lesson 1 Addictions

clip image002 上瘾Addictions

Addiction is a condition in which the body must have a drug to avoid physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms. Addiction’s first stage is dependence, during which the search for a drug dominates an individual’s life. An addict eventually develops tolerance, which forces the person to consume larger and larger doses of the drug to get the same effect.

Adapted from the Encyclopedia of Psychology

摘自心理学百科

毒瘾是身体必须靠吸毒来消除生理和心理退隐症状。毒瘾初期表现是依赖性，在此期间，寻求毒品占据个体的生命。吸毒者最终形成耐受性，强迫吸毒者为达到同样的快感而吸越来越大的毒品剂量。clip image003 2

Alcohol & Drugs

Typically, when we hear the word addiction, we are inclined to think of alchohol and drug dependencies because these tend to be the most devestating and publicly embarrassing addictions that often times don’t remain hidden in a person’s life. Because of the altered behavior caused by alchohol and drugs, families are ususally the first to become aware of it, but the person’s social circle is soon to become affected by the addiction as well.

酒和毒品

通常来说，当我们听到上瘾一词，我们倾向于认为是对酒和毒品的依赖性，因为这些是最具破坏性和在公众面前令人尴尬的嗜好，常常在一个人的生活中无法长期隐藏。因为酒和毒品导致行为上的改变，家庭成员通常最早知道，但上瘾者的社交领域很快因此受到影响。

In the United States, which has a total population of around 300 million （including children）， it is estimated that 17.6 million wrestle with some form of alcohol addiction.

美国共有大约三亿人口（包括儿童），据估计有一千七百六十万人与某种形式的酒瘾挣扎。

As for China, since 1950, it has increased its sale of alcohol by 50-fold and has also seen alchohol related mental illnesses move up from 9th to 3rd in its country. China is the 3rd largest distributor of alchohol in the world so it’s very likely that the Chinese share similar problems with alcohol as the U.S. does.

对于中国，自1950年以来，白酒销量已增长50倍，并且与饮酒相关的精神病在中国从疾病的第九位升至第七位。中国在世界上是第三大白酒销售国，因此中国人很可能和美国人在饮酒方面有着同样的问题。

In the United States, an estimated 12.5 million people use illicit drugs （non-medication purposes） for pleasure.

在美国，估计有一千二百五十万人使用违禁药（非治疗目的）寻找快感。

However, addiction can’t be limited to just drug and alchohol abuse. Please consider the following…

然而，上瘾不能仅限制于酗酒和吸毒。请考虑以下情形…

Workaholics

工作狂

This sort of addict finds no other satisfaction in life than what he does in his work so whether he’s on vaction or off for the weekend or just working every day, he finds no other satisfaction in life than in his job. Workaholics will often have dysfunctional family lives with broken homes

此类上瘾就是在生活中找不到他在工作中得到的满足，因此无论在度假还是周末或只是每天工作，生活中的其他满足感无法和工作中的满足感相比。工作狂常常有一个混乱和破裂的家庭生活。

Pornography addiction

沉迷于色情clip image005 thumb 32fc53af9ea3d8bdd297d953e7e44908

As of 2003, there were 1.3 million pornographic websites; 260 million pages （N2H2, 2003）

在2003年，有一百三十万个色情网站；两亿六千万网页（N2H2, 2003）。

The total porn industry revenue for 2006: $13.3 billion in the United States; $97 billion worldwide （Internet Filter Review）。

在美国，整个色情产业2006年的收入为133亿美元；全世界为970亿（国际互联网过滤评估）。

More than 70% of men from 18 to 34 visit a pornographic site in a typical month （comScore Media Matrix）。

从18岁到34岁的男人超过70% 每个月光顾一个色情网站（comScore 媒体矩阵）。

More than 20,000 images of child pornography posted online every week （National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, 10/8/03）。

