9Marks Journal: Biblical Theology (36期：聖經神學—教會的守護與引導)

Guardian & Guide of the Church

In The Beautiful Struggle, Ta-Nehisi Coates tells his own story of growing up as the son of a former Black Panther in West Baltimore in the 1980s and 90s. It was the era in which crack cocaine swallowed whole neighborhoods of Black men, while Black boys got shot over sneakers. Coates looked everywhere for identity—from middle school gangs, to Public Enemy, to the djembe, to waving the red, black, and green of a transcendent African mythology. He writes, “We searched our history for any way out.” This, in fact, is what biblical theology provides. It is a history that gives fallen humanity a way out. Our plight includes everything faced by West Baltimore, but add to it the wrath of God. Churches, as much as ever, need to know who they are, where they come from, who their ancestors are. Are we not children of Abraham? Doesn’t our family tree include Moses and David, Rahab and Ruth? Are we not all adopted heirs and coheirs with Christ? Sons of the divine king? Biblical theology is not just about reading the Bible rightly, though it begins there. It serves to guard and guide the local church. It maintains the right message, defines the task of the messenger, identifies impostors, tells us what we do when we gather, and sets the trajectory of our mission. It answers the question, Who are we, as the church in the world? Those are some of the topics this issue of the Journal will explore. The goal here is not so much to trace out the Bible’s storyline, but to show how knowing that storyline locates the identity and work of the church in the grand sweep of history.

在《美麗的奮鬥》(Beautiful Struggle)一書中，科特斯（Ta-Nehisi Coates）講述了自己作爲1980-90年代西巴爾的摩前黑豹樂隊成員之子的成長故事。那個時代，可卡因吞噬整個黑人社區，黑人男孩們常常被人射殺。科特斯到處尋找自己的身份認同—從中學幫派，到《全民公敵》（譯者注：1998年的一部電影），再到非洲鼓，以及塗染非洲神話中的紅、黑、綠。他寫道：「我們都是從自己的歷史中尋求出路。」

實際上，這正是聖經神學所提供的。它是給予墮落人類一個出路的歷史。我們面臨的困境包括了西巴爾的摩一切的問題，但更是面臨神的忿怒。

教會，一直需要了解他們是誰，他們從哪裡來，他們的先祖是誰。我們難道不是亞伯拉罕的子孫嗎？我們的族譜裡難道沒有摩西、大衛、喇合和路得嗎？我們不是被收納爲基督的後裔和至高君王的眾子嗎？

聖經神學不只是關乎如何正確地研讀聖經，儘管這是起點。它也守護和引導地方教會。它持守正確的信息，定義報好消息者的使命，識別假教導，告訴我們當信徒聚集時所當做的，並且設定我們使命的軌道。它回答了這樣一個問題：我們作爲存在這世上的教會，到底是誰？

這是本期期刊所要探討的主題。我們的目標不是描繪聖經的故事主線，而是顯明，瞭解聖經的敘事如何定義教會在宏大歷史中的身份與工作。