Cong Fang

选摘自：雅各书要理问答 第247问
https://stemitv.org/radio/QandA/7508

       真理不是民族的、城邦的、思想家主观的、属于个人的，真理是普世的，这个是希腊古典哲学最大的贡献；所谓真理，不是在这里是真理，在那里就不是真理，在这个国家被认为是对的，到了别的国家变成不对的，那不是真理，那是相对性的东西；所以无论是苏格拉底（Σωκράτης, 469-399 BC）、柏拉图（Πλάτων, 427-347 BC）、亚里斯多德（Ἀριστοτέλης, 384-322 BC）他们都承认有「universal 共相」普世标准的存在；如果是真理，在这里是真理，在南极、北极都是真理；在东方是真理的，在西方也是真理；在小孩子是真理，在老人家也是真理；在古代是真理的、在现代也是真理；而中国人就用「宇宙」这空间、时间的关连跟真理配合，说了很伟大的话： 「放诸四海而皆准，历万代而常新，always fresh, always new。」就是 unchanged。

       「不变」与「变化」哲学关连怎样建立呢？孔子（551-479, BC）盼望好好研究《易经》就说：「加我数年，五、十以学易，可以无大过矣。」（《论语》述而篇）《易经》的「易」就是变化的意思，一切的一切都在变化，这变化的现象就是宇宙万象；但是，是否有不变的东西主使这些变化呢？希腊哲学就说，「一切都在变动中，这『永远在变动中』的事理本身是不变的；有什么是不变的？有，就是『一切都在变』这是不变的，everything is changing that is the only thing unchanged。」这是赫拉克利图斯学派Heraclitean School，或者叫「动性哲学」的鼻祖—赫拉克利图斯（Heraclitus, 544-484 BC）的定论。

       我们在《圣经》里看见，一切都是变化，只有上帝没有改变，变化的万有中有一位超万有的上帝是没有改变的。中国只有一个人看出来，就是老子，老子说，那有物混成先天地生的道是独立而不改，（参《道德经》 第25章）它是独立的，self-existed，self-dependant，是不改的 unchangeable；希腊哲学里，亚里斯多德说，「有一个 unmoving mover the one who moves everything but himself will never be moved，它继续不断使万有转动，但它自己没有转动。」自己没有转动才能使万有动，这个第一个原动力就是上帝。希腊哲学、老子哲学，早就看到「动」与「不动」之间的关连：「动者」是被造者，而「不动者」是创造者；「动者」是「果」，而「不动者」是「因」；因为有一个不动者，它自己不动，才推动一切而动；如果你自己要推动一个很重的东西，而你自己在动的话，那你就很难推动了，你要站稳你的岗位、自己不动才推动别的东西，如此你的不动就变成原动力，使别人动；这普世的、不变的就是真理的本质。上帝就是真理的本体，是永远不变的，祂用真理来改变我们。这宇宙有普遍的原理是不变的、恒常的、自我存在的，那就是真理的本身。基督教的真理是有位格的、有本体的，那真理的本身就是上帝；上帝用祂的道来创造万有、改变万有、重生我们，所以，对上帝道的吸收与回应就决定了我们自己以后变成怎样的位格，是否能被建造在这不变的真理之上，而变化自己，越来越亲近、越来越像创造我们的主。

作者：Stephen Rees

       改革宗信仰的核心——合乎圣经的基督教的核心——是以神为中心：坚信神本身是至高无上的。我们以神为中心来定所有的教义。罪之所以可怕，是因为它是对神的冒犯。救赎之所以美妙，是因为它荣耀神。天堂之所以是天堂，是因为那里神是一切的一切。地狱之所以是地狱，是因为它是神彰显公义愤怒的地方。”以神为中心” 是改革宗信仰的显著特征。一个基督徒可能会说许多关于罪的真理 (例如罪是有害的，罪会导致痛苦等)，但如果不是以神为中心，那么最关键的重点就会被忽略。

       我记得多年前读到 莱昂·莫里斯 (Leon Morris) 的一篇文章，深感震惊，他问：”罗马书中最常见的字是什么？”（我想他忽略像 “这” 或 “那” 这样的定冠词.）你会猜是什么呢？恩典？信心？相信？律法？不——罗马书中出现频率最高的字是 “神”。

       只要略读开头几章，你就会立刻看到。罗马书中所有重要的神学宣言都以神为主题的：”神任凭他们” (1:24, 26)、”神必照各人的行为报应各人” (2:6)、”神借耶稣基督审判人的隐秘事” (2:16)、”神设立耶稣做挽回祭” (3:25)、”神称罪人为义” (4:5)、”神已将祂的爱浇灌在我们心里” (5:5)、”神的爱就在此向我们显明了” (5:8)。

