聖潔生活的操練

    清教運動的歷史背境中，已談及教會的腐敗，在這情況下，除了強調上帝的恩典成全信徒的聖潔外，信徒追求聖潔的責任也是清教徒所十分關注的。正如Parker 在描述 Owen 的作品時指出，“Holiness is both God‘s promised gift and man’s prescribed duty:‘ neither can we perform our duty herein withour the grace of God; nor doth God give us this grace unto any other end but that we may rightly perform our duty.’ ......Sanctification has a double aspect. Its positive side is vivification, the growing and maturing of the new man; its negative side is mortification, the weakening and killing of the old man, the new powers and inclinations which regeneration implanted within us.”

    以下，我將就追求聖潔和克制罪慾這兩方面去探討清教徒如何將聖潔的操練落實於生活中。

A.     追求聖潔：

1)     每天的操練：

清教徒看聖潔的追求須要不斷的練習，使其成為一自然的習慣。正如 Owen 所言：

“ Frequency of acts doth naturally increase and strengthen the habits whence they preceed. And in spiritual habits, it is so, moreover, by God‘s appointment......They grow and thrive in and by their exercise”

而這習慣是須要藉生活中每個行動去學習的：

“the actual aid, assistance and internal operation of the Spirit of God is necessary unto the producing of every holy act of our mind, wills and affection, in every duty whatsoever”

2)     默想的操練：

Owen 進一步指出這種綀習乃透過默想的操練，注目於上帝的美善和自我的罪惡：

“ Meditate on the excellence of God‘s majesty and your own infinite, inconceivable distance from Him. This will prompt you to recognize your evil heart, a recognition which strikes at the root of any indwelling sin within you.”

“Meditate much on your unacquaintedness with God. Little as you may know of Him, it is more than enough to keep you low and humbled.......God, by our Infirmity and weakness, keeps us in continual dependence upon Him for teachings and revelation of Himself from His Word. ......Let us, then, discerning once more the awful distance between the inconceivably great God and our own smallness, fill our soul with a holy and awesome fear of Him.”

    這種默想的操練讓人在上帝面前自卑，不斷依靠上帝，至孕育出心靈對上帝的敬畏。因此，這份畏懼心是一種覺悟，叫人知罪、能改過。

3)     畏懼與依靠：

    當時的信徒正是要抗拒和避除這份畏懼心，因它打擊他們自以為聖潔的心態。因此，本仁約翰針對他們的錯誤，對「畏懼」有以下的解釋：

“畏懼心使一個人的靈性上生出尊敬神的心，遵守神的道......小心翼翼的保守，不向左走，亦不向右走，卻走在正道上。務使他終身不做污辱神聖名的事，不使敵人毀謗上帝的名，不使聖靈擔憂，心中常存平安。”

而Owen進一步指出這份畏懼迫使信徒更依靠上帝去過聖潔生活：

“And we have a due regard unto the promise (1) when we walk in a constant sense of our inability tocomply with the command......from any power in ourselves, (2) When we adore that grace which hath provided help and relief for us, (3)  When we act faith in prayer and expectation on the promise for supplies of grace enabling us to holy obedience.”

　

B. 克制罪慾：

    另一方面，清教徒於英國聯邦政府統治時期的分烈和後退，迫使Owen 深切反省到藏於信徒內心的罪之影響力。Parker 在介紹Owen 作品的引言中亦指出,“ The reality of indwelling sin in Christians had no doubt come to Owen with overwhelming conviction during the last years of the Common wealth government. He resisted Cromwell‘s personal ambitions to be crowned king and faced dissensions and strike among his compatriots. Later he lived to see his and others’ dreams for  ”a commonwealth of godliness“ collapse. All the political aspirations Owen had for his nation burst like soap bubbles. He saw clearly that the reality behind it all was indwelling sin in Christians.”

