箴言23:15 我兒，你心若存智慧，我的心也甚歡喜。
閱讀經文：箴言 23:12-18
12你要留心領受訓誨，側耳聽從知識的言語。13不可不管教孩童，你用杖打他，他必不至於死。14你要用杖打他，就可以救他的靈魂免下陰間。15我兒，你心若存智慧，我的心也甚歡喜。16你的嘴若說正直話，我的心腸也必快樂。17你心中不要嫉妒罪人，只要終日敬畏耶和華。18因為至終必有善報，你的指望也不致斷絕。
有一個小影片錄了一個真實故事：有一個小孩在一間雜貨店裡偷東西，被他的父親看到了。假如你是他的父親，你會怎樣做呢？會不會趕快叫孩子把偷來的東西放回去就好了？或是給他一巴掌：叫你還敢偷？或是把東西拿去付錢了事？
這個父親為了讓孩子以後永遠不再偷東西，他把孩子帶到售貨員面前，叫孩子親自把東西交還給售貨員，並且向他道歉。小孩被父親抓著，他感到很羞恥，不好意思正面看售貨員。但是他的父親叫他要正面道歉。
我相信這個孩子永遠不會忘記人生的這一課，也會永遠記得那一刻的羞恥感。管教孩童，或許不必用打，卻要認真地執行。
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Romans 3:1-8. Let’s go!
Romans 3:1-4 (NIV)
1 What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision?
2 Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.
3 What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness?
4 Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.”
On verses 1-4: Just prior to this, in Romans 2:25-29, Paul said that a person’s circumcision means very little if that person’s heart is not set on living for God. But here Paul clarifies that this does not mean that the concept of Jewish circumcision itself has no value, or that being Jewish has no value. What can we learn from this?
箴言23:11 因他們的救贖主大有能力，祂必向你為他們辨屈。
閱讀經文：箴言 23:9-11
9你不要說話給愚昧人聽，因他必藐視你智慧的言語。
Don’t bother talking sense to fools; they’ll only poke fun at your words.
讀到這節經文，令我感觸良多。因為當台灣的同性戀者在爭取結婚平權時，有一些自稱是基督教的牧師也去支持，有許多信徒也偏向支持同性戀者可以結婚的看法，以致於有些信徒感到非常迷惘。這件事其實很簡單，那些支持者的原因是因為他們很同情同性戀者的痛苦，覺得他們也該有結婚的權利。
問題是，婚姻是誰設立的？假如婚姻是人設立的，要怎樣修改都說得過去。但婚姻若是神所訂的，誰有權去修改？支持修改的人，是不是打了神一個大大的嘴巴：祢做的不好，所以我要去支持別人，把祢訂的改掉？
當年祭司以利因為放縱兒子，因此神對他說：“因為尊重我的，我必重看他；藐視我的，他必被輕視”（撒上2:30）。神為何放棄掃羅？神一再給掃羅機會，最後神說：“我立掃羅為王，我後悔了。因為他轉去不跟從我，不遵守我的命令”（撒上15）。耶穌當年都說祂來不是要廢棄律法，而是要成全律法。我們有誰可以因為任何原因，超越耶穌的做法？
一個小小的測試，沒有橫駕在脖子上的刀，就把神的話放進抽屜，把自己的想法擺出來大列列地傳講。這樣渺視神話語的人，該怎樣形容呢？
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Romans 2:25-29. Let’s go!
Romans 2:25-29 (NIV)
25 Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised.
26 If those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised?
27 The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.
28 A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical.
29 No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.
On verses 25-29: Here Paul is speaking to his fellow Jewish Christians in Rome about circumcision. To those who might take pride in the fact that they were circumcised and who saw their circumcision as evidence of a close relationship with God, Paul clarifies that:
箴言23:7 因為他心怎樣思量，他為人就是怎樣。
閱讀經文：箴言 23:4-8
4不要勞碌求富，休仗自己的聰明。5你豈要定睛在虛無的錢財上嗎？因錢財必長翅膀，如鷹向天飛去。
Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich; restrain yourself! Riches disappear in the blink of an eye; wealth sprouts wings and flies off into the wild blue yonder. 《The Message》
最近股巿漲漲落落的，讓人心驚膽跳。好像美國一有動靜，股巿就跟著上上下下。這時最容易體會到定睛在虛無錢財上的真實性。特別是俄烏開戰後，全球都受影響，看著物價油價天天往上跳，我們的眼睛根本來不及看那長了翅膀的錢財往哪裡飛走了。
但是這句經文的重點在於：“不要定睛在虛無的錢財上”。假如你忙碌了半天，積儹了一點錢財，立刻又不見了，那時心情何等痛苦？台灣有一位醫生，辛辛苦苦工作了卅幾年，有時連飯都來不及吃，終於買下一棟房子，積存了三千萬台幣準備養老。他六十歲那年退休了。沒想到他在銀行工作的兒子，因為投資不善，虧了三千萬。銀行問他，是要還這筆錢呢？還是讓他兒子入獄。他還了三千萬，又重新開始工作。退休的計劃轉眼就成了泡沬。
所以會賺錢也不要以為自己很聰明，聰明是看你定睛在何事之上？何事不虛無，可以讓我們定睛倚靠呢？這世上有什麼，或是誰，是可以讓你永遠倚靠的？
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Romans 2:17-24. Let’s go!
