我們所說的聖禮、記號、印記是什麽意思?WhatDo We Mean By Sacrament, Sign, And Seal?
作者: R. SCOTT CLARK 譯者: Maria Marta
改革宗教會和改革宗神學家（即那些在改革宗信仰告白，諸如法蘭西信條〔French Co nfession, 1559〕、蘇格蘭信條〔Scots Confession,
1560〕、比利時信條〔Belgic Confession, 1561〕、海德堡問答〔Heidelberg Catechism, 1563〕、第二瑞士信條〔Helvetic
Confession, Second〕, 1566）、多特信經〔Canons of the Synod of Dort, 1619〕、西敏信仰標準〔Westminster Confession, 1647〕範圍內認信和教導的人）常提到洗禮和聖餐是「聖禮」，是「記號」和「印記」。最近HB的讀者Barrett來信，請求我們對這些詞語作簡明扼要的解釋。
聖禮
聖禮一詞廣泛使用於各種基督教傳統，但對一些福音派的人而言，它是一個與羅馬天主教和錯誤的洗禮、聖餐觀有關聯的詞。我們的英語單詞聖禮「聖禮」（sacrament）源自拉丁軍事術語sacramentum，是向皇帝宣誓效忠的軍人誓言。希臘文新約聖經中的奧秘（ mystery）在聖經拉丁文譯本中常常被翻譯為sacramentum。早期教會通常將洗禮和聖餐描述為「基督教的奧秘」。在13世紀，即中世紀開始正式教導有7個聖禮，奧秘在聖餐中是指聖餐元素轉化為基督真實的身體和血。一些福音派人士擔憂，聖禮一詞帶有涵義（關聯意義），顯示洗禮和聖餐是以魔法方式施行（具有魔法能力），因為羅馬天主教的聖餐觀教導聖禮（他們承認7個聖禮）能把恩典給予領受者，無論何時施行聖禮，它們本身都能產生效果（ex opere operato，因功生效）。因此，在福音派陣營的部分地區使用「法例」（ordinance）一詞來取代聖禮。
確實，羅馬天主教在我們的主設立的兩個聖禮（洗禮和聖餐）上添加了五個假聖禮，並且在關於如何施行的問題上抱持錯誤的觀點。 然而，改革宗教會使用聖禮這詞，並不是羅馬天主教所指的意思。在海德堡教理問答中，我們這樣定義聖禮:
六十六問：聖禮是什麽？
「聖禮是聖潔的、可見的標志和印記。上帝設立聖禮，藉著聖禮的施行，祂可以更完全地向我們宣布並印證福音的應許，即祂因基督一次在十字架上所完成的犧牲，白白地把赦罪和永生賜給我們。」
我們認信，我們的主在新約只設立兩個聖禮：洗禮和主的晚餐（或聖餐）。 我們將它們定義為「記號」和「印記」。接下來我們會明白它們的含義，但最重要的是要知道，我們否認羅馬天主教的觀點：聖禮必然賜新生命（例如，洗禮使人重生）或藉著施行就能產生效果，或聖餐的元素轉化為基督的身體和血（神學上稱為變質説Transubstantiation）。生效的動詞（operative verb）在我們的定義中是一個宣講的字（a preaching word）：宣佈。 他們說。 他們宣佈。能力不在於做，而是在於說。
我們該如何處理聖禮一詞？假如我們思考片刻，我們很快就發現，祈禱一詞也有同樣的問題，因為在祈禱是什麽，向誰祈禱，祈禱的目的等問題上，我們與羅馬天主教有著截然不同的觀念。那麽，我們就應該放棄祈禱這個詞嗎？不應該的，因為這是定義的問題。可能有人論證說，聖經常常使用禱告一詞，卻沒有提到聖禮一詞。的確如此，但翻譯為「法例」（ordinance）的字 (但六7；六15) 在聖經中並非用來描述洗禮和聖餐的。因此，是否使用傳統術語是個謹慎與自由的問題。為了減輕混亂，一些認信的長老會和改革宗教會，特別是在美國南部，有時說洗禮和聖餐是法例。
在某些傳統中（特別是羅馬天主教傳統），有一種誘惑，那就是把聖禮與聖禮所證明的基督及其恩福混淆。這是一項巨大的錯謬，因為我們尋求將聖禮轉變成基督或拯救的那一刻，它們就不再是聖禮了。 根據定義，聖禮不是它所證明的事物。 基督不是聖禮，聖禮也不是基督。
有些人在回應中，將聖禮（或法例）與基督及其恩福切底分開，他們單單談論領受人，受洗人做了什麽，或領聖餐者做了什麽和正在做什麽。用這種方式談論聖禮也是個錯誤。在聖禮的施行中，信徒不是表演的明星，基督才是。聖禮證明祂為我們作成的一切。祂賺得我們的救贖。祂潔凈我們，賜給我們新生命。祂透過祂的聖靈奧秘地用祂自己來餵養我們。
記號
