BA 1 Blessed Assurance
BA 1 受祝福的保证
PREFACE
序言
I grew up in a small town in central Oklahoma. My mother was a beautician and a faithful member of the church. I praise God for the wholesome influence my mother and that little church had on me during my formative years. My heart overflows with gratitude and love as I think back on those days.
我在俄克拉荷马州中部的一个小镇上长大。我的母亲是一名美容师，也是教会的忠实成员。我赞美上帝，在我成长的岁月里，我的母亲和那个小教会对我产生了健康的影响。当我回想起那些日子时，我的心充满了感激和爱。
By the time I was six years old, I had heard enough about the second coming of Christ that I would lie on my back in the grass beside our house and look upward, wondering if Jesus might be coming in the clouds. With some degree of uneasiness, I wondered if he would take me to heaven with him. Everybody I knew and loved thought it was impossible for Christians to know for sure that they were saved. Some people thought that a single unforgiven sin would send them to hell, and they lived in fear that Jesus might come between prayers before they had time to repent and seek forgiveness.
在我六岁的时候，我已经听够了关于基督再来的消息，我将仰面躺在我们房子旁边的草地上，向上看，想知道耶稣是否会在云中降临。 带着某种程度的不安，我想知道他是否会带我一起去天堂。 我所认识和喜爱的每个人都认为基督徒不可能确定他们是否得救。 有些人认为，一个未被宽恕的罪行就会把他们送进地狱，他们生活在恐惧之中，担心耶稣会在他们有时间忏悔和寻求宽恕之前，在祈祷之间到来。
Perhaps the uncertainty of those childhood experiences motivated me to write this book. It is my prayer that all committed Christians who read these words will gain a greater sense of security about their walk with God and will have rock-solid certainty about their future home in heaven–thanks to the love of God and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
也许那些童年经历的不确定性促使我写这本书。 我祈祷所有读到这些文字的虔诚基督徒都能对他们与神同行有更大的安全感，并对他们未来在天堂的家有坚如磐石的确定性--感谢神的爱和耶稣基督的牺牲。
May God bless you as we walk together through these lessons.
当我们一起走过这些课程时，愿上帝保佑你。
---Richard N. Ady
理查德 N. 阿迪
Lesson One
第一课
Blessed Assurance
受祝福的保证
Why are some of God's most committed and dedicated Christians afraid they won't go to heaven when they die? My mother was one of the most godly women I have known. To honor her, I often quote Abraham Lincoln who said, “All I am or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.” Yet my mother wondered, until the day she died, if she would go to heaven.
为什么上帝的一些最坚定、最敬业的基督徒害怕他们死后不能上天堂？我的母亲是我所认识的最虔诚的女性之一。为了纪念她，我经常引用亚伯拉罕-林肯的话，他说："我现在或希望成为的一切，都归功于我的天使母亲。" 然而，我母亲直到死前都在想，她会不会上天堂。
Following a lecture at one of our Christian universities, I met one of the world's most influential church leaders. Millions of people in Africa are now Christians largely due to his leadership and influence. I asked him, “How's it going, Jimmy?” He replied, “I'm going to hell if I don't change my ways.”
在我们一所基督教大学的讲座之后，我见到了世界上最有影响力的教会领袖之一。非洲有数百万人现在是基督徒，这主要是由于他的领导和影响。我问他："情况如何，吉米？" 他回答说："如果我不改变我的方式，我就要下地狱了。"
Why do so many Christians have doubts and fears about their chances of making it to heaven? Could it be that we think our eternal destiny depends on our own goodness? None of us will “make it” to heaven on the merits of our own goodness. Perfect obedience is our goal, but we all mess up. We can have no blessed assurance as long as we focus on ourselves and our shortcomings.
为什么这么多基督徒对他们进入天堂的机会产生怀疑和恐惧？会不会是我们认为我们永恒的命运取决于我们自己的善良？我们中没有人能够靠自己的善良 "进入 "天堂。完美的顺服是我们的目标，但我们都会犯错。只要我们专注于自己和我们的缺点，我们就不能有有福的保证。
The only way we will ever be confident of our salvation is by being born again, following Jesus to the best of our ability, and focusing on the grace of God and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. As we walk with God, the blood of Christ keeps cleansing us of sin (1 John 1:7). Our assurance is not in our accomplishments. It is in Christ.
