SECTION A
甲部
1. Hello friends, and we are glad you joined us.
亲爱的朋友,你好,很高兴你收听我们的节目,
2. If you were listening to us in the previous program,
如果你听了我们上次的节目,
3. You will remember that we have left our discussion talking about the truth,
你会记得我们讲到关于真理,
4. And the importance of the truth,
及真理的重要性。
5. And the apostle Paul here continues, in verse 19 he said, let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.
在提摩太后书二章十九节,使徒保罗继续说:“凡称呼主名的人,总要离开不义。”
6. The apostle Paul here of course is quoting from Moses.
使徒保罗这里是引用摩西的话,
7. Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.
凡称呼主名的人,总要离开不义。
8. In the book of Numbers, chapter 16, verse 5,
在民数记16章第5节,
9. There, there was a man by the name of Korah.
当时,有一个人名叫可拉,
10. He and his company wanted to oppose God by opposing Moses.
他跟他的同党和摩西作对来抵挡神。
11. And God said to them,
神对他们说:
12. The Lord will show who he is and who is holy,
“耶和华必指示谁是属祂的,谁是圣洁的,
13. And he will bring him near to himself, even the one whom he will choose.
就叫谁亲近祂;祂所拣选的是谁,必叫谁亲近祂。”
14. Korah and his tribe tried to rebel against God’s plan,
可拉和他的一党企图反抗神的计划,
15. Just like modern day people who are trying to rebel against God’s truth.
正好像现今的世代尝试对抗神的真理一样。
16. They wanted to take God’s people in a different direction,
他们从反面来夺取属神的人,
17. Just like some are trying to do today.
正如今天好些人也是这么做的。
18. And Paul is saying,
而保罗说:
19. That while only the Lord knows and recognizes who his people are,
只有主知道并认识谁是属于祂的人,
20. Because he alone sees the heart,
因为只有祂是看人的内心,
21. Yet while we cannot see the heart.
我们却不能看穿人心。
22. We can see how these people live their lives,
我们只能看见人如何生活,
23. While from the exterior veneer things may look good,
人的外表可能装饰得很好,
24. Because we can’t see the dry rot in their soul,
因为我们看不见他们枯萎的灵魂,
25. Because we cannot see the termite in their thinking,
因为我们看不见他们的思想里有白蚁蛀食,
26. But sooner or later their lives are going to be revealed, what is inside.
但他们迟早会将里面的东西暴露出来。
27. Remember the first metaphor I told you about last week.
记得上次我告诉你的第一个比喻,
28. True Christians must be like workmen who need not to be ashamed.
真正的基督徒必须像个无愧的工人。
29. The second metaphor I want to talk to you about today,
今天我想要讲第二个比喻,
30. Is that of a clean vessel.
就是圣洁的器皿。
31. And the picture here of a big house,
这幅图画里是一间大户人家,
32. And it is equipped with all sorts of utensils,
里面有各种器具的装备,
33. And pots and pans,
有锅有盘。
34. And the church is like that,
教会里也是这样,
35. Except the utensils have a choice.
不过,作为器皿的人可以有所选择,
36. They can choose to be a silver spoon or a dirty bucket.
他们可以选择成为银汤匙或是骯脏的水桶。
37. There are utensils that the master of the house the Lord Jesus Christ uses for honor.
在主耶稣基督的屋子里有些器具是贵重的,
38. He displays them with pride.
祂将器具陈列出来,引以为荣,
39. They bring joy to him,
带给祂无限欢乐;
