對摩西之約的一些看法
Some thoughts on the Mosaic Covenant
作者：Scott Swain（RTS, Orlando 系統神學教授；帖子最後有他的三個聖約神學教學影片）
 誠之譯自：
http://www.reformation21.org/blog/2014/09/some-thoughts-on-the-mosaic-co.php
https://yimawusi.net/2021/04/28/some-thoughts-on-the-mosaic-covenant/
 
我讀完了Mark Jones最近關於行為之約的兩個帖子（見這裏和這裏），很有收穫；一直以來，我從他對這個題目的其他著作裏也獲益良多。在論到行為之約（上帝與亞當在伊甸園裏所立的約）和摩西之約（上帝在西奈山與以色列人所立的約）之間的關係時，神學上的清晰以及對歷史的認知都是非常必要的。誠然，按照我的看法，要正確地把摩西之約放在上帝開展祂聖約治理的過程中，是聖約神學裏最困難、也最複雜的挑戰。如同Anthony Burges曾經觀察到的，這是一個「有學問的人」也會發現自己像「亞伯拉罕的公羊，兩角扣在稠密的小樹中」的地方。由於這些議題本身的複雜性，我們必須避免一些簡化的解釋。
I have read with profit Mark Jones's recent posts on the covenant of works (see here and here), having benefited from his other writings on this topic as well. Such theological clarity and historical awareness are much to be appreciated when it comes to the relationship between the covenant of works, made with Adam in the Garden, and the Mosaic Covenant, made with Israel at Sinai. Indeed, in my opinion, properly locating the Mosaic Covenant within God's unfolding covenantal economy presents the most difficult and complex challenge in covenant theology. As Anthony Burgess once observed, it is a place where many "learned men" have found themselves "like Abraham's Ram, hung in a bush of briars and brambles by the head." Given the intrinsic complexity of the issues, simplistic explanations are to be eschewed.
 
雖然對這個題目的簡化解釋是不可取的，然而對那些有責任要在每個禮拜用上帝的話牧養上帝子民的人來說，實在有必要以一種簡明而非簡化的方式，總結這些複雜的議題。存著這樣的信念，我要簡短地描繪三個重點，來思想摩西之約在上帝為祂子民所展開的計劃裏究竟居於什麼地位。我主張，如果把這三點放在一起來考量，它們可以給這個複雜的題目提供一個合乎聖經、也滿足神學和教牧需要的方向。
Though simplistic explanations of this topic are not desirable, there is a need, especially among those responsible for ministering the Word of God to the people of God on a weekly basis, to summarize complex issues in a simple, though not simplistic, way. With this in mind, I want to briefly sketch three points for thinking about the place of the Mosaic Covenant within God's unfolding plan for his people. I suggest that, taken together, these three points provide an orientation to this complex topic that is biblically, theologically, and pastorally satisfying.
 
一、摩西之約是恩典之約的一種施行方式。我明白當前辯論「重新頒布」（republication）的雙方都會同意這點，因此我要提出一些說明。我們說摩西之約是恩典之約的一種施行方式的意思，是肯定摩西時期的施行，無論是在形式和結構上，都展現出合乎恩典之約其他施行方式（如亞伯拉罕之約、大衛之約、新約）的模式，它並非遵循行為之約中所展示出來的模式。
(1)The Mosaic Covenant is an administration of the covenant of grace. I realize that folks on both sides of contemporary "republication" debates would affirm this point, so some qualification is in order. In saying that the Mosaic Covenant is an administration of the covenant of grace, I am affirming that the Mosaic administration, in form and structure, fits the pattern exhibited in other administrations of the covenant of grace (e.g., Abrahamic, Davidic, New covenants) and that, in form and structure,  it does not follow the pattern exhibited in the covenant of works.
 
耶和華與以色列人在西奈山所立的聖約是在救贖主和得贖者之間所立的。上帝滿有恩典的拯救行動，成為祂對以色列人所發出的命令，以及祂要求以色列人忠誠的救贖基礎（出十九4，廿2）。確實，由於出埃及事件標誌著上帝的應許——在創世記十五章7～21節所作的自我咒詛——的應驗，我們就應該把以色列人在出埃及記十九章8節和廿四章3節向耶和華所起的「忠誠誓言」，當作一個證據，證明摩西之約乃是實現了亞伯拉罕之約，而不是與亞伯拉罕之約不同類的盟約。應許要作亞伯拉罕和他後裔的上帝（創十七7～8）的那位，最終使「祂的百姓」誕生了（參見：出一7，六7）：祂起誓要作他們的上帝，因此他們也要起誓作祂的子民。西奈山之約和亞伯拉罕之約並不是不同類的盟約。它是亞伯拉罕之約的應驗和目標：透過單方面對以色列列祖的應許所開啟的盟約關係，如今在救贖主和祂得贖的百姓雙方之間的承諾裏實現了。
The covenant between Yahweh and Israel at Sinai is a covenant between redeemer and redeemed. God's gracious act of deliverance provides the redemptive foundation of the commands he issues to Israel and of the allegiance he requires from Israel (Exod 19.4; 20.2). Indeed, because the events of the exodus mark the fulfillment of God's promise, made under self-maledictory oath in Genesis 15.7-21, we should understand Israel's "pledge of allegiance" to Yahweh in Exodus 19.8 and 24.3, not as evidence that the Mosaic Covenant is a different type of covenant from the Abrahamic Covenant, but rather as evidence that the Mosaic Covenant is the realization of the Abrahamic Covenant. The one who promised to be God to Abraham and his descendants (Gen 17.7, 8) at last has brought "his people" into being (see Exod 1.7; 6.7): and as he has pledged to be their God, so they now pledge to be his people. The Sinai arrangement is not a different type of covenant from that of Abraham. It is the fulfillment and goal of the Abrahamic Covenant: the covenant relationship initiated through unilateral promise to the patriarchs is now realized in bilateral commitment between redeemer and his redeemed people.
 
