约翰·派博(John Piper)提出的“双重称义”概念并非他自创的术语,而是批评者对其称义观点的描述。派博强调称义(justification)有两个方面:初始称义(initial justification)和最终称义(final justification)。初始称义是基于信心的、一次性的宣告,上帝视信徒为义;最终称义则发生在末日审判中,以行为作为信心的证据,确认信徒的最终救恩。 这反映了派博对称义的现在和未来维度的理解:称义不是仅限于过去事件,而是延伸到未来,行为证明信心的真实性,但不是称义的基础。
派博的观点包括:
- 初始称义:通过信心(faith alone)获得上帝的赦免和基督的义归算(imputation),这是唯信称义(sola fide)的核心,不依赖行为。
- 最终称义:在末日审判中,上帝根据信徒的行为(works)作为信心的果子,公开宣告他们的义。这不是“由行为称义”,而是行为作为证据,确认初始称义的真实性。 派博强调,真信心必然产生行为(雅各书2:17),但行为不是救恩的条件,而是结果。
- 派搏的原话:
In justification, faith receives a finished work of Christ performed outside of us and counted as ours — imputed to us. ... In final salvation at the last judgment, faith is confirmed by the sanctifying fruit it has borne, and we are saved through that fruit and that faith.These works of faith [(1 Thessalonians 1:3; 2 Thessalonians 1:11)], and this obedience of faith [(Romans 1:5; 16:26)], these fruits of the Spirit that come by faith, are necessary for our final salvation. No holiness, no heaven (Hebrews 12:14). So, we should not speak of getting to heaven by faith alone in the same way we are justified by faith alone. This final judgment accords with our works.
在称义中,信心接受基督在我们之外完成的、已成全的工作(公义),并将其归算为我们的义——归算给我们。……在末日审判中的最终救恩中,信心通过它所结出的成圣果子得到确认,我们通过那果子和那信心得救。这些信心的行为(《帖撒罗尼迦前书1:3》;《帖撒罗尼迦后书1:11》)、对信心的顺服(《罗马书1:5》;《罗马书16:26》)、这些通过信心而来的圣灵的果子,对于我们的最终救恩是必要的。没有圣洁,就没有天堂(《希伯来书12:14》)。因此,我们不应以与唯信称义相同的方式说通过唯信进入天堂。终极的审判和我们的行为是一致的,或按照我们的行为来的。In his 1999 sermon on James and Paul, Piper struggled to reconcile the two apostles, and could only resolve the tension by having Paul speak of the initial moment of justification at the beginning of the Christian life, and having James speak of maintaining an ongoing and final right standing with God through faith and works:
So when Paul renounces "justification by works" he renounces the view that anything we do along with faith is credited to us as righteousness. Only faith obtains the verdict, not guilty, when we become Christians. Works of any kind are not acceptable in the moment of initial justification. ... For James, "justification by works" (which he accepts) means "maintaining a right standing with God by faith along with the necessary evidence of faith, namely, the works of love. (Piper, John, Does James Contradict Paul?, August 8, 1999)
在1999年关于雅各和保罗的讲道中,约翰·派博(John Piper)努力调和这两位使徒的观点,最终只能通过将保罗的教导理解为基督徒生命开始时的初始称义时刻,而将雅各的教导理解为通过信心和行为维持与上帝的持续及最终的义的地位来解决这一张力:
