Manna issue 79 - Preaching the Mystery of Faith (I) 傳揚信仰的奧秘 (I)
Importance and benefits of the basic doctrines. 基本信條的重要性及好處
Adapted from a lecture series by Derren Liang—Irvine, California, USA
節錄自美國加州爾灣教會 梁得仁傳道講道
Editor’s note: This series provides insights on how we can share the doctrines of the True Jesus Church. The author
offers tips on how to approach familiar topics, and to avoid certain pitfalls. It is hoped that our readers will be inspired
to apply their knowledge to reach out to friends and relatives.
編著按：這一系列的文章，提供一些見解有關我們如何可以分享真耶穌教會的教義。
作著提出一些實用的建議，有關我們要如何使用相關的主題，及避免去觸及某些禁忌的話題。
希望我們的讀者可以得到啟發，運用他們的知識來向外接觸自已得朋友和親戚。
INTRODUCTION 前言
The Holy Spirit has revealed five
basic doctrines to our church that are
different from what other churches
believe. A good way to share the beliefs
of the True Jesus Church (TJC) is to
further elaborate on these doctrines.
Once our audience understands
and believes, the next step can be
to introduce the concept of the one
true church. This is because, before
someone understands the truth, it
can be difficult for them to accept the
teaching of the one true church. Once
they have grasped the biblical truths,
however, it is much easier for them to
reach a natural conclusion about the
necessity and identity of the one true
church.
聖靈已經啟示五大教義給我們教義，這也是我們和其他教會相信有所不同的地方。
分享真耶穌教會(TJC)信仰的好方法，就是更進一步好好的詳細解說這些教義。
一旦我們的聽眾了解了，相信了，下一步就可以來介紹獨一真教會的概念。
這是因為，在一個人了解真理之前，對他們而言很難去接受獨一真教會的教導。
然而一旦他們掌握了聖經的真理，對他們而言，就比較容易自然而然來達成有關獨一真教會有其必要性和認同感的結論。
The Importance of the Basic Doctrines 基本信條的重要性
Out of the many churches today,
TJC is one of the few that remains
insistent on placing emphasis on the
significance of the basic doctrines
of the Bible. For this reason, many
denominations regard us as legalistic,
preferring instead to emphasize the
teaching of love over the other tenets
of Christianity.
在許多今日的教會之中，真耶穌教會是少數教會其中之一，仍然可以堅持強調聖經聖經教義的重要性。
因為這個原因，許多其他教派會認為我們教會是墨守成規，
沒有去強調愛的教導會超過基督教的其他原則，反而有偏好的教義。
Why do we need to learn and
uphold these basic doctrines? We
need to place emphasis on biblical
doctrines because Ephesians 1 says the
church is the body of Christ which is
filled with the fullness of God: “which
is His body, the fullness of Him who
fills all in all” (Eph 1:23). Who is God?
Undoubtedly, God is love, and it is not
wrong for the church to teach and
practice love because without it, God
will not abide with us. However, as
crucial as love is in Christianity, truth
must equally be upheld.
為什麼我們需要去學習並堅持這些基本教義？
我們要強調聖經裡的教義，因為以弗所書一章說到，
教會是基督的身體，教會充滿了神的一切：
23教會是他的身體，是那充滿萬有者所充滿的。(弗 1：23)
誰是神呢？
毫無疑問地，神就是愛，對教會而言，教導愛，實行彼此相愛並不是錯的，
因為若是沒有愛的存在，神就不會和我們同在。
然而，就如同愛在基督教裡面是很重要的，真理也同樣重要，一定要堅守下去。
When Jesus gave His final
commission to the disciples, He told
them to preach the gospel, telling
them to “[Teach] them to observe all
things that I have commanded you;
and lo, I am with you always, even
to the end of the age” (Mt 28:20). In
light of this commandment, how can
we ensure that God abides with the
church? It is by teaching the believers
to observe the teachings of Jesus and
the apostles in the Bible.
