經文
10 For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group.11 They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach--and that for the sake of dishonest gain.
12 Even one of their own prophets has said, "Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons."
13 This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith
14 and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth.
15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted.
16 They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.
10因為有許多人不服約束，說虛空話欺哄人；那奉割禮的更是這樣。
11這些人的口總要堵住。他們因貪不義之財，將不該教導的教導人，敗壞人的全家。
12有革哩底人中的一個本地先知說：革哩底人常說謊話，乃是惡獸，又饞又懶。
13這個見證是真的。所以，你要嚴嚴的責備他們，使他們在真道上純全無疵，
14不聽猶太人荒渺的言語和離棄真道之人的誡命。
15在潔淨的人，凡物都潔淨；在污穢不信的人，什麼都不潔淨，連心地和天良也都污穢了。
16他們說是認識神，行事卻和他相背；本是可憎惡的，是悖逆的，在各樣善事上是可廢棄的。
單字片語
- rebellious: 叛逆
- talkers: 健談
- deceivers: 多嘴的人
- circumcision: 割禮
- ruining: 破壞
- gluttons: 暴食者
- rebuke: 斥責
- sharply: 嚴厲地
- myths: 編造的話
- corrupted: 腐爛
- consciences: 良心
- detestable: 可恨
- unfit: 不適合的
Reflection
False Teachers and New Believers (1:10~14)
Church planting is difficult. Opponents make life hard, and new converts sometimes come with scores of unresolved issues. Paul encounters all of this and more. The so-called circumcision group are a particular source of grief for him, as they seem to turn up wherever he plants a church. Now they are a problem for Titus. Paul warns Titus to silence them, as their false teachings are causing trouble (vv. 10–11). The newly-converted Cretans have their own problems: lying is their way of life, as are evil and laziness (vv. 12–13). Sometimes we idealize the early church, but it was far from perfect. The church has faced challenges from within and without, and it always will.- Ministry can be a messy business. Take time to pray for your pastors who shepherd you from false teaching and guide you in your walk with Christ. They need it.
單字片語
- Opponents: 對手
- particular: 細節
- grief: 悲傷
- messy: 凌亂的
The Danger of Good Works (1:15~16)
The most curious phrase in these verses is found in verse 16: “They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him.” The actions referred to are likely the kind of “good” works that people do in order to impress God and earn their salvation. Tim Keller has noted that people can sometimes deny God by their good works because in depending on works, they slander and reject the finished work of Jesus on the cross; their good works are merely filthy rags (Isa. 64:6). True good works are the fruit of true faith, and they are pleasing to God. But good works cannot be a source of faith and are powerless to save because they place faith in the self rather than in Christ, the true Savior.- If we ever feel like God owes us for something we have done, it is likely that we have fallen into a works-oriented faith driven by a sense of entitlement. How is your heart in this regard?
單字片語
- curious: 稀奇的
- impress: 使感動
- slander: 誹謗
- filthy rags: 汙穢的衣服
- entitlement: 授權
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