慷慨
Kia ora Gracecity. Great to be with you as I jump into the Seismic Shifts series for the first time. Two weeks ago, JD walked us through the story of Acts 2, and the coming of the Spirit and the birth of the church. And at end of story, as JD mentioned, over 3000 people came to faith in Jesus in response to Peter’s preaching. Instant megachurch! From 120 believers to more than 300 in a single day. And at the end of the chapter, there’s this beautiful description of this earliest Christian community:
恩典之城教会的兄弟姐妹，大家好。这是我第一次在巨变系列講道，很高兴与大家一起來學習。
两周前，乔纳森牧师带我们了解了使徒行传 第二章 的故事，包括了圣灵的降临和教会的诞生。在故事的结尾，正如乔纳森牧师提到的，超过 3000 人开始相信耶稣，回应彼得的讲道。立即有大型教会形成了！一天之内从 120 名信徒增加到 3000 多人。
在这一章的结尾，有对这个最早的基督教社区的优美描述：
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to
prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need... Acts 2:42-45. We’re going to explore this vibrant community more next week, but what I want you to notice is the next trait of the church that we want to examine in this series – Generosity.
他们献都 恒心遵守使徒的教训 ，彼此交接 ，擘饼 ，祈祷 。众人都惧怕 ；使徒又行了许多奇事神迹 。信的人都在一处 ，凡物公用 ；并且卖 了田产，家业，照各人所需用的分给各人……使徒行传 2:42-45 下周我们将更多地探索这个充满活力的社区，但我想让你注意的是我们要在本系列中研究的下一个教会特征——慷慨。
Generosity: Your resources are a gift from God to establish His kingdom and resource the bigger mission.
See, these early believers underwent a seismic shift from simple giving to profound generosity. They were all Jewish believers at this point. Raised under Law of Moses, attending synagogue, coming to Jerusalem for festivals like the Day of Pentecost. And as part of that, they gave regularly out of their income. They gave a tithe (or tenth) of produce or income to God; also gave another tithe for priests and Levites; gave another amount to care for the poor. Been giving all their lives.
慷慨：您的资源是来自上帝的礼物，可以建立他的王国并为更大的使命提供资源。
看呀，这些早期的信徒经历了从简单的奉献到深刻的慷慨的巨大转变。在这一点上，他们都是犹太信徒。在摩西律法下长大，参加犹太教堂，到耶路撒冷参加五旬节等节日。作为其中的一部分，他们定期将他们的收入奉献出来。他们将十分之一的产出或收入奉献给上帝；又给了祭司和利未人十分之一；又捐出一笔钱来照顾穷人。他们一生都一直这么做。
But what Luke here comments on is something far more radical than anything these people had done before; we see something beyond tithes and normal offerings – there was a deep and ongoing generosity. They’d moved from simple giving to profound generosity. So what’s the difference? Love the way Pastor Craig Groeschel describes it:
但路加在这里评论的是比这些人以前所做的任何事情都激进得多的事情。我们看到了十一奉献和正常奉献之外的东西——有一种深刻而持续的慷慨。他们已经从简单的奉献转变为深刻的慷慨。那么有什么区别呢？我很喜欢（ Craig Groeschel ）克雷格·格罗舍尔牧师描述的方式：
Giving is what we do;
Generosity is who we are
Giving is a verb; it describes our actions and what we do. The word generosity is a noun, and it describes more who we are and what makes us tick; our worldviews and values. See these Jewish people had been giving all their lives. But with coming of Jesus, with his death and resurrection, with the outpouring of the Spirit, something had dramatically changed in their lives. A few pages on, Luke records another description of this early church community. Found at the end of Acts 4. And shows that rather than just being a flash in the pan, this generosity was a long-term quality of the church. And in this description, I find four key traits of a generous heart. First one is opening verse, v.32.
奉献是我们的行動；
慷慨是我们的本色
给予是动词；它描述了我们的行为和我们所做的事情。慷慨这个词是一个名词，它更多地描述了我们是谁，是什么让我们触动；我们的世界观和价值观。看看这些犹太人在他们的生命里一直在给与。但是随着耶稣的到来，随着他的死亡和复活，以及圣灵的浇灌，他们的生活发生了巨大的变化。几页之后，在使徒行传第四章 的结尾我们将发现，路加记录了对这个早期教会社区的另一种描述。并表明这种慷慨不仅仅是昙花一现，而变成了教会一种长期的品质。在这个描述中，我发现了一颗慷慨之心的四个关键特征。第一个在第 32 节：
All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. Acts 4:32
The first key trait of generosity is a heart for others.