當耶穌給門徒祂最後的委託時，祂告訴他們要去傳福音，
跟他們說，"20凡我所吩咐你們的，都教訓他們遵守，我就常與你們同在，直到世界的末了。"(太 28：20)
由於這個命令，我們怎麼能夠確定，神有和教會同在呢？
只有藉著教導信徒去遵守聖經裡面，耶穌和使徒的教導。
Since God is truth, Spirit and love,
His true church—the body of Christ—
must likewise embrace all aspects of
the gospel. When the teachings of the
church are the same as the teachings
of Jesus, God will be with us. God’s
spirit, the Holy Spirit, and the truth
are interconnected. When we preach
the truth according to the Bible, the
Holy Spirit will move together with
us, helping us in our ministry and
personal lives.
因為神就是真理，聖經和愛，
祂的真教會 - 基督的身體 - 也同樣地一定要承認所有有關福音的任何的教導。
當教會的教導和耶穌的教導相符合的時候，神就會和我們同在。
神的靈，就是聖靈，和真理是相互連結的。
當我們根據聖經來傳揚真理的時候，聖靈就會一起和我們作工，幫助我們的福音工作和個人的生活。
This is the reason why the TJC
believes it is imperative to seriously
study and practice biblical doctrines.
The true church must practice a
holistic Christianity that does not
prefer one aspect of the teaching to
another.
也就是這個理由，為什麼真耶穌教會相信，認真嚴肅地學習和實行聖經的教義，是有其必要性的。
真教會一定要施行完整的基督教教義，不要偏好其中一方面的教導，勝過其他方面的教導。
Benefits of Knowing the Doctrines 了解教義的好處
There are two important benefits of
knowing the biblical doctrines: one
is so that we can be rooted in faith,
and the other is to enable us to be
equipped for evangelism.
了解聖經教義有二種好處。
第一就是我們可以在信仰上有根基，
另一方面，就是可以讓我們可以好好裝備自已來傳福音。
To Develop a Rooted Faith 建立一個有根基的信仰
We need to have a deeply rooted faith,
fully knowing whom we believe. Only
then can we stand firm and not waver
when our faith is challenged. For
instance, one perplexing challenge to
our legitimacy is the question: if TJC is
the only true church that will be saved,
why is her membership so small?
Here, it is important for us to know
that attempting to ascertain whether
a church has the truth on the basis of
membership size is flawed. Especially
since Jesus had already characterized
the way to salvation as a narrow gate.
我們要有札根很深的信仰，完全了解到我們所相信的是誰。
只有作到這樣，我們的信仰才會站立的穩，當我們信仰受到挑戰時，就不會動搖。
例如：對我們教義到底有沒有合法的問題，就是一種相當困難的挑戰：
若真耶穌教會是唯一可以得救的真教會，為什麼祂教會的信徒是那麼的少？
這裡，很重要對我們來說，了解到想要去查明教會是不是有真理，而跟據信徒人數的基礎去作判斷的這種想法，是有瑕疵的。
特別是，因為耶穌已經說到得救道路的特性，門是窄的。
Today, there are “mega” churches
that have thousands of members.
But their approach to salvation is
deliberately simplistic: they argue that
all you need to do is to believe in your
heart and confess with your lips to be
saved. Furthermore, they offer little
guidance with regards to Christian
living. You rarely hear them teaching
about the need to take up one’s cross
in order to follow Christ. Rather, their
message is often about how Christ
is a never-ending source of material
blessings. This is perhaps the quickest
way to attract large masses of people.
今日，有許多"百萬級"的超級大教會，他們有成千上萬的信徒。
但他們得救的方法，是故意簡化教義：
他們宣稱：一切你所需要去作的事，就是在你的心裡相信，用你的口來承認會得救。
而且，他們很少提供有關如何過基督徒的生活。
你很少會聽到他們教導有關要背起自已的十字架，為了可以跟隨基督。
反而是，他們的訊息常常是有關基督是如何成為他們物質上祝福，永不停止的泉源。
或許這是用來吸引一大群民眾的最快方法。
Many churches are also hesitant
to articulate a firm standpoint with
regards to sin and doctrine. For
example, they do not teach their
believers to pray for the Holy Spirit,
to be baptized, or to observe the
Sabbath. If they teach such things,
they will most likely lose members;
likewise, if they take a stand against
common, socially-accepted sins. For
this reason, they will not talk about
abortion, homosexuality, or divorce.
