为何婴儿洗WHYWE BAPTIZE THE CHILDREN OF BELIEVERS
作者: Michael G. Brown 译者: 王一
“你们教会为何要为婴儿施洗？”这是许多第一次来到改革宗教会或长老会教会的信徒常问的问题。历史上为信徒的儿女施洗的做法，如今在大部分福音派信徒中已然成为十分陌生的概念。这也成为希望加入认信改革宗教会的家庭经常无法逾越的障碍。许多基督徒对改革宗神学有浓厚兴趣，又真诚渴望成为改革宗教会成员，当发现改革宗教会教导并实践婴儿洗时，常常感到十分震惊。
“Why
does your church baptize infants?” This is a question that is often asked by
visitors to Reformed and Presbyterian churches. Since the historic practice of
baptizing the children of believers is largely a foreign concept to the vast
majority of evangelicals today, accepting this doctrine can be a difficult
hurdle for a family that wishes to join a confessional, Reformed church.
Christians who are interested in Reformed theology and sincerely desire
membership in Christ’s church are often shocked to find out that the Reformed
church they want to join teaches and practices infant baptism.
那么，为什么我们一定要为信徒的儿女施洗呢？答案很简单：我们为信徒的儿女施洗，因为他们属于上帝的圣约和教会。如此简单的回答，当然需要一些详细的解释。很多时候，福音派信徒开始接触改革宗神学时，是先认识恩典的教义（即所谓的加尔文主义五要点，或称郁金香五要点），可能同时完全不知道最基本的圣约神学。因此，婴儿洗对他们来说十分奇怪陌生。他们习惯于跑进圣经里找“证明经文”，搜遍整本圣经只为寻得一节经文明确命令执行婴儿洗礼。结果没有找到，于是便拒绝接受，推测改革宗和长老会教会如此执行洗礼是出于传统而非圣经。但是我们必须说明，改革宗对洗礼的执行（不论是成人信徒还是他们的儿女），是从改革宗教会的神学中自然而出的。其中包括改革宗神学对上帝与其子民立约的理解。因此，“你们教会为何要为婴儿施洗？”这个问题的答案要比许多人想象更复杂。
So,
why do we baptize the children of believers? The answer is simple: We baptize
the children of believers because they belong to the covenant and people of
God. While this answer is simple, it is one that nevertheless requires some
explanation. Often times, an evangelical may come to Calvinistic convictions
with regard to the doctrines of grace (i.e. the so-called “Five Points of
Calvinism,” or “TULIP”), yet be completely unaware of basic covenant theology.
Hence, the doctrine of infant baptism seems strange and exotic to him.
Accustomed to looking for “proof-texts” in the Bible, he searches the
Scriptures for a verse that explicitly prescribes the practice of infant
baptism. Finding none, he is resistant to the practice, suspecting that
Reformed and Presbyterian churches baptize the children of believers more so
out of tradition and sentiment than from any serious biblical conviction. What
he has yet to understand, however, is that our practice of baptism (both for
the adult believer and his children) naturally flows from our theology of the
church. This involves an understanding of the covenant that God has made with
his people. Consequently, the question, “Why does your church baptize infants?”
entails a more complex answer than many people are prepared to receive.
好吧，我们该从何说起呢？关于婴儿洗的问题已经有许多书籍或文章写出来。但是，最简洁的回答大概当属海德堡要理问答。要理问答从66问到73问，用了五条问答从总体上处理洗礼的问题，然后在第74问特别提到婴儿洗礼的问题：
Where
should we then begin? Scores of helpful books and articles have been written on
the subject of infant baptism that the person struggling with this doctrine
should consult (see the back of this article for a list of recommendations).
Probably the most concise answer, however, is found in the Heidelberg
Catechism. After its five questions and answers that deal with the sacrament of
baptism in general (qq.69-73), it includes one question and answer on infant
baptism in particular. Question and Answer 74
(hereafter HC 74) states:
七十四问：婴孩也要受洗吗？ 回答：是的。因为他们既然与父母同属上帝的圣约和教会，并且有因基督的宝血得救赎脱离罪，并领受赐人信心之圣灵的应许，这应许赐予他们正如赐给他们父母的一样；因此，他们也藉那作为圣约标记的洗礼，被接入基督教会中，并且有别于不信者的儿女，正如在旧约中藉着割礼所达成的，这割礼已由新约的洗礼代替。——《海德堡要理问答》 第74问
Q: Are
infants also to be baptized?
A:
Yes. For since they, as well as their parents, belong to the covenant and
people of God, and both redemption from sin and the Holy Spirit, who works
faith, are through the blood of Christ promised to them no less than to their
parents; they are also by baptism, as a sign of the covenant, to be ingrafted
into the Christian Church, and distinguished from the children of unbelievers,
as was done in the Old Covenant by circumcision, in place of which in the New
Covenant baptism is appointed.
这回答不仅清晰简明，而且是教会的认信文件对此教义的回答，因此可以说是针对婴儿洗礼问题的便于记忆的模板。我们可以将这个简单的回答展开，详细的按照以下几点来解释：1. 一个圣约，一群子民；2. 旧约里，上帝将孩童纳入到他的教会中；3. 新约里，上帝依旧将孩童纳入到他的教会中；4. 我们应当相信洗礼中所赐下的应许。
Because
this is not only a clear and simple explanation of infant baptism but also a
confessional explanation of the doctrine, HC 74 functions as a ready and
easy-to-remember template of the case for infant baptism, which can be unpacked
and explained further in the following points: (1) there is one covenant and
people of God; (2) in the old covenant, God included children into his church;
(3) in the new covenant, God still includes children into his church; (4) there
is a promise made in baptism that must be believed.