我们对自己的救赎充满信心的唯一途径是重生，尽我们最大的能力跟随耶稣，并专注于上帝的恩典和耶稣基督的牺牲。当我们与神同行时，基督的宝血不断洗净我们的罪（约翰一书1：7）。我们的保证不在我们的成就中。它是在基督里。
The Confession of a Teenager
一个青少年的自白
In an article published on the Internet June 19, 2017, a young man named Steven wrote, “When I was 16, I had a spiritual nervous breakdown. I had just had a glorious experience at our church youth camp, had met God in a unique way, and was riding high on love for Jesus. . . . Within a week or so, I had absolutely zero assurance of salvation. I began to wonder if I was going to hell. . . . Maybe I was one of those people to whom Jesus would eventually thunder, ‘Away from me. I never knew you.' . . . I was terrified that I was sliding straight to hell on a demonic toboggan.”
在2017年6月19日发表在互联网上的一篇文章中，一位名叫史蒂文的年轻人写道："当我16岁的时候，我有一个精神上的崩溃。我刚刚在我们教会的青年营里有了一次光荣的经历，以一种独特的方式遇见了上帝，对耶稣的爱让我感到兴奋。. . . 在一个星期左右的时间里，我对得救的把握完全为零。我开始怀疑我是否会下地狱。. . . 也许我是那些耶稣最终会对其打雷的人之一，'离我远点。我从不认识你。. . 我很害怕，我在恶魔的雪橇上直接滑向地狱。"
Steven said, “It was an awful time, and I walked around under a cloud of constant, crushing dread and depression.” Steven desperately tried to find assurance of his salvation. He read the promises of God. He committed his life to Jesus. He read books based on the first epistle of John. He prayed for assurance. But nothing worked.
史蒂文说："那是一段可怕的时间，我在持续的、压迫性的恐惧和抑郁的阴云下走来走去。" 史蒂文拼命想找到他得救的保证。他阅读了上帝的应许。他把自己的生命交付给耶稣。他阅读基于约翰一书的书籍。他为保证而祷告。但没有任何效果。
Steven said, “If something didn't change, it's quite possible I could have ended up in a home for crazeballs. . . . But something did change. Something did pull me out of my nosedive. . . . God helped me understand two incredibly freeing things that gave me rock-solid assurance of my salvation: (1) I'm a colossal sinner. (2) Jesus is my only hope.”
史蒂文说："如果没有什么变化，我很可能会在一个疯子的家里结束生命。. . 但有些事情确实发生了变化。有些东西确实把我从低谷中拉了出来。. . . 神帮助我理解了两件令人难以置信的自由的事情，使我对自己的救赎有了坚如磐石的保证：（1）我是一个巨大的罪人。(2) 耶稣是我唯一的希望。
Like many of us, Steven had looked for assurance in the wrong place. He had been looking inward, trying to find the fruit of salvation; but the more deeply he looked at himself, the more he realized he was a sinner. Finally, he said, “The profoundly painful recognition of my own sinfulness began to drive me away from myself and to Jesus alone. . . I was looking for fruit on the tree when I should have been looking at the gardener who planted the tree. . . . I began to grasp that my assurance of salvation was only and always rooted in Christ and what he accomplished on my behalf.” To experience the blessed assurance, we must focus on Jesus, not on our shortcomings.
像我们许多人一样，史蒂芬在错误的地方寻找保证。他一直在向内寻找，试图找到救赎的果实；但他越是深入地审视自己，就越是意识到自己是个罪人。最后，他说："对自己罪性的深刻痛苦认识，开始驱使我远离自己，只向着耶稣。. . 我一直在寻找树上的果实，而我应该看的是栽种这棵树的园丁。. . 我开始明白，我对救赎的保证仅仅而且始终植根于基督和他为我所成就的一切"。为了体验有福的保证，我们必须专注于耶稣，而不是我们的缺点。
The Example of Fanny Crosby
范妮-克罗斯比的例子
Even though she was blinded at an early age, Fanny Crosby wrote more than 8,000 hymns during her lifetime. In 1873, her friend Phoebe P. Knapp played a tune for her and asked, “What does that tune say to you?” Fanny replied, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine.” Then, the words of a hymn flowed spontaneously from Fanny's heart. “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. O what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of his Spirit, washed in his blood. Perfect submission, perfect delight; visions of rapture now burst on my sight; angels descending bring from above echoes of mercy, whispers of love. Perfect submission, all is at rest. I, in my Savior, am happy and blessed. Watching and waiting, looking above, filled with his goodness, lost in his love.”
