Let’s watch a short video about forgiveness first我们先看一个有关饶恕的短片. How wonderful is the forgiveness God has given to us神所赐的饶恕何等美好! Do you see from the video你从短片里发现没有? When people count others faults and hold grudges
against them当人计算他人的恶,耿耿于怀, when they talk
about how they have been hurt repeatedly当他们反复述说自己怎么被伤害, you can see the bitterness from their faces你就可以从他们的脸上看见苦毒. But when they forgive但当他们饶恕别人, their faces are bright他们的脸就明亮起来. Forgiveness affects our emotional heath饶恕带来情绪健康, mental health精神健康, psychological
health心理健康, and physical health还有身体健康!
18 years ago十八年前, when I hadn’t been forgiven by God那时我还没有被神赦免, I wasn’t able to forgive无法饶恕别人, and I myself was sick and sleepless and went into manic depression自己就病了、就失眠、被躁狂症所缠绕. It is said that holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die有人说,恨人,就象让自己喝毒药想毒死别人. Anger and unforgiveness are poison that harm ourselves not others恨人和不饶恕是毒药,伤害的是自己,不是别人. If you don’t forgive若不饶恕别人, you imprison yourself囚禁的是自己. Have you found that lots of people when they get older你有没有发现,很多人年纪越大, they become more and more grumpy and negative脾气就越来越坏,越来越负面, and hard to talk to且难以沟通. You know why为什么? If we amass unresolved anger in our hearts若心里怒气未平,渐渐积累起来, the root of bitterness will grow up就生出苦毒的根, and it will cause trouble and defile many引起扰乱,叫众人沾染污秽。(see Heb12:14-15见《来12:14-15》). Do you want to be free想要得释放吗? Do you wanna be happy from your inside out想要发自内心的快乐吗? Forgive饶恕! Jesus has the paid price for the forgiveness of our sins为我们的罪得赦免,主耶稣已付清赎价!
There is a Spanish story about a father and his son有个西班牙两父子的故事, who had become estranged他们关系破裂. The son ran away有一天,儿子离家走了. And the father set off to look for him于是爸爸出发寻子. But he didn’t find his son after searching him for months找了几个月都没找到. Finally最后, the father put an advertisement in a newspaper爸爸在报纸上登了寻人广告. It said广告里这样说: “Dear Peco亲爱的裴高, meet me in front of this newspaper office at noon on Saturday请本周六在这家报纸办公室门口会我. All is forgiven我什么都原谅. I love you我爱你. Your Father你的爸爸.” Do you know what happened你知道发生什么了? On Saturday星期六那天, eight hundred “Pecos” showed up来了八百来个”裴高”, looking for forgiveness and love from their fathers想要得着爸爸的饶恕和爱. Everyone needs God’s forgiveness每个人都需要神的饶恕.
Yes是, we all are “Pecos”我们都是”裴高”! We all need forgiveness都需要饶恕! Less criticism指摘少点, more forgiving and loving饶恕和爱多点, which can set us free from being in prison就可以释放我们出监牢! How can we live in a better world怎样让世界更美好? How can we stop hurting or being hurt怎样停止伤害和被伤害? We need both to be forgiven and to forgive我们需要被饶恕、并饶恕他人! That’s why Jesus teaches us to pray所以主耶稣教导我们这样祷告, “Forgive us our debts (sins) as we also have forgiven our debtors免我们的债,如同我们免了人的债.”
I heard somebody say有人说, “Since you’ve asked for forgiveness from God自从你第一次求神赦免你, you don’t have to ask to be forgiven anymore就无需再求了.” Is this the truth这是真理吗? Since we’ve become Christians我们成了基督徒后, do we still need to ask for “forgiveness”还需要再求赦免/饶恕吗? Apparently, the answer is yes答案显然是:需要. Because from the Lord’s prayer在主祷文里, we can see that Jesus is teaching us not only to ask for our daily needs主不单教导我们每天为日用饮食祈求, but also for “forgiveness”还要为”饶恕”祈求. “forgive our debts daily祈求每天免我们的债”.