許多教會也很猶豫明確宣佈堅定的立場，有關犯罪和教義的事。
例如，他們不教導信徒來禱告祈求聖靈，要受洗，要遵守安息日。
若是他們教導這些事情，很有可能遺失一些信徒；
同樣的情況，他們所採取的立場若和一般社會上所接受的罪惡相反，也會有信徒出走。
因為這個原因，他們不會說到墮胎，同性戀和離婚。
Hence, when assessing the
legitimacy of a church, we should not
use membership volume as a measure.
Whilst we certainly want more people
to receive salvation, we cannot forfeit
the “harder” truths of Christianity
and speak only of the more pleasant
parts of Christ’s gospel.
因此，當我們在聲稱教會合法性的時候，就不應該用信徒數量來作為衡量的標準。
雖然我們一定很想要有更多的人來得到救贖，我們不能拋棄基督教"堅硬"的真理，
只談到基督福音裡，比較讓人樂於接受的部份。
We need to be familiar with the
basic doctrines so that we can be
steadfast in our faith. The greater the
depth of our understanding, the more
we will cherish the truth of God’s true
church.
我們一定要對基本信條有所了解，
這樣我們才能在信仰上堅守立場。
我們對真理有更深入的了解，我們就越會珍惜神真教會的真理。
We have seen that there are
members who feel the need to modify
the truth, most likely because they find
it hard to preach the complete gospel
in the face of opposition, and think
that by changing the Bible’s message,
it will be more palatable. However, if
we preach a modified doctrine, will
God abide with the church?
我們有看過，有些信徒覺得要修改真理的原因，
大部份是因為他們覺得，在當面受人反對的時候，要傳全備的福音是很困難的，
因此就認為要去改變一些聖經的訊息，這樣才會比較有趣，令人容易接受。
然而，若我們去傳揚一個被修改過的救義，難道神會跟這樣的教會的同在？
To Be Equipped for Evangelism 為了傳福音好好裝備自已
It is important to know the basic
doctrines because they are essential
for evangelism. When some believers
preach, they spend a lot of time
sharing their testimonies. There is
nothing wrong with this per se;
indeed, testimonies are powerful
instruments to highlight the grace of
God. However, we should not rely on
using testimonies alone.
認識基本教義是很重要的，因為他們是傳福音的真理。
有些信徒在傳福音的時候，他們花很多時間分享自已的見証。
這件事本身是沒有錯的；是的，見証就是很有力的工具，可以用來強調神的恩典。
然而，我們不應該只依賴分享見証而已。
If we look at the approach of the
disciples, we see that they preached
the doctrine they had received from
Christ while God affirmed their
message with signs and miracles. We
need to do likewise so that people can
develop firm roots in their faith. If they
come to understand the truth, they
will quite naturally experience God
for themselves. On the other hand, if
they only know about the experiences
of others without understanding the
truth, the substance of their faith,
they could quite easily fall away.
若我們看看門徒傳道的方式，就看到他們傳揚從基督身上所接受的教義，
而神也用神蹟和奇事來証實他們所傳的訊息。
我們也要同樣去作，這樣人才能在他們信仰上，建立堅固的根基。
若他們開始了解真理，他們自已本身就自然而然體驗到神。
另一方面，若他們只知道有關別人的經驗，而沒有去了解真理，就是信仰的本質，
他們就很容易流失。
Therefore, we must pair our
powerful testimonies of Christ’s grace
in our lives with the doctrines that
He has handed down to us through
the Holy Spirit. The truth is the path
to salvation and this is why the basic
doctrines are important.
