預定與上帝的榮耀Predestinationand the Glory of God
作者：Matt
Perman 譯者/校對者:
Maria Marta/駱鴻銘
上帝的預定是寶貴和嚴肅的事情。我們既不應該以玩遊戲的態度來討論它, 也不應該把它看作不重要而忽略掉。我們對預定的理解尤為重要, 因為它關乎到我們是否把救恩的榮耀歸於上帝。在這個問題上我們要力求樹立真正的信仰，以致我們能夠正確地把上帝拯救工作的榮耀歸於上帝，並且享受這奇妙真理所帶來的喜樂。Predestination is a precious and serious
thing. We
should not treat discussions about it like a game, and neither should we ignore
it as something that is unimportant. At stake in our understanding of
predestination is whether we are giving God full credit and glory for saving
us. We should strive for a true belief in the matter so that we can rightly
glorify God for what He has done to save us, and rejoice in this wonderful
truth.
預定，我會使用這詞語來指上帝揀選一些人相信基督。這種揀選是根據上帝自己的旨意和計劃，而不是個人身上的任何條件。這種揀選是「無條件的」。那些最終會相信基督的人，是因為上帝先揀選他們，並賜給他們信心（他們才會以信心回應福音）。通常，這些信念稱為「無條件的揀選」和「有效的恩典」。
Predestination,
as I will use the term, means that God chooses who will believe in Christ. This
choice is based upon God's own will and plan, not on anything in the
individual. It is "unconditional." Those who believe in Christ
ultimately do so because God has first chosen them and brought them to faith.
Often, these beliefs are referred to as "unconditional election" and
"effectual grace."
我確信這些都是上帝榮耀的真理。正確的真理觀彰顯了上帝長闊高深的愛、威嚴與榮美，並且徹底改變我們與祂的關係。我相信若拒絕這些真理，我們會身陷險境：削弱上帝在我們心中至高無上的地位。在查考上帝在預定上是如何得榮耀之前，讓我們先查考預定的聖經證據吧。
I am convinced that these are glorious truths
about God. A proper view of them magnifies the greatness and love and majesty
and excellency of God and can revolutionize our relationship with Him. A denial
of these truths, I believe, involves a reduction of the supremacy of God in our
hearts. Before examining the how God is glorified in predestination, let's
first examine the biblical evidence for it.
聖經教導上帝揀選那些會相信基督的人嗎？
Does
the Bible teach that God chooses who will believe in Christ?
耶穌在約翰福音六章37節說：「凡父所賜給我的人，必到我這裡來；到我這裡來的，我總不丟棄他。」誰會到耶穌那裡？那些父所賜給祂的人！有多少人來？所有父賜給祂的人！可能有人會說，「這答案是真的，無論如何上帝只是賜給基督那些祂預知他們會來的人。但這不意味著上帝揀選拯救他們。」這種說法不符合這節經文的意思。因為這等於耶穌說的是：「所有人會到我這裡來的，必到我這裡來。」這種說法是沒有意義的。反而耶穌似乎是說，一個人來到祂面前的原因是父上帝首先揀選人，之後再賜給耶穌。
In
John 6:37 Jesus says "All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and
the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out." Who comes to
Jesus? The ones that the Father has given Him! How many of them come? All of
them! One may say, "That is true, but God has simply given to Christ the
ones that He foreknew would come to Him anyway. This doesn't mean that He
chooses whom to save." But that interpretation does not fit the verse. It
would amount to Jesus saying, "All that will come to Me, will come to
Me." That doesn't make sense. Jesus seems to be saying that the reason a
person comes to Him is because the Father has first chosen to give him to
Jesus.
