[0:00] Good morning, brothers and sisters. It's great to be here this morning and to share God's word with everyone.
[0:20] This weekend, who went to hear the RZIM talks? Wow, very well. Great. We also had a Chinese speaker with us.
[0:35] And this year was very special because we had a Mandarin-speaking speaker from RZIM speak at the community center on Friday. I think this is the first time they've had the Mandarin event.
[0:49] The messages were great and could especially encourage those of us who may have been believers for a long time.
[1:08] It helped us to think more deeply. Because we've already crossed the open-room. We've already forgotten the open-room. We've already forgotten the open-room. We've already forgotten the open-room. Sometimes after we've become Christians, it's difficult for us to remember what life was like before we accepted Christ.
[1:22] Today, we're going to return to our 2nd verse of the 11-15. Now today, we're looking at Titus chapter 2, verses 11 to 15.
[1:36] We're going to return to the beginning of the Bible. And this brings us back to where the gospel begins. In the 30 verses that preceded this passage, we've learned a lot about different types of people and roles in the church and the ways in which they serve.
[2:07] So we've also learned a lot about different types of people and roles in the church and the ways in which they serve. And so in our church, there's been a lot of change as well. Our elders, they need to be hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.
[2:28] Our elders, they need to be hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, self-centered.
[2:39] Sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanders or slaves to much wine.
[3:01] They are to teach what is good and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind and submissive to their husbands. We're also very careful.
[3:16] And likewise, the younger men in the church are to be self-controlled. How do you feel when you hear that this is how the people in our church are to be?
[3:33] Now maybe if you're here for the first time, you think, wow, this is great, this is the place to be. This is the place to be.
[3:43] What a perfect church. But for brothers and sisters who've been in the church for a while, we know that we're moving in this direction, but we're still in the process.
[4:02] Do you have a lot of questions when you read this passage? In the book, I found there are a few questions that are more difficult to understand.
[4:16] For me, as I read the passage, there are some questions that I find more difficult to understand. In verse 11, it says, For the grace of God has appeared, bring salvation for all people.
[4:35] In English, it says that salvation is being brought to everyone. But actually, we know that the people in the church are not able to be in the church.
[4:51] But haven't we also heard that not every single person goes to heaven? How do you understand this passage? So how do you understand? And we know that in the 30 verses preceding, it talks a lot about behavior.
[5:13] But we know that our salvation is not by our works, but by God's grace.
[5:23] So what does all this mean to us? Today, we need to think about another thing. And another thing we want to think about and understand today is how do we be trained by the gospel?
[5:46] Now, let's first discuss, is this salvation for every single person? Is everyone going to be saved?
[6:01] In the gospel of Matthew, Our Lord Jesus said, Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, We'll enter the kingdom of heaven.
[6:22] But the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day, Many will say to me, Lord, Lord, Did we not prophesy in your name?
[6:44] And cast out demons in your name? And do mighty, Many mighty works in your name? That's when I was to tell them. And then will I declare to them, I never knew you.
[7:01] Depart from me, You workers of lawlessness. In this case, We see that we were to that time, God was to judge us by our works.
[7:12] And it seems as though God will judge us by our works. These are all the challenges for us. So this is really a challenge for us, Theologically.
[7:26] The question is, Is salvation for every single person? Will everybody be saved? This just让我想起,比如说,我给大家举个例子, Let me share an example.
[7:45] 比如说,可能现在是,再过一会儿大家可能肚皮就会饿了。 Maybe it's lunch time soon and people will be hungry.让我想起就是说,我最喜欢吃的是烤羊肉。 Now, I love roasted lamb.
[7:59] 假如说我现在在这里面吃上一个烤炉,烤上一只烤全羊,或者几只烤全羊。 Now, let's say,I had an oven here,然后我烤呀烤,烤呀烤,烤呀烤,烤得又焦又酥又嫩,然后大家都闻到这个香味。然后我把这个肉呢,放到大家的面前呢?
