上帝的盟約是有條件的嗎？
Is God’s Covenant Conditional?
作者：菲利普（Rick Phillips）
© 2020年第十長老會。網站：tenth.org    誠之獲授權翻譯，譯自：
https://www.tenth.org/resource-library/articles/is-gods-covenant-conditional/
https://peddrluo.wordpress.com/2021/01/31/%e4%b8%8a%e5%b8%9d%e7%9a%84%e7%9b%9f%e7%b4%84%e6%98%af%e6%9c%89%e6%a2%9d%e4%bb%b6%e7%9a%84%e5%97%8e%ef%bc%9f%ef%bc%88rick-phillips%ef%bc%89/
 
今晚的提問箱裏有一個問題：「上帝的盟約是有條件的嗎？」這是一個重要的神學問題，具有極大的個人和實際意義。
Tonight’s Question Box asks, “Is God’s covenant conditional?” This is an important theological question with tremendous personal and practical significance.
 
這個問題承認，上帝的盟約包含了無條件和有條件的因素。聖經從上帝與我們的始祖亞當在園中所立的約開始。這是一個有條件的約，要求完全的順服，並規定了不順服的懲罰。上帝告訴亞當：「園中各樣樹上的果子，你可以隨意吃，只是分別善惡樹上的果子，你不可吃，因為你吃的日子必定死！」（創二16-17）。這個約被人稱為「行為之約」。亞當破壞了這個約，配得到上帝對我們這個族類所施加的死亡和與祂隔絕的詛咒。
The question recognizes that God’s covenants contain both unconditional and conditional elements. The Bible begins with the covenant between God and our first father, Adam, in the Garden. This was a conditional covenant, requiring obedience and specifying punishment for disobedience. God told Adam, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die” (Gen. 2:15). This is referred to as the Covenant of Works. Adam broke this covenant, meriting God’s curse of death and alienation on our race.
 
在人犯罪之後，人與上帝之間的鴻溝只能從上帝那邊修復，這個故事就是聖經的主題。行為之約帶來了罪和定罪，上帝就賜下恩典之約，這恩典之約首先啟示給了亞伯拉罕，它的中心是耶穌基督的救贖工作。
After man fell into sin, the breech could only be repaired from God’s side, the story of which is the subject matter of the Bible. The Covenant of Works having led to sin and condemnation, God provided the Covenant of Grace, which was first revealed to Abraham and which centers on the saving work of Jesus Christ.
 
上帝呼召亞伯拉罕離開他的本族本家，到應許之地去。但上帝也給了亞伯拉罕全面的、無條件的應許。創世記十二章2至3節列舉了七個上帝單方面的「我必」的保證。「我必叫你成為大國，我必賜福給你；我必叫你的名為大（顯赫）；你也（必）要叫別人得福。為你祝福的，我必賜福與他；那詛咒你的人，我必詛咒他；地上的萬族都（必）要因你得福。」上帝後來給了亞伯拉罕一些條件，特別是割禮的儀式。但應許在條件之先。上帝把自己的名聲寄託在祂對亞伯拉罕的應許成真上，而條件出現在這些應許之後，建立在這些應許之上。
God called Abraham to leave his home and go to the Promised Land. But God also gave Abraham sweeping, unconditional promises. Genesis 12:2-3 lists 7 “I will’s” that God unilaterally guaranteed: “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” God later gave conditions to Abraham, particularly the rite of circumcision. But the promises came first. God staked his own reputation on his promises to Abraham coming true, and the conditions came after these promises and rested upon them.
 
上帝與亞伯拉罕的約一般被認為是無條件的，但它之後還有另一個有強烈條件的約。這就是在出埃及時頒布給以色列人的摩西之約或舊的約。這是上帝對亞伯拉罕之約的延伸；上帝拯救以色列人並賜下律法，是為了信守祂對亞伯拉罕所作的應許。
God’s covenant with Abraham is regarded as generally unconditional, but it was followed by another covenant that was strongly conditional. This was the Mosaic or Old Covenant given to Israel in the Exodus. This was an extension of God’s covenant to Abraham; God delivered Israel and gave the Law in order to be faithful to his promises to Abraham.
 