1. 一个圣约，一群子民
(1)
There is one covenant and people of God
这是我们的起点。要理问答74问首先声明信徒的儿女 “与父母同属上帝的圣约和教会”。然而，我们要问，要理问答这里所说的是哪个圣约呢？另外，到底什么是圣约？霍顿（Michael Horton）这样总结圣约的定义：
(1)
There is one covenant and people of God
This
is where we must begin. HC 74 makes the claim that the children of believers,
“as well as their parents, belong to the covenant and people of God.” We should
ask, however, to what covenant is the catechism referring? Furthermore, what is
a covenant in the first place? Michael Horton has summarized covenant very well
when he says:
圣约是以“誓言和契约”构成的关系，包含相互而非必然平等的委身……一些圣经里的圣约是单方面强加的命令和应许；另一些则是立约方共同建立的。有些圣约是有条件的，有些则是无条件的。
[A]
covenant is a relationship of ‘oaths and bonds’ and involves mutual, though not
necessarily equal commitments…some biblical covenants are unilaterally imposed
commands and promises; others are entered into jointly. Some are conditional
and others are unconditional.[1]
约的概念十分重要，因为它是构成圣经的框架。从最根本上讲，整本圣经都在讲一件事情：上帝藉着耶稣基督为自己救赎一群子民。这个信息贯穿整个救赎历史渐进展开如同一幕圣约的剧目。虽然在圣经里有许多按照不同目的而立的约，但是整本圣经从始至终只有一个约将救赎的益处赐给上帝的子民，这个约被称为“恩典之约”。
The
concept of covenant is important for Christians to grasp because it is the
organizing framework of the Scriptures. The whole Bible, ultimately, is about
one thing: God redeeming a people for himself through Jesus Christ. And that
message unfolds as a covenantal drama throughout redemptive history. While
there are many different covenants of various natures and purposes recorded in
the Bible, there is ultimately only one covenant in which the benefits of
redemption are communicated to God’s people, a covenant we rightly call the
“Covenant of Grace.”
恩典之约的应许第一次被赐下是在创世记3:15，那时亚当和夏娃因犯罪抵挡上帝被咒诅被逐出神圣的伊甸园。亚当违背了之前上帝与他立的约（即行为之约），未能达到顺服的要求，因此非但没有承受约里的祝福（永恒荣耀的生命），反而承担了约里的咒诅（灵性和身体的死亡）。然而，并非亚当一人单独承担了咒诅。亚当在伊甸园里作为整个人类的元首和代表，把这个咒诅带给全人类。因为亚当的悖逆，通往生命树的道路被阻隔，由基路伯和发火的剑守卫着。因此，人类需要另一位盟约元首，另一位亚当，一位能够重新开启通往生命树的人带领我们，使我们得以享受与造物主上帝的团契相交，并永恒安息的荣耀。这就是恩典之约赐下的背景。上帝叫蛇的后裔与女人的后裔彼此为仇，应许将来这位后裔将要压碎蛇的头（创3:15）。
The
Covenant of Grace is first promised in Genesis 3.15, after Adam and Eve were
expelled from the holy Garden and cursed for sinning against God. Adam broke
that previous covenant in which God had placed him (i.e. the Covenant of Works)
failing to meet its requirements of obedience and thus inheriting the curses of
that covenant (spiritual and physical death), rather than its blessings
(eternal and glorified life). Adam did not, however, bring these covenant
curses upon himself alone. Rather, he brought them upon the whole human race,
as he was our federal head and representative in the Garden. Because Adam broke
this covenant, the way to the tree of life was barred from sinful man, guarded
by mighty cherubim and a flaming sword. Mankind, therefore, needs another
covenant federal-head, a Second Adam, one who will open up the way and lead us
to the tree of life so that we can enjoy fellowship with God our Creator and
the glory of the eternal Sabbath for which we were created. This is the context
in which the Covenant of Grace is first promised. God puts enmity between the seed
of the serpent and the seed of the woman, promising that the coming seed will
bruise the head of the serpent (Gen 3.15).
这个后裔的应许沿着救赎历史展开，按照圣经的记载，继续由亚伯拉罕的后裔传接下来。当圣经记录到亚伯拉罕时，故事渐渐慢了下来。在整个救赎历史中，亚伯拉罕是非常重要的角色，上帝与他立下一个重要的约，记录在创世记15章——这一章在圣经里非常重要。我们看到上帝应许亚伯拉罕至少两大重要的祝福：如天上众星般的后裔，以及其后裔将要居住的应许之地。上帝继而用一个庄严的圣约仪式来印证这些应许，这仪式中包括杀死动物。
This
seed-promise unfolds through redemptive history as the Bible traces the lineage
of God’s redeemed people from Seth to Abraham. Once Abraham is brought into the
picture, the speed of the story slows down. He is one of the main characters in
the redemptive drama as God makes an important covenant with him recorded in
Genesis 15 – one of the most important chapters in the Bible. There, we read of
God promising Abraham (then Abram) at least two very important blessings: a
seed numbered like the stars in the heavens, and a land in which his seed would
dwell. God then seals these promises with a solemn covenant ritual involving
the killing of animals.