[8:27] 是不是所有的人都会吃呢?会吗?我看到有人在点头,有的人会在摇头。至少我知道在我们教会当中,有一些人是不会吃的。其实,我认为有些人在我们教会一定不会吃的。你说,为什么你那么确定说他们能不吃?
[8:57] 现在,你可能问,为什么你知道他们不会吃的?因为他们是宿舍主义者。因为他们是食物。福音也一样,如果神不去改变人的心,就把他们这些宿舍者里面改变掉,然后对这个羊肉有一个非常渴望的话,他们是不会吃的。所以,所以,所以, salvation is like this too.
[9:18] Unless God changes us, and changes our hearts, and what we long for, we're not going to go touch that salvation。归根结底是我们的人里面的新的改变。因为, it has to start with the transformation of our hearts。我们的状态呢,在以赴所书里面曾经提过,说我们从前是一种死的状态,你们死在过犯罪恶中。他叫你们活过来。在没有信主之前,实际上我们是一种死的状态。是与神分离的。我们是分离的状态。就像在这里面的这个经节里面,第十一节里面告诉我们。And so here in verse 11,说神就众人恩典已经显明出来。It says,For the grace of God has appeared,这个显明就像是在本来是一个很黑暗的地方,然后有光照到那里。
[10:21] The word has appeared,It's like there was a darkness,But light has now appeared in the darkness。当这个光照到我们这里的时候,难道每个人都能看得到吗?
[10:34] And when the light shines here in this darkness,Can everyone see it?至少在我们这个走廊的尽头那边,有些人是看不到的。Actually, at the end of the quarter of this school,There are some people who cannot see it.
[10:46] 除非神去改变他们的视觉的这样一个效果,让他们能够看到,他们才能看到这样的光。这就是说为什么说我们这个显现呢,就显现给每一个人,但实际上并不是每一个人都能够得救。And I hope this helps to explain,Why the grace of God can appear for all people,But not everyone is saved。然后在接下来的经节里面,我们看到有这样一点。Moving on in this passage,在这里面我们看到,这个一段经文里面解决了一个就是说,我们为什么要这么做的一个,告诉我们这样一个原因。This gives us a whythat we should do something.
[11:43] 之前是告诉我们是怎么样,现在告诉我们是为什么。In the 30 verses before this passage,它说明我们如何应该行动。But here in the passage we're looking at today,It tells us why we should behave in these ways.
[12:00] 这就把我们带到了福音的开头。It brings us to where the gospel begins.因为在这里边,11节里面说的就是,神救众人的恩典已经显明出来。In verse 11,It says that the grace of God has appeared,brings salvation for all people.
[12:20] 就像这个光一样,一直以来,几千年,人们一直在等待这个真光的来到。This light,for thousands of years,people were waiting for it,waiting on it.
[12:32] 从亚当、夏娃犯罪以后,人类就一直在等待。From Adam and Eve,when they sinned in the garden of Eden,mankind has been waiting.等待能够回天家,能够跟天父去恢复那个美好的关系。从旧约有摩西,有以利亚,有很多很多的先知,他们都在等待。一整代的就是主耶稣基督,不到两千年前,两千多年前出生在这个世界上。这里面,神就众人的恩典,所显明出来,指的就是我们的主耶稣基督,在两千多年前。这个拜五天做了主耶稣基督,这个救赛谢在 lasts 都次但是,他来到这世纪上,根据我们。恩,他在世纪上拯救我们。旺来到特ры生命的世界上,这是主耶稣基督第一次的来临。这是我们的第一次来临。
[13:44] It is the core of our gospel. And that's the core of our gospel. The gospel is Christ being born suffering dying being raised from the dead and ascending into heaven.
[14:06] He came from heaven to earth to live among us. He came from heaven to earth to live among us. And He brought salvation to us.
[14:20] This is the Lord Jesus' coming for the first time. In the 13th chapter, we tell the Lord Jesus' coming for the first time. Then we see in verse 13, there is a second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[14:36] This is the first coming of the Lord Jesus. It is the second coming of the Lord Jesus. He says, we are waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.