二、摩西之約是與基督有關的、恩典之約的暫時施行。儘管摩西之約是亞伯拉罕之約最初的應驗，是以色列對她的丈夫耶和華所說的「我願意」，但這不是亞伯拉罕之約最終的應驗。摩西之約是恩典之約暫時的施行，是命定要歸於無有的（來八13）。律法是上帝所賜的美善恩賜之一，但是它注定要被上帝在耶穌基督裏、並藉著耶穌基督之更大的恩典，即新約的恩典所取代（約一16～17）。摩西之約作為亞伯拉罕之約的初步應驗，與新約具備了一種暫時性的、影子式的關係，新約才是亞伯拉罕之約那最終的、永遠長存的應驗（西二17）。
(2) The Mosaic Covenant is a temporal administration of the covenant of grace in relation to Christ. While the Mosaic Covenant is the initial fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant, Israel's "I do" in relation to Yahweh her husband, it is not the final fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant. The Mosaic Covenant was a temporary administration of the covenant of grace, destined to be made obsolete (Heb 8.13). The Law was one of God's good gifts, but it was a gift destined for replacement by God's greater gift in and through Jesus Christ (John 1.16-17), the gift of the New Covenant. As the initial fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant, the Mosaic Covenant thus bears a temporary, shadowy relationship to the New Covenant, which is the final, everlasting fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant (Col 2.17).
 
三、摩西之約是與肉身有關的、恩典之約的軟弱施行方式。摩西之約之所以只是恩典之約的一個暫時的施行，和它是恩典之約的一個軟弱施行的狀態有關。其「瑕疵」（來七7-8）是在哪裏呢？正如我在前面所論證的，並不在於其結構和形式。摩西之約的軟弱是在於其立約的其中一方：摩西之約乃是「因肉體而軟弱」（羅八3）。因為摩西之約是寫在石版上的，而不是寫在肉心上的，最終，它就只能曝露出與上帝立約之墮落人類的背叛，也定罪他們。它是帶來死亡的屬死之職事（見：林後三～四章）。
(3) The Mosaic Covenant is a weak administration of the covenant of grace in relation to the flesh. The reason that the Mosaic Covenant was only a temporary administration of the covenant of grace is related to its status as a weak administration of the covenant of grace. Where does its "fault" lie (Heb 8.7-8)? Not in its structure and form, I contend (see above). The weakness of the Mosaic Covenant lies in one of its parties: the Mosaic Covenant was "weakened by the flesh" (Rom 8.3). Because the Mosaic Covenant was written on tablets of stone and not on hearts of flesh, it was ultimately only capable of exposing and condemning the treachery of God's fallen human covenant partners. It was a ministry of death leading to death (see 2 Cor 3-4).
 
這當然不是要忽略舊約聖經的教導，在摩西之約下聖靈也有在發揮作用（賽六十三10-11；該二5）：與時代論的時期劃分相反的，在舊的約和新的約之下，聖靈工作的對比是相對的，不是絕對的。然而，舊約聖經也教導我們，相對於上帝在新的約中的工作，上帝的子民大部分都欠缺所需的恩典來領受摩西之約，並且無法以一種討神喜悅的方式對這個滿有恩典的盟約作出回應（申廿九4；參：卅1～10），也因此他們注定從一開始就要落在摩西之約的咒詛之下（申卅一27；同廿一18～23）。
This of course is not to ignore Old Testament teaching that the Spirit was operative under the Mosaic Covenant (Isa 63.10-11; Haggai 2.5): contrary to Dispensationalist schematizations, the contrast between the Spirit's work under the Old and New Covenants is relative, not absolute. Nevertheless, the Old Testament also teaches us that, relative to God's work in the New Covenant, God's people were largely deprived of the grace required to receive and respond to the (gracious) Mosaic Covenant in a manner that was pleasing to God (Deut 29.4; cf. 30.1-10) and therefore that they were doomed to fall under that covenant's curse from the beginning (Deut 31.27 with 21.18-23).
 
的確，我們必須承認上帝的律法——在其全部的立約形式當中——注定要以這種方式在墮落人類的處境下發揮作用，即只有在基督裏（律法置人於死的刑罰獲得實現之處），律法才能發揮其教導得贖者的正當功能；這些得贖者是基督透過聖靈成全了上帝的律法而從死裏復活的（加二19；羅八4以下）。
And indeed we must confess that God's law--in all of its covenantal forms--is destined to function this way in relation to fallen human beings: only in Christ, where the law's death-dealing sentence is realized, can the law have its proper function of instructing the redeemed, who are raised in and with Christ through the Spirit to fulfill God's law (Gal 2.19; Rom 8.4ff).
 
正如先前所說的，只有把這三點合在一起看，才能成為聖經對摩西之約的教導的一個有效總結。否認其中任何一點，都會帶來嚴重的問題。
As noted above, it is only taken together that these three points may function as an effective summary of biblical teaching about the Mosaic Covenant. Denying any one of them, however, leads to serious problems.
 
按照我的判斷，否認第一點，會破壞合乎聖經的講道。倘若我們不把摩西之約視為恩典之約的一種施行方式，我們就會受到誘惑，會把舊約聖經解讀為是以色列國未能成為第二亞當的長篇故事——但上帝並沒有要以色列國成為第二亞當（羅五12～21）。因此，我們就不會欣賞以色列的作用是成為一個榜樣（肯定是一個負面榜樣），說明在恩典之約裏活出與基督聯合的生活是什麼樣子，我們也剝奪自己領受舊約聖經教導的一個重要層面的機會（提後三16~17）。
Denying the first point, in my judgment, damages biblical preaching. If we do not see the Mosaic Covenant as an administration of the covenant of grace, then we will be tempted to read the Old Testament as one long story of Israel's failure to be the one they were never commissioned to be: the Second Adam (Rom 5.12-21). And, thus, we will fail to appreciate how Israel functions as an (to be sure, often negative) example of what it means to live in union with Christ within the covenant of grace (see 1 Cor 10.1-5; Heb 3.7-4.11), depriving ourselves of a significant dimension of Old Testament teaching (2 Tim 3.16-17).  
 
否認第二點就會成為猶太化的基督徒。儘管不會有太多基督徒會犯這個錯誤，但是在使徒時代，保羅主要的對手就是這些人，他們歡迎把外邦人納入上帝的子民之內，作為末日已經臨到的一個記號，但是卻未能體會到外邦人被納入的，因為他們相信摩西之約所提供的，是實現上帝對亞伯拉罕、以撒、雅各的應許的最後施行方式，而不是倒數第二個施行方式。保羅在加拉太書第三～四章的論述主要就是和駁斥這個錯誤有關。
Denying the second point amounts to Judaizing. Though few Christians would commit this mistake today, many of Paul's chief opponents in the apostolic era were those who welcomed the inclusion of Gentiles within the people of God as a sign that the latter days had dawned but who failed to appreciate the terms of Gentile inclusion because they believed that the Mosaic Covenant provided the ultimate rather than the penultimate administration for realizing the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Paul's argument in Galatians 3-4 is largely concerned with refuting this error.
 