那 许 多 信 的 人 都 是 一 心 一 意 的 ， 没 有 一 人 说 他 的 东 西 有 一 样 是 自 己 的 ， 都 是 大家 公 用 。使徒行传 4:32
慷慨的第一个关键特征是有一颗为他人着想的心。
Trait #1 – Others – generosity flowed out of a deep and genuine concern for other people
This was hugely important after what happened on Day of Pentecost. As said, 3000 people trusted in Jesus. And many of them were from far-flung corners of Roman empire, who had travelled to Jerusalem for this important festival. Scholars suggest though, that once trusted in Jesus, many or even most may well have stayed in Jerusalem – wanted to hear more about new faith; wanted to know more about Jesus; hear His teachings. But they hadn’t planned to stay. Left behind jobs and businesses and incomes and family back in other lands, and had very little with them. Depended on their new faith community to support and care for them. And that’s when this spirit of generosity kicked in. New believers cared for those who had nothing. Luke then continues in the next verse:
特质 #1 – 他人 – 慷慨源于对他人深切和真诚的关心
在五旬节那天发生的事情之后是非常重要的。如前所述，有 3000 人信靠耶稣。他们中的许多人来自罗马帝国的遥远角落，他们为了这个重要的节日前往耶路撒冷。不过，学者们建议，一旦信靠耶稣，许多甚至大多数人很可能会留在耶路撒冷——希望听到更多关于新信仰的信息；想更多地了解耶稣；听他的教导。但他们来之前并不知道自己会打算留下来。把工作、生意、收入和家庭抛在了其他地方，几乎什么也没带着。依靠他们的新信仰社区来支持和照顾他们。就在那时，这种慷慨的精神开始发挥作用。新信徒关心着那些一无所有的人。路加接着在下一节经文中继续说：
With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Acts 4:33a
This second key trait is a focus on the mission:
使 徒 大 有 能 力 ， 见 证 主 耶 稣 复 活 ；使徒行传 4:33a
第二个关键特征是对使命的关注：
Trait #2 – Mission – generosity was one aspect of how they accomplished the mission of talking about Jesus
This seismic shift from simple giving to profound generosity didn’t just magically happen. It came about
because of the resurrection of Jesus; the filing of the Spirit; being sent with this mission to be Jesus’ witnesses to the ends of the earth. For these early believers, that’s what mattered most. That’s why last week, as JD described the persecution that happened at the death of Stephen that scattered almost all the believers outside of Jerusalem, Luke is careful to tell us that wherever they went, they shared the message of good news. This is a key aspect of generosity.
特质 #2 – 使命 – 慷慨是他们如何完成谈论耶稣的使命的一个方面
这种从简单奉献到深刻慷慨的巨大转变并非奇迹般地发生。这是因为耶稣的复活，信徒们被圣灵的充满，被派去为耶稣到地极作见证。对于这些早期的信徒来说，这些才是最重要的。这就是为什么上周 乔纳森牧师 描述了司提反去世时发生的迫害，几乎将所有信徒驱散在耶路撒冷之外，路加小心翼翼地告诉我们，无论他们走到哪里，他们都会分享好消息。这是慷慨的一个关键方面。
Generosity: Your resources are a gift from God to establish His kingdom and resource the bigger mission
This spirit of generosity is centered on others, and fuelled by the mission. The third key trait comes in vv.33-34:
慷慨：您的资源是来自上帝的礼物，可以建立他的王国并为更大的使命提供资源
这种慷慨的精神以他人为中心，并由使命推动。
第三个关键特征出现在 第 33-34 节 中：
And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there was no needy person among them. Acts 4:33b-34a
The third trait is overflowing thankfulness.