[14:54] This is the second coming of the Lord Jesus. The first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is the first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. In His first coming, He calls us to believe on Him to be saved.
[15:08] But we are not fully saved yet. We are still waiting for the completion of our salvation.
[15:22] This is the first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. And now, we are living in the first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[15:34] And the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. And in this period, we are living in the first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. And how should we live during this in-between time? How can we live to be a testimony to the Lord?
[15:48] And how are our lives to be transformed? This is what we are telling us in this verse. And that's what these verses here are telling us.
[16:03] Because when Jesus Christ first comes to us, we know that we are all from the faith. Because we are all from the faith to be a person. When the Lord Jesus Christ came the first time, we were saved through faith by His grace.
[16:16] In this verse, we see the 30-day Bible verses in the Bible. And then, in the 30 verses before this passage, there are so many different codes of behavior, of how we should behave.
[16:32] But in this verse, we are thinking, we are not using the faith to be a person. And why are we giving these things to be a person? But if we are saved by grace, then why are there so many different works and behavioral codes that we should follow?
[16:49] So, in this verse, we see the faith and the works are in conflict? But in this verse, we see the faith and the works are in conflict?
[17:00] We see the faith and the works are in conflict? When we look at the whole of Scripture, we understand that faith and the works are two sides of one coin. This is a Hong Kong one dollar coin.
[17:23] It is a Hong Kong one dollar coin. Wow! That looks like a nicer coin on stage. It's cleaner than mine. And a coin, it has a front and a back.
[17:37] If I have a very fine saw, and I could cut the coin right down the middle in half.
[17:52] One side is faith and the other side is works. One side is a very good faith and the other side is a very good faith.
[18:06] And another one, I have a very good faith and the other side. Then I'll have two pieces. One piece is a very complete and beautiful faith. On the other side is a very complete and beautiful works.
[18:18] But this kind of thing, I'll cut it out and it's like this. And so if I split the coin, maybe I have two sides like this.
[18:31] One side is a very good faith. One side is a very good faith. One side is a very good faith. One side is a very good faith. And the other side is a very good faith. If I take this kind of coin, and I go to a small store to buy things, the other side is a very good faith.
