守約的神（三）：聖約神學的實際涵義
The Covenant Keeping God - Part 3
Practical-Implications of Covenant Theology
作者：Dr. Greg Bahnsen
百萬個為什麼/譯 誠之/校
原文鏈結：
http://www.salemreformed.org/pages/articles/bahnsen-articles/cross-examination-covenant-3.php
（感謝Salmen Reformed Church惠允翻譯）
首先讓我們扼要重述一下什麼是“聖約神學”（covenant theology）：神在聖經的扉頁中向我們啟示了自己，特別顯明了祂是守約的神。要正確地了解神本身（祂的位格）以及祂的工作，我們必須從神與祂的選民立約，並成全此約這道亮光去認識祂。
Let us begin by recapitulating what we mean by covenant theology. God reveals Himself in the pages of Scripture specifically as the covenant-keeping God. To understand His person and works properly, we must see Him in light of the covenant He has made and fulfills with His people.
我們早已看到，從創世之初，神與人的關係，從本質上講，就是聖約的關係。祂的約在本質上是一個聖約。神與亞當所立的約是以恩典為特徵，是祂主權所立的，而且對雙方都具有約束力；它要求亞當的信靠和順服，也需要神的監管（祝福或詛咒）。在亞當墮落犯罪後，神以憐憫與亞當重新建立了一個聖約的關係。這個帶着恩典和應許的聖約甚至着眼更遠——救世主降臨的應許，這應許在整本舊約中逐步展開，並得到詳細的闡述。
We have already seen that God's relationship with man from the very beginning was covenantal in nature. His covenant was covenantal in nature. His covenant with Adam was gracious in character, sovereignly imposed, mutually binding, called for trust and submission on Adam's part, and carried sanctions (blessings or curse). When Adam fell into sin, God mercifully re-established a covenantal relationship with him, one in which the gracious and promissory character of the covenant was accentuated even further -- in the promise of a coming Savior, a promise which is progressively unfolded and elaborated upon throughout the Old Testament.
人類墮落之後所有的聖約（包括神在摩西時期的治理Mosaic administration），在本質上也都是以恩典為特徵的，是先前聖約的補足和延伸，並以基督以及祂的救贖工作為中心——而不是以猶太人和巴勒斯坦這塊地為中心。舊約預表了基督和祂將要做的工作（借着預示和預言），新約則回顧了基督和祂已成就的工作，將福音宣告出來，即神救恩的國度已經到來。如此，神在各個時期不同的治理方式，基本上仍是同一個聖約。
Thus all of the post-fall covenants (even the Mosaic administration ) were gracious in character, complementing and expanding upon previous ones, and centered on Christ and His redemptive work -- rather than upon the Jews or the land of Palestine. The Old Covenant looked ahead to Christ and His work (by foreshadow and prophecy), while the New Covenant looks back to Christ and His work, proclaiming the gospel that God's saving kingdom has now arrived. These are, then, but one underlying covenant under differing administrations.
問：時代論者（dispensationalists）和聖約神學家都察覺到新舊約聖經之間是連貫的，但也有不連貫之處。雙方都認識到，墜落後的人類要得到拯救，就需要神所賜與的恩典。雙方都認為，摩西時期的祭儀（聖殿、獻祭、等等），在新約中已經被擱置到一旁。那麼，在擺明了所有的觀點之後，兩種學派間的神學差異還真有這麼重大嗎？
QUESTION: Both dispensationalists and covenant theologians see continuity as well as discontinuity between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Both recognize the need for the grace of God for anybody to be saved after the fall. Both believe that the Mosaic cultus (temple, sacrifices, etc.) has been laid aside in the New Covenant. So is the theological difference between these two schools of thought really so significant when all is said and done?
答：它們之間的分岐的確很大。它反映了對神的本性和性情的理解，會影響到我們看待救恩和理解聖經的方法，對我們敬拜神的方式，以及在世界中活在神的面前，也有更深遠的含意。時代論者也許會推導出某些與聖約神學相同的結論，但他們推導出那些結論的方法，卻成為了引起其它錯誤的根源。
ANSWER: The significance of the difference is a weighty one indeed. It reflects upon the nature and character of God. It impacts the way in which we see salvation and scripture. It carries far-reaching implications for the way in which we worship God and live before Him in the world. Dispensationalists may arrive at certain conclusions which agree with the conclusions of covenant theology, but the way in which they reach those conclusions leads to a host of other errors.
