行律法与信基督

无知的加拉太人啊!谁又迷惑了你们呢?耶稣基督被钉在十字架上的事早就像一幅画一样展现在你们眼前了。 我只想问,你们领受了圣灵是靠遵行律法呢,还是因为相信所听见的福音呢? 你们既然靠圣灵开始了基督徒的生活,现在却想靠肉体达到纯全吗?你们就这么无知吗? 你们受了许多苦,难道都是徒然的吗?都白受了吗? 上帝将圣灵赐给你们又在你们中间行神迹,是因为你们遵行律法呢,还是因为你们相信所听到的福音呢?

圣经上说:“亚伯拉罕信上帝,就被算为义人。” 因此,你们要明白,那些信上帝的人才是亚伯拉罕的子孙。 圣经早就指明,上帝要叫外族人因信而被称为义人,祂预先将福音传给亚伯拉罕,说:“万国必因你而蒙福。” 所以那些信上帝的人必和有信心的亚伯拉罕一同得到祝福。

10 凡以遵行律法为本的人都在咒诅之下,因为圣经上说:“凡不遵行律法书上一切命令的人必受咒诅。” 11 非常明显,没有人能靠遵行律法在上帝面前被称为义人,因为圣经上说:“义人必靠信心而活。” 12 律法却不是以信心为本,而是说:“遵行的人必存活。”

13 但基督替我们受了咒诅,从而救赎我们脱离了律法的咒诅,因为圣经上说:“凡挂在木头上的人都是受咒诅的。” 14 这样,赐给亚伯拉罕的祝福可以借着基督耶稣临到外族人,使我们也可以借着信得到上帝应许赐给我们的圣灵。

律法与应许

15 弟兄姊妹,我举个日常生活中的例子。世人的合约一经双方签订之后,就不能作废,也不能加添。 16 上帝曾向亚伯拉罕和他的后裔赐下应许,不过这里没有说“后裔们”——指许多人,而是说“你的后裔”——指一个人,就是基督。 17 我的意思是:四百三十年后颁布的律法不会废除上帝先前立下的约,以致应许落空。 18 倘若我们是靠守律法去承受产业,我们就不是倚靠上帝的应许。但上帝是凭应许把产业赐给了亚伯拉罕。

19 那么,为什么会有律法呢?律法是为了使人知罪而颁布的,等那位承受应许的后裔来到后,律法的任务就完成了。律法是通过天使交给一位中间人颁布的。 20 中间人代表双方,但上帝则单方面赐下应许。

21 这样看来,上帝的律法和上帝的应许是否互相矛盾呢?当然不是!如果赐下的律法能带给人生命,人就可以靠律法成为义人了。 22 但圣经说万物都在罪的权势下,为要使那些相信的人因为相信耶稣基督而得到应许[a]

23 信耶稣的时代[b]还没有来临以前,律法暂时监管我们。等到信耶稣之道显明出来后,律法就不再监管我们。 24 因此,律法是我们的监护人,负责引领我们归向基督,使我们可以因信而被称为义人。 25 现在信耶稣的时代已经来临,我们不再受律法监管。 26 你们都借着信基督耶稣而成为上帝的儿女, 27 因为你们受洗归入基督就是披戴基督[c] 28 从此不再分犹太人和希腊人,自由人和奴隶,男人和女人,因为你们都在基督耶稣里合而为一了。 29 你们若属于基督,就是亚伯拉罕的后裔,都是照着上帝的应许承受产业的人。

Footnotes

  1. 3:22 因为相信耶稣基督而得到应许”或译“因为耶稣基督的信实而得到应许”。
  2. 3:23 信耶稣的时代”希腊文是“信心”,下同25节。
  3. 3:27 披戴基督”是个隐喻,主要的意思是“像基督”,象征有基督的生命与品格。

Law or Faith

You foolish Galatians! Who put a spell on you? Before your very eyes you had a clear description of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross! Tell me this one thing: did you receive God's Spirit by doing what the Law requires or by hearing the gospel and believing it? How can you be so foolish! You began by God's Spirit; do you now want to finish by your own power? Did all your experience mean nothing at all? Surely it meant something! Does God give you the Spirit and work miracles among you because you do what the Law requires or because you hear the gospel and believe it?

(A)Consider the experience of Abraham; as the scripture says, “He believed God, and because of his faith God accepted him as righteous.” (B)You should realize, then, that the real descendants of Abraham are the people who have faith. (C)The scripture predicted that God would put the Gentiles right with himself through faith. And so the scripture announced the Good News to Abraham: “Through you God will bless all people.” Abraham believed and was blessed; so all who believe are blessed as he was.

10 (D)Those who depend on obeying the Law live under a curse. For the scripture says, “Whoever does not always obey everything that is written in the book of the Law is under God's curse!” 11 (E)Now, it is clear that no one is put right with God by means of the Law, because the scripture says, “Only the person who is put right with God through faith shall live.”[a] 12 (F)But the Law has nothing to do with faith. Instead, as the scripture says, “Whoever does everything the Law requires will live.”

13 (G)But by becoming a curse for us Christ has redeemed us from the curse that the Law brings; for the scripture says, “Anyone who is hanged on a tree is under God's curse.” 14 Christ did this in order that the blessing which God promised to Abraham might be given to the Gentiles by means of Christ Jesus, so that through faith we might receive the Spirit promised by God.

The Law and the Promise

15 My friends, I am going to use an everyday example: when two people agree on a matter and sign an agreement, no one can break it or add anything to it. 16 Now, God made his promises to Abraham and to his descendant. The scripture does not use the plural “descendants,” meaning many people, but the singular “descendant,” meaning one person only, namely, Christ. 17 (H)What I mean is that God made a covenant with Abraham and promised to keep it. The Law, which was given four hundred and thirty years later, cannot break that covenant and cancel God's promise. 18 (I)For if God's gift depends on the Law, then it no longer depends on his promise. However, it was because of his promise that God gave that gift to Abraham.

19 What, then, was the purpose of the Law? It was added in order to show what wrongdoing is, and it was meant to last until the coming of Abraham's descendant, to whom the promise was made. The Law was handed down by angels, with a man acting as a go-between. 20 But a go-between is not needed when only one person is involved; and God is one.[b]

The Purpose of the Law

21 Does this mean that the Law is against God's promises? No, not at all! For if human beings had received a law that could bring life, then everyone could be put right with God by obeying it. 22 But the scripture says that the whole world is under the power of sin; and so the gift which is promised on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ is given to those who believe.

23 But before the time for faith came, the Law kept us all locked up as prisoners until this coming faith should be revealed. 24 And so the Law was in charge of us until Christ came, in order that we might then be put right with God through faith. 25 Now that the time for faith is here, the Law is no longer in charge of us.

26 It is through faith that all of you are God's children in union with Christ Jesus. 27 You were baptized into union with Christ, and now you are clothed, so to speak, with the life of Christ himself. 28 So there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, between slaves and free people, between men and women; you are all one in union with Christ Jesus. 29 (J)If you belong to Christ, then you are the descendants of Abraham and will receive what God has promised.

Footnotes

  1. Galatians 3:11 put right with God through faith shall live; or put right with God shall live through faith.
  2. Galatians 3:20 and God is one; or and God acts alone.