　

所以這時期的清教徒作品十分看重如何對付罪。 以下是Owen 他教導信徒如何對付內藏的罪，藉以回應當時的問題。

1) 克制罪慾的定義：

wen 十分仔細地指出 克制罪慾 Mortification(克制罪慾)是：

“ First, it is the weakening of sin‘s indwelling disposition. Pride is weakened by the implanting and growth of humility, passion is neutralized by patience, uncleanness is washed away by purity of mind and conscience, and love of this world is checked by heavenly mindedness. These graces come from the Holy Spirit. Second, it is the alacrity, vigor, and cheerfulness of the Spirit or new man contending against lust. Mortification succeeds in varying degrees and may completely triumph if the sin in question is not lodged too deeply within the natural temperament.”

以上可見 Mortification 乃漸進的過程，罪慾漸漸減小與上帝美善的漸漸增多。而 Mortification 是可以完成的。

2) 克制罪慾的必須：

Owen 認為,“ we find the foundation of Christian discipline expressed by Rom.8:13,...... to kill the indwelling sin, the corrupted flesh or lust thought with the help of Holy Spirit in order to have the joy, comfort and vigor of the life in Christ.”

克制罪慾是信徒新生命的基礎，也是信徒成長的必經之路。

本仁約翰亦指出,“最要緊的是管好你們自己的心，和心中的情慾。因為七情六慾比一切騙人的東西更利害。”

3) 每天的操練：

正如操練聖潔的生活一樣，克制罪慾也是一每天的操練：Owen 認為,“ to leave sin above is to let it bring forth great, cursed, scandalous, soul-destroying sins......Unless we mortify sins daily and constantly, if will get the better of us and destroy us as believers......To neglect this help from God is to allow the heart to become hardened by sin(Heb.3:13), and to weaken the whole Christian life(see Psalm 31:10; 38:5,8; 40:12; 51:8).”

巴克斯特於1656年所寫的《論革新的牧師》一書中亦指出,“要防止有罪的情慾......把省察自己的內心，壓制腐敗和靠上帝，當作每天必做的嚴重功課。”

4) 克制罪慾的操練：

Owen 十分仔細地描述了這過程，以下是他的重點；

“a. Consider whether the sin exhibits particularly dangerous symptoms:

First, look for a sense of inevitability about the sin......Second, scrutinize pleas you make to excuse and tolerate a sin within you......Third, note the frequency with which sin eludes mortification......Fourth, determine if you argue against sin only because you fear punishment......Fifth, watch lest God‘s chastening punishment hardens your heart......Sixth, take heed lest sin turns your heart from God“......If so, only way to get out is by prayer and fasting.

b. Maintain a clear and abiding sense of guilt, anger and evil of sin.

c. Let the guilty weight of sin burden your conscience.

Load your conscience with these and repent before God. For unless the conscience is unable to alleviate its guilt of sin, the soul will never seriously attempt mortification.

d. Seek with a constant longing to be delivered from the power of sin.

e. Consider if the evil perplexing you is rooted in your nature, and nurtured and exaggerated by your temperament.“

    以上的操練都指向提高對罪的警覺性，當發現便徹底解決它。這些操練非靠人的行為，乃全靠賴基督十架的救贖，如Owen 所言：

“ Let faith look on Christ in the gospel as he is set forth dying and crucified for us. Look on Him under the weight of our sins, praying, bleeding, dying : bring Him in that condition into the heart by faith; apply His blood so shed to thy corruptions; do this daily”

C. 小結：

以上所談及的操練很易令人覺得清教徒乃苦修主義者，因他們十分強調每天的操練和克己的功課。但他們所指出的正是聖經所教導：如「捨己，天天背起他的十架跟從主」(路9:23)，「靠聖靈治死身體的惡行」(羅8:13)和「恐懼戰兢作成得救的工夫......凡所行的都......」(腓2:12)等。

Hawkes 在這方面有十分精確的分晰：“ Christian, in his reflection(self-inspection of one‘s desires in the context of the Scripture), turning to endeavor( only in endeavor that one discover his own weakness, his total need of the power of Christ), and from endeavor back to a scriptural evaluation(seeing in oneself the special, peculiar, and distinguishing graces of Christ). According to the Puritans’ model, the normal helical growth of the Christian life will avoid the errors of subjectivism, self-dependency and trusting in works, but realized the fact that the growth is in faith in Christ.”

    因此，清教徒是在不斷自省中日溢體會自己的無助和上帝的救贖、赦勉及能力。