预定：我们甚至该讨论它吗？Predestination: Should We EvenTalk About It?
作者：Daniel Hyde 译者:骆鸿铭
准备好，我要开始一个讨论「预定」的系列了。没错，我是说了这个词。我知道这不是上流社会中最流行的话题；事实上，这是彻头彻尾会造成分裂的话题，不是吗？在第五世纪，奥古斯丁在他的信件中提到有人说到：「预定的教义会妨碍讲道，对讲道无益。」谁会想要一个障碍呢？但是在十六世纪，约翰•加尔文不得不叉题说到传道人不只应当宣讲圣子的神性、圣灵的神性、宇宙的创造，也同样要宣讲预定。
I’d
like to begin a series on—get ready—predestination. Yes, I said that word. I
know this is not the most popular topic to bring up among polite company; in
fact, it’s downright divisive, isn’t it? In the fifth century, Augustine
recounted in his letters that some said, “The doctrine of predestination is an
obstacle to the usefulness of preaching.” And who wants an obstacle? In the
sixteenth century, John Calvin had to go out of his way to state that preachers
should preach no less on the deity of the Son, the deity of the Holy Spirit, or
the creation of the universe than on predestination.
我们是否应该谈论或宣讲预定呢？既然预定是圣经的教义，那么答案就是响亮的「是的！」你瞧，没有预定，就不会有圣经。上帝从迦勒底的吾珥拣选了亚伯兰（创十二），从地上的万国拣选了以色列（申四37，七6～8；诗一〇五6）。以色列人被掳后，上帝拣选了一群新以色列的余民（赛四一8～9，四二1，四三1～7，四四1～2，四五4）。耶稣教导预定（太十一25～27，十三11～16；可四11～12；约六37、66，十26～30，十四1，十七6、9、11～ 12）。使徒们教导预定（罗八28～39，九～十一；弗一；腓一6，二13；彼前二5～10）。既然预定是圣经的教义，我们就必须谈论它。问题是如何谈？
Should
we even talk or preach about predestination? Because predestination is a
biblical doctrine, the answer is a resounding “Yes!” You see, without
predestination, you would have no Bible. Abram was chosen out of Ur of the
Chaldeans (Gen. 12). Israel was chosen out of all the nations of the earth
(Deut. 4:37; 7:6–8; Ps. 105:6). A new Israelite remnant was chosen after their
exile (Isa. 41:8–9; 42:1; 43:1–7; 44:1–2; 45:4). Jesus taught predestination
(Matt. 11:25–27; 13:11–16; Mark 4:11–12; John 6:37, 66; 10:26–30; 14:1; 17:6,
9, 11–12). The Apostles taught predestination (Rom. 8:28–39; 9–11; Eph. 1;
Phil. 1:6; 2:13; 1 Peter 2:5–10). Since predestination is a biblical doctrine,
we must talk about it. The question is how?
让我指出一个简洁的答案。1618年到1619年，来自欧洲各地的神学家、牧师和长老聚集在荷兰的多德雷赫特镇处理亚米念的争议，他们提出了这样的声明：
Let
me point you to a succinct answer. When theologians, pastors, and elders from
throughout Europe gathered in the Dutch town of Dordrecht in 1618–1619 to deal
with the Arminian controversy, they offered this statement:
「上帝按其最智慧的计划，已经藉由众先知、基督自己以及众使徒把这个关于拣选的教导宣告出来，并交付圣经记载下来。因为这教义是特别为教会预备的，因此今日在上帝的教会也应当以谨慎的心、虔诚和敬畏的态度，在适当时机、适当地点宣讲出来——是为了上帝至圣之名的荣耀，并为了鼓励和安慰祂的百姓，而不是要窥探至高者隐秘的作为。」（多特信条1.14）
“Just
as, by God’s wise plan, this teaching concerning divine election has been
proclaimed through the prophets, Christ himself, and the apostles, in Old and
New Testament times, and has subsequently been committed to writing in the Holy
Scriptures, so also today in God’s church, for which it was specifically
intended, this teaching must be set forth—with a spirit of discretion, in a
godly and holy manner, at the appropriate time and place, without inquisitive
searching into the ways of the Most High. This must be done for the glory of
God’s most holy name, and for the lively comfort of his people.” (Canons of
Dort 1.14)
这篇博文阐述了一些基本原则，说明我们身为基督在世上的见证人，必须如何谈论并宣讲关于预定的教义。
This
blog post lays out the ground rules for how we must talk and preach about
predestination as Christ’s witnesses in the world.
