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Five Verses That Sum It All Up

2019-06-19 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Titus 3:1-8.  Let’s go!

Titus 3:1-2 (NIV) 
1  Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, 
2  to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.

On verses 1-2:  One of the big themes of the book of Titus is that Christians are to lead by example as much as by their words.  In verses 1 and 2 Paul identifies several characteristics by which Christians can lead by example.   How well do you demonstrate these characteristics?  For example, are you law-abiding (v1)?  Are you quick and ready to do what is good (v1)?  Do you slander (speak maliciously about) no one (v2)?  Do you get along with others (“peaceable” – v2)?  Are you thoughtful and considerate in the way you treat others (v2)?   Do you show true humility to everyone you meet (v2)?  Which of these characteristics do you especially need to live out more? 

On verses 3-7:  One of the best and most beautiful summaries of the Christian faith that you can find in the Bible is right here in these five verses.   I encourage you to memorize these verses.   Through these five verses we are reminded of the foundational truths called the Gospel:

法利賽人的七禍(下)

2019-06-19 in /by

馬太福音23: 29_36_法利賽人的七禍(下)

29 「你們這假冒為善的文士和法利賽人有禍了！因為你們建造先知的墳，修飾義人的墓，說： 30 『若是我們在我們祖宗的時候，必不和他們同流先知的血。』 31 這就是你們自己證明是殺害先知者的子孫了。 32 你們去充滿你們祖宗的惡貫吧！ 33 你們這些蛇類，毒蛇之種啊！怎能逃脫地獄的刑罰呢？ 34 所以我差遣先知和智慧人並文士到你們這裡來，有的你們要殺害，要釘十字架，有的你們要在會堂裡鞭打，從這城追逼到那城， 35 叫世上所流義人的血都歸到你們身上，從義人亞伯的血起，直到你們在殿和壇中間所殺的巴拉加的兒子撒迦利亞的血為止。 36 我實在告訴你們：這一切的罪都要歸到這世代了。

假如我們服侍神一輩子，到了審判台前，主說我們是殺害祂僕人們的凶手，要去接受地獄的刑罰，那實在是太可怕了。服侍神到這樣的地步，真的不如做一個平凡的老百姓，單純地愛主就好了。耶穌己經在向他們施行審判了，而這些話好像是神嘔心瀝血吐出來的憤怒。

從義人亞伯的血起，直到先知撒迦利亞的血，這批血債何等沉重! 亞伯不是該隱殺的嗎？跟法利賽人有什麼關係啊？耶穌說的是血脈相承，他們承認自己的祖宗殺害屬神的人和先知，表面上雖然是在為義人和先知修墳墓，卻正是默認了祖宗的罪行，而其血脈相承，他們正在計劃殺害神的兒子。

法利賽人的七禍(中)

2019-06-18 in /by

馬太福音23: 23_28_法利賽人的七禍(中)

23 「你們這假冒為善的文士和法利賽人有禍了！因為你們將薄荷、茴香、芹菜獻上十分之一，那律法上更重的事，就是公義、憐憫、信實反倒不行了。這更重的是你們當行的，那也是不可不行的。 24 你們這瞎眼領路的，蠓蟲你們就濾出來，駱駝你們倒吞下去！

25 「你們這假冒為善的文士和法利賽人有禍了！因為你們洗淨杯盤的外面，裡面卻盛滿了勒索和放蕩。 26 你這瞎眼的法利賽人，先洗淨杯盤的裡面，好叫外面也乾淨了。

27 「你們這假冒為善的文士和法利賽人有禍了！因為你們好像粉飾的墳墓，外面好看，裡面卻裝滿了死人的骨頭和一切的污穢。 28 你們也是如此，在人前，外面顯出公義來，裡面卻裝滿了假善和不法的事。

假如我們相信耶穌是以神子的身份來到這世上，那麼這就是神在跟法利賽人等，所說的放在心裡很久了的一段話。這段話表明了為何他們在神面前的敬虔是完全無效的，他們所做的一切在神的眼裡都是可咒詛，沒有希望的。但願當我們在敬拜神或是奉獻時，先確定一下我們的心態是否能為神所悅納，否則做再多，奉獻再多，也是多餘。神若不悅納，我們所做的便都成為垃圾。

Jesus Is All You Need + Making Your Faith in Christ Attractive

2019-06-18 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Titus 2:9-15.  Let’s go!