當我們說記號，我們的意思是指洗禮和聖餐指向某人和某事。它們指向基督所作成的事，並說明與證明祂福音的應許。 它們是基督為祂所有子民（選民）作成的事的記號，是他們所相信的真實事件的記號。 在基督來臨之前，記號的作用是真實的，現在，在祂升天之後依然是真實的。我們的主在伊甸園賜下兩個記號，即生命樹和死亡樹（分別善惡的樹）。在創世記二章17節，上帝說園中各樣樹上的果子，你可以隨意吃，但我們吃分別善惡樹上的果子那一天「必定死」。上帝的說話使它變成一棵死亡樹。 它們是聖禮的一種。 它們指向一個超越本身的實相。 它們清楚表明應許。
在救贖歷史時期，還有其他的聖禮記號，將人一直帶領到基督來臨的事件上。從某種意義上說，獻祭系統就是聖典，因為它表明一個無辜的替代者必須來代替選民受死。割禮是上帝在創世記十七章設立（命定）的，目的是要表明上帝必定會按祂的主權，滿有恩慈地將新心和新生命賜給祂的選民。它也應許救主將要來實現創世記三章15節的應許，即那一位後裔甚至不惜犧牲自己的生命來壓碎蛇。逾越節（出埃及記十二章）是一個聖禮，表明上帝的羔羊要來除去世人的罪（約一29），並教導我們，我們需要「吃他的肉，喝他的血」（約六53），好叫我們有永生。 紅海是一個聖禮，曠野的嗎哪也是一個聖禮。 我們知道這點，是因為使徒保羅在哥林多前書十章1-4節告訴我們的。
沒有一個聖禮是以魔法方式施行的。沒有一個人因為受割禮、過紅海(洗禮)、吃逾越節 (或別的節期) 的筵席、或在曠野吃嗎哪 (主的晚餐) 而獲得新生命。聖禮總是記號，指向基督和祂的恩福，我們唯獨藉著信心------聖靈所賜的恩賜(弗二8-10) ------領受基督和祂的恩福。在新約，那實體，即基督已經到來。隨著祂的死，舊預表 (說明; 林前十; 來八5) 和預示 (西二17; 來八5；十1) 就結束了，被不流血的記號和洗禮、聖餐這兩個聖禮取代。
印記
在古代世界，通信既困難又緩慢。 即使最強大的國王也必需依靠那些可能無法前往目的地的信使与外界聯繫。一旦抵達到目的地，信使必須證明所傳送的文書的真實性。 這就是印記的作用。 將融化的蠟滴在文書的封口邊緣，蓋上圖章戒指，籍此表明文書不是偽造的。現在我們仍然以不同的方式做這件事。我們的貨幣標有線條和標記，旨在表明它的真實性。我們的駕照也有蓋印。重要的文件(如證書、結婚證、出生證) 上仍然有(浮凸的) 蓋印，為的是表明它們的真實性。而在古代世界則用蠟封印。
印記不能創造實體。印記證明其他人所做的事的真實性。若一個從未上過學的人在清倉拍賣中找到一張文憑，但擁有文憑也不能使他成為一個畢業生。封印的文件不具魔法能力，但它是對人的應許，唯獨依靠恩典，唯獨藉著信心，人就能擁有文件所證明的內容。 洗禮和聖餐是對信徒的保證：主已賜給信徒新生命和真信心，聖禮所宣告和所應許的對信徒而言都是真實的（會實現）。
因此，在海德堡教理問答中，我們說洗禮是印記：
六十九問：洗禮怎樣表明並印證基督在十字架上一次獻上的犧牲，使你得益呢？
回答：「乃是這樣：基督指定了這外在的水洗，並加上祂的應許，使我因祂的寶血和聖靈，得以洗凈靈魂一切汙穢，即所有罪惡，恰如通常用水洗去身體的汙穢一般。」
聖禮叫人看見福音。 我們需要看得見的應許和保證，因為我們是罪人，我們的信心軟弱，常常動搖。 所以，我們對信徒說（信徒的資格是必須的），就如你可被水清洗是确实無疑的，基督和祂的靈潔凈你一樣是確實無疑的。洗禮不能潔凈你們，而是基督透過祂的靈潔凈你們，洗禮則證明這是千真萬確的。
聖餐也是如此。海德堡教理問答七十五問：
聖餐怎樣向你表明並印證你與基督在十字架上一次完成的犧牲及其一切恩惠有份呢？
回答：「乃是這樣：基督已經吩咐我和眾信徒吃這擘開的餅，喝這杯，為的是記念祂；並且賜給以下的應許：首先，祂的身體在十字架上為我而舍，為我破碎，祂的寶血為我而流，正如我親眼看見主的餅為我擘開，主的杯遞給我一樣確實；其次，祂那被釘的身體和流出的寶血，餵養我的靈魂，直到永生，正如我從牧師的手裏接受，並親嘗主的餅和杯，作為基督的身體和寶血的標記一般確實。」
我們從聖經得知基督設立（命定，因此是法例）洗禮和聖餐。像洗禮那樣，聖餐也叫人看見福音：基督順服、死亡、被埋葬、復活，升天坐在父上帝右邊，為我們代求。好消息是，因著恩典，我們白白地得蒙拯救，在基督裏，唯獨藉著信心，我們白白地得稱為義。在我們領受聖餐時，基督對信徒說：你們屬於我。我是替你們贖罪的替代者。你的罪確實被除去。你確實得到新生命，我透過我的靈正在你們裏面作工，更新你，使你有基督的形象。聖餐的元素沒有發生任何方式的改變，基督奧秘地用祂真實的身體和血餵養我們，就如在最後的晚餐中祂使門徒得到滿足那樣。聖餐對信徒說：這是真實的，對你來說也是真實的。它不是葬禮，也不僅僅是記念。它是奇妙、奧秘、歡樂的宴席，信徒與我們復活的主一起進餐。毫無疑問我們領受這些元素，毫無疑問我們吃聖餐時，再次得到保證，我們是祂肉中的肉，骨中的骨（海德堡教理问答七十六）。