在亚伯拉罕的时代，当两国的君王或统治者彼此立约时，这是一种普遍的立约方是。立约双方彼此起誓，解释清楚立约的条件，并且承诺惩罚和奖励的规定（遵守条约所得的祝福，以及背约的惩罚）。较弱的立约方，通常被称为“附庸国”，要歃血起誓，正像创世记15章里所记载的。起誓的仪式里包括杀死动物，有时会将动物尸体一分为二。附庸国的君主要起誓，并从动物尸体中间走过，或者其他一些仪式，来证明他要遵守约的条件。穿过动物尸体这个动作象征着走过死亡的幽谷。起誓的人要效忠于较强的立约方，通常被称为“宗主国”，并且这誓言里规定如果自己背约，将会遭受像被杀死的动物一样的惩罚。
In
Abraham’s day, it was common for two kings or rulers to enter into a covenant
with each other in which oaths were taken, conditions were explained, and
sanctions (blessing for obedience to the covenant; cursing for disobedience)
were promised. The lesser party in the covenant, known as the “vassal,” would
then take a blood-oath, such as the one recorded in Genesis 15. Animals would
be killed and sometimes cut in two. The vassal-king would take an oath and walk
between the pieces of the animals or do some other type of ritual in which they
would promise to keep the conditions of the covenant. To pass through the
severed carcasses was to walk through the valley of the shadow of death. The
person taking the oath was placing himself in service of the greater party,
known as the “suzerain,” and promising that if he broke the covenant, he would
become like that severed animal.
亚伯拉罕完全明白当时这种仪式的含义，因为这在当时是常见的，也是非常正式的立约仪式。然而，奇妙的是，在创世记15章里歃血起誓并穿过动物尸体的，竟然是上帝自己。这一次是宗主起了血誓。上帝以冒烟的火炉和烧着的火把显现，亲自从尸体中间穿过。浓烟和火焰象征着耶和华的临在，就如同出埃及时的云柱和火柱。这个约是全然的恩典和应许，是宗主君王所立的。主耶和华起誓，若他不实现应许就受到自己所咒诅的流血死亡。整个约是上帝赐给亚伯拉罕和他的后裔的。
Abraham
completely understood this ritual since this was how covenants were often
ratified and made official in his day. But what is so amazing about this
particular blood-oath in Genesis 15 is that God himself walked between the
severed animals. The suzerain-king, not the vassal, took the blood-oath. God’s
presence was manifested in the smoking fire pot and flaming torch that passed
between the carcasses. A cloud of smoke that arose from the fire pot and a
soaring flame that came from the torch were symbolic forms of the Lord’s
presence, similar to the pillar of cloud and pillar of fire he used during the
exodus. This covenant was all of grace and promise, a royal-grant from the
Suzerian-King. The Lord took a self-maledictory oath and invoked this bloodshed
and death upon himself should he fail to fulfill his promise. This whole
covenant was God’s royal grant to Abraham and his seed.
当圣经继续展开上帝伟大的救赎计划时，我们看到亚伯拉罕之约的实现实际上有两个美妙的阶段。第一阶段，这些应许（后裔和土地）在以色列国身上实现。上帝赐给亚伯拉罕和撒拉一个儿子，名叫以撒。以撒又生雅各，雅各又生十二个儿子，他们就是以色列十二指派的祖先。随着故事的进展，我们看到亚伯拉罕的这些后裔们被困在埃及，继续不断繁衍。实际上，出埃及记一开始就告诉我们以色列民不断壮大，变得极为强盛——他们人数众多甚至整个埃及地都遍满了，引起了法老极度的恐慌。以色列民的数量如此之多，摩西提醒他们纪念上帝许下的承诺：“耶和华你们的神使你们多起来。看哪，你们今日像天上的星那样多”（申1:10）。上帝承诺亚伯拉罕如天上众星般的后裔实现了。
As
the Bible unfolds God’s great plan of redeeming a people for himself, we see
that the fulfillment of the promises he made to Abraham actually comes on two
marvelous levels. On the first level, we witness the fulfillment of these
promises (both seed and land) in the nation Israel. God gave to Abraham and
Sarah a son, namely, Isaac. And from Isaac came Jacob, and from Jacob came his
twelve sons who fathered the twelve tribes of Israel. As the story progresses,
we learn how these descendents of Abraham all end up in Egypt where they
continue to multiply generation after generation. In fact, the book of Exodus
opens by telling us how the people of Israel increased greatly and grew
exceedingly strong – so much that the land of Egypt was filled with them,
causing Pharaoh a great amount of fear. So massive was Israel’s size that Moses
reminded them of God’s fulfilled promise: “The LORD your God has multiplied
you, and here you are today, as the stars of heaven in multitude.” (Deut 1.10)
God’s promise to give Abraham a seed numbered like the stars was brought to
pass.
同样，关于土地的应许也在以色列身上实现，上帝把迦南地赐给他们为继承的产业。在约书亚的领导下，以色列民清洗了神圣的应许之地，把异教徒逐出，占领了上帝承诺给他们的土地。我们在约书亚记21:43-45中读到：
Likewise,
God’s promise with regard to the land was fulfilled when Israel was given
Canaan as an inheritance. Under the leadership of Joshua, Israel cleansed the
holy promised land by driving out the heathen and took possession of what God
had promised. We read in Joshua 21.43-45:
“这样，耶和华将从前向他们列祖起誓所应许的全地，赐给以色列人，他们就得了为业，住在其中。耶和华照着向他们列祖起誓所应许的一切话，使他们四境平安，他们一切仇敌中，没有一人在他们面前站立得住，耶和华把一切仇敌都交在他们手中。耶和华应许赐福给以色列家的话，一句也没有落空，都应验了。”
Thus
the LORD gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers.
