应许遥不可及时——亞伯拉罕的信心之旅（十二）
When Promises Seem Far Away——
亚伯拉罕信心之旅第十二篇信息Abraham’s Journey of Faith Message No.12
『GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY AND MAN’S RESPONSIBILITY上帝的主权和人的责任』——GOD ALWAYS REMEMBERS神祂永远纪念
经文：《创世记》Genesis 17：1-14《Genesis》17:1-14
主讲：林慈信牧师_校对：刘加立
The scripture passage is《Genesis》17：1-14经文是《创世纪》第十七章第1节到14节。我们先读英文：When Abram was ninety-nine years old，the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him“I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless，that I may make my covenant between me and you，and may multiply you greatly.”亚伯兰九十九岁的时候，耶和华向他显现，说：‘我是全能的上帝。你当在我面前作完全人。我就与你立约，使你的后裔极其繁多。’Then Abram fell on his face.And God said to him，“Behold，my covenant is with you and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.No longer shall your name be called Abram，but your name shall be called Abraham，for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.And I will make you exceedingly fruitful，and I will make you into nations，and kings shall come from you.第3节：亚伯兰俯伏在地；上帝又对他说：‘我与你立约；你要作多国的父。从此以后，你的名不再叫亚伯兰，要叫亚伯拉罕，因为我已立你作多国之父。我必使你的后裔极其繁多；国度从你而立，君王从你而出。And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant，to be God to you and to your offspring after you.第7节：我要与你并你世世代代的后裔坚立我的约，作永远的约，是要作你和你后裔的上帝。And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings，all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession，and I will be their God.”第8节：我要将你现在寄居的地，就是迦南全地，赐给你和你的后裔永远为业，我也必作他们的上帝。’Verse 9：And God said to Abraham“As for you，you shall keep my covenant，you and your offspring after you throughout their generations.This is my covenant which you shall keep between me and you and your offspring after you：Every male among you shall be circumcised.第9节：上帝又对亚伯拉罕说：‘你和你的后裔必世世代代遵守我的约。你们所有的男子都要受割礼；这就是我和你并你的后裔所立的约，是你们当遵守的。Verse 11：You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins，and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised.Every male throughout your generations whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring，both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised.So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant.第11节：你们都要受割礼；这是我与你们立约的证据（记号）。你们世世代代的男子，无论是家里生的，是你后裔之外用银子从外人买的，生下来第八日都要受割礼。你们家里生的和你用银子买的，都必须受割礼。这样，我的约就立在你们肉体上作永远的约。Verse 14：Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskins shall be cut off from these people，he has broken my covenant但不受割礼的男子必从民中剪除，因他背了我的约。’
引言INTRODUCTION：
Many Christians debate about the question of sovereignty of God and the freedom or responsibility of man很多基督徒喜欢辩论、争辩上帝的主权和人的自由和责任这个问题的。This is how they often conclude他们往往这样作一个结论说：“Well, it’s 50-50: 50% God’s sovereignty；50% man’s responsibility.”‘五十五十咯！百分之五十是上帝的主权，百分之五十是人的责任。’