比如說，時代論者主張舊約中的每個教義原則已隨着新約的到來而結束——除了新約所重申的教義以外。聖約神學家則採取截然不同的方法來闡釋聖經。他們堅持，除了主自己，沒有一個人有特權去更改或廢除主的話。因此，隨着新約的到來，舊約中的所有教義原則仍然繼續有效，除非立約的神有新的宣示。簡而言之：只有神自己才可以為新的教義賦予新意。因而， 時代論者和聖約神學家所採用的假設是剛好相反的。
For instance, dispensationalists maintain that everything in the Old Covenant passes away with the coming of the New Covenant -- everything except that which is reiterated in the New Covenant. Covenant theologians take a diametrically different approach to Biblical interpretation. They hold that nobody has the prerogative to alter or abrogate the word of the Lord except the Lord Himself. Therefore, with the coming of the New Covenant all the principles of the Old Covenant continue to be valid except where the Lord of the Covenant declares things to be new. To put it simply: God alone can define the newness of the new. Thus the operating presumption of dispensationalists and covenant theologians is exactly the opposite of each other.
時代論者會這樣說：到了末了，舊約中的救贖可以憑着對神的恩典的信心得到。可是，他們也說到，在舊約中，救恩的施予取決於人是否完全遵行了律法——神在舊約中對律法主義者也發出了邀請。與此相比較，他們甚至假定，新約不講律法；救恩純粹是靠恩典，完全不考慮人的行為。這種對神的特性和主權的觀點令人憂慮、 且偏離了聖經。按照聖約神學的觀點，得救不是靠行為，乃是出於神的恩典。並且，這恩典需要神的選民以忠心順服作為回應——在舊約和新約里都是如此。因此，時代論者曲解了神的救贖工作和新約的新義。
Dispensationalists will say that, in the end, salvation in the Old Covenant was by the grace of God through faith. However, they also say that, hypothetically, salvation was offered to men on the basis of their keeping the law perfectly -- that God extended an invitation to legalism -- in the Old Covenant. By contrast, they say, the New Covenant knows no legalism, even hypothetically; salvation is purely by grace without any consideration of works whatsoever. This viewpoint displays a very disturbing and unbiblical understanding of God's character and sovereignty. According to Covenant theology, salvation has never been by works, even hypothetically; it has always been proclaimed on the basis of God's grace. And this grace has always called for the response of faithful obedience on the part of God's people -- in both of Old and New Testaments. Thus dispensationalists have misconstrued God's work of salvation and (again) the newness of the New Covenant.
此外，由於時代論者沒有榮耀神的聖約的統一性，他們今天同樣在誤導神的選民，把教會看成為神初期宣示的某種補充，並堅持猶太民族作為神在遠古的選民，仍繼續享有特權的這個觀點。因而，時代論者堅持把屬天的子民（教會）和屬地的民眾（猶太民族）的期盼和未來作出區分。然而，這遠遠不是保羅的展望。他不僅將混雜着外邦人的教會視為“神的以色列”（加6：16）——現在是由“以色列國民”（commonwealth of Israel）的“聖徒”（fellow-citizens）借着基督的寶血建立起來的（弗2:11-13，19）；他還堅持，以色列未來的福分，完全要靠參與在教會中福音的祝福——藉着把橄欖樹嫁接回外邦人所嫁接的枝頭上（羅11:11-26）。
Even further, because dispensationalists do not honor the unity of God's covenant, they also misconstrue the people of God today, seeing the church as something of a supplement to God's first declarations on the subject, and clinging to the idea of a continuing privilege for the ethnic Jews as God's ancient people. Accordingly dispensationalists insist on distinguishing the expectations and futures for the heavenly people (the church) and the earthly people (the Jews). Nothing could be further from Paul's own outlook, however. He not only saw the mixed Gentile church as "the Israel of God" (Gal. 6:16 ) which is now made up of "fellow-citizens" of the "commonwealth of Israel" through Christ's blood (Eph. 2:11-13 , 19 ), but he insisted that Israel's future blessing would be precisely to share in the gospel blessings of the church (Rom. 11:11-26 ) -- by being grafted back into the single olive tree into which the Gentiles have been grafted.
所以，我們不得不承認時代論者和聖約神學家之間存在着巨大分歧，因為這些分歧影響着我們對神的品格、救贖的本質、神的選民的身份的思考，以及我們應該如何運用聖經。
So then, we are forced to recognize that the differences between dispensationalists and covenant theologians are tremendous ones, for they affect what we think of the character of God, the nature of salvation, the identity of God's people, and how we use the Bible.