這段經文的前後文證實了耶穌的說法。耶穌在44至45節經文中說：「若不是差我來的父吸引人，就沒有能到我這裡來的；到我這裡來的，在末日我要叫他復活。在先知書上寫著說：『他們都要蒙上帝的教訓。』凡聽見父之教訓又學習的，就到我這裡來。」讓我們來仔細查看。第44節經文很清楚說明，要來到耶穌的面前，你必須被吸引。但是是否有可能所有人都被吸引，而有許多人選擇拒絕「被吸引」並否決上帝的旨意呢？這節經文反駁了這種假設。它教導每一個被父吸引的人必要來到耶穌的面前。
This
is confirmed by the context of the following verses. In verses 44-45, Jesus
says "no one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and
I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, and they
shall all be taught of God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the
Father, comes to Me." Let's look at this closer. Verse 44 is clear that in
order to come to Jesus, you must be drawn. But could it be that all humans are
drawn, and many chose to reject the drawing and veto God's will? The verse
argues against that interpretation. It seems to teach that everyone who is
drawn by the Father will come to Jesus.
這有很多的原因：首先，耶穌在44節經文中說，蒙父吸引的人也是那些在末日要復活的人。既然不是每一個人都復活得永生（約五24）, 那麼我們必然得出結論，不是每個人都蒙吸引。因為每個蒙吸引的人都要復活得永生。「沒有能到我這裡來的；到我這裡來的，在末日我要叫他復活。」
There
are many reasons for this. First, in verse 44, Jesus says that the same people
who are drawn are also raised up on the last day. Since not everyone will be
raised to eternal life (John 5:24), we must conclude that not everyone is
drawn. For everyone who is drawn, is raised to eternal life: "No one can
come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on
the last day."
接下來的經文證實了每個蒙父吸引的人都會來到耶穌面前這種解釋：「凡聽見父之教訓又學習的，就到我這裡來」。在這節經文中的「聽見又學習」（約六45），和上一節經文的「吸引」是平行的。它們是被交替使用，來指同樣的事情（見上面我所引用的經文）。所以，當耶穌說「凡聽見父之教訓又學習的，就到我這裡來」時，他基本上是說，「每個被父吸引的人就到我這裡來。」這是證據確鑿的上帝的預定——既然每個蒙父吸引的人都會來到耶穌面前，天父的吸引就始終足以使人相信基督。因此，天父的吸引就是一個人相信基督的原因。此外，由於不是每個人都到父那裡，因此上帝就沒有選擇吸引每一個人（從而得救）。
The
next verse confirms this interpretation that everyone who is drawn by the
Father comes to Jesus: "Everyone who has heard and learned from the
Father, comes to Me." "Hearing and learning" from the Father in
this verse are used parallel to "draw" from the previous verse. They
are being used interchangeably, and thus mean the same thing (see above, where
I quote the passage). So when Jesus says "Everyone who has heard and
learned from the Father, comes to Me," He is basically saying, "everyone
who is drawn by the Father, comes to Me." This seems to be an open and
shut case for predestination--since all who are drawn by the Father come to
Jesus, the Father's drawing is always sufficient to cause a person to believe
in Christ. Thus, the Father's drawing of a person is the cause of his believing
in Christ. Further, since not everyone comes to the Father, then God does not
choose to draw (and thus save) everyone.
在這章稍後，耶穌清楚解釋這些真理。祂說，來到祂跟前的人是上帝所賜的，有些人不來的最終原因是他們沒有被父吸引：「只是你們中間有不信的人。」耶穌從起頭就知道誰不信他，誰要賣他。耶穌又說：「所以我對你們說過，若不是蒙我父的恩賜，沒有人能到我這裡來。」（約六64-65）耶穌為什麼說，除非蒙父吸引, 否則沒有人能來？因為有很多人不相信：「只是你們中間有不信的人......因為這個原因我已經對你說了，若不是蒙我父的恩賜，沒有人能到我這裡來。」耶穌指出反對者不相信的原因。很簡單——他們沒有蒙天父吸引。事實上如果每個人都被天父吸引，耶穌就沒有必要作出來到祂面前的人必須蒙父吸引的聲明：「告訴那些估計已經蒙天父吸引的不信者, 必須蒙吸引來到耶穌面前... ...這將無助於解釋這段話的上下文要求：為什麼祂的反對者仍然不信。」 [注1]
Later
in the chapter, Jesus makes these truths crystal clear. He says that coming to
Him is given by God, and that the ultimate reason some people do not come to
Him is because they are not drawn: "`But there are some of you who do not
believe.' For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe,
and who it was that would betray Him. And He was saying, `For this reason I
have said to you, that no one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him
from the Father'" (John 6:64-65). Why did Jesus say that no one can come
unless he is drawn? Because there were many who did not believe: "But
there are some of you who do not believe...for this reason I have said to you,
that no one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father."