聖禮、記號、印記不是魔法，也不是純粹的記念，而是上帝賜給祂的寄居子民的奇妙恩賜，這些恩賜將我們指向基督、祂的恩福、對信徒的應許，正如我們得潔凈是真實的，正如我們吃這餅和喝這杯是真實的，我們屬於基督，基督也屬於我們也同樣是真實的。
What Do We Mean By Sacrament,
Sign, And Seal?
by R.
SCOTT CLARK
The
Reformed churches and Reformed theologians (i.e., those who confess and teach
within the bounds of the Reformed confessions, e.g., the French Confession
(1559), the Scots Confession (1560), the Belgic Confession (1561), the
Heidelberg Catechism (1563), the Second Helvetic Confession (1566), the Canons
of Dort (1619), the Westminster Standards (1646–48), speak about baptism and
the Lord’s Supper as “holy sacraments” and as “signs” and “seals.” Recently HB
reader Barrett wrote to ask for a brief, simple explanation of these terms.
Sacrament
The
word sacrament is widely used by a variety of Christian traditions but for some
evangelicals it is a word that is associated with Romanism and a false view of
baptism and the Lord’s Supper.Our English word sacrament is derived from the
Latin military term, sacramentum, which was a military oath of loyalty. In the
Latin translations of Scripture where the New Testament uses the term mystery
the Latin text often uses the word sacramentum. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper
were often described by the early church as “Christian mysteries.” In the 13th
century, the medieval began to teach officially that there are 7 sacraments and
that in the Lord’s Supper the mystery is that the elements are transformed into
the actual body and blood of Christ. The concern for some evangelicals is that
the word sacrament carries with it a connotation (an associated meaning) that
signals that baptism and the supper work by magic because the Roman communion
teaches that the sacraments (they confess 7 sacraments) necessarily confer
grace upon the recipient because they work whenever they are used (ex opere
operato). Thus, in some parts of the evangelical world the term “ordinance” is
used instead.