尽管范妮-克罗斯比在很小的时候就失明了，但她一生中写了8000多首赞美诗。1873年，她的朋友菲比-P-克纳普（Phoebe P. Knapp）为她演奏了一首曲子，并问道："这首曲子对你有什么意义？" 范妮回答说："有福的保证，耶稣是我的。" 然后，一首赞美诗的歌词自发地从范妮的心中流淌出来。"有福的保证，耶稣是我的。哦，这是多么神圣的荣耀的预示啊! 救恩的继承人，神的购买者，由他的灵所生，在他的血中洗净。完美的顺服，完美的喜悦；狂喜的景象现在迸发在我的眼前；天使降临，从上面带来怜悯的回声，爱的耳语。完美的顺服，一切都在平静中。我，在我的救主里，是快乐和幸福的。观察和等待，看着上面，被他的善意所充满，迷失在他的爱中。"
For more than a century, “Blessed Assurance” has been a favorite Christian hymn in the English-speaking world.
一个多世纪以来，"祝福的保证 "一直是英语世界中最受欢迎的基督教圣歌。
The Basis of Assurance
保证的基础
What was the secret to Fanny Crosby's amazing assurance? For one thing, her mind and heart were saturated with scripture. At the age of five, she began memorizing five chapters of the Bible every week. By the time she turned fifteen, she had memorized all four gospels, Genesis through Deuteronomy, Proverbs, the Song of Solomon, and many of the Psalms. The profound influence of God's word laid the foundation of her hope, joy, and assurance.
范妮-克罗斯比的惊人保证的秘密是什么？首先，她的思想和心灵都被经文所淹没。五岁时，她开始每周背诵五章圣经。在她15岁的时候，她已经记住了所有四本福音书、创世纪到申命记、箴言、所罗门之歌和许多诗篇。神的话语的深刻影响为她的希望、快乐和保证奠定了基础。
The more we read and absorb the scriptures, the more likely we are to share Fanny Crosby's confidence that God is with us and will be with us forever. The word of God is the primary source of blessed assurance for those who read it, believe it, meditate on it, and spend time with God in prayer.
我们越是阅读和吸收经文，就越有可能分享范妮-克罗斯比的信心，即上帝与我们同在并将永远与我们同在。神的话语是那些阅读它、相信它、默想它并在祷告中与神相处的人获得有福保证的主要来源。
Moreover, Crosby's hymn focuses on Jesus and the foretaste of heaven that we experience when we are born again of water and the Spirit (John 3:3-5). We are washed in his blood and purchased by God. We are heirs of salvation.
此外，克罗斯比的赞美诗侧重于耶稣和当我们从水和圣灵重生时经历的天堂的预感（约翰福音3:3-5）。我们被他的血洗净，被上帝购买。我们是救赎的继承人。
When we totally submit to Jesus in obedient faith, our sins are washed away. That fills us with rapture and delight. We no longer fear God's judgment. Instead, we envision angels descending from heaven echoing God's mercy and whispering messages of God's love.
当我们以顺从的信心完全顺服于耶稣时，我们的罪就被洗净了。这使我们充满了狂喜和快乐。我们不再害怕上帝的审判。相反，我们设想天使从天而降，呼应着上帝的怜悯，低声传递着上帝的爱。
In Jesus, we find spiritual rest. Stress and turmoil are replaced by peace and tranquility. Misery and anguish turn into happiness and blessing. As the Spirit transforms us into the likeness of Jesus, we are filled with his goodness and lost in his love; and we await his coming with eager anticipation.
