认识现代神学_37_改革宗信仰（续）end

主讲：林慈信牧师_校对：刘加立弟兄_英文：XSS姐妹_中文：姣姐妹

Contemporary World Theology，session 37. 认识现代神学第37讲。我们继续讲，究竟改革宗信仰是指什么？我们前面看到在欧洲改革宗神学有转变，特别是Berkouwer伯克豪尔，接受了罗马天主教神学和新正统神学。但是在第三世界的教会，所谓改革宗或者长老会的教会，往往转变成为一种的所谓保守派的神学。我们继续来看。

Conservative theology，as the “younger church” situation has defined it，is often institutionalized，bureaucratic theology. 在第三世界的所谓“年轻教会”的保守派神学，往往是制度化、官僚的神学。It is also isolated theology. 也是一个孤立的神学。It changes John’s demand for separation from the world (I John 2:15-17) into McIntire’s demand for separation from those who do not separate from those who have not separated. 他们不再是好像约翰一书2：15、17的从世界分别出来，现在比较像McIntire，M-c-I-n-t-i-r-e，那种的分别出来。就是我们要与谁分别出来呢？就是那些，没有跟那些没有分别出来的人分别出来，我们要与他们分别出来。

It becomes isolated from the future by consolidation with the past，他们与过去结盟，从未来孤立起来; hesitates to engage in creative theology because of its proper fear of destructive critical theology，他们很正确的害怕一种毁灭性的、批判性的神学，因此就不愿意从事创意性的神学; fears the left wing and the right wing and so remains on dead center，他们怕左派，也怕右派，因此就不能动弹; discusses theology rather than lives theology，他们讨论神学却不把它活出来; puts the cosmic dynamic of the kingdom of God into storage by limiting God’s rule to the future exclusively. 他们把上帝的国度的宇宙性的动力，把它冷藏了，他们限制了上帝的在宇宙里的统治，只限制于未来的国度。

Conservative theology，as the situation of “the younger churches” has refined it，is defensive theology. “第三世界教会”的保守派神学是一种被动的保护性的神学。It guards rather than promotes，他护卫，但是不提倡、不倡导，retrenches rather than advances，退缩，而不前进，commands by word rather than by example. 用话语来命令，而不是做好榜样。

What does it leave us? 那我们所得到的是什么呢？preaching without large vision and reforming conviction，我们所听到的讲道没有伟大的异象，没有宗教改革一般的信念; leadership from the politicians instead from the prophets，我们的领袖比较像政治家，不像先知; revivals without reformation，所谓的复兴是没有改革的; $10，000 church buildings with $l programs，他们的教会建筑物很昂贵，但是他们的事工项目却非常的薄弱; disillusioned college student who are dropping out of the “church world”，大学生往往对教会完全失望，就离开所谓“教会的圈子或者世界”; people trying to find God’s grace from special emotional experiences rather than from God’s Word，人们往往透过特殊的、情绪化的经验，去寻找上帝的恩典，而不是从上帝的话语去寻找; congregations showing their emptiness and dissatisfaction through lack of support for the church’s institutions. 会众往往不支持教会的事工或者学校，因为他们感觉到空虚和不满足。

Where shall we go? 我们该往何处去呢？Is it still worthwhile to be Reformed today? 今天做改革宗人士还值得吗？Or is “conservative” a better road? 还是说做个“保守派人士”更好呢？Or shall we move to the other end of the spectrum，或者我们要往相反的方向走，to the “neo-Calvinism” of G. C. Berkouwer? 要好像Berkouwer一样，走所谓“新的加文主义”的路线呢？

The Reformed faith is still a word that can be meaningful for a world theology. 今天，改革宗信仰作为一个世界性的神学还是一个有意义的标签。Our clash with modern theology in this guidebook should have indicated that by now. 我们在这本书与现代的神学冲突就应该向读者指出做改革宗是值得的。As Klaas Runia has said，正如Runia（克拉斯·鲁尼亚），说过，“Nearly all modern theologies are to some extent (sometimes even to a large extent) based on one or another philosophical system. 差不多所有的现代神学多多少少有些是很大幅度上，是根据某一个哲学系统的，或者比一个更多的哲学系统。

