於2012-08-05發佈

舊約與新約:律法vs.恩典

當我們用舊約來教導新約真理時,有許多基督徒對新舊約的差別感到困惑。然而,耶穌說『經上的話是不能廢的』(參考約翰福音10:35)。事實上,我們所謂的舊約是第一世紀教會所擁有的唯一聖經,新約每一處提到的經上都是我們所謂的舊約。

基本原則在於舊約是律法,新約是我們藉由相信耶穌十架救贖得來的恩典和公義。你可以在舊約裡看見新約,就像大衛王看得如此清楚,他們早在新約被建立前一千年就活在其中了。他擁有看到未來的信心,就像我們回頭看十字架一樣。同樣地,一些人以舊約的心態來讀新約,對他們來說那也是律法,在新約之後他們仍想活在律法下。在我們的心中是否有律法還是有恩典與真理?

同樣地,有一些主賜給以色列的應許,可以應用在新約『聖潔的國度』中,也有一些是特別給猶太人的應許,根據肉身他們是亞伯拉罕的子孫。要區別這兩者並不難,只不過有許多人模糊了其差別。這使他們在瞭解時候上無法領受一個關鍵因素─以色列的位置和目的。

聖經中有一些應許特別是給以色列的,並無法應用在其他國家,有一些則可以應用在列國,在先知書上都有解釋。我們需要瞭解這些原則,以便對神今日在處理列國的事上有基本瞭解。我們來看一些經文好有些概念:

以耶和華為神的,那國是有福的!祂所揀選為自己產業的,那民是有福的』(詩篇33:12)。

顯然這裡講的是以色列,因為除了聖潔的國度教會以外,以色列是神唯一稱為祂『產業』的國家。然而,下兩節經文則是給任何一個國家的: 

公義使邦國高舉;罪惡是人民的羞辱』(箴言14:34)。

這顯然也是給任何一個國家:  

我何時論到一邦或一國說,要拔出、拆毀、毀壞;我所說的那一邦,若是轉意離開他們的惡,我就必後悔,不將我想要施行的災禍降與他們。我何時論到一邦或一國說,要建立、栽植;他們若行我眼中看為惡的事,不聽從我的話,我就必後悔,不將我所說的福氣賜給他們。 現在你要對猶大人和耶路撒冷的居民說:耶和華如此說:我造出災禍攻擊你們,定意刑罰你們。你們各人當回頭離開所行的惡道,改正你們的行動作為』(耶利米書18:7-11)。

當我們看聖經中不同的時候,主有時會差派祂的先知去到異教國家,如約拿的例子。舊約有許多預言是給不同的國家,不單只給以色列而已。從中我們看見倘若這些國家尋求主和祂的公義,神祝福以色列的一般性原則也可以用在他們身上,使他們也能蒙福。

以色列的基本目的是要成為主的產業,要成為祂的產業就應該是『一個祭司的國度』,教導列國主的道路。有時以色列在這方面做得非常成功,例如示巴女王來研究是什麼讓以色列如此蒙福的故事,但以色列也有像所羅門一樣失敗的例子。身為聖潔的國度,這也應成為我們的借鏡。即便如此,似乎主尋找各種方式來竭盡所能祝福人,所以祝福的原則也可以用在欣然接受的人身上,即便他們並不是來自祂所立約的國家。

下面是其中一個在我們的時候非常清楚看見臨到美國的祝福:

因為耶和華─你的神必照祂所應許你的賜福與你。你必借給許多國民,卻不致向他們借貸;你必管轄許多國民,他們卻不能管轄你(申命記15:6)。

從美國建國開始,我們的國家便在經濟上蒙福。當我們開始遠離主,我們很快從世界最大的貸方成為最大的債主。現在美國聯邦政府的預算幾乎有一半是赤字開支,這代表政府的稅收只有一半能應付開支。那就像是你每個月的花費是你收入的二倍,這樣下去一定會走向破產,更不要說是一個國家。       

想一想看:我們國家的債務從華盛頓總統到布希總統累積了六點三兆美元,歐巴馬總統則加了一倍,在他執政的三年間就增加了六點五兆美元的債務,他還要求增加更多。倘若我們不快快改變方向,全世界受尊重的經濟學者無不認為我們的經濟終將崩盤。

