信經和信仰告白在做神學過程中的作用The Role of Creeds andConfessions in Doing Theology
作者: R. Scott Clark 譯者: Maria Marta
聰明的旅行者為旅行作好準備（太十8-10）。任何不攜帶地圖，卻試圖走一段艱難旅程的旅行者，都將面臨無法抵達的危險或更糟糕的後果。 基督徒的生命是一趟要抵達天城的漫長旅程（來十一8-15）。 地圖是我們之前的旅行者的行程記錄。 然而奇怪的是，許多基督徒試圖踏上朝聖之旅，卻不受惠於地圖------在這個例子中，地圖是指大公信經和改革宗信仰告白。
信經creed一詞源自拉丁語credo，意思是「我相信」。信經通常是簡潔的信仰聲明。大公信經包括使徒信經（公元前頭四個世紀發展而成）、尼西亞君士坦丁堡信經（通常稱為尼西亞信經; 公元325/381年）、亞他那修信經（公元428年後）、迦克墩信經（公元451年），它們在各個時代被多個教會傳統廣泛接受。當中有些是古老教會對基督教歷史上臭名昭著的異端所作出的回應。例如，在尼西亞君士坦丁堡信經中，教會捍衛了聖經教義：聖子、聖靈、聖父本質相同（同本體）。聖子在永恆裏為聖父所生；聖靈在永恆裏由聖父和聖子而出。（在589年的托萊多第三次會議〔The Third Council of Toledo〕上，增加了所謂的「和兒子」 (filiopue) 這片語，即是說聖靈也從聖子而出。這次修訂被路德宗和改革宗教會接受。）
因此，根據尼西亞君士坦丁堡信經，聖子和聖靈不單單像上帝，而且祂們就是上帝。雖然上帝本質(或本性) 上是一，但祂也存於三個不同、永恒並存的位格之中，三個位格平等分享一個本質。沒有其他地方比亞他那修信經更清楚地教導三位一體和基督神人兩性的教義。迦克墩信經教導我們耶穌的人神兩性如何聯於一個位格，而不相混亂。使徒信經可作為古代教會對基督教信仰偉大教義的共識的總結。這些信經都是界限標記，越過標界，基督徒就無法安全前行。正如亞他那修信經所言：「凡人欲得救，首先當持守大公（即普世）教會信仰」。
信仰告白一詞源自拉丁語動詞confiteor，是「承認」的意思。偉大的改革宗信仰告白包括比利時信條（1561）、海德堡教理問答(1563)、多特信經(1619) 、威敏斯特準則（威敏斯特信仰告白、威敏斯特大、小要理問答）(1648) 。然而，信經和信仰告白非起源於教會歷史。
首先，聖經本身就含有信經和信仰告白。 第一個例子出現在申命記六章4節：「以色列啊，你要聽！耶和華我們神是獨一的主。」 經文中翻譯為「當聽」的希伯來詞Shema之後的部分，就是以色列人所宣讀的「示瑪」（譯註：申六4-5節是舊約信仰的認信總綱）。在兩約和新約時期，以色列人最基本的信仰告白示瑪每周在猶太會堂重覆宣讀一次。在馬可福音十二章29，我們的主親自節引用它，保羅在羅馬書三章30節和加拉太書三章20節也提到它。在雅各書二章19節，雅各暗指早期猶太基督徒慣例背誦示瑪。
在新約聖經也有信仰告白的表達。 例如，在提摩太前書三章16節，使徒保羅引用教會使用的信經：
敬虔的奧祕真偉大啊，這是眾人所公認的，就是：
「他在肉身顯現，
在聖靈裡稱義，
被天使看見；
被傳於列國，
被世人信服，
被接到榮耀裡。」
（《聖經新譯本》）
示瑪和提摩太前書三章16節是關乎基督教信仰關鍵方面的信仰概述。上帝是獨一真神。 耶穌是上帝的兒子道成肉身，即復活升天的主和救主。 聖靈將祂從死裏復活，我們唯獨依靠恩典，唯獨藉著信心，與祂聯合。 保羅稱這些簡述為「可信的話」（提前一15三1; 四9; 提後二11; 多三8），它們是基督教信仰與實踐的概述。
其次，我們的主親自命令我們宣認信仰。祂說：「凡在人面前認我的，我在我天上的父面前也必認他；凡在人面前不認我的，我在我天上的父面前也必不認他。」（太十32-33） 我們知道早期基督徒承認「耶穌是基督」要承受巨大的壓力（約九22）。 使徒保羅教導提摩太承認信仰（提前六12）。 使徒約翰稱小亞細亞的教會承認道成肉身的基督，并反對拒絕此認信二元論者（約壹四15; 約貳7章）。認信基督和祂的真理如此重要，以至所有信徒都會這做，直至最後（腓二11）乃至在天上（啟三5）。