Although they proclaim that the Bible gives the answer to our deepest human questions，虽然这些神学家宣称圣经提供我们人类最深层的问题的答案，these theologies often do not let the Bible speak for itself. 往往这些的神学不让圣经说出它的原意的。The Bible is squeezed into the straitjacket of preconceived opinions and ideas. 圣经的信息被挤在一些很狭窄的、先入为主的概念里. . . Over against all this，we can merely say: we want to be ‘Reformed.’ 我们面对这一切，只能说我们要做‘改革宗’的。

That is to say，换言之，we want to build our faith on the Word of God as we find this in the Bible. 我们的信仰，我们愿意建立我们的信仰在圣经里的，也就是神的话语的基础上。It is not in our freedom to do with this Bible what pleases us. 我们没有自由任意的来处理这本圣经的。We may not lord it over the Bible，我们不可以在凌驾的圣经之上，but the Bible is lord of our life and thinking. 反之，圣经才是我们的生活跟我们的思考的主。

We must not tell Paul and John，Peter and James，Matthew and Luke，what the real message is，我们不可以告诉保罗、约翰、彼得、雅各、马太、路加，他们真正的信息是什么，but we must be willing to be taught by them. 我们必须愿意受教于他们。Yes，here too we can only be ‘Reformed.’ 是的，在这些事情上，我们只能做‘改革宗’的人士。For this term means nothing else than that God’s Word，God’s Word alone，is the absolute and final authority in matters of faith and conduct. 因为改革宗这个名词的意思只不过是说，上帝的话，唯独上帝的话是在一切信仰跟生活上的绝对的、至高的权威. . .”

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Our clash with liberal theology (even evangelical theology)， 我们与自由派神学（甚至乎与福音派神学）的冲突，has also indicated that modern man means more by theology than merely textbook doctrine.指出现代人所指的神学不仅仅是教科书里面的教义。When modern man talks about theology，现代人论到神学的时候，he often talks about politics，education，economics，labor unionism，revolutions. 他们往往论到的是政治、教育、经济、工会、革命。Theology has become a very comprehensive term in today’s world. 在今天的世界里，神学这个词汇已经是一个涵盖很多事情的一个概念。Can the Reformed faith cope with it? 改革宗信仰可以处理这些事吗？“conservative” theology certainly cannot. 所谓“保守派”的神学肯定是不能够的。

One scholar wrote these words about the sixteenth century Reformation movement under Calvin，有一位的学者这样论到加尔文所领导的十九世纪改教运动: “Calvin’s theology was more or less directly responsible for the Scottish uprising，加尔文的神学直接影响到苏格兰的革命，the revolt of the Netherlands，荷兰的革命，the French wars of religion，法国的宗教战争，and the English civil war. 还有英国的内战。

It was Calvin’s doctrine of the state as a servant of God，加尔文的教义是说政府是上帝的仆人，that established the idea of constitutional government，因此就设立了宪法的政府这个概念，and led to the explicit acknowledgement of the rights and liberties of subjects，所以直接的承认公民的权利和自由，and in due course，to tolerance. 最后导致信仰和各方面的容忍的立场。These facts reveal Calvin as，in effect the producer . . . of some of the most fundamental ingredients of post-Renaissance western civilization. 这些事实就证明，加尔文就是文艺复兴之后的，西方文明的最基本的一些的要素的作者。

It is doubtful whether any other theologian has ever played so significant a part in world history.我们怀疑，还有另外一位神学家在世界历史上扮演这么重要的角色吗。” That sounds like comprehensive theology，doesn’t it? 这种听起来好像是涵盖很多事物的神学，不是吗？Where is the Calvin of the twentieth century world? 那么二十世纪世界的加尔文又在哪里呢？

The Reformed faith operated in sixteenth century Europe，改革宗信仰在十六世纪的欧洲运行着，and operates in the twentieth century world，也在二十世纪的世界运行的，from what Dr. Calvin Seerveld of Trinity Christian College，Chicago，has called “three biblical givens.” 改革宗神学根据芝加哥的三一基督教大学的Seerveld（塞维尔德）的这位博士，根据他说“三个圣经的前提”，根据这三个圣经前提运行的。Without them，we can merely have a faith that “conserves.” 若没有这三个前提，我们的信任只不过是“保守性”的。What are they? 这三个前提是什么呢？

