本帖最后由 WIND 于 2009-7-24 08:16 编辑
But since menare so solicitous about the true church, I would only ask them here, by theway, if it be not more agreeable to the Church of Christ to make the conditionsof her communion consist in such things, and such things only, as the HolySpirit has in the Holy Scriptures declared, in express words, to be necessaryto salvation; I ask, I say, whether this be not more agreeable to the Church ofChrist than for men to impose their own inventions and interpretations uponothers as if they were of Divine authority, and to establish by ecclesiasticallaws, as absolutely necessary to the profession of Christianity, such things asthe Holy Scriptures do either not mention, or at least not expressly command?Whosoever requires those things in order to ecclesiastical communion, whichChrist does not require in order to life eternal, he may, perhaps, indeedconstitute a society accommodated to his own opinion and his own advantage; buthow that can be called the Church of Christ which is established upon laws thatare not His, and which excludes such persons from its communion as He will oneday receive into the Kingdom of Heaven, I understand not. But this being not aproper place to inquire into the marks of the true church, I will only mindthose that contend so earnestly for the decrees of their own society, and thatcry out continually, "The Church! the Church!" with as much noise,and perhaps upon the same principle, as the Ephesian silversmiths did for theirDiana; this, I say, I desire to mind them of, that the Gospel frequentlydeclares that the true disciples of Christ must suffer persecution; but thatthe Church of Christ should persecute others, and force others by fire andsword to embrace her faith and doctrine, I could never yet find in any of thebooks of the New Testament.
但是,既然人们那么关心真正的教会,在此我想顺便问他们一声:倘若规定入会的条件包括如圣灵在圣经上已经宣布过的那些事情,而且只包括那些事情,用明确表达的话语,作为拯救的必要,不是更适合吗?我想问,对于基督的教会,较之人们将他们的想象和演绎强加于另一些人,就像他们拥有上帝的权柄一样,用教会的法律建立教会,就像对于基督教的声明绝对必要一样,这样的事情圣经既没有提到,也至少没有明确的要求,前者不是更合适吗?无论谁为着教会团体要求那些东西,而这些并非基督为着生命的永恒要求,那么,可能他真正想建立是出自他自己的观点和利益的教会;但是这样的教会怎么能够被称作基督的教会?并非根据祂的法律建立,拒绝那些祂有一天会接受到天堂的人加入这个团体。我认为这不能叫做基督的教会。不过这里不是深入讨论真正教会的标志的合适的场合,我只是想提醒那些如此认真的为他们自己教会法令辩护的人,以及那些不断喧嚣的喊叫:“教会!教会!”,就如以弗所(古希腊重要贸易城市)的银器匠为他们打制的月亮女神戴安娜饰物所做的那样,大概都是基于同样的原理。我想说,我希望提醒他们:福音书常常表明真正的基督的门徒应该遭受迫害;但是基督的教会应当迫害别人,并且用火与剑来强迫他们接受其信条,我还从来没有在新约中发现。 |