And they took possession of it, and they settled there. And the LORD gave them
rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their
enemies had withstood them, for the LORD had given all their enemies into their
hands. Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the
house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.
然而，尽管这些应许如此奇妙的实现了，这仅仅是第一个阶段。亚伯拉罕之约里的应许远不止是以色列国这预表和影子而已。在新约圣经里启示出来，是此约中更大、更美妙的应许。
As
marvelous as these fulfilled promises were, however, they were only the first
level of fulfillment. God’s covenant with Abraham was far more reaching than
what took place in the type and foreshadow of the nation Israel. There is a
fulfillment revealed on the pages of the New Testament that is far greater and
far more wonderful.
加拉太书第3章，保罗驳斥犹太律法主义者，辨明救恩不是遵行律法，而是唯独靠恩典，唯独藉着信心，唯独因着基督。在这一章里，保罗仔细的描述了一个人是如何成为亚伯拉罕真正的后裔。第7-9节，他说：
In
Galatians chapter 3, in the middle of his argument against the Judaizers that
salvation is not by works of the law but by grace alone, through faith alone,
because of Christ alone, Paul is careful to show how it is that one becomes a
true descendent of Abraham. In vv.7-9, he says,
“所以你们要知道，那以信为本的人，就是亚伯拉罕的子孙。并且圣经既然预先看明，上帝要叫外邦人因信称义，就早已传福音给亚伯拉罕，说：“万国都必因你得福。”可见那以信为本的人和有信心的亚伯拉罕一同得福。”
Know
then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture,
foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel
beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations of the earth be
blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the
man of faith.
世上所有的人，不论语言、民族，都是和亚伯拉罕一样，靠着同一条路被称义，即唯独藉着信心。这应许最后传遍全地，因为保罗在第16节说：“所应许的原是向亚伯拉罕和他子孙说的；上帝并不是说‘众子孙’，指着许多人；乃是说‘你那一个子孙’，指着一个人，就是基督。”保罗强调的措词提出了一个重要的结论：基督是亚伯拉罕的那个子孙，藉着他所有应许也同样赐给我们这些相信的人。甚至四百三十年之后藉着摩西赐下的律法也无法废掉之前与亚伯拉罕歃血所立的约（参加3:17）。那个应许在基督身上实现了，因此保罗在29节说：“你们既属乎基督，就是亚伯拉罕的后裔，是照着应许承受产业的了。”这里说的很明确：以色列民只是众星一般多的后裔的预表。但不是所有以色列民都是真以色列人。只有那些如亚伯拉罕一样因信称义的才是真以色列人。
Justification
comes in the same way to people of every tongue, nation and tribe, just as it
came to Abraham, namely, by faith alone. The promise goes out to all the earth
because of what Paul says in v.16: “Now the promises were made to Abraham and
to his offspring. It does not say, ‘And to offsprings,’ referring to many, but
referring to one, ‘And to your offspring,’ who is Christ.” Paul uses a play on
words to draw an important conclusion: Christ is the offspring of Abraham,
through whom all the promises come to us who believe. Even the law that was
given through Moses 430 years later could not annul the covenant previously
made to Abraham and ratified in blood (see Gal 3.17). That promise is fulfilled
in Christ so that as Paul says in v.29: “if you are Christ’s, then you are
Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.” The message is clear: the
great number of offspring promised to Abraham was only foreshadowed in the
national Israel. But not all of national Israel is of true Israel. Those who
are truly his are those who, like himself, are justified through faith alone.
那么，关于土地的应许又如何呢？有怎样的更大的实现呢？对此，新约又一次启示出一个比旧约预表更完满的现实。我们一同来看希伯来书11章怎么说：
But what
about the promise of a land? How is that fulfilled on a greater level? Again,
the New Testament reveals to us a reality that is fuller than the type and
shadow of the Old Covenant. Notice what Hebrews 11 tells us:
“亚伯拉罕因着信，蒙召的时候，就遵命出去，往将来要得为业的地方去，出去的时候，还不知往哪里去。他因着信，就在所应许之地作客，好像在异地居住帐棚，与那同蒙一个应许的以撒、雅各一样。因为他等候那座有根基的城，就是上帝所经营、所建造的……这些人都是存着信心死的，并没有得着所应许的，却从远处望见，且欢喜迎接，又承认自己在世上是客旅，是寄居的。说这样话的人是表明自己要找一个家乡。他们若想念所离开的家乡，还有可以回去的机会。他们却羡慕一个更美的家乡，就是在天上的。所以上帝被称为他们的上帝，并不以为耻，因为他已经给他们预备了一座城。（8-10，13-16节）”
By
faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to
receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By
faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in
tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was
looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose builder and designer is
God…These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but
having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they
were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear
that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from
which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it
is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not
ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. (vv.8-10,
13-16)
迦南的应许之地是暂时的，并非永远。而那永远的，是摆在我们前面的应许之地，远比这世代任何一片土地更宽广。那摆在我们前面的乃是新天新地。尽管以色列民得到一片不错的土地，不过最终被朽坏、玷污、衰残了。然而，那片更伟大的应许之地，彼得形容说是“不能朽坏、不能玷污、不能衰残、为你们存留在天上”（彼前1:4）。像我们的祖先亚伯拉罕一样，我们也翘首盼望这产业。
The
promised land of Canaan was temporary, not permanent. What is permanent,
however, is the promised land that still awaits us, a land that is infinitely
greater than any plot of real estate in this present age. What awaits us is the
new heaven and new earth. While the nation Israel received a good land,
ultimately it became corrupt, defiled, and it faded away. The greater promised
land, however, is an inheritance that Peter says is “incorruptible, undefiled,
unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1.4). And like our father Abraham,
we look forward to this inheritance with hope.