在耶稣身上，我们找到了精神上的休息。压力和动荡被和平和安宁所取代。苦难和痛苦变成了幸福和祝福。当圣灵将我们变成耶稣的模样时，我们被他的良善所充满，迷失在他的爱中；我们热切地等待着他的到来。
Fellowship and Blessed Assurance
团契和祝福的保证
Christian fellowship, also, is vital to our assurance. It is said that faith is born in community, grows in community, and is perpetuated in community. Under normal circumstances, no one can sustain strong faith without the fellowship of other believers. That is why the inspired author of Hebrews admonishes, “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25).
基督徒的团契，对我们的保证也是至关重要的。有人说，信仰在群体中诞生，在群体中成长，在群体中延续。在正常情况下，如果没有其他信徒的团契，任何人都无法维持坚定的信仰。这就是为什么受启发的希伯来书的作者告诫说："我们要想一想，怎样才能互相勉励，走向爱和善行。我们不要像有些人的习惯那样放弃聚会，而要互相勉励，而且眼看着大限将至，更要如此"（希伯来书10:24-25）。
When we meet together for worship and fellowship, we deepen our relationship with God, and we look forward to meeting Jesus when “he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed” (2 Thessalonians 1:10).
当我们聚集在一起敬拜和团契时，我们加深了与神的关系，我们期待着在 "他来了，在他的圣民中得荣耀，在所有相信的人中受赞叹"（帖撒罗尼迦后书1:10）时见到耶稣。
During the week, many of us mix and mingle with worldly people. We are tempted to think about entertainment, fashion, pleasure, popularity, power, recreation, sex, and wealth–everything but God. If we are not careful, we will buy into the perverted standards of secular society.
在一周内，我们中的许多人与世俗的人混在一起。我们被诱惑去考虑娱乐、时尚、快乐、知名度、权力、娱乐、性和财富--除了上帝以外的一切。如果我们不小心，我们就会买入世俗社会的变态标准。
We need the fellowship of believers in order to stay on track spiritually. We need to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs that call us back to God. It is crucial that we partake of the Lord's Supper and focus on the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. As we eat the unleavened bread, we are reminded of the body of Jesus as he took our place on the cross. As we sip the fruit of the vine, we remember that he bled and died so that we might live. In fellowship with other believers, we are assured that Jesus' sacrificial death is the source of our salvation.
我们需要信徒的团契，以便在精神上保持正轨。我们需要唱诗篇、赞美诗，以及呼唤我们回到神身边的灵歌。至关重要的是，我们要吃主的晚餐，关注耶稣的死亡、埋葬和复活。当我们吃无酵饼时，我们会想起耶稣的身体，因为他在十字架上代替我们的位置。当我们啜饮葡萄树的果实时，我们记得他流血和死亡，以便我们可以活着。在与其他信徒的团契中，我们确信耶稣的牺牲性死亡是我们得救的来源。
Coming together to study God's word, to discuss it, to apply it to our lives, and to hear it proclaimed with passion from the pulpit draws us closer to God and to his Son, Jesus Christ, the source of our salvation (Hebrews 5:8-9). In the word of God, we hear the voice of God. As we hear it preached, as we read it in private, as we meditate upon it in solitude, as we discuss it with our fellow Christians, the truth of God fills our minds, comforts our hearts, and blesses us with assurance.
聚在一起研究神的话语，讨论它，将它应用到我们的生活中，并听到讲台上充满激情的宣讲，使我们更接近神和他的儿子耶稣基督，我们救赎的源泉（希伯来书5:8-9）。在神的话语中，我们听到了神的声音。当我们听到它的宣讲，当我们私下阅读它，当我们独自默想它，当我们与我们的基督徒同伴讨论它时，神的真理充满了我们的思想，安慰了我们的心，并为我们的保证而祝福。
Assurance in Baptism
洗礼中的保证
When we are baptized into Christ, and the water flows over our body, we are buried with him (Romans 6:3). There, we are washed clean by his sacrificial blood. There, we are united with him in a death like his, and we are united with him in a resurrection like his. We rise from the water to walk a new life. We pass from death to life (Romans 6:4-7; Colossians 2:11-12). O what joy and assurance we receive from our new birth (John 3:3-5)!
