聖約Covenant

作者: Michael S. Horton  譯者/校對者:Maria Marta/駱鴻銘  

https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/covenant/

http://www.crtsbooks.net/blog/post/2014/02/25/%E8%81%96%E7%B4%84%EF%BC%88Michael-Horton%EF%BC%89.aspx

http://www.reformedbeginner.net/covenant-1/

任何人只要受僱用或者擁有抵押貸款、信用卡、汽車等，一定熟悉合同，以及它們所強制附加的「祝福」和「詛咒」。當然，並非所有的法律協議都是相同的。合同與遺囑有著顯著的不同，遺囑使你成為別人遺產的受益人，你不是通過「僱佣」的安排或一個支付程序而得益，你是靠得到一份禮物而受益。

同樣地，聖經裡有各種不同的盟約。改革宗神學從聖經中識別出三個至關重要的盟約。「救贖之約」（covenant of redemption）是以聖子作為中保，聖父、聖子、聖靈在永恆裡同意要揀選、救贖、呼召一群百姓（約六39-44；十；十七1-5、9-11；羅八28-31）。亞當是人類在「行為之約」（covenant of works）裡的頭，耶穌基督是祂新造的人在「恩典之約」（covenant of grace）裡的頭，其中包括信徒和他們的孩子們。在亞當裡，我們繼承了罪和敗壞，引致死亡，在基督裡，我們承受義和新生命，得到永生（羅5:12-21）。

聖經裡的盟約，其背景是國際政治。最明顯的類比是：一個偉大的國王（宗主）把一個較小的王（附庸王）從入侵的軍隊中解救出來，在此基礎上，國王（宗主）強行和這個較小的王（附庸王）立一個條約。顯然，附庸王沒有資格去協商條約的內容，只能接受條約的條件（約的條款），也接受宗主的承諾，如果附庸王順從就會得到宗主的支持；以及宗主的威脅，如果不服從就會被宗主毀滅（約的獎懲）。

我們在上帝與人類在亞當裡建立的關係中，清楚地看到這個模式。作為上帝形象的持有者和附庸，上帝應許亞當，如果亞當通過試煉，他和他的後裔就會享受永恆祝福（生命樹）的權利；如果他背叛，則會受到死亡的威脅。就像一個國王是他王國的盟約的頭，亞當是整個人類的盟約的頭，當他破壞了這個約，我們就與他一同在罪、敗壞和死亡的詛咒下墮落。

然而，從創世記三章15節起，上帝出人意表所宣佈的福音在歷史中展開，直到祂在耶穌基督的位格和工作中應驗了祂的應許。我們的「末後的亞當」，耶穌，祂成全了試煉的要求，並且為祂的後裔贏得了吃生命樹果子的權利。在創世記三章15節福音的應許中，上帝設立了不再是根據律法、而是根據應許的恩典之約，祂也建立了一個「開始呼求耶和華的名」（創四26）的教會。

不像原來與亞當立的約，在創世記第十五章上帝與亞伯拉罕立的約中，上帝作出了所有的應許，並且在一個令人驚訝的異象當中，穿過一些動物的肉塊。作為世俗條約的一部分，偉大的國王會迫使附庸王穿過肉塊，接受盟約的條款和獎罰條例，但是在這裡，上帝卻承擔了全部的責任。在上帝與大衛立的聖約中，很明顯地，上帝同樣單方面地應許，雖然大衛和他的繼承人會不忠心，上帝卻永遠會讓大衛的後裔坐在寶座上，直到那位比大衛更偉大的繼承人自己承擔起這個責任。

隨著恩典之約的繼續開展，在西奈山上，上帝也和作為一個國家的以色列人立約。個別的以色列人仍然是通過相信那將要來的彌賽亞而蒙恩稱義，但是以色列國家的地位是暫時的和有條件的。在西奈山上，上帝沒有作出應許，但是，作為把以色列從埃及解救出來的宗主，祂只是簡單地頒布盟約的條款和獎懲：祝福（在應許地上有長久的日子）和詛咒（從土地被「剪除」，被流放進入被擄）。以色列接受了這個條件，說：「耶和華所吩咐的，我們都必遵行。」摩西將血灑在百姓身上，說：「你看！這是立約的血，是耶和華按這一切話與你們立約的憑據。」（出廿四7-8）國家的祝福或詛咒取決於以色列的信實。

「他們卻如亞當背約」（何西阿書六7）。作為上帝的控方律師，因百姓違反了這個國家性的盟約，先知們帶來了上帝的審判。儘管上帝曾經穿過肉塊，以確保與亞伯拉罕立的恩典之約，但是祂如今傳達了不同的信息，並表示祂要讓以色列穿過肉塊，並藉著被擄（耶卅四1-22）來承擔暫時的審判。然而，在亞伯拉罕恩典之約的基礎上，上帝的應許在新約中得到了更新，上帝在赦罪的基礎上，應許一個新的創造和一個新的出埃及（耶卅一31-34）。

當耶穌在那樓房設立主的晚餐時，祂宣告，「這是我立約的血，為多人流出來，使罪得赦」（太廿六28）。這不是律法的盟約（你這樣行，就必得存活），而是白白憐憫的盟約。不像摩西，祂不是把血灑在百姓身上，來確認對他們的誓言，而是用自己的血起誓。祂獨自穿過肉塊，代替我們承受審判。這是一份禮物，就像最後的遺囑。其實，希伯來書就是這樣把舊約和新約加以對比（來九15-22）。希伯來書說到這個「永不改變的誓言」是建立在上帝的應許上，而不是人類的活動上（來六17-20）的。保羅也是如此，通過訴諸亞伯拉罕之約，來對比行為之約和恩典之約：一個是工作的獎賞，一個是信心的禮物（羅四1-5 ）。後來（西奈山）立的約不能廢止先前（亞伯拉罕之約）的應許（加三7-29；四21-31 ）。

Covenant

by Michael Horton

Anyone who is employed or has a mortgage, credit card, or car is familiar with contracts — and the “blessings” and “curses” that they impose. Not all legal agreements are the same, of course. A contract differs significantly from a last will and testament, which can make you a beneficiary of someone else’s estate. You benefit not by a “work-for-hire” arrangement or a payment program but by a gift.

