“The Devil Hates Everything Dear to God 魔鬼恨惡每樣對神珍貴的事物“(1 John 約翰一書 3:8-9)
The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.
犯罪的是出於魔鬼,因為魔鬼從起初就犯罪。因此,神的兒子顯現了,是要除滅魔鬼的作為。凡是從神生的,就不犯罪,因為神的生命在他裡面;他也不能犯罪,因為他是從神生的。
Any tendency either to ignore the devil altogether or to make too much of him is wrong! This enemy is not a creation of religious fancy, not a mere personification of evil for convenience, but a being as real as mankind themselves. He is said to be a liar, a deceiver and a murderer who achieves his ends by guile and trickery. He is not omnipresent (which is God’s attribute alone) but is ubiquitous for his purpose. Satan hates God for His own sake, and everything that is dear to God he hates for the very reason that God loves it. Because man was made in God’s image the hatred with which Satan regards him is particularly malevolent, and since the Christian is doubly dear to God he is hated by the powers of darkness with an aggravated fury. In view of this, it cannot be less than folly for us Christians to disregard the reality and presence of such an enemy.
任何傾向於完全忽略魔鬼,或過份大肆宣揚他都是錯誤的!這位仇敵不是宗教幻想的產物,不是為方便起見邪惡僅僅的人格化,卻是如人類自己一樣的存在物。他被稱為撒謊者、欺騙者和兇手,他以奸詐和欺騙來達成他的目的。他並非同時遍在的(這單單是神的屬性),為了自己的目的卻是普遍存在的。撒旦恨惡神,只因為祂是神;每樣對神珍貴的事物,撒旦都恨惡,原因只是神喜愛之物。由於人是按著神的形像而造,撒旦對待人的怨恨是特别地惡毒的。基督徒既然加倍蒙神珍愛,黑暗的勢力更以熾烈的怒火恨惡他。有鑒於此,對我們基督徒來說,去漠視如此仇敵的真實和存在,簡直是愚不可及了。
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for reminding us the threat of ignoring the devil’s reality and presence, your grief over our ignorance in letting Satan to destroy us and our unnecessary fear of what Satan could do against us without trusting Christ able to destroy all the works of the devil. Help us to have a true faith in Christ’s precious redemptive blood so that we have our assurance of being saved and born again and would hate sin as we grow in Him breaking away from our habitual sin. Amen.
禱告: 天父啊,感謝你提醒我們,漠視魔鬼的真實和存在那威脋、你對我們容讓撒旦毀滅我們的無知那憂傷,並我們沒有信靠基督能毀滅魔鬼的作為,而對撒旦可以作甚麽來加害我們那不必要的恐懼。求你幫助我們,在基督贖罪的寶血上有真確的信心,好使我們有得救重生的確據,並當我們在基督裡成長,脫離自己習慣性的罪時會恨惡罪。阿們。