否認第三點會導致律法主義。肯定第一點卻不同時肯定第三點會導致嚴重的神學和教牧問題，而我們這些沒有被「重新頒布」的論證說服的人，必須重新承認這個事實。倘若我們所作的只是肯定上帝的律法有多好，其作用只是給得贖的百姓作為感恩的途徑，而倘若我們未能承認並闡釋亞當的後裔在上帝良善律法面前有多麼危險，我們就是在欺騙人，讓人無法遵行律法或自欺以為自己遵行了律法。我們必須明確表態：屬肉體的人不能得上帝的喜悅（羅八8）。
Denying the third point leads to legalism. Affirming the first point without affirming the third point can lead to serious theological and pastoral problems, and those of us not convinced by "republication" arguments need to acknowledge this fact. If all we do is affirm how good God's law is, how it functions as a means of gratitude for God's redeemed people, and so forth, and if we fail to acknowledge and expound the anthropological predicament of Adam's children before God's good law, then we are setting people up either for failure or self-deception in relation to the law. We must be clear: "Those who are in the flesh cannot please God" (Rom 8.8).
 
此外，我們必須明確說明，上帝解決這個困境的方法不是一個完全以恩典為架構的盟約。上帝對這個問題的解決方案是祂兒子的道成肉身、受死和高升，以及將復活的基督的靈澆灌下來：「律法既因肉體軟弱，有所不能行的，上帝就差遣自己的兒子，成為罪身的形狀，作了贖罪祭，在肉體中定了罪案， 使律法的義成就在我們這不隨從肉體、只隨從聖靈的人身上。」（羅八3～4）恩典之約——在其所有的施行方式中——是因為其中保，才成為恩典之約的。
Moreover, we must be clear that God's solution to this predicament is not a graciously structured covenant. God's solution to this problem is the incarnation, death, and exaltation of his Son, and the outpouring of the Spirit of the risen Christ: "For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit" (Rom 8.3-4). The covenant of grace--in any and every one of its administrations--is only a covenant of grace because of the mediator of the covenant of grace.
 
後記：我明白這個題目在改革宗和長老會教會中是一個燙手的爭議，我把這個辯論中兩邊的人，都當作是好弟兄、好牧師。有鑑於這個議題的複雜性，以及改革宗傳統在這個題目上所呈現出來的歷史多樣性，我確實盼望這是個雙方可以用愛心清楚辯論的議題，畢竟他們都是從上帝在基督裏的律法中學會把刀打成犁頭，把槍打成鐮刀的人（賽二2-4）。
Postscript: I realize that this topic is a source of heated controversy in Reformed and Presbyterian churches today, and I count as brothers and ministers in good standing folks on both sides of the debate. Given the complexity of this issue, as well as the diversity exhibited historically across the Reformed tradition on this topic, I do hope it is an issue that can be debated with clarity and charity by those who have learned from God's law in Christ to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks (Isa 2.2-4).
 
這裏有一個作者教導聖約神學的影片：
Teaching Women to Teach
Covenant Theology as the Interpretive Backdrop of Scripture
Lesson 1/3 https://youtu.be/Z9HBfZiy5Tk
Lesson 2/3 https://youtu.be/61NU8_wr5tE
Lesson 3/3 https://youtu.be/EBxR2X7XwB8

以捨己的態度來讀你的聖經——並找到你自己ReadYour Bible with Self-Denial—and Find Yourself

作者：Scott Swain 譯者/修訂者：楊忠道/駱鴻銘

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/read-bible-self-denial-liberated/

http://peddrluo.blog.163.com/blog/static/19480131220182121639752/

耶穌背起我們的十字架的呼召對我們整體的生活具有許多的含義，其中包括如何讀我們的聖經。建立在這樣的信念之上，西敏大要理問答第157問規勸我們用「捨己」的態度來閱讀聖經。

Jesus’s call to take up our cross has implications for the entirety of our lives, including how we read our Bibles. Building on this conviction, Q & A 157 of the Westminster Larger Catechism counsels us to read Scripture with “self-denial.”

不幸的是，這樣的勸告在今日福音派的聖經閱讀、講道和教導裡時常被忽略掉。

Unfortunately, this counsel is often ignored in evangelical Bible reading, preaching, and teaching today.

相反，許多「以福音為中心」形式的聖經詮釋，都傾向於在被暱稱為「羅傑斯式的自我肯定」（Roerian self-regard）的方式上達到高峰，如同大衛鮑力森（David Powlison）所說的。這基本上是在對自己說：「不要擔心，耶穌已經遮蓋了你！」對此，自我回答說：「呼！我感覺好多了。」

Instead, many forms of “gospel-centered” biblical interpretation tend to culminate in a kind of baptized “Rogerian self-regard,” as David Powlison puts it. The self is essentially told, Don’t worry; Jesus has got you covered. To which the self responds, Whew! I feel so much better.

在這樣的背景下，基督的十字架被宣告出來，但背起我們的十字架卻被忽略掉了。我們蒙召去相信，卻沒有悔改。

In such contexts, the cross of Christ is proclaimed, but taking up our cross is neglected. We are called to faith, but not to repentance.

不是一種零和遊戲

Not a Zero-Sum Game

鑑於我們墮落天性的傾向，忽略以捨己的態度來閱讀的勸告是很容易的。墮落的自我偏向自己，全神貫注在自己身上，不惜一切代價去保護並推銷自己。因此墮落的自我不會——確實不能——考慮自我否認。

Given our fallen nature’s inclinations, it’s easy to ignore the counsel to read with self-denial. The fallen self is curved in on itself, preoccupied with itself, and committed at all costs to preserving and promoting itself. The fallen self therefore will not—indeed cannot—contemplate its own denial.

我們也因為誤解了這個勸告，所以忽略了它。當涉及上帝、自我和鄰舍的時候，墮落的自我就設想出一種「零和遊戲」：無論是上帝還是鄰舍，必須圍繞著我運行，不然我就輸了。否定你自己，這樣的理解上，就是抹殺了你自己。

We also ignore this counsel because we misunderstand it. The fallen self assumes a “zero-sum game” when it comes to God, self, and neighbor: either God and neighbor must orbit around me or I must lose. To deny yourself, on such an understanding, is to obliterate yourself.

