9月19日

標　　題：稱惡為善，稱善為惡

經　　節：禍哉！那些稱惡為善，稱善為惡，以暗為光，以光為暗，以苦為甜，以甜為苦的人。（以賽亞書五章20節）

說服人把神看為善之事當作邪惡，和神看為惡之事視為善，是撒但慣用的伎倆。撒但說服亞當和夏娃不順服神（而不是順服神）可以保證他們得到最完美的人生。他們相信了牠，就立即開始經歷了罪的後果！雖然撒但的邏輯很荒謬，牠仍然繼續欺騙人們，使人懷疑神曾經清楚講過的話。

掃羅王希望撒母耳能肯定自己所獻上的祭品，雖然他根本直接地違背神的命令（撒母耳記上十五：13）。亞拿尼亞和撒非喇公然地不順服神，卻希望因著自己的奉獻，能夠得到早期教會的嘉許（使徒行傳五：1∼11）。一位亞瑪力的軍人希望以刺殺神所膏立的掃羅王，來得到大衛的感激（撒母耳記下一：1∼16）。

我們同樣也會面對稱惡為善的試探。我們可能會被說服，以不說實話、撒謊的方式來做些好事。我們可能自稱是在推動基督徒為某個罪人祈禱，而事實上是在傳播謠言。我們可能聲稱自己在事業上順服神的旨意，事實上卻是在追逐自己的野心。我們也同樣會被試探，把神稱為美好之事當作邪惡。神說，愛你的敵人是好的，然而，我們可能保持某種姿態，要他們為自己的所作所為負責任。

把神的話句句當真，是非常重要的。神不要我們為祂的命令找特例，祂要我們完全順服。

Evil, Good and Good, Evil

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20)

It is Satan’s practice to convince people that what God calls good is actually evil and what God declares evil is, in fact, good. Satan persuaded Adam and Eve that their disobedience, rather than their obedience, would guarantee a full life. They believed him and immediately began to experience sin’s consequences! Despite the absurdity of Satan’s logic, he continues to deceive people into doubting what God has clearly said.

King Saul sought Samuel’s affirmation for the sacrifice he had offered, even though he had acted in direct disobedience to God’s command (1 Sam. 15:13). Ananias and Sapphira expected praise from the early church for their offering, though they were blatantly lying (Acts 5:1–11). An Amalekite soldier sought David’s gratitude for killing Saul, God’s anointed king (2 Sam. 1:1–16).

We, too, will face the temptation to call something good that God has declared wicked. We may be persuaded that we can accomplish more good by lying than by telling the truth. We may claim that we are mobilizing Christians to pray for someone in sin when, in fact, we are spreading gossip. We may assert that we are following God’s will in our job when, in fact, we are striving to pursue our own ambitions. We will also be tempted to call evil that which God declares is good. God says it is good to love our enemies, yet we might decide our task is to hold them responsible for their actions.

It is so important to hold ourselves accountable to God’s word. God does not need us to find exceptions for His commands. He requires our obedience.