以谨慎的心
With
Discernment
我们必须谨慎地来谈论预定。当保罗写下罗马书第九章时，他是写给一个由犹太人和外邦人组成的基督徒会众，他们和不信的犹太人和外邦人有所不同。有信心的犹太人是那些属应许的，而不信的犹太人是那些属肉体的（罗九3、6-8）。保罗使用了这个概念的另一个例子，他说在犹太人中有些人属于以色列民族海沙的一部分，而有些人则属于一小群余民（罗九27）。
We
must talk about predestination with discernment. When Paul penned Romans 9, he
was writing to a Christian congregation made up of Jews and Gentiles in
distinction from unbelieving Jews and Gentiles. Believing Jews were those of
the promise while unbelieving Jews were those merely of the flesh (Rom. 9:3,
6–8). Paul used another illustration of this concept when he said that among
the Jews there were those who were of the vast sand of ethnic Israel while
there were also those who were of a small gathered remnant (Rom. 9:27).
这意味着当你谈论和宣讲预定时，你必须总是谨记和你说话的人。你在跟不信的人讲话吗？如果是这样，他们是否硬着心并嘲笑这个教义，或者你是否能辨别圣灵的工作，他们是真诚地在求问真理？你在向一群自称为信徒的人讲话吗？如果是这样的话，有些人可能信心坚定，能够深入探究此教义的深度、攀登其顶峰，而其他人则可能信心薄弱，一提到预定就会使他们产生怀疑和忧虑。你是在对成年人讲话，有着上述一切的区别，还是观众中也有孩童？当你在和这样的会众讲话时，请记住，有些人是有真正信心的，无论其信心是刚强的还是软弱的，而且也有些只是假装相信的人，就像假冒为善的人一样。
This
means that when you talk and preach about predestination, you must always keep
in mind those you with whom you are speaking. Are you talking to unbelievers?
If so, are they hard-hearted and scoffing at the doctrine, or do you discern
the working of the Holy Spirit in their genuinely questioning the truth? Are
you talking to a congregation of professing believers? If so, some may be
strong in faith and able to plumb the depths and scale the heights of such a
doctrine, while others may be weak in faith and the very mention of
predestination will cause them doubts and worries. Are you talking to adults,
with all the distinctions above, or are there also children in the audience?
And while you are talking to such a congregation, keep in mind that there are
those who genuinely believe, whether strongly or weakly, and that there may
also be those who are merely pretending to believe, as hypocrites do.
以敬畏的心
With
Reverence
我们也必须以敬畏的态度谈论并宣讲预定。保罗在罗马书九章20～21节中心怀敬畏地谈论预定：「你这个人啊，你是谁，竟敢向上帝强嘴呢？受造之物岂能对造他的说：『你为什么这样造我呢？』窑匠难道没有权柄从一团泥里拿一块做成贵重的器皿，又拿一块做成卑贱的器皿吗？」（罗九20～21）这就是保罗在罗马书第九章中论证的高潮。保罗通过谈论古代的圣约百姓，即他的同胞犹太人的不信（第1-5节）来开始他的论证。他对拣选提出的第一个反对意见是：上帝对以色列的应许是否落空了（第6节）。但保罗说，自从上帝开始向列祖们作出应许之后，在那些「从以色列生的」和那些真正「属于以色列」的人之间（第6节），也就是在那些仅仅是亚伯拉罕肉身后裔的人，和那些因为他们是亚伯拉罕应许的后裔而真是亚伯拉罕儿女的人之间，是有区别的（7-8节）。保罗从历史开始，一直追溯到永恒：「双子还没有生下来，善恶还没有做出来，只因要显明上帝拣选人的旨意，不在乎人的行为，乃在乎召人的主。」 （第11节）。
We
must also talk and preach about predestination with reverence. Paul talks
reverently of predestination in Romans 9:20–21: “But who are you, O man, to
answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, ‘Why have you made
me like this?’ Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same
lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?” This was
the climax of Paul’s argument in Romans 9. Paul begins his argument by talking
about the unbelief of the ancient covenant people, his fellow Jews (vv. 1–5).
