第129章 反对者的工作
§1
第129章 反对者的工作
§2
Chapter 132—Let the Trumpet Give a Certain Sound.
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《评论与通讯》1892年10月18日
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Review and Herald, October 18, 1892
§5
“我可用什么比这世代呢？好像孩童坐在街市上招呼同伴，说：我们向你们吹笛，你们不跳舞；我们向你们举哀，你们不捶胸。约翰来了，也不吃也不喝，人就说他是被鬼附着的；人子来了，也吃也喝，人又说他是贪食好酒的人，是税吏和罪人的朋友。但智慧之子总以智慧为是”（太11:16-19）。{1888 1061.1}
§6
“Whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.” {1888 1061.1}
§7
耶稣说这些话之前，一直在说施洗约翰。祂对众人说：“你们从前出到旷野是要看什么呢？要看风吹动的芦苇吗？你们出去到底是要看什么？要看穿细软衣服的人吗？那穿细软衣服的人是在王宫里。你们出去究竟是为什么？是要看先知吗？我告诉你们，是的，他比先知大多了。经上记着说：‘我要差遣我的使者在你前面预备道路’，所说的就是这个人。我实在告诉你们，凡妇人所生的，没有一个兴起来大过施洗约翰的；然而天国里最小的比他还大。”“众百姓和税吏既受过约翰的洗，听见这话，就以上帝为义；但法利赛人和律法师没有受过约翰的洗，竟为自己废弃了上帝的旨意”（太11:7-11；路29,30）。{1888 1061.2}
§8
Just before Jesus uttered these words, he had been speaking of John the Baptist. He had said to the multitudes, “What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold they that wear soft clothing are in king’s houses. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea. I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding, he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” “And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.” {1888 1061.2}
§9
那些拒绝了约翰的见证的人，不愿接受耶稣的见证。约翰论到耶稣，宣告说：“祂必兴旺，我必衰微”（约3:30）。文士，法利赛人和官长决意不看真理的确证，不接受最明确的结论。他们为了证明自己顽固不信的行径有理，就千方百计对耶稣的教训吹毛求疵，进行曲解、误用和篡改。这些为自己废弃了上帝旨意的人在没有机会误用基督的话语时，就转移话题，提出不相干的问题，使百姓的注意力偏离耶稣的教训，从而狡猾地回避了真理。法利赛人反对基督的道理并非不加思考，因为真理已给他们留下深刻的印象。然而他们昧着良心，敌挡真理；闭着眼睛，免得看见；硬着心肠，唯恐领悟悔改，基督就会医治他们。他们既自以为义，就太骄傲，不肯接受基督来要带给他们的帮助。{1888 1061.3}
§10
Those who rejected the testimony of John were unwilling to receive the testimony of him of whom John declared, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” The scribes, Pharisees, and rulers were determined that they would not see the evidences of truth, and they evaded the most manifest conclusions. To justify their course of stubborn unbelief, they lost no possible opportunity of seizing upon anything in the teaching of Jesus that they could misconstrue, misapply, or falsify. When there was no possibility of misapplying the truth of Christ’s words, these men who rejected the counsel of God against themselves, started questions that had no reference to the matter in hand, so as to attract the attention of the people away from the lesson that Jesus sought to teach, and adroitly evade the truth. The Pharisees were not blindly opposing the doctrines of Christ; for the truth made deep impressions upon their minds; but they resisted truth, and went contrary to their convictions, closing their eyes lest they should see, hardening the heart, lest they should perceive, and be converted, and Christ should heal them. In their self-righteousness they were too proud to accept the help that Christ came to bring to them. {1888 1061.3}
§11
法利赛人设法回避真理和使人们的注意力转离重要教训的方式，——提出与主题不相干的问题，——乃是真理的反对者们历代采用作为庇所的方式。撒但既精通各样抗拒真理的技术，就给他的代表们提出建议计划，叫他们为自己废弃上帝的旨意。他鼓动反对真理的人提出虚假的争端，讨论并不切题的问题，好使已经知罪并且部分信服的人不再研究和接受真理。从基督的日子到现在，一直有人对真理持这种态度：“上帝啊，离开我吧。我不想走祢的道路，而想走我自己的道路。”{1888 1061.4}
§12
The manner in which the Pharisees sought to evade the truth, and to turn the attention of the people away from vital lessons,—by starting questions that did not bear upon the subject,—is one in which the opposers of truth in all ages have taken refuge. Satan, who is proficient in all manner of arts for the resisting of truth, suggests to his agents plans whereby they may reject the counsel of God against themselves. He incites the opposers of truth to start false issues, to discuss questions that are not to the point, in order that those who are convicted and half convinced, may be turned aside from their investigation and acceptance of truth. Ever since the days of Christ there have been men whose attitude toward truth has said, “Depart from me, O God. I want not thy way, but my own way.” {1888 1061.4}