Jesus is giving the reason why his opponents remained in unbelief. His reason
was simple--they had not been drawn by the Father. If everyone was in fact
drawn by the Father, there would have been no point to Jesus' statement that a
person must be drawn in order to come: "There is no point in telling
disbelieving people who supposedly already are drawn by the Father that they
must be drawn in order to come...this would do nothing to explain what the
context of this passage demands: why his opponents remain in their
unbelief."[1]
概括起來，耶穌說，沒有人能到祂面前，除非父吸引他們（44，65節），每個被父吸引的人都會來到祂面前（37，45節），因此，那些最終拒絕祂的人是因為父沒有吸引他們（64-65節）。顯然，一個人來到基督面前的最終原因是父上帝首先揀選了他，即是揀選吸引他。如果一個人沒有來到耶穌面前，並不意味著上帝無法改變他的心；而是意味著上帝選擇——因為智慧和聖潔的原由——不吸引他，而是任憑他走罪惡的道路。現在，讓我們扼要地看其他一些有關於上帝無條件揀選人得救的經文。
In
summary, Jesus is saying that no one can come to Him unless the Father draws
him (vv. 44, 65), that everyone who is drawn will come (vv. 37, 45), and
therefore those who ultimately reject Him have not been drawn by the Father
(vv. 64-65). Clearly, the ultimate reason a person comes to Christ is because
the Father has first chosen him, that is chosen to draw Him. If a person does
not come to Jesus it does not mean that God was unable to change that person's
heart; it means that God chose--for wise and holy reasons--not to draw him but
instead to leave him in his own sinful way. Now we will briefly look at some
other verses concerning God's unconditional choice of whom to save.
約翰福音第一章13節清楚聲明，我們並未選擇重生。重生是上帝以祂的主權決定賜給你新生命：「這等人不是從血氣生的，不是從情慾生的，也不是從人意生的，乃是從上帝生的。」一個人不是藉著相信才重生；一個人是因為重生才能相信。
John
1:13 is clear that we do not choose to be born again. Being born again is a
result of God sovereignly deciding to give you the new birth: "...who were
born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but
of God." One does not become born again by believing; one is enabled to
believe by being born again.
保羅在羅馬書第九章15節引用上帝的說話：「我要憐憫誰，就憐憫誰；要恩待誰，就恩待誰。」保羅從中總結出一般原則：「據此看來，這不在乎那定意的，也不在乎那奔跑的，只在乎發憐憫的 神。」他在第18節中聲明，「如此看來，神要憐憫誰，就憐憫誰；要叫誰剛硬，就叫誰剛硬。」
In
Romans 9:15 Paul quotes God: "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy and I
will have compassion on whom I have compassion." Paul then draws a general
principle from this: "So then it does not depend on the man who wills or
the man who runs, but on God who has mercy." In verse 18 he states,
"So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He
desires."
提摩太後書第一章9節說，「上帝救了我們，以聖召召我們，不是按我們的行為，乃是按祂的旨意和恩典。這恩典是萬古之先，在基督耶穌裡賜給我們的……」保羅明確指出，上帝揀選呼召我們，是按照祂的旨意, 從永恆裡揀選我們。
First
Timothy 1:9 says, "...who saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not
according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was
granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity..." Paul is clear that God's
choice to call us is based upon His purposes and that the choice was made from
all eternity.
