归信中的群体因素
如果你的归信教义缺少了群体因素，那么你在整全的教义里遗漏了重要部分。悔改归主并不只是个人的决定，圣约带来的是子民而不是个人。
纵向关系必然带来横向的连结
这并不是说在悔改归主中我们应该把群体关系放在第一位。有人可能会想到汤姆·赖特（N.T. Wright）关于称义的著名论调：“（称义）更多的是关乎教会论而非救恩论，更多的是关乎教会而非关乎救恩。”（《保罗到底说了什么》 英文版119页）。然而道格拉斯·穆（Douglas Moo）反对赖特的这句话，因为“（赖特）将新约圣经的焦点当作了背景，而把背景当作了焦点。”（见卡森的评论文章“Faith” and “Faithfulness”）。
在每个罪人与神和好之前，人与人之间不会有真正的和好。横向关系总是跟随着纵向关系。教会论总是跟随着救赎论的。也就是说，不能把群体因素放在第一位，那会导致什么都没有。
但是群体是救恩的必然结果。事实上，群体因素必须始终包含在归信的教义之中。我们连于基督，众人在基督里合一，不仅是归信的意义，而是归信本身。“神子民之间彼此和好”与“人神和好”之间虽然有区别，但两者又密不可分。
很多时候我们迷失在对悔改归主的神学探讨中，因为我们讨论救恩教义时，我们总是停留在神的主权与人的责任之间的关系上，或是悔改与信心的必要性上。但是对于归信完备的理解应该也包含我们要离开哪里，去往哪里。归信包括了出死入生，脱离黑暗进入光明。同样包括了从利己主义到从属于群体，从迷途羔羊到归回羊群，从孤立的个体到成为身体上的一部分。
我们来看彼得是怎么说的：你们从前算不得子民，现在却作了神的子民。从前未曾蒙怜恤，现在却蒙了怜恤 （彼前2:10）
蒙怜恤（纵向与神和好）与成为神的子民（横向与人和好）是同时发生的。神怜恤我们，赦免我们的罪，这产生一个必然的结果，就是我们被归入祂的子民之中。
圣约的群体本质
事实上，归信的群体因素可以通过圣经中圣约的结构得到印证。旧约中所有的圣约在亚伯拉罕的“那个”后裔身上得到了实现。耶稣就是新以色列。通过新约与基督连接的所有人，成为了属神的以色列民，也就是亚伯拉罕的后裔们。（加3:29；6:16）
换句话说，圣约元首的意思就是带领圣约之民（罗5:12）归入新约，就意味着归入约的子民。
毫无疑问，旧约圣经中所应许的新约是对一个群体做出的承诺：“他们各人不再教导自己的邻舍和自己的弟兄说：’你该认识耶和华’，因为他们从最小的到至大的都必认识我。我要赦免他们的罪孽，不再记念他们的罪恶。这是耶和华说的。”（耶31:34）。新约应许了赦免（纵向），同时也应许了一个圣约之民的群体（横向）。
以弗所书二章中的纵向与横向
整个故事在以弗所书二章中被完美的展现出来。第1节到第10节解释了赦罪之恩，我们纵向与神的联合基于“你们得救是本乎恩”。第11节到20节，展示了横向的画面：“因他使我们和睦，将两下合而为一，拆毁了中间隔断的墙”（14节）
请注意，第14节的时态是过去式。基督已经把犹太人和外邦人合而为一了。在这里用的并不是祈使句。保罗并不是要求他的读者去追求合一，而是用陈述语句告诉他们。因着神已经做成的事，才有了现在我们这一群人；神在十字架上完成人与神纵向和好的同时成就了人与人之间的合一。（请观察陈述句与祈使句的关系 弗4:1-6）
基督的新约带出的果效是团体性的合一，这是归信的必然标志。归信就是成为基督身体的一部分。我们的新身份包括了教会的元素。基督已经使我们成为教会的一员了。
下面的例子可以帮助我们更好的理解这个问题：当父母去孤儿院领养一个男孩成为他们的儿子，他们把孩子领回家，与其他的弟兄姐妹一起坐在餐桌旁。成为儿子和成为兄弟是两码事。儿子的身份在先。随之而来的是兄弟的身份。
这就是说，归信让你进入了神的家。
个人应用：加入教会
对于我们的应用是什么？很简单：加入教会！
你已经被称为义，所以应该行义。你已经成为基督身体的一员了，所以加入一个实在的教会吧。你已经被选召了，所以加入一个被选召的基督徒团体吧！
团体应用：让进程正确
这对于教会来说有什么意义？这意味着把上述归信的方方面面纳入教义之中是非常重要的。我们必须同时强调神的救赎和人的责任；同时强调悔改与信心。这两方面的不平衡会带来教会的不平衡，随之而来的是一片混乱。教义如果是一个锅，那么教会就是锅中熬出来的汤。你在教义的锅中装入怎样的调料，就熬出怎样的汤（教会）。
如果你在归信的教义上忽略了神的救赎，你的讲道或布道很有可能会变得咄咄逼人或取悦受众。你的领导取向会变得实用主义。你可能会因为满满的日程而让自己和会众疲于奔命。教会的会员们会论资排辈或利益导向（好像一个乡村俱乐部）。你所希望施行的责任和纪律会归于无有。你会难以持守圣洁。情况甚至会更糟糕。
如果你在归信的教义上忽略了人的责任，你可能会浪费你的恩赐，以及教会成员的恩赐。你可能会对布道和讲道准备沾沾自喜。你可能不会对那些受伤软弱的会友表示关爱和怜悯。你可能会对人尖酸刻薄或漠不关心。你很难有一个健康的祷告生活，并且会丧失本该有的祝福。你会失去爱心。情况甚至会更糟糕。
如果你在归信的教义上忽略了悔改的概念，你会太快保证别人已经得救，但是迟迟不告诉他们跟随基督的代价。你会容忍教会的世俗化和分裂，而你所在教会的成员也会如此，因为他们止步于肤浅的信仰状况。名义主义会流行起来，因为恩典变得廉价。总之，教会会乐于歌颂基督是拯救者，但是甚少提及基督是主。教会与世界没什么区别了。
如果你在归信的教义上忽略了信心的概念，你的教会会充满着焦虑，自以为义，取悦人的律法主义。教会中越是自律的成员，越容易自以为事，而自律能力差的成员，会隐藏他们的罪，并且渐渐变得自责或责备他人。教会变得越来越不透明；假冒伪善。慕道友们或信徒在教会里感觉不到恩典带来温暖和怜悯。律法和文化的优先次序混乱。教会会歌颂基督作王齐步前行，但是甚少提及被宰杀的羔羊。
当然，我只是宽泛的指出问题而已。这些情况不会即可表现出来。但所有这些例子所涉及到的内容都与归信与教会之间的联系有关。如果归信包含了所有群体的因素，或者具体一些，如果个人的归信带来了群体的合一，那么你在归信的教义上强调的其他信息会对你的教会带来巨大的影响。
你想建立一个健康的教会么？那么就认认真真专注于归信的教义，全面的教导你的会众。不仅如此，确定你教会所有的架构和事工都联接于这个多角度且有力的教义之上。
The Corporate Component of Conversion
If your doctrine of conversion is missing the corporate element, it’s missing an essential piece of the whole. A covenant head comes with a covenant people.