40. But there are some other utensils,
此外,还有其他的器具,
41. That he would soon just hide in the laundry room.
主人只能把它们藏在洗衣房里。
42. Those who are fruitful,
那结满果子的人,
43. Those who are faithful,
那忠心的人,
44. Those who are straight-shooters,
那些正直的人,
45. Are instruments of honor.
都是贵重的器皿。
46. But those who are false teachers,
但那假师傅,
47. And those who are self seeking,
那自私自利的,
48. Are instruments of dishonor,
都是卑贱的器皿。
49. Those who tell the truth,
那传讲真理的人,
50. Those who uphold the truth,
那高举真理的人,
51. And those who live the truth
和那活出真理的人,
52. Are instruments of honor.
都是贵重的器皿。
53. Those who tell lies,
那欺骗者,
54. Speak lies,
说谎话的,
55. Live a lie,
活在谎言中的,
56. Are instruments of dishonor,
是卑贱的器皿,
57. But the choice is up to the instrument.
但都是器皿自己的抉择。
58. Remember the words in verse 21,
要记住第21节所说,
59. If anyone purifies himself, he will be used by the master,
人若自洁,主就要用他。
60. I want to tell you this, please listen carefully.
让我告诉你,请留心听着,
61. There could be no higher honor imaginable, than being an instrument in the hand of the Lord Jesus.
没有比成为主耶稣手里的器皿更崇高的了,
62. There is no greater honor in life,
世上没有比这更尊贵的了,
63. Than being at his disposal,
凡事由主安排,
64. Than being used by him to accomplish his purpose.
被主使用来完成祂的旨意。
65. There is no higher degree of honor,
再没有比这样更尊荣的了,
66. Than being available whenever he calls us for service.
随时听候主的呼召服侍祂。
67. The only one condition for use is cleanliness,
被使用的惟一条件,就是要圣洁,
68. God’s promise hinges on this condition.
这是神应许的关键条件。
69. So how do we purify ourselves?
那么,我们应如何自洁呢?
70. First,
首先,
71. By purging all false teachings from our minds and hearts,
要清除心中一切错谬的思想,
72. By purging our thoughts from the wrong teaching that says that God’s changed his mind since the writing of the Bible,
要清除错谬的道理说,神已改变了,不照着圣经原本所写的,
73. Or that God has changed his plan,
或是神已改变了祂的计划,
74. Or God has changed his will,
或是神已改变了祂的旨意。
75. We need to purge our thoughts from all the trash that says,
我们要清除一切垃圾思想,
76. That God does not care what we believe as long as we are sincere,
那些谬论认为,神不管我们相信甚么,只要诚心便可以了,
77. We must purge our thoughts from these things.
我们必须消除这种想法。
78. In verse 22 the apostle Paul teaches us how to be clean vessels.
在第22节,使徒保罗教导我们如何成为圣洁的器皿。
79. We have to do two things,
我们要做两件事,
80. That I can be a clean vessel by shunning youthful passions on the one hand,
要成为圣洁的器皿,就要逃避少年的私欲,
81. The first one is to shun youthful passion.
第一件事就是逃避少年的私欲。
82. The second thing is to pursue righteousness.
第二件事就是追求公义。
83. Some people thing that shunning youthful passions refers only to sexual lust,
有人以为逃避少年的私欲,就是指性欲而言,
84. But here the word means a lot more than that.
但这里所指的是更广泛的欲念。
85. It includes self-assertion.
它包括了妄自尊大,任意妄为;
86. It includes self-indulgence of any kind.
包括了任何一种的自我放纵;
87. The word includes selfish ambitions,
包括了自私的野心,
88. Or being head strong.
或是倔强,刚愎自用;
89. It includes being obstinate,
包括了顽固,
90. Or arrogant.
或傲慢自大,
91. And all of the characteristics that are associated with youth.
这一切都是少年人的特性。
92. On the other hand Timothy is to aim for four important goals in his life.
另一方面,提摩太要在生命中定下四个重要的目标,
93. Number one is righteousness.
第一就是公义,
94. Number two is faith.
第二是信心,
95. Number three is love.
第三是仁爱,
96. Number four is peace.
第四是和平,
97. And he is to pursue these with vigor.
而且要竭力追求。
SECTION B
乙部
1. Elsewhere in the Bible we are commanded to flee from idolatry,
另一处圣经命令我们不可拜偶像,
2. We are to flee from immorality,
要逃避不道德的事,
3. We are to flee from the love of money,
不可贪爱钱财,
4. Here we are to flee from all youthful passions.
这里说我们要逃避少年人的私欲。
5. In fact these youthful passions have nothing to do with a person’s age.
这少年的私欲,其实与人的年龄并没有关系,
6. Oh, yes, it characterizes youth.
而是少年人所表现的特性。
7. But they are temptations for many people at any age,
它们对任何年龄的人都是试探,
8. And we must flee from them.
我们必须逃避。
9. The Bible tells us to flee from temptation,
圣经叫我们逃避试探,
10. And to resist evil,
又要抵挡罪恶,
11. And God tells us to do that for a reason,
神要我们这么做是有原因的,
12. Because God knew that it is much easier to resist evil and flee from temptation,
因为神知道逃避试探和抵挡罪恶是比较容易的,
13. But we make it hard for ourselves,
但我们往往舍易取难,
14. By reversing this formula,
逆反了这公式。
15. What do we normally do?
通常我们是怎样做的呢?