因此,当保罗否定“因行为称义”时,他否定的是任何我们与信心一起做的行为被算为义的观点。只有信心能在我们成为基督徒时获得“无罪”的判决。在初始称义的时刻,任何形式的行为都是不可接受的。……对雅各而言,他接受的“因行为称义”意味着“通过信心以及信心的必要证据——即爱的行为——来维持与上帝的正确地位。”(约翰·派博,《雅各是否与保罗矛盾?》,1999年8月8日)
评述:这样的说法容易混淆信心和果子或行为的区别。从圣经来说,进天国或得救是唯独信心,人称义了就一定会得救,都是靠耶稣基督的救赎,不是靠自己的行为,我们从头到尾都是靠信心。称义也是始终如一的。开始的称义和最终的称义是一致的。但是因为真信心必然伴随行为,信心和行为是并行的。我们唯独靠信心得救,但是得救的信心绝对不是单独存在的(we are saved by faith alone but the saving faith is never alone)。信心而来的果子或行为是必然的,也是必须的。我们进天国的时候神也看我们的行为,但是行为和信心不是等同的,行为仅仅是信心的结果或证据,来印证信心是真的,我们永远不是靠行为进天国,因为我们的行为永远不完美,也不会让我们的罪得到赦免,我们乃是因着对耶稣的信心,然后被神彻底赦免,因此才进天国的。因着圣灵的工作,我们已经与基督同死同活,我们有了新的身份(罗6:18,22),圣灵在我们里面引导我们,让我们一定会有胜过罪恶的时候,也会有行出圣洁的时候(罗8:12-14;来12:14),神向我们所要的,他自己已经供应。我们因着信,也会追求圣洁和离开罪恶,只是各人程度不同,或在不同的人生季节表现不同。神召了我们,是为了预定我们效法他的儿子耶稣基督(罗8:29),为了预定我们越来越有神起初造我们的形象,而神的预定永远不会失败,因为神的灵会住在我里面,会不断更新改变我们。行为或果子的多少会影响我们在天国的赏赐,但是永远不会影响我们是否进天国。否则我们就不会有安息,我们也容易因为自己或别人的果子或行为不够多,不够明显,或在某些时候看不到这些而怀疑我们或别人的救恩。雅各书2章提到的“因行为称义”中的“称义”是指最终审判的时候被神接纳或悦纳,是因为我们的行为印证或成全了我们的信心,或证明信心是真的,但我们不是靠我们的行为达到神的标准而被接纳。所以雅各书这里的“因行为称义”和罗马书的“因信称义”的意思不是完全相同的。罗马书的重点在于我们因信耶稣而被神赦免,被神接纳而得救,得以进天国,我们的救恩从头到尾都是透过信心,我们的称义从头到尾都是一致的,而雅各书的重点在于我们最终见主的时候,或我们一直与主同行的日子里,我们因信而来的行为或果子会得到神的称许或悦纳,因为神喜悦这样的行为,这样的行为也验证了我们的信心是真的,而不是因为行为完全达到神的标准而被称义。最终让我们称义的还是我们的信心。因此,同一个词在不同的情景中的意思或侧重点是不一样的,这是我们解经的时候需要注意的。
在派搏的一本书《 the future of justification》中他做了如下澄清:
“I take [Paul's] phrase 'according to' (kata;) in a sense different from 'based on.' I think the best way to bring together the various threads of Paul’s teaching on justification by faith apart from works (Rom. 3:28; 4:4–6; 11:6; Eph. 2:8) is to treat the necessity of obedience not as any part of the basis of our justification, but strictly as the evidence and confirmation of our faith in Christ whose blood and righteousness is the sole basis of our justification (Piper, The Future of Justification, 110).我将[保罗的]“根据”(kata, κατά)一词理解为与“基于”不同的含义。我认为,整合保罗关于不靠行为、唯靠信心称义的各种教导(《罗马书3:28》;《罗马书4:4-6》;《罗马书11:6》;《以弗所书2:8》)的最佳方式,是将顺服的必要性视为信心的证据和确认,而绝非我们称义基础的任何部分。我们的称义唯一基础是基督的宝血和义。”
在这里,派搏尝试说明他所认为基督徒按照行为称义,和靠行为称义是不同的,他不是说行为是称义的根基或依靠,乃是信心的证据和确认。这对于我们正确地理解派搏的意思会有一点帮助。但是把信心和行为并列一起当做得救或进天国的依靠或途径(through)依然是容易让人混淆或困惑的。我们不建议这样的说法。
有人认为派搏的观点实际上受了他在fuller富勒神学院的导师daniel fuller的影响。有一段话是这么说的:
Piper received his Master of Divinity at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California (1968-1971) where he studied under Daniel Fuller and discovered the teachings of Jonathan Edwards. Piper was called to become the pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1980 in which capacity he served until 2013.
