使徒行傳 第25章 中英摘要

  以色列人進入迦南地之前,一再遇到艱難,於是百姓又發怨言,神就讓火蛇進入他們中間,許多人都死了。若不明白神的屬性,就會以為火蛇是神對百姓的懲罰,其實火蛇一直都在曠野中,是因人的抱怨、且唾棄神,祂才將保護的大能雙手移開。

  百姓向神呼求,願神回心轉意,但祂有個條件:要以色列人一望杆上銅蛇,有人單純相信就得到醫治,但也有不信的人,那些不信的人都失去了生命。

  神的奇妙作為費人疑猜,被火蛇咬一口,還要再看銅蛇一眼?要是神吩咐以色列人製造解毒血清,那「相信」不就簡單多了?人不願意相信「恩典」可以白白得到,所以無法接受:「信耶穌,得永生」。

  信耶穌不是去分析,而是「接受」,接受了以後才能跟神有關係、進而明白神的作為。若不接受、不受洗,就不算「註冊」進入到基督的學校裡學習。神太偉大,我們不可能完全明白,唯有接受、相信,才有得到豐盛產業的指望。非斯都和亞基帕王都知道:有人從死裡復活,卻仍然不相信神的救恩。

  保羅知道神親自來到地上,為我們的罪釘在十字架,祂不但已經復活,還要將這個復活的生命賜給我們,於是他受盡痛苦,因為猶太人並不相信。同樣地,我們在家裡或職場,也可能因為信了耶穌而被逼迫。

  基督徒有所為、有所不為,常和眾人有所分別,格格不入。聽到黃色笑話會彆扭、飯前需要禱告…。神創造萬物,有祂制定的範圍。人眼能看見大自然中的顏色有一定的範圍,聽得見的音頻有一定的範圍,講話的內容當然也應該有一定的範圍。很多人因此不願意相信基督教,因為地上的規範已經太多,不想再受更多規範。「規範」看似「綑綁」,卻是對人有益。那是神對人的愛,是保護以色列人免於火蛇的那雙手。

  《聖經》舊約記載神的規定、鉅細靡遺。因為祂不希望有人在不小心裡犯了錯。人在高興的時候,就容易忘了一切、以致犯錯。只因世上有個黑暗的權勢叫做撒但,牠想盡辦法讓人不認識神。牠從不睡覺,晝夜不息,辛勤地引人犯罪。仇敵如此積極,人更要起來行動,「相信」若沒有行動是假的。好比若天氣預報會下雨,心存僥倖的人還是不會帶傘出門。保羅有行動,因為他「相信」。

  基督徒若真心「相信」就不會落在「徬徨」裡面。若是一遇到困難,就失去平安,證明不夠相信。真心相信就會明白:再大的風浪都要止息。非斯都想討猶太人喜歡,又想保護保羅,他有徬徨,因為不相信神、也不懂得信靠神。

  「相信」就要有對應的行動。相信神的第一個行動,就是事奉祂,神給我們機會,就從現在開始事奉祂。任何時候都不嫌晚,只要做完,就得獎賞。人常希望透過「禱告」叫神幫我們做事情,神卻是透過「人」來做事情,所以我們要禱告,也要有行動,並要讓生命影響生命。

2015/7/2葉長老 風美小組信息 / 周映廷 弟兄 摘要

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Acts 25

  Before they entered the Promised Land, the Israelis encountered many difficulties, so they complained to God. As a result, God sent venomous snakes among the Israelis, and many of them died. If one does not know the character of God, he/she may think that God is punishing His people. In fact, the venomous snake had always been in the wilderness. The Israelis were attacked by those snakes because God removed His protecting hands from His people due to their complaints and defiance.

  God’s people prayed to Him, asking Him to change His mind. God responded to their prayer, and gave only one instruction: look at the bronze snake on the pole. Those who believe can be cured. However, there are those who do not believe, and, unfortunately, they lost their lives.

  The work of God is mysterious and wondrous. Looking at a bronze snake after bitten by a venomous snake? Wouldn’t it be a lot easier for the Israelis to “believe” if God asked them to make anti-snakebite serum? Many people cannot believe that grace can come from God for nothing, so they cannot accept the saying, “believe in Jesus, and you shall get eternal life.”

  Believing in Jesus isn’t about analyzing but about accepting. Only when you accept can you have a relationship with God and to know His works. If you do not accept and be baptized, you are not registered to the school of Jesus Christ. God is too great for our human intellect to understand. We can only receive God’s blessings when we accept and believe Him. Festus and King Agrippa knew that Jesus has resurrected, but they still didn’t believe in God’s salvation.

  Paul knew Jesus had come to the world, was crucified for our sins, he resurrected, and will give the life to us. Hence, Paul suffered many hardship for the name of Jesus, because Jews did not believe in Jesus. Similarly, we may also be oppressed in our families or workplaces because of our faith in Jesus.

  Christians set boundaries for themselves; they do certain things but not others. They are separated from other people so they can have a hard time fitting in. Christians feel uncomfortable upon hearing dirty jokes, and they pray before every meal. God give everything a limit. There are ranges to the color people can see and the sound people can hear. So there should also be a restriction on the content of our conversation. Many people refuse to convert to Christianity because of the limitations; there are already too many rules in the world, they do not want more regulations. Rules seems binding us at the first glance, but they are actually good for us. Rules are a display of God’s love toward us; they cured the Israelis of the venomous snake bite.

  God’s commands are recorded, in detail, in the Old Testament. It is because God didn’t want people to sin. People tend to forget all about the rules and make mistakes when they are happy, because there is the dark force of Satan who stops people from knowing God with all His power. He never sleep or rest; He is very diligent in tempting people. We should be more active than our enemy! Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. It is like those people who still do not bring umbrella with them even though the weather forecast says it is going to rain. Paul acted, because he believed.

  If Christians truly believe, they wouldn’t be filled with anxiety. If people lose their peace when facing difficulties, it proves that they do not have enough faith. When we truly believe, we would know that even the strongest storm can be ceased. Festus wanted to please the Jews and protect Paul at the same time. He was anxious because he did not believe in God and because he did not know to count on God.

  With faith, there should be actions. The first act of faith is to serve God. God gives us the opportunity to serve Him now. It is never too late. Once you serve, you will be rewarded. Many people want to ask God to do things for them through their prayers, and yet God do His works via people. So, we should pray as well as act. We should influence others through our lives.

2015/7/2 Message by Elder Yeh