16. We insist on resisting temptation and fleeing from Satan,
我们坚持要抵抗试探,却从撒但面前逃跑,
17. We reverse what God told us to do.
我们把神的教训颠倒了。
18. We are to flee from temptation but fight, and bind, and command the evil one,
我们应该要逃避试探,并要争战,捆绑和斥责魔鬼,
19. We are not to linger in temptations presence like Lot did in Sodom.
我们不应该逗留在试探里,好像罗得在所多玛那样。
20. But we must be like Joseph when Potiphars wife tried to seduce him but he ran.
我们必须效法约瑟,当波提乏的妻子勾引他的时候,他立刻跑开了。
21. But we must not just run,
但我们不单要跑开,
22. We should run into righteousness,
我们应该跑到公义那边去,
23. This is the message of the whole Scripture.
这就是整本圣经的信息。
24. We are to deny ourselves,
我们要舍己,
25. And follow Christ.
且跟随基督;
26. We are to put off what belongs to the old nature,
我们要将老我的本性除掉,
27. And put on what belongs to the new.
穿上新人;
28. We are to ruthlessly reject the one,
我们要无情地拒绝前者,
29. And relentlessly pursue the other.
坚毅的追求后者;
30. That is the secret to a Godly life.
那才是敬虔生活的秘诀。
31. Now let me review so far.
现在让我们温习一下,
32. We are to be like a hard worker who is not ashamed.
我们要像无愧的工人,勤奋作工;
33. We are to be like a vessel that is clean and ready for good use.
我们要像圣洁的器皿,预备给主使用。
34. Then there is a third and the last imagery here,
然后第三,也是这段经文最后一个比喻,
35. For all the Christians.
是给所有基督徒的。
36. We must be servants who are ready to obey.
我们必须像仆人,随时听候神的差遣。
37. In fact the number one duty of the slave is to obey his master.
事实上,奴仆的首要责任就是服从主人,
38. His number one calling is to submit to his master.
他最重要的使命就是顺服主人,
39. His calling in life is to do the masters will.
他一生的使命就是照主人的心意而行。
40. I’ll give you an example.
让我举个例子,
41. I heard a story about a steward in the house of a very wealthy man.
我听过一个故事,谈到一位富豪的管家。
42. This house was often visited by kings and heads of state.
富豪的家常有国家元首和国王来访,
43. One time the king of this man’s country came to his home to stay over night.
有一次,这个国家的国王到富豪家过夜,
44. The next morning,
第二天早上,
45. The king being an early riser,
国王清晨起床,
46. Woke up before his host,
比主人起得更早,
47. And he got up and went downstairs.
他走下楼,
48. He rang the bell for service.
按铃叫仆人来,
49. He told the chief steward,
他告诉总管,
50. I want you to bring me breakfast,
拿早餐来,
51. But without hesitation,
总管毫不犹疑,
52. The steward looked at him,
他注视着国王说,
53. Sir you might be a king,
陛下,虽然你是国王,
54. But this is my masters house,
但这是我主人的家,
55. You cannot have breakfast before he does,
你不能在主人之先吃早餐,
56. And furthermore you must get up from that chair because that is his chair.
而且你必须离开这座位,因为那是我主人的椅子。
57. This steward didn’t care about the king, he cared about his master,
这位管家不在意国王,他只在意自己的主人,
58. And that’s what we are to be.
我们也应该这样。
59. Not intimidated by people, but we are servants of the living God,
我们是永生神的仆人,不用害怕人的威吓,
60. Of course Satan loves to hassle and entrap God’s servants.
当然撒但乐于骚扰神的仆人,并设计陷害他们。
61. He likes to stop us from being obedient,
撒但存心要阻止我们顺服神,
62. Constantly trying to entrap us.
牠不断地设计陷害我们。
63. Paul is telling us that in addition to our lack of desire to be nourished upon the Word of God.
保罗说,我们缺乏让神的话语来喂养我们的渴求,除此之外,
64. There is an invisible war going on behind the scene.
还有一场看不见的战争正在进行,
65. There is a spiritual battle that is being fought out behind the scene.
有一场属灵的战争,正在暗中展开,
66. And in verse 26,
在第26节,
67. Of chapter 2,
第2章,
68. Paul graphically depicts the devil as a hunter who captures his prey.
保罗生动地描述魔鬼好像猎人捕捉猎物,
69. He then seems to intoxicate them in to a spiritual stupor,
魔鬼使人的灵性变得麻木,
70. And only God through faithful servants,
只有神借着忠心的仆人,
71. To be able to help release his servants from their captor,
才能帮助这些仆人脱离他们的网罗,
72. And deliver him from his jaws,
并拯救他们,免得被撒但吞吃,
73. And make them to be spiritually sober.
使他们的灵性苏醒。
74. But the servant who gets entrapped in arguments and debates,
但神的仆人若陷入争议与辩论当中,
75. The servant who gets in the trap of gossip,
神的仆人若陷入闲话的网罗中,
76. Will fail in rescuing the perishing.
就不能拯救失丧的人。
77. What kind of a servant are you?
你是那一种仆人?