Similarly, there are different kinds of covenants in the Bible. Reformed theology has discerned in Scripture three overarching covenants. The covenant of redemption is the agreement of the Father, Son, and Spirit from all eternity to elect, redeem, and call a people, with the Son as the Mediator (John 6:39–44; 10; 17:1–5, 9–11; Rom. 8:28–31). Adam was made the federal head of the human race in the covenant of works, and Jesus Christ is the federal head of His new humanity in the covenant of grace, which includes believers and their children. In Adam, we inherit guilt and corruption, leading to death, and in Christ, we inherit justification and new birth, leading to everlasting life (Rom. 5:12–21).

The background of biblical covenants is international politics. The most obvious parallel was the treaty that a great king (suzerain) would impose upon a lesser king (vassal) on the basis of having liberated him from an invading army. Obviously, the vassal was in no position to negotiate the treaty but simply accepted its terms (stipulations), as well as the suzerain’s pledge of support for obedience and threat of destruction for disobedience (sanctions).

We see this pattern clearly in the relationship God established with the human race in Adam. As God’s image-bearer and vassal, Adam was promised the right to everlasting blessing (the Tree of Life) for himself and his posterity if he fulfilled his trial and was threatened with death for treason. Just as a king is the federal head of his kingdom, Adam was the federal head of the whole human race, and when he broke this covenant, we fell with him under the curse of guilt, corruption, and death.

However, from Genesis 3:15 on, God’s surprising announcement of the gospel unfolds in history until He fulfills His promise in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Our “last Adam,” Jesus fulfills the trial and wins for His posterity the right to eat from the Tree of Life. With His evangelical promise in Genesis 3:15, God established a covenant of grace no longer on the basis of law but of promise, and He established a church that “began to call upon the name of the LORD” (Gen. 4:26).

Unlike the original covenant with Adam, in the covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15, God makes all the promises and, in a surprising vision, passes through pieces of several animals. As part of the secular treaties, the great king made the vassal pass through the pieces, accepting the stipulations and sanctions, but here God assumes full responsibility. The same unilateral promise is evident in the covenant that God makes with David: although he and his heirs will be unfaithful, God will never fail to keep a Davidic heir on the throne until the heir greater than David himself assumes it.

While the gracious covenant continues, at Sinai God also makes a covenant with Israel as a nation. Individual Israelites are still justified by grace through faith in the coming Messiah, but the nation’s status in the land is temporal and conditional. At Sinai, God made no promises, but, as the suzerain who had liberated Israel from Egypt, He simply delivered the terms and sanctions: blessing (long life in the land) and curse (being “cut off” from the land, sent off into exile). Israel accepted the terms, saying, “‘All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.’ And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, ‘Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words’” (Ex. 24:7–8). The blessing or cursing of the nation depended on Israel’s faithfulness.

“But like Adam they transgressed the covenant” (Hos. 6:7). As God’s attorneys, the prophets brought God’s case against the people for violating this national covenant. Whereas God passed through the pieces to secure the Abrahamic covenant of grace, He delivered a different message and said that He would make Israel pass through the pieces and bear its temporal judgment through exile (Jer. 34:1–22). Nevertheless, on the basis of the Abrahamic covenant of grace, renewed in the new covenant, God promised a new creation and a new exodus based on the forgiveness of sin (Jer. 31:31–34).

When Jesus inaugurated the Lord’s Supper in the upper room, He declared, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matt. 26:28). Instead of a covenant of law (“Do this and you shall live”), it is a covenant of free mercy. Unlike Moses, He did not dash the blood on the people, confirming their oath, but pledged His oath in His own blood. He alone passed between the pieces, bearing the judgment in our place. It’s a gift, just like a last will and testament. In fact, this is just how the book of Hebrews contrasts the old covenant with the new (Heb. 9:15–22). Hebrews speaks of the “unchangeable oath” that rests on God’s promise rather than on human activity (Heb. 6:17–20). Paul, too, contrasts the covenant of works and the covenant of grace by appealing to the Abrahamic covenant: work-reward versus faith-gift (Rom. 4:1–5). The later (Sinaitic) covenant could not annul the earlier (Abrahamic) promise (Gal. 3:7–29; 4:21–31).

不断归正SemperReformanda

作者：Michael S. Horton   译者：王一

https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/semper-reformanda/

http://www.reformedbeginner.net/semper-reformanda/

如果你在福音派圈子里待久了，不管是保守派还是自由派，肯定听过“不断归正”或“不断改革” Semper Reformanda 这句话。我最近常常听到这句话，有许多人希望我们改革宗教会更开放，越过我们认信的教义准则去接受其他的信仰内容和实践方法。甚至最近在改革宗圈子里也冒出来各种运动挑战这些信仰准则。他们质疑这些十六、十七世纪写作的信条和要理问答是否能继续在二十一世纪里引导我们的教义、生活和敬拜。那些被囚于时代精神的自由派基督徒常常用这句话来为自己辩护，不过同样有许多保守派基督徒用这句话来把改革宗（或称归正）的定义模糊、扩大。

If you’ve been in Protestant circles for very long, whether conservative or liberal, you may have heard the phrase “reformed and always reforming” or sometimes just “always reforming.” I hear it a lot these days, especially from friends who want our Reformed churches to be more open to moving beyond the faith and practice that is confessed in our doctrinal standards. Even in Reformed circles of late, various movements have arisen that challenge these standards. How can confessions and catechisms written in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries guide our doctrine, life, and worship in the twenty-first? Liberal Protestants frequently invoked this phrase to justify their captivity to the spirit of the age, but some conservative Protestants also use it to encourage a broader definition of what it means to be Reformed.