我們國家經濟問題的解答,遠大過想辦法花少一點賺多一點─那取決於我們必須回轉向主,藉由尋求祂的公義,再次領受祂的祝福。這並不是要否定好的管家職責,正如聖經中有三分之一到一半關於公義的教導,都與管家職責有關。即便如此,最重要的事就是再次成為尋求主的國家,尋求活出使『國家高舉』的公義標準。

 (摘自喬納 word for the week, Week 29, 2012)


The Old and New Covenants: Law vs. Grace - The Path of Life, Part 22
Week 29, 2012 
Rick Joyner 

Many Christians get confused by the distinction of the Old and New Covenants when we use the Old Testament to teach New Covenant truth. However, Jesus said “the Scriptures cannot be broken” (see John 10:35). In fact, what we call the Old Testament is the only Bible that the first century church had, and every place in the New Testament that it refers to in the Scriptures is what we call the Old Testament.

The basic principle is that the Old Covenant is the law, and the New Covenant is grace and righteousness that we attain by faith in the atonement of the cross of Jesus. You can see the New Covenant in the Old Testament, and some, like King David saw it so clearly they lived in it a thousand years before it was established. He had faith looking into the future like we do looking back on the cross. Likewise, some people read the New Testament with an Old Covenant heart and it is law to them, and they try to live under the law long after the New Covenant has come. Do we have the law or grace and truth in our hearts?

Likewise, there are promises that the Lord gave to Israel that apply to the New Covenant “holy nation,” but also some were specifically for the Jewish people who were sons of Abraham according to the flesh. It is really not hard to distinguish them, but many do blur the distinctions. This has led to them not being able to perceive a key factor in understanding the times—the place and purpose of Israel.

There are also promises given specifically to Israel and do not apply to other nations, and then there are some that apply to all nations, which are explained in the prophets. We need to understand these principles to have a basic understanding of God’s dealings with the nations today. We’ll just look at a few to get the point.

 "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance" (Psalm 33:12).

This is obviously speaking of Israel because this is the only nation that He calls His “inheritance” except for the holy nation, the church. However, the next two are given to any nation:

 "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people" (Proverbs 14:34).

This is obviously given to any nation.

“At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it; 
if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it. 

 "Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to build up or to plant it; if it does evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will think better of the good with which I had promised to bless it” (Jeremiah 18:7-11). 

As we see a number of times in Scripture, at times the Lord sent His prophets to help heathen nations, such as in the case of Jonah. Many of the prophecies in the Old Testament were for the various nations of the earth, not just Israel. In them we see that generally the principles that led to the blessings of God for Israel could be applied to other nations if they sought the Lord and His righteousness, and they too would be blessed.

Israel’s basic purpose was to be an inheritance of the Lord, and as His inheritance it was supposed to be “a nation of priests” to teach all nations the ways of the Lord. Israel had some remarkable successes in doing this at times, such as in the story of the Queen of Sheba coming to investigate what made Israel so blessed. They also had failures as Solomon was an example of this too. This has been our case as the holy nation also. Even so, it seems that the Lord was seeking ways to bless anyone He could, so any principle of blessing could apply to anyone who embraced it even if they were not specifically from the nation He had His covenant with.

The following is just one of these blessings whose application can be seen very clearly in our own time in America:

 "For the Lord your God shall bless you as He has promised you, and you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow; and you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you" (Deuteronomy 15:6). 

From the time that the United States was founded, we were a blessed nation economically. As we started turning from the Lord, we went quickly from being the world’s biggest lender to the biggest borrower. The U.S. Federal budget is now almost half deficit spending, which means the government is only taking in through taxes and revenues about half of what it is spending. That would be like you spending every month twice what you make. No one could do that for long without going bankrupt, and neither can a nation. 

Consider this: The entire amount of debt our nation accumulated from the time of George Washington until George W. Bush was 6.3 trillion dollars. Obama doubled this, adding 6.5 trillion to our debt in just three years and is asking for a lot more. There is not a serious, respected economist in the world who does not think this will ultimately collapse our economy if we do not change our direction soon.

The answer to our economic problems is bigger than just figuring ways to spend less and bring in more income—it is how we have to return to the Lord, and by seeking His righteousness, receive His blessings again. This does not negate using good stewardship, as between a third to a half of the teachings in Scripture on righteousness have to do with stewardship. Even so, the most important thing is to become a nation that seeks the Lord again, seeking to live by His standards of righteousness that will “exalt a nation.”