多特信经大纲

作者：Daniel Hyde  诚之译自：Grace Worth Fighting For, pp. 41-43

https://www.amazon.com/Grace-Worth-Fighting-Re…/…/1949716929

https://www.facebook.com/peddrluo/posts/10157834182314653

I. 第一项教义：救赎的计划

A. 基督徒的共同信念（第1～6条）

1. 人的罪与定罪（第1条）

2. 上帝在基督里的爱（第2条）

3. 上帝在福音宣讲里的怜悯（第3条；参见错误9）

4. 信靠基督而得救，不再定罪（第4条）

5. 人因不信而有罪（第5条）

6. 上帝按照祂的计划赐下信心（第6条；参见错误8）

B. 定义什么是拣选（第7条；参见错误1、9）

C. 阐释什么是拣选（8～11条）

1. 只有一种拣选，不是很多种（第8条；参见错误2）

2. 不是基于预见人有信心（第9条；参见错误4、5）

3. 拣选人，而不是拣选条件（第10条；参见错误3）

4. 拣选是不可改变的（第11条；参见错误6）

D. 对拣选引发的问题的回答（第12～14条）

1. 如何获得确据（第12～13条；参见错误7）

2. 宣讲拣选（第14条）

E. 定义什么是遗弃（第15条）

F. 对遗弃引发的问题的回答（第16～17条）

1. 遗弃与确据（第16条）

2. 遗弃与圣约孩童（第17条）

G. 结论：人对上帝启示的回应（第18条）

II. 第二项教义：救赎的完成

A. 基督徒的共同信念（第1～7条）

1. 上帝的公义要求罪必须获得补赎（第1条）

2. 上帝赐下祂的独生子，只有祂能提供补赎（第2～3条）

3. 基督以神而人的身份满足了上帝的公义（第4条）

4. 相信的呼召要向所有人宣讲（第5条）

5. 不信的原因在不信的人身上，不在基督身上（第6条）

6. 基督是信心的原由（第7条）

B. 定义基督的补赎（第8条；参见错误1～5、7）

C. 阐释什么是补赎：基督定意要建立祂的教会（第9条；错误6）

III & IV. 第三、四项教义：救赎的施行

A. 基督徒对败坏的共同信念（第1～2条）

1. 人受造良善，但在心思、意志和情感上却成为邪恶（第1条）

2. 从亚当来的原罪（第2条；参见错误1）

B. 定义什么是败坏（第3条；参见错误3、4）

C. 基督徒对重生的共同信念（第4～5条）

1. 自然无法重生罪人（第4条；参见错误5）

2. 律法无法重生罪人（第5条）

D. 定义什么是重生（第6条）

E. 阐释什么是重生（第7～11条）

1. 祂以至高主权对选民所定的美意（第7条）

2. 要人相信的呼召是真诚的（第8～9条）

3. 这是给选民的礼物（第10条）

4. 更新选民的心思、意志和情感（第11条；参见错误6）

5. 唯独出于上帝全然有效的行动（第12条；参见错误7）

6. 这行动难以言喻（第13条）

7. 实际上会创造信心（第14条；参见错误9）

8. 信徒和非信徒对重生有不同的回应（第15条）

9. 上帝以亲密的方式作成信心，不是机械式的（第16条；参见错误8）

10. 上帝借着蒙恩之道塑造我们的回应（第17条）

V. 第五项教义：救赎的保存

A. 基督徒的共同信念（第1～2条）

1. 重生的意思不是罪或苦难的终止（第1条）

2. 重生的人必须努力追求圣洁（第2条）

B. 定义什么是坚忍（第3条）

C. 坚忍与不断犯罪的问题（第4～8条）

1. 肉体的软弱会造成严重的罪（第4条；参见错误7）

2. 此等罪会严重搅扰人与上帝的关系（第5条）

3. 上帝不会允许此关系遭到毁损（第6条；参见错误3、4）

4. 上帝更新这受搅扰的关系（第7条；参见错误8）

5. 人是软弱的，但上帝是信实的（第8条；参见错误1、2）

D. 坚忍与确据（第9～13条）

1. 坚忍的确据对信徒来说是可能的（第9条）

2. 确据可以在圣经的应许和圣洁的生活上找到（第10条；参见错误1、5）

3. 确据受到攻击，却得胜（第11条）

4. 确据会生出谦卑和敬虔（第12条；参见错误6）

5. 在严重犯罪后得到的确据会在未来更谨慎（第13条）

E. 坚忍与蒙恩之道（第14条）

F. 坚忍与安慰（第15条）

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

https://www.ligonier.org/blog/predestination-should-we-even-talk-about-it/

https://www.facebook.com/peddrluo/posts/10157834430599653

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.

