聖經的主角不是你TheBible is Not About You
作者：Tim Challies 譯者：駱鴻銘
表面上，大多數基督徒都會同意這篇文章的標題。然而，我們讀經的態度卻往往與此相反。
On
the surface, most Christians would agree with the title of this post. Yet, we
so often read and study the Bible in a way that says the opposite.
我們讀舊約故事時，我們是從中得出一些道德教訓，用來指導我們如何生活。例如：
When
we read the stories of the Old Testament, we draw moral conclusions to inform
how we live our lives.
我們以挪亞為榜樣，學習如何在一個邪惡的世代中成為義人。
We
see in Noah a model of how to live righteously in the midst of a generation
where everyone’s hearts are set on evil.
我們效法亞伯拉罕，將全人奉獻給神，正如他將唯一僅有的兒子獻在祭壇上所作的。
We
learn from Abraham that we should not hold anything back from God, just as he
did when he put his only son on an altar.
我們讀到大衛殺死歌利亞，並得出結論說，神會幫助我們打敗我們自己生命中的巨人。
We
read about how David kills Goliath, and draw the conclusion that God will help
us slay our own giants.
這個道理也同樣適用於聖經裏非敘事的部分：詩篇、箴言、大小先知書，新約聖經的大部分。我們讀這些篇章的目的，是要讓它們告訴我們該如何生活——或哪些事不要作——並獲得一些教訓，以追求屬靈的操練，學習順服。
The
same is true of the parts of the Bible that aren’t narratives: the Psalms and
Proverbs, the Major and Minor Prophets, and much of the New Testament. We read
these to tell us how to live—or how not to—and draw on our own pursuit of
spiritual discipline to obey.
有些人會問，這有什麼不對？但是如果這種方法會讓我們錯過一項非常重要、並且會改變我們生命的真理怎麼辦？這項真理會徹底重新塑造我們理解聖經的框架。如果它會使我們看不到聖經裏最重要的東西怎麼辦？聖經的故事和字句都不是片段式的，不是各自獨立的，該怎麼辦？
While
some of us may wonder what’s wrong with that, what if this approach causes us
to miss a truth that is so singularly important and life-altering it completely
reframes what we understand the Bible to be? What if it prevents us from seeing
that there is something so much more going on in the Bible—something more than
its stories and letters in isolation?
如果我們讀聖經，彷彿聖經的主角是我們，然後錯過了神一直在告訴我們的故事，該怎麼辦？
What
if, by reading the Bible as if it were about us, we miss the story that God has
been telling?
透過每一段經文、每一個故事、每一個比喻和預言，神都在講述一個故事：神的計劃，祂如何藉著祂的愛子耶穌基督的生、死、復活，拯救祂的百姓脫離罪惡。那位拯救罪人的義者。那位榮耀的君王，祂擊殺了最終的巨人，罪和死亡，來救贖祂的百姓。
Through
every passage of Scripture, through every story and parable and prophecy, God
is telling one story: God’s plan to rescue His people from sin through the
life, death, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. The Righteous Man who
rescues sinners. The Faithful Son who laid down His own life for His friends.
The Glorious King who slew the ultimate giant, sin, and death, to redeem His
people.
這就是「 The Gospel Project」（暫譯：福音工程）每週和兒童、學生、成人分享的故事。今年秋季，我們會開始一個三年的旅程，完整地講說這個故事。在這個旅程中，各種年齡層的人都會看到神的福音工程是如何展開的——那個從「起初」就開啟，並且在祂子民的心中和生活中繼續展開的工程。
This
is the story that The Gospel Project shares with kids, students, and adults
every week. And this Fall, we’re beginning a new three-year journey through
this story where people of all ages will see how God’s gospel project
unfolds—the one that began “in the beginning” and continues today in the hearts
and lives of His people.
這是從「我們」開始的、一個無與倫比的故事。一個改變了萬事的故事。
The
story that is better than any story that begins with us. The story that changes
everything.