使徒行傳26:1-32

 

26:1 亞基帕對保羅說：「准你為自己辯明。」於是保羅伸手分訴，說：
26:2 「亞基帕王啊，猶太人所告我的一切事，今日得在你面前分訴，實為萬幸；
26:3 更可幸的，是你熟悉猶太人的規矩和他們的辯論；所以求你耐心聽我。
26:4 我從起初在本國的民中，並在耶路撒冷，自幼為人如何，猶太人都知道。
26:5 他們若肯作見證就曉得，我從起初是按著我們教中最嚴緊的教門作了法利賽人。
26:6 現在我站在這裡受審，是因為指望上帝向我們祖宗所應許的；
26:7 這應許，我們十二個支派，晝夜切切地事奉上帝，都指望得著。王啊，我被猶太人控告，就是因這指望。
26:8 上帝叫死人復活，你們為甚麼看作不可信的呢？
26:9 從前我自己以為應當多方攻擊拿撒勒人耶穌的名，
26:10 我在耶路撒冷也曾這樣行了。既從祭司長得了權柄，我就把許多聖徒囚在監裡。他們被殺，我也出名定案。
26:11 在各會堂，我屢次用刑強逼他們說褻瀆的話，又分外惱恨他們，甚至追逼他們，直到外邦的城邑。」
26:12 「那時，我領了祭司長的權柄和命令，往大馬士革去。
26:13 王啊，我在路上，晌午的時候，看見從天發光，比日頭還亮，四面照著我並與我同行的人。
26:14 我們都仆倒在地，我就聽見有聲音用希伯來話向我說：『掃羅！掃羅！為甚麼逼迫我？你用腳踢刺是難的！』
26:15 我說：『主啊，你是誰？』主說：『我就是你所逼迫的耶穌。
26:16 你起來站著，我特意向你顯現，要派你作執事，作見證，將你所看見的事和我將要指示你的事證明出來。
26:17 我也要救你脫離百姓和外邦人的手。
26:18 我差你到他們那裡去，要叫他們的眼睛得開，從黑暗中歸向光明，從撒但權下歸向上帝；又因信我，得蒙赦罪，和一切成聖的人同得基業。』」
26:19 「亞基帕王啊，我故此沒有違背那從天上來的異象；
26:20 先在大馬士革，後在耶路撒冷和猶太全地，以及外邦，勸勉他們應當悔改歸向上帝，行事與悔改的心相稱。
26:21 因此，猶太人在殿裡拿住我，想要殺我。
26:22 然而我蒙上帝的幫助，直到今日還站得住，對著尊貴、卑賤、老幼作見證；所講的並不外乎眾先知和摩西所說將來必成的事，
26:23 就是基督必須受害，並且因從死裡復活，要首先把光明的道傳給百姓和外邦人。」
26:24 保羅這樣分訴，非斯都大聲說：「保羅，你癲狂了吧。你的學問太大，反叫你癲狂了！」
26:25 保羅說：「非斯都大人，我不是癲狂，我說的乃是真實明白話。
26:26 王也曉得這些事，所以我向王放膽直言，我深信這些事沒有一件向王隱藏的，因都不是在背地裡做的。
26:27 亞基帕王啊，你信先知嗎？我知道你是信的。」
26:28 亞基帕對保羅說：「你想少微一勸，便叫我作基督徒啊（或譯：你這樣勸我，幾乎叫我作基督徒了）！」
26:29 保羅說：「無論是少勸是多勸，我向上帝所求的，不但你一個人，就是今天一切聽我的，都要像我一樣，只是不要像我有這些鎖鍊。」
26:30 於是，王和巡撫並百妮基與同坐的人都起來，
26:31 退到裡面，彼此談論說：「這人並沒有犯甚麼該死該綁的罪。」
26:32 亞基帕又對非斯都說：「這人若沒有上告於凱撒，就可以釋放了。」

 

Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.”

So Paul motioned with his hand and began his defense: ² “King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews, ³ and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.

⁴ “The Jewish people all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child, from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem. ⁵ They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I conformed to the strictest sect of our religion, living as a Pharisee. ⁶ And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our ancestors that I am on trial today. ⁷ This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. King Agrippa, it is because of this hope that these Jews are accusing me. ⁸ Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?

⁹ “I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. ¹⁰ And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the Lord’s people in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. ¹¹ Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. I was so obsessed with persecuting them that I even hunted them down in foreign cities.

¹² “On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. ¹³ About noon, King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. ¹⁴ We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic,^[a] ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

¹⁵ “Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’

“ ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ¹⁶ ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. ¹⁷ I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them ¹⁸ to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

¹⁹ “So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. ²⁰ First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds. ²¹ That is why some Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. ²² But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen— ²³ that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles.”

²⁴ At this point Festus interrupted Paul’s defense. “You are out of your mind, Paul!” he shouted. “Your great learning is driving you insane.”

²⁵ “I am not insane, most excellent Festus,” Paul replied. “What I am saying is true and reasonable. ²⁶ The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner. ²⁷ King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.”

²⁸ Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?”