耶穌在馬太福音第十一章27節說：「除了父沒有人認識子，除了子和子所願意啟示的人，沒有人認識父。」緊接著的經文清晰解釋了，耶穌並沒有把上帝的預定與福音的普世邀請看作是前後不一致的真理，因為祂繼續說道「你們所有勞苦擔重擔的人哪，到我這裡來吧！我必使你們得安息。」
In
Matthew 11:27 Jesus says "...nor does anyone know the Father, except the
Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him." The next verse makes
clear that Jesus did not view predestination as inconsistent with the free
offer of the gospel made to all, for He continues with "Come to Me, all
who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."
我們既然瞭解到預定的聖經基礎，我們就會驚嘆這奇妙真理所啟示出來的上帝榮耀。
Now that we have seen a biblical foundation
for predestination, we are in a position to be stunned by the amazing glory of
God revealed in this truth.
預定是以上帝為中心，滿有盼望的真理
Predestination
is God-centered and hopeful
大多數基督徒都知道，我們要以上帝為中心。也就是說，上帝是我們生活的重心，祂是我們最大的財富，我們愛祂勝過一切，我們要在所做之事上尋求榮耀祂。但我們大多數人從來沒有想到，上帝也是以自己為中心。祂重視自己高過所有，祂以自己為樂超過萬事，祂在所作之事上尋求榮耀自己。
Most
Christians are aware that we are to be God-centered. That is, God is to be the
focus of our life, He is to be our greatest treasure, we are to love Him above
all else, and we are to seek to glorify Him in everything that we do. But to
most of us it has never occurred that God is also God-centered. God places more
value on Himself than anything else, God delights in Himself above all things,
and God seeks to glorify Himself in everything that He does.
有時這真理受到一些人的懷疑。但你仔細想想，如果上帝命令我們無論作什麼，都要為榮耀祂而行（林前十31），而祂卻不在所作的一切事上尋求自己的榮耀（賽四十八11），這豈不是很奇怪嗎？但是在我們明白上帝在祂所作的一切事上尋求榮耀祂自己之前, 我們必須明白上帝看重自己高過一切。
This truth is sometimes met with some
skepticism. But if you think about it, wouldn't it be odd if the God who
commanded us to seek His glory in all that we do (1 Corinthians 10:31) did not
also seek His own glory in everything that He did (Isaiah 48:11)? But before we
can understand why God seeks to glorify Himself in everything He does, we must
understand that God values Himself above all things.
約翰•派博（John Piper）解釋了上帝喜悅看重自己高於一切的原因：「如果上帝把有至高價值的東西——就是祂自己——看得更重要，祂就枉失了公正（正如我們那樣）。如果上帝並不為祂至高的榮耀而快樂，祂就枉失了公義。根據一個人卓越的榮耀成正比地來喜悅一個人是正當的。」 [2]
[2] John Piper explains why God delights in
and values Himself above everything else: "God would be unrighteous (just
as we would) if he valued anything more than what is supremely valuable. But he
himself is supremely valuable. If he did not take infinite delight in the worth
of his own glory he would be unrighteous. For it is right to take delight in a
person in proportion to the excellence of that person's glory."[2]
既然上帝本身有無限的價值，祂就無限地以自己為樂（祂不這樣做就會不公正！）。但是，我們對給了我們無盡喜樂之事的自然反應是什麼呢？是傳播和宣講，並且讓人知道使我們喜悅的是什麼事情，好讓我們在與人分享時可以享受這份喜樂，也讓其他人能享受！我們透過傳遞、分享而獲得加倍的喜樂。上帝也一樣。因為上帝以自己為樂超過萬有，祂尋求展示和讓世人知道祂在道德上的卓越和祂所作之事的無限價值（祂的榮耀）。如果上帝沒有在祂所作的一切事上尋求自己的榮耀，那麼祂就是在暗示還有比祂自己更有價值的事物（這就變成了偶像崇拜）。倘若上帝在祂所行的一切事上，其目的不是要以榮耀自己為樂，祂就不是根據祂對自己無限的喜悅來行事。
Since
God is infinitely valuable, he takes infinite delight in Himself (he would be
unrighteous not to!). But what is the natural reaction to something that brings
us great delight? We want to spread and proclaim and make known what it is that
delights us so that we can have the pleasure of sharing it with others to enjoy
it as well! We double our delight through the pleasure of sharing our delight.