预定：别谈论它，除非…Predestination: Don’t Say aWord About It Until…

作者：Daniel Hyde  译者: 骆鸿铭 

https://www.ligonier.org/blog/predestination-dont-say-word-about-it-until/

https://www.facebook.com/peddrluo/posts/10157836939274653

基督徒需要谈论预定、牧师也需要宣讲预定。但是，如你所知，想要在家人和朋友之间制造冷场，没有比说「大家好，让我们来谈谈预定吧」更稳当的方法了。我们都知道这个教义会多么挑动不信者、甚至信徒的敏感神经。但我不想让你经历这种尴尬的场合。我希望你我都成为耶稣基督有力的见证人。我们需要的不仅仅是对真理的了解，更需要在智慧中成长，在爱里说诚实话（弗四15）。

Christians need to talk about and pastors need to preach predestination. But as you may know, there’s no more surefire way to create awkward silence among family and friends than to say, “Hey everyone, let’s talk about predestination.” We all know how offensive this doctrine is to the sensibilities of unbelievers and even believers. But I don’t want you to have that awkwardness. I want you and me to be effective witnesses for Jesus Christ. We need more than knowledge of the truth; we need to grow in the wisdom of speaking the truth in love (Eph. 4:15).

这就是为什么在谈论预定之前，你必须知道，也必须准备好传达几件事。想象一下，这个教义有如一幅美丽的画。但是，甚至在开始涂上颜料之前，你需要的是一块画布。预定是颜料。但我们不是从颜料开始，而是从颜料的画布开始。

That’s why you need to know and be prepared to communicate several things before talking about predestination. Imagine that this doctrine is as a beautiful painting. But before you can even begin to apply the paint, you need to have a canvas. Predestination is the paint. We don’t begin with the paint. We begin with a canvas to which the paint is applied.

你知道你罪恶的光景

You Know Your Sinful Condition

除非你知道你罪恶的光景，否则不要谈论预定。当我们的属灵先祖为多特大会聚集，以回应亚米念（Jacob Arminius）的教导时，他们最先说的是：

Don’t say a word about predestination until you know your sinful condition. When our spiritual forefathers gathered for the Synod of Dort to respond to the teachings of Jacob Arminius, the first thing they said was this:

因为众人在亚当里都犯了罪、受咒诅、当受永死，所以如果上帝让众人灭亡，因罪恶而被定罪，上帝也没有什么不公义的地方。（多特信经，I.1）

As all men have sinned in Adam, lie under the curse, and are deserving of eternal death, God would have done no injustice by leaving them all to perish and delivering them over to condemnation on account of sin. (Canons of Dort, 1.1)