每周贴在网上的儿童色情图片超过2万张（国家预防儿童受侵害学会， 10/8/03）。

100,000 websites offer illegal child pornography （U.S. Customs Service estimate）。

As of December 2005, child pornography was a $3 billion annual industry .（Internet Filter Review）。

10万个网站提供非法儿童色情信息（美国海关总署）。

2005年12月，儿童色情产业年产值达到30亿美元。（国际互联网过滤评估）

“At a 2003 meeting of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, two thirds of the 350 divorce lawyers who attended said the Internet played a significant role in the divorces in the past year, with excessive interest in online porn contributing to more than half such cases. Pornography had an almost non-existent role in divorce just seven or eight years ago.” （Divorcewizards.com）

在2003年美国婚姻法律师学会的会议中，出席的350个办理离婚诉讼的律师中三分之二人说，在过去一年，互联网对离婚起了重要作用。对网络色情的过分兴趣导致一半以上的离婚。仅在七，八年以前色情对于离婚几乎不存在影响作用。

（Divorcewizards.com）

CHRISTIANS, PASTORS AND CHURCH PORNOGRAPHY STATISTICS

基督徒，牧师和教会关于色情的统计

A 1996 Promise Keepers survey at one of their stadium events revealed that over 50% of the men in attendance were involved with pornography within one week of attending the event.

1996年守信者在他们的一个体育场项目的调查中显示在一周内参加项目的男性中超过50%参与色情。

51% of pastors say cyber-porn is a possible temptation. 37% say it is a current struggle （Christianity Today, Leadership Survey, 12/2001）。

51%的牧师说网络色情是潜在的诱惑。37% 的牧师说它是当前的征战（今日基督教，领袖调查，12/2001）。

Over half of evangelical pastors admits viewing pornography last year.

去年超过一半的福音派的牧师承认浏览色情网站。

Roger Charman of Focus on the Family’s Pastoral Ministries reports that approximately 20 percent of the calls received on their Pastoral Care Line are for help with issues such as pornography and compulsive sexual behavior.

关注牧师的家庭事工的Roger Charman报道从他们的牧师关怀热线接到的电话中大约20%是为了帮助类似有色情或强迫性性行为的事件。

57% of pastors say that addiction to pornography is the most sexually damaging issue to their congregation （Christians and Sex Leadership Journal Survey, March 2005）。

57%的牧师说沉溺于色情对教会来说是在性犯罪上最大的损害（基督徒和性带领期刊调查，2005年3月）。

STATISTICS ON WOMEN WITH PORNOGRAPHY ADDICTION

关于女性沉迷于色情的统计

28% of those admitting to sexual addiction are women （internet-filter-review.com）。

34% of female readers of Today’s Christian Woman’s online newsletter admitted to intentionally accessing Internet porn in a recent poll and 1 out of every 6 women, including Christians, struggles with an addiction to pornography （Today’s Christian Woman, Fall 2003）。

承认性癖的人中有28%为女性（国际互联网过滤评估）。

在最近的民意测验中，34%的今日基督徒女性在线时事通讯的女性读者承认有意识光顾互联网色情网站，并且六分之一的女性，包括基督徒，与沉迷于色情挣扎（今日基督徒女性，2003 秋季刊）。

STATISTICS ON PORNOGRAPHY’S EFFECT ON FAMILIES AND MARRIAGES

对于色情影响家庭和婚姻的统计

47% percent of families said pornography is a problem in their home （Focus on the Family Poll, October 1, 2003）。

47%的家庭说色情在他们家是个问题（关注家庭民意测验，2003年10月1日）。

The Internet was a significant factor in 2 out of 3 divorces （American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers in 2003 - divorcewizards.com）。

在三分之二的离婚诉讼中互联网是个重要的因素（美国婚姻法律师学会 2003年- - divorcewizards.com）。

Obesity

肥胖

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According to the National Institutes of Health, 17% of children and adolescents aged 2 to 19 years were overweight in 2004. And what’s more alarming is 32.2% of adults suffer from obesity （that’s almost 90 million） – which is a dangerous step up from just being plain overweight. Another 30% of Americans are simply overweight.

