BA 4 Assurance of God's Love
BA 4 神爱的保证
Lesson Four
第四课
Assurance of God's Love
神爱的保证
The daughter of a well-known preacher in Los Angeles lost a leg as the result of a terrible skiing accident. After she came home from the hospital, her famous father cut a rose from his garden and brought it to her. He began pulling petals from the rose saying, “He loves me.” “He loves me not.” He planned to end the game by saying, “He loves me.” But before he could finish, his daughter grabbed the rose from his hand and said, “This is to my Heavenly Father: He loves me. He loves me. He loves me.”
洛杉矶一位知名传教士的女儿因一次可怕的滑雪事故而失去了一条腿。她从医院回家后，她著名的父亲从他的花园里剪了一朵玫瑰，并把它带到她面前。他开始从玫瑰上拔出花瓣说，"他爱我"。"他不爱我"。他计划以 "他爱我 "来结束游戏。但在他说完之前，他的女儿从他手中抢过玫瑰，说："这是给我的天父的。他爱我。他爱我。他爱我。"
The love of God is the greatest theme in the Bible. His eternal plan is based on love. In his infinite wisdom, God foresaw that Adam and Eve would believe Satan's lie. He knew that their descendants would also be deceived by Satan's lies. Consequently, before the creation of the world, God had a plan to redeem human beings from evil.
上帝的爱是《圣经》中最大的主题。他永恒的计划是基于爱。上帝以他无限的智慧，预见到了亚当和夏娃会相信撒旦的谎言。他知道他们的后代也会被撒旦的谎言所欺骗。因此，在创造世界之前，上帝就有一个将人类从邪恶中救赎出来的计划。
A Mistaken View of God
错误的上帝观
Some theologians portray the God of the Old Testament as an angry, self-centered, judgmental, vindictive God. Nothing could be further from the truth. Everything God did in the Old Testament was motivated by love. His aim was to fulfill his eternal plan by bringing Jesus Christ into the world to save us from self-destruction. When evil people threatened God's plan, he exercised his sovereign right to remove the roadblock. His motivation was pure, unselfish, sacrificial love for us.
一些神学家将《旧约》中的上帝描绘成一个愤怒的、以自我为中心的、审判的、报复性的上帝。没有什么能比这更接近事实了。上帝在旧约中所做的一切都以爱为动力。他的目的是为了实现他永恒的计划，把耶稣基督带到世界上，把我们从自我毁灭中拯救出来。当邪恶的人威胁到上帝的计划时，他行使了他的主权权利，清除了路障。他的动机是对我们纯粹的、无私的、牺牲性的爱。
The Love of God in the Old Testament
旧约中的上帝之爱
In Psalm 17:7, King David prayed, “Show the wonder of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes.” God loves and protects us from evil. Again David writes, “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him” (Psalm 103:11). When we reverence and respect God, he loves us with a love as big as the universe. Such love is beyond our understanding.
在诗篇17:7中，大卫王祷告说："你要显出你大爱的奇妙，你用你的右手拯救那些躲避你的敌人"。神爱我们并保护我们远离邪恶。大卫再次写道："因为天有多高过地，他对敬畏他的人的爱也有多大"（诗篇103：11）。当我们崇敬和尊重上帝时，他就会用像宇宙一样大的爱来爱我们。这种爱是我们无法理解的。
In Psalm 118:1, the Psalmist sings, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.”
在诗篇118:1中，诗篇作者唱道："感谢耶和华，因为他是好的；他的爱存到永远"。
The prophet Jeremiah declares, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him’” (Lamentations 3:22-24, NRSV).
先知耶利米宣称："耶和华的慈爱永不止息，他的恩惠永不止息；每天早晨都是新的；你的信实是大的。我的灵魂说：'耶和华是我的分，'所以我要盼望他'"（《哀歌》3:22-24，NRSV）。
God's Love Portrayed in Hosea
《何西阿书》中描绘的神的爱
The most graphic portrayal of the love of God in the Old Testament is found in the book of Hosea. In Hosea's day, the Israelites were living like spiritual prostitutes. They were betraying God's love by chasing after other gods. To convey the depth of his agonizing pain and sorrow, God used Hosea as an object lesson. He said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom, and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord” (Hosea 1:2, NRSV).