No. 1第一个前提。The church is not a collection of individual members，but one body，the body of Christ，the people of God，the fellowship of the Spirit. 教会不单单是一组个别的会友，教会是一个身体——基督的身体，上帝的子民，圣灵的团契。No Christian is all by himself when he embraces the saving work of Christ by faith. 任何一个基督徒，当他藉着信心接受基督救赎大功的时候，他不再是一个孤立的个人了。He is grafted into the body of Christ，他已经被插入基督的身体，symbolically initiated and sealed into it by baptism. 藉着洗礼这个的象征，这个表征，他进入到教会，洗礼也是印证了这个事实的。

No. 2 第二个前提。The life of the church in the New Testament was a full-orbed，total life. 新约时期的教会的生活是整全的，包括多方面的。The church of Acts 2 and 4 sounds almost like a commune，使徒行传第二章和四章的教会，听起来好像一个人民公社，with their fellowship of voluntarily shared material possessions，很多物质的东西都是很自愿的公用的，abiding by the rule of the apostles，他们听从使徒的治理，who sought to keep order among the more than 3，000 members. 使徒们尽力在三千多位的会友之间维持秩序。As the new Israel，their “worship” took place within the rainbow-rich field of many other faith-shaped activities. 教会作为新的以色列，他们的“敬拜”是在各种不同由信心所塑造的活动中间进行的。

No. 3 第三个前提。Spiritual life was far more than what went on within the walls of a building for an hour on Sunday morning. 灵命远远不止于星期天早上一个小时，在某一个建筑物里面所从事的活动。It was manifest in lives so overpowered by the Holy Spirit that they became living letters of Jesus Christ (II Cor. 3:3 ). 灵命是透过圣灵完全掌管的生命而活出来的，以至于他们就是耶稣基督活活的推荐信（林后3:3）。It was the kingdom life of the Spirit，灵命就是圣灵的国度、生命，the rule of God translated by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit into tangibles，上帝的统治由内住的圣灵转化，成为一些外在的事物，like righteousness，peace，and joy (Rom.14:17). 例如公义、平安和喜乐（罗14:17 ）。It was a “program of God，” 是“上帝的一个的计划或者项目”，centered in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ，不错，是以耶稣基督救赎的大功为中心的，with cosmic dimensions to touch every part of life for Christ. 但是有着宇宙性的这个宽度，要为了耶稣基督的缘故出到生命的每一个层面。

None of this means some No-church movement after the fashion of Watchman Nee or Uchimura. 这些都不像倪柝声或者日本的无教会运动。But it does mean preaching “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:28). 可是这个的确意味着要宣讲“上帝全盘的旨意”（徒20:27-28）。It means preaching the kingship of Christ，这个意味着我们要宣讲基督的王权，the rule of God，上帝的国度，that all life belongs to the Lord，也就是要宣讲人生的全部是属于主的—not just “church” life，or even merely home life，personal life，school life. 不仅仅是“教会”生活，或者甚至乎家庭生活，个人生活，学校生活。It means all societal life patterns and relationships. 这个包含着社会里所有的生活的模式跟人际关系。

This means Christian action as the body of Christ，an expression of the communion of the saints in the home，in education，in politics，in journalism，in art，in science. 就意味着，身为基督的身体，基督徒要采取行动，要在家庭、教育、政治、新闻、艺术、科学，各个层面上活出圣徒的相通。It may mean Christian schools and universities that can bear the cross of Christ in the lecture hall and the science lab. 这意味着要设立一些的基督教的大学，能够在科室和科学实验室里背起基督的十字架的。It may mean Christian labor unions willing to bear the yoke if Christ (Matt. 11:29-30). 意味着要有基督教的劳工工会，愿意负上基督的轭（太11:29-30）。

It may mean Christian political life that seeks to do more than simply avoid corruption，这也意味着一种基督徒的政治家的生涯不单单避免贪污腐败，that seeks to reform politics from its roots with the Word of God. 透过上帝的话，从根底里改革政治。It may mean Christian art institutes that shape clay and canvas in the light of the beauty of Christ’s glory. 可能要有一些基督教的艺术院，用绘画和雕刻来反映出基督荣耀的荣美。

The Reformed faith does not stop with five points (or even fifty points). 改革宗信仰不单单是五要点（甚至乎五十个要点）。That is just the beginning. 这个只不过是一个开始。To make it the end produces the caricature we have designated “conservative” theology. 假如把加尔文主义五要点作为是终点的话，那就把改革宗丑化，就好像“保守派”的神学一样。

Which shall it be? 我们要走哪一条路呢？Biblical Calvinism? 合乎圣经的加尔文主义呢？Or “conservatism”? 还是“保守主义”呢？

全书完毕

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