这一切告诉我们什么？上述这些事情告诉我们只有一个救赎计划，且只有一群上帝的子民，就是圣经所描述的亚伯拉罕的后裔或子孙（加3:29）。没有其他方法能成为上帝的儿女，被纳入到亚伯拉罕之约中。因此，改革宗神学所说的恩典之约就是从创世记3:15后裔的应许开始，一路渐进展开，到创世记15章亚伯拉罕之约，在基督身上应验实现的，这个约继续贯穿整个时间，直到最终的末了。在人类历史上任何时期，任何已经得救或将要得救的人都是这个独一的恩典之约的成员。救恩永远不变：唯独靠着恩典，唯独藉着信心，唯独因着此约独一的中保，主耶稣基督。
What
does all of this show us? It shows us that there is one plan of salvation for
the one people of God, whom the Bible describes as the seed or offspring of
Abraham (Gal 3.29). There is no other way to be a child of God then to be
included into Abraham’s covenant. Thus, when Reformed people speak of “the
covenant,” we are speaking of the one covenant of grace that runs from its
seed-promise in Genesis 3.15, was expanded in detail to Abraham in Genesis 15,
fulfilled in Christ, and continues throughout time until the consummation.
Anyone who has or ever will be saved – in any period of human history – is a
member of this one covenant of grace. Salvation is always the same: by grace
alone, through faith alone because of the one Mediator of the covenant alone,
the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. 亚伯拉罕之约里，上帝接纳孩童进入有形教会
(2)
In the Abrahamic Covenant, God included children into his visible church
简要浏览过救赎历史中的恩典之约以后，我们要问这样的问题：如果信徒加入上帝的圣约子民团体，那他们的儿女地位如何？旧约启示我们上帝不仅允许信徒的儿女被接纳进入他的约和有形的子民团体，而且上帝也命令他的百姓如此行。创世记17章，我们看到上帝提醒亚伯拉罕记得所立的约：
Having
looked briefly at the covenant of grace in redemptive history, we must now ask
the question, if believers participate in the covenant and people of God, what
is the status of their children? The Old Testament reveals that God not only
allowed the children of believers to be brought into his covenant and visible
people, but that he commanded them to be so. In Genesis 17 we read of God
reminding Abraham of the promises he made in his covenant, which extended to
his offspring:
“我必使你的后裔极其繁多，国度从你而立，君王从你而出。我要与你并你世世代代的后裔坚立我的约，作永远的约，是要作你和你后裔的上帝。我要将你现在寄居的地，就是迦南全地，赐给你和你的后裔，永远为业。我也必作他们的上帝。——创世记17:6-8”
I
will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings
shall come from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and
your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting
covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to
you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land
of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God. (vv.6-8)
随后，上帝下了命令，赐给亚伯拉罕和他的后裔立约的记号，就是割礼。在9-14节，我们看到：
God
then commanded that a covenant-sign be given to Abraham and his descendents.
That covenant-sign was circumcision. In vv.9-14, we read:
“上帝又对亚伯拉罕说：“你和你的后裔必世世代代遵守我的约。你们所有的男子都要受割礼，这就是我与你，并你的后裔所立的约，是你们所当遵守的。你们都要受割礼，这是我与你们立约的证据。你们世世代代的男子，无论是家里生的，是在你后裔之外用银子从外人买的，生下来第八日，都要受割礼。你家里生的和你用银子买的，都必须受割礼。这样，我的约就立在你们肉体上，作永远的约。但不受割礼的男子，必从民中剪除，因他背了我的约。””
And
God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your
offspring after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which
you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male
among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your
foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. He who is
eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your
generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any
foreigner who is not of your offspring, both he who is born in your house or
bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in
your flesh an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male who is not
circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he
has broken my covenant.”
割礼是“立约的记号”。从男性生殖器官上割肉的血腥仪式象征了上帝与亚伯拉罕和其后裔所立的约，上帝曾亲自走过动物的尸体。这根本不只是一种形式。受割礼意味着领受具有深刻属灵含义的记号。刻在肉体上记号不断提醒亚伯拉罕和他的后裔们，记得上帝的应许。
Circumcision
was a “sign of the covenant.” The bloody ritual of cutting the flesh in the
male reproductive organ signified the covenant that God made with Abraham and
his descendents when he walked between the bloody animal halves. This was no
mere formality; to be circumcised meant to receive a sign of the deepest
spiritual significance. It was a sign carved in flesh as a constant reminder of
God’s promises to Abraham and his descendents.
这个记号也是正式的将一个人分别为圣，加入圣约团体中的一员。亚伯拉罕家的每一名男子，不论是儿子还是仆人，包括之后圣约团体里的每一名男子，若要被视为上帝的圣约子民，都必须在自己的身上领受了这个记号。反之，任何拒绝此记号的人都从圣约团体中被剪除。拒绝圣约的记号就是拒绝上帝在约里的应许，从根本上讲，就是拒绝那位亲自穿过动物尸体、向他子民起誓的上帝。
But
this sign also functioned as the official act of consecration that set an
individual apart as a member of the covenant community. Every male in Abraham’s
household – whether sons or servants, as well as every male in the covenant
community thereafter – was to receive this sign in his flesh if he was to be
identified with God’s covenant people. Conversely, anyone who rejected the sign
of the covenant was to be cut off from the covenant community. To reject the
sign of the covenant was to reject God’s promises in the covenant. Ultimately,
it was to reject fellowship with the God who walked between the severed animal
halves and made an oath to his people.
