作者: Burk Parsons 翻译: 骆鸿铭
在我们的时代中，不像过去的几代，我们对什么是“信仰”，有着太天真的看法。今日的世界，有许多人用“信仰”来描述他们对某件事的感觉或描述一种稍纵即逝的心愿或充满盼望的念头。不过如果考虑信仰（belief）或信心（faith）这个字在圣经中的完整意义，我们就会明白，这个字隐含了上帝施恩的作为，以及我们谦卑地领受并唯独信靠基督的行动，这包括了我们的全人：我们的心（heart），智（mind），意（will）。（感情，理智，意志）（注1）In our day, unlike in the days of generations
past, we have much too simplistic a view of what it means to believe something.
In the world today, many people use the word "believe" to describe
their feelings about something or describe a fleeting wish or hopeful desire.
But as we consider the word belief, or faith, in its fullest biblical sense, we
see that the word implies God's gracious act of giving and our humble act of
receiving and resting on Christ alone, which involves our entire being: the
heart, the mind, and the will.(1)
虽然我们在所有的人类经验中， 都会使用这个词，但是它通常是用在宗教信仰的背景中。不过，“敬虔”（religious，或译为“虔诚的”，“有宗教信仰的”）这个字，以及从这个字衍生出来的语词，最近常受人诬蔑，主要是因为长期以来，有许多人不正当地使用这个词，包括不明白真正的“基督宗教”（Christian religion）或没有唯独因信而与基督有真正的个人关系（这是所有基督教教义的根基）的人。因此，他们偏好强调与基督个人关系，而不强调、甚至否定“宗教”这个词（事实上，基督教是因为与基督的关系而衍生出来的、必要而适当的结果）。许多基督徒，心怀好意地，把他们的信心交托给生活的某一个领域，而不是让他们的信心充满在所有生活的领域，而这是信心的本质——对我们所相信的、公开表明的、且宣扬的基督教教义，借着承认、肯定并加以应用，来全面涵盖我们的生命。Although we use the
word belief in conjunction with all areas of human experience, usually when we
use the word it is in the context of religious belief. The word
"religious," however, and all its derivatives, has fallen on hard
times recently due largely to its longtime inappropriate use among those who
understood neither the true Christian religion nor the genuine relationship with
Christ by faith alone on which all Christian doctrine is established. Thus,
preferring to emphasize their personal relationship with Christ over and
against the religion that comes as a necessary and appropriate consequence of
that relationship, many Christians, with the best intentions, have relegated
their faith to one area of life rather than allowing their faith to overflow
into every area of life, which is the essential nature of faith itself--to
encompass all of life by acknowledging, affirming, and applying the Christian
doctrine we believe, confess, and proclaim.
在新约里，雅各（1；22-25）谴责那些仅仅“听道”、却不“行道”的人，他们“无用”的宗教（无用的“虔诚”）。In the New Testament, James
(1:22-25) repudiates the "worthless" religion of those who are merely
"hearers" of the Word without being actual "doers" of the
Word, writing,
“若有人自以为虔诚（religious），却不勒住他的舌头，反欺哄自己的心，这人的虔诚是虚的。 在神我们的父面前，那清洁没有玷污的虔诚，就是看顾在患难中的孤儿寡妇，并且保守自己不沾染世俗。”（雅各书1：26-27）If
anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his
heart, this person's religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled
before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their
affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world (James 1:26-27).
雅各的意思很简单：如果我们的嘴（26节）和我们的生活（22节）没有表现纯净而未受污染之宗教的真诚，那么，我们就是在欺骗自己，欺骗我们的心（22，26节）。
James'
point is simple--if our mouths (v. 26) and our lives (v. 22) do not demonstrate
the authenticity of pure and undefiled religion then we are simply deceiving
ourselves and deceiving our hearts (vv. 22, 26).(2)
虽然我们很容易理解，为什么有些人说到宗教时，总是带着一种轻蔑的口吻（译按：例如，很多基督徒说：我信的是基督，而不是基督“教”），我们在使用一个字的时候，必须小心他们的上下文，要符合它们在历史上的定义。即使是司布真也经常恰当地用“宗教”这个词，来描述全面的基督教信仰与生活。在“因为这不是虚空、与你们无关的事，乃是你们的生命”（申命记32：47）
的一篇讲道中，他批判那些虚有其表、只有仪式的人为迷信宗教（和保罗在使徒行传17章所作的一样），他接着正面使用宗教（religion虔诚）这个词，他说： While it's certainly easy to
understand why some speak of religion in a pejorative way, we must be careful
to use words in their appropriate contexts in accordance with their historical
definitions. Even Charles Spurgeon often used the word religion in an
appropriate way to describe the all-encompassing Christian faith and life. In a
sermon on Deuteronomy 32:47, "For it is not a vain thing for you, because
it is your life... (KJV)," Spurgeon criticized the merely outward,
ceremonially superstitious religions of men (as did the apostle Paul in Acts
17), but then went on to employ the word religion positively when he said,
“虽然有这些限制，我们仍然要以最正面的看法来说，耶稣基督的宗教，也就是圣灵借着使徒和先知，特别是弥赛亚自己所启示给我们的，当我们在心里真正领受时，不是虚空的。”（注3）
‘But
with all these allowances, we still this morning assert most positively that
the religion of Christ Jesus, that which has been revealed to us of the Holy
Ghost by the apostles and prophets, and specially by the Messiah himself, when
truly received into the heart, is no vain thing.(3)
宗教，就其最佳和最适当的定义来说，对用来描述我们的信仰来说，是很有帮助的字眼。宗教涵盖了基督徒生活的每一个面向，它根植于、也来自于获得圣灵重生的新心（new hearts）和新意（minds），并且在上帝与我们所建立的关系中得到确认。In the best and most
appropriate sense of the word, religion is a helpful word we can use to
describe our faith, which encompasses every aspect of our Christian lives,
rooted in and flowing out of our spiritually regenerated new hearts and minds
and established on the relationship that God has established with us.