当我们受洗进入基督，水流过我们的身体，我们就与他一起埋葬了（罗马书6:3）。在那里，我们被他牺牲的血洗净。在那里，我们在像他一样的死亡中与他联合，我们在像他一样的复活中与他联合。我们从水中升起，走向新的生活。我们从死到生（罗马书6：4-7；歌罗西书2：11-12）。哦，我们从新生中得到了多大的喜乐和保证（约翰福音3:3-5）!
When I was a young preacher, I baptized a man who was burdened by guilt and regret. When he came up out of the water, he leaned over, put one hand against the wall of the baptistery, and shouted, “Thank God! I'm free!” That was the happiest day of his life. He finally had assurance that he was right with God and all his sins had been washed away (Acts 2:38; 22:16). Do you remember the joy you felt the day you were baptized into Christ?
当我还是一个年轻的传教士时，我为一个被内疚和悔恨所累的人施洗。当他从水里出来时，他俯下身子，把一只手放在洗礼堂的墙上，并喊道："感谢上帝！我自由了！我自由了!" 那是他生命中最快乐的一天。他终于得到了保证，他与神的关系是正确的，他所有的罪都被洗净了（徒2:38；22:16）。你还记得你受洗进入基督的那一天的喜悦吗？
Legitimate Self-Examination
合法的自我检查
Although it is a mistake to focus on our sins while ignoring the grace of God and the sacrifice of Christ, there is a time and place for self-examination. Paul encouraged Christians in Corinth to examine themselves before eating the Lord's supper. He said, “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Therefore, whoever eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats the bread and drinks the cup” (1 Corinthians 11:26-28).
虽然专注于我们的罪而忽视神的恩典和基督的牺牲是一个错误，但自我检讨是有时间和地点的。保罗鼓励哥林多的基督徒在吃主的晚餐前检讨自己。他说："因为你们每逢吃这饼，喝这杯，就是宣告主的死，直到他来。因此，无论谁以不配的方式吃主的饼，喝主的杯，都是犯了主的身体和血的罪。人在吃饼喝杯之前，应当省察自己"（哥林多前书11：26-28）。
Paul is not saying to us, “You're going to hell if you partake of the Lord's supper after committing a sin during the week.” If that were the case, no one could ever partake of the Lord's Supper. Paul is saying that we should examine our attitude to be sure we are not being flippant as we eat the bread and drink the cup of the Lord. If, upon reflection, we see sin in our lives, we repent, confess it to God, and ask for forgiveness. We thank Jesus for his sacrifice on our behalf. With that, our blessed assurance is renewed.
保罗不是在对我们说："如果你在一周内犯了罪之后再吃主的晚餐，你会下地狱"。如果是这样的话，没有人可以参加主的晚餐。保罗是说，我们应该检查我们的态度，以确定我们在吃主的饼和喝主的杯时没有轻率。如果经过反思，我们看到我们生活中的罪，我们要忏悔，向神承认，并请求宽恕。我们感谢耶稣为我们做出的牺牲。就这样，我们有福的保证得到了更新。
Tell Satan to Get Lost
叫撒旦滚蛋
As Kevin DeYoung, Reformed Evangelical Theologian, wrote in an article posted on the Internet, “Too often, the voice of our adversary sounds in our ears, ‘You are no child of God. Would God allow a wretched sinner like you into his family?' Our flesh joins in as a ready accomplice, and the struggle can be great. However, such indictments cannot stand in the light of God's Word. His Word pierces such darkness and resounds louder than any accusations.”
正如改革派福音派神学家凯文-德扬（Kevin DeYoung）在互联网上发表的一篇文章中写道："很多时候，我们对手的声音在我们耳边响起：'你不是神的孩子。上帝会允许像你这样可恶的罪人进入他的家庭吗？我们的肉体作为一个随时准备好的帮凶加入进来，斗争可能是巨大的。然而，这样的指控在神的话语面前是站不住脚的。他的话语刺穿了这种黑暗，比任何指责都更响亮"。
If Satan attacks you and reminds you of where you've been, remind him of where he is going. Thank God for our victory in Jesus. Let us celebrate our blessed assurance.
如果撒旦攻击你，提醒你曾经去过的地方，就提醒他要去的地方。为我们在耶稣里的胜利感谢神。让我们庆祝我们有福的保证。
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