561. 第10节 真正的悔改对于多次悔改的人来说, 是容易的, 但对于那些从不悔改的人来说, 则是一项非常艰巨的任务
真正的悔改就是自我反省, 认识到自己的罪, 在神面前作出忏悔, 因而开启新生活, 这和前文描述的一致。 对改革宗 (意指所有脱离罗马天主教的人, 以及天主教会中从未真正悔改的人) 来说, 这种悔改是一项非常艰巨的任务。 这是因为有些人不愿悔改, 有些人则害怕悔改, 不断的忽视形成习惯, 使人丧失意愿, 最终理智也默许了。 一想到悔改, 这种忽视就导致一些人悲伤, 害怕, 恐惧。
在改革宗基督教界, 真正的悔改极端困难, 主要原因是, 他们认为悔改和仁爱无助于救恩, 而唯独信能。 赦罪, 称义, 改造, 重生, 成圣和永恒的救恩皆随归算之信而来。 而且, 他们的神学家声称, 人凭自己或貌似凭自己的配合是没用的, 它是基督功德的障碍, 是令人厌恶和有害的。 这种观念仅通过听人说“唯信得救”和“没人能凭自己行善”就扎根到了普通民众的头脑中, 尽管他们对那神秘的信一无所知。 由于这个缘由, 悔改在改革宗就象一窝失去母鸟的幼雏, 这母鸟已被猎人捕获并杀害。 次要原因是, 就其灵而言, 在灵界, 所谓改革宗信徒只与同类在一起, 他们把这类观念注入他的思想, 并将他引离内省和自我反省的方向。
561. Active Repentance Is Easy for People Who Have Done It a Few Times; Those Who Have Not Done It, However, Experience Tremendous Inner Resistance to It
Active repentance is examining ourselves, recognizing [and admitting to] our sins, confessing them before the Lord, and beginning a new life. This accords with the description of it under the preceding headings. People in the Protestant Christian world - by which I here mean all [Christians] who have separated from the Roman Catholic Church, and also people who belong to that church but have not practiced active repentance - experience tremendous inner resistance to such repentance, for various reasons. Some do not want to do it. Some are afraid. They are in the habit of not doing it, and this breeds first unwillingness, and then intellectual and rational support for not doing it, and in some cases, grief, dread, and terror of it.
[2] The primary reason for the tremendous resistance to active repentance among Protestant Christians is their belief that repentance and goodwill contribute nothing to their salvation. They believe that faith alone brings salvation; when faith is assigned to us, it comes with forgiveness of sins, justification, renewal, regeneration, sanctification, and eternal salvation, without our having to cooperate either actually on our own or even seemingly on our own. The teachers of their dogma call this cooperation of ours useless, and even a roadblock that is resistant and harmful to [our reception of] Christ's merit. Although the lay public is ignorant of the mysteries of this faith, its teaching has nevertheless been sown in them through just a few words: "Faith alone saves," and "Who among us can do anything good on our own?"
This has made repentance among Protestants like a nest of baby birds abandoned by parents who were caught and killed by a bird-catcher.
An additional cause of this resistance is that in spirit, so-called Reformed people are among spirits in the spiritual world who are no different than they are, who introduce these reactions into their thinking and steer them away from the first step of introspection and self-examination.
561. X. Real repentance is easy for those who have repented a number of times, but highly distasteful to those who have not.
Real repentance is examining oneself, recognising one's sins, making one's confession before the Lord, and so beginning a new life. This has been described in the foregoing pages. In the part of the world where Reformed Christian churches are established - that means all who have split from the Roman Catholic church, as well as those members of it who have never really repented - both these groups find real repentance highly distasteful. The reason is that some are unwilling and some are afraid to repent, and lack of practice turns into a habit and leads to unwillingness, and eventually to acquiescence as the result of reasoning by the understanding. In some cases it leads to sorrow, fear and terror at the idea of repentance.
[2] The principal reason why real repentance is highly distasteful in the world of the Reformed Christian churches is their belief that repentance and charity contribute nothing to salvation, which is due to faith alone. Faith, they hold, being imputed brings with it the forgiveness of sins, justification, renewal, regeneration, sanctification and everlasting salvation, without a person co-operating of himself or as if of himself. Their theologians call co-operation useless and a hindrance to Christ's merit, something repugnant and harmful. The common people, though ignorant of the mysteries of that belief, have this idea implanted in them merely by hearing it said, that 'faith alone saves,' and 'no one can do good of himself.' It is because of this that repentance among the Reformed is like a nest full of chicks abandoned when the birds have been caught and killed by a fowler. An accessory reason is that the so-called 'reformed' person associates in his spirit only with those in the spiritual world who are like him. They put ideas like this into his thoughts, and divert him from his course towards introspection and self-examination.
561. X. ACTUAL REPENTANCE IS EASY FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOW AND THEN PRACTISED IT, BUT IT IS A VERY DIFFICULT TASK FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT.