旧约中对上帝之爱最生动的描写见于《何西阿书》。在何西阿的时代，以色列人的生活就像精神上的妓女。他们因追逐其他神而背叛了神的爱。为了表达他痛苦和悲伤的深度，神用何西阿作为一个实物课。他对何西阿说："你去娶淫乱的妻子，生淫乱的儿女，因为这地离弃耶和华，犯了大淫乱"（何西阿1：2，NRSV）。
Hosea went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. And the Lord said to him, “Name him “Jezreel” (Hosea 1:3-4). “Jezreel” means “God sows” or “God plants seeds.” Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. God said to Hosea, “Name her Lo-ruhamah”(Hosea 1:6). “Lo-ruhamah” means “not pitied” (Hosea 1:6), suggesting that Hosea may not have been the father of this little girl. After Gomer weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived again and bore a son. This time, God said to Hosea, “Name him Lo-ammi” (Hosea 1:8-9). “Lo-ammi” means “not my people,” indicating that Hosea was not the boy's father.
何西阿去娶了迪布雷姆的女儿歌篾，她就怀了孕，给他生了一个儿子。耶和华对他说："给他起名叫耶斯列"（何西阿1：3-4）。"耶斯列 "的意思是 "上帝播种 "或 "上帝种下的种子"。歌篾又怀孕了，生了一个女儿。神对何西阿说："给她起名叫罗-鲁哈玛"（何西阿1：6）。"Lo-ruhamah "的意思是 "不被可怜"（何西阿书1:6），表明何西阿可能不是这个小女孩的父亲。在歌篾给罗-鲁哈玛断奶后，她再次怀孕并生了一个儿子。这一次，神对何西阿说："给他起名叫罗阿米"（何西阿1：8-9）。"Lo-ammi "的意思是 "不是我的子民"，表明何西阿不是这孩子的父亲。
In chapter two, Hosea says to the children, “Plead with your mother, plead–for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband–that she put away her whoring from her face, and her adultery from between her breasts” (Hosea 2:1). Gomer's prostitution had destroyed their marriage.
在第二章中，何西阿对孩子们说："向你们的母亲恳求，恳求--她不是我的妻子，我也不是她的丈夫--她要从她的脸上除掉她的娼妓，从她的两乳之间除掉她的奸淫"（何西阿2：1）。歌篾的卖淫行为已经破坏了他们的婚姻。
Hosea cries, “Upon her children also I will have no pity because they are children of whoredom. For their mother has played the whore; she who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers; for they give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink’” (Hosea 2:4-5).
何西阿喊道："对她的孩子我也不怜悯，因为他们是淫乱的孩子。因为他们的母亲扮演娼妓，怀他们的人行为可耻。因为她说：'我要去找我的情人，因为他们给我食物和水，给我羊毛和亚麻，给我油和饮料'"（何西阿书2：4-5）。
Gomer's debauchery sent her into a downward spiral. Instead of getting rich, she became poor. Instead of finding freedom, she became a slave. She was in bondage to a pimp or a businessman who finally sold her on the auction block for the price of a slave.
歌篾的放荡使她进入了一个下行的漩涡。她没有发财，反而成了穷人。她没有找到自由，反而成了奴隶。她被皮条客或商人束缚，最后以奴隶的价格把她卖到拍卖场。
God said to Hosea, “Go, love a woman who has a lover and is an adulteress, just as the Lord loves the people of Israel, though they turn to other gods” (Hosea 3:1).
神对何西阿说："你去爱那有情人、有奸情的妇人，正如耶和华爱以色列民，虽然他们归向别神"（何西阿3:1）。
So Hosea “bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer of barley and a measure of wine” (Hosea 3:2).
所以何西阿 "用十五两银子和一荷包大麦及一斗酒买下她"（何西阿3:2）。
God used Hosea's purchase of Gomer to illustrate that he could not stop loving the Israelites even though they were unfaithful to him. God said, “Therefore, I will now allure her . . . and speak tenderly to her” (Hosea 2:14). Switching genders, God said, “When Israel was a child, I loved him. . . . I led them with cords of human kindness, with bands of love. I was to them like those who lift infants to their cheeks, I bent down to them and fed them. . . . How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? . . My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my fierce anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and no mortal, the Holy One in your midst” (Hosea 11:1,4,8,9).
上帝用何西阿购买歌篾的事来说明，即使以色列人对他不忠，他也不能停止爱他们。上帝说："因此，我现在要引诱她......对她温柔地说话"（何西阿书2:14）。换个性别，上帝说："当以色列还是个孩子时，我就爱他。. . 我用人情的绳索，用爱的带子引导他们。我对他们就像那些把婴儿举到脸颊上的人，我向他们弯腰，喂他们。. . . 以法莲，我怎能放弃你？以色列啊，我怎能交出你呢？. 我的心在我里面退缩，我的慈悲心渐渐暖和，温柔。我必不发烈怒；我必不再毁灭以法莲；因为我是神，不是凡人，是你中间的圣者"（何西阿书11：1,4,8,9）。
The first time I studied the book of Hosea in depth, I was appalled by Gomer's unfaithfulness to Hosea. Then it hit me with the force of a sledge hammer: “I am Gomer. I have been unfaithful to God. My sins are a mountain heaped up.” My heart broke with grief, and I wept bitterly as Peter wept after denying that he knew Jesus.