信經和信仰告白不僅是有益的，更是無不可避免的。甚至我們拒絕信經信條的朋友也有他們的信條。雖然「不要信條唯獨基督」（no creed but Christ）是一句非常簡短、不適當的信條，但它仍然是一句信條。 因此，問題不在於我們是否有信仰告白，而是在於信仰告白是否符合聖經，是否是大公的、純正的。
信經和信仰告白的權威
激起抵制信經和信仰告白的重大關切之一是人的教義和傳統不應取代聖經，這種關切是有道理的。唯獨上帝話語權威的權柄是更正教（新教/抗羅宗）改革的確切因由。「唯獨根據聖經」就是我們使用的拉丁口號sola Scriptura所指的意思。羅馬天主教承認教會和聖經這兩種權威，而更正教教會承認唯獨聖經的最高判斷的權威。對教會而言，她們只承認教會的權威。大公信經和改革宗信仰告白是教會權威的表達。關於信仰和基督徒的生活，長老會和改革宗教會認信他們所做的事，因為上帝的聖言是這樣說的。信仰告白服務於聖經。它們是教會認可的上帝聖言的總結。若發現它們需要修正以便更忠於上帝的聖言，可以通過正當程序進行修改。
信仰告白本身宣認，教會沒有其他權柄能與上帝的話語抗衡。 在比利時信條（1561）第七條，改革宗教會認信「聖經完全涵蓋了上帝的旨意」，人「在救恩方面當相信的一 切都已經在聖經正典中有充分的教導」。我們學習聖經的「整個敬拜方式」，唯獨聖經有如此的權威，以至於無論天使抑或使徒教導「與我們目前在聖經中所領受的相悖的東西都是非法的」。僅僅人類的著作，無論多麽崇高或遠古，都不能與聖經「具有同樣的價值」，這認信本身就是基督徒信仰和生活絕對可靠的準則。
確實有教會甚至整個宗派將大公信經和改革宗信仰告白貶入博物館或垃圾箱。 這種情況下，錯誤不在於信經和宗信仰告白，乃在於人的不忠。 對那些仍然相信上帝聖言的會眾和宗派來說，正如古老教會和宗教改革
所理解的那樣，在基督教教義和生活最重要的問題上，信經和宗信仰告白是教會明白上帝聖道的活潑聲音。
信經和宗信仰告白的作用
在改革宗神學的經典時期，大多數改革宗作者將神學界定為兩個層面：教義和實踐。 他們將神學將區分為: 神學是上帝對祂自己的認識；與神學是上帝向我們啟示出來的知識，主要在聖經中啟示給我們。他們教導，這種向我們啟示的知識是上帝對祂自己的認識原型（原始的）的複製本（副本）。（譯註：上帝所擁有的原型神學與我們對祂的經歷，或祂向我們的啟示的複本神學有所不同。複本神學是祂俯就人的有限而產生的自我啟示。） 他們將我們知道和做/研究的神學稱為「朝聖者的神學」（Pilgrim Theology）。
朝聖者是個比方，將我們帶回到開頭。 基督徒正走在天路上。 因著祂主權的恩典，父上帝在基督裡揀選了我們，唯獨藉著祂在我們心𥚃作成的信心, 聖靈藉此連結我們歸屬基督。 如比利時信條第三十四條所言，我們得蒙拯救，乃藉著「上帝的兒子所灑的寶血，祂就是我們的紅海，為了逃避法老— 也就是魔鬼--的暴政，進入屬靈的迦南美地。」
系統神學、聖經神學等、個別作家的著作都具有真正的價值，但大公信經和改革宗信仰告白遠超於是個人的觀點。 它們是基督教教會在基督徒信仰與生活最重要問題上經過仔細考慮與禱告的判斷。 從法律的角度而言，律師會認為他會如是這般，但他的意見是一回事，最高法院的裁決卻是另一回事。
許多人受試探孤立於教會的其他肢體來讀聖經。 這是嚴重的錯誤。在歷史上，這曾引起很嚴重的錯誤後果。 例如，在十七世紀初，蘇西尼派（Socinians）正是設法這樣做，結果他們拋棄了三位一體、基督的神性、替代性的贖罪等教義，以及其他基本的聖經真理。 這就是旅行者不攜帶地圖，基督徒不認識信經和信仰告白會發生的情況。我們閱讀聖經，手中有信經和信仰告白會，我們便與大公教會和改革宗教會一起閱讀。 我們從前人的旅程經驗中學習，並與他們一起學習基督教信仰至重要的教義和基本的基督徒實踐：遵守主日，參與敬拜、蒙恩管道、祈禱、悔改，唯獨靠著恩典治死罪，活出基督的生命。
本文原刊於Tabletalk雜誌2018年二月號 。
Dr.