§13
有许多人设法回避真理，快跑离开主。他们若是察觉到所提出的论据会推翻他们所持的观点；他们若是看出自己有可能被没有拥护过的某个真理说服，还可能会被迫放弃抵抗，屈服于真理，他们就立刻逃离宣传真理之人的影响，以便仍然行在自己所点的火把中；但主宣布这等人“必躺在悲惨之中”（赛50:11）。{1888 1061.5}
§14
There are many who seek to evade the truth, to run away from the Lord. If they perceive that arguments are presented which will overthrow the opinion they have held; if they see that there is a possibility of their being convinced of some truth they have not advocated, and that they may be compelled to give up their resistance, and yield to the truth, straightway they flee from the influence of its propagators, in order that they may still walk in the sparks of their own kindling; but the Lord declares of this class, “They shall lie down in sorrow.” {1888 1061.5}
§15
天上的信使不能指望得那些决心抵抗真理之人的喜悦。基督这样描绘他们：“我们向你们吹笛，你们不跳舞；我们向你们举哀，你们不捶胸”（太11:17）。无论集合采取什么做法，都会引起反对真理之人的异议；他们会利用提倡真理之人仪态、习惯或品格上的每一个缺点，以便阻止人坦诚地关注真理并听从其证据。要是有什么东西能让反对真理的人有机会歪曲提出真理之人的品格或曲解其行动，他们就会藉此阻止那些因听见或相信信息而愿意接受和顺从真理的人。{1888 1061.6}
§16
The messenger of heaven cannot hope to please those who are determined to resist the truth. Christ describes them as saying, “We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.” Whatever course the messenger may pursue, it will be objectionable to the opposers of truth; and they will make capital of every defect in the manners, customs, or character of its advocate, in order that they may prevent those from giving it their candid attention and would listen to the evidences. If there is anything through which the opposers can find occasion to falsify the character or misinterpret the action of him who presents the truth, they will take advantage of it to deter those who would accept and obey the truth from hearing or believing the message. {1888 1061.6}
§17
主曾藉着先祖和先知传信息给祂的子民，为要纠正祂子民中间存在的邪恶。他们若有可能看出人的遗传和解释与上帝真理的区别，原不需要再派先知传信息，然而这是不可能的；因为世上的格言交织进了他们的教导中，就如经线与纬线交织一样，人的吩咐竟被视为比上帝的诫命更受尊敬。人为的理论从一个人传到另一个人，人的道理象邪恶的酵一样积极作工，直到全团都发起来了。当主传来一个信息时，祂就赐下充足的证据来使心里诚实的人确信它是真理；但那些抗拒真理的人却会要求更大的证据，这只会使他们的反对更加坚决。{1888 1061.7}
§18
The Lord sent messages to his people through the agency of patriarchs and prophets, in order that the evils which existed in his people might be corrected. Had it been possible for them to discern the traditions and interpretations of men from the truth of God, there would have been no need of sending the message of the prophet: but this was not possible; for the maxims of the world were woven into their teaching as the warp is with the woof, and the commandments of men were regarded with more reverence than were the commandments of God. Man-made theories pass from one to another, and the doctrines of men, like evil leaven, work actively till the whole lump is leavened. When the Lord sends a message, he gives sufficient evidence to convince the honest in heart of its truth; but those who would resist the truth call for greater evidence. Should the Lord give them a greater evidence, it would only make their opposition more determined. {1888 1061.7}
§19
施洗约翰的工作是劝诫百姓要预备耶和华的路，在沙漠地修平我们上帝的道（赛40:3）。天使向撒迦利亚宣布了约翰的使命，说：“他在主面前将要为大，淡酒浓酒都不喝，从母腹里就被圣灵充满了。他要使许多以色列人回转，归于主他们的上帝。他必有以利亚的心志能力，行在主的前面，叫为父的心转向儿女，叫悖逆的人转从义人的智慧，又为主预备合用的百姓”（路1:15-17）。他的信息要震惊和唤醒百姓。他不是要与人交往，而要在旷野等候，百姓要来到他这里听他的信息。他穿着粗质的衣服，就是先知们常穿的衣服，并且拒绝一切带有自我放纵性质的事。他扬起声来，好像吹角，发出警告和督责，许多人悔改并在约旦河受了他的洗。{1888 1061.8}
§20
The work of John the Baptist was to exhort the people to prepare the way of the Lord, to make straight in the desert a highway for our God. The angel announced John’s mission to Zacharias, saying, “He shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” His message was to startle and arouse the people. He was not to associate with men, but wait in the wilderness, and the people were to come to him to hear his message. He was clothed in coarse raiment, such as was customary for the clothing of prophets, and he refused everything that savored of self-indulgence. He lifted up his voice as a trumpet in warning and reproof, and many were converted, and baptized of him in Jordan. {1888 1061.8}