众 人 也 都 蒙 大 恩，内 中 也 没 有 一 个 缺 乏 的 。使徒行传 4:33b-34a
第三个特点是满怀感恩。
Trait #3 – Thanks – generosity was motivated by the amazing grace they had received
It is no coincidence that the grace of God is mentioned here. Grace is the word that is used in the NT to describe the unmerited, undeserved love and forgiveness of God that is found in Jesus. The Bible makes it clear that cannot earn a relationship with God; can’t perform enough good deeds to overcome our bad ones. Forgiveness and eternal life and adoption into God’s family only come through accepting the free gift of love and forgiveness that comes from putting our faith in Jesus. That’s grace. Not being treated how we deserve, but being treated in ways we have deserved and can never repay. A decade or two after these vents, the apostle Paul would write a letter to a church in Greece that he had
planted in a city called Corinth. And in his 2nd letter to them, which we call 2 Corinthains, he wrote:
特质 #3 – 感谢– 慷慨被激发是因为他们得到了惊人的恩典
这里提到神的恩典绝非巧合。恩典一词是新约中用来描述在耶稣身上发现的上帝爱和宽恕是我们不配得的。圣经清楚地表明我们不能自己赢得与上帝建立关系；做足够多的善行也不能抵消我们的恶行。宽恕、永生和被接纳进入上帝的家庭，只有通过把我们的信仰放在耶稣身上，接受来自耶稣的爱和宽恕的免费礼物来实现。那是恩典。不是因为我们是否配得，而是以我们本就已经配得的方式对待我们，而且我们永远无法偿还。在这些事件的十年或二十年之后，使徒保罗会写一封信，给他在一个名叫哥林多的希腊城市建立的教会。在他给他们的第二封信中，我们称之为哥林多后书，他写道：
… see that you also excel in this grace of giving… For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that
though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become
rich. 2 Corinthians 8:7, 9
The grace shown to us in Jesus is meant to revolutionise our lives, including a heart of deep generosity. Finally, Luke concludes this 2nd picture of the church with these words in v.34:
……就当在这慈惠的事上也格外显出满足来……你们知道我们主耶稣基督的恩典：他本来富足，却为你们成了贫穷，叫你们因他的贫穷可以成为富足。 哥林多后书 8:7, 9
耶稣向我们展示的恩典旨在彻底改变我们的生活，包括一颗深深慷慨的心。最后，路加在第 34 节用这些话结束了这第二张教会的图画：
For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. Acts 4:34b-35.
This final trait, then, is radical trust:
因 為 人 人 將 田 產 房 屋 都 賣 了 ， 把 所 賣 的 價 銀 拿 來 ， 放 在 使 徒 腳 前 ， 照 各 人 所 需用 的 ， 分 給 各 人 。。使徒行传 4:34b-35。那么，这最后一个特征就是彻底的信任：
Trait #4 – Trust – deep trust in faithfulness of God and the trustworthiness of their leaders
See, this is where the generosity of these early believers goes beyond just former giving. They were not
just bringing tithes of their income / produce; they were selling their assets and giving the proceeds to the church. In other words, they weren’t hanging to assets for long term security, and gifting part of the annual income; they were selling off the assets and giving all that to God. In the world of financial management, this behaviour was foolishness. But it stemmed from a deep trust in the faithfulness of God. Jesus had said radical words in his teaching, like, “Do not worry about what you will wear, or what you will eat. Look at the birds; look at the lilies of the field. Your Father knows.” And these early believers took Jesus at his word. And they didn’t trust their heavenly Father to be faithful; they also trusted the leaders of the church. They just handed over the money – no conditions; no strings attached. They trusted the apostles and elders to do what was right, without trying to control it. So in Acts 4:32-35, we have this beautiful picture of a early community of believers displaying radical generosity. And was fuelled by these four key traits:
特质 #4 – 信任 – 深信上帝的信实和教會领袖的可信赖
看，这就是这些早期信徒的慷慨超越以前的奉献的地方。他们不仅带来了收入/产出的十分之一；他们还出售自己的资产并将收益风险给教会。换句话说，他们不是把长期的安全感放在固定资产上，只奉献部分年收入；他们而是卖掉了资产，把所有的都献给了上帝。在财务管理的世界里，这种行为是愚蠢的。但它源于对上帝信实的信靠。耶稣在他的教导中说过激进的话，例如，“不要为生命忧虑吃什么喝什么，为身体忧虑穿什么。。。你们看那天上的飞鸟，你想野地里的百合花怎么长起来。你们的天父是知道的”这些早期的信徒相信耶稣的话。他们不但相信他们的天父是信实的；他们也信任教会的领袖。他们就直接交了钱——没有条件；没有任何附加条件。他们相信使徒和长老会做正确的事，而不是试图控制它。所以在使徒行传 4:32-35 中，我们看到了一幅美丽的图画，早期的信徒群体表现出极大的慷慨。并受到这四个关键特征的推动：
Others // Mission // Thanks // Trust
That’s what fuelled their generosity. And then to showcase this more, Luke adds 2 examples in the next couple of paragraphs – one positive, and one negative. The positive example is found in the last 2 verses of Acts 4:
他人// 使命 // 感谢 // 信任
这就是他们慷慨解囊的原因。然后为了进一步展示这一点，路加在接下来的两段中添加了两个例子——一个是正面的，一个是
负面的。正面的例子可以在使徒行传 第四章 的最后 2 节经文中找到：
Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means ‘son of
encouragement’), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet. Acts
4:36-37
The man’s given name was Joseph, but Christians for centuries have known him by his nickname – Barnabas. And Barnabas is the example that Luke highlights of one of these early Christians showing this incredible generosity. And Barnabas’ life shows all 4 of these traits.