       我们可以传讲真理——我们甚至可以作 “五点加尔文主义者”——但如果我们失去了那 “万有都是本于祂、倚靠祂、归于祂” (11:36) 的认知，我们就失去了基督教的核心。

       以神为中心的教义必须在 “以神为中心的敬虔” 中实现。再说一次，这是基督教改革宗信仰的独特之处。我们对神着迷；我们被祂的威严，祂的美丽，祂的圣洁，祂的恩典所震撼。我们寻求祂的荣耀，我们渴望祂的同在，我们以祂的品性为生活的榜样。

       其他基督徒可能会说传福音、宣教、复兴或重建是他们最关心的事，但我们只有一件事——神自己——认识祂、效法祂、看见祂得荣耀。唯独这件事是绝对的：失丧之人的得救对我们重要是因为能让神的名被尊为圣以及神的国降临、城市的宣教对我们重要是因为能让神的旨意行在地上如同行在天上、圣经学习和祷告对我们重要是因为能让我们与神相交。

       这是几个世纪以来基督教改革宗信仰的重要标志。无论你是在读像 博纳尔 (Andrew Bonar) 这样的长老会教徒的日记，还是像 约翰·牛顿 (John Newton) 这样的英国圣公会教徒的书信，或是像 司布真 (C. H. Spurgeon) 这样的浸信会教徒的讲稿，这都是贯穿始终的主旋律：他们痴迷于上帝，无论是生活、神学研究或事奉都围绕着对上帝的强烈爱慕，一切都是从他们对上帝的敬仰和充满敬畏的爱中流露出来。

原文: The Heart of the Reformed Faith

The Heart of the Reformed Faith
by Stephen Rees

       The heart of the Reformed faith—the heart of biblical Christianity—is God-centeredness: the conviction that God himself is supremely important. We define all our doctrine in a God-centered way. Sin is horrible because it is an affront to God. Salvation is wonderful because it brings glory to God. Heaven is heaven because it is the place where God is all in all. Hell is hell because it is the place where God manifests his righteous wrath. That God-centeredness is the distinctive feature of the Reformed faith. A Christian may say lots of true things, say, about sin (sin is damaging, sin leads to wretchedness, etc.), but if there is not the God-centered perspective, the most important emphasis of all has been missed.

       I remember how struck I was years ago, reading an essay by Leon Morris, asking, “What is the most common word in Romans?” (I presume he’s omitting such words as “the”—I’m not sure.) What would you guess? Grace? Faith? Believe? Law? No—the most frequent word in Romans is God.

       Just skim through the opening chapters and you will see it immediately. All the great theological statements in Romans have God as their subject: “God gave them over” (1:24, 26). “God ‘will give to each person according to what he has done’ ” (2:6). “God will judge men’s secrets through Jesus Christ” (2:16). “God set [him] forth as a propitiation” (3:25 NKJV). “[God] justifies the ungodly” (4:5 NKJV). “God has poured out his love into our hearts” (5:5). “God demonstrates his own love for us in this” (5:8).

       We can preach things that are true—we can even be five-point Calvinists—but if we lose that “from him and through him and to him are all things” (11:36) awareness, then we’ve lost the heart of Christianity.

       God-centered doctrine must work itself out in God-centered piety. Again, this is the distinctive note of Reformed Christianity. We are obsessed with God himself. We are overwhelmed by his majesty, his beauty, his holiness, his grace. We seek his glory, we desire his presence, we model our lives on his attributes.

       Other Christians may say that evangelism, or mission, or revival, or reconstruction is their great concern. But we have only one concern—God himself—to know him, to mirror him, to see him glorified. We refuse to absolutize any other objective. The salvation of the lost is only important to us insofar as it leads to the hallowing of his name and the coming of his kingdom. The purifying of society is important to us only insofar as it leads to the doing of his will on earth as in heaven. Bible study and prayer are only important to us insofar as they lead us into communion with him.

       This has been the great hallmark of Reformed Christianity down through the centuries. Whether you’re reading the journals of Presbyterians like Andrew Bonar, or the letters of Anglicans like John Newton, or the sermons of Baptists like Charles Spurgeon, this is the note that comes throbbing through. They are obsessed with God himself. They live their lives and do their theology and fulfill their ministry in passionate admiration for God himself. Everything else flows out of their awed worship of God and their trembling love for him.