第四世纪时，奥古斯丁提倡使用拉丁字 religio 这个字，强调它的词源re-ligare，意思是“结合”、“联合”，把它用来描述神与人之间的圣约关系。（注4） “宗教”这个字，按正确的理解，是把我们所信的一切，和要在我们生命中活出来的，完全结合在一起。此外，如果我们考虑到宗教这个词的定义，我们会观察到宗教不只描述一个人的信仰系统，也在描述一个人所实践、所遵行，以及所委身的。如同巴文克所写：“宗教不应该只是人生命中的一个角落，而应该是生命的全部。耶稣要求我们尽心、尽性、尽意、尽力爱上帝。”（注5）In the fourth century, Augustine advocated
using the Latin word religio by highlighting its etymology re-ligare, which
means, "to join together" or "to bind together" as in a
covenant bond between man and God.(4) The word religion, rightly understood,
joins together everything we believe as we live it out in all of life.
Furthermore, if we consider the lexical definitions of the word religion, we
observe that religion describes not only a person's system of belief but also
what a person practices, observes, and devotes himself to. As Herman Bavinck
writes: "Religion must not just be something in one's life, but
everything. Jesus demands that we love God with all our heart, all our soul, and
all our strength."(5)
当16世纪的牧师加尔文所写的有关基督教信仰全面性的系统神学时，他用Institutio
Christianae Religionis这个拉丁词来标明他的作品，我们可以翻译为：“基督教要义”（Institutes of
Christian Religion），或者是“基督徒敬虔生活指南”（Institutes of
Christian Piety）。对加尔文来说，教义是人全部宗教（敬虔生活）的基础，而人的敬虔不能孤立在他生命中的一个角落，而必须涵盖他生命的全部。我们不能像许多人一样，限制我们的教义。反而，我们的教义，就其本质而言，必须伸展到基督徒敬虔和实践的每一个领域。换句话说，教义就是人的生命。When the
sixteenth-century pastor John Calvin wrote an all-encompassing systematic
theology of the Christian faith, he titled his work, in Latin:Institutio
Christianae Religionis, which can be translated, Institutes of Christian
Religion, or, Institutes of Christian Piety. For Calvin, a man's doctrine is
the foundation of his entire religion, and a man's religion is not isolated to
one segment of his life but has implications for all of life. We cannot
restrict our doctrine as many attempt to do. Rather, our doctrine will, by its
very nature, branch out into every sphere of Christian piety and practice. In
other words, a man's doctrine is a man's life.
我们所信的，无可避免地会影响我们的思维、我们的行动，甚至我们的动机，我们为什么、以及如何思考，如何行动。有些基督徒试图把教义孤立起来，只停留在他们的头脑里，而不让教义干涉到他们每天的生活，这种尝试是不可能的。这要不是还没有把握住对基督真正的信心，就是他们拒绝让教义进入到他们所有的生活——从他们的心，到灵魂（性），到心思（意），到全力。Mark Dever指出，如果我们的宗教（敬虔）是真实的，它自然会影响一切，包括我们对他人的关心：“如果我们的宗教是真实的，如果我们的信心是得救的信心，它不只会影响我们的行动，也会影响我们对他人的行动……真正的宗教不会只停留在我和上帝的‘垂直关系’。它必须影响我对待其他人的方式。”（注6）What we believe inescapably influences what we
think, what we do, and even our motives of why and how we think it and do it.
Those Christians who try to isolate their doctrine to their intellects so that
it doesn't interfere with their daily lives are attempting the impossible.