當我們被要求從一個自我中心到以神為中心的進路理解聖經時，幫倒忙的聖經講員和老師時常無意識地在這種誤解的根基上運作。然而，以捨己的態度閱讀並不是簡單地從自我中心轉向神為中心而已；以捨己的態度閱讀聖經說的是重新定位自我，而不僅僅是取代自我。這是關於自我的死與復活，以及對上帝、自我、鄰舍的一種全新的、非競爭性的視角——是一種拒絕去玩墮落的自我喜歡玩的零和遊戲的視角。

Otherwise-helpful Bible preachers and teachers often unwittingly operate on the basis of this misunderstanding when calling us from a self-centered approach to Scripture to a God-centered approach. Reading with self-denial, however, isn’t simply about moving from self-centeredness to God-centeredness. Reading with self-denial is about reorienting the self, not just replacing the self. It’s about the self’s death and resurrection and a new, non-competitive perspective on God, self, and neighbor—a perspective that refuses to play the fallen self’s zero-sum game.

培養以神為中心的自我

Raising the God-Centered Self

重要的是，我們不僅僅是把神看為至高的良善和一切事物的中心，更是將祂視為創造者、救贖者和我們與鄰舍關係的成全者。神並不會妒忌我們的自我，祂不會把它當成祂天然的競爭者，神愛這個自我。神創造了它，當這個自我高舉自己抵擋上帝，導致自己的滅亡時，神為它賜下祂的獨生愛子。此外，神使這自我與祂被釘死在十字架上的兒子同死，又使得它與祂兒子一同復活，以至於自我可以為著祂的榮耀和鄰舍的美好而活出奉獻的生命。

It’s vital that we come to see God not only as the supreme good and center of all things, but also as maker, redeemer, and perfecter of our self in relation to our neighbor. God does not envy the self; he does not view it as his natural competitor. God loves the self. God created it and, when the self exalted itself against God to its own destruction, God gave his beloved Son for it. Moreover, God raised the self, in and with his crucified Son, that it might live a life devoted to his glory and our neighbor’s good.

所以，儘管這個墮落的自我假設到，讓神居首位必然意味它自身的消滅時，那個被福音殺死和因福音而活的自我並沒有如此假設。在被神創造、救贖和有待終極完成的世界裡面，自我真的發現自己是神的孩子，是耶穌基督的弟兄，並且是神家中的一員。

So while the fallen self assumes that God’s supremacy must entail its own annihilation, the self killed and made alive by the gospel does not. Within the world created, redeemed, and yet to be consummated by God, the self truly finds itself as a child of God, as a sibling of Jesus Christ, and as a member of the household of God.

因此，一個成熟的基督徒不是以自我本身的死亡的觀點，而是「以自我中心的自我」的死亡和「以神為中心的自我」的復活的觀點來閱讀聖經的。這就是自我、自我實現的真正意義，而自我的發展成就可以在與上帝和鄰舍的正確秩序的關係當中找到。

So a mature Christian reads the Bible with a view, not to the death of the self per se, but with a view to the death of the self-centered self and the resurrection of the God-centered self. This is where the self’s true meaning, fulfillment, and flourishing are found: in rightly ordered relations to God and neighbor.

如此理解，以捨己的態度來閱讀聖經是當下你所能追求的，最能榮耀神和最人道的閱讀方式。

Thus understood, reading your Bible with self-denial is at once the most God-honoring and humane kind of reading you can pursue.

关于系统神学你应该知道的十件事10 Things You Should Knowabout Systematic Theology

作者：Scott R. Swain  翻译：谢昉、程松

https://www.crossway.org/articles/10-things-you-should-know-about-systematic-theology/

http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MjM5NDgwNDI3NQ==&mid=2651408619&idx=1&sn=e128ab4854fb85e1458c45cae0c97a2d&chksm=bd7fcfb78a0846a182dd6e1c5b1d40662938f49b13390422c06e4187db5a52aa2c7655a02d90&mpshare=1&scene=5&srcid=0227jvClVQ0t701dGj2bOJ7H#rd

第一，系统神学之所以存在，是因为这位上帝在三位一体亲密的相交中认识自己也爱自己，祂非常乐于让自己成为受造物透过圣经能够认识和爱的对象。

1. Systematic theology exists because the God who knows and loves himself in the bliss of the Trinity is pleased to make himself an object of creaturely knowledge and love through holy Scripture.

神学从本质上来说是一种“智慧”，是一套以爱为目的的知识体系（实践性的智慧），同时也是基于知识的爱（思想性的智慧）。更具体地来说，神学是关于上帝和一切与上帝相关的事物的智慧。

Theology in its essence is “wisdom”—a knowledge that is ordered to love (practical wisdom), and a love that rests in knowledge (contemplative wisdom). More specifically, theology is wisdom about God and all things in relation to God.

首先也是最重要的是，这样的智慧存在于上帝的里面。上帝在祂自己的三位一体的赐福中爱自己，也完全地认识自己、拥有对自己的一切知识（太11:27；林前2:10-11）。第二，也是衍生出来的一点是，这样的智慧也存在于受造物当中，因为上帝喜悦让我们在知识和爱中与祂成为朋友，享受快乐（约10:14-15, 15:15, 17:3；林前2:12）。

This wisdom exists first and foremost in God: God knows and loves himself in the bliss of his triune life as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matt. 11:27; 1 Cor. 2:10–11). This wisdom exists secondarily and derivatively in creatures because God is pleased to make us happy by making us friends in the knowledge and love of himself (John 10:14–15; 15:15; 17:3; 1 Cor. 2:12).

虽然圣经不是认识上帝和爱上帝的唯一资源（参见诗19，罗1-2），但圣经是我们今生认识上帝和爱上帝最重要的资源（见彼后1:16-21）。所以，圣经是“系统”神学学习的最高来源和规范。

Though not the only source for the knowledge and love of God (see Psalm 19; Rom 1-2), holy Scripture is the supreme source for the knowledge and love of God in this life (see 2 Peter 1:16–21). Therefore holy Scripture is the supreme source and norm for the “systematic” study of theology.

