基督的門徒追求聖潔DisciplesPursue Holiness
作者: Leonardo De Chirico 譯者: Maria Marta
對唯獨因信稱義這教義的普遍誤解之一是, 它是虛構的，不會給自己的生命帶來實際影響。這一直是羅馬天主教護教家反駁新教唯獨信心的觀點-------我們唯獨依靠恩典，唯獨藉著信心，唯獨在基督裡得稱為義是聖經的真理-------的爭論的論據。 此外，各式各樣的反律法主義者亦爭辯說，既然信徒在恩典之下，不再受律法的約束，他們被允許過一種道德上的「輕松」 的生活。
無論諷刺基督徒生活的漫畫出自何處，保羅都不是它們的源頭。事實上，保羅完全反對這種生活。 在寫給羅馬人的信中，使徒概述了唯獨因信稱義的福音的深度，在基督裏的新生命紮根於唯獨因信稱義和在此基礎上展開。稱義是成聖的基礎。 前者是後者的根基，後者是前者的靈性結果。 正如查理斯•賀智（Charles Hodge）在1886年所著的《羅馬書註釋》中寫道：「任何沒有效法基督生命的人，不可能享有祂死亡帶來的益處。」
這就是聖潔的來歷。聖潔是耶穌基督的門徒的必然標志。非聖潔的基督徒生活只不過是一種矛盾修辭法，一種自相矛盾的說法，一種對唯獨因信稱義的現實的否定。 在羅馬書六章12-16節，保羅從發生根本性轉變的角度來剖析聖潔生活的意義-------從在法律之下，個人死在罪中，服役於不義，轉變到在恩典之下，個人向上帝是活的，因著義的緣故服事。
聖潔是證據，在靈性層面證實改變已經發生，在實踐層面證實實際的生活表現良好。再次，值得引用賀智的說話：「恩典對操練聖潔是必不可少的，而非導致放縱而犯罪」。在恩典之下，聖潔是稱義已經發生的標志。不幸的是，在基督徒的生活中看不到聖潔，所有諷刺虛構的稱義的漫畫和反律法主義都可能成為現實。非聖潔的生活是基督信仰的嘲笑者對福音產生更強烈的偏見的借口。聖潔的生命是上帝聖言真實性和祂恩典的大能所帶來的，之前曾被死亡和罪惡所掌管的生命。對我們這些耶穌的門徒來說，「要聖潔，因為上帝是聖潔的」是何等重大的責任（彼前一16）。
Dr.
Leonardo De Chirico is church-planting pastor of Breccia di Roma in Rome,
vice-chairman of the Italian Evangelical Alliance, and director of the
Reformanda Initiative. Dr. De Chirico is author and editor of many books,
including A Christian’s Pocket Guide to the Papacy.
本文原刊於Tabletalk雜誌2018年六月號 。
Disciples
Pursue Holiness
by
Leonardo De Chirico
ne of
the common misunderstandings of the doctrine of justification by faith alone is
that it is a fiction with no practical consequences in one’s own life. This has
been a polemical argument used by Roman Catholic apologists against the
Protestant view of sola fide—the biblical truth that we are justified by grace
alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Moreover, antinomians of all stripes
have argued that since believers are under grace and no longer under the law,
they are allowed to live in a morally “relaxed” way.
Wherever
these caricatures of the Christian life come from, Paul is not the source of
either. Actually, he is totally opposed to them. In the letter to the Romans,
the Apostle outlines the depths of the gospel of justification by faith alone
upon which the new life in Christ is rooted and unfolds. Justification is the
basis for sanctification. The former is the foundation of the latter, and the
latter is the spiritual outcome of the former. As Charles Hodge wrote in his
1886 commentary on Romans: “It is impossible for anyone to share the benefits
of his death [i.e., Jesus Christ] without being conformed to his life.”
Here
is where holiness comes in. Holiness is the inevitable mark of the disciple of
Jesus Christ. An unholy Christian life is simply an oxymoron, a contradiction
in terms, a denial of the reality of justification by faith alone. In Romans
6:12–16, Paul unpacks the significance of a holy life in terms of a radical
transition having taken place—from being under the law, here meaning the
individual’s being dead unto sin and being at the service of unrighteousness,
to being under grace, here meaning the individual’s having become alive unto
God and serving the cause of righteousness.
Holiness
is the spiritual and practical evidence that transition has taken place and is
properly functioning in real terms. Again, Hodge is worth quoting: “Grace,
instead of leading to the indulgence of sin, is essential to the exercise of
holiness.” Under grace, holiness is the sign of justification’s having
occurred. Without the visibility of holiness in the Christian life, all the
caricatures of fictional justification and antinomianism unfortunately become
possible. An unholy life is an excuse for mockers of the Christian faith to be
reinforced in their wrong prejudices against the gospel. A holy life is a sign
of the truthfulness of God’s Word and the power of His grace to bring life
where death and sin have previously reigned. What a great responsibility upon
us disciples of Jesus to be holy, because God is holy (1 Peter 1:16).
Dr.
Leonardo De Chirico is church-planting pastor of Breccia di Roma in Rome,
vice-chairman of the Italian Evangelical Alliance, and director of the
Reformanda Initiative. Dr. De Chirico is author and editor of many books, including
A Christian’s Pocket Guide to the Papacy.