It is similar with God. Because God delights in Himself above all things, He
seeks to display and make known His moral excellence and infinite worth (His
glory) in everything that He does. If God did not seek His glory in everything
that He does, then He would be implying that there is something more valuable
than Himself (which would be idolatry). If God's goal in all that He does was
not to enjoy glorifying Himself, He would not be acting in accordance with the
infinite delight that He takes in Himself.
創造是這些真理的極佳解說。「......壯觀宇宙的創造充滿著上帝無盡的喜樂。祂不是以創造世界來彌補自己的某些不足之處。創造是上帝喜樂充滿的自然流露。上帝將祂無限的喜樂四處散播是最自然不過了。所以上帝樂於讓宇宙成為祂對自己的榮耀所滿溢出來的喜樂的副產品。」[3]
[3] Creation is an excellent illustration of
these truths. "...the creation of this spectacular universe is the
overflow of God's joyful bounty. He did not create the world to make up for
some deficiency in himself. He created because it's the very nature of fullness
to overflow. It's the nature of unbounded joy to spread itself around. And so
God rejoiced to make the universe as a kind of spin-off of his overflowing
delight in his own glory."[3]
但是上帝尋求自己的榮耀是愛嗎？是的。「當你停下來仔細想想就會知道，這是上帝所可能做的事情中，最有愛心的事；因為人類所能獲得的最大好處是認識和分享上帝的榮耀。」[4]
But
is it loving for God to seek His own glory? Yes, it is. "When you stop and
think about it this is the most loving thing that God could ever do; because
the greatest benefit that human beings could ever receive is to know and share
in the glory of God."[4]
或許我們的救恩最能清楚說明，上帝尋求自己的榮耀是愛的一種行動。為了傳播和展示祂對自己的最高價值所擁有的喜悅，上帝採取行動，好讓祂的受造物可以認識、愛慕並享受祂的榮耀。另一種說法是，上帝採取行動以顯揚自己的聖名。上帝以自己的聖名為樂，因為它反映並顯示了祂的榮耀。
Our
salvation is perhaps the clearest illustration that it is loving for God to
pursue His own glory. As a means of spreading and displaying the delight that
He has in His own superior worth, God acts to make His glory known and admired
and enjoyed by His creatures. Another way of saying this is that God acts to
make a name for Himself. God takes delight in His name because it is a
reflection and display of His glory.
這是上帝預定的圖畫：「上帝在全世界顯揚祂榮耀恩典之名的方法，就是為自己揀選一些人。用耶利米的話來說，『好叫他們屬我為子民，使我得名聲，得頌讚，得榮耀。（耶十三11）也就是說，上帝為了將祂對自己的名所擁有的喜樂傳遞出去，就呼召一群人出來，享受、讚美並宣揚祂的聖名。而聖經稱這些人為『選民』。」 [5] 預定是以上帝為中心的真理，因為上帝喜悅以預定作為傳播祂對自己的至高價值所擁有的喜樂的管道。「又因愛我們，就按著自己意旨所喜悅的，預定我們藉著耶穌基督得兒子的名分，使祂榮耀的恩典得著稱讚；這恩典是祂在愛子裡所賜給我們的。」（弗一5-6）「不要懼怕，因為你們的父，樂意把國賜給你們。」（路十二32）。「耶和華既喜悅選你們作祂的子民，就必因祂的大名不撇棄你們。」（撒上十二22）。
This
is where predestination comes into the picture: "The way God intends to
make a name for his glorious grace in all the world is to choose a people for
himself. And as Jeremiah says, `He will make them cling to him that they might
be for him a people, and a name, and a praise, and a glory' (Jer. 13:11). In
other words, to extend the pleasure that God has in his own name calls out a
people to enjoy and praise and proclaim that name. And the Bible calls these
people `the elect.'"[5] Predestination is God-centered because God
delights in it as a means of spreading the delight that He has in His own
superior worth. "In love having predestined us unto sonship through Jesus
Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise
of the glory of his grace" (Ephesians 1:5-6). "Fear not, little
flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom"
(Luke 12:32). "For the Lord will not abandon His people on account of His
great name, because the Lord has been pleased to make you a people for
Himself"(1 Samuel 12:22).