第二，系统神学是注重整本圣经的全备教导的一种圣经研究方法。

2. Systematic theology is a way of studying the Bible that attends to the full scope of biblical teaching.

作为一个致力于研究和教导圣经的学科，系统神学注重整本圣经的整全性。系统神学并不仅仅满足于聚焦一个圣经作者——例如以赛亚或保罗，也不仅仅满足于研究单一的圣经主题——例如称义的教义。系统神学是一个致力于查考神全备旨意的学科（徒20:27）。

As a discipline devoted to studying and teaching holy Scripture, systematic theology seeks to give heed to the full scope of biblical teaching. Systematic theology does not content itself to focus upon a single biblical author—say, Isaiah or Paul—or a single biblical theme—say, the doctrine of justification. Systematic theology is a discipline that devotes itself to “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27).

教会真正顺服圣经中的教义和道德教导的唯一道路，就是教会顺服整本圣经所展现的整全教义和道德教导。缺乏对圣经中全备教导的关注会导致教会“走向神学上的极端和谬误，和信仰生活中的病态。”（巴文克）

The only way the church truly submits to the Bible’s doctrinal and moral teaching is by submitting to the full scope of the Bible’s doctrinal and moral teaching. Failure to attend to the whole counsel of God “leads to one-sidedness and error in theology and pathology in the religious life” (Herman Bavinck).

第三，系统神学是注重圣经教导的合一性的一种圣经研究方法。

3. Systematic theology is a way of studying the Bible that attends to the unity of biblical teaching.

上帝是圣经的首要作者（提后3:16），而且上帝是真理的上帝（多1:2），因此系统神学致力于分析圣经教导的统一性、和谐性和美妙之处。系统神学协调那些在救赎历史的不同阶段中发声的作者、不同的文体、以及新约和旧约这两本圣约，不消灭或减弱圣经教导的多元性，反而彰显其丰富多彩。

Because God is the primary author of holy Scripture (2 Tim. 3:16), and because God is a God of truth (Titus 1:2), systematic theology seeks to discern the unity, harmony, and beauty of biblical teaching. Systematic theology seeks to coordinate the teaching of various biblical authors across various redemptive-historical epochs and literary genres, and across the Bible’s two testaments, in a way that does not mute or flatten the diversity of biblical teaching but allows it to shine forth in its multisplendored richness.

不仅如此，系统神学也协调圣经中的教导和圣经以外透过普遍启示所得到的知识，因为我们意识到圣经是关乎上帝的智慧的最高知识来源，我们也需要用圣经来裁定和判断关乎上帝的智慧的次级知识来源。

Furthermore, systematic theology seeks to coordinate the teaching of holy Scripture with that which may be learned outside of holy Scripture through general revelation, recognizing that, because the Bible is the supreme source of wisdom about God, it plays the role of adjudicator and judge in relation to all lesser sources of wisdom about God.

第四，系统神学是对圣经教导分清主次的一种圣经研究方法。

4. Systematic theology is a way of studying the Bible that attends to the proportions of biblical teaching.

系统神学是一个“复杂的科学”，需要处理关于上帝和与上帝有关的事物，但约翰·韦伯斯特也提醒我们系统神学并不是“包罗万象、回答一切问题的科学”。圣经在强调一些事情的同时对其它一些事情却说得很少，所以圣经中有第一重要的事（林前15:3），也有次要的事（太23:23）。

While systematic theology is a “comprehensive science,” treating God and all things in relation to God, John Webster reminds us that systematic theology is not “a science of everything about everything.” The Bible emphasizes certain things and says very little about other things. The Bible has matters of “first importance” (1 Cor. 15:3) and matters of secondary importance (Matt. 23:23).

系统神学既不能忽视首要的事，也不能忽视次要的事（太23:23）。但是系统神学在关注和呈现圣经教导的时候必须能够反映圣经的重点放在哪里、主次是什么。

Systematic theology cannot afford to neglect matters of primary or secondary importance (Matt. 23:23). But it must seek to reflect the Bible’s own emphases and priorities in its attention to and presentation of biblical teaching.

第五，系统神学是注重发现圣经教导之间的关系的一种圣经研究方法。

5. Systematic theology is a way of studying the Bible that attends to the relationships of biblical teaching.

系统神学关心的是圣经里面教义性和道德性的教导，其中也包括发现圣经中多处这类教导彼此之间的关系。系统神学的目的不仅是要理解圣经如何教导“救恩”或者“善行”，而且是要理解“救恩”与“善行”之间的关系（弗2:8-10）。如果对不同方面的教义之间的关系产生混乱的认识，最后必定给对这些教义本身的认识带来混乱。当然，系统神学最关注的最高的关系是上帝与一切受造物之间的关系。

Systematic theology’s concern with the Bible’s doctrinal and moral teaching includes a concern to grasp the connections or relationships between the Bible’s various doctrinal and moral teachings. Systematic theology seeks not only to understand what the Bible says about “salvation” or “good works.” It also seeks to understand the relationship between “salvation” and “good works” (Eph. 2:8–10). Confusion about the relationships between various doctrines inevitably leads to confusion about the doctrines themselves. The supreme relationship that systematic theology considers is the relationship between God and everything else.

第六，一个次序良好的神学体系首先应该服从于以上帝为中心的组织原则。

6. A well-ordered system of theology is governed, primarily, by a God-centered organizing principle.

系统神学中的神论是系统神学最注重的第一重要的教义。透过神论，系统神学力图建立其他教义之间的联系。系统神学是以神为中心的圣经诠释。

The doctrine of God is the primary doctrine to which systematic theology devotes its attention and to which systematic theology seeks to relate all other doctrines. Systematic theology is God-centered biblical interpretation.

从这个角度来说，系统神学采用了一套和我们能认知的现实相对应的学科标准：正如使徒保罗教导我们的：“万有都是本于他（基督），倚靠他，归于他。”（罗11:36）除非能够发现一件事情与那位创始成终的上帝的关系，系统神学并不需要装出要了解每一件事情的样子。

Systematic theology, in this regard, adopts a disciplinary protocol that corresponds to the nature of reality: “all things,” the Apostle Paul instructs us, are “from him and through him and to him” (Rom. 11:36). Systematic theology does not pretend to grasp anything unless it can grasp it in relation to God as Alpha and Omega.