根据国家健康协会， 2004年从2到19岁的儿童和青少年中有17%超重。更令人担忧的是32.2%的成人经历肥胖的痛苦（几乎是9千万）——这是从单纯超重升级的危险一步。另外有30%的美国人只是超重。

And these percentages are only expected to rise. The United States of America may not be dealing with just a health problem – but a health emergency.clip image009 thumb 1

而且预计这些百分比只会上升。美国不仅是在对付一个健康问题——而且是一个健康急症。

The United States Department of Health and Human Services estimates that 300,000 deaths a year are associated with obesity.

美国健康和公共事业部门估计在一年里有300,000例死亡与肥胖相关。

Identify any sin listed in the Bible and you can be sure that that sin can quickly turn into an excessive sin that always has the potential to spin a person’s life out of control. That addiction can be gambling or it could simply be a clip image011 2person’s addictive behavior that longs to fit in and look nice. Addictions, all addictions, if left unchecked in a person’s life can lead to a person’s temporal death and ultimately their own spiritual and eternal death. But our concern for this Bible class isn’t so much identifying each and every possible addiction, but rather identifying how we can help our brothers and sisters in this life to over come addiction!

· 辨别圣经中列举的任何一种罪，你可以确信那种罪能很快地变成一种犯罪瘾，它总是有潜能使人生活失控。上瘾可以是赌博或只是一个人渴望苗条和好看形成的成瘾行为。上瘾，所有上瘾，如果在人的生活中不加检验可以导致一个人暂时死亡和灵性的永远死亡。但我们本次圣经课程关注的不是识别每种潜在的上瘾，而是确定我们怎样能帮助我们的兄弟姐妹在此生克服上瘾。

Let us begin today with words of inspiration from the great apostle Paul…

让我们今天以伟大的使徒保罗启发性的言语开始…

Philippians 4:13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

腓立比书4:13 我靠著那加給我力量的 , 凡事都能做 .

Two very important pronouns for us to note in these words of the apostle Paul…

在使徒保罗的这些话中我们注意到两个非常重要的代词…

“I” – On the one hand Paul removes the excuse from the individual who might be tempted to say, “I was simply born that way, and that’s why I keep making a mess out of my life.” On the other hand, he reminds us that we play an instrumental role in defeating whatever it is that is afflicting us. In other words, it is not God alone who defeats the addiction, even though we can say all of the credit is his, but we work with God to defeat the sin that we struggle with in life.

“我”——一方面保罗消除个体的借口。因为有人想说，“我天生就那样，这就是为什么我不断把自己的生活弄得一团糟。”.另一方面，他提醒无论是什么在折磨我们，我们在击败它时发挥着一个助手的角色。换句话说，不是神独自击败这瘾，尽管我们说所有功劳是神的，但我们和神同工来击败生命中与其斗争的罪。
“Him” – Paul removes the right for us to boast when addiction is overcome as he tells us that the strength to overcome is not from us, but from God!

“他”——保罗剥夺当我们克服上瘾时自夸的权利 ,正如他告诉我们：

克服的力量不是从我们而来，而是从神而来！

We can summarize the words “I” and “Him” in the verse from Philippians 4:13 as Law and Gospel. The “I” refers to the Christian’s life of sanctification or the 3rd use of the law, the law as a guide. Whereas the word “Him” in verse 13 is pure gospel as each Christian derives his/her strength from our loving God who strengthens us through his powerful Word and Sacrament. Let’s expand on these two concepts in dealing with addiction…

我们可以把腓立比书4:13节中“我”和“他”两词总结为律法与福音。“我”指基督徒成圣的生命或是律法第三个功用，即律法作为指南。然而，13节中“他”一词纯粹是福音，因为每个基督徒的力量来自于我们慈爱的神，他通过大能的话语和圣礼来坚固我们。让我们在对付上瘾方面详述这两个概念。

