《西敏信条教牧简释 11.1》

Posted on Dec 17, 2020 by admin

第十一章    论称义 Of Justification

11.1    凡蒙上帝有效恩召的人,上帝也白白地使他们称义1。祂称他们为义,不是将义灌输给他们,而是赦免他们的罪,算他们为义,接纳他们为义人;不是因为在他们里面所成的,也不是因为他们所行的,而是惟独因着基督的缘故;也不是将信心本身,相信的行动,或任何其他福音所要求的顺服,归算为他们的义,而是将基督的顺服和补赎归算为他们的义2。他们藉着信心领受并依靠祂和祂的义。这信心也不是出于他们自己,乃是上帝所赐的3。

1罗8:30;3:24;2罗4:5-8;林后5:19,21;罗3:22,24,25,27,28;多3:5,7;弗1:7;耶23:6;林前1:30-31;罗5:17-19;3徒10:43;加2:16;腓3:9;徒13:38,39;弗2:7-8

11.1 Those whom God effectually calls, He also freely justifieth;1 not by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins, and by accounting and accepting their persons as righteous; not for any thing wrought in them, or done by them, but for Christ’s sake alone; nor by imputing faith itself, the act of believing, or any other evangelical obedience to them, as their righteousness; but by imputing the obedience and satisfaction of Christ unto them,2 they receiving and resting on Him and His righteousness by faith; which faith they have not of themselves, it is the gift of God.3

1 Rom 8:30; 3:24; 2 Rom 4:5–8; 2 Cor 5:19, 21; Rom 3:22, 24–25, 27–28; Tit. 3:5, 7; Eph 1:7; Jer 23:6; 1 Cor 1:30–31; Rom 5:17–19;  3 Acts 10:44; Gal 2:16; Phil. 3:9; Acts 13:38–39; Eph 2:7–8.

使徒保罗声称: “[上帝]预先所定下的人又召他们来,所召来的人又称他们为义,所称为义的人又叫他们得荣耀。” ( 罗8:30 ) 但什么是称义? 其实,“称义”一词是从希腊文动词dikaioō翻译而来,其词源又是形容词díkaios,意思为“正义的”。所以,为了使一个人称义,是要么使他变得正义,要不就宣布他是正义的。称义是上帝使一个罪人同时变得正义,也被宣布为正义的行为。神学家将这两部分称为实际称义和宣告称义。我们的信条没有区分这两点,但提到了上帝宣告祂的选民为义的实际基础。

The apostle Paul declares, “whom [God] did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified” (Rom 8:30). But what is it to be justified? Well, the word translated “justified” is the Greek verb dikaioō, which is derived from the adjective díkaios, which means “righteous.” Thus to justify someone is either to make him righteous or to declare him to be righteous.  Justification is an act of God that involves both making a sinner righteous and declaring him to be righteous. Theologians call these two aspects Actual Justification and Declarative Justification. Our Confession does not mention the distinction, but speaks of the actual basis upon which God declares His elect righteous.

考虑到这一点,我们学到了关于称义的以下五个方面:

With this in mind, we are taught the following five things about justification:

首先,我们要承认称义是“上帝所赐的”,“白白”地所赐。使徒保罗一遍遍地强调这个事实。例如,他提醒我们,我们”蒙上帝的恩典,因基督耶稣的救赎,就白白地称义”。(罗3:24) 即使信心本身,作为称义的工具,也是上帝恩赐的礼物。(弗2:8)

First, we are given to acknowledge that justification is “the gift of God” which is “freely” given. The apostle Paul insists on this truth repeatedly. He reminds us, for example, that we are “justified freely by [God’s] grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24). Even faith itself, the instrument of justification, is a gracious gift of God (Eph 2:8).