Titus 2:9-10 (NIV) 
9  Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them,
10  and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive. 

On verses 9-10:  When Paul tells slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, is Paul condoning slavery?  Nowadays whenever we think of slaves, we might think of the barbaric practices of more recent Western slave trading, where people are kidnapped, treated inhumanely and forced to work as slaves against their will for little or no compensation. We might also think about the cruel enslavement of the Israelites by the Egyptians in Exodus. Keep in mind that slavery during Paul’s time probably looked quite different. 

We Need Self-Control

2019-06-17 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Titus 2:1-8.  Let’s go!

Titus 2:1 (NIV) 
1  You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine.

On verse 1:  Once again Paul emphasizes to Titus the need to teach what is doctrinally sound.  It’s one of the big themes of the book of Titus: right living requires right believing, and part of defending against lies and falsehood is teaching the truth.  It’s no wonder one of Jesus’ favourite sayings during his ministry was “I tell you the truth”. 

On verses 2-6:   When Paul tells Titus what to teach the older men, older women, younger women and younger men in his church, there is a common theme that emerges no matter what the group he’s talking about:  the need to be self-controlled.   For example, in verse 3, when Paul says that the older women should not be “slanderers or addicted to much wine”, another way of saying this is that we must be self-controlled in our words (“not be slanderers”) as well as in our physical appetites (“not addicted to much wine”).  In other words, we must have self-control not just over what goes into our mouths but also what comes out of our mouths.

法利賽人的七禍(上)

2019-06-17 in /by

馬太福音23: 13_22_法利賽人的七禍(上)

13 「你們這假冒為善的文士和法利賽人有禍了！因為你們正當人前把天國的門關了，自己不進去，正要進去的人你們也不容他們進去。15 「你們這假冒為善的文士和法利賽人有禍了！因為你們走遍洋海陸地，勾引一個人入教，既入了教，卻使他做地獄之子，比你們還加倍。16 「你們這瞎眼領路的有禍了！你們說：『凡指著殿起誓的，這算不得什麼；只是凡指著殿中金子起誓的，他就該謹守。』 17 你們這無知瞎眼的人哪！什麼是大的？是金子呢，還是叫金子成聖的殿呢？ 18 你們又說：『凡指著壇起誓的，這算不得什麼；只是凡指著壇上禮物起誓的，他就該謹守。』 19 你們這瞎眼的人哪！什麼是大的？是禮物呢，還是叫禮物成聖的壇呢？ 20 所以，人指著壇起誓，就是指著壇和壇上一切所有的起誓； 21 人指著殿起誓，就是指著殿和那住在殿裡的起誓； 22 人指著天起誓，就是指著神的寶座和那坐在上面的起誓。

耶穌在走上十字架之前道出法利賽人的七禍。七禍在信息聖經裡是指法利賽人的七件惡事。在希臘文化裡，相信好人必有好報，也可以上天堂，很多人覺得自己是好人，不需要耶穌的救贖也可以上天堂。但是耶穌對他們的評價讓他們傻眼了。我們是否也如此，自我感覺良好，但是在聖靈的光照下竟然有超多的污點。

耶穌先指責他們假冒為善。在希臘文中，假冒為善（Hypocrite）含有演戲的意思，在古典希臘文中，這個字沒有任何不好的意思；自從耶穌用來批評宗教界人士，帶給這字全新的意思。耶穌強調人的内心與外在表現之對比，將表裡不一帶進道德的層面。今天我們先看三點，也順便看看自己有沒有這方面的盲點。

能說不能行

2019-06-16 in /by

馬太福音23: 1_12_能說不能行

1那時，耶穌對眾人和門徒講論， 2 說：「文士和法利賽人坐在摩西的位上，3 凡他們所吩咐你們的，你們都要謹守遵行，但不要效法他們的行為，因為他們能說不能行。 4 他們把難擔的重擔捆起來，擱在人的肩上，但自己一個指頭也不肯動。5 他們一切所做的事都是要叫人看見，所以將佩戴的經文做寬了，衣裳的穗子做長了； 6 喜愛筵席上的首座、會堂裡的高位，7又喜愛人在街市上問他安，稱呼他『拉比』。 8 但你們不要受拉比的稱呼，因為只有一位是你們的夫子，你們都是弟兄。 9 也不要稱呼地上的人為父，因為只有一位是你們的父，就是在天上的父。10 也不要受師尊的稱呼，因為只有一位是你們的師尊，就是基督。 11 你們中間誰為大，誰就要做你們的用人。 12 凡自高的，必降為卑；自卑的，必升為高。

