1. Hello listening friends.
亲爱的朋友，你好。

2. It is a joy for us to know that you are tuning in and blessed by these broadcasts.
很高兴你能收听这个节目，并且借着它得到祝福。

3. I hope that you will write to us and tell us how this is ministering to you.
希望你来信告诉我们这个节目对你有什么帮助。

4. But if you are joining our broadcast for the first time,
如果你是第一次收听这个节目。

5. we are in the middle of a series about the awesome grace of God.
我们正在讲“奇异神恩”这一系列的信息。

6. Last time, we learned from Ephesians 2:1-10,
上次我们从以弗所书２章1-10节学习到，

7. that we inherited a sinful nature from Adam and Eve.
我们从始祖亚当和夏娃遗传了罪的本性。

8. So, in our past we were dead men and women walking.
所以，我们从前是行尸走肉，

9. Also in our past, we were enslaved to sin and the world’s system.
同时，我们也是罪的奴隶，随从今世的风俗。

10. But today my listening friends, I want to tell you that also in our past, we were subject to God’s wrath.
但是，亲爱的朋友，今天我要告诉你，我们从前还是神的愤怒的对象。

11. Someone may say,
有人会说：

12. “God is loving and merciful and I can even believe that He is just, but not that He has wrath!”
神是慈爱的，又好怜悯，就算祂是公义的，也不至于愤怒罢，

13. “Surely that is an old fashioned concept.”
那是古老过时的观念了，

14. Do you know why the average person does not take Gods wrath seriously?
你知道为什么人通常不愿意接受神会大发烈怒这个事实吗？

15. Because they do not take sin seriously.
因为他们对罪不以为然。

16. How could they?
怎会这样的呢？

17. They are dead in trespasses and sin.
他们已死在罪恶过犯之中，

18. But, my listening friends, Paul is saying to the Christian, that you WERE, under wrath.
但是，亲爱的朋友，保罗是对基督徒说，你们曾在神的震怒底下，

19. if you have received the grace of God.
如果你已经接受神的恩典，

20. If you have received the gift of salvation from the hand of God,
如果你已经从神手中接受了救恩的礼物，

21. you are no longer under wrath anymore.
你就不再在神的愤怒之下，

22. You will never be under wrath ever again.
你永远也不会在神的愤怒之下，

23. YOU WERE born under wrath,
你曾生在愤怒之下，

24. But if you are born again,
但如果你已重生，

25. You are no longer under wrath.
你就不再在神的愤怒之下，

26. If you have not received God’s grace, you can ask Him for it today.
如果你还未接受神的恩典，你今天可以求祂，

27. That’s how grace takes away our dismal past.
就是这样，恩典除去我们悲惨的过去。

28. Secondly –
第二，

29. Grace gives us a glorious present.
恩典给我们一个荣耀的现在。

30. The Christian’s past is a dreadful condition but when grace comes in everything is changed.
基督徒的过去是一个可悲的境况，但恩典一旦临到，一切都改变了。

31. Listen again to Ephesians 2:4 and 5,
我们再读以弗所书2章4至5节。

32. We are no longer dead men and dead women walking.
我们不再是行尸走肉。

33. You are an alive man walking.
你是一个活的男人。

34. You are an alive woman walking.
你是一个活的女人。

35. It is by grace that you have been saved.
你们得救是本乎恩。

36. By grace God raised us up with Christ.
我们靠神的恩典与基督一同复活。

37. And by grace God seated us with Him in the heavenly realm.
我们靠神的恩典与神一同坐在天上。

38. Do you know what that means?
你知道这是什么意思吗？

39. It means that you are set free from sin and the power of sin and the consequences of sin.
意思就是你已从罪恶，罪的权势和罪的后果中被释放出来了。

40. Why?
为什么？

41. It is because there are no slaves in Heaven.
因为在天上并没有奴隶，

42. And if you are seated in the heavenly realm, beloved friends, you are no longer enslaved to sin.
如果你坐在天国里，亲爱的朋友，你再也不会作罪的奴隶了。

