救贖歷史講道：以基督為中心Redemptive Historical Preaching: Christ at the Center

作者：Brian J. Lund   譯者:誠之

https://brianjlund.com/2011/08/27/redemptive-historical-preaching-christ-at-the-center/

http://www.crtsbooks.net/blog/post/2016/12/22/Redemptive_Historical_Preaching_Christ_at_the_Center.aspx

當我們考慮到如何用神的話來勸勉神的百姓時，有一個觀念是非常重要的，就是我們的講道必須要以基督為中心。聖經不只是一本有關永恒真理的書，也不是一本關於道德故事的劇本，或生活的指引。聖經是一個偉大的故事，展示出彌賽亞耶穌的應許，祂的降生，以及祂的治理。許多神學家寫了這方面的著作，例如：克勞尼（Preaching and Biblical Theology, Preaching Christ in All of Scripture）, Sidney Greidanus（Preaching Christ from the Old Testament），Dennis Johnson（Him We Proclaim）， Graeme Goldsworthy（Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture 和 Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics）等等。他們的文章和著作都是非常有幫助的。但是如果我們手頭有一個簡圖，可以幫助我們常常思考一些要點，就更好了。One concept that is so helpful to have when considering how to exhort God’s people from God’s Word is that our preaching must be Christ-centered. The idea that Scripture isn’t just a book of timeless truths, morality plays, or helpful advice for living, but is instead one grand narrative displaying the promise of, the coming of, and the rule of the Messiah Jesus, has been thoroughly covered by men much better than I, most notably Ed Clowney, Sidney Greidanus, Dennis Johnson, and Graeme Goldsworthy. Their articles and books are most helpful. But occasionally, just having a handy chart around can jog your mind in the specifics.

上圖是從Edmund Clowney的書中摘錄出來的，Dennis Johnson 做了一些修正。我會簡短說明這個圖，以及如何使用它。The above chart can be downloaded here. It is a rough adaption of what Dennis Johnson adapted from Ed Clowney. I’ll try to briefly explain what the chart says, as well as how to use it below.

如何閱讀這個圖表How to Read the Chart

讓我們從左下角起步：在舊約中要教導或講道的經文或特殊的制度（例如：聖殿）或事件（例如：出埃及）。你的目標是右下角：在21世紀的背景下作出應用。問題是如何從左下角到達右下角。如果你跟隨的是綠色箭頭，那就對了，這叫做以基督為中心的釋經法。如果跟隨紅色的箭頭，就不算是真正忠心地應用神的話。Begin in the bottom left corner: the Old Testament text you are preaching on, or the specific institution (e.g., the Temple) or event (e.g., the Exodus) that you are preaching or teaching on. You want to end up, of course, in the bottom right corner box: our preaching and teaching in 21st century contexts. The question is how to move from the first box to the latter. Following the green arrows is the correct, biblical path to go from text to application with a Christ-centered hermeneutic. Following any of the red arrows is a less than faithful approach to applying God’s Word.

遵循Clowney 和Johnson 的榜樣，一旦你從聖經的經文出發，你的第一個目的地應該是左上角，這是這節經文在其特定的舊約背景下所要教導的真理。為了要達到這個目的，你必須運用釋經學的規則，瞭解這段經文的文學體裁、前後文，以及人間作者的旨趣和所要教導的要點。這樣，你才能從左下角移動到左上角：舊約的真理（Old Testament Truth）。在完成釋經的功夫後，你就可以得出這段舊約經文或事件所代表的象徵真理（symbolic truth）。即使你明白了這個真理，還不能馬上把它應用到當代的會眾身上，因為它還不能完全適用於在基督裡的新約會眾。「救贖歷史」的這個箭頭，強迫我們不去把這段經文理解為是一個脫離現實的、諾斯主義式的真理，只在學術圈裏鑽牛角尖，而是神在聖約背景下所賜給我們的，有關祂在歷史中救贖祂子民的工作的具體真理。（這也是為什麼救贖歷史講道法不是[新]柏拉圖式的講道，因為它不是處理在本體界的抽象形式或理念，而是有歷史脈絡的真理——這個真理有其歷史的支柱，就是神在聖約裏如何對待百姓的歷史。）To follow Clowney’s and Johnson’s example, once you begin with your OT passage, you want to arrive at the top left box, the truth that is being taught in that particular OT context. In order to do so, you’ll need to apply rules of exegesis, literary genre, contextual understanding, and understand the human author’s thrust and didactic point. Having done so, you are ready to transition to the top left box, “Old Testament Truth.” Having accomplished your exegesis, etc., you arrive at the symbolic truth that your OT text or event represents. Even though you now understand what that truth happens to be, we are not yet ready to apply that to the congregation, because it is not fully congruent with a New Covenant audience apart from Christ. That is why the next arrow, the “History of Redemption,” forces us to understand the OT truth from our passage not as a disembodied, Gnostic truth hovering out in the stratosphere, but as a specific truth that God has given in a covenantal context of His work to save His people in history. (This is also why redemptive historical preaching is not (neo-)platonic, because it is not dealing with abstract Forms or ideals in the noumenal, but contextualized truths that have historical anchors within God’s covenantal dealings with His people.)

