舊約被忽略的7個原因7 Reasons the Old Testament isNeglected
作者: David Murray 譯者: Maria Marta
「你可以在舊約聖經找到我們今天早上引用的經文...... 」。我知道，在星期天早上這是罕見的宣布，你最後一次聽到這種宣布是什麼時候？對此你有何想法?
「哦，不！又是歷史講座。」
「我們今天要挨律法鞭子的抽打啰！」
「為什麽？ 我上教會是要聽關於耶穌的信息。」
「以色列和巴比倫與我的家庭掙紮有何關系呢？」
或者，也許你不只這麽想。 你還將你的想法說出來，或發郵件給牧師提出質疑。 這樣，牧師就感受到壓力了。 有些調查得出的結論是：舊、新約講道的比例為1:10。有些人想要接近0: 10的比例。
但是，大多數基督徒的靈糧失衡是否可以解釋現代教會和現代基督徒的許多屬靈問題？ 或者如格裏森阿切爾（Gleason Archer）所說的那樣: 「倘若基督教的牧師完全忽略了論及基督的39卷聖經，和所有新約作者將39卷聖經領受為他們自己的屬靈營養，那麽這些牧師們又如何希望以均衡的靈糧餵養他們的羊群呢？」
舊約到哪裏去了？
這種情況並非一向如此。教會以往的靈糧要平衡得多。我們又是怎麽淪落到這種地步的呢?
1.自由主義：自由派學者對舊約聖經的持續攻擊動搖了許多基督徒對這部分聖經的信心。
2.無知：不知道歷史背景和地理環境，要明白舊約聖經的大部分內容幾乎是不可能的。雖然聖經的歷史背景和地理環境這些知識曾被廣泛傳播，但現在許多人對它們知之甚少或一無所知。
3.不相關性：有些人看到舊約的歷史和地理細節，就納悶幾千年前的事件和地點與我有何關聯呢？無論如何，新約教導許多舊約慣例已經終止結束了。 那麽，為何要研讀舊約呢？
4. 時代論：雖然是非故意的，但將聖經劃分為不同的時代，往往降低舊約在教會和基督徒個人生活中的地位，使舊約變得微不足道。
5. 壞榜樣：舊約的講道與教導的壞榜樣很容易找到，甚至更容易被嘲笑。然而，一些人的玩忽職守不應導致其他人不去研讀舊約。
6.懶惰：研讀舊約往往比研讀新約更需要智力。 福音書熟悉的道路似乎比利未記、歷代志上下，或那鴻書更吸引人！
7.沒有基督的講道：也許，對舊約如此不感興趣的最大原因是有太多沒有基督的舊約教導。 就受歡迎的層面而言，從舊約宣講往往退化為單純的道德主義（例如「從摩西的人生中吸取十個教訓」）。就學術層面而言，似乎有一種決心，要淡化甚至要消除任何舊約以基督為中心的可能性。因此，為了尋找和享受耶穌，許多人放棄舊約，只讀新約也就不足為奇了。
我們如何重拾舊約呢？
我們如何能與這些趨勢作抗爭，甚至扭轉這些趨勢？我們必須與自由神學作鬥爭，將舊約視為上帝默示的話語。我們必須耐心研讀聖經的歷史與地理，學習如何將過去與現在有效地聯系起來。 我們必須避免時代論的缺點。 我們必須識別和避免拙劣的做法，並尋找、珍視、學習良好的講道和教學模式。 當我們開辟舊約這處長期未開墾的土地時，我們必須甘願投入時間、汗水、辛勞、與眼淚。
最為重要的是，盡管沒有基督的道德主義與沒有基督的學術壓力盛行一時，但我們也必須努力在舊約中發現和享受基督。只有這樣，才能使舊約研讀變得有益和有喜樂，也只有這樣，才能帶給我們以基督為中心的心裏火熱的奇妙福份 (路廿四32) 。
本文摘自David Murray博士所著的《 Jesus on Every Page》一書。
7
Reasons the Old Testament is Neglected
FROM
David Murray
“You’ll
find our text this morning in the Old Testament…” I know this is a rare
announcement on a Sunday morning, but when you heard it last, what did you
think?
“Oh
no! Not another historical lecture.”
“We’re
going to get a whipping with the law today.”
“Why?
I came to church to hear about Jesus.”
“What’s
Israel and Babylon got to do with my family struggles?”
Or
maybe you didn’t just think it. You said it or emailed it to the pastor
afterwards. And pastors are feeling the pressure. Some surveys put the ratio of
Old Testament to New Testament sermons at 1 to 10. Some would like it nearer 0
to 10.
But
might this imbalance in the spiritual diet of most Christians explain many of
the spiritual problems in the modern Church and in modern Christians? Or as
Gleason Archer put it: “How can Christian pastors hope to feed their flock on a
well-balanced spiritual diet if they completely neglect the 39 books of Holy
Scripture on which Christ and all the New Testament authors received their own
spiritual nourishment?”
Where
did the Old Testament go?
It
wasn’t always like this. The Church used to have a much more balanced diet. So
how did we get here?
1.
Liberalism: The sustained attack on the Old Testament by liberal scholars has
shaken many Christians’ confidence in this part of the Bible.
2.
Ignorance: It is almost impossible to understand large parts of the Old
Testament without knowledge of the historical context and geographical setting.
But, while this knowledge was once widespread, many now know little or nothing
of biblical history.
3.
Irrelevance: Some look at the historical and geographical details of the Old
Testament and wonder what possible relevance can events and places from
thousands of years ago have for me? And anyway, the New Testament teaches that
many Old Testament practices have stopped. So, why study them?
4.
Dispensationalism: Although unintended, the dispensational division of
Scripture into different eras tends to relegate the Old Testament to a minor
role in the life of the Church, and of the individual Christian.
5.
Bad Examples: Bad examples of Old Testament preaching and teaching are easy to
find and even easier to ridicule. The malpractice of some, however, should not
lead to the non-practice of others.
6.
Laziness: Studying the Old Testament is often more intellectually demanding
than the New Testament. The familiar paths of the Gospels seem much more
inviting than Leviticus, 2 Chronicles, or Nahum!
7.
Christ-less preaching: Perhaps the greatest reason for so little interest in
the Old Testament is that there has been so much Christ-less teaching from the
Old Testament. At a popular level, Old Testament preaching has often
degenerated into mere moralism (e.g. “Ten lessons from the life of Moses”). At
an academic level, there seems to be a determination to downplay and even
remove any possibility of Christ-centeredness in the Old Testament. Little surprise
then that many turn away from the Old Testament and towards the New in order to
find and enjoy Jesus.
How
do we get the Old Testament back?
How
can we fight and even reverse these trends? Well, we must combat liberal
theology by treating the Old Testament as the inspired Word of God. We must
patiently study biblical history and geography, and learn how to profitably
connect the past to the present. We must avoid the weaknesses of
dispensationalism. We must identify and avoid bad practice, as well as search
for, value, and learn from good preaching and teaching models. And we must be
willing to put in the hours, the sweat, the toil, and the tears, as we break up
the long-untilled ground of the Old Testament.
Above
all, despite the prevalence of Christ-less moralism and the pressures of
Christ-less academia, we must strive to find and enjoy Christ in the Old
Testament. That alone is what makes Old Testament study profitable and
enjoyable. It also produces the wonderful blessing of Christ-centered spiritual
heartburn (Luke 24:32).
Adapated
from Jesus on Every Page by David Murray.