[18:50] Now let's say I took a coin, or one side of the coin, and I went to the grocery store. What do you think the cashier would say? Again, one side is a fake. Why?
[19:01] She might say get out of here. What? This is fake money. This is fake money. This is fake money.
[19:11] You can't use that here. It's not real money. So when I first thought that this was для me, two of the two parts of my mind. That's muitos pages. That's just what we can age.
[19:26] And so the fact is for us.得救的信心的两个层面得救的信心一方面它可能只是你要得到救恩的信心你想去得到救恩的这个行为只是靠行为的话这个得救的行为这个得救的行为是不存在的因为这个是有被神的真理的那另一方面的行为呢指的就是得救以后的行为因为如果说你没有信心只是靠着行为去得救的就是说是半个硬币它是假的那你得救以后有信心的行为呢就是一个真的硬币是有两面的在这里面我们看到前面讲了那么多行为指的都是说是信徒信主以后这样的一个行为所以说为什么主耶稣基督最后就说你们这些作恶的人离开我吧因为真正的信心肯定会带出来好行为因为真正的信心肯定会带出好行为当圣经里面也告诉我们就好树接好果子坏树接坏果子因为 the Bible 说明显然一个好树会生成好果子这就是为什么这里面讲了这么多我们得救以后应当有什么样的一个样式我们就在这主耶稣基督的第一次来和第二次来的中间我们要去做主耶稣基督的见证在这里面第十二节里面就说教训我们除去不敬虔的心和世俗的情欲所以我们看来读书12它说他在教训我们去承认不仅仅和世界的情欲在今世自守公义敬虔度日在今世自守公义敬虔度日这里面讲到教训教训我们这里面讲到教训我们中文看上去有点不容易理解讲教训好像有一点点的责备等等好像有点负面但是英文里面训练就听上去好得多其实跟旧约里面很多经文也是很接近的在诗篇的94篇里面好像是讲的就是怎么样就在旧约里面什么是训练就是四篇十二节里面说耶和华啊你所管教用律法所教训的人是有福的在这里边他用的是这样一个管教的一个词这就有点像过去的人我们知道在学一门手艺需要有师傅领有的时候呢就是其实都从一些很简单的动作比如说学厨师他会去切菜他并不在乎说你某一刀切得有多细而是说你切下去的每一刀都那么细这就需要大量的训练有的时候你切不好的时候你的师傅可能会管教你下课在过去的时候学徒可能还要被打几下的这里边他用的是管教在英文里边呢他也有另外一个去纠正的意思在耶利米书十章二十四节
[25:19] Jeremiah chapter 10 verse 24 for example说伊赫华求你从宽惩治我不要在你的怒中惩治我恐怕使我归于无有 is translated as correct me oh lord but in justice not in your anger lest you bring me to nothing就是在这里边有一个纠正一个管教等等这样的一个概念所以这个训练是一个细腻和有一个改正的理由在我们在这个第一次来第二次来中间我们的生活呢就需要这样的一个训练就需要这样的一个训练比如说我们知道我们有孩子的家庭都需要去训练小孩子从最开始训练是什么就是说他远离那些不好的有危险的然后去做那些应该做的好的事情比如说像我的小孩子米卡在她六七个月刚会爬的时候呢她就在满屋子里边去爬有的时候呢就爬到那个电线的旁边你也知道她长牙的时候那个牙会痒痒的然后她就会拿起这个电线对我来说我就非常的紧张所以我要过去有的时候弹她手一下但是那她最早的是一个被管教的记忆她不明白就是说哎呦怎么感觉疼然后到底是怎么回事我看她的表情刚开始是比较木然然后过来感觉哇 手很疼然后她就哭了但是她并没有逃离我而是跑过来去抱抱我所以说在诗篇和耶利米书里边告诉我们说神所管教的人是有福的对我们来说我们基督徒的生命也需要这样的训练去远离那些不好的事情去做那些神所喜悦的事情在这里面就是说在这里面就是说第十二节里面说叫我们除去不敬钱的心和世俗的情欲这样的情欲的事情呢我们有的时候可能会想不太清楚到底哪些呢那加拿大书五章十九的二十一节里面就列出了列举出来很多说情欲的事都是显而易见的说情欲的事都是显而易见的
[29:06] It says now the works of the flesh are evident就如奸淫污秽邪荡Including sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality拜偶像邪术,仇恨,争敬,忌恨恼,挟挡,纷争异端Idochry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions嫉妒,醉酒,荒焰等类Envy, drunkenness, orgies and things like these我从前告诉你们现在又告诉你们行这样事的人必不能承受神的果I warn you as I warned you beforeThat those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God在这里面只是列举出来一些这样情欲的事And this list is just examples of worldly passions在这是就是说神对我们的训练就是我们在接受神的这样的训练的时候一方面要对一些事情说no就是有所不为