不过这句话出自何处？第一次在历史上出现是在1674年，一位名叫洛但斯坦（Jodocus van Lodenstein），他是荷兰改革宗敬虔主义运动的一位重要代表。这次运动又被称为荷兰第二次宗教改革运动。他们认为，宗教改革运动的确恢复了教会论的教义，然而上帝的子民在生活和信仰实践上永远需要更进一步的修正。

But where did this phrase come from? Its first appearance was in a 1674 devotional by Jodocus van Lodenstein, who was an important figure in Dutch Reformed pietism — a movement known as the Dutch Second Reformation. According to these writers, the Reformation reformed the doctrine of the church, but the lives and practices of God’s people always need further reformation.

洛但斯坦和他的同事们被委派教导改革宗信条和要理问答。他们希望看到这些教导不仅停留在头脑理解上，更是要彻底地应用在生活中。不过，他说的原话是：“教会已经被改革，并不断需要照着上帝的话语被改革。”这里的动词是被动的：不是教会自己“不断归正”，而是教会在“不断被改革”。是圣灵藉着圣道改革教会。虽然改教家们没有用过这个口号，但这句话的确反映出他们努力的方向。他们希望人们不要断章取义。

Van Lodenstein and his colleagues were committed to the teaching of the Reformed confession and catechism; they simply wanted to see that teaching become more thoroughly applied as well as understood. However, here is his whole phrase: “The church is reformed and always [in need of] being reformed according to the Word of God.” The verb is passive: the church is not “always reforming,” but is “always being reformed” by the Spirit of God through the Word. Although the Reformers themselves did not use this slogan, it certainly reflects what they were up to; that is, if one quotes the whole phrase!

这句话里每个字都很重要。首先，教会是改革的（Reformed），这里所指的就是改革宗教会。如果两千多年前在巴勒斯坦地区，耶稣的确从死里复活了，那么在我们今天这个时代，这也依旧是个事实。大公信经清楚的告白了这个在不同文化、不同时代里，所有基督徒共同认信的真理。同样，改革宗信仰准则（如三项联合信条，威敏斯特信条及要理问答）总结了改革宗基督徒对上帝话语教导的信仰内容。随着时间地点的变迁，教会发生许多变化，然而这种对基督的信仰告白却并不改变，忠心地持守着“一次交付圣徒的真道”（犹3）

Each clause is crucial. First, the church is Reformed, and this should be written with a capitalized “R.” If it is true that Jesus rose from the dead two millennia ago in Palestine, then it is just as true in our time and place. The ecumenical creeds confess the faith that we all share across a multitude of cultures and eras. Similarly, the Reformed standards (such as the Three Forms of Unity and the Westminster Confession and Catechisms) summarize what Reformed Christians believe to be the clear teaching of God’s Word. Churches will always be changing in significant ways depending on their time and place, but these communal ways of confessing Christ remain faithful summaries of “the faith once and for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).

提出这句话的先辈们始终想着在大公教会与福音派教会之间的合一，而这个合一就体现在改革宗的信条和要理问答当中。宗教改革的这一派自称为“改革宗”是有原因的。改革宗教会相信自己是大公教会延续的分支，这一点改革宗与重洗派不同。同时，改革宗教会希望“照着上帝的话语”来改革教会。不仅是教义上的改革，还包括敬拜、生活，都需要根据圣经来决定如何进行，而不是依靠人自己的奇思妙想。

Our forebears who invoked this phrase had in mind the consolidation of catholic and evangelical Christianity embodied in the Reformed confessions and catechisms. There is a reason that this wing of the Reformation called itself “Reformed.” Unlike the Anabaptists, Reformed churches understood themselves as a continuing branch of the catholic church. At the same time, the Reformed wanted to reform everything “according to the Word of God.” Not only our doctrine but our worship and life must be determined by Scripture and not by human whim or creativity.

一位主流的长老会神学家温特斯（Anna Case-Winters）提醒这个“被我们误用的格言”。温特斯指出，“在十六世纪当时，这句话所反映的既不是自由派思想，也不是保守派思想，而是要回到‘根基’”。也就是唯独圣经。宗教改革并不是为了“改革”而改革。正如加尔文在他的文章《论教会改革之必要》中提到，改教家们被认为在搞创新，可实际上是中世纪的教会搞了创新，歪曲了基督教信仰和敬拜，而宗教改革所作的是恢复使徒所传下来的基督教信仰。罗马试图假装自己“始终不变”，但是罗马教会里囤积的一大堆教义和做法是初代教会根本没有的，更是在新约圣经里根本找不到的。

Interestingly, it is a mainline Presbyterian theologian, Anna Case-Winters, who brings attention to what she calls “our misused motto.” Winters points out that “in the 16th-century context the impulse it reflected was neither liberal nor conservative, but radical, in the sense of returning to the ‘root.’” This was reflected in the rallying cry, sola Scriptura (by Scripture alone). The Reformation had no interest in “change” as an end in itself. As Calvin argued in his treatise “The Necessity of Reforming the Church,” the Reformers were charged with innovation when in fact it was the medieval church’s innovative distortions of Christian faith and worship that required a recovery of apostolic Christianity. Rome pretended to be “always the same,” but it had accumulated a host of doctrines and practices that were unknown to the ancient church, much less to the New Testament.