我第一次深入学习《何西阿书》时，对歌篾对何西阿的不忠感到震惊。然后它以大锤的力量击中了我。"我是歌篾。我一直对神不忠。我的罪孽是堆积如山。我的心悲痛欲绝，我痛哭流涕，就像彼得否认他认识耶稣后哭泣一样。
The pain that pierced Hosea's heart when Gomer chased after other men is the pain that our sins inflict upon the heart of God. The message of Hosea is that God cannot stop loving us in spite of our sins. He cannot give us up. His eternal plan is to buy us back from the forces of evil, as Hosea bought Gomer on the auction block.
当歌篾追逐其他男人时，刺痛了何西阿的心，这就是我们的罪孽对上帝的心所造成的痛苦。何西阿的信息是，尽管我们犯了罪，上帝不能停止爱我们。他不能放弃我们。他永恒的计划是将我们从邪恶的力量中买回来，就像何西阿在拍卖场上买下歌篾一样。
God's Love Portrayed by Jesus
耶稣所描绘的上帝之爱
One night, a Pharisee by the name of Nicodemus came to Jesus for an interview, and Jesus revealed to him some unexpected truths. During their conversation, Jesus said, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15).
一天晚上，一个名叫尼哥底母的法利赛人来找耶稣谈话，耶稣向他揭示了一些意想不到的真理。在他们的谈话中，耶稣说："正如摩西在沙漠中把蛇举起来一样，人子也必须被举起来，叫一切信他的人得着永生"（约翰福音3：14-15）。
The late Scottish author, William Barclay says that the phrase “must be lifted up” refers to two things: (1) to the crucifixion of Christ, and (2) to the ascension of Christ. Then, Barclay declares that the phrase “believes in him” means three things: (1) that God is the loving Father Jesus declared him to be, (2) that Jesus is the Son of God who tells us the truth about God and life, and therefore, (3) “whatever he says, we must do; whatever he commands, we must obey.” Believing in Jesus means “unswerving and unquestioning obedience to Jesus and a life lived in the certainty that what Jesus says is true.”
已故苏格兰作家威廉-巴克利说，"必须被举起来 "这句话指的是两件事：（1）基督被钉死，（2）基督升天。然后，巴克莱宣称，"相信他 "这句话意味着三件事：（1）上帝是耶稣宣称的慈父，（2）耶稣是上帝的儿子，他告诉我们关于上帝和生命的真相，因此，（3）"他说什么，我们就必须做什么；他命令什么，我们就必须服从"。信耶稣意味着 "坚定不移地顺从耶稣，并在生活中确信耶稣所说的都是真的"。
Jesus continued his conversation with Nicodemus by saying, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). This has been called “the golden text” of the Bible. It summarizes the gospel message in a single sentence. It tells us that it was God who initiated the plan of salvation. It tells us that God's eternal plan was motivated by love. It tells us that God loves everyone in the world and does not want anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9). It tells us that he loves us so much that he gave his only Son as a sacrifice for our sins so that we could live with him forever. (We will elaborate on the logic behind his plan in Lesson Six.)
耶稣继续他与尼哥底母的对话说："神爱世人，甚至将他的独生子赐给他们，叫一切信他的，不至灭亡，反得永生"（约翰福音3：16）。这句话被称为圣经中的 "金句"。它用一句话概括了福音的信息。它告诉我们，是上帝启动了救赎计划。它告诉我们，上帝的永恒计划是以爱为动力的。它告诉我们，上帝爱世界上的每一个人，不希望任何人灭亡（彼得后书3:9）。它告诉我们，他是如此爱我们，以至于将他的独生子作为我们的罪的祭品，使我们能够与他永远生活在一起。(我们将在第六课详述他的计划背后的逻辑）。
Who Will Be Saved?
谁将会被拯救？
Unfortunately, many people have reduced the love of God to permissiveness, ignoring the fact that God is holy and cannot tolerate sin (Habakkuk 1:13). Even so, God loves us and wants to save us from bondage to evil and the consequences of sin.
