SECTION A
甲部
1. Hello my friend, thank you for joining us today on “Leading the Way”.
亲爱的朋友,感谢你收听今天的《天路导向》节目。
2. In the West,
在西方国家,
3. We hear things like, “new world order”,
我们常听到“新世界秩序”这类的新名词,
4. We hear about things like “we are the children of the modern age”,
我们常听到“我们是新纪元的一代”这类的说法,
5. What has the modern age given us?
到底新世代给了我们什么?
6. Well in the West,
在西方国家,
7. It has given us drugs,
新世代为我们带来毒品,
8. Has given us rebirth of satanic cults,
在新世代里撒但邪教重现,
9. It has given us rise to crime.
罪案上升,
10. It has given us wars and rumors of wars.
战争和打仗的风声连连。
11. What has the modern age given us?
新纪元给了我们什么?
12. It has given us confusion in the church.
它带来教会的混乱,
13. It has caused chaos among Christians.
它在基督徒中引起纠纷,
14. Many of them seem to have lost their way in the world.
许多基督徒似乎在这世界迷失了方向。
15. He was over the desert,
※他在旷野之后,
16. And he announced to the passengers,
※他向群众宣布,
17. That we have lost our way,
※我们都迷了路,
18. But don’t worry,
※但不用忧愁,
19. Because we are making very good time,
※因为我们仍然很好,
20. All this should not surprise us.
对于这些现象,我们不会感到惊奇,
21. If we understand the Word of God,
只要我们明白神的话。
22. In the New Testament,
在新约圣经里,
23. The apostle Paul tells us in II Timothy 3,
提摩太后书第三章,使徒保罗对我们说:
24. That in the last days,
在末世的日子里,
25. There will come a time of stress for the believers.
信徒会受到压迫。
26. The closer we come to the return of Christ,
当基督再来的日子越近,
27. The worse things will become for Christians.
基督徒的处境将会越恶劣。
28. There are some people who see the word, the last days,
有些人看“末日”这个词,
29. As a period of time.
是指一段时间。
30. Beginning with the ministry of the Lord Jesus,
从主耶稣出来传道开始,
31. And continues until he returns.
一直到主再来为止。
32. But as the time draws nearer to a close,
但当时间越来越接近终局,
33. The days will become more dangerous for Christians,
基督徒就会遭遇更多的危险,
34. Or hard to deal with,
或难于应付的情况,
35. Or their savage days,
或充满粗暴的日子。
36. There are others however,
还有其他人认为,
37. Who believe that the apostle Paul,
他们相信,使徒保罗,
38. Has dealt with his current time in the first two chapters of this epistle,
在提摩太后书前两章所讨论的是,保罗当时所面对的问题,
39. And the beginning of chapter three,
但从第三章开始,
40. He is prophesying strictly of the days immediately prior to the return of Christ.
他说的是预言,讲论基督再来之前的日子将会如何。
41. Whichever way you take it, it doesn’t matter,
无论你怎样理解这段经文都不要紧,
42. There is no denying that these are days Paul pictures to us in chapter 3 to be tough days.
但不可否认,保罗在第三章里所描述的,是非常艰难的日子。
43. I hope that you will be able to read the first 9 verses of that particular chapter.
我希望你能够读这一章前九节的经文。
44. I have no doubt that these characteristics that Paul talks about,
我深信保罗所说的这些特征,毫无疑问的,
45. Have already started in our day,
今天都已经开始了,
46. And now they are increasing in intensity.
而且严重性与日俱增。
47. It is not because we have more people in the world,
这不是因为世界人口越来越多,
48. Or because we have satellite television programs,
或因为有卫星转播的电视节目,
49. Or better television news coverage,
或有更广泛的电视新闻报导,
50. No!
不是!