問：聖約神學用一種獨特的方法去解讀基督徒的信息和生活。儘管時代論者（藉著錯誤的神學方法）也可能得到某些相同的結論，您能談談聖約神學有些什麼實際的內涵嗎？
QUESTION: Covenant theology has a distinctive way of looking upon the Christian message and the Christian life. Even though dispensationalists may reach some of the same conclusions (through a faulty theological method), what would you say are some of the practical implications of covenant theology?
答：首先，聖約神學所理解的基督教，代表着救恩唯獨靠恩典這一核心的、不可更改的信息。神以聖約的方式拯救我們——靠着祂所設立的白白的應許與憐憫的關係，並非因為我們裡面有任何的功勞(merit)。
ANSWER: First of all, Christianity as understood by covenant theology stands for the central and unchanging message of salvation by grace alone. God saves us by way of covenant -- by His free promise and merciful relationship initiated by Him without consideration of any merit within us.
所以，在基督徒的生活中，首要的是靠着信心而活，在未來的事上還沒有得到結果和成就之前，要相信神的應許。神自己先與我們立了約，並用祂的權柄設立了各項條款，聖約神學意指臣服於神的主權。
The Christian life is therefore above all a matter of living by faith, trusting the promise of God when the outcome or fulfillment is as yet unseen. And because God Himself initiated the covenant and set its terms by His own authority, covenant theology means bowing to the sovereignty of God.
因為祂是獨有權能的，我們承認祂掌管世上的萬有，祂對我們及我們的一切擁有主權——包括我們的兒女, 他們被恩慈地烙上了祂的印記。因此，聖約神學不認同極端的個人主義，強調家庭、強調神的全體選民（教會）。它把教會（持守信心的神的子民）作為神的救恩目標的焦點，貫穿整個救贖的歷史。因着這個新、舊約中神的子民的統一性，以色列民族並無特殊的地位（相同的祝福會透過教會，臨到所有的人）。
Since He is sovereign, we acknowledge that He owns the whole world and He owns us as well as everything about us -- including our children. They are graciously marked out as His own. Thus covenant theology shuns religious individualism in favor of an emphasis upon the family and upon the corporate people of God (the church). It sees the church, God's people by faith, as the focus of His saving purposes throughout redemptive history. Because of this unity between God's people in both the Old and New Covenants, there is no special place for ethnic Israel (apart from the same blessings which come to all men through the church).
聖約神學會培育以基督為中心的思想，因為祂是神應許的中保。同時，聖約神學強調彌賽亞的三個職份：先知、祭司、和君王。而且，救贖主正在行使這三個職份。我們對於救贖的唯一盼望是祂憑着祂的救贖工作，在神面前以祂大祭司的身份為我們代禱。作為先知，在我們生命的每一個領域，祂必定是超越我們的推理能力和在教育上的努力。我們要榮耀祂作為我們的君王，在生活中的每個領域（職場、娛樂、藝術、科學、社會、政治、經濟，等等）活出祂的道。聖約神學宣告了在神面前（與祂“守約”）過聖潔、堅忍生活的需要。
Covenant theology fosters thinking which is Christ-centered because He is the Mediator of God's promises, and covenant theology puts emphasis upon all three of the Messiah's offices: prophet, priest, and king. All three are currently exercised by the Savior. Our only hope for salvation is His priestly intercession to God based upon His finished work of redemption. As our prophet He must be the Lord over our reasoning as well as our educational efforts, in all areas of life. Honoring Him as the reigning King, we seek to apply His word to every area of life (vocations, recreations, arts, sciences, society, politics, economics, etc.). Covenant theology declares the need for sanctified and persevering living under God ("keeping covenant" with Him).
最後，由於我們與神的關係從本質上是聖約性的，我們有必要把神的道作為定義聖約的條文。我們必須是這樣的子民：研究並珍視神所顯明的事——整本聖經，因為聖約神學堅守神的道的統一性和連貫性。從如上種種，我們可以了解到聖約神學是多麼重要、多麼實際。
Finally, because our relationship with God is covenantal in nature, there is a desperate need for God's word as the covenant's defining document. We must be people who study and cherish what God has there revealed -- from cover to cover, since covenant theology maintains the unity and continuity of that word. In all these ways we see just how important and how practical covenant theology really is.