VERTICAL FIRST, HORIZONTAL INSEPARABLY SECOND
That’s not to say we should put the corporate element out front. One might think of N. T. Wright’s well-known line about justification being “not so much about soteriology as about ecclesiology; not so much about salvation as about the church” (What Saint Paul Really Said, 119). This is a clear example, in Douglas Moo’s almost-as-well-known line, of backgrounding what the New Testament foregrounds, and foregrounding what the New Testament backgrounds (cited in D. A. Carson, “‘Faith’ and ‘Faithfulness’”).
There can be no true reconciliation between humans until individual sinners first reconcile with God. The horizontal necessarily follows the vertical. Ecclesiology necessarily follows soteriology. Which is to say, the corporate element must not come first, lest we lose the whole thing.
But it must come. Indeed, the corporate component must remain within the structure of the doctrine of conversion itself. Our corporate unity in Christ is not just an implication of conversion, it’s part of the very thing. Being reconciled to God’s people is distinct from but inseparable from being reconciled to God.
Sometimes this gets lost in our emphasis on the mechanics of conversion, as when our doctrinal discussions about conversion don’t move beyond the relationship of divine sovereignty and human responsibility or the necessity of repentance and faith. However, a full-orbed understanding of conversion should also include an account of what we’re moving from and to. To be converted involves moving from death to life; from the domain of darkness to the domain of light. And it involves moving from people-less-ness to belonging to a people, from being a stray sheep to belonging to the flock, from being something that’s dismembered to being a member of the body.
Notice Peter’s parallel statements: Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:10)
Receiving mercy (vertical reconciliation) is simultaneous to becoming a people (horizontal reconciliation). God has mercy on us by forgiving our sins, and a necessary consequence of that is inclusion in his people.
CORPORATE NATURE OF THE COVENANTS
Indeed, the corporate element of our conversion can be seen by looking no further than the covenantal structure of the Bible. It’s true that all the Old Testament covenants find their fulfillment in the seed (singular) of Abraham. Jesus is the new Israel. Yet it’s also true that everyone united to Christ through the new covenant also becomes the Israel of God and the seed (plural) of Abraham (Gal. 3:29; 6:16).
In other words, a covenantal head by definition brings with him a covenantal people (see Rom. 5:12 ff.). To belong to the new covenant, then, is to belong to a people.
