11/22/2020 唯獨聖經 (Only Bible—Sola Scriptura)
by 鍾卓權牧師 (Rev. Bernie Chung)
在1517 年10 月31 日，一位德國Wittenberg 愛登堡大學的道德神學教授，馬丁路德，在當地的教堂大門釘上以拉丁文書寫的95 條論綱，其目的是讓學者們辯論當時羅馬天主教所誤導的區域，排除不符合聖經教導的教義，95 項論綱其主要論點是強調「得神赦免的唯一途徑是悔改而非贖罪卷」，之後，出乎意料之外，很快就傳遍德國和歐洲。促成了第十六世紀的宗教改革，宗教改革時期有五個拉丁文單詞以Soli 做代表，Soli 是唯獨，單獨或者是只有的意思，就
是「唯獨聖經」，「唯獨恩典」，「唯獨信心」，「唯獨基督」，「唯獨榮耀上帝」這五個唯獨成為基督教宗教改革的基本神學信仰。
當聖經經文的內涵需要進一步探討和理解的時候，需要通過一些聖經學者或對聖經有深入研究的人來解釋。唯獨聖經這個原則，並不是要完全否決任何聖經以外的權威，乃是不隨意接受那些自認為是的權威，故所有教會宗派的委員會，宣教士，聖經傳譯，或者個人啟示，甚至自稱是天使傳下來的訊息，這些均不能代表聖經內獨有的權威，所以唯有「唯獨聖經」才是無誤的教導。其他任何教義與聖經的教導有偏差時，都需要加以修正，改革的目的是遵聖經為本來糾正誤導一切所謂的 「福音訊息」。馬丁路德強烈反對贖罪券的出售和濫用，反對當時羅馬天主教領袖故意誤導購買贖罪券的人，說他們可以借著金錢能減少罪的刑罰。
馬丁路德曾經講過：「一個擁有聖經的普通人比一個沒有聖經的教皇更有權威」，為了能讓更廣泛的大眾以自身所熟習的文字閱讀聖經，馬丁路得就將新舊約聖經翻譯成德文並在1534 年首次出版，約在一個世紀前中文聖經面世，我們感激翻譯聖經的人，他們經歷諸多困難完成了我們所熟習的中文和合本聖經，我們雖不懂希伯來文和希臘文，但仍可閱讀聖經，使其成為我們信仰和屬靈生活的指南，唯一的權威。約翰福音5 章39 節說：「你們查考聖經．因你們
以為內中有永生．給我作見證的就是這經。」這是主耶穌基督親口所說由使徒約翰記錄傳給我們的，主耶穌說：「為我們見證就是這經」。唯獨這一本聖經能教導我們明白真道，「唯獨聖經」能幫助我們更認識主耶穌衪自己所啟示的福音，讓我們認定並接受，過豐盛的救恩得永生。阿們！
Translation:
On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther, a professor of moral theology at Wittenberg University in Germany, nailed The 95 Theses (written in Latin) to the door of a local church. His intention was to raise general awareness and to promote debates among scholars on the Roman Catholic Church's misleading doctrines that did not conform to the teachings of the Bible. Luther's contentious assertion that "the only way to be forgiven by God is repentance, not by atonement," had literally led to the 16th century religious reform. There were five essential entities headed by the Latin word "sola” (means "alone or only") that were prominently cited during the Reformation. The five solas: "only Bible", "only grace", "only faith", "only Christ", and "only God's glory", collectively formed the basic theological beliefs of the Christian Reformation.
When the meaning of a Bible verse merited to be further explored and understood at that time, only Bible scholars or people who had studied the Bible in depth were deemed capable to provide explanations. It is true that The Scriptures does not completely exclude every authority outside The Scriptures itself. However, all self-righteous interpretations, without exception, are unacceptable. The Reformation implores us to be wary of messages from dubious church denomination committees, missionaries, Bible interpreters, or personal revelations especially those claiming to be from angels. These messages must not be commingled with the unique authority of the Bible, thus "the Bible alone" is the inerrant teaching. When any other doctrines deviate from the teachings of the Bible, they need to be corrected with impunity. The goal of the Reformation is to have Christians strictly follow the Bible and reject all so-called "gospel messages" that are misleading. For instance, Martin Luther strongly opposed the sale and abuse of indulgences, and opposed the Roman Catholic leaders who deliberately misled those who bought indulgences by telling everyone that they could use money to reduce the penalty for sin.
Martin Luther once said: "An ordinary person with a Bible is more authoritative than a pope without a Bible." In order to allow the laity to read the Bible in the language they were familiar with, Martin Luther translated the Old and New Testaments into German, and the first German Bible was published in 1534. The Chinese Bible, on the other hand, came out about a century ago. We are grateful to the translators who overcame many difficulties to complete the Chinese Union Bible that we are using and familiar with. Without any knowledge in Hebrew and Greek, the Chinese reading audience can now read The Scripture. The Chinese Bible or the translated Bible of our choice has guided our faith and spiritual life and it should remain the only authority we rely on. John 5:39 says: "You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me...” This was what the Lord Jesus Christ said and is what the Apostle John wrote down and passed on to us. Indeed, the Bible bears testimonies about our Lord Jesus, and "only this Bible” can teach the gospel truth revealed by the Lord Jesus Himself. As we have understood and accepted God's grace of salvation, may our Lord help us to live our lives abundantly from now to eternity. Amen!