43. Do you know my listening friends, what that means?
亲爱的朋友，你知不知道这是什么意思呢？

44. It means that if you are the recipient of God’s grace,
意思就是如果你接受了神的恩典，

45. You can have victory over lust.
你便可以胜过情欲。

46. You can have victory over greed.
你可以胜过贪婪。

47. You can have victory over anger.
你可以胜过愤怒。

48. You can have victory over jealousy.
你可以胜过嫉妒。

49. You can have victory over envy.
你可以胜过猜忌。

50. You can have victory over fear.
你可以胜过恐惧。

51. You can have victory over anxiety.
你可以胜过忧虑。

52. You can have victory over doubt.
你可以胜过怀疑。

53. You can have victory over all addictions
你可以胜过一切瘾癖。

54. My listening friends, this is very important.
亲爱的朋友，这是至关重要的。

55. When grace comes in, power comes in.
当恩典临到，你就得着能力。

56. When you came to Christ, the chain was broken and you have been set free.
当你来到基督面前，锁链就断落，你就得到自由。

57. Please listen carefully to what I am going to tell you.
请仔细听我下面的信息，

58. If you do not have that victory in your life it could be because of one of two things.
如果你无法过得胜的生活，原因只有两个。

59. You either didn’t know that you could have victory over sin,
一是你不知道自己能够胜过罪恶。

60. or you never learned how to claim your victory.
二是你不知道如何得胜。

61. When you accept Christ you are seated in heavenly places already.
当你接受基督，你已经是属天的子民了。

62. This doesn’t happen some time down the road, when your earthly tent folds.
这并不需要等到将来，你在世的帐棚拆毁后才发生，

63. No, this happens the moment you come to Christ.
不，当你来到基督面前时就立即生效了。

64. At that moment, you are seated in the heavenly realm.
在那一刻，你已经坐在天国里了。

65. You are seated in the heavenly places already.
你已经坐在天上了。

66. Some of you may be looking right now, at verse 8 of Ephesians 2 and asking the question,
有人会针对以弗所书第2章第8节提一个问题，

67. “How can we be saved by grace alone and faith alone?”
我们单单靠着神的恩典和信心如何可以得救呢？

68. Here’s what Paul said,
保罗在这里说：

69. Many people think that faith is something that they have to generate from within.
许多人以为信心是从人心里发出来的，

70. That is not true.
那不是真的，

71. When we exercised faith in believing and receiving God’s gift of eternal life, that faith wasn’t ours to begin with.
当我们靠着信心相信并接受神永生的礼物时，那信心并不是由我们开始的。

72. God gave it to us as a gift.
乃是神所赐给我们的礼物。

73. Otherwise faith would be your merit,
否则信心便成为你可夸之处了。

74. and you cannot be saved by your merits.
而你不能靠自己的优点而得救。

75. Oh yes, grace takes away our dismal past.
噢，是的，恩典除去我们悲惨的过去。

76. And grace gives us a glorious present.
而恩典也给了我们一个荣耀的现在。

77. But thirdly, grace leads us to a very bright, stupendous future.
并且，第三，恩典会领导我们通向一个非常光明，伟大的未来。

78. Paul is telling us that the grace of God not only takes away our dismal past.
保罗告诉我们神的恩典不单只除去我们悲惨的过去，

79. that the grace of God not only gives us a glorious present,
神的恩典不单止给我们一个荣耀的现在，

80. but our futures are also as bright as God Himself.
而我们的将来更好像神一样光明。

81. What do I mean by “futures” in the plural?
为什么这里的将来是用复数呢？

82. There is an immediate future, mentioned here in verse 10.
因为将来包含立即的将来，就是第10节所提及的，

83. And then there is the distant future, mentioned in verse 7.
也包括有遥远的将来，就是第７节所提及的。

84. Our immediate future consists of the wonderful occupation of being ambassadors of the King of Kings.
我们随即得到奇妙的使命，就是成为万王之王的大使，

85. Just as the ambassador does not do, what he or she wants to do,
正如一般大使一样，他们不能想做就去做，

86. just as the ambassador does say what he or she thinks,
正如一般大使一样，他们不能想讲什么就讲什么，