Romans 2:17-24 (NIV)
17 Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God;
18 if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law;
19 if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark,
20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth–
21 you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?
22 You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?
23 You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?
24 As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”
On verses 17-24: To paraphrase Paul’s warning to the Christians in Rome, if you want to be a teacher of God’s laws, you must make sure that you yourself are keeping them. Otherwise, you’ll be a hypocrite. Paul’s warning wasn’t just for those who formally preach and teach God’s Word in church, but for all those who saw themselves as mature believers or who had been exposed to the Scriptures for a long time. What can we learn from this? The primary measure of spiritual maturity is not how much of God’s Word you know, but how much of God’s Word you live out.
箴言23:3 不可貪戀他的美食，因為是哄人的食物。
閱讀經文：箴言 23:1-3
1你若與官長坐席，要留意在你面前的是誰，2你若是貪食的就當拿刀放在喉嚨上。3不可貪戀他的美食，因為是哄人的食物。
When you go out to dinner with an influential person, mind your manners: Don’t gobble your food, don’t talk with your mouth full. And don’t stuff yourself; bridle your appetite.《The Message》
路加醫生在福音書中說了一個小故事：耶穌在宴席中看見賓客們都爭著坐首位，就用比喻對他們說： 「參加婚宴的時候，不要坐在首位，因為或許有更尊貴的賓客來赴宴， 主人會把他帶到你面前，說，『請你把首位讓給他吧！』你就要滿面羞愧地退到末位去了。 你去赴宴時，應該先坐在末位，這樣主人會對你說，『朋友，請上坐！』那時，你在賓客面前就有光彩了。 因為自高的人必遭貶抑，謙卑的人必得尊榮。」 (路 14:7-24)
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Romans 2:12-16. Let’s go!
Romans 2:12-16 (NIV)
12 All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law.
13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.
14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law,
15 since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.)
16 This will take place on the day when God will judge men’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.
On verses 12-16: Here Paul addresses the question, “How can God judge everyone in the world when some people have heard of God’s law through Moses and others have not?” Paul says that whether people have heard of God’s law through Moses or not, we all have God’s law in our heart and will be judged on how well we obeyed that law.
箴言22:28 你先祖所立的地界，你不可挪移。
閱讀經文：箴言 22:26-29
26 不要與人擊掌，不要為欠債的作保。 27 你若沒有什麼償還，何必使人奪去你睡臥的床呢？ 28 你先祖所立的地界，你不可挪移。 29 你看見辦事殷勤的人嗎？他必站在君王面前，必不站在下賤人面前。
第26-27節：不要與人擊掌，不要為欠債的作保。 你若沒有什麼償還，何必使人奪去你睡臥的床呢？
這句經文不是教我們不要幫別人忙，甚至不是就字面上真的不替人作保，而是要知道你不是上帝，你不能保人；你是什麼人？你能保證他怎麼樣、怎麼樣？我們沒有這能力。還是要幫助人，但要知道你根本不能保證人，連自己說話能不能辦到都不能保證。不能保證，就現實來講，為人作保，有時最後就破產、床就被人奪去。是不是神在提醒我們：你以為你是神？結果你連受造物的身份都沒有了。就像天使要作惡、要跟神一樣的話，就連原來天使的身份都沒有了。要明白自己的有限，知人知面不知心，不要為了面子，不自量力。
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Romans 2:1-11. Let’s go!
Romans 2:1 (NIV)
1 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
On verse 1: The fact that the word “therefore” (“dio” in Greek) connects what Paul wrote in Romans 1:18-32 with what he is saying in Romans is important. For it seems that some members of the church in Rome were judging the unbelievers in Rome for the sinful ways they were living (which are described in Romans 1:18-32) while they themselves were hypocritically engaging in the same or similar sins. So Paul on one hand affirms that the sins described in Romans 1:18-32 are a problem and on the other hand tells the Christians in Rome not to be hypocrites and to be careful not to pass judgment when they themselves are guilty of at least some of the sins listed in Romans 1:18-32.
This could have been Paul’s gentle and clever way of rebuking the Christians in Rome for certain sinful tendencies of theirs. Instead of rebuking them directly from the beginning, he stands on their side and agrees that the sins listed in Romans 1:18-32 are things that do not please God but then in Romans 2 Paul turns around and says to the Christians in Rome, “Don’t be so quick to judge others if you yourselves are also guilty of the same or similar things.”
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