所以，神论并不仅仅是系统神学一系列教义中的第一个而已，神论直接影响到一个次序良好的神学体系中的每一个神学议题。从某种意义上来说，系统神学中的每一个教义都是神论的一部分。系统神学并不仅仅是关乎创造、护理、救恩和成全，系统神学更是关乎上帝的创造、上帝护理性的管治、上帝的拯救，以及上帝的创造如何在祂三位一体的荣耀的圣殿中得着成全。系统神学“从开头到末了都在向我们描述上帝，永远是关乎上帝——上帝的所是、上帝的创造、上帝如何与罪争战、上帝在基督里、上帝透过圣灵胜过一切抵挡和引导整个创造回到祂创造时的目的：为荣耀祂自己的名。”（赫曼·巴文克）

The doctrine of God is therefore not simply the first doctrine in a series of doctrines in systematic theology. The doctrine of God directly informs every topic within a well-ordered system of theology. There is a sense in which every doctrine in systematic theology is part of the doctrine of God. Systematic theology is not so much about creation, providence, salvation, and consummation as it is about God creating, God providentially governing, God saving, and God consummating creation to be the temple of his triune glory. Systematic theology “describes for us God, always God, from beginning to end—God in his being, God in his creation, God against sin, God in Christ, God breaking down all resistance through the Holy Spirit and guiding the whole of creation back to the objective he decreed for it: the glory of his name” (Herman Bavinck).

第七，其次，一个次序良好的神学体系应该服从于历史性的或者说戏剧式的组织原则。

7. A well-ordered system of theology is governed, secondarily, by a historical or dramatic organizing principle.

因为系统神学是关乎上帝的，所以它也是关乎上帝的工作的。诗篇111:2说：“耶和华的作为本为大；凡喜爱的都必考察。”系统神学追随上帝工作的次序——从上帝从虚无中创造万有、到祂护理性的管治和看顾、到祂透过圣子的道成肉身和圣灵的浇灌所成就的的救赎和成全。

Because systematic theology is concerned with God, it is also concerned with the works of God. “Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them” (Ps. 111:2). Systematic theology follows the course of God’s works from his creation of all things out of nothing, through his providential government and care of all things, to his redemption and perfection of creation through the incarnation of the Son and the outpouring of the Spirit.

在跟随上帝在自然中、在恩典中和荣耀中的工作时，系统神学服从于一套历史性的或者说是戏剧式的组织原则。在一个次序良好的神学体系中，每一个教义不但能够追溯到上帝为其作者和成全者，而且还与其他的教义在从创造到上帝国度的成全这一戏剧-历史主线（dramatic-historical axis）上互相协调。系统神学是以上帝为中心、基于救赎历史的圣经诠释。

In its task of tracing the course of God’s works in nature, grace, and glory, systematic theology follows a historical or dramatic organizing principle. Within a well-ordered system of theology, each doctrine is not only traced to God as its author and end. Each doctrine is also coordinated with other doctrines on a dramatic-historical axis from creation to the consummation of the kingdom of God. Systematic theology is God-centered, redemptive-historical biblical interpretation.

第八，系统神学必然关注历史神学，但这并不仅仅是出于对历史的兴趣。

8. Systematic theology’s necessary interest in historical theology is more than mere historical interest.

上帝的神学——也就是上帝关于祂自己和祂所造万物间关系的智慧——是简单的，也是存到永恒的。我们的神学——也就是我们对上帝的认识和我们对跟上帝相关的事物的认识——则是社会性和历史性的。这代要对那代颂赞上帝的作为，也要传扬他的大能。（参诗篇145:4）

God’s theology—his wisdom regarding himself and all things in relation to himself—is simple and eternal. Our theology—our wisdom regarding God and all things in relation to God—is social and historical. One generation commends God’s works to another, and declares his mighty acts (Ps. 145:4).

因着这个原因，系统神学必然关注历史神学，也就是在不同的时代中被教导和传递下来的神学。系统神学关注早期教父，也关注他们在教会中所形成的信条——那是他们勤勉工作所结的果实；系统神学关注中世纪的教会学者们，也关注他们如何寻求理解神透过祂的话语所启示的奥秘；系统神学关注新教宗教改革及其信条，也关注新教正统及其伟大的教义与道德神学体系；系统神学也关注启蒙运动及其后果，在这方面系统神学如今仍在努力探索。

For this reason, systematic theology has a necessary interest in historical theology, the study of theology as taught and transmitted through time. Systematic theology cares about the early fathers of the church and the creeds which are the fruit of their ecclesiastical labors. Systematic theology cares about the medieval doctors of the church and the various ways in which by faith they sought to understand the mysteries that God has revealed in his Word. Systematic theology cares about the Protestant Reformation and its confessions and about Protestant orthodoxy and its magnificent systems of doctrinal and moral theology. And systematic theology cares about the Enlightenment and its aftermath, with which it is still coming to grips.

在以上每个领域，系统神学对历史神学的关注并不仅仅是因为对历史感兴趣。系统神学的任务最主要是命题式而不是描述式的。系统神学旨在教导教会必须相信什么和做什么，而不是仅仅关注教会曾经相信过什么或者做过什么。然而，因为教会同时也是存在于社会和历史中的实体，因为神学的历史同样也是解经的历史（艾伯林），所以系统神学必须先研究教会过去相信过什么和做过什么才能教导教会今天必须相信什么和做什么。

In each instance, systematic theology’s interest in historical theology is not merely a matter of historical interest. Systematic theology’s task is primarily prescriptive rather than descriptive. It is concerned with teaching what the church must believe and do, not simply what the church has believed and done. However, because the church is a social and historical reality, and because the history of theology is also the history of biblical interpretation (Gerhard Ebeling), systematic theology cannot teach what the church must believe and do unless it attends to what the church has believed and done.

如果教会不知道过去的日子和年代中教会基于圣经都认信过什么，也就无法在今天的时代基于圣经确知自己必须认信什么。

The church cannot know what it must confess in our day and age on the basis of holy Scripture unless it knows what the church has confessed in other days and other ages on the basis of holy Scripture.

第九，系统神学服务于我们的实践。

9. Systematic theology serves practical ends.

对圣经启示的上帝和上帝的工作进行系统性研究能达到多项实践方面的目的。系统神学为圣经教导提供了一整套的总结，因此可以帮助我们更好地阅读圣经（请参考约翰·加尔文在《基督教要义》开头所说的写作目的）。

The systematic study of God and God’s works as revealed in holy Scripture serves a number of practical ends. By providing a summary form of scriptural teaching, systematic theology makes us better readers of holy Scripture (recall John Calvin’s stated purpose in writing his Institutes of the Christian Religion).