Brothers and sisters：Is this true? Is this statement an accurate description of the situation弟兄姐妹，真的吗？这句话描述了真实的情况吗？More importantly, is this what the Bible teaches更重要的是，《圣经》的确如此教导吗？The best way to hold together God’s sovereignty and man’s freedom or responsibility is to understand the doctrine of the“covenant.”若要把上帝的主权和人的自由和责任连接在一起，最好的方法是了解圣经里‘约’这个真理。Of course，the doctrine of the covenant does more than resolve for us the problem of God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility当然‘约’的教义不仅是帮助我们解决上帝的主权跟人的责任这个难题的；the covenant helps us to see how God loves us约更能给我们看见上帝是如何爱我们的；how God remembers to love us上帝如何记念要爱我们；and how we should remember his love我们也应该怎么记念祂的爱。
上下文CONTEXT：
When we began our study of 《Genesis》chapter 17 last time，we saw that for us there is never a good time to be confronted by God我们上次开始研读《创世记》第十七章就看到：上帝来与我们‘算账’、来面对我们，对我们来说永远没有‘最好的时间’的。But God did choose this moment in Abraham’s life但是上帝具体选择了亚伯拉罕在生命中这个的时刻，to show him the deeper meaning of the covenant来让他看见上帝与他设立这关系更深的意义，to show him the meaning of the relationship which is established with Abraham.Now this relationship is“covenant.”上帝与他的关系就是‘约’了。
First of all today今天我们先来看：God remembers forever上帝永远纪念的。We will first give it all of you are the covenant，and the sign and seal of the covenant我们先来一个概况的理解：来了解约的意义，还有约里面的记号sign和印证seal的意义。
[I]GOD REMEMBERS FOREVER上帝永远纪念的：THE COVENANT AND THE SIGN AND SEAL OF THE COVENANT 约和约的记号和印证：
[1]WHAT IS THE COVENANT约是什么？
Now we have been reading the story of Abram or Abraham from《Genesis》Chapter 12 on word(09:27)我们一直来从《创世记》第十二章来读亚伯拉罕的一生的。We have seen how God is gracious、merciful to Abraham through his ups and downs我们看到，虽然亚伯拉罕的信心有所起伏，然而上帝对祂不断地施恩典怜悯的。
Now we come to Chapter 17现在我们来到（《创世记》）第十七章，now here God clearly tells us about the“covenant.”上帝在这里清楚地把祂的“约”告诉我们了。So now we need to directly study the meaning of the“covenant.”所以现在我们要直接来看“约”的意义。
- NAME OF GOD’S RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU上帝与你的关系的名字：“Covenant”is the name“约”是一个名字，“Covenant”is the name which
God gives to the relationship between himself and his people“约”是上帝所定下的名字，是上帝为祂和祂子民之间的关系所定下的名字。Brothers and sisters弟兄姐妹，“Covenant” is the name of your relationship with Jesus Christ“约”就是你和你的主耶稣基督之间的关系的名字！
B.THE COVENANT IS UNILATERALLY，ONE-SIDEDLY，SOVEREIGNTY ESTABLISHED BY GOD约是上帝单方面所设立的，是上帝主权设立的：
Now see the word“relationship”does not appear in the Bible弟兄姐妹，《圣经》里没有用“关系”这个字的。Of course in the Chinese Bible there is one place where the word“guan-xi”is used，but that means“concerning.”在中文《圣经》里面有一次提到“关系”，这个是‘关乎’的意思，不是我们一般所讲的“relationship”的意思。Whether you like it or not，your relationship with Jesus Christ has a name；God has given that name但是，无论你喜欢或者不喜欢，你和耶稣基督的“关系”是有个名字的；是上帝定了这个名字的；This name is “covenant”“约”就是这个名字。“Covenant”is the“relationship”which a king announces to his subordinates“约”是一个君王向他的下属颁布的“关系”。The covenant was designed by God and established by God——sovereignly，unilaterally“约”是上帝单方面主权的设计的，是上帝单方面主权的设立的。We don’t have the freedom to choose a covenant with God我们没有权选择与上帝立一个约。Now in general，God requires a response from men when he establishes covenant一般来说，上帝立约的时候是要求人有所回应的。But there are exceptions但是有例外：When God established his covenant with Noah，especially after the flood，he did not require a human response上帝和挪亚立约——就是洪水之后与挪亚立约的时候，并没有要求人做回应的。This exception proves这个例外就说明：the covenant is unilaterally，sovereignly established by God约，是上帝单方面设立的，是他主权地计划和设立的。