78. I’m going to conclude by telling you a very important story.
快结束时,我要讲个故事给你听,那是很重要的。
79. There was a wealthy contractor, building contractor,
一个富有的建筑商人,
80. He made a lot of money building houses.
他建造房屋赚了很多钱。
81. And one day he told his foreman of 30 years,
有一天,他对工作了三十年的工头说:
82. He said, we are going to build our last house together.
我们要合作盖最后一栋屋子了,
83. I want you to make it the greatest house we have ever built.
我要你造一间我们合作以来最大的屋子。
84. The owner of the business said to his foreman,
主人对工头说,
85. Spare no expenses,
要不惜工本,
86. Use the finest of materials,
用最好的材料,
87. I am going to Europe for a year,
我会去欧洲一年,
88. And when I return,
当我回来时,
89. I want you to take me for a tour of that house.
我要你带我参观整栋屋子。
90. But what did the foreman do?
后来那工头怎么做呢?
91. He thought to himself,
他想来想去,
92. This is my last chance to make a fortune,
这是我最后一次赚取利润的机会,
93. I have worked for 30 years,
我已经做了三十年,
94. I don’t have a lot of money,
我并没有很多钱,
95. And now this is my chance,
现在是我最后的机会。
96. So he built a massive house,
于是他建了一间大屋,
97. But he used cheap material,
却用廉价的材料,
98. He used second hand fixtures,
他用次货装修,
99. From the exterior the house was filled with glitzy,
屋子外表看来金碧辉煌,
SECTION C
丙部
1. But the quality was extremely poor.
质量却非常低劣。
2. So the contractor came back from Europe,
后来建筑商从欧洲回来,
3. And they toured the house together,
他们一起参观大屋,
4. And this contractor asked the foreman,
建筑商问那工头,
5. How do you like this house?
你喜欢这屋子吗?
6. The foreman replied,
工头回答说:
7. Oh, this is a fine house.
噢,这屋子很好。
8. The contractor took the keys of the house,
建筑商拿着屋子的钥匙,
9. And he put them in the foreman’s hand,
将钥匙放在工头的手里,
10. He said to him,
建筑商对工头说:
11. Because of your 30 years of faithful service,
因为你三十年来忠诚的服务,
12. I give you this house now as a gift.
我送这间屋子给你作礼物。
13. Now my friends,
亲爱的朋友,
14. You and I are building a spiritual house,
我和你都在建造一间属灵的房屋,
15. A house in which we will live for eternity,
一间让我们永远居住的房屋,
16. We are the workman of the house,
我们是建造房屋的工人,
17. We are the utensils,
我们是器皿,
18. We are the servants of this house.
我们是屋里的仆人。
19. Whether you live in contempt, complaint, or contentment, it is your decision.
你是以藐视、埋怨或是知足的态度住在其中,全在乎你的决定。
20. Whether you live in peace or in endless pain, it is your decision.
你住得平安或是无尽的痛苦,全在乎你的决定。
21. Whether you live in the depth of depression or in the height of delight, it is your decision.
你是住在绝望的深渊里或是在快乐的高峰上,全在乎你的决定。
22. It all depends on how you see your identity,
一切在乎你如何看自己的身分,
23. Do you see yourself as a steward who is investing his life in others?
你是否看自己是个管家,将生命投资在别人的生命上?
24. Do you see yourself as a soldier who is enlisted in active duty?
你是否看自己是个精兵,在神的军队中执行任务?
25. Do you see yourself as an athlete who is willing to play by the rules?
你是否看自己是个运动员,愿意遵守规则比赛?
26. Do you see yourself as a farmer who is willing to work hard?
你是否看自己是个农夫,愿意勤劳工作?
27. Do you see yourself as a worker who is not ashamed?
你是否看自己是个无愧的工人?
28. Do you see yourself as an instrument who is clean and ready for service?
你是否看自己是圣洁的器皿,预备让神使用?
29. Do you see yourself as a servant who obeys the master?
你是否看自己是个仆人,愿意服从主人的吩咐?
30. The decision is yours,
全在乎你的决定,
31. I know you will make the right decision.
我知道你会有正确的抉择。
32. I will pray that God will bless you to make the right decision.
我祈求神赐福给你,使你有正确的决定。
33. God bless you!
愿神赐福给你!