所以，我們一定要用祂透過聖靈所交付給我們的教義，
來搭配自已基督在我們生活中的恩典，再分享這些有力的見証。
真理是得救的道路，這就是為什麼基本教義是很重要的。
Preaching the Doctrines 傳揚的教義
Technique: Establish Common Ground 小技巧：建立共同有興趣談話的基礎或主題
When we share the gospel with
others, we will do well to first
find common ground. When
speaking with Christians from other
denominations, we can start with
three of the most common Christian
beliefs: the one true God, Jesus, and
the Bible. From these topics, we can
proceed to discuss on other aspects
of the truth, using the Bible as our
reference to analyze differences.
This approach will have the added
benefit of dispelling any myths they
might have gathered on their own,
say from an Internet search, on the
True Jesus Church.
當我們和別人分享福音的時候，首先我們一定會努力來找出一些共同的立場。
當和其他教派基督徒談話的時候，我們可以從三個一般最平常的基督教義來開始：獨一真神，耶穌和聖經。
從這些話題中，我們可以繼續進行討論真理的其他方面，用聖經當作是參考基準來分析彼此的差異。
這個方式會有一種附加的好處，可消除任何怪異有關真耶穌教會的傳說，這些都是他們自已找到的，或是根據網路搜尋結果的說法。
Respect is important. Paul’s
opening words when preaching to
the people of Athens was: “Men of
Athens, I perceive that in all things
you are very religious….” Then, in
his bid to introduce the true God,
he added, “For as I was passing
through and considering the objects
of your worship, I even found an
altar with this inscription; TO THE
UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the
One whom you worship without
knowing, Him I proclaim to you”
(Acts 17:22–23). We need to learn
to be tactful and non-aggressive
when we preach, always seeking to
find common ground.
要給予尊重是很重要的。
當保羅向雅典百姓的時候，他公開宣稱：
"22保羅站在亞略巴古當中，說：眾位雅典人哪，我看你們凡事很敬畏鬼神。"
然後，他祈求要介紹真神，並且跟著再說，
"23我遊行的時候，觀看你們所敬拜的，遇見一座壇，上面寫著未識之神。你們所不認識而敬拜的，我現在告訴你們。"(傳 17：22-23)
當我們要傳福音的時候，就要學著圓滑一點，不要太過於積極，常常來尋找彼此之間的共通點。
Case Study on Romans 10:10 羅馬書十章10節的案例研究
For with the heart one believes unto
righteousness, and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation.
10因為人心裡相信，就可以稱義；口裡承認，就可以得救。
Many Christians, quoting Romans
10:10, claim that as long as we believe
in our heart and confess with our
mouth, we can be saved. The scene
of Christian evangelists who rouse
their audiences at evangelistic rallies
to raise their hands if they believe in
Jesus is a common sight. These mass
conversions and affirmations of faith
are certainly inspiring and moving to
many who witness them. However,
is their approach adequate? What is
missing from the messages given out
at such evangelistic events?
許多基督徒，引用羅馬書十章10節說，只要我們內心相信，口裡承認，我們就能夠得救。
有一種很常見的場景，基督教的佈道家會在佈道會的大集會上，召喚他們的聽眾，若他們相信耶穌的話，就舉起他們的雙手來。
這些大型的集會，或是承認信仰的舉動，一定會讓許多看見他們的人，受到激勵和感動。
然而，他們的方式是適合的嗎？
在這樣的佈道會中，給予大眾的訊息中，到底有那些東西遺失了呢？
They simply lack any regard for
the concrete directives of Jesus to do
certain things in order to participate
in the salvation of Christ. To take one
such doctrine as an example, Jesus
says, “Most assuredly, I say to you,
unless one is born of water and the
Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of
God" (Jn 3:5).
很簡單的說，他們對有關耶穌具體的指示，為了要與基督的救贖有份，要作到那些事情，完全沒有注意。
用一條這樣的教義來當作例子，耶穌說，
"我實實在在的告訴你，人若不是從水和聖靈生的，就不能進神的國。"(約 3：5)
We do not deny Paul’s words in
Romans 10:10. Indeed, it is an area
of common ground we have with our
Christian friends. However, we need
to use the rest of the Bible to explain
that believing in one’s heart and
acknowledging Jesus with our lips is
but the beginning of a person’s faith
journey. From Jesus' words in John
3:5, we can show that one also needs
to be born of water and the Spirit in
order to enter the kingdom of God.