第二,我们肯定只有“蒙上帝有效恩召”的人才被称义。换言之,只有选民被称为义,因为他们是唯一被有效恩召的。(罗8:30) 所以,保罗问道:”谁能控告上帝所拣选的人呢?有上帝称他们为义了。”(罗8:33)

Secondly, we affirm that only those whom “God effectually calleth” are justified. In other words, only the elect, are justified since they alone are effectually called (Rom 8:30). Thus, Paul asks: “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth” (Rom 8:33).

第三,我们要表明上帝使选民称义,“不是将义灌输给他们,而是赦免他们的罪,算他们为义,接纳他们为义人”。换言之,称义是上帝司法性的宣判,不包括人本性的改变,而是罪人与律法的关系的改变。所以路德坚信一个基督徒同时是罪人,也同时称义时,他这一观点是正确的。

Thirdly, we are given to clarify that God justifies the elect, “not by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins, and by accounting and accepting their persons as righteous.” In other words, justification is a judicial act of God that does not include a change of nature, but rather a change of the sinner’s legal status in relation to God’s Law. This is why Luther is right when he insisted that a Christian is simultaneously just and a sinner.

第四,我们要坚信我们被称义是”惟独因着基督的缘故”,或更准确地说,因为”基督的顺服和补赎”。换言之,耶稣基督的义和祂赎罪的死是罪人在上帝面前称义的唯一基础。

Fourthly, we are given to insist that we are accounted righteous for “Christ’s sake alone,” or more precisely, for “the obedience and satisfaction of Christ.” In other words, the righteousness of Jesus Christ and His atoning death is the sole ground of a sinner’s justification before God.

但是最后,我们承认上帝称我们为义是通过”将基督的顺服和补赎归算”为我们。的确,在我们的归信过程中,上帝的圣灵在我们的心中运行正义。然而,上帝的圣灵内住并使我们成圣,是以我们的称义为基础,而不是为目的。所以,我们坚持说选民的称义不能是”因为在他们里面所成的,也不是因为他们所行的”。的确,没有人能在上帝面前称义,全体或部分地根据任何个人的义,无论是在归信之前或之后,因为上帝的眼目清洁,不看邪僻,而在祂眼里我们所有的义都像污秽的衣服 。(哈1:13,赛64:6) 即使”信心”,或”相信的行动”也不是基础,而是我们称义的工具。

But finally, we confess that God justifies us by “imputing the obedience and satisfaction of Christ” to us. It is true that in our conversion, God’s Spirit works righteousness in our heart. However, God’s Spirit indwells and sanctifies us on the basis of, rather than for the purpose of, our justification. So, we insist that the justification of the elect cannot be “for anything wrought in them, or done by them.” Indeed, no man can be justified before God, in whole or in part, on the ground of personal righteousness of any kind, whether pre-conversion or post-conversion, for all our righteousnesses are filthy rags in God’s eyes, which are purer than to behold evil (Isa 64:6, Hab 1:13). Even “faith” or the “act of believing” is not the ground, but the instrument of our justification.

如此理解,称义的教导将真正的基督教区别于其它错误的宗教,包括罗马天主教。唯有基督教坚信救赎是唯独恩典,唯独信心,唯独基督的。这是一个非常使人自由的神学,因为它将我们从害怕自己不够好,和假冒为善地认为自己比别人好的骄傲的捆绑中解放,同时使我们自卑,让我们为上帝的荣耀,出于以基督为我们所做的一切的感激和爱而活。你,亲爱的弟兄,是否有主耶稣基督中的喜乐,信心和希望,走在这自由之中?

The doctrine of justification, so understood, distinguishes true Christianity from all false religions including Roman Catholicism. Christianity alone insists that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. This is an extremely liberating theology for it frees us from the bondage of the fear of not being good enough and the hypocritical pride of being better than others, while  humbling us to live for the glory of God out of gratitude and love for all that Christ has done for us. Are you, beloved brethren, walking in this freedom with joy, faith and hope in the Lord Jesus Christ?

原文作者: 林集章 、蔡林斯 、欧阳效正
中文譯者: 何恩杰,刘行
來源: Westminster Confession of Faith — With Brief Pastoral Comments  

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