It is
true that Rome has added five false sacraments to the two instituted by our
Lord (baptism and the supper) and that she has a false view of how they work.
When the Reformed churches use the word sacrament, however, we do not mean by
what Rome means. In the Heidelberg Catechism we define sacrament this way:
66.
What are the Sacraments?
The
Sacraments are visible holy signs and seals appointed of God for this end, that
by the use thereof He may the more fully declare and seal to us the promise of
the Gospel: namely, that of free grace, He grants us the forgiveness of sins
and everlasting life for the sake of the one sacrifice of Christ accomplished
on the cross.
We
confess that, in the New Testament, our Lord instituted only two sacraments,
baptism and the Lord’s Supper (or holy communion). We define them as “signs”
and “seals.” We will get to what that means in a moment but the most important
thing to know here is that we deny the Roman view that sacraments necessarily
give new life (e.g., baptismal regeneration) or that “by the working it is
worked” or that the elements of the Lord’s Supper are transformed into the
literal body and blood of Christ (transubstantiation). The operative verb in
our definition is a preaching word: declare. They speak. They announce. Their
power lies not in doing but saying.
What
should we do with the word sacrament? Should we think about this for a moment
we soon see that we might have the same problem with the word prayer since Rome
has a very different notion of what prayer is, to whom we pray, and to what
end. Should we give up the word prayer? We do not because it is a matter of
definition. One might argue that prayer is used in Scripture whereas sacrament
is not. That is certainly true but the word translated as ordinance (Dan 6:7;
6:15) is not used in Scripture to describe baptism and the supper. So whether
to use the traditional term is a matter of prudence and liberty. To alleviate
the confusion, some confessional Presbyterian and Reformed churches,
particularly in the southern US sometimes speak of baptism and the Lord’s
Supper as ordinances.
In
some traditions (especially in Rome) there has been a temptation to confuse the
sacraments for the things to which they testify: Christ and his benefits. That
is a great mistake because the moment we seek to turn the sacraments into
Christ or into salvation, then they are no longer sacraments. By definition, a
sacrament is not the things to which testifies. Christ is not a sacrament and
no sacrament is Christ.
In
reaction, some have come to talk about sacraments in a way that so utterly
divorces the sacraments (or ordinances) from Christ and his benefits that they
come really only to speak about the recipient, what the baptized person has
done or what the communicant (the person receiving the Lord’s Supper) has done
or is doing. This is also a mistake. In the administration of the sacraments,
the believer is not the star of the show, Christ is. They testify to what he
done for us. He has earned our salvation. He has washed us with new life. He is
feeding us mysteriously, by his Holy Spirit, with himself.
Sign
When
we say sign we mean that baptism and the supper point to someone and something.
They point to what Christ has done. They illustrate and testify to his gospel
promises. They are signs of what he has done for all his people (elect) and
what is true of all those who believe. This was true before Christ came and it
remains true now after his ascension. In the garden our Lord gave two signs, a
tree of life and a tree of death (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil).
In Genesis 2:17 God said that we were free to eat from any tree in the garden
but the day we ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, “you shall
surely die.” That makes it a tree of death. They were sacraments of a kind.
They pointed beyond themselves to realities. They illustrated promises.
There
were other signs sacraments in the period of redemptive history leading up to
the coming of Christ. In a sense the sacrificial system was sacramental insofar
as it illustrated that an innocent substitute had to come to die in the place
of the elect. Circumcision was instituted (ordained) by the Lord in Genesis 17
in order to signify the necessity of a new heart and new life sovereignly,
graciously given by the Lord to his elect. It also promised the coming Savior
who would fulfill the promise made in Genesis 3:15 that a the Seed would come
to crush the serpent even at the cost of his own life. The Passover (Exod 12)
was a sacrament illustrating the coming of the Lamb of God who takes away the
sin of the world (John 1:29) and teaching us that we needed to “eat his flesh
and drink his blood” (John 6:53) that we might have eternal life. The Red Sea
was a sacrament as was the manna in the wilderness. We know this because the
Apostle Paul says so in 1 Corinthians 10:1–4.
None
of these worked by magic. No one was ever given new life by virtue of being
circumcised or going through the Red Sea (baptism) or by eating the Passover
(or any other feast) or by eating manna in the wilderness (the Lord’s Supper).