我们的罪恶光景被描述为「在亚当里」犯了罪。在罗马书第五章中，保罗说到，「这就如罪是从一人入了世界，死又是从罪来的；于是死就临到众人，因为众人都犯了罪。」（第12节）在第13～14节，保罗接着说，即使在亚当违背了上帝的律法之后，而以色列会在摩西统治下再次打破上帝律法之前，每个人都是有罪的。为什么呢？都是因为亚当。请注意这个次第：亚当，罪，死亡。上帝创造了亚当；上帝给了亚当一个命令；亚当违反了这命令。你必须明白，亚当的所作所为影响到所有生在这世上的人。他是我们的祖先所说到的「公众人物」，是其他人的代表。正如我们的总统所做的对我们其他人很重要，因为他代表我们，亚当所做的也很重要，因为他在伊甸园里代表你我。

Our sinful condition is described as having sinned “in Adam.” In Romans 5, Paul says, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (v. 12). In verses 13–14, Paul goes on to say that even after Adam broke God’s law and before Israel would break God’s law again under Moses, everyone was still sinful. Why? Because of Adam. Notice the progression: Adam, sin, death. God created Adam; God gave Adam a command; Adam violated the command. And you have to understand that what Adam did affected everyone else who was to come into the world. He was what our forefathers called “a public person,” a representative of everyone else. Just as what our president does matters to the rest of us because he represents us, so too what Adam did matters because he represented you and me way back in the garden of Eden.

因此，「罪从亚当入了世界」，也请注意，正因为那一次的罪，「死」进入世界，「临到众人」（原文直译是散布到所有的人）。但问题是，所有生在世上的人若还没有犯罪，死是如何临到他们的？最后一句话是关键：「因为众人都犯了罪」。何时犯的罪？当亚当犯罪的时候。所有的人在一个人里面犯了罪。因此，我们生来就是「死在过犯和罪恶中」（弗二1），「在罪孽里生的，……在罪中......怀了我」（诗五一5；见新译本）。

So “sin came into the world through” Adam, and notice that it’s because of that one sin that “death” came into the world, “spread[ing] to all men.” But the question is, How did death come to everyone born into the world when everyone born had yet to sin? The last phrase is the key: “because all sinned.” When? When Adam sinned. All sinned in the one man’s sin. Thus, we are born “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1) and born “in iniquity, and in sin … conceiv[ed]” (Ps. 51:5).

由于亚当的罪，也因为我们与它有分，我们就落在创世记二章15节的诅咒之下。在罗马书第五章中，我们再次在15～19节中读到亚当和耶稣之间三个一系列的强烈对比，结果是我们配得永死。这里的次第是：罪，诅咒，死亡。你可以在罗马书第五章保罗的话中看到这一点：起初有「一人」，即亚当；亚当的所作所为用三个词来形容：他「犯罪」，他的「过犯」，他「悖逆」；正因为这点，上帝宣告了祂的「审判」；这个判决导致他被「定罪」；而他被定罪导致他属灵生命和身体最终的「死亡」。

Because of Adam’s sin and our participation in it, we lie under the curse of Genesis 2:15. In Romans 5, again, we read in verses 15–19 a series of three great contrasts between Adam and Jesus, with the result that we are deserving of eternal death. Sin, curse, death. And you can see this in the progression of Paul’s words in Romans 5: in the beginning there was “one man,” Adam; what Adam did is described with three terms: he “sinned,” he “trespassed,” and he was “disobedient”; because of this, God pronounced his “judgment”; this judgment led to his “condemnation”; his condemnation led to his spiritual and eventual physical “death.”

你当认识上帝正义的定罪

You Know God’s Just Condemnation

这会冒犯人敏感的神经，不是吗？因此，我们经常被告知，「上帝不会把任何人送进地狱；是他们把自己送进去的」。我们被告知，「上帝不会因为任何人有罪就把他们送进地狱，而只会因为他们不信耶稣基督」。我们被告知，「我们都有一个平等的机会上天堂」。有人问我们，「那么，那些真心寻求上帝的人呢？」对于一个多元文化、多元主义、所谓后现代的世界来说，上帝的公平是人难以理解的。但是，现代人的反对意见说，「上帝是不公平的」，根本不是现代才有的。在罗马书第九章中，保罗所回应的，正是这种古老的反对意见之一。这是对人生来有罪的反驳。