The story of Cain…

该隐的故事…clip image013 thumb

Genesis 4:1-12

创世纪4:1-12

1 Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth[c] a man.” 2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. 4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. 6 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.” 8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 The LORD said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. 11Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”

有一日 , 那人和他妻子夏娃同房 , 夏娃就怀孕 , 生了该隐（就是得的意思） , 便说 : 耶和华使我得了一个男子 . 2又生了该隐的兄弟亚伯 . 亚伯是牧羊的 ; 该隐是种地的 . 3有一日 , 该隐拿地里的出产为供物献给耶和华 4亚伯也将他羊群中头生的和羊的脂油献上 . 耶和华看中了亚伯和他的供物 , 5只是看不中该隐和他的供物 . 该隐就大大的发怒 , 变了脸色 . 6耶和华对该隐说 : 你为甚麽发怒呢 ? 你为甚麽变了脸色呢 ? 7你若行得好 , 岂不蒙悦纳 ? 你若行得不好 , 罪就伏在门前 . 他必恋慕你 , 你却要制伏他 . 8该隐与他兄弟亚伯说话 ; 二人正在田间 . 该隐起来打他兄弟亚伯 , 把他杀了 .9耶和华对该隐说 : 你兄弟亚伯在那里 ? 他说 : 我不知道 ! 我岂是看守我兄弟的麽 ? 10耶和华说 : 你作了甚麽事呢 ? 你兄弟的血有声音从地里向我哀告 . 11地开了口 , 从你手里接受你兄弟的血 . 现在你必从这地受咒诅 . 12你种地 , 地不再给你效力 ; 你必流离飘荡在地上 .

What words from God indicate to us that Cain had a responsibility to run away from the sins that were plaguing his heart? （v.7）

神的什么话向我们显示该隐有责任去摆脱折磨他内心的罪？（7节）

1 John 1:8, 9 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

约翰一书1:8, 9 我们若说自己无罪 , 便是自欺 , 真理不在我们心里了 . 9我们若认自己的罪 , 神是信实的 , 是公义的 , 必要赦免我们的罪 , 洗净我们一切的不义 .
Apply the words of John to the words of God to Cain when he said, “Sin desires to have you, but you must master it.”

神对该隐说“罪必恋慕你 , 你却要制伏他 .”将约翰的话应用于神所说的话上。

· When dealing with someone caught in repetitive sin, whether it’s an addiction of some sort, or not an addiction like maybe someone just caught up in a live-in relationship between a man and woman outside of marriage. The way we deal with them will be the same way that God dealt with Cain before he took the life of his brother Cain… “Sin desires to have you…you must master it before it masters you!” In other words, repent! Christian, or something far worse will happen to you.

· 对待某个重复犯罪的人时，无论是因为某种上瘾，或并非类似上瘾，也许是发现某人有婚外情。我们对待他们的方法和神在该隐杀了他的弟弟亚伯后对待该隐的方法是一样的…“罪比恋慕你…你在它制伏你之前必要制伏它！”换句话说，悔改吧！基督徒，否则更糟糕的事将发生在你身上。

James 1:13-15 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

雅各书1:13-15人被试探 , 不可说 : 「我是被神试探」 ; 因为神不能被恶试探 , 他也不试探人 . 14但各人被试探 , 乃是被自己的私欲牵引诱惑的 . 15私欲既怀了胎，就生出罪来 ; 罪既长成 , 就生出死来 .

Go through the progression of sin with Cain…

检查该隐与罪的升级

Greed——jealousy——–anger———-hatred———murder

贪婪——-嫉妒————愤怒———-憎恨———–谋杀clip image015 2 1d2cf59dc14cdeb2847f6f785430d51b

Please take special note in the story of Cain and Abel. There is a very serious lesson about the nature of sin and our sinful flesh and the power of the devil. Sin is not content at remaining something small in our lives and the devil has no intentions of leaving sin in our hearts as something small and insignificant. When sin is left unchecked in a person’s life, it always desires to fester and grow. Think of a tiny snow ball rolling down the side of a mountain that becomes larger and larger as it travels down the hillside.