R. Scott Clark is professor of church history and historical theology at
Westminster Seminary California and associate minister of Escondido United
Reformed Church. He is author of Recovering the Reformed Confession.
The Role of Creeds and
Confessions in Doing Theology
by R.
Scott Clark
A wise
traveler makes preparations for a trip (Matt. 10:8–10). Any traveler who
attempts a difficult journey without a map risks not arriving or worse. The
Christian life is a journey to the heavenly city (Heb. 11:8–15). A map is a
record of the journeys of travelers who have gone before us. Strangely,
however, many Christians attempt the Christian journey without the benefit of
maps—in this case, the ecumenical creeds and Reformed confessions.
THE
NECESSITY OF CREEDS AND CONFESSIONS
Our
word creed comes from the Latin word credo, “I believe.” A creed is typically a
short statement of faith. The ecumenical creeds, including the Apostles’ Creed
(developed during the first four centuries AD), the Nicene–Constantinopolitan
Creed (often called the Nicene Creed; AD 325/381), the Athanasian Creed (after
AD 428), and the Definition of Chalcedon (AD 451), have been widely accepted
across the ages by multiple church traditions. In them, the ancient church
responded to some of the great heresies of the Christian religion. For example,
in the Nicene–Constantinopolitan Creed, the church defended the biblical
doctrine that God the Son and God the Spirit are of the same substance
(consubstantial) with the Father. The Son is eternally begotten of the Father
and the Spirit proceeds eternally from the Father. (The Third Council of Toledo
in 589 added the so-called filioque clause that says the Spirit proceeds also
from the Son. This revision has been received by the Lutheran and Reformed
Churches.) Thus, according to the Nicene–Constantinopolitan Creed, the Son and the
Spirit are not merely like God—they are God. Yet, though God is one in nature,
He also exists in three distinct, coeternal persons who share equally in that
one nature. Nowhere are the doctrines of the Trinity and the two natures of
Christ more clearly taught than in the Athanasian Creed. The Definition of
Chalcedon teaches us how to keep Jesus’ humanity and deity united in one person
without confusing them. The Apostles’ Creed serves as a summary of the
consensus of the ancient church on the great doctrines of the Christian faith.
These are boundary markers beyond which no Christian may safely go. As the
Athanasian Creed says, “Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is
necessary that he hold the catholic [that is, universal] faith.”
Our
noun confession comes from the Latin verb confiteor, “to confess.” The great
Reformed confessions include the Belgic Confession (1561), the Heidelberg
Catechism (1563), the Canons of Dort (1619), and the Westminster Standards
(1648). The idea of creeds and confessions did not originate in church history,
however.
First,
there are creeds and confessions in Scripture itself. One of the first examples
occurs in Deuteronomy 6:4: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”
It is known as the Shema, after the Hebrew word translated as “Hear!” in the
verse. This most basic Israelite confession was repeated weekly in the
synagogue during the intertestamental and New Testament periods. Our Lord
Himself quoted it in Mark 12:29, and Paul refers to it in Romans 3:30 and
Galatians 3:20. James alludes to the early Jewish Christian practice of
reciting the Shema in James 2:19.
When
we read the Scriptures with the creeds and confessions, we are reading them
with the ecumenical church and with the Reformed churches.
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There
are also confessional expressions in the New Testament. For example, in 1
Timothy 3:16, the Apostle Paul quotes a confession used in the churches:
Great
indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:
He
[Christ] was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated
by the Spirit,
seen
by angels,
proclaimed
among the nations,
believed
on in the world,
taken
up in glory.
The
Shema and 1 Timothy 3:16 are brief accounts of the faith that touch on key
aspects of the Christian faith. God is one. Jesus is God the Son incarnate, the
ascended Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit raised Him from the dead, and we are
united to Him by grace alone through faith alone. Paul calls these formulas
“trustworthy saying[s]” (1 Tim. 1:15; 3:1; 4:9; 2 Tim. 2:11; Titus 3:8), short
summaries of Christian faith and practice.