Either they do not possess true faith in Christ alone, or they will find that
their doctrine refuses to be confined and instead begins to spread into all of
life--from their hearts, to their souls, to their minds, and with all their
strength. Mark Dever points out that if our religion is genuine, it will
naturally affect everything, including our care for others as well: "If
our religion is real, if our faith is saving, it not only affects our actions,
but affects our actions towards others... Real religion cannot remain simply a
'vertical thing' between me and God. It must affect the way I deal with
others."(6)
基督教教义，就其本质而言，是一个全面性的宗教，确立在整个教义系统、敬虔和操练之上，这些都是从圣经本身发出的。（注7）如果我们要明白信经（creed，或译为信条）的本质，对信经的使用，以及教会为何需要信经，掌握这点就是非常关键的。如果我们没有看到基督教教义全面性的本质，我们当然不会看到信经全面性的本质。它的目的不只是确认、表明并宣扬我们信仰最基本的事物，而是提出基督宗教的教义，敬虔和实践（操练）的整体。Christian doctrine,
by its very nature, is an all-encompassing religion established on the entire
system of doctrine, piety, and practice set forth in Scripture itself.(7) It is
crucial that we grasp this if we are to understand the nature of creeds, our
use of creeds, and the church's need for creeds. If we fail to see the
all-encompassing nature of Christian doctrine, we certainly will not see the
all-encompassing nature of creeds, which exist not only to affirm, confess, and
proclaim the elementary matters of our faith, but to set forth the entirety of
the doctrine, piety, and practice of the Christian religion.
NOTE:
This is an excerpt from the forthcoming booklet
Why Do We Have Creeds? by Burk Parsons (P&R, 2012)
编注：本文摘自Burk Parsons即将出版的小册：我们为什么需要信经？（P&R, 2012）
Burk
Parsons serves as an associate pastor at St. Andrew's in Sanford, Florida, and
is the editor of Tabletalk magazine. He and his wife, Amber, live in central
Florida with their children.
注：
1.
The Westminster Larger Catechism (Q&A 72) answers, "What is justifying
faith?" this way, "Justifying faith is a saving grace, wrought in the
heart of a sinner by the Spirit and Word of God, whereby he, being convinced of
his sin and misery, and of the disability in himself and all other creatures to
recover him out of his lost condition, not only assenteth to the truth of the
promise of the gospel, but receiveth and resteth upon Christ and his
righteousness, therein held forth, for pardon of sin, and for the accepting and
accounting of his person righteous in the sight of God for salvation."大要理问答72问：使人称义的信心是什么？答：使人称义的信心是：（1）使人称义的信心是一种上帝所赐的与救恩相伴的美德，由圣灵和圣言在罪人的心中做成，使他确知自己的罪和愁苦，自己和其他任何受造者都不能救他脱离失丧之境；（2）使人称义的信心不仅赞同福音应许的真实性，而且接受并信靠福音所应许的基督和祂的义，从此罪得赦免，在上帝的眼中，得蒙悦纳，被算为义，以致得救。
2.
The word that James uses, translated rightly as "religion" is the
Greek word thréskos, which means simply "pious" or
"religious." However, the word the apostle Paul employs in Acts 17:22
sometimes, wrongly, translated "religious" is the Greek word
deisidaimonésteros meaning "fear-driven superstition by a confused concept
of God." Similarly, the word the Paul uses in Colossians 2:23 is the
compound word ethelothrskeía properly translated as "self-willed
religion," and thus not true God-willed religion.
3.
C.H. Spurgeon, "Religion: A Reality," Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit,
vol. 8 (1862).
4.
Augustine, "Of True Religion," Earlier Writings, ed. J.H.S. Burleigh
(Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006), 282. Wayne Baker
summarizes the word religion culling teaching from Heinrich Bullinger:
"Two or more place themselves under obligations or bind themselves to
conditions. Therefore Christianity was called religio, from religare, to bind.
God made His covenant with the human race from the very beginning, binding himself
to man and agreeing to certain conditions with us which He explained to the
blessed patriarchs, such as Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses, revealing himself
from time to time more and more, clarifying and renewing this covenant or
testament." J. Wayne Baker, Heinrich Bullinger and the Covenant, (Athens,
Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1980), 76.
5.
Herman Bavinck, "Philosophy of Religion (Faith)," Essays on Religion,
Science, and Society, ed. John Bolt (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008),
29-30.
6.
Mark Dever, "Pure Religion," in Tabletalk, (Sanford, FL: Ligonier
Ministries, March 2005).
7.
B.B. Warfield writes, "The revelations of the Scriptures do not terminate
upon the intellect. They were given not merely to enlighten the mind. They were
given through the intellect to beautify the life. They terminate upon the
heart. Again, they do not, in affecting the heart, leave the intellect
untouched. They cannot be fully understood by the intellect, acting alone... No
man can intellectual grasp the full meaning of the revelations of authority,
save as the result of an experience of their power in life." Benjamin B.
Warfield, "Authority, Intellect, Heart," Benjamin B. Warfield:
Selected Shorter Writings, ed. John Meeter (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2001),
671.