· 请特别注意该隐和亚伯的故事。其中含有一个非常严肃的教训是关于罪的本性，我们罪性的肉体以及魔鬼的力量。罪不满足在我们的生命中占一小部分地位，而魔鬼的意图不是将罪作为微小并无关紧要的东西留在我们心中。

· 当罪在一个人的生命中不加抑制，它总是寻求溃烂和生长。想想一个沿着山坡往下滚的小雪球在滚动时变得越来越大。

Is there Hope for an addict?

对于一个上瘾的人来说有希望吗？

The Immediate answer to that question is Yes! There is hope for an addict who overcomes his/her addiction and there is hope for an addict, who for the rest of his or her earthly life wrestles with there particular addiction. Read the following…

我们可以马上回答这个问题是的！上瘾的人有希望克服他/她的瘾，上瘾的人在他/她的余生中有希望和各自的瘾斗争。阅读以下经文…

Matthew 19:16-26

马太福音19:16-26clip image017 thumb d75b27f6ee94acb341508def541846f1

16 Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” 17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” 18 “Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19honor your father and mother,’ and ’love your neighbor as yourself.’” 20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. 23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” 26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

有一个人来见耶稣 , 说 : 夫子（有古卷 : 良善的夫子） , 我该做甚麽善事才能得永生 ? 17耶稣对他说 : 你为甚麽以善事问我呢 ? 只有一位是善的（有古卷 : 你为什麽称我是良善的 ? 除了神以外 , 没有一个良善的） . 你若要进入永生 , 就当遵守诫命 . 18他说 : 甚麽诫命 ? 耶稣说 : 就是不可杀人 ; 不可奸淫 ; 不可偷盗 ; 不可作假见证 ; 19当孝敬父母 , 又当爱人如己 . 20那少年人说 : 这一切我都遵守了 , 还缺少甚麽呢 ? 21耶稣说 : 你若愿意作完全人 , 可去变卖你所有的 , 分给穷人 , 就必有财宝在天上 ; 你还要来跟从我 . 22那少年人听见这话 , 就忧忧愁愁的走了 , 因为他的产业很多 .23耶稣对门徒说 : 我实在告诉你们 , 财主进天国是难的 . 24我又告诉你们 , 骆驼穿过针的眼 , 比财主进神的国还容易呢 ! 25门徒听见这话 , 就希奇得很 , 说 : 这样谁能得救呢 ? 26耶稣看着他们 , 说 : 在人这是不能的 , 在神凡事都能 .

· Jesus, in a round about way, wanted the man to understand that there was no life through the Law! But apparently the man wasn’t picking up on that hint from Jesus when Jesus went through parts of the 2nd table of the Law. I’m certain most of us would have said, “Oh no! I haven’t fulfilled these laws perfectly, but apparently the rich man wasn’t willing to concede that to Jesus. So the rich man, fully confident of his own life, thought that since he had great wealth that he might have also been above such laws as the ones Jesus mentioned. So Jesus takes the sword of the Law and pierces the rich man’s heart by exposing his greatest weakness in life – and that was his greed! Now, our Lord gives him a scenario that was certain to convict his heart of sin. Read the following questions and answer them.

· 耶稣，以迂回曲折的方式，要这人明白律法不能带来生命！但是显然这个人当耶稣给他贯彻律法的第二条纲领时并没有领会耶稣的提示。我确信我们大多数人会说”哦，不！我没有完全履行律法，但显然这个富人不愿对耶稣承认这点，因此他对自己的生活信心十足，认为既然他拥有巨大财富，他可以凌驾于耶稣提到的律法之上。因此耶稣通过揭露他一生最大的弱点——他的贪婪，以律法的剑穿透这个富人的心。现在，我们的主给他设一个难题确实证明了他心中的罪。阅读以下问题并回答。

Jesus says to his disciples in verse 26, “With man this is impossible.” What’s impossible?