Second,
our Lord Himself commands us to confess the faith. He said, “So everyone who
confesses me before men, I also will confess before my Father who is in heaven,
but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in
heaven” (Matt. 10:32–33). We know that there was pressure on early Christians
not to confess Christ (John 9:22). The Apostle Paul instructed Timothy to
confess the faith (1 Tim. 6:12). The Apostle John called the churches of Asia
Minor to confess the incarnation of Christ against the dualists who denied it
(1 John 4:15; 2 John 7). Confession of Christ and His truth is so important
that it is something all believers will do at the last day (Phil. 2:11) and
even in heaven (Rev. 3:5).
Confessions
and creeds are good, but they are also unavoidable. Even our friends who reject
creeds have one. “No creed but Christ” is a very short and inadequate creed,
but it is a creed nonetheless. Thus, the question is not whether we will have a
confession but whether it will be biblical, ecumenical, and sound.
THE
AUTHORITY OF CREEDS AND CONFESSIONS
One
of the great concerns that animates resistance to creeds and confessions is the
justifiable concern that human doctrines and traditions should not replace
Scripture. The sole magisterial authority of the Word of God was the formal
cause of the Protestant Reformation. This is what we mean by the Latin slogan
sola Scriptura, “according to Scripture alone.” Where Rome confessed two
streams of authority—church and Scripture—the Protestant churches recognized
the supreme ruling authority of Scripture alone. To the church they admitted
only ministerial authority. The ecumenical creeds and the Reformed confessions
are expressions of that ministerial authority. The Presbyterian and Reformed
churches confess what they do about the faith and the Christian life because
God’s Word says what it says. The confessions serve the Scriptures. They are
ecclesiastically sanctioned summaries of God’s Word. Should they be found to be
in need of correction to be made more faithful to God’s Word, they may be
revised by due process.
In
the confessions themselves, the church declares that no other authority can
rival God’s Word. In article 7 of the Belgic Confession (1561), the Reformed
churches declare that the “Holy Scriptures fully contain the will of God” and
everything that one “ought to believe unto salvation is sufficiently taught
therein.” From the Scriptures we learn “the whole manner of worship,” and
Scripture alone is so authoritative that it is “unlawful for anyone,” whether
an Apostle or an angel, to contradict it. Merely human writings, no matter how
highly regarded or ancient, cannot be of “equal value with” Scripture, which
alone is the infallible rule for the Christian faith and life.
It is
true that there are churches and even entire denominations that have relegated
the ecumenical creeds and Reformed confessions to the museum or to the dustbin.
In such cases, the fault lies not with the creeds and confessions but with
infidelity. For those congregations and denominations that still believe God’s
Word as it was understood in the ancient church and in the Reformation, the
creeds and confessions are the living voice of the church’s understanding of
God’s Word on the most important issues of Christian doctrine and living.
THE
ROLE OF CREEDS AND CONFESSIONS
In
the classical period of Reformed theology, most Reformed writers defined
theology as having two aspects: doctrine and practice. They distinguished
between theology as God knows it and theology as He reveals it to us, which is
principally revealed to us in Scripture. This revelation, they taught, is an
analogue of theology as God knows it. They described as “pilgrim theology” the
aspects of theology as we know and do it.
Pilgrim
is a figure of speech, and it brings us back to the beginning. Christians are
on a journey. By His sovereign grace alone, God the Father has elected us in
Christ, and the Holy Spirit has united us to Christ through faith alone. In the
words of Belgic Confession 34, we have been redeemed by the “sprinkling of the
precious blood of the Son of God, who is our Red Sea, through which we must
pass to escape the tyranny of Pharaoh, who is the devil, and to enter the spiritual
land of Canaan.”
Systematic
theologies and biblical theologies and other works of individual writers have
genuine value, but the ecumenical creeds and Reformed confessions are more than
the opinions of individuals. They are the considered, prayerful judgment of
Christ’s church on the most important issues of the Christian faith and life.
In legal terms, a lawyer may think what he will, but his opinion is one thing
and a Supreme Court ruling is another.
Many
have been tempted to read the Scriptures in isolation from the rest of the
church. That is a great mistake. Historically, it has led to serious errors.
For example, in the early seventeenth century, the Socinians tried to do just
that, and they abandoned the doctrine of the Trinity, the deity of Christ,
substitutionary atonement, and other essential biblical truths. This is what
can happen when we travel without a map, without the creeds and confessions.
When we read the Scriptures with the creeds and confessions at hand, we are
reading the Scriptures with the ecumenical church and with the Reformed
churches. We are learning from their journey before us and learning with them
the most vital doctrines of the Christian faith and basic Christian practice:
the observance of the Lord’s Day, attendance to worship and the means of grace,
prayer, repentance, and dying to sin and living to Christ by grace alone.