要明白舊約的真理如何鑲嵌到基督救贖工作的偉大故事中，不是一件容易的事，但是像路加福音廿四27，44-45和約翰福音五38這樣的經文說明，這的確是事實。這是舊約真理的應驗，它最終和基督的關係是什麼，也是我們追求基督為中心的過程的房角石。我們必須在每個主日向我們的會眾證明，聖經是在敘述那唯一的、前後統一的故事，即神在基督裡的救贖過程。Understanding how an OT truth fits into the grand story of Christ’s redeeming work is not always easy, but passages such as Luke 24:27, 44 – 45 and John 5:39 assure us that it is so. This is the fulfillment of the OT truth, how it ultimately relates to Christ, and this is the capstone of our process of being Christ-centered. We must demonstrate to our congregations week in and week out that Scripture is telling the one, unified story of God’s redemptive process in Christ.

不過，雖然認識基督在舊約的角色很重要，但是我們的工作還沒結束。很不幸，常有人批判救贖歷史講道法，說我們的講道總是以這種方式結束：「這就是耶穌如何應驗了這段經文，要相信祂。阿門。我們禱告。」我們靠著從帽子裏拉出一隻兔子的魔術——從一段隱晦的舊約經文中製造出耶穌——來讓聽衆感到驚奇，但是這招會變成老套，而我們的會眾也無法在他們的信心上增長。但是根據我們的圖表，一旦我們證明基督如何應驗這段經文後，我們仍然必須把基督的位格和工作——這是在舊約裡預示，在新約裡顯明的——的意義，應用到會眾的身上。這是每個禮拜都不同的，因為不同的舊約經文會顯明基督位格和工作獨特而多彩多姿的層面。However, as important as understanding Christ’s role in the OT is, we are not finished. Unfortunately, this is the critique of much of redemptive historical preaching: our sermons always end with “and here is how Jesus fulfills this passage, now believe in Him. Amen, let’s pray.” We amaze our congregations by pulling a rabbit out of the hat by producing Jesus from an obscure OT passage, but this eventually grows old and our congregation is not growing in their faith. But according to our diagram, once we’ve demonstrated how Christ fulfills our passage, we still need to apply the significance of Christ’s person and work – as foreshadowed from the OT and revealed in the NT – to our congregations. This will change from week to week, as a unique and variegated aspect of Christ’s person and work is demonstrated by different OT texts.

也許舉一個例子會更清楚。在詩篇七十三篇16-17節，亞薩對他所看到的邪惡和貪婪，以及他周圍悖逆的人的成功感到困擾，而他一旦進入聖所，就明白上帝的心意是要以公義來報復惡人（七十三18），並滿足那些相信的人（七十三24-26）。這就是我們講道用到的舊約經文，其中也講到一種制度，即聖所。它的意義是什麼呢？如果我們根據經文背景來應用釋經的原則，我們可以說這裡所教導的舊約真理是：在聖所裏（代表有神的同在：詩七十四7），我們知道不義的事會得到平反，而忠心跟隨神的人會在神裏面得著滿足。Perhaps giving an example will clarify things. In Psalm 73:16 – 17, Asaph was troubled by the wickedness and greed and success he saw in the unfaithful people around him, and it was only once he went into the sanctuary (miqeddash) that he understood God’s purpose to bring justice against the wicked (73:18) and to satisfy those who believe (73:24 – 26). So this is our OT text, and it also contains an institution, the Temple sanctuary. What is the significance? By employing exegetical principles in context, we could say that the OT truth being taught is that in the sanctuary, which is representative of being in God’s presence (Psalm 74:7), we understand that injustice will be righted and faithful followers of God will be satisfied in Him.