耶稣在26节中对门徒说，“在人这是不能的。” 什么是不能的？
Why is this so important for us to understand when dealing with addiction or addicts?

明白这点对于处理上瘾问题或对待瘾君子为什么如此重要？

Respond to the following scenarios…

对以下的情况做出回应…

If someone wrestles with sin in their life, but never quite overcomes that particular sin, they will die and go to hell.

如果某些人与人生中的罪斗争，但从没完全战胜那特定的罪，他们死后将下地狱。

If someone struggles with addiction, and overcomes that addiction in his or her life, they are sure to be forgiven by God and go to heaven no matter how they overcame their addiction.

如果某人和上瘾作斗争，并战胜了他或她人生中的瘾，那么无论他们怎样克服上瘾，他们一定会被神宽恕并进入天国。

If someone struggles with a particular sin, and never really overcomes that sin, but continually prays to God and asks Jesus for forgiveness and strength to avoid that sin, he can be confident that heaven is his home even if that sin continues to plague him for the whole of his earthly life.

如果某人和一个特定的罪征战，但从没真正战胜那罪，然而他持续向神祷告，并请求耶稣宽恕和赐给他力量消除那罪，他可以确信天国是他的家即使那罪仍继续折磨他整个人生。

Final thoughts:

最后的想法：

Not everybody has a chemical dependency, but when family or friends who don’t have a chemical dependency learn that one of their own has one, often shock and great surprise sets in and maybe even some anger. Words that often follow such news are: “I had no idea!” “I can’t believe that this is happening in my family.”

不是每个人都有药物依赖性，但当没有药物依赖性的家人或朋友得知其中一位有瘾的话，经常会感到震惊，甚至愤怒。随之而来的话是：“我毫无办法！”“我不能相信这事发生在我家人身上。”

Let not sin shock or surprise any of us. Each of us were born with enough sin in our hearts already at birth to warrant the title from God in his word as “hostile,” “dead,” and “objects of wrath.” When we take our unbaptized children home from the hospital God’s Word explicitly reminds us that that child’s condion is in desperate need of a radical change, a change that only he can create through the waters of Holy Baptism. For this reason, families are not to delay on getting their spiritually sick children into God’s hospital as soon as possible so that they might be reborn into his image which bears the marks and wounds of the crucified and risen Savior.

别让我们为罪感到震惊。我们每个人生来心里充满了罪，神已经给我们冠之以“敌对，”“死的”“震怒的对象。”当我们把未受洗的儿童从医院带回家，神的话明确提醒我们孩子处于急需根本改变的处境，只有通过圣洗礼神使之产生的改变。因此，家长尽可能不要延迟送灵性里有疾病的孩子到神的医院，好让他们重生有他的形象，这形象带着被钉十字架并从死里复活的救主的伤痕与印记。

There is a very important lesson to be learned from this. What we see is not what God sees. What we see in the crying baby we take home from the hospital is a cute, innocent child that hasn’t had any time to violate God’s Holy will and law – but God sees a child steeped in sin from conception （Psalm 51:5）。 What we see is a precious gift of life – but what God sees is a child of death （Ephesians 2:1）。

从这里我们学到非常重要的功课。我们看到的并非神所看到的。我们看到我们从医院带回家的哭泣的宝宝是一个还没有任何机会违反神圣洁的旨意和律法的可爱，无辜的孩子——但神看到的是个从母亲怀胎就浸在罪中的婴孩（诗篇51:5）。我们所见是一个珍贵的生命的恩赐——但神所见的是个死婴（以弗所书2:1）。

That is, until we have that child baptized according to our Savior’s own command .

