What Do They Need to Know Before They’re Baptized? 受浸前他們需要明白什麼？
受浸前他們需要明白什麼？
Translated & Edited by Joyce Che Chen Yang
I believe we often baptize people before they’ve been properly taught. But then again, it’s often hard to determine what a person should know before they are baptized. Since baptism is only the beginning point, it is only necessary those who are baptized have a basic understanding of Christian theology, doctrine, and practice. But what exactly constitutes a “basic understanding”? What do people need to know before being baptized? I’m certain I can’t give an exhaustive answer to that question, but perhaps this post will help you as you think through this question.
我相信我們經常在人們被適當教導之前就給他們施浸。但話說回來, 在一個人受浸之前,往往很難確定他們應該知道什麼。由於浸禮只是起點, 受浸的人只需要對基督教神學、教義和實踐有一個基本的理解。但究竟什麼是「基本理解」呢？在受浸之前, 人們需要知道什麼？我相信我不能對這個問題給出詳盡的答案, 但也許本篇文章能幫助你思考這問題。
Anticipating the Objection 預期有反對意見
First of all, I know someone will ask, “But, Wes, what about the people on the day of Pentecost or the Ethiopian eunuch or Cornelius? It doesn’t seem like they were taught much before their baptisms.” That’s a very pertinent question. So in anticipation of it being asked, let me go ahead and address it.
首先, 我知道有人會問: 「但是, 維斯, 五旬節那天的民眾、衣索比亞的太監或哥尼流呢？看起來他們在受浸前並沒有被教導很多事情。」這是一個非常中肯的問題。因此, 預料到有人會質疑這件事, 讓我繼續分享這個話題。
The answer is quite simple. 1st century Jews, proselytes (Gentiles who had become Jews), and God-fearers (Gentiles who had not become Jews, but worshiped God) were knowledgable about God, sin, atonement, the coming Messiah, and His coming kingdom. In fact, the Jews gathered on Pentecost (Acts 2) were probably far more knowledgable about the God of the Bible than most mature Christians are today.
答案很簡單。第1世紀的猶太人、改信猶太教的教徒 (成為猶太人的外邦人) ，和神的信徒 (沒有成為猶太人, 但是敬拜神的外邦人) ，他們對神、罪、贖罪、即將到來的彌賽亞，和祂即將到來的王國，都富有相當的知識。事實上, 聚集在五旬節 (使徒行傳第2章) 的猶太人，可能比今天大多數成熟的基督徒，都更加認識聖經中的神。
When Peter explained that they were speaking in tongues because, “This is what was uttered through the prophet Joel,” the people understood what he meant. They understood that judgement was about to come upon them because they had “crucified and killed” the Lord Jesus Christ. They understood they needed to save themselves from that crooked generation (Acts 2:40). Which is why they asked, “Brothers, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37) and why 3,000 of them responded when Peter said, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).
當彼得解釋他們說方言是因為,「這是先知約珥所預言的」, 民眾就明白他的意思。他們明白審判即將降臨在他們身上, 因為他們已經「在十字架上釘死」主耶穌基督。他們知道需要把自己從那彎曲悖逆的世代中拯救出來 (使徒行傳2:40)。這就是為什麼他們問: 「弟兄們，我們當怎樣行？」(使徒行傳2:37) 。然後，有3000人回應了。彼得所說: 「你們每一個人都要悔改，奉耶穌基督的名受浸，使你們的罪得到赦免，你們就必領受神所賜的聖靈。」(使徒行傳2:38)
There is a vast difference between teaching an ordinary person in 21st century America and teaching a Jew (or someone who followed the Jewish religion) in the 1st century world. That doesn’t mean it should take years of in-depth study to prepare someone for baptism, but it does mean they need to have a basic understanding of a few things before going down into the water:
在21世紀的美國教導一個普通人，和在第1世紀的世界裡教導一個猶太人 (或猶太教徒) ，是有巨大區別的。這並不意味你需要多年深入的研讀，才能讓某人為浸禮做好準備,，但這確實意味著他們在受浸前，需要對某些事情有基本的瞭解:
1. They Need to Know About Jesus
他們需要知道耶穌
First and foremost, baptism ought to be motivated by a love for Jesus.Baptism ought to be a response to what He did on the cross. If a person only understands she needs to be baptized in order to go to heaven when she dies, but doesn’t have a basic understanding of who Jesus is and what He has done, then she doesn’t have the knowledge she needs to be baptized.
首先，也是最重要的, 浸禮應該是出於對耶穌的愛。浸禮應該是對祂在十字架上所做的事情的一個回應。如果一個人只明白她需要受浸才能在死後上天堂, 但對耶穌是誰和祂做了什麼沒有基本的瞭解, 那麼她就缺乏需要受浸的知識。
The Ethiopian eunuch “had come to Jerusalem to worship” (Acts 8:27). He obviously understood about sacrifices and he probably understood about the coming Messiah. So, Philip got in the chariot and, starting with the passage in Isaiah, “told him the good news about Jesus” (Acts 8:35). Philip told him the Messiah had come and He was the final sacrifice for sins.
衣索比亞的太監「來到耶路撒冷敬拜」(使徒行傳8:27) 。他顯然理解獻祭, 他也可能理解即將到來的彌賽亞。所以腓利上了車, 從以賽亞書的經文開始, 「告訴他耶穌的好消息」(使徒行傳8:35) 。腓利告訴他, 彌賽亞已經來到, 並且，祂是最終的贖罪祭。
People need to hear “the good news about Jesus.” They probably need to understand something of His Abrahamic and Davidic heritage, His deity, His incarnation, His sacrificial death, His resurrection, His reign at the right hand of the Father, and most importantly His love. They need to understand His blood brings about things like redemption, reconciliation, forgiveness, and sanctification. Yes, I know those are deep subjects, but they are absolutely essential elements of the gospel. And they aren’t as complicated as you might think. Over time, I believe each of those points could be explained in such a way that even a child could comprehend them.
