Dying to What Once Bound You

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Romans 7:1-6.  Let’s go!

Romans 7:1-6 (NIV)
1  Do you not know, brothers–for I am speaking to men who know the law–that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives?
2  For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage.
3  So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.
4  So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.
5  For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death.
6  But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

On verses 1-6:  Before you received Jesus Christ into your life, you lived in a system which New Testament writers like Paul call “the law”.  Under the law, the only way you could have any hope of a relationship with God or a place in heaven was to live your life perfectly in accordance with God’s written code. 

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留心思想

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箴言24:32    我看见就留心思想，我看着就领了训诲。

阅读经文：箴言 24:28-34

28不可无故作见证陷害邻舍，也不可用嘴欺骗人。29不可说：「人怎样待我，我也怎样待他，我必照他所行的报复他。」30我经过懒惰人的田地，无知人的葡萄园，31荆棘长满了地皮，刺草遮盖了田面，石墙也坍塌了。32我看见就留心思想，我看着就领了训诲。33再睡片时，打盹片时，抱着手躺卧片时，34你的贫穷就必如强盗速来，你的缺乏仿佛拿兵器的人来到。

28不可无故作见证陷害邻舍，也不可用嘴欺骗人。29不可说：「人怎样待我，我也怎样待他，我必照他所行的报复他。」Don’t talk about your neighbors behind their backs— no slander or gossip, please. Don’t say to anyone, “I’ll get back at you for what you did to me. I’ll make you pay for what you did!”

在这两节经文里，一共有三个“不可”。这里指的是要怎样对待邻舍，也就是和我们相近的人。俗话说，远亲不如近邻。常常在我们身边的人，若是成为我们的朋友，便是生活中极大的祝福；若是为了小事而反目，便有如芒刺在背，天天不得安宁。

我曾经有一邻舍，为人极好。有一次我们出门时，没有把大门关好。警铃响了。他们在我们家门守候五个小时有余，直到我们回家。这事让我感动良久，依然无法忘怀。他们如此待我们，我们就更加善待他们。

但是若有不愉快的事，却要尽量包容，不要以牙还牙，以其人之道还治其人之身，增加怨恨。因为怨怨相报何时了，人生就这么几十年，连邻舍都相处不好，生活一定很痛苦。因此作者告诉我们，与相近的人相处有三诫：一不可无故作见证陷害，二不可用嘴欺骗，三不可以牙还牙。反之，便是要忠诚相待，彼此包容，互相帮助。

想要有好的邻舍也要努力去做一个别人的好邻舍，这样的努力必然在生活上得到实质的报答。

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I’m Under New Management

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Romans 6:12-23.  Let’s go!

Romans 6:12-13 (ESV)
12  Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.
13  Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.

On verses 12-13:  In Romans 6:1-11 Paul was saying that we don’t want to use God’s grace as an excuse to go back to sinning because our very reason for believing in Jesus was that we could experience a new life in Jesus.  With that in mind, Paul says in verse 12, “don’t let sin therefore reign in your body” (v12), for we are under new management, Jesus Christ.  Jesus has dethroned sin as the master of our lives.  So instead of offering ourselves to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, we want to offer ourselves to God as instruments for righteousness.  In other words, we’re not living for sin anymore, but we’re living for God.

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凡事预则立

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箴言24:27    你要在外头预备工料，在田间办理整齐，然后建造房屋。

阅读经文：箴言 24:23-27

23以下也是智慧人的箴言。审判时看人情面是不好的。24对恶人说「你是义人」的，这人万民必咒诅，列邦必憎恶。25责备恶人的必得喜悦，美好的福也必临到他。26应对正直的，犹如与人亲嘴。27你要在外头预备工料，在田间办理整齐，然后建造房屋。

23以下也是智慧人的箴言。审判时看人情面是不好的。It’s wrong, very wrong, to go along with injustice.