What does the word “forgive” mean in this petition这里求的 forgive是什么意思? “Please我求你, Heavenly Father亲爱天父, cancel all the debts that we owe you免去我们欠你的一切债.” What kind of “debt” or “sin” does Jesus talk about here that we may commit frequently主所说的什么债或哪种罪,我们常常会犯? From verses,V14-15, 14-15节,For if you forgive other people when they sin against you你们饶恕人的过犯, your heavenly Father will also forgive you你们的天父也必饶恕你们的过犯. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins你们不饶恕人的过犯, your Father will not forgive your sins你们的天父也必不饶恕你们的过犯. It clearly points out that the “debts or sins” talked about is our failure to forgive这节经文明明白白地指出,这里的”债或罪”指的是我们的不饶恕(没有饶恕). Do Christians fail to forgive others基督徒会不会不饶恕别人? Yes会, it happens every day而且每天都会. When you get angry at somebody or hold something against someone你若生谁的气,又或因某事与人生怨, when the sun goes down, if you are still angry若含怒到日落, the bible tells us经上说, then you need to ask for forgiveness你需要求主赦免, otherwise, you give the devil a foothold否则就会给魔鬼留地步, that is not fun这可不是开玩笑!
8 years ago八年前, a woman who was oppressed by demons was brought to our home church 有人把一位鬼附的妇人带到我们家庭教会, she was an angry person她脾气暴烈, full of bitterness and resentment充满苦毒和怨恨, no one dared to come close to her没人敢靠近她, because she could get angry easily for all kinds of reasons因她会随时随地发作起来. She was tortured by demons for 18 years她被鬼附折磨十八年, whenever she came to a church service每逢她参加教会聚会, the evil one threw her down and hit her back on the ground to hurt her那恶者就摔打她,让她背部重重着地, she also suffered lots of diseases她还得了很多病. She once deeply believed that she was a victim以前她深信自己是个受害者, and was offended by her mom妈妈伤害她, her neighbours邻居伤害她…too many很多人都伤害她…she used to blame others她习惯责怪别人…Until one day直到有一天, she really wanted to accept God’s grace of His forgiveness她心里真的渴望接受神赦免的恩典, to forgive herself and forgive others饶恕自己、饶恕他人, she did five and half- hours’ confession of her sins经过五个半小时的认罪, and the demons left her那些鬼出去了! Her life situation has turned around since then从此她的生活发生了大转变, many diseases have been healed很多病都好了!
Brothers and sister弟兄姊妹, we should be wise我们要聪明起来! If we repeatedly count other’s faults我们若不停数算别人的错, or speak against others讲别人坏话, we imprison ourselves就是拘禁我们自己! Because if you don’t forgive你若不饶恕人, God will not forgive you天父也不饶恕你! And your blessings will be stolen你的祝福就会被偷走! But Jesus wants to set us free但主耶稣要我们得自由!
Therefore因此, in the Lord’s prayer在主祷文中, Jesus is teaching us to ask for forgiveness like this主耶稣教导我们这样祈求饶恕, “Father父啊, forgive us that we failed to forgive赦免我们没有饶恕人. Or又或者, “Father父啊, forgive me for my failure to forgive him 赦免我没有饶恕他(you can say a specific name你可以说出他的名字…) …Yes, Lord, he lied to me是的,主啊,他骗了我…she didn’t listen to me她没有听我的…but do I always listen to You但我总是听你的吗? Am I always faithful to You我总是信实的吗?...Do I want to receive criticism我想被批评吗? No我不想, I thank you for shedding your Son Christ Jesus’ blood for the forgiveness of my sins感谢你流了神儿子耶稣的宝血,使我罪得赦免…not for the forgiveness of my good work but for my sins不是因我的好行为,而是为我的罪…but I failed to show Your forgiveness to others但我却没有向他人表明这份饶恕之爱…forgive my failure to forgive them赦免我没有饶恕他们, I declare forgiveness over them right now through Your power for the forgiveness of sins借着你赦罪的能力,我宣告我现在就饶恕他们, and I love them宣告我爱他们…For Col 3:13 teaches us因(西3:13)说, “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone倘若这人与那人有嫌隙,总要彼此包容,彼此饶恕. Forgive as the Lord forgave you主怎样饶恕了你们,你们也要怎样饶恕人…”
We need forgiveness every single day每一天我们都需要饶恕! We live in a sinful world我们生活在充满罪的世界. If your parents compared you to somebody else你父母把你和别人比, in your childhood你小的时候, “Why can’t you to be more like your sister 你为啥就不像你姐呢(or someone else或者是其他人)…” or they bitterly judged you又或者他们这样苦毒地论断你, “You are stupid你真傻…you are selfish你太自私了…you are a liar你是个骗子…you are lazy你这么懒…I wish I had never had you我要是没生你就好了…” and if you haven’t forgiven你要是没有饶恕他们, you will also do the same as your parents did to your children 所行的就会和你父母一样. But why did your parents act this way但他们为什么会这样? Because their parents did this way to them因为他们的父母这样对他们. Generation by generation一代又一代, who can get away from the curse of sin by their own ability谁能靠自己摆脱罪的咒诅呢? No不能, not even one没有一个能! That’s why we need Jesus the sinless Lamb of God who died on the Cross to cancel our debts所以我们需要耶稣基督死在十字架上,无罪的神羔羊免去我们的罪债, and then we also should cancel their debts然后我们也该免去别人的债! And when we forgive我们饶恕人, we can break away the bondage of our generational curses就可以打破家族累代的咒诅, and go into the blessings of God promises freely自由进入神应许的祝福.