人們需要聽到「有關耶穌的好消息」。他們可能需要瞭解祂是亞伯拉罕和大衛的後裔, 祂的神性, 祂的道成肉身, 祂死亡的犧牲,祂的復活, 祂在父的右手邊統治, 最重要的，是祂的愛。他們需要瞭解祂的血帶來的東西, 如救贖、和解、寬恕和成聖。是的, 我知道這些都是深奧的主題, 但它們絕對是福音的基本元素。而且它們並不像你想像的那麼複雜。隨著時間的推移, 我相信這些觀點中的每一點，都可以用連孩子都能理解的方式來解釋。
But I’m afraid we are often in such a hurry to get people in the water, their baptism is more of a response to our pleading than a response to Christ’s death. People need to know about Jesus before they are baptized.
但我擔心，我們經常如此匆忙地讓人們下水, 他們的浸禮更多的是對我們懇求的回應, 而不是對基督受死的回應。人們在受浸之前需要瞭解耶穌。
2. They Need to Know About Their Lostness
他們需要認識到自己已經失喪
Before someone is baptized, he needs to know he stands guilty before God. He needs to know, because he has chosen to join sinful humanity in rebellion against God, he is dead in his trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1). He needs to know he has “made God angry” and is “going to be punished like everyone else” (Ephesians 2:3, CEV).
在某人受浸之前, 他需要知道他在神面前有罪。他需要知道, 因為他選擇作為反抗神的罪人, 他死在自己的過犯和罪惡中(以弗所書2:1) 。他需要知道他「讓神憤怒」, 並且「與其他人一樣本是惹神發怒的人」(以弗所書2:3)(CCBT)。
He needs to understand he cannot do anything to atone for his sins. He cannot make up for the evil he has done by doing a bunch of good deeds. His only hope is for God to have mercy on him and show him grace. And the ONLY way that will happen is through Jesus.
他需要明白, 他無法做任何事情來贖罪。他不能藉由做一堆好事來彌補所犯的罪惡。他唯一的希望是神憐憫他, 給他恩典。這唯一的辦法就是透過耶穌。
Baptism is meaningless for someone who thinks, “I’m a pretty decent individual. I don’t think God sees me as being wicked or an evildoer.” It is only when “godly grief produces a repentance” (2 Corinthians 7:10) that an individual is ready to “appeal to God for a good conscience” (1 Peter 3:21) in baptism.
受浸對於一個認為「我是個相當正派的人。神不會認為我是邪惡的，或做了什麼邪惡的事情」的人來說，是毫無意義的。只有當「合乎神心意的憂傷帶來悔改」(哥林多前書7:10)，一個人才準備好在浸禮中「求在神面前有無愧的良心」(彼得前書3:21) (CCBT)。
Baptism is asking God – in faith – to remove your sins through the power of the blood of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38; 22:16; Romans 6). Until people know about their lostness, they’re not ready to be baptized.
浸禮是要求神——在信仰中——通過耶穌基督的血的力量來除去你的罪 (使徒行傳2:38;22:16; 羅馬書6) 。在人們認識到自己迷失之前, 他們還沒有準備好接受浸禮。
3. They Need to Know the Commitment They Are Making
他們需要了解將要做的承諾
Last, but certainly not least, people must know what they’re getting into. Jesus said a person must first “count the cost” (Luke 14:25-33) before becoming His disciple. People need to be told what is going to be expected of them and what they are going to have to give up as disciples of Jesus.
最後, 但肯定不是最不重要的, 人們必須知道他們正要面對著什麼。耶穌說, 一個人必須先「計算代價」(路加福音14:25-33), 才能成為祂的門徒。人們需要被告知, 他們被期待什麼，以及作為耶穌的門徒，不得不放棄什麼。
Not only should those being baptized understand they are dying to sin (Romans 6:1-7), they also need to understand something about the church. Acts 8:12 says, “When they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.” We have to teach people about the kingdom and the obligations that go along with being a citizen of that kingdom.
接受浸禮的人，不僅應該明白他們向罪而死 (羅馬書6:1-7), 他們還需要瞭解有關教會的一些事情。使徒行傳8:12說, 「他們相信腓利所傳，關於神的國度和耶穌基督的福音，男男女女都接受了浸禮。」我們必須教導人們，有關神的國度和作為神國公民的義務。
Among other things, being converted to Christ is being recruited to the cause of Christ. Until they know what that means, they’re not ready to commit to a Christian lifestyle.
除此之外, 順服基督的人是被呼召到基督的事工中去。在他們知道這意味著什麼之前, 他們還沒有準備好獻身於基督徒的生活方式。
Bottom Line 結語
There is much more that could be said on this issue; and at the same time, I don’t want to give the impression that someone needs to be a Bible scholar before being baptized. But the fact of the matter is, the decision to be baptized should not be based on emotion or evangelistic pressure.
在這個問題上, 可以說的更多; 同時, 我並不想給人一種印象, 以為人需要成為聖經學者才能受浸。不過，事實上, 受浸的決定不應該基於情感或傳教的壓力。
The decision to be baptized should be based on having been taught what it means to be a disciple of Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20).
受浸的決定應該立基於「成為耶穌門徒意謂著什麼」的教導 (馬太福音28:18-20) 。
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