C.THERE ARE TWO CORE INGREDIENT TO THE COVENANT在约里面有两个核心的要素：GRACE AND LAW恩典与律法：
In the covenant，God gave his people promises and guarantees上帝在“约”里面给了祂的子民一些的应许、一些的保证的：promises、guarantees concerning salvation，the work of his grace就是关乎救恩，他的恩典的工作的应许和保证的。Now we saw in《Genesis》Chapter 15 that God had already made such a guarantee through the ceremony of torch from heaven我们在《创世记》第十五章已经看到：上帝怎么从天上有一个火把、火炉下来，这个是祂的誓约、祂的保证。
The salvation which God provides is free，we cannot do anything…we cannot work to earn it上帝为人所预备的救恩，都是祂恩典的作为——白白的恩典；人不能作什么功夫来赚得这个救恩的。However in the covenant，God clearly requires an response from man to him可是在“约”里面，上帝很清楚要求人要向他作出回应的：the response of faith，repentance and obeying his commands这个回应就是：相信、悔改、遵行祂的命令。We must do these这些是我们必须要行的。God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility are both in the“covenant”，they are indispensable elements of the“covenant.”上帝的主权和人的责任，两者都在‘约’里面，是不可或缺的部分。
[2]YOUR CHILDREN ARE INCLUDED IN THE COVENANT你的儿女包括在约里：
And this principle that God is sovereign and gracious in saving men and women，and then we have responsibilities before God这个原则是：上帝拯救人，是出于祂的主权、祂的恩典；而人在神面前却有某些的责任的。This principle not only applies to you the believer, but also to your children as well这个原则是为你，基督徒所设立的；也是为你的儿女们所设立的。God established his covenant with Abraham，and also with his children and his descendants上帝与亚伯拉罕立祂的约，同时也是与他的儿女和他的后裔立的。Now although each person must respond individually to God虽然每一个人都必须亲自的个人向上帝作出回应：repenting of sin，trusting in his grace悔改认罪，相信祂的恩典；every child must individually do this每一个信徒、每一个儿女都必须这样做。But there are certain privileges and blessings which are especially given to believer’s children，not to all children in general但是“约”里面的确有一些的特权、一些的福份是特别赐给信徒们的儿女的，不是赐给全世界的儿女的。
How does this apply to you Christian father and mother对你来说，你是基督徒，你是为人父母的，对你有什么意思呢？
THE APPLICATION OF CHRISTIAN PARENTS基督徒父母亲的应用:
Well，this principle teaches us how to understand our children, and how to pray for them这个‘约’的原则是教导我们怎么能够理解我们的孩子们究竟是谁——在神面前是谁；然后是怎么样为他们祷告的。Let me first give you a preview我先预估一下这个结论：We must cling to God’s promises我们必须紧紧抓住神的应许，trusting God to protect our children’s souls相信祂必定保守我们儿女的灵魂的。All right，now we’ve seen that it is God for sovereignly establish the covenant我们看到上帝主权地设立这个约；his grace and law in the covenant这个约里面有恩典、有诫命。And our children are included我们的孩子们也包括在内的。
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[3]RELATIONSHIP AND CEREMONY关系与仪式 ：
Now God not only gave a name to this relationship上帝不仅仅是给了一个名字给这个关系，and God not only gave promises and commands in the covenant上帝在“约”里面也不仅仅给了应许和诫命；when he established the covenant with Abraham and with Moses，he confirmed the covenant with an outward ceremony当上帝与亚伯拉罕立约、与摩西立约的时候，祂用了一些外在的仪式来肯定证实这个“约”的。The Bible calls this ceremony a“sign”of the covenant《圣经》称这些仪式为约的记号。The Bible also calls it a“seal” 《圣经》也称这个仪式叫做“印证”的。中文《圣经》在这里，“记号”这个词翻译成“证据”。First it is a sign；Secondly it is a seal ；这个仪式首先是一个“记号”——这里是说证据；第二是印证。