什么时候可以看人情面呢？中文译得很斯文，英文则直接译为injustice不公正。有个华人孩子跟着母亲去法国，在学校被同学欺负。母亲直接去找校长，校长清描淡写地说：“那是孩子之间的游戏，不用太介意”。倘若你是那位母亲，会不会觉得那位校长不公正？不用看什么情面，就已经有坦护之心，所以三言两语就把华人妈妈打发掉了。这种情形可能有些人都遇过，因为看人情面而使双方都受到不公正的审判。不要以为吃亏的一方才是受害的一方；相反的，另一方因而失去了对公正的理解，以后一生都将受其害，无法在人生的路上走得正直。

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Why It’s Foolish to Keep On Sinning While Thinking “God Will Forgive Me Anyway”

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Romans 6:1-11.  Let’s go!

Romans 6:1-4 (NIV)
1  What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?
2  By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
3  Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
4  We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

On verses 1-4:  Earlier in Romans 5:20-21, Paul explained that when our sin (or our awareness of our sin) increased with our understanding of God’s law, God’s grace increased all the more to cover all of our sins. 

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Adam’s Sin < Jesus’ Sacrifice

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Romans 5:12-21.  The key to reading and understanding this passage is to read it slowly, verse by verse.  So that’s what we’re going to do.  In this case we’re going to look at the ESV translation of this passage because I think it’s a little easier to understand than the NIV.  Let’s go!

Romans 5:12 (ESV)
12  Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
 
On verse 12:  Starting here in Romans 5:12, Paul begins to describe some of the problems that came about because Adam in Genesis 3 broke God’s command.  The first problem is that sin entered the world (“sin came into the world”) and affected us all.  The second problem is that, as a consequence of sin, humanity became subject to death.  By “death” Paul means not only physical death, but spiritual death (i.e. total separation from God).  Since Adam sinned, these remain two of humanity’s biggest problems: sin and death.

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身份和立场

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箴言24:19 不要为作恶的心怀不平，也不要嫉妒恶人。

阅读经文：箴言 24:15-22

15你这恶人，不要埋伏攻击义人的家，不要毁坏他安居之所。16因为义人虽七次跌倒，仍必兴起，恶人却被祸患倾倒。17你仇敌跌倒，你不要欢喜；他倾倒，你心不要快乐。18恐怕耶和华看见就不喜悦，将怒气从仇敌身上转过来。19不要为作恶的心怀不平，也不要嫉妒恶人。20因为恶人终不得善报，恶人的灯也必熄灭。21我儿，你要敬畏耶和华与君王，不要与反复无常的人结交。22因为他们的灾难必忽然而起，耶和华与君王所施行的毁灭，谁能知道呢？

这八节经文对神的儿女是一个很好的教导。因为我们在这个社会上，难免会和恶人有不愉快的经验。神没有应许我们，人生的路上花香常漫；神却曾应许：生活有力，在试炼中得帮助，危难中有依赖；还有神无限的体谅和不止息的爱与我们同在。

圣经里的恶人，不一定是社会上作奸犯科的人，而是指不属神的人。因为不属神，所以一天到晚想推翻神的律。就像当年建巴别塔的那些人，他们联合起来，要建一座通天的塔，向神示威，和神一比高下。现代人也是如此，他们漠视神的存在。好像有份报纸的小编在某天，在脸书上写：“台湾的自由和民主不是上帝赐的，也不是其他宗教带来的”。为了争取同性婚姻，他们立意要渺视神所立下的法则。

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真智慧如蜂蜜

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箴言24:10  你在患难之日若胆怯，你的力量就微小。

阅读经文：箴言 24:10-14

10你在患难之日若胆怯，你的力量就微小。11人被拉到死地，你要解救；人将被杀，你须拦阻。12你若说「这事我未曾知道」，那衡量人心的岂不明白吗？保守你命的岂不知道吗？他岂不按各人所行的报应各人吗？13我儿，你要吃蜜，因为是好的。吃蜂房下滴的蜜，便觉甘甜。14你心得了智慧，也必觉得如此。你若找著，至终必有善报，你的指望也不致断绝。

10你在患难之日若胆怯，你的力量就微小。If you fall to pieces in a crisis, there wasn’t much to you in the first place.