The first objection he addresses was whether God’s promise to Israel had failed
(v. 6). But Paul says that ever since God began his promises to the patriarchs
there was a distinction between those “descended from Israel” and those who
truly “belong to Israel” (v. 6), between those who are merely Abraham’s outward
children of the flesh and those who truly are children because they are Abraham’s
offspring of the promise (vv. 7–8). Paul starts in history and then works his
way back into eternity: “though they were not yet born and had done nothing
either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not
because of works but because of him who calls” (v. 11).
对于拣选的下一个反对意见是上帝是不公平的，因为祂选了一些人而没有选另一些人。保罗的回答是，「绝对不会！」（第14节；参新译本）他没有随便猜测，只是简单地引用圣经（15-17节），得出结论说，上帝「要怜悯谁就怜悯谁，要叫谁刚硬就叫谁刚硬」（18节）。
The
next objection is whether God is unjust because he chooses one and not another.
Paul’s answer is, “By no means!” (v. 14) He doesn’t speculate but simply quotes
Scripture (vv. 15–17), concluding that God “has mercy on whomever he wills, and
he hardens whomever he wills” (Rom. v. 18).
但如果这是真的，那么「祂为什么还指责人呢？有谁抗拒祂的意志呢？」（第19节）你听见这个反对意见了吗？这就是那使我们成为机器人的预定，因为我们对此无能为力。保罗没有提供哲学的回应来解决这道难题。他断言上帝是上帝，而我们不是；祂是造物主，我们是受造物；祂是窑匠，我们是陶土（20-21节）。
But
if this is true, then “why does he still find fault? For who can resist his
will?” (v. 19) Do you hear the objection? It’s that predestination makes us
robots since there’s nothing we can do about it. Paul doesn’t offer a
philosophical response sorting out this conundrum. He asserts that God is God
and we are not; he is the Creator and we are creatures; he is a potter and we
are clay (vv. 20–21).
因为预定是一个笼罩在神秘之中的话题，也引来许多误解，我们应该像保罗那样，心怀敬畏地谈论它。请注意保罗如何结束罗马书九～十一章的整个段落，他说到：「深哉，上帝丰富的智慧和知识！祂的判断何其难测！祂的踪迹何其难寻！」（罗十一33）。在注释这段经文时，约翰•加尔文说到，当我们讨论上帝永恒的筹算时，「我们必须始终克制我们的语言和思维方式，以便当我们清醒地在上帝话语的范围内谈论预定时，我们的论证最终会以惊讶的表情来结束。」
Because
predestination is a topic shrouded in mystery as well as much misunderstanding,
we should speak of it reverently as Paul did. Notice how Paul ends this entire
section of Romans 9–11 by saying, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and
knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his
ways!” (Rom. 11:33). In commenting on this passage John Calvin said that when
we discuss God’s eternal counsel “we must always restrain both our language and
manner of thinking, so that when we have spoken soberly and within the limits
of the Word of God, our argument may finally end in an expression of
astonishment.”
为了上帝的荣耀
For
God’s Glory
我们也必须以这种方式来谈论预定，即这乃是为了上帝的荣耀。「上帝落空了。」「上帝不公平。」「上帝使我们成为机器人。」保罗在罗马书第九章中的重点是，预定解答了以上这些反对意见，因为它最终是为了上帝的荣耀，而不是为了使我们的理性得到满足。「你这个人哪，你是谁？」（第20节）上帝是上帝。你不是。「窑匠难道没有权柄吗？」（第21节）祂绝对有。祂借着祂制作的陶器来荣耀自己，「从一团泥里拿一块做成贵重的器皿，又拿一块做成卑贱的器皿。」（第21节）保罗最终的论点是，上帝借着祂的作品来荣耀自己：「倘若上帝要显明祂的忿怒，彰显祂的权能，就多多忍耐宽容那可怒预备遭毁灭的器皿，又要将祂丰盛的荣耀彰显在那蒙怜悯早预备得荣耀的器皿上。」（22-23节）。
We
must also talk of predestination in such a way that it is for God’s glory. “God
has failed.” “God is unjust.” “God makes us robots.” Paul’s point in Romans 9
is that predestination solves these objections because it is ultimately for
God’s glory, not our intellectual satisfaction. “Who are you, O man?” (v. 20)
God is God. You are not. “Has the potter no right?” (v. 21) Absolutely he does.
He glorifies Himself in His pottery, making “one vessel for honorable use and
another for dishonorable use” (v. 21). Paul’s ultimate point is that God
glorifies Himself in His works: “What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to
make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared
for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of
mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory” (vv. 22–23, emphasis mine).