許多講道者會贊成以上的說法，並且會從這點講出一篇令人印象深刻的道。但是當我們在救贖歷史中追溯這個真理時，我們明白神與祂百姓在聖殿中同在，只是一段非常短暫而且有限的時光，而且一直要到耶穌基督住在我們當中（約一14）時才會完成，因為祂是真正的聖殿（約二19-21）。我們親身見證不公不義和惡人的昌盛，也渴望得到安慰，但是只有當我們藉著信心，在我們心中尊基督為聖時（彼前三14-15），這兩個問題的張力才有辦法得到解決。Many preachers might be tempted to run with this concept, and could build an impressive sermon from this. But by tracing this truth through the history of redemption, we see that God’s presence with His people in the Temple sanctuary was very temporary and limited, and wouldn’t come to completion until Jesus Christ tabernacled among us (John 1:14), that He is the true temple (John 2:19 – 21). We too witness injustice and the prosperity of the wicked, and we long to be comforted, but both of these only resolve their tensions when we set apart Christ in our hearts through faith (I Peter 3:14 – 15).

在耶穌死在十字架上並且復活的事情上面，我們看到罪的不義被處理了，也看到神要以永生來成全對祂百姓的應許，這是初熟的果子。我們可以把彼前第三章彼得的勸勉，用在我們的會眾身上；或者把保羅在羅馬書十二14-21所教導的相反的事，用在敵人身上。此外，我們也可以到啓示錄最後一章，指出在基督裏，惡人會遭遇神在詩篇七十三篇所應許的結局，而信神的人會得到亞薩所歌頌的滿足這個獎賞。In Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection we see the injustice of sin dealt with and the first-fruits of God’s promise to satisfy His own with everlasting life. We could apply this passage to our congregation with Peter’s exhortations in I Peter 3, or by pointing to the reversal that Paul teaches for enemies in Romans 12:14 – 21. Further, we could go to the final chapters of Revelation to point out that in Christ, the wicked will meet the end that God promised in Psalm 73, while the believing community is rewarded with the satisfaction that Asaph sang about.

關於應用，還要提一點。注意，從基督如何應驗舊約，到如何把這個真理應用到我們的會衆之間，通常會有好幾條路。舊約經文也許會強調基督的位格（祂是神，或祂是無罪的，而舊約的人物不是），或祂工作的一個面向（祂順服神，而其他人失敗了；祂為我們的悖逆而死；祂為我們代求，等等）。這代表救贖歷史的講道，不會是千篇一律的八股，讓人動彈不得，反而提供了豐富的統一。一旦你證明所有的經文都在基督裡得著了應驗，你要如何在基督的亮光下應用這段經文，就會隨不同的會眾、不同的牧師，以及不同的處境有所差別。One further note on the application. Notice, there are often several routes to take from how Christ fulfills an OT passage to how we apply that truth for our congregation. An OT passage may lay the emphasis on Christ’s person (He was divine or sinless where the OT character was not) or an aspect of His work (He obeyed where others failed, He died for our rebellion, He intercedes for us, etc.). This means that redemptive historical preaching will not impose a strict uniformity on our preaching, forcing everyone into a straight jacket, but instead provides a generous unity. Once you demonstrate that every passage is fulfilled in Christ, how you apply the passage in light of Christ will vary from congregation to congregation, pastor to pastor, and unique situations across the spectrum.

不以基督為中心的講道How NOT to Preach Christ-centered

注意到紅色箭頭也是同樣重要的，因為這些方式會讓我們得不到好的講道。如果我們從一段舊約經文開始，就立刻要將它應用在21世紀的背景，結果就是常常會變成靈意解經（allegory；底下的紅箭頭）。我們會用試著用一種配合我們處境的方式來解釋聖殿或非利士人或約西亞王，但是為了要得到乾淨利落的應用，卻會犧牲了歷史和經文脈絡的具體細節，結果就是為了得到現代的理解，我們把一段經文加以靈意化。比如說，我們會把以色列和列國的爭戰，應用在當前的政治現象裡；另一個例子是把亞薩在詩篇七十三篇裡的掙扎，用來勸勉當代的讀者，當他們感到煩擾時，要他們去尋找神同在的地方，去找他們自己的「聖所」。It is equally important to note the red arrows which discourage us from poor preaching. If we start with an OT passage and immediately try to apply it immediately in our 21st century context, we’ll often end up in allegory (the bottom red arrow). We’ll try to explain the Temple or the Philistines or King Josiah in a way that makes sense to our context, but that will sacrifice the historical and contextual specifics for a neat and tidy application. We’ll end up allegorizing our passage for a modern understanding. An example would be taking Israel’s battles with their foreign nations and applying it to the modern political phenomena; another (to use our former example) would be to look at Asaph’s struggle in Psalm 73 and exhort modern hearers to find where they can go to find God’s presence when they’re troubled, to find their own “sanctuaries.”