This is offensive to the sensibilities of people, isn’t it? So often we are told, “God sends no one to hell; they send themselves there.” We’re told, “God doesn’t send anyone to hell because of their sinfulness, but because of what they didn’t do with Jesus Christ.” We’re told, “We all have an equal opportunity to get to heaven.” We’re asked, “What about those who sincerely seek after God?” The justice of God is hard to understand for a multicultural, pluralistic, so-called post-modern world. But the modern objection that says, “God is unjust,” is not modern at all. In Romans 9, this was one of the ancient objections to which Paul responded. This is an objection of natural sinfulness.

相反，上帝的话语（圣经）告诉我们，我们是罪人，而上帝是公义的。圣经告诉我们，由于我们的罪，「每个人都无话可说」和「普世的人都伏在上帝的审判之下」（罗三19）。圣经告诉我们，「世人都犯了罪」，因此都「亏缺了上帝的荣耀」（罗三23）。圣经告诉我们，「罪的工价就是死」（罗六23）。因此，「如果上帝让众人灭亡，因罪恶被定罪，上帝也没有什么不公义的地方。」。所以，在你认识上帝公正的定罪之前，不要谈论预定。祂是至高至圣的法官，只会做正确的判决。

Instead, the Word of God tells us that we are sinners and God is just. Scripture tells us that because of our sins, “every mouth may be stopped” and “the whole world may be held accountable to God” (Rom. 3:19). Scripture tells us that “all have sinned” and therefore all have “fall[en] short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). Scripture tells us that “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). Therefore, God would have done no injustice by leaving us all to perish and delivering us over to condemnation on account of sin. So don’t say a word about predestination until you know God’s just condemnation. He is the Supreme Judge who only does what is right.

你当认识上帝的爱

You Know God’s Love

在你认识上帝的爱之前，不要谈论预定。我在上面提到多特信经的第一条。在我们提到预定之前，请听第二条：

Don’t say a word about predestination until you know God’s love. I mentioned above the first article of the Canons of Dort. Now listen to the second article, before any mention is made of predestination:

但「上帝差祂独生子到世间来，…上帝爱我们的心在此就显明了」（约壹四9），「叫一切信祂的，不至灭亡，反得永生」（约三16）。（多特信经，I.2）

But in this the love of God was manifested, that He sent His only begotten Son into the world, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have eternal life. (Canons of Dort, 1.2)

使徒约翰告诫他的听众，说到：「亲爱的弟兄啊，我们应当彼此相爱」（约壹四7），然后又说，「亲爱的弟兄啊，上帝既是这样爱我们，我们也当彼此相爱」（第11节）。在这之间，约翰谈到我们爱的原由。我们应当爱，是因为「爱是从上帝来的」（第7节）。祂已经把它赐给凡「从上帝而生」的人，他们如今也「认识上帝」（第7节）。然后，他指出最终的原因：「上帝是爱」（第8节）。

The Apostle John exhorted his hearers, saying, “Beloved, let us love one another” (1 John 4:7), and then again, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (v. 11). In the midst of this, John speaks of the cause of our love. We are to love because “love is from God” (v. 7). He has given it to whoever has “been born of God” and now “knows God” (v. 7). Then he states the ultimate cause: “God is love” (v. 8).