今天有些人离开“改革宗”，或者重新解释了“改革”或“归正”这个词。他们认为改革宗就是不断改革，不断归正，而不断归正就是相信圣经。所以只要相信圣经的，不管其解经是否和改革宗信条一致，就都成“改革宗”了。但是，我们看到这和“不断改革”这句话的本意是矛盾的。当然，改革宗信徒在许多信仰内容和敬拜方式上的确与非改革宗信徒一样，并且都是合乎上帝的话语的。我们也是始终敞开心扉，虚心接受其他教会团体的弟兄姐妹对我们纠正。然而，改革宗教会属于一个特有的基督教传统，改革宗传统有自己的定义，有自己的信仰内容和实践。我们相信，我们的改革宗各个信条和要理问答忠心地表达出了圣经里的教义系统。我们相信，不单单改革宗是符合圣经的，我们也相信符合圣经的即是改革宗的。

Some people today leave out the “Reformed” part or at least interpret it as “reformed” (little “r”): the church is “always being reformed according to the Word of God.” This means that to be Reformed is simply to be reformed and to be reformed is simply to be biblical. All who base their beliefs on the Bible are therefore “reformed,” regardless of whether their interpretations are consistent with the common confessions of the Reformed churches. However, this runs counter to the original intention of the phrase. Doubtless there are many beliefs and practices that Reformed believers share in common with non-Reformed believers committed to God’s Word. We must always remain open to correction from our brothers and sisters in other churches who have interpreted the Bible differently. Nevertheless, Reformed churches belong to a particular Christian tradition with its own definitions of its faith and practice. We believe that our confessions and catechisms faithfully represent the system of doctrine found in Holy Scripture. We believe that to be Reformed is not only to be biblical; to be biblical is to be Reformed.

比离开“改革宗”更危险的，是丢掉了“照着上帝的话语”这句话。这种改革在更加靠近自由派的基督教团体中已经出现。他们经常“不断改”，但并不是“不断被改革”。也就是说，教会是主动的，教会可以按照不断变化的文化环境来决定自己的教义、敬拜、纪律。进步主义（progressivism）成为目标本身，教会则变成世界的镜像。

As important as it is to keep “Reformed” in the phrase, an even more dangerous omission is often found among more liberal Protestants who also leave out the “according to the Word of God” clause. And usually it is “always reforming,” instead of “always being reformed.” In this view, the church is the active party, determining its own doctrine, worship, and discipline in the light of ever-changing cultural contexts. Progressivism becomes an end in itself and the church becomes a mirror of the world.

然而，我们作为认信的改革宗教会团体也应当小心，不要忘记我们的教义准则从属于上帝的话语。基督的教会在宗教改革和其后的时代被上帝话语改革更新。教会被带回到上帝的话语里，这是圣灵的伟大工作。而这工作的果子继续藉着留下来的各个信条和要理问答指引着我们。但是教会需要不断的被改革。就像我们个人的成圣，或者作为教会团体的忠心，我们都一直充满缺陷。我们不需要丢掉宗教改革的硕果，但是我们确实需要进一步的改革。这就是最后一句话所说的：“照着上帝的话语不断被改革”。

Yet those of us in confessional Reformed churches must also beware of forgetting that our doctrinal standards are subordinate to the Word of God. Christ’s church was reformed by God’s Word in the Reformation and post-Reformation era. It was brought back to God’s Word and the fruit of that great work of the Spirit continues to guide us through our confessions and catechisms. And yet the church is not only Reformed; it is always in need of being reformed. Like our personal sanctification, our corporate faithfulness is always flawed. We don’t need to move beyond the gains of the Reformation, but we do need further reformation. But here is where the last clause kicks in: “always being reformed according to the Word of God.”

这并不是因为文化在不断改变，所以我们需要跟上时代步伐。不！我们需要不断改革的原因是因为我们需要不断地重新定向圣经，不论是个人还是教会团体，因为教会无法永远站立不倒。教会必须是一个听的教会。“信道是从听道来的，听道是从基督的话来的”（罗十17）。不论是个人还是团体，教会一直需要听福音来维持生命。圣灵从来不会离开上帝的话语来引导我们，圣灵永远指引我们回到基督里来，而基督是在圣经里启示出来的。我们需要不断地听好牧人的声音。起初创造教会的福音，继续维持、更新教会。保罗在罗马书十二章对基督徒的要求，我们在今生是无法完全达到，同样，在这个时代的教会也永远无法做到完全。

It is not because the culture is always changing and we need to be up with the times, but because we are always in need of being re-oriented to the Word that stands over us, individually and collectively, that the church can never stand still. It must always be a listening church. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom 10:17). Personally and corporately, the church comes into being and is kept alive by hearing the gospel. The church is always on the receiving end of God’s good gifts as well as His correction. The Spirit does not lead us apart from the Word but directs us back to Christ as He is revealed in Scripture. We always need to return to the voice of our Shepherd. The same gospel that creates the church sustains and renews it. Our personal conformity to the Word that Paul commands in Romans 12 is never completed in this life, and the same is true of the church in this present age.