如果我們想要了解講道經文中的舊約真理，然後立刻把這個真理應用到我們的會眾身上，要注意到的危險是道德主義（從左上到右下的紅色箭頭）。因此，即便問明白聖殿如何指向神的同在，我甚至也明白以色列對非利士人的勝利指向神勝過邪惡、罪和魔鬼，但是我沒有在基督的亮光下來講道，我會是宣講一個沒有以基督的位格和工作為樞紐的道德主義（或概念式）講道。認識Clowney的人知道他常常說，他會問一些剛出道的牧師，猶太人是否會欣賞他們的講章。他的意思是，如果你的信息沒有突出道成肉身的獨特性，基督的無罪，祂的釘十字架與復活，以及拿撒勒人耶穌作為神的彌賽亞而升天，那麼你的講章就不是基督教的講章（林前二2）。無論你對舊約真理的理解有多好，離開基督，它就不能應用在新約的信徒身上。這種錯誤的例子不勝枚舉。任何照顧營中的以色列同胞或寄居者，而沒有提耶穌的命令，都是道德主義式的講道。回到詩篇七十三篇，只是勸勉信徒，在面對不公義時，要在神裡面得到滿足，卻沒有解釋這點如何發生在基督身上，就是一個道德主義式的講道。If we try to understand the OT truth contained in our passage and then immediately apply this truth to our congregations, the danger to watch out for here is moralism (the red arrow from top left to bottom right). So even if I understand how the Temple points to God’s presence, or even if I understand how Israel’s victory over the Philistines points to God’s victory over evil, sin and the devil, but I don’t preach these in light of Christ, I’ll preach a moralistic (or conceptual) sermon that doesn’t hinge on Christ’s person and work. Those who knew him used to say of Clowney that he would ask budding preachers if their sermon could be appreciated by a Jew. His point was that if your message didn’t turn on the uniqueness of the Incarnation, the impeccability, the crucifixion and resurrection, and the ascension of Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah of God, then your sermon may be many things but it wasn’t a Christian sermon (I Corinthians 2:2). No matter how well we may understand an OT truth, apart from Christ it cannot be applied to a New Covenant believer. Examples of this error abound. Any of the commands to care for a fellow Israelite or stranger/alien in the camp without Christ would be moralistic. Referring back to Psalm 73, a moralistic sermon would simply exhort the hearer to be satisfied in God when faced with injustice without explaining how this occurs in Christ.

最後一個需要避免的錯誤是不要太快跳到基督。這是對預表法（或象徵）的錯誤使用，忽視舊約經文的獨特性以及經文的背景（從左下角到右上角的紅色箭頭）。這個錯誤經常發生在當我們要在舊約細節中找到基督時。例如，想要解釋基督如何應驗了亞伯拉罕手中的仗，或者喇合的紅絲線為何像基督的血。回到詩篇七十三篇的例子，隨便把亞薩和基督，或神的同在和基督聯在一起，會錯過亞薩所作的豐富經歷。The last error to avoid is jumping to Christ too quickly. This inappropriate use of typology (or symbolism) ignores the uniqueness of the OT text and its textual context (the red arrow from bottom left to top right). This most often happens when we try to find Christ in the minutia of OT details. For example, an exegete attempts to describe how Christ fulfills the staff in Abraham’s hand, or how the scarlet cord from Rahab is like Christ’ blood. Looking back at Psalm 73, a facile connection between Asaph and Christ, or God’s presence and Christ, would miss the rich experiential thrust that Asaph makes.

盼望這個圖表和它所支持的觀念，可以幫助神的道的牧師和教師。別忘了更深入查考克勞尼和其他人的作品。也許Dennis Johnson 所寫的Him We Proclaim是最近，也是最全面的著作。他在230-231頁解釋了這個圖表。但願我們都立志和保羅一樣，只知道基督並祂釘十字架。Hopefully, this chart, and the ideas it espouses, will be helpful for preachers and teachers of God’s Word. Don’t forget to dig more deeply into works by Clowney and others, but perhaps most recent and most comprehensive is Dennis Johnson’s Him We Proclaim, a masterful look at Christ-centered preaching. He explains his chart on pp. 230 – 31. May we all resolve with Paul to know nothing but Christ and Him crucified.