1) Q. In the Bible, is there an instance where we see that Jesus is the sinners’ friend?
A. In Matthew 11:19, we see that “The Son of Man came eating and drinking; and they say, Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.”
问:圣经里有没有一个例证,给我们看见耶稣是罪人的朋友?
答:在马太福音十一章十九节,我们看见“人子来了,也吃也喝,人又说,看哪,一个贪食好酒的人,一个税吏和罪人的朋友。”
2) Q. When the Lord first came to men in the gospels, didn’t He first come to visit them as their Savior first?
A. In the Gospels, the Lord Jesus is presented as the friend of sinners, for historically He was found, first of all, moving among men as their friend before He became their Savior.
问:主首次在福音书里来到人中间时,难道不是先作救主临到他们吗?
答:在福音书里,主耶稣被陈明为罪人的朋友,因为就历史的观点来看,祂在人中间的行动,首先是作他们的朋友,然后才作他们的救主。
3) Q. I think that it is important that people know Jesus can be their Savior. But does He need to be their friend also?
A. Before we have reached the point where we are willing or able to receive Him as Savior, He comes to us as a friend, so that personal encounter is not excluded to us and the door is held open for us to receive Him as Savior. This is a precious discovery.
问:我认为,人认识到耶稣能作他们的救主是很重要的。但是,祂也需要作他们的朋友吗?
答:在我们达到愿意,或能接受祂作救主的地步之前,祂是作一位朋友临到我们,使我们能不受拦阻的亲身遇见祂,使救恩的门一直敞开,叫我们能接受祂作救主。这是一个宝贵的发现。
4) Q. Some people are saved through difficulty. What happens to those who are saved through knowing Jesus?
A. Too often those who have been saved merely through knowledge developed big heads. But when it comes to a crisis in which they lose their known bearings and have to trust the Lord over something, they cannot do so. They are not in living touch with Him.
问:有些人因着患难而得救。那些靠着关于耶稣的知识而得救的人会怎么样呢?
答:那些仅仅靠知识得救的人往往变成大头脑。但当他们遇到危机,失去方向,必须信靠主的时候,他们却作不到。他们与主没有活的接触。
5) Q. When some are faced with severe trials, they seem to get by with knowledge about the Lord. What about others?
A. There are others, who may know very little but have come out of themselves, and have touched the living God, who develop and grow in faith even through the severest trial.
问:有些人面临严重的试炼时,似乎是靠着关于主的知识过来的。那其他的人呢?
答:另有些人,可能知识不多,却从自己出来,摸到了活的神,甚至在极重的试炼中因信而得着长进。
6) Q. Jesus, my Savior died on the cross and now He is the crucified and the reigning One. Isn’t this enough for salvation?
A. It is the living Lord who becomes our Savior. Jesus is no longer the crucified but the reigning One, and today therefore we go for salvation not to the foot of the cross, but to the throne, to believe in Him as Lord.
问:我的救主耶稣,死在十字架上,现在祂是钉死并掌权的一位。对于我们的得救,难道这还不够吗?
答:乃是活的主成了我们的救主。耶稣不再是钉十字架的那一位,乃是掌权的一位;所以今天我们要得救,不是去到十字架底下,乃是来到宝座前,相信祂是主。
7) Q. Now I see that Jesus first becomes our friend and then our Savior. But how is His redemption related to our salvation?
A. Redemption was secured by the Lord Jesus on the cross two thousand years ago. Our salvation rests today upon that redemption, accomplished once for all in time.
问:现在我明白了耶稣是先作我们的朋友,然后作我们的救主。但是,祂的救赎是如何与我们的救恩发生关系的呢?
答:救赎是主耶稣二千年前在十字架上所完成的。我们今天的救恩乃是根据这个救赎,那是在时间里一次永远完成的。
8) Q. There are some who believe that they need to know more in order to be saved. Is this true?
A. Salvation is not even a question of understanding or of will. It is, as we have seen, a question of meeting God—of men coming into firsthand contact with Christ the Savior.
问:有一些人相信,他们要得救需要知道得更多。这对吗?
答:救恩甚至不是领会或意志的问题,我们已经看过,救恩乃是遇到神的问题,就是人与救主基督有直接的接触。
9) Q. But I always thought that man want and understand salvation. Does man need to do anything else?
A. It does not matter if a man wants or does not want to be saved, it does not matter if he understands or does not understand; provided that he is prepared to be honest with God about it, God is prepared to meet him.
问:但我总是认为人需要想得救,并且明白得救。是不是人还需要作其他什么事?
答:不管他想不想得救,不管他明白不明白;只要他预备好在这事上向神是诚实的,神就预备好来遇见他。
10) Q. I am prepared to be honest with God and meet Him. What do I need to do?
A. A cry to God from the heart is sufficient. In the words of Joel, quoted by Peter: “Whosever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Because the Holy Spirit has been poured out upon all mankind, a cry is enough.
问:我预备好了向神是诚实的,来遇见祂。我还需要作些什么?
答:只要从心中向神呼求就足够了。彼得引用约珥的话说,“凡呼求主名的,就必得救。” 因为圣灵已经浇灌在一切人身上,所以人只要呼求就够了。