§21
然而尽管约翰是上帝的一位信使，众人却没有都领受他的见证。许多人坚决与他作对，奋力抵消他的影响。他们轻蔑地对他节俭的生活、简朴的习惯、粗质的服装指指点点，并且宣布他是一个狂热分子。他们拒绝他的话，因为他以严厉的斥责公然抨击他们的伪善。他们还设法煽动百姓反对他，宣称他不顾他们的宗教仪式，藐视他们的传统。尽管如此，主的灵还是在这些讥诮者心上运行，使他们服罪；但他们却拒绝了上帝的旨意，面对祂所赐给他们的证据，他们反而宣布约翰是被鬼附的。他们就这样切断了使他们受天上影响的最后链环，被撇在黑暗里了。{1888 1061.9}
§22
But although John was a messenger of God, not all received his testimony. Many set themselves against him, and strove to counteract his influence. They pointed in scorn to his abstemious life, his simple habits, his coarse garments, and declared that he was a fanatic. They resisted his words because he denounced their hypocrisy with scathing rebukes, and they sought to stir up the people against him by declaring that he set aside their religious ceremonies, and held in contempt their traditions. Nevertheless the Spirit of the Lord was at work upon the hearts of these scorners, convincing them of sin; but they rejected the counsel of God, and in the face of the evidence he had given them to the contrary, declared that John was possessed of a devil. Thus they cut the last link that bound them to heavenly influences, and were left in darkness. {1888 1061.9}
§23
约翰传了信息之后，耶稣便开始传道。祂以人性披覆了祂的神性，以便人性可以接触人性，神性则持定无穷者。祂来接触人，提拔人。祂来向他们表明天父的品格。无论在哪里，祂只要有机会，只要发现一个饥饿的人，就提供那从天上降下来生命的粮。属世的职位，属世的尊荣，对祂毫无吸引力，但一个渴求生命水的心灵却对祂的心有吸引力。祂虽然斥责了法利赛人的伪善，却没有拒绝坐在税吏和罪人的席上，因为这给了祂一个向他们介绍神圣真理教训的机会。许多就这样对救主留下了良好印象的人在祂升天之后悔改归主了。当圣灵沛降时，一天之内有三千人悔改了，他们中许多人曾在税吏的席上听过基督的恩言。{1888 1061.10}
§24
After John had given his message, Jesus began his ministry. He had clothed his divinity 1062with humanity, in order that humanity might touch humanity, and divinity lay hold on the infinite One. He came to reach the people, and to lift them up. He came to represent to them the character of the Father. Wherever he had opportunity, wherever he found a hungry soul, he presented the bread which cometh down from heaven. Worldly position, worldly honor, had no attraction for him, but that which appealed to his heart was a soul thirsting for the water of life. While he rebuked the Pharisees for their hypocrisy, he did not refuse to sit at the table of publicans and sinners, since it afforded him an opportunity of presenting to them lessons of divine truth. Many who thus received a favorable impression of the Saviour were converted after his ascension. Three thousand were converted in a day when the holy Spirit was poured out, and many of them were of those who had listened to Christ’s gracious utterances while at the tables of the publicans. {1888 1061.10}
§25
耶稣因为与罪人交往，就被指控为贪食好酒的人；但做出这种控告的那些人自己就是有罪的人。撒但误表上帝品格的办法乃是把他自己的特性归在上帝身上，恶人们也这样歪曲主的信使。那些控告耶稣并说约翰被鬼附的人，知道自己在做假见证；但他们却满心嫉妒，因为，尽管他们久已被公认为民中的领袖，却被撇在一边，百姓蜂拥去听另一个人的话了。{1888 1062.1}
§26
Because of his association with sinners, Jesus was accused of being a glutton and a winebibber; but the very ones who made this charge were themselves the guilty ones. Satan’s method of misrepresenting the character of God is to attribute to him his own characteristics, and thus do wicked men falsify the messenger of the Lord. Those who accused Jesus, and who had said that John had a devil, knew that they were bearing false witness; but they were filled with jealousy, because, though they had so long been the acknowledged leaders of the people, they were set aside, and the people thronged to hear the words of another. {1888 1062.1}
§27
法利赛人和教师们那么自私，以致没有停下来考虑一下这个事实：耶稣在与税吏和罪人一同吃喝，以便将天国的亮光传播给坐在黑暗中的人。他们没有停下来注意一下，那位神圣教师口中所出的每一句话都是一粒活的种子，会发芽生长，结出果子来荣耀上帝。他们没有认识到，祂人生的每一个举动都充满永恒的影响，永远不会失去其效力。法利赛人和拉比们既下定决心不接受基督所赐的亮光；祂就转向平民了，他们高兴听祂，他们的心没有对祂的话加强抵抗，祂的话语一解开，就发出亮光，使愚人通达。耶稣来作众人的救主，——犹太人和外邦人，富人和穷人，自由人和为奴的人。祂与受苦的人类利益与共；但当祂被指控与税吏和罪人为友时，祂说：“我来本不是召义人悔改，乃是召罪人悔改”（路5:32）。{1888 1062.2}
§28
