使徒行傳 第11章 中英摘要


  使徒行傳11章,重複了許多彼得在第10章裡所說過的話,這代表有些真理是非常重要的。彼得在耶路撒冷再次對那些奉割禮的門徒解釋他在約帕所見的異象,以及他在該撒利亞看見外邦人所經歷聖靈的澆灌,正像當初聖靈降在他們身上一樣,這也讓他想起了主耶穌在地上時,對他們的教導及託付,並讓他們知道神同樣賜恩給外邦人,叫他們悔改得生命。

  猶太人一直以來認為他們是神的選民,是被分別為聖的神的兒女,因為他們有律例、典章,他們行割禮、守安息日….所以他們認為除了他們以外,外邦人都是不潔的,但神對彼得說:「神所潔淨的,你不可當作俗物」耶穌基督的寶血是為所有人而流,而不是單單只為猶太人而流,所以沒有人可以因自己的傳統而廢掉神的救恩。

  我們常常會忽略了神絕對的真理,而去堅持一些相對的道理。我們必須要堅持的永遠都是「耶穌基督並祂釘十字架」,至於聚會中唱新詩歌、舊詩歌、站著唱、坐著唱、是不是拍手、舉不舉手、說方言、不說方言….這些都不重要。保羅說他說方言,比任何人都多,但是他並沒有因此就高舉方言,反而是告訴我們:「寧可用悟性說五句教導人的話,強如說萬句方言」又說:「我不知道別的,只知道耶穌基督並祂釘十字架。」

  很多人什麼都怕,怕太太、怕老闆、怕沒錢、怕生病、怕死亡…但就是不怕主;我們要知道,我們有了主,就什麼都有了,沒有主,就算擁有了世上的一切,也等於是什麼都沒有,因為沒有了最重要的,其他一切也都變的不重要了。所以我們要為主再多救一個人,傳福音是我們基督徒的天職,也是我們的使命;我們聚會、培訓、開小組….這一切的目的,不是要培養一堆修行的聖人,而是要「為主再多救一個人!」

  我們不傳福音就有禍了,不要再自我安慰說,我們是重質不重量,這是得罪神的;神要我們從耶路撒冷、猶太全地、撒瑪利亞、直到地極,為主做見證;祂願萬人得救,不願一人沉淪,所以人數並非不重要,我們一定要去為主再多救一個人!

  保羅說:「那美好的仗我已經打過了,當跑的路我已經跑盡了,所信的道我已經守住了…」保羅並沒說該打的仗我已經打勝了,因為勝敗是神的事,但是仗要去打,則是我們的事;當跑的路我們要跑盡,不要半途而廢,跑的快、跑的慢不重要,但是要跑到終點,直到見主面,則是我們該有的堅持;該守的道要守「住」,而不是守「過」,神有的是恩典來幫助我們守住祂的道,但是神的道永遠不會降低祂的標準,也不會讓步或打折扣來討人的喜歡。
  所以我們要愛慕神的道,努力傳揚祂的道,好讓我們一起來得神所賜的公義冠冕。

葉長老 風美小組信息 / 高雄 錦泰 摘錄回應

Acts 11

  Many of what Peter said in Acts 10 is repeated in Acts 11; this means that some truths are extremely important. In Jerusalem, Peter once again explained the vision he had seen in Joppa to the circumcised believers. Peter also told them how, in Caesarea, he had seen Gentiles being filled by the Holy Spirit; it was just like how the Holy Spirit had once descended upon them. This reminded Peter of what Jesus had taught and entrusted to us while He was in this world. He showed them that God bestows grace upon Gentiles as well; He allows them to repent and receive salvation.

  The Jews have always thought that they are the chosen people of God. They believe they are God’s children and are separated from the rest of the peoples because they have kept the commands and instructions from God, they practice circumcision, and they keep the Sabbath. They consider all peoples, expect themselves, unholy. However, God said to Peter, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” Jesus Christ shed His blood for all peoples, not merely for the Jews. So, no one can abolish God’s salvation for of men’s traditions.

  Oftentimes, we would ignore God’s absolute truth and insist on some principles. What we must hold fast is “Jesus Christ was crucified for our sins.” As for whether we should sing new or old hymns in church, whether we should be standing or seated during worships, whether we should clap our hands, whether we should raise our hands, whether we should speak in tongues, and so on, all these do not matter! Paul said that he spoke in tongues more than any other people, but he did not uphold speaking in tongues. Instead, he told us, “I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue” (1Co 14:19). He also said, “I know nothing … except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1Co 2:2).

  Many people are afraid of a lot of things; they are afraid of their wives, of their bosses, of being poor, of being sick, and of death. There are so many things they fear, but God is not one of them. We need to know that we have all things once we have God, and we lose everything once we lose God. Even if we own everything is the world, we have nothing if we do not have God. Once we have the most important thing, all other things do not matter anymore. Therefore, we should save as many people as we can in the name of Jesus. It is Christians’ calling and mission to spread the gospel. We attend services and trainings, and we hold group meetings, yet we do not do these to train a group of saints but to save one more soul for Jesus.

  We are in trouble if we do not spread God’s gospel. Stop comforting ourselves by saying that we do not put emphasis on quantity but quality; this is an offence to God. God wants us to “be [His] witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). God does not “[want] anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2Pe 3:9). Hence, quantity does matter! We need to save as many people as we can by spreading the name and salvation of Jesus.

  Paul said, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2Ti 4:7). Paul didn’t say he have won the fight, because to fight is our duty, but victory and defeat are all in God’s hands. Also, it doesn’t matter if we run fast or slow, but we need to finish the race. What we need to persist is to keep running until we meet God. We ought to be able to say we’ve kept the faith, not we’ve once kept the faith. God will bestow sufficient grace upon us to help us in keeping the faith, but God will never lower His standard; God will not yield in order to please men. Therefore, let us love the words of God and work hard to spread them so that we can win the crown of righteousness bestowed by God.

Message by Elder Yeh / Summary and response by Jim Lin