[今日經文 Today’s Reading: 使徒行傳 Acts 4-5]
27 帶到了，便叫使徒站在公會前。大祭司問他們說： 28 「我們不是嚴嚴地禁止你們，不可奉這名教訓人嗎？你們倒把你們的道理充滿了耶路撒冷，想要叫這人的血歸到我們身上！」29 彼得和眾使徒回答說：「順從神不順從人，是應當的。」
使徒行傳 Acts 5:27-29
27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, 28 saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.
當彼得和使徒被要求停止奉耶穌的名傳道時，他們回答說：“順從神不順從人，是應當的。 ” 今天，我們也面臨著讓教會保持沉默的同樣壓力。 這壓力不僅來自政府，而且來自媒體和學校，在許多道德問題上反對教會，很不幸甚至也來自教會內部。願今天的教會向彼得和使徒們學習，向世界宣告，“我們必須順服神，而不是順服人 。”正如英國神學家和文學學者哈里·布拉米雷斯 (Harry Blamires) 所說，
“他想看見有基督徒思想家興起，他們能“挑戰時代的偏見……激動安逸之士……攔阻忙碌的實用主義者……對周圍一切事的根基發出質疑，並且……不怕令人討厭”。
願教會在這樣的時刻興起，“放膽傳講上帝的道”（使徒行傳 4:29），願意像早期的使徒一樣：”算是配為這名受辱。 42 他們就每日在殿裡、在家裡不住地教訓人，傳耶穌是基督。” （使徒行傳 5:41-42）
禱告：親愛的天父，願祢今天讓祢的教會有勇氣順從祢而不是人，並大膽地傳講祢的話。 奉耶穌的名，阿門。
When Peter and the apostles were asked to stop preaching in the name of Jesus, they answered, “We must obey God rather than men. ” Today we are facing a similar situation: the church is being told to keep silent. The pressure comes not only from the government but also from the media and schools that oppose the church on many moral issues and unfortunately even from within the church. May the church learn from Peter and the apostles to declare to the world, “We must obey God rather than men.”
As English theologian and literary scholar Harry Blamires stated in his book The Christian Mind,
we need to see the rise of a kind of Christian thinker who “challenges current prejudices … disturbs the complacent … obstructs the busy pragmatists … questions the very foundations of all about him, and … is a nuisance”.
May the church rise up at such a time like this to “speak God’s word with all boldness” (Acts 4:29) even “counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.” (Acts 5:41-42)
Prayer: Dear Heaven Father, may You give your Church courage today to obey You rather than man and to speak Your word with all boldness. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