认识到这一点，我们就不会把传统当作是无误的，但同时也不会接受每个时代都存在的极端思想。当上帝的话成为我们生命的源头时，我们最终极效忠的就不是过去，也不是现在，也不是未来，而是，借用路德的圣诗词来说，“那远胜世上君王”的圣道。不是在之前，也不是在之后，而是在我们之上，我们这位满有主权的上帝在所有时代、所有地点都统治着他的身体。当我们提到这整句话时，“改革的教会也不断按照上帝的道被改革”，我们在宣告我们属于教会，而不是属于我们自己，并且终是由上帝的道创建并更新教会，而不是时代精神。

This perspective keeps us from making tradition infallible but equally from imbibing the radical Protestant obsession with starting from scratch in every generation. When God’s Word is the source of our life, our ultimate loyalty is not to the past as such or to the present and the future, but to “that Word above all earthly pow’rs,” to borrow from Luther’s famous hymn. Neither behind us nor ahead of us, but above us, reigns our sovereign Lord over His body in all times and places. When we invoke the whole phrase — “the church Reformed and always being reformed according to the Word of God” — we confess that we belong to the church and not simply to ourselves and that this church is always created and renewed by the Word of God rather than by the spirit of the age.

關於邪惡與苦難,每個基督徒都需要知道的事WHAT EVERY CHRISTIAN NEEDS TOKNOW ABOUT EVIL AND SUFFERING

作者: Michael Horton   譯者: Maria Marta

https://corechristianity.com/resource-library/3/793

https://plus.google.com/u/1/106695469993489516884/posts/Avq8gQZewdg

「我受苦是與我有益，為要使我學習你的律例。」（詩一一九7）

上帝確實借著試煉使我們更接近祂，有時也借著試煉來管教，為的是糾正我們,   就如一個好父親對待他所愛的孩子那樣。 但在特定的試煉中，我們無法知道上帝到底做什麽。 羅馬書八章28節提醒我們「萬事都互相效力，叫愛神的人得益處」。 這並不是說萬事都有益處，或者說試煉總是為了管教；而只是說無論何事臨到我們，上帝都有一個計劃，祂已想出如何使用較暗的線來編織美麗的掛毯。

發生在我們身上的許多事------如不適、疾病、各種長期戰鬥-----都只是生活在墮落世界的結果。 但這些都不僅僅是偶發事故。上帝從不容許任何祂還未想出如何使其變成我們的益處的試煉臨到我們。羅馬書八章28節談論的最終益處是指我們的救恩。

在我自己所經歷過的試煉中，我可以說我無法理解上帝在做什麽。如果我推斷或者因為我沒有足夠的信心，上帝借著試煉來懲罰我，那我就錯了。但如果我認為它們純粹是意外事件，那我也是錯的。回顧過去，至少在某些情況下，我能看到上帝是如何使用它們來讓我更加依靠祂。但並非總是如此。

聖經沒有應許說，信徒們將受保護，免遭與墮落、罪惡世界相伴的常見邪惡的傷害。但我們所擁有的，是聖經一再重複的應許：「萬事都互相效力，叫愛神的人得益處」（羅八28）。聖經應許我們最終得救，而不是眼前, 現在的健康、快樂。 就像其他人一樣，我們可能感染致命的疾病。 但不同的是，我們有更大的盼望：不是延長我們作為屬肉體的孩子的生命，而是在基督親自回來時，延長已死的人復活的時間。

思想發生在2015年查爾斯頓教會（Charleston church）的恐怖屠殺。白人至上主義者迪倫羅夫（Dylann Roof）在一次聖經學習中殺死9名信徒。縱觀歷史基督徒因各種原因被殺害。無論信徒還是非信徒，我們都會經歷一些事，原因僅僅是我們生活在一個墮落的世界。

你可能認識一些人，他們聽過醫生說可怕的話：「你得了癌癥。」聽我說，你所經歷的已經是最好的了。現今這個時代被罪惡和死亡支配。 但耶穌基督已得勝，是新創造的開始。

而事實是，上帝對我們所應許的保守和安全遠遠勝於國土安全部、保險公司、我們的醫生所能提供的。不管今生發生什麼，我們都有這樣的承諾：不管怎樣，人生如霧， 轉眼就煙消雲散。但我們永遠與三一真神同住，共享永不結束的歡樂盛宴。

羅馬書五章1-5節說：「我們既因信稱義，就藉著我們的主耶穌基督得與神相和。 我們又藉著他，因信得進入現在所站的這恩典中，並且歡歡喜喜盼望神的榮耀。不但如此，就是在患難中也是歡歡喜喜的。因為知道患難生忍耐，  忍耐生老練，老練生盼望，  盼望不至於羞恥，因為所賜給我們的聖靈將神的愛澆灌在我們心裡。」

這裏我們領悟兩個要點：

首先，每一個試煉都有上帝的目的，祂確保它以某種方式為你的救恩效力。

其次，你和其他任何人都不會立即知道試煉的目的是什麽 -----也許永遠都不會知道。但知道我們有一位天父，祂有足夠的能力控制每一種情況，和祂足夠美善，會將悲劇變成祂恩典的勝利，這不是很好嗎?

盼望上述說話能安慰你，即使你仍然像詩人一樣呼喊: 「耶和華啊，你忘記我要到幾時呢？」 (詩十三1)。上帝正延遲基督的回來，目的是使萬事更新，直到祂所有來自各民族、各方言的選民被安全帶入祂的國。

WHAT EVERY CHRISTIAN NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT EVIL AND SUFFERING

By Michael Horton

It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes. (Psalm 119:71)

God does use trials to draw us closer to him and sometimes uses them as disciplines, to correct us as a good Father does the children he loves. But we can’t know in a given trial what exactly God is up to. Romans 8:28 reminds us that “God works all things together for good” for his people. It doesn’t say that all things are good or that trials are always disciplinary. It just says that whatever befalls us, God has a plan and has already figured out how he will weave the darker threads into a beautiful tapestry.

Many things that happen to us—like sickness, disease, prolonged battles of various kinds—are just the result of living in a fallen world. But these aren’t just random accidents. God never allows any trial that he hasn’t already figured out how to turn to our profit. Our ultimate good that Romans 8:28 is talking about is our salvation.