不仅如此，透过教导我们思想上帝和从万物与上帝的关系上去认识其他事物，系统神学装备了基督徒的头脑，使我们有行动的原则。系统神学给了我们信心、教导我们理解上帝以及万事万物的实际，从而接受一切都是来自父神慈爱之手的恩赐。系统神学给我们盼望，教导我们期待上帝永恒的国度按着上帝的应许必定实现。系统神学给我们爱心，把我们的信心和盼望导向在上帝里面的对象，也照亮我们从亚当族类的悲惨进入耶稣永恒国度的福乐的路程，并唤醒我们在灵修、敬拜、尊崇上帝、服事邻舍和世界上有合宜的作为。

Furthermore, by teaching us to contemplate God and all things in relation to God, systematic theology furnishes the Christian mind with principles for action. Systematic theology informs our faith, teaching us to apprehend God and all things as they really are and to receive all things as gifts from God’s fatherly hand. Systematic theology informs our hope, teaching us to anticipate the fulfillment of God’s eternal kingdom in accordance with God’s promise. And systematic theology informs our love: directing faith and hope to their object in God, we find a light to navigate our path out of the misery of Adam’s race into the bliss of Jesus’s eternal kingdom and to awaken fitting forms of devotion, adoration, and admiration for God, neighbor, and world.

第十，系统神学服务于我们的思想，为我们的首要目的——荣耀神和永远以神为乐——而预备我们。

10. Systematic theology also serves contemplative ends and thereby prepares us for our chief end, which is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.

虽然系统神学给我们带来很多实践上的益处，但是这并不是系统神学的唯一目的。系统神学也带来思想上的益处。

Though systematic theology serves a number of practical ends, systematic theology’s ends are not exclusively practical. Systematic theology also serves contemplative ends.

作为一种实践性的智慧，系统神学使爱心落实在这个世界有智慧的行动上；作为一种思想性的智慧，系统神学引导爱心在关于上帝的知识上找到最高和最终的落脚之处：“认识你——独一的真神，并且认识你所差来的耶稣基督，这就是永生。”（约17:3）透过帮助我们思想上帝和从万物与上帝的关系上去认识其他事物，系统神学教导我们以神为出发点、透过神和最终归向神来思考万事，使我们能将所有的荣耀都归给神（罗11:36）。系统神学把我们引向那一位能真正满足我们对幸福的渴望的独一的真神（诗42:1-2；约6:35）。系统神学因此帮助我们更好地实现人的首要目的——荣耀神，并且以神为乐。

As a species of practical wisdom, systematic theology directs love to prudential action in the world. As a species of contemplative wisdom, systematic theology directs love to its supreme and final resting place in the knowledge of God: “This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3). By teaching us to contemplate God and all things in relation to God, systematic theology teaches us to trace all things from, through, and to God, enabling us to give him all the glory (Rom. 11:36), and it directs us to the one in whom alone our thirst for happiness is quenched (Ps. 42:1–2; John 6:35). Systematic theology thus assists us in realizing the chief end of man, which is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.

什麽是純正的教義？  What Is Sound Doctrine?

作者: Scott Swain    譯者: Maria Marta

http://www.ligonier.org/blog/what-doctrine/

https://plus.google.com/u/1/106695469993489516884/posts/3AnpDx2zsJS?sfc=false

在我年輕的時候，我只考慮我的未來：我會和誰結婚？我會從事什麽職業？我將在哪裏居住？現在我是四個孩子的父親了，我只考慮他們的未來。

在保羅的事工將近結束時,   他把思想集中在他那持守信仰的, 「親愛的兒子」提摩太的未來的福祉上（提後一2）。保羅寫信給提摩太，告訴他關於生活和事工中最重要的事情。保羅不僅把上帝榮耀的福音（一8–10）和上帝默示的聖經（三16–17）託付給他的年輕門生，而且還向他說明有關健全教義的重要性：「你要靠著在基督耶穌裡的信心和愛心，常常堅守從我這裏聽過的話，作為純正話語的模範；又要靠著那住在我們裡面的聖靈，保守所交托你的善道。」（一13–14新譯本）。據據保羅的教導，對基督徒和教會的福祉而言,  教義是所有事情中最重要的一件。純正或「健康」的教義提供了一種模式， 遵循這種模式，便能促成健康的信心和愛心。純正的教義是寶貴的遺產，值得這一代人去愛護,  并忠心地將其傳遞給下一代人（二2）。

什麽是教義？從基本意義上說，教義是任何一方面的教導。例如，聖經談及人的教導（可七7–8）、惡魔的教導（提前四1；啟二24）、上帝的教導（約六45；帖後四9；約壹二27）等等。在這兒，我們考量神聖的教導，即上帝的教導。根據一個定義的解釋，教義是從上帝而來關於上帝的教導，這些教導指導我們榮耀上帝。這個定義對純正教義進行了剖析，確定了教義的源頭，對象和目標，對我們的理解提供了很有用的幫助。讓我們來考量這些純正教義的元素。

純正教義的根源

就基督教的教義而論,  三位一體的上帝上帝是最終的「權威神學家」或教師。在三位一體的完美團契中,  了解和愛自己的上帝滿有恩慈，願意讓我們認識祂和愛祂（太十一25–27；林前二10–12）。父上帝在聖靈裡藉著聖子教導我們這一教義,  指導我們的信心，引導我們的愛心。

雖然三一上帝是教義的最終源頭，但祂選擇在聖經中藉著祂的先知和使徒幫助我們明白教義。直到在上帝永恒的國度裡，上帝與我們面對面說話的那一天之前，聖經是純正教義的源頭和規範（提後三16；參看太七7–8）。教義是從聖經歸納出來，就如從源泉流出來那樣。教義被聖經衡量，就如被一個準則衡量那樣。此外，透過裝備我們,  教義引領我們返回聖經,   使我們成為更好的讀者。事實上，那些在不受純正教義教導的人最容易扭曲經文,  並「自取滅亡」（彼後三16）。

純正教義的對象

基督教的教義有雙重對象。教義的首要對象是上帝，次要的對象是與上帝有關的一切事情。教義教導我們看上帝為:   萬有都是本於祂，倚靠祂，歸於祂。 教義指導我們過榮耀上帝的生活（羅十一36；林前八6 ）。