²⁹ Paul replied, “Short time or long—I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.”

³⁰ The king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them. ³¹ After they left the room, they began saying to one another, “This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment.”

³² Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”

 

***********

 

   保羅在亞基帕王和非斯都大人面前見證自己的得救過程，雖然簡短卻是明確的。而且保羅勇敢地宣告：「「亞基帕王啊，我故此沒有違背那從天上來的異象！」

 

   保羅從天上來的異象是什麼？這不是他用自己的想法揣摩出來的，也不是甚麼神聖的想像力而得的產物，完全是從主耶穌來的，主耶穌用大光呼召他的時候說：「你起來站著，我特意向你顯現，要派你作執事，作見證，將你所看見的事和我將要指示你的事證明出來。我也要救你脫離百姓和外邦人的手。我差你到他們那裡去，要叫他們的眼睛得開，從黑暗中歸向光明，從撒但權下歸向上帝；又因信我，得蒙赦罪，和一切成聖的人同得基業。」

 

    保羅宣告自己的異象不是要高抬自己、彰顯自己，而是要完成主給他的使命，就是讓上帝使用來拯救人脫離魔鬼的權勢，使人可以透過耶穌基督的恩典歸向上帝，並且承受上帝所賜永遠的基業！

 

    許多基督徒忘記信主的目的是要「歸向上帝，得蒙赦罪，和一切成聖的人同得基業」。和別人一樣看重今世的豐盛，將時間花在其上，忘記要親近主，以主為榮，並永遠享受祂的同在！求主保守我們，從「今世豐盛―的迷失走出來，邁向上帝要賜給我們永遠的國！

 

 

 

使徒行傳25章

      使徒行傳25:1-27 ,

使徒行傳25:1-27

 

25:1 非斯都到了任，過了三天，就從凱撒利亞上耶路撒冷去。
25:2 祭司長和猶太人的首領向他控告保羅，
25:3 又央告他，求他的情，將保羅提到耶路撒冷來，他們要在路上埋伏殺害他。
25:4 非斯都卻回答說：「保羅押在凱撒利亞，我自己快要往那裡去」；
25:5 又說：「你們中間有權勢的人與我一同下去，那人若有甚麼不是，就可以告他。」
25:6 非斯都在他們那裡住了不過十天八天，就下凱撒利亞去；第二天坐堂，吩咐將保羅提上來。
25:7 保羅來了，那些從耶路撒冷下來的猶太人周圍站著，將許多重大的事控告他，都是不能證實的。
25:8 保羅分訴說：「無論猶太人的律法，或是聖殿，或是凱撒，我都沒有干犯。」
25:9 但非斯都要討猶太人的喜歡，就問保羅說：「你願意上耶路撒冷去，在那裡聽我審斷這事嗎？」
25:10 保羅說：「我站在凱撒的堂前，這就是我應當受審的地方。我向猶太人並沒有行過甚麼不義的事，這也是你明明知道的。
25:11 我若行了不義的事，犯了甚麼該死的罪，就是死，我也不辭。他們所告我的事若都不實，就沒有人可以把我交給他們。我要上告於凱撒。」
25:12 非斯都和議會商量了，就說：「你既上告於凱撒，可以往凱撒那裡去。」
25:13 過了些日子，亞基帕王和百妮基氏來到凱撒利亞，問非斯都安。
25:14 在那裡住了多日，非斯都將保羅的事告訴王，說：「這裡有一個人，是腓力斯留在監裡的。
25:15 我在耶路撒冷的時候，祭司長和猶太的長老將他的事稟報了我，求我定他的罪。
25:16 我對他們說，無論甚麼人，被告還沒有和原告對質，未得機會分訴所告他的事，就先定他的罪，這不是羅馬人的條例。
25:17 及至他們都來到這裡，我就不耽延，第二天便坐堂，吩咐把那人提上來。
25:18 告他的人站著告他；所告的，並沒有我所逆料的那等惡事。
25:19 不過是有幾樣辯論，為他們自己敬鬼神的事，又為一個人名叫耶穌，是已經死了，保羅卻說他是活著的。
25:20 這些事當怎樣究問，我心裡作難，所以問他說：『你願意上耶路撒冷去，在那裡為這些事聽審嗎？』
25:21 但保羅求我留下他，要聽皇上審斷，我就吩咐把他留下，等我解他到凱撒那裡去。」
25:22 亞基帕對非斯都說：「我自己也願聽這人辯論。」非斯都說：「明天你可以聽。」
25:23 第二天，亞基帕和百妮基大張威勢而來，同著眾千夫長和城裡的尊貴人進了公廳。非斯都吩咐一聲，就有人將保羅帶進來。
25:24 非斯都說：「亞基帕王和在這裡的諸位啊，你們看這人，就是一切猶太人，在耶路撒冷和這裡，曾向我懇求、呼叫說：『不可容他再活著。』
25:25 但我查明他沒有犯甚麼該死的罪，並且他自己上告於皇帝，所以我定意把他解去。
25:26 論到這人，我沒有確實的事可以奏明主上。因此，我帶他到你們面前，也特意帶他到你亞基帕王面前，為要在查問之後有所陳奏。
25:27 據我看來，解送囚犯，不指明他的罪案是不合理的。」

 

Three days after arriving in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, ² where the chief priests and the Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul. ³ They requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way. ⁴ Festus answered, “Paul is being held at Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon. ⁵ Let some of your leaders come with me, and if the man has done anything wrong, they can press charges against him there.”

