| 我們究竟需要用多少字，才能清楚講明福音呢？哪些字是絕不可少的呢？保羅在第3節簡單直白的重申，一定是最精確的總結之一：「基督為我們的罪死了。」只有五個字。接著他提到基督被埋葬和復活，也是福音信息中極重要的部分。 換句話說，福音就是基督為我們的罪死了，再從死裡復活。當我相信這個事實，我便可以得著從福音而來的一切福氣，並可憑著信心來支取這福氣。讓我們從這個角度來思想福音：基督若不是為我的罪受死，那麼，祂是為何而死？祂若無罪，卻要被釘十架而死，就只有一個解釋。保羅指出，祂是「照聖經所說的」受死；舊約聖經多處提到祂的死。以賽亞書五十三章4至6節解釋得很清楚：「祂為我們的過犯受害，為我們的罪孽壓傷……因祂受的刑罰，我們得平安……耶和華使我們眾人的罪孽都歸到祂身上。」 「基督為我們的罪死了」，就是這個意思。當保羅向哥林多信徒重提這真理的時候，他言下之意是要提出一個挑戰，他沒有直接問：「你們是否持守這真理？」我們今天也可能被問及同樣的問題。我們若堅信耶穌基督是我們的救主，我們便可以滿有信心地回答說：「是的，感謝神，我的生命完全被這真理改變了。」 保羅繼續說明基督復活的真理。他的信息同樣陳述清晰：因為基督已經復活，我們在祂裡面便得享新的生命；而且，我們在祂再來的時候，會與祂一同復活。 但願從死裡復活的基督，首先在我們心裡顯明福音的大能，然後再藉著我們，向世人傳揚這救恩。這就是福音所包含的好信息了。 |
| How many words do we really need to use to preach the Gospel? What is the "irreducible minimum"? For brevity and simplicity Paul's restatement of the Gospel in verse 3 of our reading must be among the finest summaries ever given "Christ died for our sins", just five wonderful words. Then he goes on to mention Christ's burial and resurrection, both tremendously important, and both part of the Gospel message. The Gospel then is the death of Christ for our sins plus His resurrection. When I believe this, all its benefits are mine to be received and appropriated by faith. Think of it this way: if Christ didn't die for my sins then why did He die? If He was sinless, and yet He died, there is only one explanation. Paul says He died "according to the scriptures" and the Old Testament scriptures have much to say about His death. Isaiah 53:3-4 explains this so well, "He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." That is what is meant by those simple words "Christ died for our sin". When Paul restated that truth for the Corinthians, there was a hidden challenge in his words. He indirectly asked, "Has this truth laid hold of you?" The same question could be asked today. If we know Jesus Christ as our own Saviour we can confidently answer, "Yes, thank God, this truth has changed my life." Paul goes on to spell out once more the truth regarding Christ's resurrection. Again the message is clearly stated. Because Christ is alive, we have new life in Him. And because He arose, we too will share in resurrection ourselves at His coming again. May He who died and rose again be able first of all to show in us the mighty dynamics of the Gospel, and then through us, show to the world He is waiting to do the same for them? That is all included in the good news of the Gospel. |
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