But You Have Been Washed / 但你们已经洗净了

But You Have Been Washed / 但你们已经洗净了

Ephesians 2
2 in which you once walked. You were following the ways of this world [influenced by this present age], in accordance with the prince of the power of the air (Satan), the spirit who is now at work in the disobedient [the unbelieving, who fight against the purposes of God].

3 Among these [unbelievers] we all once lived in the passions of our flesh [our behavior governed by the sinful self], indulging the desires of [a]human nature [without the Holy Spirit] and [the impulses] of the [sinful] mind. We were, by nature, children [under the sentence] of [God’s] wrath, just like the rest [of mankind].

以弗所书 2
2 那时你们在这些罪中行事为人，随从这个世界的风俗，顺服空中掌权者的首领（就是撒但）——那现在仍在悖逆之子心中运行的邪灵；
3 我们从前也都在他们中间生活，放纵肉体的情欲，随着肉体和心中的喜好去行；我们生来就是神忿怒之下的儿女，与其他人一样。

Devotion / 灵修信息

We are often encouraged to look ahead, and rightly so—but we must not forget where we came from.

我们常被鼓励要向前看，这当然没错——但我们也不能忘记我们从哪里来。

In 2015, when my dear brother Peter came to visit us in the UK, we went back to the home where he grew up and I was born. The neighbor next door remembered him well—especially for being quite a mischievous boy!

2015年，我亲爱的弟弟Peter来英国探访我们，我们回到了我们成长的老家。邻居一见到他就认了出来——还特别记得他小时候非常调皮！

I know someone reading this remembers what I was like before I became a Christian—a mix of ‘Dennis the Menace’ and ‘The Joker.’ And honestly, for those who met me, it was less funny and more like a nightmare.

我知道有正在读这篇文章的人记得我信主前的模样——像是“淘气包丹尼斯”和“小丑”的结合体。说实话，对那些遇到我的人来说，那可一点都不好笑，简直像是噩梦。

As Christians, we rejoice in the light we now walk in, but we must also recall what we once were.

作为基督徒，我们因自己如今行在光中而喜乐，但我们也要记得我们曾经是什么样的人。

Ephesians 2:2 says we once followed the world, chased after Satan’s lies, and had no interest in God or Jesus. Like me—I was fine going to church for an hour on Sunday, but for the rest of the week, I lived like a devil.

以弗所书2章2节说，我们从前随从世界，奔向撒但的谎言，对神和耶稣毫无兴趣。就像我——我可以在礼拜天去教堂坐一个小时，但接下来的一整周我就像个魔鬼一样活着。

Truthfully, I wasn’t neutral—I was against God. I saw Him as irrelevant, a crutch for the lonely. He didn’t matter to me.

说实话，我并不是中立的——我反对神。我认为他无关紧要，只是孤独者的精神寄托。他在我生命中毫无地位。

I indulged my flesh. I remember how my dad had a coin jar—5p and 1p coins. He often wondered why it didn’t fill up. Well, I was quietly stealing from it. That’s what a sinful heart does—it breaks every rule and writes its own.

我放纵肉体的情欲。我记得爸爸有个装硬币的罐子——5便士和1便士。他常纳闷罐子为什么一直不满。其实是我偷偷拿走了。这就是有罪的心——它践踏一切规则，自定法则。

I was under God’s wrath. His hand was not holding me—it was against me. And not just God—many others probably wanted to strangle me too.

我那时在神的忿怒之下。他的手不是托住我，而是对着我。其实不止神，很多人可能也想掐死我。

So what now? Remembering our past gives us two things as believers:

那么现在呢？作为信徒，回顾我们的过去可以带来两方面的提醒：

First, urgency. We see people around us still trapped in sin, without hope, just like we were. They are under God’s wrath, and many will die today—lost forever.

第一，紧迫感。我们看到周围的人还陷在罪中、没有指望，就像从前的我们一样。他们活在神的忿怒下，今天就有许多人会死去——永远失丧。

There is no time to waste.

我们真的没有时间可以浪费。

Second, compassion. We don’t look at unbelievers with pride or judgment. Remember what Paul told the Corinthians:

9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; [d]neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate [by perversion], nor [e]those who participate in homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers [whose words are used as weapons to abuse, insult, humiliate, intimidate, or slander], nor swindlers will inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you [before you believed]. But you were washed [by the atoning sacrifice of Christ], you were sanctified [set apart for God, and made holy], you were justified [declared free of guilt] in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the [Holy] Spirit of our God [the source of the believer’s new life and changed behavior]. (1 Corinthians 6:9–11)

第二，怜悯。我们不以骄傲或论断看待未信者。请记得保罗对哥林多教会说的话：

9 你们岂不知，不义的人不能承受　神的国吗？不要自欺！无论是淫乱的、拜偶像的、奸淫的、作娈童的、亲男色的，

10 盗贼、贪婪的、醉酒的、辱骂的、勒索的，都不能承受　神的国。

11 你们中间也有人从前是这样；但如今你们奉主耶稣基督的名，并借着我们　神的灵，已经洗净、成圣、称义了。

（哥林多前书6:9–11）

Such were some of you. But you have been washed.

你们中间也有人是这样；但你们已经洗净了。

We are who we are today only because of Jesus’ blood that cleansed our sin.

我们今天能成为新人，是因耶稣的宝血洗净了我们的罪。

Let us never forget that truth.

愿我们永不忘记这个真理。

God bless you.

愿神祝福你。