51. What we are seeing today is that evil is intensifying,
今天我们眼目所及,都是邪恶势力的增强,
52. Evil becoming more deeply entrenched in our world.
罪恶的权势越来越深地根植在这个世界上。
53. What we are seeing today,
今天我们看见,
54. Is that evil is being accepted,
魔鬼已被人接纳,
55. And is being portrayed in society in a bolder way.
在社会中明目张胆地被人渲染。
56. What we are seeing today,
今天我们看见,
57. Is more than a small pocket of rebellion here and there.
反叛的事,不再是突发事件而已。
58. What we are seeing today,
今天我们看见,
59. Is that all of society seems to be in ferment,
各个社会好像都在动荡中,
60. All of society seems to be in rebellion,
各个社会好像都在叛变中,
61. From Bosnia to Somalia,
从波斯尼亚到索马里,
62. From Europe to the Middle East,
从欧洲到中东,
63. From the United States to Rwanda,
从美国到非洲的卢旺达。
64. And the prophet Jeremiah has warned us years ago,
许久以前,先知耶利米早已警告我们,
65. When they say, peace, peace, watch out,
当人说,“平安了,平安了”,你要小心,
66. There is the beginning of trouble.
那是灾祸的起头。
67. We were told that after the collapse of the Soviet empire there was going to be peace,
有人说,当苏联解体之后就会有和平了,
68. Instead, we are living in terrible times.
但我们仍然活在恐怖的日子里。
69. Paul begins by telling Timothy,
保罗一开始就对提摩太说:
70. In verse 1 of chapter 3,
在第三章第一节,
71. Understand this,
“你该知道”,
72. What is this that he needs to understand?
提摩太需要知道什么?
73. He said don’t be surprised at this,
他说,不要感到惊奇,
74. This is all expected.
一切都在预料之内。
75. This is not just a passing storm,
这不是一场不测风云,
76. This must come to pass.
这场暴风雨必定来临。
77. On the one hand,
一方面,
78. Don’t let this melt your heart;
不要让它使你心惊胆战;
79. On the other hand,
另一方面,
80. Don’t let it cause you to give up.
你不要因此放弃。
81. The word here difficult times is a very important word,
这里用“危险的日子”,是很关键的词语,
82. It describes a person who is being surrounded by wild beasts,
形容一个人好像被猛兽围困住,
83. Or it means that somebody is standing in the midst of a raging sea.
又或是一个人站在惊涛骇浪中。
84. The only other time this particular word is used in the New Testament is in Matthew 8:28,
圣经里只有另一处用到这个词,那就是马太福音八章廿八节,
85. That word describes the demonic Gadarenes,
这个词用来形容被鬼附的加大拉人,
86. He was a savage and untamed as a beast.
他是个像野兽般残暴而凶狠的人。
87. So that gives you an idea of how fierce these last days are going to be,
这样你就可以想象末日是多么的狂暴,
88. They will be both painful and hard to cope with.
将会是既痛苦又难熬的日子。
89. But I want to tell you today,
但今天我要告诉你,
90. That no matter how hard these days are going to be,
无论这些日子多么艰难,
91. God in heaven is not sitting down in the throne room in heaven,
天上的神并不是无奈地坐在宝座上,
92. With his hand on his heart,
双手按着胸口,
93. And taking medicine for his stomach,
猛吞胃药,
94. Worried about what’s going to happen.
担心有什么事发生。
95. In the book of Revelation, John tells us,
约翰在启示录说:
96. That God is sitting in the very throne room,
神威严地坐在宝座上,
97. And he sees the future,
约翰看见未来,
98. And he tells us that we win.
他说,我们会得胜!
99. Not maybe we win,
他不是说,我们大概会得胜;
SECTION B
乙部
1. Not possibly we win,
他不是说,我们可能会得胜;
2. No matter how hard these days will be,
无论那些日子是如何艰难,
3. We already have the victory.
我们已经获得胜利。
4. Paul goes on in verses 2 to 9,
保罗继续在第2至第9节里,
5. To paint for us a portrait of these people who will cause us trouble in those last days,
他描绘在那末世的日子里,有人会找麻烦,
6. There are three things that you notice about them,
你留意他们三件事,
7. In verses 2, 3, and 4,
在第2,3,4节,
8. Notice their moral conduct.
留意他们的道德操守。
9. In verse 5,
在第5节,
10. Notice their religious zeal.
留意他们的宗教狂热。
11. In verses 6 to 9,
在第6至9节,
12. Notice their proselytizing fanaticism.
留意他们疯狂的宗教变革。
13. Now let us look at the first one,
现在让我们看第一项,
14. Their moral conduct.
他们的道德操守。
15. What is their moral conduct like?
他们的道德操守是怎样的?