當我們檢查在聖經中向我們呈現的教義的雙重對象時，我們看到一個明確的模式的出現（羅六17；提後一13）。這個模式是:   1. 三位一體（林前八6；弗四至六章；多三4–7）；2.  肯定創造（提前二13–15；四1–4）；3. 以福音為中心（提前三16；多二11–14）；4. 以教會為主導（提前十四至十五章）。在一些最被廣泛接受的基督教教導之總結的信經裡，如使徒信經、海德堡要理問答裡，聖經的獨特教義模式都留下了它的印記，並在基督教歷史上，對教會使用的崇拜形式起了指導作用。

純正教義的目標   

教義促成許多目標。純正的教義使我們脫離假教義的圈套（提後二24–26；多一9-11），不然假教義會威脅抑制我們的屬靈成長（弗四14）,   和滋生宗教紛爭（羅十六17）。教義為上帝對教會內（提前四16）外（太五13-16；多二9–10；彼前三1–6）的拯救工作效勞。尤其重要的是，教義促成上帝的榮耀。教義作為上帝福音的榮光之一，光芒照耀（提前一10至 11），在基督裡，藉著引領我們對上帝的信心和愛心，教義能讓我們行走在上帝的面前，把上帝應得的榮耀歸給祂（彼前四11；彼後三18）。

上帝愛我們；出於祂的良善,   上帝賜給我們教義這份美好的恩賜（詩一一九68），好叫我們能夠認識祂和祂的福音，好叫我們行事為人討祂喜悅。教義是我們天父的教導，在基督裡啟示,   在聖經中透過聖靈傳遞給我們,   为了上帝的名的榮耀，在教會裡，教義要被接受、認信,  和遵循。

本文原刊于Tabletalk杂誌。  

What Is Sound Doctrine?

FROM Scott Swain

When I was young, I only thought of my future: Whom would I marry? What vocation would I pursue? Where would I live? Now that I am the father of four children, I think only of their futures.

As he approached the final days of his ministry, the Apostle Paul set his thoughts on the future well-being of Timothy, his “beloved child” in the faith (2 Tim. 1:2). He wrote to him about the things that matter most for life and ministry. Not only did Paul commend to his young protégé the glorious gospel of God (vv. 8–10) and the divinely inspired Scriptures (3:16–17), but he also instructed Timothy regarding the importance of sound doctrine: “Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you” (1:13–14). According to Paul, doctrine is among the things that matter most for the well-being of the Christian and the church. Sound, or “healthy,” doctrine provides a pattern that, when followed, promotes healthy faith and love. Sound doctrine is a valuable heritage that is to be treasured in this generation and faithfully transmitted to the next (2:2).

What is doctrine? In its basic sense, doctrine is any sort of teaching. The Bible, for example, talks about the teachings of men (Mark 7:7–8), the teachings of demons (1 Tim. 4:1; Rev. 2:24), and the teachings of God (John 6:45; 1 Thess. 4:9; 1 John 2:27). Here, we are concerned with divine teaching, the teaching of God. According to one definition, doctrine is teaching from God about God that directs us to the glory of God. This definition provides a helpful anatomy of sound doctrine, identifying doctrine’s source, object, and ultimate end. We will consider these elements of sound doctrine.

The Source of Sound Doctrine

The triune God is the ultimate “doctor,” or teacher, when it comes to Christian doctrine. The God who knows and loves Himself in the perfect fellowship of the Trinity has graciously willed to make Himself known to us and loved by us (Matt. 11:25–27; 1 Cor. 2:10–12). This doctrine, taught by the Father through the son in the Holy Spirit, informs our faith and guides our love.

Though the triune God is the ultimate source of doctrine, He has chosen to minister doctrine to us through His prophets and Apostles in Holy Scripture. until the day when God speaks to us face-to-face in His eternal kingdom, Holy Scripture is the source and norm of sound doctrine (2 Tim. 3:16; see Mark 7:7–8). Doctrine is drawn from Holy Scripture as from a fountain. Doctrine is measured by Holy Scripture as by a rule. Furthermore, doctrine leads us back to Scripture by equipping us to become better readers. Indeed, those “untaught” in sound doctrine are most prone to twisting the Scriptures “to their own destruction” (2 peter 3:16).

The Object of Sound Doctrine

Christian doctrine has a twofold object. The primary object of doctrine is God; the secondary object is all things in relation to God. Doctrine teaches us to see God as the one from whom and through whom and to whom all things exist, and doctrine directs our lives to this God’s glory (Rom. 11:36; 1 Cor. 8:6).

When we examine the twofold object of doctrine as it is presented to us in Holy Scripture, a definite pattern emerges (Rom. 6:17; 2 Tim. 1:13). The pattern of sound doctrine is (1) Trinitarian (1 Cor. 8:6; Eph. 4:4–6; Titus 3:4–7), (2) creation affirming (1 Tim. 2:13–15; 4:1–4), (3) gospel centered (1 Tim. 3:16; Titus 2:11–14), and (4) church oriented (1 Tim. 3:14–15). The Bible’s distinctive doctrinal pattern has left its mark on some of the most widely accepted summaries of Christian teaching, such as the Apostles’ Creed and the Heidelberg Catechism, and has informed the shape of historic Christian worship.

The End of Sound Doctrine

Doctrine promotes a number of ends. Sound doctrine delivers us from the snare of false teaching (2 Tim. 2:24–26; Titus 1:9-11), which otherwise threatens to arrest spiritual development (Eph. 4:14) and to foster ecclesiastical discord (Rom. 16:17). Doctrine serves God’s saving work both inside (1 Tim. 4:16) and outside the church (Matt. 5:13-16; Titus 2:9–10; 1 Peter 3:1–6). Above all, doctrine promotes God’s glory. Doctrine shines forth as one of the glorious rays of the gospel of God (1 Tim. 1:10–11) and, by directing our faith and love toward God in Christ, it enables us to walk in His presence and give Him the glory He deserves (1 Peter 4:11; 2 Peter 3:18).

God loves us; and in His goodness He has given us the good gift of doctrine (Ps. 119:68) that we might learn of Him and of His gospel, and that we might please Him in our walk. Doctrine is the teaching of our heavenly Father, revealed in Jesus Christ, and transmitted to us by the Holy Spirit in Holy Scripture, and it is to be received, confessed, and followed in the church, to the glory of God’s name.

This post was originally published in Tabletalk magazine.