陳牧師是加州聖米谷（Simi Valley）基石教會（Cornerstone Community Church）創會牧師，先說到大型教會模式的問題。他曾創立和領導過一間教會，並增長至5000人的大型教會（megachurch）。起初他覺得這很棒，可以每星期向千人講道，教會一直這樣增長下去。但有天他發現一個問題。「按照聖經，教會裡的每一個信都被賦予屬靈恩賜用來服事基督的身體（教會），但我看見的是，每星期日大多數的信徒到教會只是來看我的屬靈恩賜（講道），這是多麼浪費。」
從第18分鐘開始，有很精彩關於主耶穌死裡復活的論述，引經據典，條理分明，有憑有據很值得一聽。 Strobel was born on October 21, 2007. He was an atheist when he began investigating the Biblical claims about Christ after his wife's conversion. Prompted by the results of his investigation, he became a Christian on November 8, 1981
The
noun [εὐαγγέλιον, “gospel”] in the NT denotes the “good news” of the saving intervention of God
in Christ, referring usually to the message about Christ (1 Cor. 15:1; Gal.
1:11; 2:2) and, by extension, to the act of preaching that message (1 Cor. 9:14
[second occurrence]; 2 Cor. 2:12; 8:18;Phil. 1:5[?]; 4:3[?]).
What the Gospel
Rescues Us From, and What It Saves Us For
Finally, if the gospel is the good news about what God is
doing in Christ to rescue and redeem his rebellious image bearers, we must constantly
bear in mind what it is we are being rescued from. The reason is
that we will gain a clearer grasp of the gospel if we hold a clear grasp of the
desperate situation the gospel addresses.
If we see that we are guilty, we will understand that for
the gospel to be effective it must clear us of our guilt;
if we are alienated from God, we must be reconciled to
him;
if we stand under his judicial wrath, that wrath must be
propitiated;
if we are estranged from one another, we must be
reconciled to one another;
if the entire created order lies under the curse, the
curse must be lifted and the created order transformed; if we are, morally
speaking, weak and helpless
(as well as guilty), we must be empowered and
strengthened;
if we are dead, we must be made alive;
if the heart of our idolatry is abysmal self-focus and
the de-godding of God, God must be restored in our vision and life to his
rightful glory.
In other words, we gain clarity regarding the gospel when
we discern what the gospel addresses, what it fixes. If we focus on just one
element of the desperate need—say, our broken horizontal
relationships—then by ignoring all the other dimensions
of our sin, including the most fundamental dimension, namely, our rebellion against
God and the consequent wrath we have rightly incurred, we may marginalize or even
abandon crucial elements of the gospel that address our sin.
After all, the Bible speaks of the wrath of God more than
six hundred times. If we cannot grasp how the gospel of Jesus Christ addresses all
these dimensions of our desperate need, we will invariably promulgate an anemic
and truncated gospel.
By the same token, many of the themes with which the
gospel words are associated in the Scriptures bear out the same connection—the connection between plight and solution—from
the other end. Thus the gospel not only forgives us, but holds out the hope of
resurrection existence (Col. 1:22–23; 2
Thess. 2:14; cf. Romans 8; 1 Corinthians 15);
the gospel of
the cross not only justifies us, it is the power of God that transforms us (1 Thess.1:5; 1 Cor. 1:18ff.).
It not only
draws faith from us, but commands our obedience (Rom. 10:16; 1 Pet. 4:17) in
line with its truth (Gal. 2:14; Phil.1:27; 1
Tim. 1:11).
It calls us
not only to preach the unique suffering of Christ, but also to participate in
his suffering (1 Cor. 9:23; Phil. 3:9–10;1 Thess. 2:8–9; 2 Tim. 1:8; Philemon 13).
In it God himself is vindicated and his own righteousness
revealed (Rom. 1:17; 3:21–26).
Small wonder the apostle boldly declares that he is not
ashamed of the gospel“because it is the power of God that
brings salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16).
There are many other examples where Scripture affirms human responsibility for sin under the sovereign plan of God.
Genesis 50:20 describes the evil intent of Joseph’s brothers and God’s good intent in sending Joseph to Egypt as a slave.
Isaiah 10:5–15 describes God using the king of Assyria as his tool to punish Israel, at the same time the king of Assyria is wicked in his heart and is punished by God.
Proverbs 16:4–5 affirms that God has made everything for its purpose (including the wicked) and that the wicked are still responsible for their wickedness and will not go unpunished (cf. 1 Pet 2:7–8).
Luke 22:22 describes the betrayal of Jesus that was predetermined by God, yet Judas is still responsible for the act of betrayal.
Acts 4:27–28 affirms that the crucifixion took place according to God’s decree, yet the wicked men involved are responsible and are judged according to their actions (cf. Acts 2:23).
One of the clearest passages on divine sovereignty and human responsibility is found in Romans 9 which affirms that God has created vessels of wrath and vessels of mercy (Rom 9:22–23), yet man is still answerable to God (Rom 9:19–20).
Scripturally, man is clearly answerable for his actions before God. This is a consequence of God’s supreme authority over mankind and his role as judge of human conduct.
God has created man in his image (Gen 1:27–28) and commands him to “be holy, for I am holy” (Lev 11:44; cf. 19:2; Matt 5:48; 1 Peter 1:15–16). Man then is responsible to live according to God’s holy standards and is held responsible for every word, thought, and deed; whether they be acts of commission or acts of omission (Jas 4:17).
In this sense of responsibility—the creature under the creator—man is always and totally responsible. This sense of responsibility and the creator-creature distinction must be at the fore of any biblical discussion on the nature of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. As creatures of God, man’s foremost responsibility is to recognize his creatureliness and glorify his Creator.
From a human standpoint, ignorance of God’s decree leaves man responsible for his actions, even though they have been predetermined by God.
Like responsibility and ability, freedom entails a number of senses that must be considered. First, unlike the proponents of contra-causal or libertarian freedom, the biblical witness is clear that mankind is in bondage and is not free. Man is in bondage to sin and does not have the freedom to do what is good (Rom 8:7; 6:15–23; John 8:34; 2 Cor 3:17). Christ is the one who is able to set man free from this bondage (John 8:34–36). This is the most important kind of freedom that is mentioned in Scripture—the freedom from sin given to man by the work of Christ.32 That man is in bondage to sin and not free to do good does not remove the fact that he is a creature subject to moral evaluation from God. Being subject to moral evaluation (i.e., answerable) to God makes humans morally responsible.
The complex relationship between divine sovereignty and human responsibility necessitates a multi-faceted solution. Responsibility, freedom, ability, and the nature and outworking of God’s decree must all be properly understood and grounded in biblical truth in order to understand how mankind is held responsible for sin in a world predetermined by God. While the solution presented above may not explain exactly how God works all things according to the counsel of his will, it does demonstrate why man is responsible for his actions. God decrees all that comes to pass for his own glory. This includes justly punishing the wicked and redeeming unworthy sinners. He is to be praised for both acts. Humanity is responsible to submit to this great God