God says神说, “In everything无论何事, do to others what you would have them do to you你们愿意人怎样待你们,你们也要怎样待人, Matt 7: 12a(太7:12上). If we don’t want others to criticize us我们若不想被人挑剔, if we want them to be merciful and gracious to us when we make mistakes我们若想在犯错的时候,别人会宽容怜悯我们, we must show mercy and the grace of forgiveness to them就必须在别人犯错的时候,宽容恩待他们. “Do not judge你们不要论断人, and you will not be judged就不被论断. Do not condemn你们不要定人的罪, and you will not be condemned就不被定罪. Forgive你们要饶恕人, and you will be forgiven就必蒙饶恕. Luke 6:37(路6:37)If you continuously count others wrongs如果你不停计算他人的错, you will be counted your wrongs你的错也会被数算. Think about it想象一下, what a better world would it be世界会变得多好, if there was no pointing of fingers and malicious talk around you要是你身边不再有指摘的指头和恶意的议论? You would no longer have to fear that being bitterly judged你就不再害怕被人苦毒地论断了. “do to others what you would have them do to you你们愿意人怎样待你们,你们也要怎样待人!” If you forgive你们饶恕人, and you will be forgiven就必蒙饶恕.
When we became Christians当我们成为基督徒, we turned to God and turned against Satan就转向神,背叛了撒旦. The battle exists whether we realized it or not不论我们能不能意识到,这场争战一直存在着. The bible tells us that our enemy is not flesh and blood but the devil圣经说,我们的仇敌不是属血气的,而是魔鬼. Eph 6:12(弗6:12) For we wrestle not against flesh and blood因我们并不是与属血气的争战 (This means that the people around us who offend us aren’t our enemies意思是,身边那些得罪我们的人并非我们的仇敌, we are not to be against them我们不是要跟他们争战), but against principalities乃是与那些执政的, against powers掌权的, against the rulers of the darkness of this world管辖这幽暗世界的, against spiritual wickedness in high places以及天空属灵气的恶魔争战. (This means Satan and his evil spirits指的是撒旦和他的邪灵. They create conflict and confusion他们制造冲突和混乱, quarrelling and division争吵和分派结党, depression and delusion沮丧和迷惑, and so on等等, by all kinds of lies借的是各式各样的谎言.)