台湾的同运人士曾经很努力地争取婚姻重新立法，要求平等人权；另一方面，宗教团体组成一个爱护家庭大联盟，简称「护家盟」，努力想维护緍姻一夫一妻的现状。「护家盟」的秘书长张守一（一贯道）屡次代表发言，却被妻子上告，他在外面不仅有小三，还育有一女。可想而知，对方立刻毫不留情地攻击，以其人之道还治其人之身。

我们在挑战面前，能不能站立得直，能不能面对困难，实在都要看自己是否已经有准备。我们之所以胆怯，往往是因为我们知道自己的软弱或过失。我们面对困难时的能力，决定于平时的努力和准备。所以假如平时随波逐流，不能拒绝诱惑，当重任在身时，也会像张守一一样，被人抓住把柄，再也不能发挥能力。

我想，这也是为何神要我们过圣洁的生活。我们若不圣洁，撒旦随持可以拆穿我们的假面具，化解我们的能力。所以平时就要保守自己，才能面对挑战。在患难之日能不胆怯，是因为平常己经拒绝罪恶，凝聚了正义的心态和力量，那样发挥出来的力量才能迎向黑暗。

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Do You Know How Blessed You Are in Jesus?

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Romans 5:1-11.  Let’s go!

Romans 5:1 (NIV)
1  Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
 
On verse 1:  Paul has spent the past chapter and a half (Romans 3:21-4:25) declaring the good news that God has made it possible for all people to be justified (that is, declared righteous in God’s sight) by faith in Jesus Christ.  Now in Romans 5 Paul begins to describe some of the benefits that we experience because we are justified by faith.  The first benefit we experience “since we have been justified through faith” is that we have peace with God.  In other words, our relationship with God is not filled with insecurity where we worry whether or not we have done enough to earn God’s approval.  Instead, we have peace with God knowing that Jesus Christ has done it all for us.  Also,  we have peace with God in that our relationship with God is not one of animosity but peace.  For we were once enemies of God, but now through Jesus’ blood we have become His family, His friends.  The first benefit of justification by faith is peace with God.

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选择智慧

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箴言24:5  智慧人大有能力，有知识的人力上加力。

阅读经文：箴言 24:5-9

5智慧人大有能力，有知识的人力上加力。6你去打仗，要凭智谋，谋士众多，人便得胜。7智慧极高，非愚昧人所能及，所以在城门内不敢开口。8设计作恶的，必称为奸人。9愚妄人的思念乃是罪恶，亵慢者为人所憎恶。

5智慧人大有能力，有知识的人力上加力。6你去打仗，要凭智谋，谋士众多，人便得胜。It’s better to be wise than strong; intelligence outranks muscle any day. Strategic planning is the key to warfare; to win, you need a lot of good counsel.

从英译的经文来看，这是一个比较，智慧和勇力哪个比较重要？恶人靠的是勇力，但是人若有智慧，便可化解许多纷争。尤其是打仗的时候，若只靠兵多将猛，没有足智多谋的军师，也很容易一败涂地。三国时代的诸葛亮便是历史上十分著名的军师，他凭著上通天文，下达地理，可以把战况掌握得了若指掌。

奇怪的是，在圣经里没有让我们看到有诸葛亮这一类军师，反而是很多英雄人物都是求神的帮助而度过难关。例如，士师记里，以色列人屡战屡败，但何时他们转向神，神就让他们得胜。神教导摩西用祷告托住约书亚的手跟亚玛力人争战，神教导约书亚怎样攻下耶利哥、取艾城，教导大卫怎样攻打非利士人，在神的国度里似乎看不见军师，因为神就是他们的元帅。

我们或许像刘备一样，希望能找到一个像诸葛亮一样的朋友，但其实神已经让我们看见，祂是智慧的源头，只要我们倚靠祂，将每一件事都交托给祂，祂比诸葛亮还厉害，更有智慧。诸葛亮再有智慧和知识，终究有限；神却是无限，且永存。要倚靠人或是倚靠智慧的源头，便是失败和成功的选择了。

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