In my own trials, I can say that there was no way I could have figured out what God was doing. I would have been wrong to conclude that God sent them to punish me or because I didn’t have enough faith. But I also would have been wrong to have thought that they were just accidents. Looking back, I can see at least in some cases how God used them to make me cling to him more. But not always.

There is no promise in Scripture that believers will be protected from the common evils that go with living in a fallen, sinful world. The promise that we have again and again in Scripture is that “God works all things together for good” for his people (Rom 8:28). That’s our ultimate salvation, not our health and happiness here and now. We might contract a lethal disease, just like anyone else. But the difference is that we have a greater hope: not of prolonging our life as children of the flesh, but of the resurrection of the dead at Christ’s bodily return.

Think of the horrific massacre in a Charleston church in 2015. White supremacist Dylann Roof killed 9 believers in the middle of a Bible study. But Christians have been killed for various reasons throughout history. Then there’s the stuff that we all go through, believer and unbeliever alike, just because we live in a fallen world.

You probably know people who’ve heard the frightening words from a doctor, “You have cancer.” Look, this is not as good as it gets. This present age is dominated by sin and death. But Jesus Christ has conquered, as the beginning of the new creation.

As it turns out, the protection and security that God promises us now are far greater than anything that the Department of Homeland Security or insurance companies or our doctors can offer us. Regardless of what happens to us in this life, we have the promise that this life is just a vapor, a mist that fades quickly in any case. We have a home with the Triune God forever, in a joyful feast that never ends.

Romans 5:1–5 says,

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

We have two major takeaways here:

First, God has a purpose for every trial that comes your way and he will make sure that somehow it serves your salvation.

Second, neither you nor anybody else can figure out what that purpose is in the moment—and maybe never. Isn’t it good to know that we have a Father who is powerful enough to control every circumstance and good enough to turn tragedies into triumphs of his grace?

I hope that this gives you comfort even though you still cry out with the Psalmist, “How long O Lord” (Ps 18:1). God is delaying Christ’ return to make all things new until all of his chosen people, from every nation and language, are brought into the safety of his kingdom.

Aren’t you glad that he’s given a space for you to come to Christ? Until the last of his sheep are brought into his fold, we’ll be enduring this present evil age. But we have his promise that, in him, we will rule and reign on the earth forever without pain, suffering or death.

當基督信仰不管用時What Happens When Christianity Doesn’t Work

作者：麥克·霍頓（Michael Horton）譯者: 駱鴻銘

https://cccdiscover.com/what-happens-when-christianity-doesnt-work/

http://www.crtsbooks.net/blog/post/2017/08/26/What_Happens_When_Christianity_Doesnt_Work.aspx

經常，當人信耶穌時，就得到一個應許：他們會「在基督裏得勝」。臉帶笑容、快樂的人述說著他們過去如何曾經是不快樂的人，如今卻喜不自勝，興高采烈。破碎的婚姻得到修復，任性的兒女回歸正路，憂鬱也如昨日黃花。但是當基督信仰不再有效時，會怎麼樣呢？

So often, when people come to Christ, they are promised "victory in Jesus." Smiling, happy people tell about how they once were unhappy, and now they are filled with buoyant exultation. Broken marriages are fixed, wayward children are returned to the straight and narrow, and depression is banished to the old life, but what happens when Christianity doesn’t work?

對約伯來說，基督信仰並不管用

Christianity didn’t work for Job.

約伯是個深愛上帝和祂話語的人。他熱愛家人，每當他們享受過家庭筵席後，約伯就會代表他的兒女們獻祭。撒但挑戰上帝，要看約伯對上帝是否是真的忠心的。撒但問道，他為何會不忠心呢？畢竟，他過著上帝保佑、無災無難的生活，他有的是錢，快樂無比，家庭也很富裕，無憂更無慮。

Job was a man who was deeply devoted to God and his Word. So zealous was he for his family that whenever they left after the many homecomings they enjoyed, Job would offer a sacrifice on behalf of his children on their journey. Satan chided God for Job's faithfulness. Why wouldn't he be faithful?, Satan asked. After all, he lives a charmed life. He's wealthy, happy, his family is healthy and carefree. So God allowed Satan to test Job.

第二天，災難接連發生，一夕之間，約伯幾乎失去了一切對他來說極為珍貴的事物。然而，約伯卻回應說：「我赤身出於母胎，也必赤身歸回。賞賜的是耶和華，收取的也是耶和華。耶和華的名是應當稱頌的。」（伯一21）約伯拒絕怪罪上帝，說祂作了錯事。撒但再次來到上帝面前並且宣稱，「你且伸手傷他的骨頭和他的肉，他必當面棄掉你。」約伯的身體發出毒瘡，大受折磨、痛苦異常，以至於他的妻子求他說，「你棄掉神，死了算了！」但是約伯卻回答說，「難道我們從上帝手裏得福，不也受禍嗎？」（伯二7～10）

The next day, disaster followed disaster, and over-night Job lost nearly everything precious to him. And yet, Job responded, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." Job refused to charge God with wrongdoing. Satan came to God again and declared, "But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face." Job's body became wracked with sores and pain until his own wife begged, "Curse God and die!" But Job still replied, "Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?"