It is worth noting that in his formative years, Piper was greatly influenced by Daniel Fuller who came under the displeasure of O. Palmer Robertson because of his problematic formulations on justification:
In substitution for the biblically clear distinction between the legally imputed righteousness of justification and the vitally infused righteousness of sanctification, [Daniel] Fuller opts for the flexible meanings that may be introduced into the phrase, the “obedience of faith.” Unwittingly it seems, Fuller plays on an ambiguity inherent in the phrase. When he speaks of “salvation” by the “obedience of faith,” does he mean
(1) faith as attaching to Christ altogether? (2) the obedient actions arising from faith? (3) faith considered in itself as an act of obedience?
Because of the ambiguity inherent in the phrase, Fuller may slide between its various meanings … meaning sometimes the obedience which is faith and meaning at other times the obedient actions done in faith. In other words, man is saved by doing, by keeping the revelatory law of Moses, which is the law of faith. … Fuller … leaves himself open to being understood as commending works of faith (the “obedience of faith”) as the way of justification.” (O. Palmer Robertson, Presbuterion, 1981, vol. 8, issue 1, Daniel Fuller's Gospel and Law: Contrast or Continuum?, A Review Article, 84-91)
Fuller built his view of justification around Jonathan Edwards' rejection of Calvin. While Edwards insisted on justification by faith alone, he struggled to grasp how a sinner could be initially justified by faith alone when the verdict on his final justification was still pending, awaiting the outcome of his perseverance. Edwards (and Fuller following) concluded that we are not actually saved by faith alone, but rather are "saved by perseverance." Thus, in the initial verdict of justification, God "has respect to" the eventual perseverance of the sinner:
"But [contrary to Calvin] we are really saved by perseverance… For, though a sinner is justified in his first act of faith; yet even then, in that act of justification, God has respect to perseverance as being virtually [implied] in the first act." (Fuller, Daniel, The Unity of the Bible (Zondervan, 1992) 296-298 (citing Edwards))
Daniel Fuller’s vision of the Christian life as an “obedience of faith” is the garden in which the plants of my pondering have grown. Almost three decades of dialogue on the issues in this book have left a deep imprint. … His major work, The Unity of the Bible, is the explanatory background to most of what I write. (Piper, Future Grace (1995) 7)
派博(John Piper)于1968-1971年在加利福尼亚州帕萨迪纳的富勒神学院(Fuller Theological Seminary)获得神学硕士学位,在此期间他师从丹尼尔·富勒(Daniel Fuller),并发现了乔纳森·爱德华兹(Jonathan Edwards)的教导。1980年,派博被召担任明尼苏达州明尼阿波利斯伯利恒浸信会(Bethlehem Baptist Church)的牧师,任职至2013年。
值得注意的是,在派博的成长岁月里,他深受丹尼尔·富勒的影响。然而,富勒因其在称义(justification)问题上的争议性表述而遭到O·帕尔默·罗伯逊(O. Palmer Robertson)的批评。罗伯逊指出:
“为了取代圣经中清晰区分的称义中法律上的归算义(legally imputed righteousness)和成圣中生命注入的义(vitally infused righteousness),[丹尼尔]富勒选择了‘信心的顺服’(obedience of faith)这一短语的灵活含义。富勒似乎无意中利用了该短语固有的模糊性。当他谈到通过‘信心的顺服’得‘救恩’时,他的意思是:
(1)信心完全依附于基督? (2)从信心产生的顺服行为? (3)信心本身被视为一种顺服行为?