16. In the very short verses, three short verse, Paul gives us no less than 19 expressions,
在短短的几节经文,三小节里,保罗至少列出19个形容词,
17. And each one of those describes the wickedness of these people,
而每一个都是形容这些人的邪恶,
18. And they are the ones who are going to cause the believers hard times.
他们就是给基督徒找麻烦的人。
19. The first and the last descriptions summarize who they are,
最先和最后的一个形容词总括了他们是谁,
20. First they are lovers of self,
首先,他们是专顾自己的人,
21. And the last is that they are not lovers of God.
最后一样是他们不爱神。
22. Indeed four out of the 19 descriptions have to do with love,
实际上,十九个形容词里有四个是关于爱的,
23. Which tells us that they have misdirected love,
这里说,他们爱错了对象,
24. They love nothing but self,
他们不爱任何人,只爱自己;
25. They love nothing but money,
他们惟独爱金钱,
26. And the other 15 descriptions illustrate without a shadow of doubt what is beginning to happen in societies around the world today,
其他15项的形容词,毫无疑问都说明了世界各地现今的实况,
27. Right now,
就是现在,
28. We have break down of relationships between people,
人与人之间关系破裂,
29. Ethnic wars are taking place all over the world,
世界各处都有种族战争,
30. And those who love themselves become proud,
那些单单爱自己的人越来越狂傲,
31. And arrogant,
自大;
32. And then the next 5 descriptions illustrate,
跟着的5个形容词说明了,
33. What is beginning to happen to young people around the world,
发生在全世界青年人身上的情况,
34. Disobedience to parents instead of reverence and respect.
叛逆、不尊重父母。
35. I hope that we have young people that are listening to us today,
我希望今天有年轻人在收听节目,
36. I want to tell you that your parents may not be always right,
我想告诉你,你的父母未必百分之百都对,
37. But they are your leaders under God,
但他们是在神之下领导你的人。
38. The Bible said
圣经说:
39. Children obey your parents for this is right.
作儿女的,要听从父母,因这是正确的。
40. It doesn’t say you have to agree with them,
这不是说,你样样都要同意他们,
41. It doesn’t say that you have to analyze every decision they make,
也不是说,你要分析他们所作的每一个决定,
42. That you have to contradict every statement that they make.
并对他们所说的每句话一一反驳。
43. The Bible said to honor your father and mother for this is right,
圣经说,要孝敬父母,这是理所当然的,
44. Otherwise, you may live to regret your disobedience to your parents for the rest of your life.
否则,你会为自己叛逆父母而后悔一辈子。
45. And the other thing that we notice these days,
我们在这些日子留意到另一件事,
46. That young people are becoming ungrateful,
年青人越来越忘恩负义,
47. They are devoid of appreciation,
他们不懂得欣赏和感激别人所做的,
48. Many teenagers think that their parents owe them a perpetual good time.
许多青少年人认为父母无穷尽地欠他们的债。
49. To be thankful for what your parents are doing for you,
要感激父母为你所做的一切,
50. And to be thankful for what they’ve given to you,
要感激父母给予你的一切,
51. And not to be ungrateful and take what they give you for granted,
不可忘恩负义,以为他们所给你的是他们该给的,
52. That honors God.
孝敬父母就是尊崇神。
53. Another sign of the last days is that our children will be devoid of normal affections,
末世的另一个特征就是,我们的儿女将会缺乏正常的感情,
54. But in Christian homes, this ought not to be.
但在基督徒的家庭里,这种情况不应该发生。
55. Love and affection,
爱和亲情,
56. Gratitude and respect,
感恩和敬重,
57. Characterize parents and children, and their relationship with each other.
是亲子关系应有的特质。
58. Then the remaining seven words description goes beyond the family,
还有余下的七个形容词,谈到家庭以外的事,
59. It talks about back biting,
关于背后恶意的中伤,
60. Or scandal mongers,
说长道短、散播丑闻,
61. Lack of self-control,
缺乏自律,
62. But the thing that jumps out of these verses in connection with self-centerdness,
而这些经文所说的事,都与自我中心有关,
63. It is the absence of restraint.
就是缺乏克制。
64. The more self-centered people become,
若有越多自我中心的人,
65. The less moral the society will be.
社会的道德标准就越低落;
66. The more self-indulgence and self-gratifying we seek,
当人越是放纵自己的情欲,追求自我满足,
67. The less purity will be manifested.
就越显得不纯洁;
68. The more self-loving we exercise,
我们越是自私自利,
69. The more we see the boundaries of decency come tumbling down.
就会看见正直公义崩溃得越厉害;
70. These two go together,
两者是携手并进的,
71. One is the result of the other.
它们互为因果。
72. No amount of legislation will help,
立再多的法律,都不能解决问题,
73. No amount of education will help,
受再多的教育,也不能解决问题,
74. No amount of information will help,
拥有再多的资讯,都于事无补,
75. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ can change the heart.