Not surprisingly, the Old Testament promises of a new covenant are therefore promised to a people: “And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jer. 31:34). The new covenant promises forgiveness (vertical), and it promises a community of brothers (horizontal).
VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL IN EPHESIANS 2
The entire story is put on display wonderfully in Ephesians 2. Verses 1 to 10 explain forgiveness and our vertical reconciliation with God: “By grace you have been saved.” Verses 11 to 20 then present the horizontal: “For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility” (v. 14).
Notice that the activity of verse 14 is in the past tense. Christ has already made Jew and Gentile one. There is no imperative here. Paul is not commanding his readers to pursue unity. Instead, he’s speaking in the indicative. It’s what they are because God has done it, and God did it in precisely the same place he accomplished the vertical reconciliation—in the cross of Christ (see also the relationship between indicative and imperative in Eph. 4:1-6).
By virtue of Christ’s new covenant, corporate unity belongs to the indicative of conversion. To be converted is to be made a member of Christ’s body. Our new identity contains an ecclesial element. Christ has made us ecclesial persons.
Here’s an easy way to see it. When mom and dad go down to the orphanage to adopt a son, they bring him home and place him at the family dinner table with a new set of brothers and sisters. To be a son is not the same thing as being a brother. And sonship comes first. But brotherhood follows necessarily.
That is to say, conversion signs you up for a family photo.
PERSONAL APPLICATION: JOIN A CHURCH
What’s the application for our lives? Simple: join a church!
You’ve been made righteous, so be righteous. You’ve been made a member of his body, so join an actual body. You’ve been made one, so be one with an actual group of Christians.
CORPORATE APPLICATION: GET THE MECHANICS RIGHT
What does this mean for our churches? It means that getting the aforementioned mechanics of conversion right in our doctrine is hugely important. We want strong conceptions of both divine sovereignty and human responsibility; both repentance and faith. Imbalances here will lead to an imbalanced and messed up church. What you put into the pot of conversion will become the soup of the church.
If your doctrine of conversion lacks a strong conception of God’s sovereignty, your preaching and evangelism will risk becoming manipulative and man-pleasing. Your approach to leadership is more likely to become pragmatic. You will risk burning out yourself and your congregation with an over-burdened schedule. Your membership practices will become entitlement or benefits based (like a country club). Your practices of accountability and discipline will mostly vanish. You will put holiness at risk. The list goes on.
If your doctrine of conversion lacks a strong conception of human responsibility, you are more likely to poorly steward your own gifts, as well as your people’s gifts. You will more likely be tempted toward complacency in evangelism and sermon preparation. You may be less likely to communicate love and compassion toward those who are hurting. You might come across to others as severe or pat. You might suffer from a weak prayer life, and so forfeit all the blessings that could be yours. You will put love at risk. The list goes on.
If your doctrine of conversion lacks a strong conception of repentance, you will be quick to offer assurance of salvation, and slow to ask people to count the cost of following Christ. You will more likely tolerate worldliness and divisiveness in the church, and your church members just might tolerate these things because many of them will remain in the shallows of the faith. Nominalism will also be more common, because grace will come cheap. In general, the church will like to sing about Christ as Savior, but not much about Christ as Lord, and it won’t look much different than the world.
If your doctrine of conversion lacks a strong conception of faith, you will have a church filled with anxious, self-righteous, man-pleasing legalists. The more self-disciplined members of the church will feel self-deceivingly good about themselves, while the less-disciplined members will quietly hide away their secret sin and steadily learn to condemn themselves and resent others. Transparency will be rare; hypocrisy common. Outsiders and prodigals will feel not feel the warmth and compassion of true grace. Cultural preferences will be confused with law. The church will like to sing about the marching orders of Christ the King, but not so much about a blood-stained Lamb, a Lamb slain for them.
I’m broad-stroking, of course. Things don’t fall out quite this neatly. But the basic idea in all of these examples trades on the tight connection between conversion and the church. If conversion necessarily involves a corporate element, or, more concretely, if individual conversions necessarily produce a united people, then everything else that you stick into your doctrine of conversion will dramatically affect what kind of church you get.
Do you want a healthy church? Then work on your doctrine of conversion, and teach all sides of it to your people. Make sure, furthermore, that the structures and programs of your church cohere with this multi-faceted and powerful doctrine.
作者：Jonathan Leeman
Jonathan Leeman 毕业于美南浸信会神学院（道学硕士），现在是国会山浸信会的长老，同时也是九标志事工的总编辑。李曼是威尔士大学的神学博士，著有多本著作，例如《教会成员制》、《教会纪律》等。
用圣经视野和实用资源装备教会领袖
进而通过健康的教会向世界彰显神的荣耀
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▼▼▼▼ 圣经足够了吗？