3. 新约里，上帝依旧接纳孩童进入有形教会
(3)
In the New Covenant, God still includes children into his visible church
请注意海德堡要理问答第74问说，信徒的儿女“也藉那作为圣约标记的洗礼，被接入基督教会中，并且有别于不信者的儿女，正如在旧约中藉着割礼所达成的，这割礼已由新约的洗礼代替。”如今，加入圣约的记号不再是割礼，而是洗礼（西2:11-12）。与割礼相似，洗礼是一次性的、起头的记号和印证，证明了上帝约里的应许，标志着一个人从此刻开始属于上帝圣约子民。与割礼相似，洗礼要施行给信徒和他们的儿女。
Note
that HC 74 says that the children of believers are “by baptism, as a sign of
the covenant, to be ingrafted into the Christian Church, and distinguished from
the children of unbelievers, as was done in the Old Covenant by circumcision,
in place of which in the New Covenant baptism is appointed.” The covenantal
sign that is administered upon initiation into the visible church is no longer
circumcision, but baptism (Col 2.11-12). Like circumcision, baptism is a
one-time, initiatory sign and seal of God’s covenant promise, which marks out
an individual as belonging to God’s covenant people. Like circumcision, baptism
is for the believer and his children.
当然，浸信会的人常常争辩说不可以为信徒的儿女施洗，要等到他们做出可信的信仰宣告之后才行，因为新约圣经没有为婴儿洗给出明确规定或例子。然而，我们要问的是，新约圣经哪里明确规定把信徒的儿女从有形教会中排除在外？伟大的普林斯顿神学家华菲德（B.B. Warfield）曾非常直接的捍卫婴儿洗礼的教义：
Of
course, the Baptist often argues that children of believers should not be
baptized until making a credible profession of faith because the New Testament
never gives an explicit command or example of infant baptism. To this we must
ask, however, where in the New Testament do we find an example or command to
exclude the children of believers from the visible church? Defending the
doctrine of infant baptism in his day, the great Princeton theologian B.B.
Warfield put it in the most straightforward of terms when he said:
“简而言之，婴儿洗礼的争论就是：上帝在亚伯拉罕的年代设立他的教会，并把孩童纳入其中。若上帝不将他们排除在外，他们就始终包括在其中。上帝从来没把他们排除在外。他们仍然是上帝教会中的成员，因此有资格接受教会的洗礼。”
The
argument [of infant baptism] in a nutshell is simply this: God established his
church in the days of Abraham and put children into it. They must remain there until
he puts them out. He has nowhere put them out. They are still then members of
his church and as such entitled to its ordinances.[2]
很明显，圣经从头到尾没有命令我们要把信徒的儿女从圣约团体中移除。恰恰相反，我们看到耶稣亲自说，“让小孩子到我这里来，不要禁止他们，因为在天国的，正是这样的人”（太19:14）。
Clearly,
no such command to remove the children of believers from his covenant exists.
On the contrary, we find Jesus saying, “Let the little children come to me and
do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 19.14).
然而，更重要的是，新约圣经很明显的提到，曾经一度被排除在教会之外的人，被接纳进入教会。最重要的例子当然就是福音开始传给外邦人。那些与亚伯拉罕家系没有血缘的人，那些曾经“与基督无关，在以色列国民以外，在所应许的诸约上是局外人，并且活在世上没有指望，没有上帝”（弗2:12）的人，如今“不再作外人和客旅，而是与圣徒同国，是上帝家里的人了”（弗2:19）。我们还看到洗礼作为加入圣约团体的记号现在同样应用在女性身上（徒8:12），这与仅用于男性的割礼不同。因此，保罗说，“不分犹太人、希腊人……，或男或女，因为你们在基督耶稣里都成为一了”（加3:28）。尽管男女在家庭和教会里的角色上依旧有别，但洗礼表明男女在上帝面前的价值和人格是平等的，因为都是照着他的形象所造（创1:26-28）。因此，基督徒妇女不再像耶路撒冷圣殿时期那样在隔开的庭院里敬拜，而是与男人一同在教会中间。
More
importantly, however, is the obvious trend in the New Testament of including
people who once were excluded from the church. The greatest example of this, of
course, is the gospel going out to the Gentiles. People who were not of the
physical family of Abraham and were “separated from Christ, alienated from the
commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no
hope and without God in the world” (Eph 2.12) are “no longer strangers and
aliens, but…are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of
God” (Eph 2.19). We also see this in the case of the initiatory covenant sign
of baptism being applied to females as well as males (Acts 8:12), in contrast
to circumcision, which was only for males. Thus, Paul says, “there is neither
Jew nor Greek…there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ
Jesus” (Gal 3.28). While there is still a distinction between men and women with
regard to their assigned roles in the family and the church, baptism shows that
men and women are the same in terms of personal value and worth to God because
both are created in His image (Gen 1:26-28). Christian women, therefore, are
not to worship in a separate courtyard as in the Jerusalem temple, but in the
congregation alongside men.