摩西之約的條件是眾所周知的。上帝頒布了十誡，百姓不祥地說道：「凡耶和華所說的，我們都要遵行」（出十九8）。申命記二十八章1～2和15節記載摩西的話說道：「你若留意聽從耶和華你神的話，謹守遵行祂的一切誡命……這以下的福必追隨你，……你若不聽從耶和華你神的話，不謹守遵行祂的一切誡命律例……這以下的咒詛都必追隨你，臨到你身上」（申廿八1-2、15）。這是對條件的明確陳述。如果以色列人不順從上帝的律法，他們就不會在祂面前繼續作子民。然而，我們必須認識到，這並沒有叫上帝給亞伯拉罕關於他後裔的無條件的應許落空。我們也不應該忘記，即使是舊的約，也是以上帝通過摩西所頒布的無條件應許開始的。上帝差遣摩西到埃及的泥沼裏，並沒有說如果他們遵守祂的律法，祂就會救他們。不，祂先給他們應許，然後再把他們拯救出來，然後才頒布律法的條件。在西奈山頒布條件之前，上帝先把祂的許多「我必」賜給了以色列民，就像之前給亞伯拉罕一樣。「我要把你們救出來…… 我要拯救你們……我要以你們為我的百姓，我也要作你們的神」（出六6-8）。即使這些應許有賴於條件的滿足，上帝仍然無條件地應許這必要發生。
The conditions of this covenant are well-known. God gave the Ten Commandments, and the people ominously said, “We will do everything the LORD has said” (Ex. 19:8). Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 15 records Moses saying, “If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands… all these blessings will come upon you… However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees… all these curses will come upon you” (Dt. 28:1-2, 15). That is a clear statement of conditions. If Israel did not obey God’s Law they would not remain a people before him. And yet, we must realize that this did not nullify the unconditional promises God had given to Abraham regarding his descendants. Nor should we forget that even the Old Covenant began with unconditional promises that God gave through Moses. God did not send Moses to the mud pits of Egypt to say that he would deliver them if they kept his Law. No, first he gave them promises, then he delivered them, and only then did he give the conditions of the Law. Before the conditions were given at Mt. Sinai, God gave his “I will’s” to Israel as to Abraham before: “I will free you… I will redeem you… I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God” (Ex. 6:6-8). Even if those promises relied on the conditions being met, God unconditionally promised it would happen.
 
接下來是新的約，首先是通過耶利米所應許的，並通過耶穌基督的受死和復活來完成。同樣，我們從神聖的「我要」開始。「我要與以色列家和猶大家另立新約…… 我要將我的律法放在他們裏面，寫在他們的心上。我要作他們的神，他們要作我的子民……我要赦免他們的罪孽，不再記念他們的罪惡」（耶卅一31-34）。這些都是無條件的陳述，然而條件肯定是隨之而來的。耶穌親自規定了條件，就是要在祂裏面有使人得救的信心。約翰福音三章16至18節說道：「神愛世人，甚至將祂的獨生子賜給他們，叫一切信祂的不至滅亡……不信的人，罪已經定了。」
Next comes the New Covenant, first promised through Jeremiah and accomplished by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Again, we start with divine “I will’s”: “I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah… I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (Jer. 31:31-34). Those are unconditional statements, and yet the conditions followed surely enough. Jesus himself stipulated the condition of saving faith in him. John 3:16-18 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish… but whoever does not believe stands condemned.”
 
我們所說的恩典之約，就是上帝首先向亞伯拉罕，然後向以色列人，最後在基督裏向我們展開的那條救贖之路。它建立在無條件的應許之上，但也包括了條件。所以，是的，上帝的約是有條件的。如果有人說上帝無條件地接納你，因此，這種說法就是錯的。但是，這條件，即我們對信仰的回應，是建立在上帝先前無條件的應許之上，並依賴於神的應許。
What we call the Covenant of Grace is that way of salvation that God unfolded first to Abraham, then to Israel, and finally to us in Christ. It rests on unconditional promises but includes conditions. So, yes, God’s covenant is conditional. If anyone says God accepts you unconditionally, therefore, they are wrong. But the condition—our response of faith—rests upon and relies upon God’s prior unconditional promise.
 