The same is true with family and friends or maybe even brothers and sisters in the faith who get caught up in a terrible, repetitive sin. We see a no-good rotten sinner, who made a mess out of his/her life because of bad decisions that they made; but what God sees （at least in the cases of those who still have faith in Jesus）， is a precious child whom he personally, and physically bled and died for on the cross some 2,000 years ago. Quite a difference!

就是说，直到我们根据我们救主的命令为孩子施洗为止。对于家人和朋友，或者被发现犯可怕，重复罪行的甚至信主的弟兄和姐妹来说情况同样也是如此。我们看到一个毫无优点的堕落的罪人，他/她因为所做的错误的决定而使生活一团糟；但神所见的（至少对那些仍对耶稣怀有信心的人而言），是一个珍贵的孩子，他大约2000年前就亲自在十字架上倾洒宝血，为他/她而死。截然不同的看法！

Consider it: David the wife stealer and David the murderer and David the distrusting king of Israel who took a census instead of trusting in God deserved death and everlasting punishment in the kingdom of hell for all eternity and nobody knew it better than him, which is why he confessed in Psalm 51, “Against you and you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.” However, David, the one whose sins were quite glaring and enormous at times, was the one whom God said was “A man after his own heart” （1 Samuel 13:14）。 David didn’t always behave perfectly, but he had a perfect God, who loved him and continuously called him to repentance, which we need to understand might be the same case with those who commit repeated sins. It’s not always easy for us to determine the differene between those who are waving their finger in God’s face with the expression, “I don’t care what your Word says, God, because I hate you!” and those who are just plain struggling in life, hate their life of sin, and want nothing to do with the sin that seems to continuously plague their heart and soul.

思考：侵占别人的妻子的大卫王，成为杀人犯的大卫王，不信靠神而去数点人口的缺乏信任的以色列王应受死亡和地狱的永远的惩罚。他比任何人都清楚这一点，因为他在诗篇51篇悔罪求告：我向你犯罪 , 惟独得罪了你 ; 在你眼前行了这恶。“可是，尽管有时大卫王罪大恶极，却是神所说的”一个和我心意的人“（撒母耳记上13:14）。 .大卫王并非总是行事完美，但他有个爱他并不断感召他悔改的完美的神，我们要明白这对那些再三犯罪的人是同样如此。那些冲着神挥舞手指表示：”神，我不在乎你的话，因为我恨你！“和那些明显在与罪挣扎，痛恨他们人生中的罪，并希望与不断折磨他们心灵的罪不再相关的人，这两种人，要确定他们的不同对我们来说并非易事。

Maybe instead of being shocked, and expressing that shock to our loved ones through some sort of intervention that often leaves the guilty feeling more guilty…we ought to instead look at the child of grace the same way God looked at us. Read the following…

我们应该以神看待我们的方式看待孩子的优点 ,而不是表现出震惊，或通过进行干涉向我们所爱的人表达震惊，那经常让人感到罪上加罪，.阅读以下经文…

Luke 15:11-32

路加福音15:11-32clip image019 thumb 891c56c7403a7e14c3436dfc4923376b

”There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. 13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 17 ”When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 21 ”The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. 25 ”Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ 28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ 31 ”‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’“