畢德生牧師說，大多數人一開始參與服事時都抱著很單純的意念和愛主的心志，然後隨著時間的磨移和環境的影響，才開始假冒為善。我很贊同他的觀點。因為當法利賽人不是一件容易的事，要把所有的律法都背起來，而且一天到晚裝得十分聖潔；就像天主教的神父，是抱著清心寡慾的意願去服侍神和人，但是有許多無法戰勝生理的慾望，以致於犯下了許多見不得光的事，又一件件地被挖出來，重現於眾人面前。

Protect the Truth

2019-06-16 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Titus 1:10-16.  Let’s go!

Titus 1:10-11 (NIV) 
10  For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group.
11  They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach–and that for the sake of dishonest gain.

On verses 10-11: Paul warns Titus to guard against those who try to deceive the church in Crete with false doctrine.  In particular, Paul warns Titus about the “circumcision group” (also known as the Judaizers) who taught that in order to be saved it was not enough to believe in Jesus but that you must also be circumcised and follow the ceremonial and food regulations of the Jewish law.   Paul warns Titus sternly about them.  He tells Titus to speak for the truth and silence those false teachers.  It’s no wonder that when picking leaders, Paul especially emphasized that a leader must “hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refuse those who oppose it” (v9).

What to Look for in a Leader

2019-06-14 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today we begin the book of Titus, a letter that the apostle Paul wrote to one of his closest disciples and teammates Titus shortly after 64 AD.  Titus did not come from a Jewish background.  He was Greek.  Titus traveled with Paul on his mission trips (Galatians 2:1-3) and was a trusted assistant of Paul’s.  Afterwards, Paul left Titus to pastor the church they started in Crete.  The book of Titus is a follow up letter from Paul to Titus where Paul instructs Titus on how to lead and teach the church in Crete.  In it are some valuable truths and life lessons for us.

Today’s passage is Titus 1:1-9.  Let’s go!

Titus 1:1 (NIV) 
1  Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness–

On verse 1:  God’s truth is not just something God wants you to know for the sake of gaining more knowledge or for mere academic reasons.  Rather, knowing God’s truth is meant to lead to godliness.   God’s truth is not just informational; it’s transformational.  It is there not just to inform you, but to transform your heart, your mind and ultimately your behavior, to make you more godly, more like Christ.

祂是誰的子孫

2019-06-14 in /by

馬太福音22: 41_46_祂是誰的子孫

41 法利賽人聚集的時候，耶穌問他們說： 42 「論到基督，你們的意見如何？祂是誰的子孫呢？」他們回答說：「是大衛的子孫。」 43 耶穌說：「這樣，大衛被聖靈感動，怎麼還稱祂為主說： 44 『主對我主說：你坐在我的右邊，等我把你仇敵放在你的腳下』？ 45 大衛既稱祂為主，祂怎麼又是大衛的子孫呢？」 46 他們沒有一個人能回答一言。從那日以後，也沒有人敢再問他什麼。

你可以想像到，當撒都該人和法利賽人把可以想到的難題都拿出來，卻考不倒耶穌時，那種心裡的無奈嗎？就在這時，耶穌反擊了，問他們一個他們不曾想過的問題：「論到基督，你們的意見如何？祂是誰的子孫呢？大衛既稱他為主，他怎麼又是大衛的子孫呢？」耶穌希望他們能藉著思考來明白祂的身份，可是人的思想何其有限。就是現在，也有很多人只喜歡耶穌的教導，卻無法接受耶穌是神基督的位份。

新約中有十七處將耶穌描寫為“大衛王的子孫”。 但是大衛生活在耶穌出生之前約一千年，耶穌怎麼可能是大衛的子孫？

有好幾次耶穌被因信而尋求憐憫或醫治的人們稱作“主啊，大衛的子孫”： 女兒被鬼附得很苦的婦人（太 15:22 ），坐在路旁的兩個瞎子（太 20:30 ），和瞎子巴底買（可 10:47 ）都向“大衛的子孫”呼喊求救。 他們給祂的尊稱宣告了對祂的信心。 稱他為“主”表達了他們認可祂的神性、統轄和權力，而稱祂為“大衛王的子孫”表明他們認祂為彌賽亞。 耶穌是應許中的彌賽亞，這意味著祂必是大衛的後裔。