87. just as the ambassador does live the way he or she likes to live,
正如一般大使一样，他们不能想怎样生活就怎样生活。

88. but rather the ambassador represents his or her home country,
大使乃代表了自己所属的国家。

89. so do those who are saved by grace,
所以那些靠神恩典得救的人，

90. Good works do not save us.
行善并不能救我们。

91. but once we are saved, we have good works in store for us.
一旦当我们得救之后，我们便要预备行善。

92. Grace AND good works do not save us.
恩典加善行并不能救我们。

93. But our good works are merely our expression of gratitude for God’s grace.
然而，行善只是我们因神的恩典而表达的感谢。

94. There are some people who say that: “Now that we are saved by grace, we can sin to our hearts content.”
有人会说：既然我们靠恩典得救，那么我们便可以尽情犯罪了。

95. “We can just sit on our easy chairs and do nothing.”
我们大可安坐下来，不用做事了。

96. Let me illustrate.
让我来举个例子，

97. Can you imagine a king and queen bringing in a homeless person off the streets?
你能否想象假若皇帝和皇后带一个流浪汉回皇宫。

98. They adopt him as their son and he becomes a prince.
收养他为儿子，于是流浪汉变成王子。

99. He gets cleaned up.
他清洗污垢。

100. And he gets washed up.
梳洗好。

101. And his adoption papers are signed.
然后签署收养的文件。

102. And then the next day, he goes down to the streets and starts to live as he did before?
跟着，第二天，他走到街上回复以往的生活方式。

103. NO!
不可能！

104. He begins to learn how to behave like a Prince.
他要开始学习王子应有的举止。

105. He begins to learn how to walk like a Prince.
他开始学习王子应有的走路姿势。

106. He begins to learn how to speak like a Prince.
他开始学习王子应有的谈吐。

107. He begins to learn how to act like a Prince.
他开始学习王子应有的举动。

108. He begins to learn how to work like a Prince.
他开始学习王子应做的工作。

109. And that is the immediate future, that grace brings to us.
那就是得着恩典随即所发生的。

110. But in verse 7 of Ephesian 2, Paul talks about the distant future.
但在以弗所书2章7节，保罗讲到遥远的将来。

111. “That in the ages to come, He might show the surpassing riches, of His grace in kindness, toward us in Christ Jesus.”
要将祂极丰富的恩典，就是祂在基督耶稣里向我们所施的恩慈，显明给后来的世代看。

112. God has been gracious to us here and now.
神一直以恩慈待我们，

113. But he is going to be far more gracious in the hereafter.
但祂将来的恩慈更加丰富，

114. God has blessed us here and now.
神现今赐福给我们，

115. But this is nothing in comparison to the blessings, that He will bestow upon us in the hereafter.
但比起将来的赐福却算不得什么，

116. God has lavished His grace here.
神已经慷慨施恩给我们，

117. but He will overwhelm us with His grace in the hereafter.
但祂将来还要将恩典倾注给我们。

118. “There is no good thing that He will ever withhold from those who are saved by grace.”
祂永不保留一样好处不加给那些靠恩典得救的人。

119. For it is by grace that you are saved.
因为你们得救是本乎恩。

120. By faith, which is not your faith, but the gift of God.
也因着信，这并不是出于自己，乃是神所赐的。

121. And you were saved for a purpose and that is to serve the living God.
而你得救是有一个目的，为要事奉永生的神。

122. My listening friends:
我亲爱的朋友，

123. Are you walking in the good works for which you are predestined to walk in?
你有没有行善呢？就是神所预备叫你行的呢？

124. Are you serving with all of your heart in thankfulness to the Grace of God?
你有没有全心事奉来报答神呢？

125. I want to challenge all of you who are the recipients of the grace of God,
如果你已接受神的恩典，现在我要向你发出挑战，

126. to seek to serve God in some way.
要寻求在哪一方面你可以事奉神，

127. And until we meet again, I wish you God’s richest blessing.
愿神大大的赐恩给你，下次再会！