讓我們回到一開始，上帝無條件地應許亞伯拉罕有這麼多血緣和屬靈上的後裔。這是一個無條件的應許，上帝把祂自己的聲名都押在了這上面！但要實現它，亞伯拉罕必須忠心地遵守割禮，以色列人必須遵守律法，而我們必須相信基督。上帝竟然允許祂的信實取決於人的順服！上帝許下的應許只有在滿足祂的條件的情況下才能實現，而祂一向知道我們會不遵守這些條件。
Let’s go back to the beginning, where God unconditionally promised Abraham so many physical and spiritual descendants. That was an unconditional promise on which God staked his own reputation! But for it to come true, Abraham would have to be faithful in keeping circumcision, Israel would have to obey the Law, and we would have to believe on Christ. God allowed his faithfulness to depend on human obedience! God made promises that could only be kept if his conditions were met, knowing that we would fail to keep those conditions.
 
你會問，這怎麼可能呢？答案是，雖然身上充滿罪惡的男女不能遵守條件，但上帝卻能供應這些條件。上帝不僅規定了這些條件，而且祂自己也供應了這些條件的應驗。
How can this be, you ask? The answer is that while sinful men and women are not able to keep the conditions, God is able to supply them. God not only mandates the conditions but he himself supplies their fulfillment.
 
聖經的記錄充滿人的失敗，我們特別想到以色列人沒有遵行律法。亞伯拉罕要想得到上帝所應許的後裔，這些後裔必須遵守條件，而他們卻沒有遵守。但以下就是上帝自己如何滿足了順服的條件的方法——祂差遣自己的兒子成為真以色列人，來代替我們遵行律法。耶穌為我們成就了順服的立約條件。祂履行了亞當所違背的行為之約；祂履行了以色列人所違犯的律法。現在，祂提出這個邀約，在恩典之約下，只要我們相信祂，祂就要將祂順服的公義記在我們的帳上。信心，如今成為我們得救的條件。而這也是上帝要成全的，因為聖靈會將信心這個使人得救的恩賜，賜給祂的子民（弗二8-9）。為了實現祂無條件的應許，上帝通過耶穌基督的工作和聖靈所賜的有效恩典，滿足了祂自己的條件。如此，上帝就有了一群真正愛祂、服侍祂的子民，而所有的榮耀都只歸給祂。
The record of the Bible is one of human failure; we think especially of Israel’s failure to keep the Law. For Abraham to have the offspring God promised, those offspring had to keep the conditions, which they did not. But here is how God himself fulfilled the condition of obedience—by sending his own Son as the true Israel to keep the Law in our place. Jesus fulfilled the covenant condition of obedience for us. He fulfilled the Covenant of Works Adam broke; he fulfilled the Law that Israel transgressed. Now he offers to credit his obedient righteousness to our account, under the Covenant of Grace, if only we will believe on him. Faith, now, is the condition of our salvation. And this also is fulfilled by God as the Spirit gives his people the saving gift of faith (Eph. 2:8-9). To fulfill his unconditional promises, God satisfies his own conditions through the work of Jesus Christ and his effectual grace ministered by the Holy Spirit. In this way, God has a people who truly love and serve him while all the glory belongs to him alone.
 
《聖經》從亞當辜負了行為之約開始，使他被趕出了伊甸園，無法接近生命樹。在聖經的結尾，耶穌講到那聖約的應驗和那福氣的重獲。啟示錄二章7節說道：「得勝的，我必將神樂園中生命樹的果子賜給他吃」。當然，祂的子民確實是在祂身上得勝的。首先，祂為我們成全了「行為之約」，然後，祂在我們身上造作信心，使我們可以因恩典之約而得救。耶穌對這個條件的成全是如此確信，以至於祂無條件地對所有信靠祂的人說：「我總不撇下你，也不丟棄你。」我們也可以放膽回應說：「主是幫助我的者，我必不懼怕」（來十三5-6）。
The Bible begins with Adam failing the Covenant of Works so that he is cast out from the Garden and the Tree of Life. At the end of the Bible, Jesus speaks of that covenant’s fulfillment and that blessing being regained. Revelation 2:7 says, “To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life.” And, of course, it is in him that his people do overcome. First, he fulfills the Covenant of Works for us, and then he works faith in us so that we may be saved by the Covenant of Grace. So sure is Jesus of this condition being fulfilled, that he says unconditionally to all who trust in him, “Never will I leave; never will I forsake you,” and we can say in return, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid” (Heb. 13:5-6).
 
© 2020年第十長老會。
© 2021 Tenth Presbyterian Church.
 
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請在任何分發的副本上包括以下聲明。作者：Rick Phillips。© 2020年第十長老會。網站：tenth.org
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