上帝对自己的爱

God’s Love of Himself

在你谈论预定之前，你必须认识上帝对自己的爱。约翰谈到「上帝的爱」（第9节）。他说的不是我们对上帝的爱，而是上帝的爱。正如神学家所描述的，这种爱是内在地（ad intra），自然地（amor naturalis），必然地（amor necessitas）存在于上帝里面，后来自动地（amor voluntarius）在上帝从外（ad extra）差遣祂的爱子时显明出来。上帝的爱体现在祂差祂的儿子给我们，我们因此认识上帝的爱。但务必认识到这一点：因为上帝显明祂的爱，这就意味着在我们经历这种爱之前先有一种爱。我们在约翰壹书四章9～10节中，当我们读到上帝和祂的独生子时，略略地瞥见了这种爱的本质。

Before you say a word about predestination, you need to know God’s love of Himself. John speaks of “the love of God” (v. 9). He’s not speaking of our love of God, but of God’s love. As theologians have described, this love exists internally (ad intra), naturally (amor naturalis), and necessarily (amor necessitas) in God and is later manifested voluntarily (amor voluntarius) from God externally (ad extra) in the sending of His Son. We know God’s love in manifesting it in the sending of His Son to us. But recognize something about that. Because God manifests His love, this means that there is a love that is prior to our experiencing it. We get a glimpse of its essence in 1 John 4:9–10 when we read of God and His only Son.

作为上帝，祂以「他们」的身分永远存在，且是自我充足的：圣父，圣子——这里同时提到了——和圣灵。上帝在创造世界以前所做的，是在圣父、圣子和圣灵的关系中爱自己。我们对父母的爱有一个起点；我们对朋友的爱有一个起点。然而，约翰所说的是从以前到现在都存在的爱——更好的说法是，那永远是现在式的爱。

As God, He exists eternally and self-sufficiently as Them: Father, Son—both mentioned here—and Holy Spirit. What God was doing before creation was loving Himself within the relationships between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Our love for our parents had a beginning. Our love for our friends had an inception point. What John is talking about, though, is love that has always been—better yet, that just is.

请看约翰福音第十七章。耶稣在第22至23节中为祂教会的合一向父神祈求，然后在第23节的结尾，我们读了这个祷告的目的：「叫世人知道你差了我来，也知道你爱他们如同爱我一样」。这只是圣父对还在地上时的耶稣的爱吗？这种爱显明在耶稣的洗礼中：「这是我的爱子」（太三17）。这种爱可以追溯到更远。在约翰福音十七章24节，耶稣祈求：「父啊，我在哪里，愿你所赐给我的人也同我在那里，叫他们看见你所赐给我的荣耀；因为创立世界以前，你已经爱我了。」最后，在约翰福音十七章26节中，耶稣说到，「我已将你的名指示他们，还要指示他们，使你所爱我的爱在他们里面，我也在他们里面。」这意味着上帝作为三位一体对自己的爱是一种永恒的、自给自足的爱。正如汤玛斯•曼顿（Thomas Manton）所说：

Look at John 17. Jesus prays to the Father for the unity of His church in verses 22–23, and then at the end of verse 23 we read the purpose: “so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me” (emphasis added). Was this just the love of the Father for Jesus while He was on earth? That love was manifested in His baptism: “This is my beloved Son” (Matt. 3:17). This love goes back further. In John 17:24, Jesus prays that His people “may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world” (emphasis added). Finally, in John 17:26, Jesus says, “I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them” (emphasis added). This means that God’s love of Himself as Trinity is an eternal, self-sufficient love. As Thomas Manton said,

「上帝的爱和祂自己一样古老；上帝不曾在任何时候不想到我们、爱我们。我们习惯奖励一个老朋友；但我们最古老的朋友是上帝，祂不仅仅在我们变得可爱之前就爱我们，而且甚至是在我们存在于世界之前就爱我们。祂在我们想到祂之前，就已经想到我们了。」

God’s love is as ancient as himself; there was no time when God did not think of us, and love us. We are wont to prize an ancient friend; the ancientest friend we have is God, who loved us not only before we were lovely, but before we were at all. He thought of us before ever we could have a thought of him.

