基督的門徒敬拜上帝Disciples Worship God
作者: Kyle Borg
譯者: Maria Marta
假如我可以借用（並稍作修改）我曾聽過的一句金句，我會說：門徒訓練之所以存在，乃因敬拜還未遍及全世界。 耶穌賜給祂的教會大使命-----要去使萬民作祂的門徒-------的真正原因，是因為祂渴望來自各邦國、各支派、各民族、各方言的人濟濟一堂, 持續不斷，和諧一致地讚美三一真神。 這意味著，當我們忠心履行使萬民作門徒的使命時，我們必須努力使人接近敬拜的場景。
使徒保羅在寫給腓立比教會的信中，描寫了門徒與敬拜的關系：「其實我們這些靠 神的靈來敬拜，在基督耶穌裡誇口而不倚靠肉體的人，才是受割禮的」（腓三3; 《聖經新譯本》）。 保羅訴諸割禮的原因是因為他寫作的背景。 因為行割禮是上帝所吩咐的，其用意是在肉體上留記號，在身體上標記出上帝的子民-----是上帝立約的記號。 那些根據上帝對亞伯拉罕的應許行割禮的人，都是耶和華的跟從者。或者換句話說，割禮是舊約聖經中的門徒的標記。
然而，在腓立比城，一些教師試圖建立自己的義。 他們堅持執行保羅所稱謂的「妄自行割」。他們這樣做，忽略了割禮的真正意義，因為他們將信心放在肉體上，而不是耶穌基督身上。這與上帝白白恩典的福音完全相矛盾。當我們得到錯誤的福音，很不幸，我們就不可避免地獻上錯誤的敬拜。也就是說，因為我們用某物或某人取代耶穌，所以一切的讚美、尊榮、榮耀都不能達到祂的面前。這就是那些假教師的致命錯誤。割禮的目的超越肉身的記號，但由於他們的目光太短淺，以致無法看到屬靈真理，和拿基督的替代品來誇口。保羅毫不留情地批評這種邪惡和倚靠肉體的的無效信心。
受真割禮的------不是那些倚靠肉體割禮的人------而是那些靠上帝的靈來敬拜，在基督耶穌裡誇口的人。保羅堅持這一點，因為真敬拜不是表面所呈現的。當聖靈使我們心裏明白耶穌在福音中所提供的義，我們對上帝榮耀的恩典發出由衷的讚美時，敬拜就是源自這種讚美的回應。根據使徒的說法，敬拜是門徒生活的特征。要成為耶穌的門徒，就要棄絕除耶穌以外的一切信靠，並要口唱心和地以耶穌基督的位格和工作為誇口。
Rev.
Kyle Borg is senior pastor of Winchester Reformed Presbyterian Church in
Winchester, Kans.
本文原刊於Tabletalk雜誌2018年六月號 。
Disciples
Worship God
by
Kyle Borg
f I
can borrow (and slightly modify) a turn of phrase I once heard, I would say
that discipleship exists because worship does not. The very reason Jesus has
given His church the mandate to disciple the nations is because He desires a
people from every tribe, language, and nation to join together in an unbroken
harmonious symphony of praise to the triune God. That means, as we faithfully
fulfill the mandate of discipleship, we need to endeavor to draw people to the
vistas of worship.
In
writing to the church at Philippi, the Apostle Paul draws a connection between
discipleship and worship: “For we are the circumcision, who worship by the
Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh”
(Phil. 3:3). The reason Paul appeals to circumcision is because of the context
into which he is writing. As it was given by God, circumcision was intended to
be a sign in the flesh that physically marked out the people of God—it was a
sign of God’s covenant. Those who were circumcised according to the promise of
Abraham were followers of Jehovah. Or, to put it another way, circumcision was
a mark of discipleship in the Old Testament.
In
Philippi, however, certain teachers had come in trying to establish their own
righteousness. They insisted on what Paul called “the mutilation of the flesh.”
By doing this, they were missing the whole point of circumcision by putting
their confidence in the flesh and not in Jesus. This is absolutely
contradictory to the gospel of God’s free grace. When we get the gospel wrong,
tragically, we inevitably get worship wrong. That is, because we will replace
Jesus with something or someone else, all praise, honor, and glory cannot go to
Him. That was the fatal misstep of these false teachers. Circumcision was
intended to point beyond the physical sign, but they were too nearsighted to
see the spiritual truth and gloried in a Christ-substitute. Paul spared no
words as he put down this evil and vain confidence in the flesh.
The
true circumcision—not those circumcised in the flesh—are those who worship by
the Spirit of God and glory in Jesus Christ. Paul insists on that because true
worship is not just skin deep. Worship is a response that comes when the Spirit
gives our hearts an apprehension of the righteousness of Jesus provided in the
gospel as we praise His glorious grace. This, according to the Apostle,
characterizes a life of discipleship. To be a disciple of Jesus is to forgo all
confidence in anything but Jesus and to glory in His person and work with the
melody of heart and tongue.