只有耶稣基督的福音才能改变人心。
76. It may come as a shock to you that the people that Paul is talking about and describing here in verse 5 were religious people,
你也许会感到震惊,保罗在第5节所谈论、所形容的是宗教人士,
77. It is a shameful confession but it is true,
这是羞耻的,但却是事实,
78. That religion and morality have been more often divorced than they have been married.
宗教与道德分家的时候,往往比结合的时候多。
79. The prophets of old,
古代的先知,
80. Thunder against religious people who were devoid of morality,
痛斥宗教人士不道德的行为,
81. Amos tells us that in Israel during the reign of Jeroboam the II,
阿摩司说,以色列人在耶罗波安二世统治期间,
82. While there was a boom in religion and religious activities,
那时的宗教及宗教活动蓬勃起来,
83. There were utter collapse in morality.
但在道德方面却分崩离析。
84. Not only that,
不单是这样,
85. But in Amos chapter 2 and verse 8 we are told,
在阿摩司书2章第8节里提到,
86. That immorality has invaded even the religious practices.
不道德的行为甚至侵入了宗教礼仪中。
87. Isaiah deplores the same thing in Judah.
以赛亚为犹大感到伤痛,因为那里有同样的事发生。
88. When you spread forth your hand says the Lord,
主说:你们举手祷告,
89. I hide my face from you.
我必遮眼不看;
90. Even though you make many prayers,
就是你们多多的祈祷,
91. I will not listen.
我也不听。
92. God is not impressed with the pomp and the ceremony,
神不会为壮观的宗教仪式所动,
93. God is not impressed with the right rituals,
神不会为一板一眼的礼仪所动,
94. When at the same time they are winking at sin.
因为当他们行礼如仪时,却无视于罪恶。
95. In the gospel of Matthew,
在马太福音,
96. Jesus told the Pharisees the same thing,
耶稣对法利赛人说同样的话,
97. In Matthew 23 and 25,
在马太福音23和25章,
98. He said the following,
祂这样说:
99. You cleansed the outside of the cup and the plate,
你们洗净杯盘的外面,
SECTION C
丙部
1. But inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.
里面却盛满了勒索和放荡。
2. The same thing was rampant in the days of the apostle Paul.
在使徒保罗的年代,情况更加猖狂。
3. They pretended the outward form of religion,
他们假装有敬虔宗教的外表形式,
4. But they were denying its power,
却否定信仰的能力,
5. Is form without power,
只有形式,而没有能力,
6. Outward show without inward reality.
有外在的展示,却没有真实的内涵;
7. It is religion without moral demand,
是没有道德要求的宗教信仰,
8. It was an impression without confession,
只有空洞的概念,没有真实的悔改,
9. But true religion must combine both form and power,
但真正的宗教必须结合形式和能力,
10. True religious bonds spiritual worship with living proof.
真正的宗教必须结合属灵的敬拜和生活的见证。
11. No wonder the apostle Paul tells Timothy to avoid such people,
难怪使徒保罗叫提摩太避开这些人,
12. It doesn’t mean that he avoids sinners and the lost,
但不是说要避开罪人和迷失的人,
13. No,
不是,
14. Jesus himself befriended sinners,
耶稣自己也与罪人做朋友,
15. Paul was saying to avoid those false teachers of unrighteousness.
保罗是说要避开那些不义的假师傅。
16. Finally I want you to look at the proselytizing fanaticism,
最后,请看那些疯狂的宗教变革,
17. In verses 6 to 9,
在第6至第9节,
18. These godless lovers of self,
这些不敬虔又自私的人,
19. Not only profess religion at the very superficial and outward level,
不仅他们信仰的表现很肤浅,很表面,
20. They want to ram the type of superficiality down the throats of others.
他们还向人强行灌输这种只重表面的宗教形式;
21. They are militant about their perversion.
为他们的旁门左道辩护斗争;