耶稣又说 : 一个人有两个儿子 . 12小儿子对父亲说 : 父亲 , 请你把我应得的家业分给我 . 他父亲就把产业分给他们 . 13过了不多几日 , 小儿子就把他一切所有的都收拾起来 , 往远方去了 . 在那里任意放荡 , 浪费赀财 . 14既耗尽了一切所有的 , 又遇着那地方大遭饥荒 , 就穷苦起来 . 15於是去投靠那地方的一个人 ; 那人打发他到田里去放猪 . 16他恨不得拿猪所吃的豆荚充饥 , 也没有人给他 . 17他醒悟过来 , 就说 : 我父亲有多少的雇工 , 口粮有馀 , 我倒在这里饿死麽 ? 18我要起来 , 到我父亲那里去 , 向他说 : 父亲 ! 我得罪了天 , 又得罪了你 ; 19从今以後 , 我不配称为你的儿子 , 把我当作一个雇工罢 ! 20於是起来 , 往他父亲那里去 . 相离还远 , 他父亲看见 , 就动了慈心 , 跑去抱着他的颈项 , 连连与他亲嘴 . 21儿子说 : 父亲 ! 我得罪了天 , 又得罪了你 ; 从今以後 , 我不配称为你的儿子 . 22父亲却吩咐仆人说 : 把那上好的袍子快拿出来给他穿 ; 把戒指戴在他指头上 ; 把鞋穿在他脚上 ; 23把那肥牛犊牵来宰了 , 我们可以吃喝快乐 ; 24因为我这个儿子是死而复活 , 失而又得的 . 他们就快乐起来 .25那时 , 大儿子正在田里 . 他回来 , 离家不远 , 听见作乐跳舞的声音 , 26便叫过一个仆人来 , 问是甚麽事 . 27仆人说 : 你兄弟来了 ; 你父亲因为得他无灾无病的回来 , 把肥牛犊宰了 . 28大儿子却生气 , 不肯进去 ; 他父亲就出来劝他 . 29他对父亲说 : 我服事你这多年 , 从来没有违背过你的命 , 你并没有给我一只山羊羔 , 叫我和朋友一同快乐 . 30但你这个儿子和娼妓吞尽了你的产业 , 他一来了 , 你倒为他宰了肥牛犊 . 31父亲对他说 : 儿阿 ! 你常和我同在 , 我一切所有的都是你的 ; 32只是你这个兄弟是死而复活、失而又得的 , 所以我们理当欢喜快乐 .

· There wasn’t a day that went by when the wayward son wasn’t on the mind of his father! Yet please take note that the father didn’t go running after his son while his son was having a love affair with sin! Yes, the father, who by the way represents our Father in heaven, loved his wayward child from a distance and allowed him to pleasure himself with sin till he became spiritually bankrupt. We might say that he loved his son from a distance. And it’s ok for us to love addicts from a distance to…so long as we are always ready to extend our arms in love for their return like God did with us when he sent his only begotten Son into the world to die for each and every sin that we’ve committed. I’m not so sure that the story of the prodigal son isn’t a perfect picture of everyone of God’s children even as I’m not so sure everyone of God’s children hasn’t committed some pretty graphic sins that we might be embarrassed to share with our own parents. Yet in spite of it all, there was God, waiting for us to come home with open arms and love in Christ waiting to embrace us.

· 这个任性的儿子度过的日子，没有一天不被父亲牵挂！然而请注意这位父亲在儿子沉迷与罪中时并没有紧跟不放。是的，这位父亲，就代表我们的天父，从远处关爱着儿子并允许他享受罪的快乐，直到他灵性枯竭。我们可以说父亲从远处关爱儿子。我们也可以从远处关爱上瘾者，只要我们总是伸出爱的臂膀等待他们的归来，就像天父对我们一样，他差派他唯一的爱子到世上为我们每个人所犯的罪而死。我不确信浪子回头的故事不是神每个孩子的完全写照，就如我不确信神的每个孩子没有犯过某种对父母难以启齿的可憎的罪。然而尽管如此，有位神在基督的爱中张开臂膀等我们回家，等着拥抱我们。

clip image022 4· That attitude will become our attitude towards addicts or repeat sinners only when we take off our glasses, and put the glasses of God on as he reveals his love to us in Christ Jesus.

只有当神在耶稣基督里向我们显示他的爱时，当我们拿下自己的眼镜，带上神的眼镜，这种态度才会成为我们对待瘾君子或屡屡犯罪的人的态度。

1 John 4:19 We love because he first loved us.

约翰一书4:19 我们爱 , 因为神先爱我们

最后更新于 2013年6月27日星期四 16:27