So selfish were the Pharisees and teachers, that they did not stop to consider the fact that Jesus was eating with publicans and sinners in order to diffuse the light of heaven to those who sat in darkness. They did not stop to notice that every word dropped by the divine Teacher was as a living seed that should germinate, and bear fruit to the glory of God. They did not realize that every action of his life was fraught with eternal influence that should never lose its force. The Pharisees and rabbis had determined that they would not accept the light given by Christ; and he turned to the common people, who heard him gladly, whose hearts were not fortified against the entrance of his words that give light and understanding unto the simple. Jesus had come to be the Saviour of all,—Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, free and bond. He identified his interest with that of suffering humanity; but when accused of friendship for publicans and sinners, he said: “I am come not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” {1888 1062.2}
§29
法利赛人、祭司和官长们被骄傲、偏见和仇恨所促使，拒绝了荣耀的主。祂大能的作为对他们的心思没有软化的影响；因为他们硬着心，惟恐自己会悔改。当给出证据证明一个人是万军之耶和华的信使，他是替上帝发言时，人若拒绝和藐视信息，就是危险的。转身离开天上的亮光并拒绝擎光者，乃是采取与撒但在天庭引起天使叛乱时相似的做法。他误表上帝的品格，使人以错误的眼光看待祂恩慈的命令。他规避真理，狡猾地行事，使善的看起来象恶的，恶的看起来象善的。他一点没有失去他的圆滑，通过他的爪牙，在规避真理、引起错误的争端、误表信息和信使上表现了同样的外交手段和技巧。我们不仅看到他在那些公然反对真理的人中间行事，而且看到在教会中，他的技巧也表现在使那些自称要作上帝儿女的人中间有分裂起争论。{1888 1062.3}
§30
Prompted by pride, prejudice, and hatred, the Pharisees, priests, and rulers rejected the Lord of glory. His mighty works had no softening influence upon their minds; for they hardened their hearts lest they should be converted. When evidence is given that a man is a messenger of the Lord of hosts, that he speaks in God’s stead, it is perilous to the soul to reject and despise the message. To turn away from heaven’s light and refuse the light-bearer, is to take a course similar to that which Satan took in the courts of heaven when he created rebellion in the ranks of the angels. He misrepresented the character of God, and placed in a false light his gracious commandments. He evaded the truth, and subtly worked to make good appear as evil, and evil as good. He has lost none of his tact, and through his agents, manifests the same diplomacy and skill in evading truth, in creating false issues, in misrepresenting the message and the messenger. Not only do we see his working in the world among those who openly oppose the truth, but also in the church his art is manifested in the divisions and controversies among those who profess to be the children of God. {1888 1062.3}
§31
每当主有一项特别的工作要在祂的子民中间进行的时候，祂就会唤起他们的心去默想重要的真理，而撒但则会引入一些无关紧要的歧见来扰乱人的思想，以便引起关于教义上的争端，而所争议的教义对于理解当前的要点来说却是不必要的，从而造成了分裂，使人的注意力转离了要点。在这种情况发生时，主就作工感动人心，使他们关心那对他们的得救必不可少的真理。因此，如果撒但能吸引人心去注意一些不重要的问题，使人们在一些较小的问题上产生分歧，以致心灵被蒙蔽，反对亮光和真理，他就会恶毒得意地欢喜雀跃了。他过去这么做了，还打算要这么做，以便将他邪恶的阴影投在百姓和他们的上帝之间，阻隔主原希望照在祂儿女身上的亮光。{1888 1062.4}
§32
Whenever the Lord has a special work to do among his people, when he would arouse their minds to contemplate vital truth, Satan will work to divert the mind by introducing minor points of difference, in order that he may create an issue concerning doctrines that are not essential to the understanding of the point in hand, and thus bring about disunion, and distract attention from the essential point. When this occurs, the Lord is at work making impressions upon the hearts of men, concerning that which is necessary to their salvation. Then if Satan can draw the mind away to some unimportant issue, and cause the people to divide on some minor point, so that their hearts are barricaded against light and truth, he exults in malicious triumph. This he has done in the past, and this he purposes to do still, in order that he may cast his hellish shadow between the people and their God, and cut off the light that the Lord would have shine upon his children. {1888 1062.4}