馬丁‧路德的心窄困擾的轉化方

馬丁‧路德的心窄困擾的轉化方法

作者：陳顯宗博士

專題文章 # 11

唯獨因信稱義這發現使路德解除了心窄，他說：

「我日以繼夜地思索『上帝公義』的問題，直到我看出它與『義人必因信得生』的關係。不久我便明白到『上帝的公義』真正是指上帝以恩典和憐憫使我們因信稱義。我立時感到自己已得重生，樂園的門大開，讓我進入。聖經的一切話語有了新意義，從前『上帝的公義』令我聞而生厭，現在它使我在更大的愛中有說不出的甜蜜。保羅這段話使我進入天堂之門……。」註1

由於他十分喜歡保羅在《加拉太書》提及唯獨因信稱義這道理，他珍視《加拉太書》猶如他的妻子。註2在《路德選集》（Luther’s Works）第廿七卷裏，載有他在1535年出版的《加拉太書》註釋。註3他指出若他在心窄時明白加拉太書五17節的意思，便不會陷入之前的困境：

「當我做修士時，一有惡念，肉慾衝動，發怒，憎恨或是嫉妒時，就以為是永遠喪失了。我曾用盡各樣方法使良心平靜下來，然而總是不行，因為慾望常常會回來，使我不得安寧。我對自己說：『你容許這樣的罪和那樣的罪，嫉妒，暴躁及其他。你參加此修會已是徒然，你所有的善工也是毫無用處。』我若在那時明白了這節經文，『因為情慾和聖靈相爭』，就會對自己說：『馬丁，因為你有肉體，就決不能脫離罪，不要失望，要抗拒肉體。』」註4

前述路德在當修士時會不斷認罪，甚至認罪認了六小時。當他覺悟唯獨因信稱義、解除了心窄後，他則勸人不用擔心遺漏認罪。他在《基督徒大問答》（The Large Catechism of Martin Luther）寫道：

「論到認罪，我們從來都主張要出於自願。我們破壞了教宗的專制，所以大家都掙脫了他的強迫，從加在教會身上那種種難堪的重擔下走出來。而我們各人所受最重的壓迫，無過於必須認罪，否則就犯極大的死罪。況且認罪一事經已有許多累贅，而良心亦為這許多一條一條的罪所拷訊，以致在認罪時，誰都不是夠純潔的。但是更慘的，是沒有人教導或知道認罪是甚麼，有甚麼用處，及能否令人得安慰等。反之，他們將之弄成非常恐怖痛苦的事，以致雖然必須要作，也不免使人恨之入骨。然而我們現在已獲恩典，得以擺脫下述三件事了：我們不必因為強制或恐懼而去認罪；我們也不必非逐樣將罪數清不可，所以免了這種折磨；此外我們還有一種長處，就是知道認罪可用來幫助人，使良心獲得安慰和增加力量。」註5

從路德的心窄經歷和轉化可見，兒時與父親的緊張關係加上學校和教會的嚴謹教導形成了負面的神觀，使他認為必須認清所有罪才可進入天堂。神的話使他覺悟到「唯獨因信稱義」這教義，令他擺脫了心窄，也促成後來的宗教改革運動。

反思：傳統華人父親的形像多是嚴肅、寡言或是「外冷內熱」，教育方式多是責打，我們對天父的觀感有否受自己的原生家庭所影響？此外，學校和教會的教導會否也使我們對基督教信仰有着不準確的投射？

馬丁‧路德因着進深研讀上帝的話語使他從心窄困擾中得釋放、靈命得以轉化，我們在困苦中仍有否堅持研讀聖經，並盼望上帝最終能夠轉化自己的生命？

路德反對售賣贖罪券是宗教改革的導火線，但其實背後是因為他曾受功德補贖觀念所困，這對你研讀宗教改革這段歷史有甚麼啟發？我們會否覺得自己還不夠好或完美，以致上帝還未接納我們？

註釋

1. 英原文如下：‘Night and day I pondered until I saw the connection between the justice of God and the statement that “the just shall live by his faith.” Then I grasped that the justice of God is that righteousness by which through grace and sheer mercy God justifies us through faith. Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise. The whole of Scripture took on a new meaning, and whereas before the “justice of God” had filled me with hate, now it became to me inexpressibly sweet in greater love. This passage of Paul became to me a gate to heaven…’ Bainton, Here I Stand, 49—50；中譯文參羅倫培登：《這是我的立場》，頁58。

2. Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, ed. Jaroslav Pelikan, vol. 27, Galatians (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1992), inside front cover.

3. Luther, Luther’s Works, ed. Jaroslav Pelikan, vol. 27, Galatians, ix.

4. 馬丁路德：《加拉太書註釋》，陳江川譯，2版（香港：道聲，2017），頁226；英譯文如下：‘When I was a monk, I used to think that my salvation was undone when I felt any desires of the flesh, that is, any malice or sexual desire or anger or envy against any of my brothers. I tried many methods. I made confession every day, etc. But none of this did any good, because the desires of the flesh kept coming back. Therefore I could not find peace, but I was constantly crucified by thoughts such as these: “You have committed this or that sin; you are guilty of envy, impatience, etc. Therefore it was useless for you to enter this holy order, and all your good works are to no avail.” If I had properly understood Paul’s statements, “The desires of the flesh are against the Spirit” and “These are opposed to each other,” I would not have tortured myself to such a point but would have thought to myself, as I do nowadays: “Martin, you will never be completely without sin, because you still have the flesh. Therefore you will always be aware of its conflict, according to the statement of Paul: ‘The desires of the flesh are against the Spirit.’ Do not despair, therefore, but fight back, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. Then you will not be under the Law.”’ Luther, Luther’s Works, ed. Jaroslav Pelikan, vol. 27, Galatians, 73.

5. 馬丁路德：《基督徒大問答》，三版（香港：道聲，2004），頁130；英譯文如下：‘Concerning confession, we have always taught that it should be voluntary and purged of the pope’s tyranny. We have been set free from his coercion and from the intolerable burden he imposed upon the Christian church. Up to now, as we all know from experience, there has been no law quite so oppressive as that which forced everyone to make confession on pain of the gravest mortal sin. Moreover, it so greatly burdened and tortured consciences with the enumeration of all kinds of sin that no one was able to confess purely enough. Worst of all, no one taught or understood what confession is and how useful and comforting it is. Instead, it was made sheer anguish and a hellish torture since people had to make confession even though nothing was more hateful to them.