[30:13] And so verse 12 tells us thatAs we're being trainedWe need to say no to certain thingssuch as these things但同时我们要对另外一些事情说yesAt the same time we need to say yes to certain thingsother things这里面就是说在今是自首公义敬前度日To live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age自首呢是就是我们对自己的约束self-control speaks about our controlling ourselves看上去好像挺好说但实际上做起来就非常不容易It's easy to say self-controlledBut we all know how hard it is to actually be self-controlled我跟大家都有这样的挣扎We all struggle with this比如大家可能会比较难去控制的就是这个PokemanFor example, we may be addicted to Pokemon对我来说呢就是去种种花呀种种草啊就当然也是在网络上
[31:17] For me, I'm addicted to gardeningI mean, internet gardening去浇浇花呀浇浇水呀You know, you water the little plants and they grow这是我爱人所深恶痛绝的My wife feels very bitterly about thisSo in this case, I think it's very wasteful of our timeAnd so sometimes I struggle with thisYou为这个事情祷告And I pray about thisAnd I pray about this但是有的时候自己还是忍不住会去浇浇花、浇浇水But often I find I'm not self-controlledAnd I still go and what are my plans但是有一天神呢真的就是给恩典证就临到了我
[32:23] But one day you know, God's grace applied itself to me我真的就能够做到就是说再也不去打开那页面再也不去点击那些花花草草了And I had a change and suddenly I wasn't doing this anymoreI didn't go in and what are these plants anymore当然这个花花草草这个里边不单单只是种花种草它还要去打动你,要去掠夺的Now, actually, you know, it's not just watering these plantsIt's also going and like conquering these different kingdomsAnd going to battle on the internet就是大家刚开始听起来哇,这好像是一个女孩子的游戏哇,它其实里边又有男孩子的耶稣So just for clarification, this is not a girly gameThis is a manly game不管怎么样吧就是说是这种自治是真的很难做到但是靠着神的恩典我们就能做到But anyways, all to say thatIt is very difficult to be self-controlledBut by God's help, we grow in being self-controlled因为这一切都是靠着神的恩典But the way that we are self-controlled is by God's grace恩典呢,实际上是在我看神的恩典的时候真的是想起来很有意思的这样一个比喻
[33:33] I can think of an example of God's grace其实就像马丁路德说我们每一个人在神的面前都是一个乞丐Martin Luther saidBefore God, we're all beggars很多人不信的时候他们就会感觉神很不公平神欠我这个,神欠我那个好像神欠我们好多好多的事情Sometimes when webefore, when we're unbelieversWe think, oh God, He owes us so muchAnd He's unfair我们总是去注目在那些我们所没有的东西And we fixate on what we don't have但是实际上我们却忽略了神已经给我们的一切But we forget how much God has given us而且是白白地给了我们And what He has given us so freely恩典呢,就是这样一个礼物是我们所不配得到的Grace, it's a giftIt's an undeserved gift想象一下,其实我们的状态就像一个十二伯社的一个强盗
[34:35] We're like a thiefOn the crossWe're like that thief on the cross神的恩典呢,就是祂赐给祂的儿子给我们God's grace is thatHe gave His son for us用祂最美好的最纯净的就是祂的最圣洁的独一主我们的主耶稣基督去换了这个乞丐And He换了这个强盗HeHe used His most preciousHisHoliestSonTo exchange for the life of that thief on the cross在我想的时候就好像说拿我自己的孩子然后去换了一个那个十二伯社马上就该去执行枪决的这么样一个强盗的时候我是感觉我是不会去换的When I think would I give up my precious child
[35:36] To save the life of an evil man that sentence to death但是神所做的就是让祂的独一的爱子为我们这些不配得的人去死But God had His only beloved sonTo die for unworthy people like us如果你是做金融好业的If you're in the finance industry你会看到这是史上最最不值的一笔交易You would think this is not a good trade你是永远不会这样换的You would not complete that transaction但是你会接受这样的礼物But would you receive that gift?