A.It is a sign是一个记号: It is an outward symbol of an inward reality是一个内里的、心里面的事实，一个属灵的事实的外在的表征——the inward cleansing work of Holy Spirit就是圣灵在人心里面所做的洁净的工作。It is an outward symbol of what God has done这个是一个外在的表征，表明上帝做什么——justification by his grace through faith就是因信称义，白白的恩典——因信称义的恩典。A sign一个记号，an outward symbol一个外在的表征。
B.It is also called a seal这个也称为印证：A seal is a confirmation、a guarantee of what God has said，what God has promised and what God has done是一个证实、一个保证，保证上帝所说过的、上帝所应许过的、上帝所已经成就的事情。In other words，the seal is God’s testimony，and testimony is God’s gift换言之，一个印证是上帝在做见证，上帝要向我们做见证的。Now covenant here in 《Genesis》17 is a sign and a seal弟兄姐妹，在这里《创世记》第十七章，割礼是一个记号、割礼是一个印证。These two words、these two names“Sign”and“seal”are mentioned together in 《Romans》Chapter 4 verse 11在新约《罗马书》第四章第11节，一节里面同时出现这两个字：“记号”和“印证”的——《Romans》4 ：11《罗马书》四章第11节。“He (Abraham) received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised.”并且他亚伯拉罕受了割礼的记号，作为他未受割礼的时候因信称义的印证。
Now you may ask a question你可能会问一个问题：
C.Can there be a covenant without the sign and seal假如没有“记号”、没有“印证”，还可以有“约”吗？
Now this is a question that Christians with thinking self-centered always often asked这些是一些基督教徒，他的思考是以人为中心的、常常会问的问题。Brothers and sisters，God doesn’t need a sign and a seal弟兄姐妹，上帝是不需要这个记号和印证的。The covenant already existed in God’s plan and in God’s mind in eternity上帝创造宇宙以前已经计划好这个“约”了。But God decided to give us the sign and the seal但是上帝定意要给我们记号和印证，it was God’s idea是祂的旨意。He wants us to remember his salvation祂要我们记得祂的救恩。Therefore, he gave us a sign and a seal因此，祂给了我们这个记号和印证。Now receiving a sign and a seal doesn’t earn your salvation领受这个记号并不能够给你赚得救恩的。But that was God’s idea但是这是上帝的旨意that we received a sign and a seal上帝的旨意要我们领受这个记号、这个印证的。
In the Old Testament, the sign and seal of the covenant he made with Abraham was circumcision旧约时期，上帝给亚伯拉罕的记号和印证——上帝与亚伯拉罕立约那个记号、印证就是割礼。In the New Testament, the sign and seal of the covenant God made with us through Jesus Christ is baptism那么在新约时期，上帝藉着耶稣基督这个中保所立的约，这个约的记号和印证是洗礼。
《Colossians》2:11-13 teaches us this《歌罗西书》第二章11-13节这样教导我们的：Since we are baptized我们既然受了洗，we have received a circumcision which was done not with hands我们就领受了一个不是人手所施行的割礼。This is what Paul said in 《Colossians》2保罗在《歌罗西书》第二章是这样说的：In him（in Christ）also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands，by putting off the body of the flesh，by the circumcision of Christ. Having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God，who raised him from the dead. And you，who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses你们在祂里面（在基督里面）也受了不是人手所行的割礼，乃是基督使你们脱去肉体（情欲）的割礼。你们既受洗与祂一同埋葬，也就在此与祂一同复活，都因信那叫祂从死里复活上帝的功用或者大能。你们从前在过犯和未受割礼的肉体死了，上帝赦免了你们（或我们）一切过犯，便叫你们与基督一同活过来。As we are baptized, we are circumcised by Christ我们受洗同时就是等于受了基督所施行的割礼了。好，我们现在看到一般的这个概念。Now we have general idea：the“covenant”and convenant common sign and seal上帝的“约”，“约”同时有“记号”、“印证”的。
Now let us study《Genesis》17现在我们看《创世记》第十七章：