約伯的三個著名的友人現身了。起初，他們的表現十分優秀，花了一個禮拜的時間單單陪伴著約伯，拒絕說任何的話，因為他們看到了約伯的痛苦。他需要的只是友情，而不是喋喋不休的講道。但是一個禮拜過去之後，他們開始表達他們關於約伯身上發生了什麼事的意見。這是從約伯絕望的哭喊開始的，他咒詛他的出生。一朵烏黑的雲彩籠罩著約伯，他唯一能作的是他盼望他從來沒有出生過。在他唱完哀歌之後，他的友人才開始表達他們的觀點。

In walked Job's famous counselors. At first, they responded well, spending a week simply sitting with him, refusing to say anything because they saw his pain. What he needed was friendship, not a steady flow of sermonizing. But after the week passed, they began to express their opinions about what was going on in Job's life. It began with Job's cry of despair, cursing the day of his birth. A deep, dark cloud of depression fell over Job and he could only wish that he had never been born. It is after this lamentation that the counselors begin to offer their perspectives.

在約伯和他的朋友結束他們的講道之後，上帝終於說話了，並且為自己講道。耶和華從旋風中回答約伯說，「誰用無知的言語使我的旨意暗昧不明？ 你要如勇士束腰；我問你，你可以指示我。 我立大地根基的時候，你在那裏呢？你若有聰明，只管說吧！」（伯卅八1～4）

After Job and the friends finish their sermons, God finally speaks up and preaches for himself. Out of the whirlwind, he answers Job: "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand."

在列舉了一長串神聖作為來說明祂創造宇宙的智慧和能力之後，上帝讓約伯和他好意的朋友啞口無言。因為他們自以為能直通上帝的檔案櫃。他們以此假設來行事，以為他們可以明白上帝的心意。當苦難擊打我們或我們所愛的人的時候，我們多容易會這樣想呢！

After listing a litany of divine actions that illustrate his wisdom and power over the universe, God shuts the mouths of Job and his well-meaning friends. For they all had assumed that they had access to the divine filing cabinet. They all operated under the assumption that they could discern the mind of God. How easily we attempt this when suffering strikes us or our loved-ones!

在上帝為自己辯護之後，留給約伯的是他是無可推諉的。儘管約伯的神學相當優秀，但是他的經歷卻讓他質疑上帝的主權和良善。因為他無法理解，這要如何和他對上帝的觀點調和，他的結論是這是沒有答案的。但是上帝提醒他，也提醒我們所有的人，只因為我們想不出答案，並不表示沒有真正的答案。

After God's defense, Job is left without excuse. In spite of his superior theology, his experience had led him to question God's sovereignty and goodness. Because he could not comprehend how this could be reconciled with his view of God, he concluded that there was no answer. But God reminded him, as he reminds all of us, that just because we don't have the answers does not mean that there are no answers.

你無法測透上帝

You can’t figure out God.

面對這種苦難時，最自然的假設是上帝正在因我們的罪而懲罰我們。但是身為這齣戲劇的觀眾，我們從序幕知道，這個考驗有其他的來源。和約伯一樣，我們是根據有限的資訊來作出結論，想要知道事情為什麼會發生在我們身上。我們無法直通上帝的檔案櫃，直通祂的內室，祂也沒有直接告訴我們為什麼會發生這些惡事，但是無論如何祂並沒有阻止我們得出一些結論。

The natural assumption in the face of such suffering is that somehow God is punishing us for our sins. But we, in the audience of this play, know from the prologue that this test had another source. Like Job, we make conclusions based on limited information, trying to figure out why things are happening to us. We don't have access to God's filing cabinet, to his inner chamber, and he does not directly tell us why bad things are happening, but that doesn't keep us from drawing conclusions anyway.

我們立刻就會去合理化這件事背後的目的。但是在這些事上，上帝卻拒絕被人「測透」，祂的計劃也是向血肉之軀隱藏的。上帝質問他們，「你豈可拿他當雀鳥玩耍嗎？豈可為你的幼女將他拴住嗎？ ……人指望捉拿他是徒然的；一見他，豈不喪膽嗎？ ……這樣，誰能在我面前站立得住呢？ 誰先給我什麼，使我償還呢？天下萬物都是我的。」（伯四一5、9～11）

We immediately strike out to rationalize the purpose behind it all. But God refuses to be "figured out" in these matters and his counsel is hidden to mortals. God asks them all, "Can you make a pet of [me] like a bird or put [me] on a leash for your girls? Any hope of subduing [me] is false; the mere sight of [me] is overpowering. Who then is able to stand against me? Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me."

對那些被綁在苦難的高聳桅杆上的人來說，都有一種憂慮，這種憂慮甚至超過對死亡的擔憂。那就是對活命的憂慮。擔心明天還活著，後天還活著。（還要繼續受苦）

For those who are tied to the high masts of suffering, there is often a fear that is greater than the fear of death. It is the fear of life. It is the fear of the next morning and the morning after that.

在面對深沉的絕望時，我們會遭遇到的誘惑是離棄上帝，因為這個苦難多少可以歸因於祂對個人的罪的怒氣，但是我們也可以轉向上帝，因為我們知道自己是與上帝和好的。這就是為什麼約伯會說，在這個處境下，如果他有一個中保，一個維護者，他就能轉向上帝的原因。逐漸地，他對這個中保有更大的信心：「現今，在天有我的見證，在上有我的中保。我的朋友譏誚我，我卻向上帝眼淚汪汪。願人得與上帝辯白，如同人與朋友辯白一樣。」（伯十六19～21）

In the face of deep despair, the temptation is great to either turn away from God because the suffering is somehow credited to his wrath toward personal sins, or to turn toward him because one knows that he or she is at peace with God. This is why Job said that he would be able to turn toward God in this situation if only he had a go-between, an advocate. Gradually, he comes to a greater confidence in this mediator:

即使我們過於軟弱，無法抓緊基督，祂也夠強壯到可以抓緊我們。即使我們沒有能力面對明天，基督也已經穿越過死亡、到達另外一邊，而且已經為我們除去了死亡的毒鉤。和約伯一樣——他知道他的救贖主活著，而且他會親身看見祂，雖然約伯的身體如今仍然覆蓋著鮮血和痛苦的毒瘡——使徒保羅也宣告，「若基督沒有復活，我們所傳的便是枉然，你們·所信的也是枉然；……我們若靠基督只在今生有指望，就算比眾人更可憐。」（林前十五14、19）

"Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high. My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God; on behalf of a man he pleads with God as a man pleads for his friend."