当你谈论或宣讲预定时，你这样做是为了给上帝带来赞美吗？「愿颂赞归与我们主耶稣基督的父神！祂在基督里曾赐给我们天上各样属灵的福气： 就如神从创立世界以前，在基督里拣选了我们……」（弗一3～4）。当你谈论或宣讲预定时，你这样做是为了彰显祂的恩典吗？「使祂荣耀的恩典得着称赞」（第6节）。事实上，保罗在以弗所书一章12节和一章14节中再度重复这个颂赞两次，因为上帝已将祂丰盛的恩典倾倒在祂的子民身上。当你谈论或宣讲预定时，你的话语是否可以「翻译」成这样说：「因为万有都是本于祂，倚靠祂，归于祂。愿荣耀归给祂，直到永远。阿们！」（罗十一36）。
When
you talk or preach about predestination, are you doing so to bring him praise?
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us
with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, even as he
chose us in him before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:3–4). When you talk
or preach about predestination, are you doing so to magnify His grace? “To the
praise of his glorious grace” (v. 6). In fact, Paul repeats this doxology two
more times in Ephesians 1:12 and 1:14 because God has poured out His
extravagant grace upon His people. When you talk or preach about
predestination, can your words be “translated” to say this: “For from him and
through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen” (Rom. 11:36).
为了我们的安慰
For
Our Comfort
最后，我们必须以这样一种方式谈论预定，也就是为了我们的安慰。罗马书第九章对你、对世界、对我能提供什么安慰呢？从旧约中记载的救赎历史开始，然后追溯到永恒之后，保罗最终把福音放在我们自己个人的历史中：「这器皿就是我们这些不但从犹太人中，也从外族人中蒙召的人。这又有什么不可呢？」（罗九24；参见新译本）。不要控告上帝说谎。不要指责上帝不公平。不要谴责上帝是在制造机器人。相反，务要相信。
Finally,
we must talk of predestination in such a way that it is also for our comfort.
What comfort does Romans 9 have for you, for the world, and for me? After
starting with recorded redemptive history in the Old Testament, then tracing
backward into eternity, Paul ends up placing the gospel right in our laps, in
our own personal history: “even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only
but also from the Gentiles?” (Rom. 9:24). Don’t accuse God of lying. Don’t
accuse God of injustice. Don’t accuse God of making robots. Rather, believe.
但是人们曾有过的，并且至今仍有的反对意见是：当我们谈论预定时，它只对上帝所「召」的人有益。当你谈到预定时，它应该总是会归结到福音上：「你想知道你是否已经蒙召进入上帝的国度，因为祂已经预定你要得这荣耀？那么，就信靠耶稣
吧。」当我们这样说的时候，我们就带领人进入到这种喜悦当中，知道尽管他们曾经「不是我[上帝]的子民」，但上帝现在称他们为「我的子民」和「永生上帝的儿子」（罗九25～26）。正如马丁路德曾写道：
But
the objection people had and still have is that when we talk of predestination,
it is only beneficial for those whom God “calls.” When you talk of
predestination, it should always lead to the gospel: “Do you want to know that
you have been called into God’s kingdom because he predestined you for that
glory? Then believe in Jesus.” When we talk this way, we lead people to the joy
of knowing that while they once were “not my [God’s] people,” God now calls
them “my people” and “sons of the living God” (Rom. 9:25–26). As Martin Luther
once wrote:
「按照罗马书的顺序，首先要担心的是基督和福音，好叫你可以认识到自己的罪和祂的恩典，然后像保罗从第一章到第八章所教导的，与你的罪争战。然后，当你在第八章中来到十字架和苦难底下时，这就会教导你第九章、第十章和第十一章中的预知，以及它带给人多少的安慰。」
“Follow
the order of the Epistle to the Romans. Worry first about Christ and the
gospel, that you may recognize your sins and his grace, and then fight your
sin, as Paul teaches from the first to the eighth chapters. Then, when you come
under the cross and suffering in the eighth chapters, this will teach you of
foreknowledge in chapters 9, 10, and 11, and how comforting it is.”
是的，我们应该谈论预定。我们应该以一种带领罪人到耶稣基督那里的方式来谈论它，祂带来上帝永恒的荣耀，并带给上帝子民永恆的安慰。
Yes,
we should talk about predestination. We should talk about it in a way that
leads sinners to Jesus Christ, which brings God eternal glory, and which brings
God’s people eternal comfort.