這對我們來說是個好消息！這意味著：1. 我們有一位榮耀的上帝；2. 上帝揀選的愛是「流溢自祂無限的智慧所引導的無窮無盡的喜樂」；[6] 3. 上帝的愛是以上帝為中心的；4. 上帝以我們的救恩為樂，因為祂帶領我們享受祂那無限奇妙的價值，並藉此來榮耀祂。祂預定我們是「按著自己意旨所喜悅的」（以弗所書一5）。以上帝為中心的愛是奇異的愛。讓這些真理帶我們進入對上帝更深的愛慕。
This
is great news for us! It means that we have a glorious God. It means that God's
electing love is "the gracious overflow of his boundless happiness guided
by his infinite wisdom."[6] It means that God's love is God-centered. It
means that God takes delight in our salvation because it glorifies Him by
bringing us into the amazing enjoyment of His infinite worth. He predestined us
"according to the good pleasure of His will" (Ephesians 1:5). The
God-centeredness of God's love is an amazing thing. Let this knowledge bring us
into a greater adoration of our God.
上帝的預定也是滿有盼望和令人鼓舞的真理。明白上帝的預定會給予我們深刻自信的安全感，並且確信上帝會完滿完成對我們每個人的計劃。上帝不會否認祂喜悅帶領蒙揀選的兒女共享祂的榮耀（撒上十二22，羅八28-30）。如果你是上帝的兒女，你不但永遠不會失落，而且一定能勝過世界（約壹五4）。我們不必絕望！這會讓我們得著釋放，以熱忱和自信的態度服從，並在試驗和誘惑中堅忍到底。當我們跌倒時, 上帝預定的真理能鼓舞我們重新振作。
Predestination
is also a very hopeful and encouraging truth. Understanding that God
predestined us gives us deep, confident security and trust that God will fully
accomplish His plan for each of us. God will not deny Himself the pleasure of
bringing His chosen sons and daughters into the enjoyment of His glory (see 1
Samuel 12:22 and Romans 8:28-30). If you are a child of God, you will not fall
away but willovercome the world (1 John 5:4). We need not despair! This frees
us to zealously and confidently obey and persevere through trial and
temptation. And it encourages us to pick ourselves back up when we fall.
但是如果預定是如此榮耀上帝，為何祂不揀選拯救所有的人呢？其中部分的答案似乎是，比起假設祂拯救了所有的人，上帝任憑一些人死在他們的罪中，祂的憐憫和恩典更能得著榮耀。這是因為當我們把上帝的怒氣拿來對照，憐憫和恩典最能被突顯出來，也最能讓我們明白。「如果上帝有意要顯明他的忿怒，彰顯祂的大能，而多多容忍那可怒、預備遭毀滅的器皿，為了要使祂豐盛的榮耀，彰顯在那蒙恩、早已預備要得榮耀的器皿上，這又有什麼不可呢？」（羅九22-23新譯本）。我們要認真對待這真理，決不能掉以輕心。
But if predestination is so glorifying to God,
why does He not choose to save everyone? Part of the answer seems to be that by
letting some people perish in their sins, God's mercy and grace is more
glorified than if He had saved everyone. This is because mercy and grace are
best highlighted and understood by us when seen in relation to their
contrast--wrath. "What if God, in order to demonstrate His wrath and to
make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for
destruction? And He did so in order that He might make known the riches of His
gory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory"
(Romans 9:22-23). This truth is not to be taken lightly.