[36:17] 当你接受这样的礼物接受主耶稣基督在你心里的时候你就能够得到天上一切这样的福分When you receive the Lord Jesus into your heartYou receive all the treasures of heaven但是有了这样的主的救恩呢我们还需要去接受训练But as we receive God's graceWe're also receiving training训练在今世的自守公义敬前自守公义敬前这三个字呢可以用我们圣经里面最大的这样的诫命去形容Actually these three adjectives can be summarizedin the greatest commandment given to us in the Bible自守是我对我们自己的To be self-controlledThat's with regards to ourselves公义是我们对待他人To be uprightTalks about how we relate to others敬前指的就是我们去对上帝的爱And godliness speaks of our interaction with God这律法上最大的诫命就是尽心尽力尽意爱属你的神其次也当如此就是爱人如己
[37:29] And the greatest commandment in the BibleIs to love the Lord your GodWith all your heart and all your soulAnd all your mind and strengthAnd to love your neighbor as yourself当你不知道该怎样去爱的时候又不知道怎么样去把你的这样的信息你的爱心活出来的时候其实在前面的这些我们都可以去温习去看我们到底在我们的生命当中怎样做And we can spend time to reflect on thisHow do we live lives that are self-controlledUpright and godly lives in the present ageWell we can go back to the thirty verses that are proceeding比如说从简单的说就是说接待远人这里开始For example to be hospitable如果你就可以跟你旁边的现在坐在你旁边的邻舍去说下个月或这个月或者是今年某个时间到我家里来坐一坐You can invite your neighbors to come over to your house有的时候我们会想我的家庭家有点小我笑有那么那么大的房子以后我才能够才去接待别人But we might think
[38:30] Oh but my apartment is too smallMaybe one day when I have a big houseThen I can be hospitableBut that's a lieBut that's a lieBecause often when you spend so much timeTrying to make money to get a big houseYou don't have time to enjoy that house在全世界很多地方有很多的别墅其实里边都是空着的只有包摩和孩子住在那里There's so many big villas in this worldThat are emptyExcept for the maid and the nannySo we're not in the houseBing be in the houseBing be in the house在乎我们所没有的而是应该在乎我们所以有的Let's focus not on what we don't haveBut on what we have And to give thanks to God for what we have.
[39:17] And to use all we have to love those around us. If your dining table only fits two more people, then just invite two others.
[39:35] If you do that ten times, you've had twenty people over. If you do that a hundred times, that's two hundred people. One hundred times, that's the whole people.
[39:46] And when you're done, everybody in this church is your friend. Often we train ourselves from the small things.
[40:01] Sometimes we just have our time, or our money, or our small family. To give this all to God.
[40:13] To give this all to God. To give this all to God. To give this all to God. But we can offer all of this to the Lord, to be used by Him. And this is training ourselves to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly.
[40:32] I think that I've seen a lot of years. I've seen a movie called The Princess Diaries. Several years ago, I watched a movie called The Princess Diaries. And it's amazing how the person at the beginning, the person at the beginning of the film, how can that be the same person as the person at the end of the film?
[41:08] The person in the beginning doesn't look and act like royalty at all. But then she becomes someone who really appears the part.
[41:19] When she was told who she was, and she understood that she was royalty.
[41:32] She went through much training to become someone who acted accordingly. Actually, we're even farther from who we should be than she was.
[41:47] We start out like that thief on the cross, deserving of death. But now we're called children of God.
[42:00] That's a very high position. We need to be trained to look like people who are sons and daughters of God.
[42:16] And here we are. That's the reason why we're being trained to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly. We need to be trained to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly. People who are changed by the gospel.
[42:27] People who are changed by the gospel. Just like the Lord Jesus Christ who is not good to die, and who is not good to die. We need to learn from our Lord Jesus Christ who gave himself for unworthy sinners to save us.
[42:47] We need to be trained to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly. And so that's the message I have to share with everyone today.
[43:00] Let's pray. Thank you, Precious Father. Thank you for your grace. Thank you for giving us the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for giving us the Lord Jesus Christ.
[43:15] Thank you for giving us the Lord Jesus Christ for unworthy people such as we are. Lord, would you continue to work in our hearts and change us from the inside out.
[43:30] Let us be trained to be your true children. Train us so that we can really be and act as your sons and daughters. Our hearts and hearts and hearts and hearts and hearts and hearts and hearts.
[43:43] Lord, help us to live lives in this present age that are self-controlled, upright, and godly. It's in the Lord Jesus Christ's name we pray. Amen. Lord, amen.
[43:54] And that we hast a word. Amen. Now, you gotta know that then, Lord your God. Lord your we virs will be known as our sono and of those of you. Amen. Remember you? For absolutely. Amen. Thanks, Lord your name and have That. Lord the Father, alright, amen.
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