这意味着上帝对自己作为三位一体的爱是完美的爱。因此，根据约翰壹书第四章的说法，这是我们爱的榜样。上帝作为三位一体对自己的爱，是圣父借着与圣灵的团契对祂独生子的一种深情的爱。永恒的圣子是圣父完整的爱的第一个对象。约翰•欧文说，儿子是「在父的怀里——在祂的爱的永恒怀抱中」。

This means that God’s love of Himself as Trinity is a perfect love. Therefore, it is the paradigm for our love, according to 1 John 4. God’s love of Himself as Trinity is an intimate love of Father for His only Son in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. The eternal Son is the first object of the whole of the Father’s love. John Owen said the Son “is in the bosom of the Father—in the eternal embraces of his love.”

上帝对世人的爱

God’s Love of the World

在你谈论预定之前，你必须认识上帝对世人的爱。如此，在圣三一之间永恒的、内在的、自给自足的爱，在上帝差遣「祂的独生子到世上来」（约壹四9），「就在我们中间显明了」（参《新译本》）。

Before you say a word about predestination, you need to know God’s love of the world. The eternal, internal, self-sufficient love among the persons of the Holy Trinity is then “made manifest among us” in God’s sending of “His only Son into the world” (1 John 4:9).

上帝的爱显明在祂差遣「祂的独生子到世上来」，这里的「世界」是什么意思？希腊文单词kosmos，「世界」，在约翰的著作中有许多不同的用法。首先，它谈到受造界（约一3、10，十七5、24，廿一25）。这意思是上帝对祂受造界普遍的爱。其次，它谈到人类世界（约一10、29，四42，六33、51，十二19、46-47，十四17、19，十六20，十七21；约壹二2，三1），以及在失丧状态下的人类世界（约三16、17、19，四42，八23，九39，十二47，十二31，十三1，十六11，十八36；约壹四14）。这个世界需要救主，因为它仇恨耶稣（约七7）和祂的门徒（约十五18-19；约壹三13、17）。尽管人类因它的罪而理当受到刑罚，但具体来说，上帝对罪人有一种特殊的爱。「上帝爱世人，甚至……」（约三16）。但具体而言，上帝爱祂从世界中救拔出来的特定子民：「不是我们爱上帝，乃是上帝爱我们，差祂的儿子为我们的罪作了挽回祭，这就是爱了。」（约壹四10）正如巴刻（J. I. Packer）所解释的，「上帝以某种方式爱一切的人...但祂以一切的方式爱一些人。」

What does it mean that God’s love was manifested “into the world”? The Greek word kosmos, “world,” is used in many different ways in John’s writings. First, it speaks of the created world (John 1:3, 10; 17:5, 24; 21:25). This means that there is a love of God for His creation in general. Second, it speaks of the world of humanity (John 1:10, 29; 4:42; 6:33, 51; 12:19, 46–47; 14:17, 19; 16:20; 17:21; 1 John 2:2; 3:1) as well as the world of humanity in its lost condition (John 3:16, 17, 19; 4:42; 8:23; 9:39; 12:47; 12:31; 13:1; 16:11; 18:36; 1 John 4:14). This world needs a Savior because it hates Jesus (John 7:7) and His disciples (John 15:18–19; 1 John 3:13, 17). While humanity justly deserves condemnation because of its sins, there is a special love of God for sinners in particular. “For God so loved the world” (John 3:16). But specifically, God loves His peculiar people whom He takes out of the world: “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10, emphasis added). As J.I. Packer explained, “God loves all in some ways … He loves some in all ways.”

那么，就预定而言，这一切意味着什么呢？这意味着，在你谈论预定之前，你必须强调圣经中的教导：关于人类在上帝面前的罪，上帝对罪的公正刑罚，以及上帝长阔高深的爱。然后，也只有到那个时候，圣经预定的教义才会显得有意义，才会变得顺理成章。

So what does all this mean in terms of predestination? It means that before you speak a word about predestination, you need to emphasize the biblical teachings of humanity’s sin before God, God’s just punishment upon that sin, and the deep and high love of God. Then, and only then, does the biblical doctrine of predestination make any sense.