我们看到上帝把外邦人也纳入到圣约子民中，扩展圣约记号把妇女也接纳进来如男人一样，难道我们真的认为上帝会对信徒儿女采取完全相反的态度吗？新约里，上帝把那些原来被排除在外的人接纳进来，将恩典更充足的赐下，为何他要把曾经被纳入约中的孩童排除出去呢？其实，第一世纪时，倘若一对希伯来人父母归信基督教之后被告知儿女被排除恩典之约以外，对他们来说简直是噩耗。正如史天普（Robert Strimple）所说的，假如使徒们说过这种话，希伯来人父母的回应肯定是，“我原以为你是带好消息来的！”
Considering
these things, are we really to think that while God includes Gentiles into his
covenant people and includes women more fully by extending to them the covenant
sign in the same way as males, that he also takes an opposite position with
regard to the children of believers? While God extends his grace more
abundantly in the New Covenant by including those who once were excluded, why
would he then exclude children who once were included? Indeed, first-century
Hebrew parents that converted to Christianity would have been horrified at the
suggestion that their children were now outside of the Covenant of Grace. As
Robert Strimple has ably argued, had the apostles ever made such a suggestion,
the response of Hebrew parents clearly would have been, “I thought you were
bringing me good news!”
但是使徒带给约里父母的确实是好消息！在五旬节当天的讲道中，彼得向一大群犹太和外邦会众宣讲福音，劝他们悔改，奉耶稣的名受洗。彼得说，“因为这应许是给你们和你们的儿女，并一切在远方的人，就是主我们的上帝所召来的”（徒2:39）。那些在远方的原本是外邦人，如今也被接纳进入上帝的圣约中。请注意彼得特别提到上帝的应许也是给“你们的儿女”。信徒的儿女并没有被排除在圣约团体之外，而是和起初一样，被纳入其中。
But
the apostles did bring good news to covenant parents! Preaching on the day of
Pentecost, Peter proclaimed the gospel to a large audience of Jews and Gentiles
and told them to repent and be baptized in Jesus’ name. “For the promise” said
Peter, “is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone
whom the Lord our God calls to himself” (Acts 2.39). Those who are “far off”
are the Gentiles, now included into God’s covenant. But notice that Peter
specifically points out that the promise is also “for your children.” Children
of believers are not excluded from membership in God’s covenant community, but
included, just as they were since the beginning.
为这个缘故，保罗视信徒的儿女为恩典之约的成员：“你们作儿女的，要在主里听从父母”（弗6:1）。接下来，他甚至提醒他们第五条诫命，表明新约里的儿童与旧约时的儿童一样有责任和权力。父母要按照基督门徒的样式抚养自己的儿女：“你们作父亲的，不要惹儿女的气，只要照着主的教训和警戒，养育他们”（弗6:4；参申6:4-9）。很显然，这些孩子被视为有形教会的成员，就如旧约时一样。如此来看，他们理当接受圣约的记号，受洗。
For
this reason, Paul addresses the children of believers as members of the
Covenant of Grace: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord” (Eph 6.1). He even
reminds them of the Fifth Commandment in the very next verse, showing that New
Covenant children have the same responsibilities and privileges as Old Covenant
children. They are to be raised as disciples of Christ: “Fathers, do not
provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and
instruction of the Lord” (Eph 6.4; cf. Deut 6.4-9). Clearly, these children are
considered members of the visible church no less than they were in the Old
Covenant. As such, they should receive the sign of the covenant and be
baptized.
4. 我们应当相信洗礼中所赐下的应许
(4)
There is a promise made in baptism that must be believed
彼得在五旬节讲道中所指的那个应许就是海德堡要理问答第74问里所说的：“因基督的宝血得救赎脱离罪，并领受赐人信心之圣灵的应许，这应许赐予他们（信徒的儿女）正如赐给他们父母的一样。”但是，浸信会的信徒听到这样的话常常以为改革宗教会相信每一个受洗的婴儿都是蒙拣选的。因此他们就得出结论，如果真是这样，我们怎么解释那些受洗的儿童长大后没有保守住信仰？如果上帝在婴儿洗中赐下应许，但孩子却像成人一样背弃信仰，我们该怎么看待上帝的应许？这不是说他的应许落空了吗？
The
promise to which Peter referred in his Pentecost sermon is mentioned in HC74:
“both redemption from sin and the Holy Spirit, who works faith, are through the
blood of Christ promised to [the children of believers] no less than to their
parents.” The Baptist, however, hears language like this and often assumes that
Reformed churches believe that every baptized child is guaranteed to be one of
the elect. “If this true,” concludes the Baptist, “then what are we to say
about those cases in which a baptized child did not persevere in the faith? If
God made a promise to the child in baptism, but the child apostatizes as an
adult, what does that say about God’s promise? Did his promise fail?”
非常不幸，的确有一些改革宗人士引起这种误解，他们说每个受洗的人，都是真正蒙拣选，与基督联合的（例如盟约异象派，如今慢慢渗透到一些改革宗和长老会圈子里，就是一个例子）。然而，我们必须知道，成为有形圣约团体的成员不代表一定是选民。保罗在罗马书第9章已经说的非常清楚，他辩护上帝向亚伯拉罕立约的信实时说：“这不是说上帝的话落了空，因为从以色列生的，不都是以色列人”（罗9:6）。换句话说，不是有形教会里的每一个人都是属于无形教会。这就是为何圣经常常提到另一个割礼，心的割礼（申10:16; 30:6; 耶4:4; 9:25-26; 徒7:51; 罗2:28-29）。尽管以色列的男子被归于上帝成为圣约子民的一员，但是仍然有责任相信割礼所代表的应许，因为记号（割礼）永远不会成为所代表的实体（上帝的应许）。
Unfortunately,
there are some Reformed circles that have contributed to this misconception by
speaking of every baptized person in the church - “head for head” - as being truly elect and inwardly united to
Christ.[3] But it must be understood that membership in God’s visible covenant community
does not guarantee membership in God’s elect people. This is Paul’s point in
Romans 9 when he defends the fidelity of God’s promise to Abraham: “But it is
not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from
Israel belong to Israel” (Rom 9.6). In other words, not all in the visible
church belong to the invisible church. This is why the Bible often speaks of
another circumcision, a circumcision of the heart (Deut 10.16; 30.6; Jer 4.4;
9.25-26; Acts 7.51; Rom 2.28-29). Although he was consecrated to the Lord as a
member of the covenant people of God, the Israelite male was still responsible
to believe the promises signified in his circumcision, for the sign
(circumcision) never became the thing signified (the promises of God).