And Jesus our Lord knows that a common stumbling block for Christians can be the failure to forgive others主耶稣知道基督徒常见的绊脚石是不饶恕. If we fall into the trap of the devil and do not forgive我们若落入魔鬼的网罗不去饶恕人, our prayers won’t be effective我们的祷告就没有功效. That’s why after the disciples said to Jesus之所以门徒对主说, “Rabbi, look拉比,请看! The fig tree you cursed has withered你所咒诅的无花果树已经枯干了! Mark 11: 21(可11:21)” Jesus answered耶稣回答说, “Have faith in God你们当信服神.” What does Jesus mean by this faith这里的信,主指的是什么? In Mark 11:24在(可11:24), he said他这样说, “therefore所以我告诉你们, whatever you ask for in prayer凡你们祷告祈求的,无论是什么, believe that you have received it只要信是得着的, and it will be yours就必得着. Does “this faith” mean that I can receive anything I’ve prayed for这个信,是指我祷告要什么就得什么吗? I heard some people say有些人说, “I do believe that what I’ve prayed for will become true我是相信我祷告祈求的都会实现, but it doesn’t happen但实际上没有啊”. What does Jesus mean by this faith这个信,主指的是什么? The next verse explains to us下一节就是解释, “and when you stand praying你们站着祷告的时候, if you hold anything against anyone若想起有人得罪你们, forgive him就当饶恕他, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins好叫你们在天上的父,也饶恕你们的过犯. Mark 11:25(可11:25)” Again, Jesus is teaching us to pray for forgiveness主耶稣又一次指示我们为饶恕人祷告, if we forgive我们若饶恕人, we show our faith in the judgement of God就在表明信神的断定, not of the self而非信自己的断定. The more we forgive我们越饶恕, the more we show our faith in God’s reign越表明对神掌权的信心. And the more the Spirit of God reigns in us并且圣灵越多地在我们里面掌权, the more effective our prayers will become祷告越有功效. When we really forgive those who sin against us我们若真的饶恕得罪我们的人, we truly give room for God’s reign就真正让神掌权!
King David is a man who has great faith大卫王是大有信心的人! In the bible圣经中, about only David神只提到大卫, God said that he was a man after His own heart说他是合神心意的人. We all see how God graciously answered David’s prayers我们看到神满有恩典地 回应大卫的祷告. But he still had to go through lots of testing of his faith by being rejected and insulted可大卫仍然要经历被人拒绝、被人羞辱,信心被试炼, then he asked God to forgive him and he also forgave his enemy那时他就祈求神的赦免,他也饶恕了他的仇敌. David said大卫说, “Bless the Lord, O my soul我的心哪,你要称颂耶和华; And all that is within me凡在我里面的, bless His holy name也要称颂祂的圣名…3 Who forgives all your sins他赦免你的一切罪孽, and heals all your diseases医治你的一切疾病. Psa 103:1,3(诗篇103:1,3)”David knew the power of God’s forgiveness very well大卫非常认识饶恕的大能, but he also failed可他也失败过!
In 1 Samuel 25在《撒母耳记上》25章, when David was being chased by King Soul in the desert大卫在旷野时被扫罗王追杀时, he graciously protected Nabal’s sheep and his servants他仁慈地保护了拿八的牧人和羊群. But when he sent his ten young men to Nabal to ask for food可是,当他派十个部下去拿八那里请求食物支援, Nabal rejected him by speaking insultingly to him拿八却拒绝了, he said并且侮辱他说, “Who is this David大卫是谁? Many servants are rebellious against their masters these days近来悖逆主人的仆人甚多, why should I give my stuff to him我岂可把我的东西给他呢?” David was very angry and tried to take revenge himself气得大卫要亲自拿刀报复.
Think about it想想看, if you treat somebody nicely你一直善待某人, but that person speaks badly against you但那个人却说坏话中伤你, what would you do你会怎么办? As humans作为人, we all get angry and want to get back at someone if we don’t look to God at that moment在这种情况下,若不仰望神,我们全都会气得要报复. If so报复了, we then sin against God我们就得罪神了. But God is merciful但神充满怜悯! He gave us His Son Christ Jesus as the atoning sacrifice for our sins祂舍了爱子耶稣基督为我们的罪成了挽回祭! This is not because of any right things we’ve done不是因为我们做了什么好事, or any performance或者有好表现, so that we are forgiven or favoured by God上帝才恩待,赦免我们. No不是! This is because of God’s mercy是因神的怜悯, He sent His Son Christ to die for our sins差遣爱子基督为我们的罪流血舍命. We all make wrong decisions and do wrong我们都做错决定、做错事. Even the great man of God who had great faith made a wrong decision and tried to take revenge就算是大有信心的人,也会做错决定,要去报复人. So don’t be ashamed因此,不用羞愧, and do not condemn yourself不要定罪自己, if God sent somebody or His words to prevent you from wrong doing要是神差人或话阻止你做错事的话.
