4月13日

標　　題： 神的道路非同于你的道路

經　　節： 你們要謹慎，恐怕有人用他的理學和虛空的妄言，不照著基督，乃照人間的遺傳和世上的小學就把你們擄去。（歌羅西書二章8節）

鼓勵基督徒要「現實點」，是個狡猾的試探。也就是，他們以人的方式來做神的工。「要有果效」變成事奉的主要重點。我們看起來好像相信自己可以不擇手段，只要能夠達到目的就好！不要迷失在世俗的道理之中。我們仔細查考神的話，發現方法有時比結果來得重要。世界想要說服你，只要你能夠為神國完成某一事業，其他都無關緊要。舉例來說，亞拿尼亞和撒非喇奉獻一大筆錢。這本是一件美事，然而，他們卻以欺詐的方式奉獻。神立即判決他們，不是為了他們做了甚麼，而是為了他們是怎麼做，而審判他們（使徒行傳五：1∼11）。

撒但想要以同樣的方式陷害耶穌。撒但沒有質問耶穌工作的價值，牠僅提供了一些「實際」的解決方法，以更有效率、更有經濟效益的方式，來達到耶穌的目標。然而，神的方法非同於人們的方法。「效率」是人類的觀點，卻不是神所重視的。讓以色列百姓繞耶利哥城十三圈，再吹號角，然後城牆才倒塌（約書亞記六章），這可是一點也沒有效率！選擇耶西最小的兒子作下一任的國王，似乎不太有智慧，但神看的是人的內心（撒母耳記上十六：11）。乍看之下，耶穌挑選那十二門徒似乎不合邏輯，然而神藉著他們戲劇化地影響了他們的世界。

企圖以人的方法做神的工，是沒有智慧的。這是長久以來的試探，外表看起來似乎很有道理，卻往往與神的目標對立。

God’s Thinking Is Not Man’s Thinking

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. (Colossians 2:8)

There is a subtle temptation that encourages Christians to be “practical.” That is, they try to do God’s work in man’s way. “Getting results” becomes the primary focus. It almost seems that we believe that the end justifies the means. Don’t be led away by the world’s reasoning. An examination of God’s Word shows that the means are sometimes even more important than the results. The world tries to convince you that as long as you can accomplish something for the kingdom of God, that’s all that matters. For example, Ananias and Sapphira gave an offering to their church, which was a good thing, but they did it deceitfully. God judged them immediately, not for what they did, but for how they did it (Acts 5:1–11).

Satan tried to trap Jesus with this same temptation. Satan did not question the worthiness of Jesus’ task, but simply offered “practical” solutions to accomplish Jesus’ goal more quickly and at lesser cost. God’s ways are not like man’s ways. “Efficiency” from man’s perspective is not prized by God. It did not seem efficient to have the children of Israel march around Jericho thirteen times and then blow their trumpets, but it brought the walls down (Josh. 6). It did not appear wise to select the youngest of Jesse’s sons to become the next king, but God saw a man after His own heart (1 Sam. 16:11). At first glance, it does not seem logical for Jesus to have picked the twelve disciples He did, yet through them God dramatically affected their world.

It is never wise to attempt to do God’s work in man’s way. It is an age-old temptation that seems to make sense on the surface but often is at variance with the purposes of God.