Actual repentance is to examine oneself, to recognize one's sins, to confess them before God, and thus to begin a new life; this is in accord with the previous description of it. To the Reformed Christian world (meaning by this all those who are separate from the church of Rome, and also to those attached to that church who have not practiced actual repentance), this repentance is a very difficult task. This is because some are unwilling and some are afraid to practice it; and continued neglect establishes a habit, induces unwillingness, and at length gains the endorsement of the reasoning intellect, and this with some produces sadness, dread, and terror at the thought of repentance. Actual repentance is so extremely difficult in the Reformed Christian world chiefly because of their belief that repentance and charity contribute nothing to salvation, but faith alone, from the imputation of which forgiveness of sins, justification, renovation, regeneration, sanctification, and eternal salvation follow. Moreover, their dogmatic writers say that man's cooperation of himself, or as if of himself, is useless, is an obstacle to Christ's merit, and is repugnant and injurious to it. And this idea is implanted in the minds of the common people, although they are ignorant of the mysteries of that faith, merely by the sayings, that "faith alone saves," and who can possibly do good of himself?" For this reason: repentance among the Reformed is like a nest of young birds deprived of the parent birds, which have been captured and killed by the fowler. To this another reason may be added, that a so-called Reformed Christian is associated in the spiritual world as to his spirit, only with such as are like himself, who introduce such things into the ideas of his thought, and lead him away from the very first step toward self-inspection and self-examination.
561. X. ACTUAL REPENTANCE IS EASY WITH THOSE WHO HAVE OCCASIONALLY PRACTICED IT; BUT EXTREMELY DIFFICULT FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NEVER DONE SO.
Actual repentance consists in a man's examining himself, recognizing his sins, making confession before the Lord, and thus beginning a new life, according to the description given of it in the preceding pages. This repentance is extremely difficult for those in the Reformed Christian Church, by whom are meant all who are separated from the Roman Catholic Church, as well as those attached to this Church who have never practiced it. This is because some are unwilling and some are afraid to look into themselves. Moreover, disuse hardens the heart, encourages unwillingness and induces acquiescence in their attitude by specious reasoning; while with some it occasions sadness, dread and terror at the thought of it.
Actual repentance is extremely difficult for those in the Reformed Christian Church because of their belief that repentance and charity contribute nothing to salvation, but that faith alone is sufficient, from the imputation of which follow remission of sins, justification, renovation, regeneration, sanctification and eternal salvation, without man's co-operation of himself or even as of himself. This co-operation their authorities term a vain thing, a hindrance to the merit of Christ, opposing it and doing violence to it. This teaching is implanted among the common people, who know nothing of the mysteries of that faith, by the mere repetition of the words, "Faith alone brings salvation," and "No one can do good of himself." The consequence is that with the Reformed, repentance is like a nest of young birds forsaken by their parents which have been taken by the fowler and killed. Moreover, every one of the Reformed, as they are called, is associated as to his spirit only with those in the spiritual world who are like himself; and these by influencing the ideas in his own mind towards such teaching, turn him away from introspection and self-examination.
561. Quod actualis Poenitentia facilis sit apud illos, qui aliquoties illam egerunt, sed summe refractaria illis, qui non egerunt.
Actualis poenitentia est se explorare, cognoscere sua peccata, confiteri se coram Domino, et sic novam vitam inchoare; est illa secundum descriptionem ejus in antecedentibus; haec in Christiano Reformato Orbe, per quem intelliguntur omnes ab Ecclesia Romano-Catholica separati, et quoque ei addicti, qui non aliquam actualem poenitentiam egerunt, 1 his et illis est Poenitentia actualis summe refractaria; causa est quia aliqui non volunt, et aliqui timent, et desuetudo inveterat hominem, ac inducit noluntatem, et tandem consensum ex intellectu ratiocinante, et apud quosdam maerorem, formidinem et terrorem pro illa.
[2] Causa primaria, quod actualis Poenitentia in Christiano Reformato Orbe sit summe refractaria, est Fides illorum, quod poenitentia et charitas nihil conferant ad salutem, sed Fides sola, ex cujus imputatione sequitur remissio peccatorum, justificatio, innovatio, regeneratio, sanctificatio, et salus aeterna, praeter quod homo ex se, aut sicut ex se cooperetur, hoc vocant dogmatici illorum irritum, ac merito Christi obvium, repugnabile, et injuriosum; et hoc Vulgo, tametsi ignorant mystica istius fidei, inseminatum est per solas has voces, quod sola fides salvet, et quis potest bonum facere a se: inde est quod Poenitentia apud Reformatos, sit sicut nidus cum pullis relictus ab avibus ab aucupe captis ac occisis. Huic causae accedit haec, quod homo reformatus ita dictus, quoad spiritum suum non aliis in Mundo spirituali intersit, quam similibus, qui tale inferunt in ideas cogitationum ejus, et abducunt illum a vestigio ad introspiciendum se et explorandum.
Footnotes:
1. Prima editio: egerunt.