to understand the depths of what Jesus did for us on the cross. His body was being destroyed in the worst possible way, but that was a flea bite compared to what was happening to his soul. When he cried out that his God had forsaken him he was experiencing hell itself. But consider—if our debt for sin is so great that it is never paid off there, but our hell stretches on for eternity, then what are we to conclude from the fact that Jesus said the payment was "finished" (John 19:30) after only three hours? We learn that what he felt on the cross was far worse and deeper than all of our deserved hells put together.

當我們思想祂所失去的關係，這（真理）在感情上就更站得住腳。如果一個泛泛之交指責你、拒絕你——那會使你心痛。如果好朋友做同樣的事——你會傷得更深。然而，如果你的配偶遺棄你，對你說：「我再也不想見到你」，就更具有殺傷力了。關係愈長久、愈深、愈親密，任何的分離就愈折磨人。但是聖子與天父的關係是沒有開端的，而且比起人類最親密、最熱烈的關係還要更加無限深厚。當耶穌與神隔絕時，祂跌入到最深的坑洞和最熱的熔爐之中，超乎一切想像。祂經歷到父神完全的忿怒，而祂是心甘情願地為我們做的。

And this makes emotional sense when we consider the relationship he lost. If a mild acquaintance denounces you and rejects you—that hurts. If a good friend does the same—that hurts far worse. However, if your spouse walks out on you saying, "I never want to see you again," that is far more devastating still. The longer, deeper, and more intimate the relationship, the more tortuous is any separation. But the Son's relationship with the Father was beginningless and infinitely greater than the most intimate and passionate human relationship. When Jesus was cut off from God he went into the deepest pit and most powerful furnace, beyond all imagining. He experienced the full wrath of the Father. And he did it voluntarily, for us.

我經常遇見人會說：「我與一位慈愛的神有個人的關係，但我完全不相信耶穌基督。」我問，為什麼？「我的神實在太慈愛了，祂不會為了罪而將無限的苦難傾倒在任何人身上。」但這說明對神和十字架的一種嚴重誤解。在十字架上，神自己、道成肉身的耶穌，接受了懲罰。祂並沒有向第三方討罪，無論祂多麼樂意。

Fairly often I meet people who say, "I have a personal relationship with a loving God, and yet I don't believe in Jesus Christ at all." Why, I ask? "My God is too loving to pour out infinite suffering on anyone for sin." But this shows a deep misunderstanding of both God and the cross. On the cross, God HIMSELF, incarnated as Jesus, took the punishment. He didn't visit it on a third party, however willing.

所以問題變成：你的那種神明為了愛我們、擁抱我們付出了什麼代價呢？為了接納我們，祂做了什麼？這位神在哪裏悲痛、哀哭呢？而祂的釘子和荊棘在哪裏呢？唯一的答案是：「我不認為那是必要的。」但諷刺的是，我們努力使神更慈愛，我們反而使祂的愛減少了。到頭來，祂的愛不需要任何行動。這只是多愁善感，根本不是愛。這樣的敬拜，最多是非位格的、理性上的、道德上的敬拜。不會有喜樂的捨己、沒有謙卑地坦然無懼、沒有不斷的驚奇感。我們不能向祂歌唱：「主愛如此超奇深厚，圖報必將身心全獻。」只有透過十字架，我們與神的隔絕才會被消除，我們會用永恆的時間，因祂為我們成就的而愛祂、頌讚祂（啟5:9~14）。

So the question becomes: what did it cost your kind of god to love us and embrace us? What did he endure in order to receive us? Where did this god agonize, cry out, and where were his nails and thorns? The only answer is: "I don't think that was necessary." But then ironically, in our effort to make God more loving, we have made him less loving. His love, in the end, needed to take no action. It was sentimentality, not love at all. The worship of a god like this will be at most impersonal, cognitive, and ethical. There will be no joyful self-abandonment, no humble boldness, no constant sense of wonder. We could not sing to him "love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all." Only through the cross could our separation from God be removed, and we will spend all eternity loving and praising God for what he has done (Rev 5:9-14.)

如果耶穌沒有為了我們經歷地獄，那麼我們自己的價值就被貶低了。以賽亞書告訴我們：「他受了生命之苦以後，必看見光明，並且心滿意足」（賽53:11），這是一個驚人的想法。耶穌承受了無限的痛苦，遠比任何靈魂在永恆地獄所受的更重，然而祂卻看著我們說：「這是值得的。」還有什麼更能使我們感到被愛、被珍惜呢？福音所描述的救主涉過了地獄本身，卻沒有丟棄我們；沒有任何其他的救主曾被描述是以這樣的代價來愛我們的。

And if Jesus did not experience hell itself for us, then we ourselves are devalued. In Isaiah, we are told, "The results of his suffering he shall see, and shall be satisfied" (Isaiah 53:11). This is a stupendous thought. Jesus suffered infinitely more than any human soul in eternal hell, yet he looks at us and says, "It was worth it." What could make us feel more loved and valued than that? The Savior presented in the gospel waded through hell itself rather than lose us, and no other savior ever depicted has loved us at such a cost.

總結

Conclusion

The doctrine of hell is crucial—without it we can't understand our complete dependence on God, the character and danger of even the smallest sins, and the true scope of the costly love of Jesus. Nevertheless, it is possible to stress the doctrine of hell in unwise ways. Many, for fear of doctrinal compromise, want to put all the emphasis on God's active judgment, and none on the self-chosen character of hell. Ironically, as we have seen, this unBiblical imbalance often makes it less of a deterrent to non-believers rather than more of one. And some can preach hell in such a way that people reform their lives only out of a self-interested fear of avoiding consequences, not out of love and loyalty to the one who embraced and experienced hell in our place. The distinction between those two motives is all-important. The first creates a moralist, the second a born-again believer.

地獄的教義是至關重要的——沒有它我們就不能明白我們對神的完全倚靠，甚至是最小的罪的性質和危險，還有耶穌高昂代價的愛的真實範圍。然而，用缺少智慧的方式來強調地獄的教義是可能的。很多人因為害怕教義上的妥協，想要極力強調神的主動審判，卻忽略地獄也是人的自我選擇。正如我們所看到的，諷刺的是，這種不合聖經的失衡，經常會使地獄失去它對非信徒的威嚇力，而不是更有威嚇力。有些人會用這種方式來傳講地獄，使人們只是出於自私的恐懼、想要逃避後果而改正他們的生活，而不是出於對耶穌基督（祂代替我們接受地獄、經歷地獄）的愛與忠誠。這兩個動機之間的區別是非常重要的。第一種創造出一個道德主義者，第二種則是重生的信徒。

We must come to grips with the fact that Jesus said more about hell than Daniel, Isaiah, Paul, John, Peter put together. Before we dismiss this, we have to realize we are saying to Jesus, the pre-eminent teacher of love and grace in history, "I am less barbaric than you, Jesus—I am more compassionate and wiser than you." Surely that should give us pause! Indeed, upon reflection, it is because of the doctrine of judgment and hell that Jesus' proclamations of grace and love are so astounding.

我們必須想盡辦法來領悟這個事實，即耶穌講到地獄，比但以理、以賽亞、保羅、約翰、彼得加起來還要多。在我們對這個教義嗤之以鼻以前，我們必須明白，我們是在對耶穌——在歷史中最有愛心、最有恩典的老師——說：「我沒有像你那樣野蠻，耶穌——我比你更富有同情心，也更有智慧。」當然，這應該讓我們停下來！經過反思，確實，正因為審判和地獄的教義，耶穌恩典和愛的宣告才會如此地驚人。