有 一 個 利 未 人 ， 生 在 居 比 路 ， 名 叫 約 瑟 ， 使 徒 稱 他 為 巴 拿 巴 （ 巴 拿 巴 翻 出 來 就
是 勸 慰 子 ） 。 他 有 田 地 ， 也 賣 了 ， 把 價 銀 拿 來 ， 放 在 使 徒 腳 前 。使徒行传 4:36-37
这个人的名字叫约瑟夫，但几个世纪以来，基督徒都以他的绰号——巴拿巴认识他。巴拿巴是路加强调的其中一位早期基督徒表现出令人难以置信的慷慨的例子。巴拿巴的生活显示了所有这四个特征。
Others // Mission // Thanks // Trust
In Acts 4, this story, he showed great trust in God in selling a field and giving the proceeds.
IN Acts 9, he shows a heart for others as welcomes Paul not church when others wouldn’t.
In Acts 11, he displays his thanks and grace as apostles pick him as pastor in Antioch.
In Acts 14, he shows commitment to mission in leading first journey to new lands with gospel. Barnabas is exhibit A of this overwhelming heart of generosity in the early church. Positive example. But then in Acts 5 we read the negative example: couple named Ananias and Sapphira.
他人 // 使命 // 感谢 // 信任
在使徒行传第 4 章这个故事中，他卖掉了一块地并奉献出收益，表现出对上帝的极大信任。
在使徒行传第 9 章中，他表现出一颗为他人着想的心，就像在其他人不欢迎保罗时欢迎他。
在使徒行传 11 章中，当使徒挑选他为安提阿的牧师时，他表达了感谢和感恩。
在使徒行传第 14 章中，他表现出对宣教的承诺，开始第一次带着福音前往新大陆的旅程。
巴拿巴是早期教会这种压倒一切的慷慨之心表现出来的正面的例子。但是在使徒行传第 5 章中，我们读到了反面的例子：一对名叫亚拿尼亚和撒非喇的夫妇。
Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet. Acts 5:1-2
Luke’s links this story back to the example of Barnabas with the word “also.” Perhaps they saw how people praised Barnabas and wanted that for themselves. So they too sold some land and brough money to leaders. But only brought some, not all. And that wasn’t a problem – look at what Peter says:
有一个人名叫亚拿尼亚，同他的妻子撒非喇卖了田产， 把价银私自留下几份，他的妻子也知道，其余的几份拿来放在使徒脚前。使徒行传 5:1-2
路加用“也”一词将这个故事与巴拿巴的例子联系起来。或许他们看到了人们如何赞美巴拿巴，并且也想要这样的赞美。所以他们也卖了一些土地，拿来了钱给教会领袖。但他们只奉献出了一些，不是全部。这不是问题——看看彼得怎么说：
Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal?