22. They are hostile toward anyone who would not accept their brand of religion.
对任何不接受他们宗教旗号的人满怀敌意;
23. They are conniving and scheming,
他们暗怀鬼胎,
24. They speak with both sides of their mouth,
他们一口两舌,
25. They tell you what they think you want to hear,
他们故意说些讨你欢心的话,
26. Only to blind side you on the other hand.
却要你疏于防备。
27. In verse 6,
在第6节,
28. Paul talks about how they take advantage of weak women,
保罗说他们仗势欺凌弱质妇女,
29. Their form of deception is designed to deceive good women.
他们刻意欺骗良家妇女。
30. I want to tell Christian mothers to listen very carefully,
身为基督徒母亲的朋友,请留心听着,
31. You have the holiest and the most sacred and the most God-honoring call of anyone,
神托付给你们的使命是最神圣又最尊荣神的,
32. Don’t let anyone to mislead you or intimidate you,
不要被人误导或恐吓,
33. Don’t let anyone manipulate you,
不要受人恶意操控,
34. Don’t let anyone try to dominate you,
不要被人强行支配,
35. Paul is saying that these women who are weak in character are misled by this deception,
保罗说无知的妇女被人迷惑欺骗,
36. Especially if they are filled with false guilt.
尤其是那些心中充满了错误罪疚感的人。
37. In verse 8,
在第8节,
38. He said the following,
保罗说:
39. He said, these salesmen of deceit are like Jannes and Jambres,
他说,这些欺骗者好像雅尼和佯庇,
40. Who are they?
他们是谁?
41. These were the two magicians who came to Pharaoh’s palace and did magic tricks like Moses.
他们就是当年在埃及法老的皇宫里,企图模仿摩西的神迹,来变戏法的术士。
42. Be careful who claim a miracle a minute and don’t give God the glory.
要小心那些行神迹,却不归荣耀给神的人。
43. Moses taught the law,
摩西教导律法,
44. Paul preached the gospel,
保罗传讲福音,
45. But whether it is the law or the gospel,
但无论是律法或是福音,
46. Whether it is the teaching of Moses or the preaching of Paul,
无论是摩西的教训或是保罗的传讲,
47. It is God’s truth that people oppose and reject.
其实,人们所反对和抗拒的是神的真理。
48. We need not be afraid of back door religious traders,
我们不需要害怕那些走后门贩卖宗教信仰之徒,
49. And if a few weak people may have been taken in,
少数无知的人可能会上当受骗,
50. You stand firm.
你要站立得稳。
51. If falsehood becomes fashionable,
如果错谬的假道流行起来,
52. When it becomes acceptable in society,
当社会也接受他们那一套时,
53. But we must stand firm, never, never, never to give up.
我们必须站立得稳,永远、永远不放弃。
54. Falsehood and deception need to be exposed and repudiated,
要揭穿并弃绝错谬的假道和骗人的谎言,
55. That is why we have finally the good news in verse 9,
因此,我们终于在第9节那里看到好消息,
56. And the good news is this,
这好消息就是,
57. These false teachers will not ultimately succeed.
最后,这些假师傅必不能成功。
58. In God’s field,
在神的禾田里,
59. Which is the whole world,
也就是全世界,
60. Where God has sown wheat,
神已经播下麦种,
61. The devil comes along and he sows weeds,
魔鬼却来撒播野草,
62. The devil has his secret agents right inside the churches,
魔鬼的密探正渗入教会里,
63. Yes, inside the churches,
是的,就在教会内部,
64. Among the professing believers.
在那些自称为基督徒的人当中。
65. They are lovers of self,
他们自私自利,
66. They are lovers of money and pleasures,
他们贪爱金钱和享乐,
67. Rather than being lovers of God and people,
却不爱神、不爱人,
68. They have the form of religion but deny it’s power,
他们有敬虔的外貌,却没有属灵的能力,
69. They oppose the truth and seek to mislead the weak.
他们敌挡真理,并迷惑无知的人。
70. But for all you Timothy’s out there who are listening to me,
但若你就像提摩太一样,请留心听着,
71. Paul is saying to you,
保罗是对你说话,
72. Don’t catch that disease,
不要染上那种疾病,
73. Don’t be carried away by the flood tide,
不要随波逐流,
74. But stand up bolding against the prevailing fashion,
倒要坚决地对抗潮流,
75. God will bless you as you do,
你若这样做,神必赐福给你,
76. Good bye!
再会!