我們並不否認保羅在羅馬書十章10節的說法。
是的，這就是我們和一些其他基督教朋友的共通點。
然而，我們要用聖經的其他部份來解釋，內心相信，口裡承認耶穌，只不過是個人信仰旅程的起頭剛已。
從耶穌在約翰福音三章5節裡面所說的話中，我們可以表示，一個人也需要從水和聖靈來重生，為的是可以進入神的國度。
Many such clear and direct
instructions given by Jesus are rarely
mentioned by many churches. It
would be a gross error to miss out on
the commands of Jesus just because
we prefer to only live according to
some portions of the Bible.
耶穌許多這種很清楚又直接的指示，常常很少被許多其他教會所提到。
只因為我們比較喜歡跟據聖經的某些部份而活著，就忽略了耶穌的命令，將會是一種很嚴重的錯誤。
To continue with this particular
doctrine, our approach could be
to ask our Christian friends to look
at John 3:5 and to share what their
understanding is. We should be
prepared for various responses; for
example, some Christians interpret
being "born of water" to mean
the physical birthing process (i.e.,
emergence from the mother’s womb
and the surrounding amniotic fluid).
At this point, we can point out the
need to explain this verse using other
parts of the Bible; otherwise everyone
will interpret the Bible according to
their personal understanding.
We can then signpost them to Titus
3:5, which explains the meaning of
John 3:5:
要繼續討論這種特殊的教義，我們的方法可以請基督教的朋友來看約翰福音三章5節，也讓他們分享對這經節的看法和了解。
我們要準備好各種答案；例如，有些基督徒解釋"從水而生"，意思是物質上，肉體上人出生的過程，
(換言之，就是要從母親子宮裡，充滿羊水的體內再重新生出來。)
關於這一點，我們可以指出要解釋這一節所需要聖經其他部份；
否則任何人都可以根據自已個人對聖經的了解來解釋聖經。
然後我們可以給他們指向提多書三章5節，而那裡解釋了約翰福音三章5節的意思。
Not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according
to His mercy He saved us, through
the washing of regeneration and
renewing of the Holy Spirit. (Tit 3:5)
5他便救了我們；並不是因我們自己所行的義，乃是照他的憐憫，藉著重生的洗和聖靈的更新。
(多 3：5)
We can then explain that this Bible
verse states that God saved us not
because of our own righteousness;
indeed, man is sinful by nature,
and there is not one person who is
righteous and able to attain to the
standard of God. However, we can
receive salvation because of God’s
mercy. He has paved the way through
the washing of regeneration and
renewing of the Holy Spirit. These are
the two steps that Jesus speaks of in
John 3:5.
接下來我們可以說明，這個聖經經節說到，神會拯救我們，並不是因為我們個人有義的行為；
是的，人天生本來就是有罪的，沒有一個人是公義的，並且可以達到神所要求的標準。
然而，我們可以得到拯救，是因為是神的慈愛。
祂過去透過重生的洗和聖靈的更新，鋪好這條路。
就是這兩個步驟，耶穌在約翰福音三章5節裡面提到的。
Of the five basic doctrines, the two
key teachings relate to the “washing
of regeneration and renewing of the
Holy Spirit.” The reason why TJC
emphasizes these is because they are
essential for salvation. For this reason,
we must never compromise on these
aspects of the truth but instead uphold
them steadfastly.
在五大教義之中，有二個主要的教義教導，是有關"重生的洗和聖靈的更新"。
為什麼真耶穌教會這麼強調這些的理由，是因為這些教義對得救是很重要的。
因為這原因，我們一定在真理的這些方面，永遠不能妥協，而且反而要堅定支持這些教義。
To be continued. 待續
小頁 markvmax@hotmail.com
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