不幸的是，许多人把神的爱简化为放任，忽视了神是圣洁的，不能容忍罪的事实（哈巴谷书1：13）。即便如此，神还是爱我们，想把我们从邪恶的束缚和罪的后果中拯救出来。
Jesus said to Nicodemus, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe in him is condemned already because he has not believed in God's one and only Son” (John 3:18). God loves us and has made the ultimate sacrifice to save us. Sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1- 2), but Jesus reconciles us to God. If we reject Jesus, we cannot blame God for condemning us. We have condemned ourselves.
耶稣对尼哥底母说："因为神差他的儿子降世，不是要定世人的罪，而是要藉着他拯救世人。信他的人不被定罪，不信他的人已经被定罪了，因为他没有相信上帝的独生子"（约翰福音3：18）。上帝爱我们，为拯救我们做出了最终的牺牲。罪使我们与神分离（以赛亚书59：1-2），但耶稣使我们与神和解。如果我们拒绝耶稣，我们不能责怪上帝对我们的谴责。我们已经定了自己的罪。
Jesus continues: “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil things hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his evil deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God” (John 3:19-21).
耶稣继续说。"这就是判决结果。光已经来到世上，人却爱黑暗，不爱光明，因为他们的行为是恶的。凡行恶事的人都恨光，不愿意到光里来，怕他的恶行被人看见。但凡靠真理而活的，就进了光，叫人明明看见他所做的，是藉着神做的"（约翰福音3：19-21）。
Jesus' words are being fulfilled in our own culture. Some Hollywood celebrities blaspheme the name of Jesus and throw curses at him on national television. The bad news for them is “the wages of sin is death.” The good news for us is that “the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). This good news gives us blessed assurance.
耶稣的话语正在我们自己的文化中得到应验。一些好莱坞的名人亵渎耶稣的名字，在国家电视台上对他进行诅咒。对他们来说，坏消息是 "罪的工价就是死亡"。对我们来说，好消息是 "神的恩赐在我们的主基督耶稣里是永生"（罗马书6：23）。这个好消息给了我们幸福的保证。
Amazing Grace Demonstrated
奇异恩典的展示
Listen to Paul: “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8).
听保罗说："你看，在适当的时候，当我们还无能为力的时候，基督为不敬虔的人而死。很少会有人为义人而死，尽管有人可能敢为好人而死。但神在此表明他自己对我们的爱：我们还作罪人的时候，基督为我们死了"（罗马书5:6-8）。
Christ's death on the cross is the greatest demonstration of God's love in human history. God did not wait for us to “shape up” before sending Jesus to die for us. No, we were “powerless” to resist Satan's temptations. We were “ungodly.” We were “still sinners.” We were God's enemies when Christ died for us (Romans 5:6-8). Never before had anyone voluntarily died for adulterers, robbers, bullies, cheaters, child molesters, drug addicts, drunkards, liars, murderers, prostitutes, rabble-rousers, rapists, and wife-beaters. Yet, Christ suffered and died for all of us. He offers to deliver us from bondage, and he makes it possible for us to be called children of God.
基督在十字架上的死亡是人类历史上上帝之爱的最大展示。上帝没有等待我们 "成型"，就派耶稣为我们而死。不，我们是 "无力 "抵抗撒旦的诱惑的。我们是 "不敬虔的"。我们是 "仍然是罪人"。当基督为我们而死时，我们是上帝的敌人（罗马书5：6-8）。以前从来没有人自愿为奸夫、强盗、恶霸、骗子、娈童、吸毒者、酒鬼、骗子、杀人犯、妓女、乌合之众、强奸犯和妻妾而死。然而，基督为我们所有人受苦和死亡。他提出将我们从束缚中解救出来，他使我们有可能被称为神的孩子。
The apostle John declares, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are” (1 John 3:1).
使徒约翰宣称："父所赐给我们的爱是何等大，叫我们称为神的儿女。这就是我们的身份"（约翰一书3:1）。
When we believe in Jesus enough to turn away from sin in repentance and to be baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of our sins, we receive the Holy Spirit as a gift from God (Acts 2:38). We are born again of water and the Spirit (John 3:3-5), and we become God's beloved sons and daughters.
当我们足够相信耶稣，在悔改中远离罪恶，并接受洗礼进入基督，使我们的罪得到赦免，我们就会接受圣灵，作为上帝的礼物（徒2:38）。我们由水和圣灵重生（约翰福音3:3-5），我们成为上帝的爱子和爱女。
John writes: “This is love; not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10).
约翰写道："这就是爱；不是我们爱上帝，而是他爱我们，派他的儿子为我们的罪作了赎罪祭"（约翰一书4:10）。
It is reassuring to know that God loves us so much that he sacrificed his own Son to save us.
知道上帝如此爱我们，以至于牺牲自己的儿子来拯救我们，这是令人欣慰的。
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