⁶ After spending eight or ten days with them, Festus went down to Caesarea. The next day he convened the court and ordered that Paul be brought before him. ⁷ When Paul came in, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him. They brought many serious charges against him, but they could not prove them.

⁸ Then Paul made his defense: “I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar.”

⁹ Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?”

¹⁰ Paul answered: “I am now standing before Caesar’s court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well. ¹¹ If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”

¹² After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!”

¹³ A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. ¹⁴ Since they were spending many days there, Festus discussed Paul’s case with the king. He said: “There is a man here whom Felix left as a prisoner. ¹⁵ When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked that he be condemned.

¹⁶ “I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over anyone before they have faced their accusers and have had an opportunity to defend themselves against the charges. ¹⁷ When they came here with me, I did not delay the case, but convened the court the next day and ordered the man to be brought in. ¹⁸ When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected. ¹⁹ Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive. ²⁰ I was at a loss how to investigate such matters; so I asked if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial there on these charges. ²¹ But when Paul made his appeal to be held over for the Emperor’s decision, I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar.”

²² Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear this man myself.”

He replied, “Tomorrow you will hear him.”

²³ The next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience room with the high-ranking military officers and the prominent men of the city. At the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. ²⁴ Festus said: “King Agrippa, and all who are present with us, you see this man! The whole Jewish community has petitioned me about him in Jerusalem and here in Caesarea, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. ²⁵ I found he had done nothing deserving of death, but because he made his appeal to the Emperor I decided to send him to Rome. ²⁶ But I have nothing definite to write to His Majesty about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that as a result of this investigation I may have something to write. ²⁷ For I think it is unreasonable to send a prisoner on to Rome without specifying the charges against him.”

 

***********

 

    雖然保羅處於不公平的狀態，上帝還是一直保守著他。也因為一任一任的巡撫更替，讓保羅一直在監理。也因為這樣，他可以向權貴見證耶穌基督。

 

    人生也有許多不如意事，但是我們可以倚靠主來度過，因為有主的話，我們將有最完美的結局，就是與主耶穌同作王到永遠，這有什麼不好呢？

 

    願主保守我們直到那日！

 

 

 

 

帖撒羅尼迦前書1:6-8

 

1:6 並且你們在大難之中，蒙了聖靈所賜的喜樂，領受真道就傚法我們，也傚法了主；
1:7 甚至你們作了馬其頓和亞該亞所有信主之人的榜樣。
1:8 因為主的道從你們那裡已經傳揚出來。你們向上帝的信心不但在馬其頓和亞該亞，就是在各處也都傳開了，所以不用我們說甚麼話。

 

⁶ You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. ⁷ And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. ⁸ The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it,

 

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    帖撒羅尼迦教會的信徒在保羅的眼中是：馬其頓和亞該亞所有信主之人的榜樣。為什麼保羅這樣稱許他們﹖不是因為他們自吹自擂，也不是保羅奉承他們，是有實績的：「因為主的道從你們那裡已經傳揚出來。你們向上帝的信心不但在馬其頓和亞該亞，就是在各處也都傳開了，所以不用我們說甚麼話。」

 

    在今日許多人喜歡自我吹噓，抬高自己，甚至將榮耀歸給自己，甚至有的教會的領袖都有這樣的表現。在保羅的時代，希羅文化也是如此，他們強調人的美德使要來展現各人的風範。而人與人之間為了表示友好，也是互相奉承與稱許。然而保羅並非這樣的人，他是主耶穌的僕人，是照確確實實的狀態來說的，不討好人的！

 

    而保羅要說的榜樣是什麼呢﹖就是帖撒羅尼迦教會的信徒「蒙了聖靈所賜的喜樂，領受真道就傚法我們，也傚法了主」！

 

    因此，我們清楚保羅所稱許他們與鼓勵他們持守的，就是：傚法主！

 

    「傚法」的意思是「言語」或「行為」的複製，如同門徒向師傅學習，師傅作什麼或說什麼，門徒也照做、照說，如同師傅一般。保羅自己先效法基督，雖然他只見基督一眼，但是基督確透過聖靈來保持「原汁原味」，這就是使徒的遺緒！

 

    所以，效法主的功課，除了看人的樣式是不夠的，一定要有聖靈的引導。也因為這樣，聖靈的工作事在我們心中作師傅，調教我們成為基督的樣式。讓我們清楚使命，也讓我們付出行動，讓我們從心中改變自己，不只外表的模仿，是從本質上的作為，這是基督徒生活的本質，這是「與基督聯合」(請點閱)的生命！

 

 

尼希米記13章

    尼希米記13:1-31  , 

   尼希米記13:15-22 ,