如今，有形教会虽然不再只是一个民族性、地缘政治性的以色列，但是依旧是既有雅各又有以扫的混合体。也就是说，教会里有真信徒，也有假信徒。像以扫一样，从外表上看，有的人仍然身处于圣约团体里，但并没有真正藉着信心与基督联合。这也是希伯来书的作者在信中不断提醒人们真信心的必要；他不希望读者错误的依赖他们在有形教会中的身份。希伯来书3:7-4:11里，作者提醒我们，不要效法那些倒毙在旷野里的以色列人；尽管他们属于有形圣约团体，也听过福音，但是他们没有以真信心回应。结果，他们未能进入应许之地。作者故意用这件事来警告同属一个恩典之约的新约成员：“弟兄们，你们要谨慎，免得你们中间或有人存着不信的恶心，把永生上帝离弃了。”（3:12）就像在旧约里，必须受割礼才能进入到有形教会中，同样，在新约里，必须受洗礼才能进入到有形教会。但是每个受过洗的成员仍然有责任以真信心来回应洗礼中上帝赐给他的应许，若无此信心回应，他无法进入永恒的安息。
While
the visible church is no longer identified with a national, geo-political
Israel, it still contains a mixture of both Jacobs and Esaus, that is to say,
true believers and hypocrites. Like Esau, it is still possible for one to be in
the covenant externally but not actually united to Christ through faith. This
is why the writer to the Hebrews includes many warnings in his letter about the
necessity of true faith; he doesn’t want his readers to rely solely upon their
membership in the visible church. In 3.7-4.11, he reminds them of the
Israelites who fell dead in the wilderness; although they belonged to the
visible covenant community and heard the gospel, they did not respond to it in
true faith. Consequently, they did not enter the Promised Land. The writer
deliberately uses this as a warning to the New Testament heirs of the same
covenant of grace: “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil,
unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.” (3.12) Just
as being circumcised was necessary for entrance into the visible church in the
Old Covenant, so too is baptism necessary for entrance into the visible church
in the New Covenant. But every baptized member still has the responsibility of
embracing with true faith the promise made to him in his baptism, apart from
which he will not enter the eternal Sabbath rest.
因此，父母必须非常谨慎如何教导儿女，为儿女祷告，用管教和指教把孩子带到主面前。这也是为何父母在孩子受洗时要起誓，承诺尽最大努力教导他们的孩子，让他们明白救恩的教义。受洗的孩童在成长的过程中不仅要明白自己“被接入基督教会中，并且有别于不信者的儿女”，还必须按照所受的洗礼，回应这个问题：你是否信靠福音？你是否确信唯独依靠基督的宝血洗净你的罪，正如你看到水洗去身体的污秽？你是否相信在你所受的洗礼中象征的属灵应许？
For
this reason, parents must take great care to catechize, pray for and bring
their children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. It is why we
are required to take vows at the baptismal font, promising to the utmost of our
power to teach our children and have them taught the doctrine of salvation. Baptized
children must not only grow up with the understanding that they have been
“ingrafted into the Christian Church and distinguished from the children of
unbelievers” (HC74), but must – in light of their baptism – be asked the
question: do you believe the gospel? Do you trust that Christ’s blood alone
washes away your sins as certainly as you see water washing away dirt from the
body? Do you believe what is signified in your baptism?
若一个人拒绝福音，洗礼将不再是祝福的记号，而是审判的记号。像不信的以色列人一样，割礼对他们来说象征着从上帝的祝福中被剪除。同样，新约的孩童若拒绝洗礼中所代表的祝福，就会成为那些在审判的洪水中灭亡的不信者，而只有挪亚和他的家人藉着那水得救了（彼前3:20-22）。
If he
rejects the gospel, then the waters of baptism are not a sign of blessing, but
a sign of judgment. Like the unbelieving Israelite whose circumcision
symbolized the cursing of being “cut off” from the favor of God, the New
Covenant child who rejects what is signified in his baptism will become like
those unbelievers who perished in the floodwaters of God’s judgment while Noah
and his family were brought safely through (1 Pet 3.20-22).
另外，那些信靠福音的圣约孩童能够看见在洗礼中上帝许下的誓言和保证，使我们确信：“正如身体的污秽用水洗去一般，我们的罪也用基督的宝血与圣灵洗去”（海德堡要理问答，第73问）。
On the other hand, the covenant child who believes the
gospel with true faith is able to see in his baptism God’s pledge and token
that gives us assurance that “we are as really washed from our sins
spiritually, as our bodies are washed with water” (HC73).
[1] Michael Horton, God of Promise: Introducing
Covenant Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2006), p.10. This book is an excellent
treatment of the vast subject of covenant theology and should be a useful tool
for study in the hands of elders.
[2] Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield, “The Polemics of
Infant Baptism,” in Studies in Theology (1932; reprint, Grand Rapids: Baker,
1981), 9.408
[3] The notorious “Federal Vision,” which has infiltrated
some Reformed and Presbyterian churches in recent years, is one example of
this.