如果不接受上帝預定的真理，那麼我們就似乎無法把救恩的榮耀完全歸於上帝。因為如果不是上帝吸引我們歸向基督，而是需要我們提供方法，即出於我們自己的自由意志，上帝需要我們與恩典合作，才可以拯救我們，那麼，上帝就沒得著救贖我們的所有功勞。救恩的功勞（從而是榮耀）就被我們和上帝分占了，因為上帝只完成了使我們得救成為可能的必要工作，但是現在我們必須完成讓這種可能性實現的必要工作。如果我們否認上帝揀選人相信基督，反而認為上帝留待我們自己去選擇，那麼「上帝和基督所成就的工作，沒有一樣可以拯救我們，除非我們在這些工作上添加些什麼；實際拯救我們的決定性因素，乃是我們自己相信。」[7]
[7] If we do not accept predestination, it
does not seem that we can give God all of the glory for our salvation. For if He
does not cause us to come to Christ, but instead we provide, out of our own
free will, the co-operation with grace that God needs before He can save us,
then God does not get all of the credit for our salvation. Credit (and thus the
glory) would be divided between us and God, because God only does what is
necessary to make our salvation possible, but we must do what is necessary to
make this possibility actual. If we deny that God chooses who will believe in
Christ, and instead think that God leaves it up to us to choose for ourselves,
then "nothing that God and Christ have done can save us unless we add
something to it; the decisive factor which actually saves us is our own
believing."[7]
巴刻講解了相信我們救恩的最終決定性因素，在於我們自己的意志（阿民念主義是這種信念的名稱）和拒絕上帝預定所帶來的全面影響，他一語道破地說到：「 [阿民念所說的]可以歸結到這一點——基督透過我們的幫助來救我們；當我們把這個想通了，我們的意思就是說：我們透過基督的幫助來拯救自己。」 [8] 巴刻繼續深入透徹地剖明：「或許就是因為這樣，難怪我們的宣講生出如此稀少的敬畏和謙卑，我們這些自我宣認的歸信者是如此的自信，對自我的認識是如此的不充分，而被聖經視為真正悔改果子的好行為竟是如此缺乏。」[9]
[9] J.I. Packer brings out the full
implications of denying predestination and believing that the ultimate deciding
factor for our salvation lies in our own will (Arminianism is the name for this
belief): "What [Arminianism says] comes to this--that Christ saves us with
our help; and what that means, when one thinks it out, is this--that we save
ourselves with Christ's help."[8] Packer continues with a penetrating
observation: "It is perhaps, no wonder that our preaching begets so little
reverence and humility, and that our professed converts are so self-confident
and so deficient in self-knowledge and in the good works which Scripture
regards as fruit of true repentance."[9]
讓我以以下的懇求來總結：把你救恩的榮耀歸於上帝。把尊榮歸給祂，並承認祂對你擁有創造者的主權。喜樂於這個事實：上帝的旨意一定會成全，萬事都在上帝的掌控之中。喜樂於以上帝為中心的恩典，喜樂於祂的尊榮威嚴。為上帝的至高至上而敬拜祂。
Let
me close with a plea: give God all the glory for saving you. Give Him the honor
of acknowledging His sovereign rights over you as Creator. Rejoice in the fact
that God's purposes cannot fail, and that everything is under His control. Take
delight in the God-centeredness of His grace. Rejoice in His excellency. And
worship Him for His supremacy.
注脚：
1.
Thomas Schreiner and Bruce Ware, The Grace of God, the Bondage of the Will
(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1995), p. 356.
2.
John Piper, Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist (Multnomah Books,
1996), p. 43.
3.
John Piper, The Pleasure of God in Election.
4.
Piper, "The Pleasure of God in Election."
5.
Piper, "The Pleasure of God in Election."
6.
John Piper.
7.
J.I. Packer, A Quest for Godliness (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 1990),
p. 137.
8.
Packer, p. 137.
9.
Packer, p. 138
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