Rather相反, we should learn from David我们要学大卫, when David was on the way to take revenge他在复仇的路上, Abigail came to meet him亚比该迎上他, and said this to him对他说, “It’s the Lord who has kept you from bloodshed and taking revenge神阻止你流人血、报复人, why don’t you leave room for God to judge为何不让神来审判, so that when the day of your appointed time comes到了神应许你作王的时候, you will not be found guilty before God你就可在神面前问心无愧…”
When David heard Abigail’s words大卫听到亚比该这番话, he didn’t accept any shameful thoughts他没有接受任何羞愧的意念, nor he pretend that he had been right也没假扮自己是对的, nor said又或者说, “who are you你是谁, woman你一个妇人, to dare to teach me敢来指教我...” Also而且, he didn’t regret it by not forgiving himself他也没觉得后悔就不能原谅自己, nor he went to depression or accused himself by saying或是就此沮丧起来,控告自己说, “oh, I have been silly哎,我好傻啊…I can’t forgive myself for making such a silly decision我简直不能原谅自己竟做了这么蠢的决定…” Instead相反, he turned to God’s salvation immediately他立即转向神的救恩, and started praising God他赞美神, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel耶和华以色列的神是应当称颂的, who has sent you today to meet me因为祂今日使你来迎接我. 33 May you be blessed for your good judgment你和你的见识也当称赞 and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself with my own hands因为你今日拦阻我亲手报仇,流人的血. 1 Samuel 25:32-33(撒上25:32-33)
Do you see看到了吗? David turned to God’s salvation by praising His wonderful acts大卫以赞美转向神的救恩, even when he found that he had done something wrong甚至在他发现自己做错的时候. That’s his faith in God这就是他对神的信心! When David recognized God’s work当大卫认出了神的作为, he stopped taking revenge他不再自己报仇. Do you turn to God by praising His wonderful salvation when you are corrected 当你被纠正时,你有转向赞美神的救恩吗? Forgiveness and leaving room for God to judge is a way for us to enter God’s rest. 饶恕并信心交托神断定能引导我们进入神的安息。
forgiveness doesn’t mean what the person did was right饶恕不是说被饶恕那人所行的是对的. Nabal wasn’t right拿八不对. Forgiveness is to leave our right for God to judge饶恕是把主权交给神, who judges justly按公义审判的神. After David repented of his wrong doing by releasing the debt that Nabal owed him to God在大卫借免了拿八的债来悔改了他自己的错误,God also cancelled David’s debt that he owed God神也免了大卫欠神的债. So who was blessed谁得了祝福? David是大卫! The one who puts his trust in God by forgiving是信靠神、饶恕人的人.
In the same way同样, if you release the debts they owe you如果你免了别人的债, God will release the debts you owe Him神就免去你所欠的债, think about it你想想, how much debts do we owe God我们欠了神多少债啊? When we look at Jesus当我们注视耶稣, he has no sin他没有罪, but he was rejected却被弃绝, betrayed被出卖, beaten被鞭打, mocked and disrespected for our sins为我们的罪被戏弄、被粗暴对待, how much debts do we owe God我们欠神多少债呢? But He chose to cancel our debts但祂选择免去我们的债. If we choose to cancel their debts如果我们选择免他人的债, we will be freed from bitterness, grumpiness and hatred就会从苦毒、抱怨、仇恨中得释放. And also而且, we will be able to live in joy, peace and love我们就可以活出喜乐、平安和爱. Get rid of all bitterness一切苦毒, rage and anger恼恨、愤怒, brawling and slander嚷闹、毁谤, along with every form of malice并一切的恶毒,都当从你们中间除掉. Be kind and compassionate to one another并要以恩慈相待,存怜悯的心, forgiving each other彼此饶恕, just as in Christ God forgave you正如神在基督里饶恕了你们一样.” Ephesians 4:31-32(弗4:31-32)
