教會--神的家
作者：盧國禮 翻譯：小米
當我們去英法或是意大利旅遊﹐當地宏偉莊嚴的教堂常常讓身為遊客的我們肅然起敬。這也就難怪當有人說到教會﹐我們的眼前會很再次浮現起那些典雅的哥特式建築。可實際上﹐教會絕不僅僅是指某處建築或某種宗教儀式；教會乃是神所揀選、呼召的一群人。神給他們各種恩賜、合一配搭、與神同工﹐實現祂救贖世人的計劃。耶穌升天之前對祂的門徒說﹕
“...天上地下所有的權柄﹐都賜給我了。所以你們要去﹐使萬民作我的門徒﹐奉父子聖靈的名﹐給他們施洗。凡我所吩咐你們的﹐都教訓他們遵守﹐我就常與你們同在﹐直到世界的末了”(馬太福音28：18-20)。
這是一條帶應許的誡命，意思是叫門徒們應該走出去﹐傳福音給世上所有的人﹐給他們施洗，作神的兒女。將耶穌所有的教訓﹐都教導初信的弟兄姊妹。每個門徒都有傳福音的使命。而當信徒們履行這一使命的時候，耶穌答應會常與他們同在﹐直到祂再來的日子。到了那時，死人要復活﹐聖徒要被提到神那裡﹐與神永遠同在(帖撒羅尼迦前書3：13-18)。
在傳福音的過程當中， 神的教會需要在以下幾點上不偏左右：
惟獨聖經 --《聖經》是基督徒惟一的信仰基礎。我們必須堅守真道﹐恆常儆醒﹐不可因新潮流的衝擊而擺動﹐切勿犯上法利賽人 “假冒為善” 的錯誤。
傳道者講道﹐務要虔敬﹑清潔，對信徒要愛護﹑訓誨﹑勸勉﹑教導，並要作信徒的模範。保羅在這件事情上曾勸勉提摩太說﹕“你要謹慎自己和自己的教訓﹐要在這些事上恆心﹔因為這樣行﹐又能救自己﹐又能救聽你的人”(提摩太前書4﹕16)。
處理傳統的態度-- 因著時代的不同、地域的分別以及文化的差異﹐傳統應照時世的需要﹐在不違背《聖經》真理前提下﹐作出讓步﹐而不要墨守成規。信徒應放下偏執﹐在耶穌基督裏求同存異、和而不同。
對一切人與事的適當處理方法-- “愛” 是惟一的核心價值﹐也是唯一正確的出發點﹐因為 “神就是愛”﹔“神愛世人﹐甚至將他的獨生子賜給他們﹐叫一切信他的﹐不至滅亡﹐反得永生。因為神差他的兒子降世﹐不是要定世人的罪，乃是要叫世人因他得救”(約翰福音3﹕16-17)。
執事會及傳道者的重任是叫人與神和好﹐所以必須誠心擔當和平之子的角色﹔一切是是非非﹐神必審問。若是我們都能明白此理﹐在主裏同感一靈、以基督的心為心﹐教會便會有共同的目標、共同的使命。當我們合一團結、向著標竿直跑﹐那麼不論是敬拜禱告、研讀《聖經》、事工差傳、團契生活、宣講福音就都能順利，都可蒙神祝福和保守；而這也就是神所應許得有他 “同在” 的恩典了。
Church -- God's household
Written by Francis Loo Translated by Naomi
When we are traveling around England, France or Italy, we are often impressed by majestic European cathedrals. And then, we will think about the elegant Gothic buildings when people mention about Christian church. However, God’s church does not merely refer to a building or religious ceremony. According to Bible, God chose a group of people to have his high calling. This group is considered as God’s church. God blessed these people with various gifts, unity in mission, opportunities to work with God for completing his plan of salvation for the world. Before Jesus left for heaven, he had told the disciples:
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”（Matthew 28:18-20)
This is a commandment with a divine promise. It meant to lead disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. It asked all the followers of Jesus to baptizing new believers so that these believers would also become God’s children. All the teachings of Jesus should be taught to younger Christian brothers and sisters. All disciples have the same mission, which is preaching the Gospel. When all the believers go out for the sake of evangelism, Jesus promised to be with them always until the day of his second coming.At that time, all the dead will have resurrection, and the Saints of Christ will be taken to God’s side and stay with him eternally.(1 Thessalonians 3:13-18)
When we are preaching the Gospel, we need to make sure God’s church stick to following guidelines:
Solo Scripture-- Bible is the only foundation for our faith. Every believer need to keep the word of God. It is wise to be always alert towards teachings in church. We should not be moved because of trendy beliefs from the world, and we should not act like false teachers who make the same mistakes as the Pharisees.
Preachers need to aim for setting an example for the believers in faith and in purity. It is appropriate to guide believers by loving, rebuking, encouraging and teaching them.
Regarding this issue, Paul used to tell Timothy﹕ “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”(1 Timothy 4:16)
The attitude towards tradition-- Traditions could be altered for accommodating generation gap, geographic diversity and cultural difference. However, every single change should be made biblically. It is good for believers to give up personal preferences in order to achieve great mission for Christ.
The proper way to interact with the others-- “LOVE” is the only core value, and it is the only righteous motivation as well. This is because“God is love”; “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”(John 3:16-17)
Elders and preachers need to help the lost to reconcile with God. It is important for them to play a role of peacemaker. No matter what, God will have the final judgment. If we truly believe this spiritual principle, we will be inspired by the same spirit, look at issues from the perspective of Christ. And then, it will be possible for church to have the same gold, the same mission. When we have unity and live for the same purpose, we will be able to enjoy God’s protection in the ministry of worship, prayer, Bible study, mission trip, fellowship and evangelism. At the same time, we will also enjoy God’s graceful presence according to his promise.