What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God. Acts 5:4
Ananias and Sapphira’s problem was not keeping back part of the money; every right to do that. Their sin, what God judged, was the decision to lie about it. They were play-acting, pretending to be something
they weren’t. They wanted the acclaim, the praise, the applause that Barnabas had received. And when survey story, not concerned with others, only themselves. Don’t seem interested in the mission or the good news; they want to be the news. Doesn’t feel like their overflowing t=with thankfulness or deeply trusting God – all about them. And these two examples – one positive, and one negative – simply underline the picture Luke already drawn for us, of a church community that moved past simply giving to a life of generosity.
田地还没有卖，不是你自己的吗？既卖了，价银不是你做主吗？你怎么心里起这意念呢？你不是欺哄人，是欺哄神了！使徒行传 5:4
亚拿尼亚和撒非拉的问题不是保留了一部分钱；他们有这样做的权利。他们的罪，神所审判的，是决定对此事撒谎。他们在演戏，假装扮演一种人，他们其实不是这样的人。他们想要巴拿巴得到的赞誉、赞美和掌声。而仔细读读他们的故事，他们不关心别人，只关心他们自己。他们似乎对使命或好消息不感兴趣；他们自己想成为新闻。不觉得他们满溢 着感恩或深信着上帝——这一切都是关于他们自己的。这两个例子——一个是正面的，一个是负面的——只是强调了路加已经为我们描绘的画面，一个教会社区从过去只是简单奉献到深刻慷慨的巨大转变。
Giving is what we do;
Generosity is who we are.
And I’m convinced that one of the reasons this early church impacted the world so greatly in the space of a few decades, is because of the radical generosity and devotion of these early believers. For them, life wasn’t simply about giving a portion and then living for themselves; it was about living a life of increasing generosity. And not just with their finances – but with their homes, and their relationships, and their words, and their time, and their energy, and their very lives. So how do we grow a greater heart of generosity? Across all of life? Can I suggest it comes back to these four traits that we have seen in Acts 4. Perhaps our lives don’t display to the same degree this radical generosity, because or more of these traits are lacking. Bring these four traits back onto screen one more time.
奉献是我们的行動；
慷慨是我们的本色
我深信，这个早期教会在几十年的时间里对世界产生如此巨大影响的原因之一，是因为这些早期信徒的激进慷慨和奉献。对他们来说，生活不仅仅是奉献出一部分收入，然后为自己而活。这是关于过一种越来越慷慨的生活。信仰不仅仅与他们的财务状况有关——还与他们的家庭、他们的人际关系、他们的话语、他们的时间、他们的精力和他们的生活中的一切都相关。那么，我们如何培养一颗更大的慷慨之心呢？贯穿整个人生？我可以建议回到我们在使徒行传第 4 章中看到的这四个特征上。也许我们的生活没有表现出同样程度的这种激进的慷慨，或许是因为缺乏这些特征。将这四个特征再次带回屏幕。
Others // Mission // Thanks // Trust
Which of these would most help you grow in a life of generosity?
Greater heart for others; eyes less on self and more on hurts and needs around you?
Greater focus on the mission; increased passion for being witness to Jesus and what he’s done?
Do need to grow in thankfulness for His grace? Taken grace for granted? Forgotten awe and wonder?
Or lack real sense of trust in faithfulness of God if you were to be truly radical?
Maybe if meeting in home, or flat, or small group, perhaps that’s something you could talk about
together after service. Perhaps be a little vulnerable and share which of these traits you’d love to grow.
Because this seismic shift needs to take place in all of us to greater or lesser degree. The seismic shift of generosity.
他人 // 使命 // 感谢 // 信任
以下哪一项最能帮助你在慷慨的生活中成长？
更大的为他人着想的心；少看自己，多看周围的伤痛和需要？
更加专注于使命；增加为耶稣以及他所做的事作见证的热情？
是否需要在感谢他的恩典中成长？把恩典视为理所当然？忘记了敬畏和好奇？
或者如果你要真正激进的话，对上帝的信实缺乏真正的信任感？
也许这是你可以在主日结束后，在家里，或单位，或小组聚会，一起和其他人讨论的事情。分享您希望成长的这些特征中的哪些，也许会显得你有点脆弱。但是这种巨大的转变需要或多或少地发生在我们所有人身上。
慷慨的巨变。
Generosity: Your resources are a gift from God to establish His kingdom and resource the bigger
mission
慷慨：您的资源是来自上帝的礼物，可以建立他的王国并为更大的使命提供资源