Even if we are too weak to hang on to Christ, he is strong enough to hang on to us. Even though we may not be able to face tomorrow, Christ has already passed through death to the other side and has taken away death's sting for us. Like Job, who knew that his Redeemer lives and that he would see him in the very body that was at present covered with bloody and painful sores, the Apostle Paul declared, "If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith...If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men."

基督信仰不是因為管用才是真實的

Christianity is not true because it works.

在許多情況下，基督信仰是不管用的。意思是說，基督信仰不會解決我們以為它應該解決的一切問題。那些因為被告知，基督教可以修復他們的婚姻而成為基督徒，卻發現自己上了離婚法庭的人，很有可能放棄基督信仰。那些期待自己會完全沒有罪惡的習慣，並渴慕一個突然的轉變，會得到那所應許的「突然的得勝」的人，當他們明白他們仍然只是靠著恩典得救的罪人，在這之後也許很快就會完全醒悟過來，對上帝不再抱任何的幻想。

In many cases, it does not work. That is to say, it does not solve all of the problems that we think it should solve. Those who become Christians because they were told it would fix their marriages, only to find themselves in divorce court, might well give up on Christianity. Those who expected to be free of sinful habits and desires after a conversion in which "sudden victory" was promised may find themselves disillusioned with God altogether soon thereafter, when they realize that they are still sinners saved by grace.

我們蒙召不是要來審判上帝的。上帝並沒有應許我們任何一個人，會給我們健康、財富和快樂。事實上，祂告訴那些期望與基督的榮耀有分的人，也要與祂的受苦有分。基督信仰所以是真的，不是因為它對人管用，而是因為將近兩千年前，上帝的兒子為我們的罪被釘死在十字架上，並且為我們的稱義復活了。

We are not called here this afternoon to judge God. God didn't promise any of us health, wealth, and happiness. In fact, he tells us that we who expect to share in Christ's glory will also participate in his suffering. Christianity is true, not because it works for people but because nearly 2,000 years ago, outside of the center-city of Jerusalem, the Son of God was crucified for our sins and was raised for our justification.

這個歷史事件也許無法按照我們的理想，按照我們想要的時間，修復我們的婚姻或我們的人際關係，或者是被我們搞砸了的人生，但是它卻可以拯救我們脫離上帝將要到來的怒氣。有鑑於此，所有其他的事不是會變得毫無意義，只是和這個重大問題相比，就變得只是次要的了。因為，「按著定命，人人都有一死，死後且有審判。」（來九27）

This historical event may not fix our marriages, our relationships or our messed-up lives the way we would like, and in the timing, we would like, but it saves us from the wrath of God to come. And surely in view of this, all else pales not into insignificance, but into secondary importance to that great issue. "For it is appointed for a man once to die, and then the judgment."

基督信仰即使在不管用時仍然給人盼望

Christianity offers hope even when it doesn’t work.

在所有曾經活著的人當中，只有一個人擁有上帝所要求我們的完美的義，祂就是約伯和保羅，以及其他所有聖徒所尋求的救贖主，唯有祂是讓我們脫離死亡和地獄的避難所。一旦我們信靠基督，並拋棄我們靠自己成聖、得到上帝接納的主張，除去我們自己製作的無花果葉，上帝就用基督的義袍來遮蓋我們。

The perfect righteousness that God requires of us was possessed by only one man who ever lived, the Redeemer to whom Job and Paul and every other saint have looked for shelter from death and hell. The moment we trust in Christ and renounce our own claims to holiness and acceptability, stripping away the fig leaves of our own making, God clothes us in the robe of Christ's righteousness.

因為基督一生的順服，祂獻祭的死，以及祂凱旋的復活，我們如今得到父神的接納，成為祂的後嗣，祂也將聖靈賜給我們，並應許我們那會朽壞的身體有一天會復活。這意味著再次仰望上帝是安全的。

Because of Christ's life of obedience, his sacrificial death, and his triumphant resurrection, we are accepted by the Father and made his heirs, given the Holy Spirit and promised the resurrection of our own mortal flesh. This means it is safe to look up to God again.

如同約伯所說，要是他有一個維護者，一個中保，他就可以在他的苦難中仰望上帝，同樣，我們所有的人也可以靠著父神的肩膀，向祂哭求，因為我們沒有什麼好懼怕的。若我們真屬於祂，痛苦和困難就不是祂向我們所發的怒氣，因為祂會攔截撒但的計謀，並且會將罪與邪惡改變成恩典的使者。

As Job said that if only he had an advocate, a mediator, he could lift his eyes up to God in his suffering, so all of us can cry on our Father's shoulder because we have nothing to fear. It is not his wrath that has sent us pain and suffering if we belong to him, for he intercepts Satan's designs and fashions even sin and evil into messengers of grace.

對一切害怕死亡，或害怕活著的人來說，好消息是祂今天仍然坐在上帝的右邊，為我們的案件陳清，維護我們。祂的名叫耶穌基督，而假若你信靠的是這個萬古磐石，信靠的是這個堅固保障，祂就會是你的朋友，在這個世上，也在將要來的世界裏。

And for all of us here who are afraid of death, or of life, the good news is that this man is still at God's right hand, this advocate who pleads our case. His name is Jesus Christ and if your faith is in this Rock of Ages and in this Mighty Fortress, he will be your friend, in this world and in the world to come.