Sacraments are always signs, pointing to Christ and his benefits and we receive
Christ and his benefits through faith alone, which is the gift of the Holy
Spirit (Eph 2:8–10). In the New Testament the reality came: Christ. With his
death the old types (illustrations; 1 Cor 10:6; Heb 8:5) and foreshadows (Col 2:17;
Heb 8:5; 10:1) ended and were replaced by the bloodless signs and sacraments of
baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
Seal
In
the ancient world communication was difficult and slow. Even the most powerful
kings had to rely on messengers who might not make it to the destination. Once
there they had to prove that a communication was authentic. That is what a seal
did. It was a bit of wax melted on to a document and marked with a signet ring
thus showing that it was not a forgery. We still do this in various ways. Our
currency has lines and marks designed to show that it authentic. Our driver’s
licenses have the same things. Important documents (e.g., diplomas, marriage
certificates, birth certificates) still have a mark impressed (embossed) into
them to show that they are authentic. So it was in the ancient world with a wax
seal.
The
seal does not create a reality. It testifies to the truth of what has already
been done by someone else. Should a person never attend school but find a
diploma at a rummage sale, possession of the diploma would not make that person
a graduate. A sealed document is not magic but it is a promise to the person
who, by grace alone, through faith alone, has what the document testifies.
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are guarantees to the believer, one to whom the
Lord has already given new life and true faith, that what the sacraments
declare and promise really are true for the believer.
So,
in the Heidelberg Catechism we talk about baptism as a seal this way:
69.
How is it signified and sealed to you in Holy Baptism, that you have part in
the one sacrifice of Christ on the cross?
Thus:
that Christ instituted this outward washing with water and joined therewith
this promise: that I am washed with His blood and Spirit from the pollution of
my soul, that is, from all my sins, as certainly as I am washed outwardly with
water, whereby commonly the filthiness of the body is taken away.
The
sacraments are the gospel made visible. We need the these visible promises and
guarantees because we are sinners and our faith is sometimes weak. We waver.
So, we say to the believer (this qualification is essential), that just as
surely as you were washed with water, that is how certain it is that you were
cleansed by Christ and by his Spirit. Baptism does not do this. Christ does it
by his Spirit but baptism testifies to the believer that it is really true.
The
same is true of the Lord’s Supper. Heidelberg 75 says:
75.
How is it signified and sealed to you in the Holy Supper, that you do partake
of the one sacrifice of Christ on the cross and all His benefits?
Thus:
that Christ has commanded me and all believers to eat of this broken bread and
to drink of this cup in remembrance of Him, and has joined therewith these
promises: First, that His body was offered and broken on the cross for me and
His blood shed for me, as certainly as I see with my eyes the bread of the Lord
broken for me and the cup communicated to me; and further, that with His
crucified body and shed blood He Himself feeds and nourishes my soul to
everlasting life, as certainly as I receive from the hand of the minister and
taste with my mouth the bread and cup of the Lord, which are given me as
certain tokens of the body and blood of Christ.
We
know from Scripture that Christ instituted (ordained, hence ordinance) the
baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Like baptism, the supper is a visible
presentation of the gospel: Christ obeyed, died, was buried, raised, and is
ascended to the right hand of the Father where he intercedes for us. The good news
is that we have been saved freely, by grace, that we are accepted (justified)
freely, through faith alone, in Christ alone. When we receive the Lord’s Supper
Christ says to the believer: you are mine. I was your atoning substitute. Your
sins really have been wiped away. You really have been given new life and I am
working in you now by my Spirit to renew you into my image. Mysteriously, not
by changing the elements in any way, Jesus is feeding us with his true body and
blood just as he fed the disciples at the last supper. The supper says to the
believer: it is really true and it is true for you. It is not just a memory nor
is it a funeral. It is a wonderful, mysterious, happy feast in which believers
commune together with our risen Lord. As surely as we receive the elements and
surely as we eat we are reassured that we are flesh of his flesh and bone of
his bone (HC 76).
Sacraments,
signs, and seals are not magic nor are they mere memories but they are
wonderful gifts from God for his sojourning people that point us to Christ and
his benefits and promise to believers that just as we were washed and just as
we eat the bread and drink the wine, so truly are we Christ’s and he our.