In the end最后, I wanna tell you a story about what I experienced this Tuesday我讲一件这周二我遇到的事. I heard that many international people experienced the similar things我听说许多国际人士有这样的经历. I went back home about 4pm周二下午四点我回家, and wanted to do some exercise打算六点前做点锻炼, because at 6pm I still had a meeting to go to因为六点还有个会. When I was cycling around Middleton park with ace, Susie’s dog我带上Susie的狗Ace在Middleton公园骑车, it was about 20 meters away from a kiwi man with his two dogs离我二十米远的地方,有个本地男人,也带着两条狗, who was just talking with another woman正和一个女人讲话. Suddenly, he yelled at me with a pointing finger, shouting他突然指着我大吼大叫, “Get away from here走开! You你! get away from here走开! You aren’t allowed to be here不准在这儿!” But I couldn’t stop because it was very near them因为太靠近了,没法停, so I passed by them我就骑过他们, and of course, ace also passed by狗也跑过他们. And I heard the man say to the woman我听到那个男人对女人说, “Maybe she doesn’t understand what I’m saying可能她听不懂我的话.” Then, I shouted back in a kind voice于是我用温柔的语调大声喊, “I forgive you我原谅你! Jesus loves you耶稣爱你!” I kept shouting to him我不停地喊着, “Jesus loves you耶稣爱你, I forgive you我饶恕你…”
I could feel that the man was wondering我可以感觉到那个人在想, “what happened today今天发生啥事了?” Actually, I didn’t go away from that park as the man wanted实际上,我没有像那男人期望的,我可没有走, but I prayed in my heart却在心里祷告, “thank God for loving me and forgiving me by giving Your Son’s blood to wash me clean感谢神爱我赦免我,赐下爱子的血洗净我, so I forgive him and love him as just he is我也饶恕他,爱他,接纳他的本相…” But when I was returning from the other side of the park to the place where the man was但当我从公园另一边骑回原位时, he himself disappeared with his dogs那男人和狗反而都不知去哪里了. On the way to the meeting去开会的路上, when I was driving and listening to music我边开车边听赞美诗, the song “this is amazing grace” strongly touched my heart那首”this is amazing grave”的歌大大感动我, it says歌词说, “this is amazing grace这是奇妙恩典, this is unfailing love这是无尽的爱, that you would take my place你竟愿代替我, that you would bear my cross替我背负十架, You laid down Your life你舍下你生命, that I would be set free释放我得自由.” Tears were about to come我的流泪要流出来了! I prayed in my heart心里祷告说, “Lord, it is You, 主啊,是你,who made yourself nothing让自己成为无有, that bore my sins and forgave me by paying the price担负我的罪,赦免我,为我付代价…so that I now can live in Your grace让我可以住在你的恩典中, and taste the sweetest peace of You品尝你最甜蜜的平安, but this man但这个人, how poor he is that he is tormented by anger and hatred被怒气仇恨欺压,何等可怜, and is bound by fear又被惧怕捆绑, Have mercy on him求你怜悯他…” My heart was moved by God’s love我的心就被神的爱感动…Nearly having finished my prayer就快祷告完的时候, a great flood of joy filled my heart instead of sorrow一阵巨大的喜乐冲走忧愁,喜乐充满了我的心, that power and strength made me feel like that even if I had been beaten by him那个能力让我觉得,就算我被那男人打一顿, I still had a heart to love him and share the good news of Jesus with him if I met him again我的心还是爱他,下次见到他,还会跟他分享我的耶稣.
That’s the power of forgiveness这就是饶恕的能力! As Christians作为基督徒, we are not called to live by what we feel我们不是被呼召去顺着感觉感受活着, and so that we are angry or hurt all the time 因此就常受伤生气when we feel that we are rejected or disrespected by people当我们觉得被人拒绝和不尊重时. Rather而是 we are called by abiding in Jesus and His truth 我们是被呼召要连于基督和他的话! So that we may share in the joy and victory of the Lord因此我们就得享基督的 喜乐和得胜!
If you forgive your enemies from your heart with the grace of God in Christ如果你在基督里,借着恩典从心底里饶恕你的仇敌, the gates of Hades will not overcome you阴间的门就不能胜过你! “for the joy of the Lord is your strength因耶和华的喜乐是你的力量’! If you forgive in His love如果你在爱中饶恕人, there is no Fear in God’s perfect love爱既完全,爱里没有惧怕!
“Father, forgive them父啊,赦免他们, for they do not know what they do他们所作的,他们不晓得.”