由于该短语固有的模糊性,富勒可能在不同含义之间滑动……有时指信心的顺服(即信心本身),有时指在信心中的顺服行为。换句话说,人是通过行动、通过遵守摩西启示性的律法(即信心的律法)而得救的。……富勒……让自己容易被理解为推崇信心的行为(‘信心的顺服’)作为称义的方式。”(O. Palmer Robertson,《长老会刊》,1981年,第8卷,第1期,《丹尼尔·富勒的福音与律法:对比还是连续?》,评论文章,84-91页)
富勒(Daniel Fuller)围绕乔纳森·爱德华兹(Jonathan Edwards)对加尔文(Calvin)的否定构建了他的称义(justification)观点。虽然爱德华兹坚持唯信称义(justification by faith alone),但他难以理解一个罪人如何能仅凭信心在初始称义中被判为义,而最终称义的判决仍悬而未决,需等待其持守(perseverance)的结果。爱德华兹(以及追随他的富勒)得出结论,我们实际上不是单靠信心得救,而是“靠持守得救”。因此,在初始称义的判决中,上帝“考虑到”罪人最终的持守:
“[与加尔文相反]我们实际上是靠持守得救……因为,尽管一个罪人在他初次信心的行为中被称义;但即便如此,在那称义的行为中,上帝也考虑到持守,因为持守实际上[隐含]在初次信心的行为中。”(丹尼尔·富勒,《圣经的统一性》(The Unity of the Bible),Zondervan,1992年,第296-298页,引用爱德华兹)
“丹尼尔·富勒(Daniel Fuller)将基督徒生活视为“信心的顺服”的观点,是我思考成长的花园。关于本书中议题的近三十年对话,留下了深刻的印记。……他的主要著作《圣经的统一性》(The Unity of the Bible)是我写作内容的大部分解释背景。”(约翰·派博,《未来恩典》(Future Grace),1995年,第7页)
评述:从上面的描述中,我们至少可以看到派搏对罗1:5“obedience of faith信心的顺服”(和合本翻译为“信服真道”)的看法和他的导师的看法基本乃是一致的,都是包括人的行为,或圣灵的果子,或对律法的顺服。从原文解经的角度,罗1:5中的“顺服”是名词,"信心"是名词和属格,这两者的关系是不容易确定的。而且“信心faith”既可以表达“信心”,也可以表达“所信的内容,也就是福音”。我们需要警醒的是不要把教义建立在某一个模糊的经文的上面。不过罗1:5提到保罗从耶稣基督得到使徒的职分并在万国中让人信服真道,罗16:15-19也提到保罗作为耶稣基督的仆人,做福音的祭司,让外邦人顺服,并到处传了基督的福音。这里没有提到顺服什么,但是可以猜到是顺服耶稣基督的福音,因为这会让外邦人成为圣洁和被神悦纳。罗10:16也提到“顺服或听从福音”,和“信福音”是类似的意思。可1:14-15耶稣也命令人悔改和信福音。所以一个人信福音就等于顺服福音。所以罗1:5大概率是指对福音的顺服,罗16:25-26的意思也是如此。详见《新约中的“顺服福音”是什么意思?》。
参考资料:
https://alsoacarpenter.com/2017/11/14/double-justification-quadruple-justification-john-piper/
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/does-god-really-save-us-by-faith-alone
https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/will-we-be-finally-saved-by-faith-alone
https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/interview-with-john-piper-about-the-future-of-justification-a-response-to-n-t-wright
https://www.trinityfoundation.org/journal.php?id=331
https://alsoacarpenter.com/2017/10/31/precisely-disagreement-john-piper/
https://thorncrownministries.com/blog/2017/10/31/piper-on-justification
https://thorncrownministries.squarespace.com/bible-thumping-wingnut/2017/10/10/gospel-according-piper
https://heidelblog.net/2020/05/the-reformed-brotherhood-overcoming-confirmation-bias-on-piper-and-final-salvation-through-works/
https://heidelblog.net/2021/09/john-piper-future-grace-the-purifying-power-of-the-promises-of-god-rev-ed-new-york-multnomah-2012-a-thorough-review/
https://kingdomharbor.com/2009/07/20/n-t-wright-responding-to-piper-on-justification-trevin-wax/
https://www.christianitytoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/15177.pdf [“What Did Paul Really Mean?” debate between Piper and Wright]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5XPu8_gqj4 【对doug wilson的采访】
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh-M1bCzHi0 【派搏的讲道】
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwLmCFz0Qes 【James White的看法】