QT 15/05/2024 Wednesday Acts 10. Purge Prejudice. 排除偏见。
QT 15/05/2024 Wednesday Acts 10.
READ & LISTEN here
https://www.esv.org/Acts+10/
LISTEN TO Acts 10
https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/esv/Acts.10
As the gospel progressed from Jerusalem outwards to a wider area (both geographically and ethnically), challenges surfaced, especially prejudice. God's will was not favouritism but acceptance of those "in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him" (Acts 10:35).
At this moment in history, God was revealing to His witnesses that association with a Gentile or visiting him was no longer objectionable. Therefore, Peter should not call any person common or unclean (Acts 10:14,28), including the Roman Centurion Cornelius. This was because salvation through Christ is not just for Israel but for all people of the world, from those whom we might mistakenly label as "tained", to those who we might be brought up to disassociate with.
God is not a tribal God, and He shows no partiality to all who are created in His image.
In Acts 10, we also learn that God reveals His will to humans through prayer, both to the Roman Centurion (10:3–4) and to the Apostle Peter (10:9–10). Therefore, if mission to the Gentiles were to succeed today, witnesses of Christ must not insist on categorising people based on rituals and dietary restrictions that defined "purity". It was because Peter successfully transformed into "witnesses to the end of the world" type of believer that the Roman Centurion and his household obtained salvation in Christ.
Avoid the mistake of Jonah, who retreated to Joppa to avoid preaching to gentiles (Jonah. 1:3). However, at this same seaside town of Joppa, Peter responded correctly. How about you?
APPLICATION: Cast off our racial prejudices. God's will in Acts 1:8 was for His disciples to be witnesses to the ends of the earth. Do not let our prejudices hinder us from this mandate.
星期三2024年5月15日 今日读经：使徒行传10章.
http://m.bbintl.org/bible/ncv/Act/10/
听音频使徒行传10章
https://www.bible.com/bible/41/act.10.cnvs
随着福音从耶路撒冷向更广阔的地区（包括地理上和种族上）传播，挑战也随之而来，尤其是偏见。上帝的旨意不是偏爱，而是接纳那些 "原来各国中，那敬畏主行义的人，都为主所悦纳"（使徒行传 10：35）。
在这个历史时刻，神向他的见证人启示，与外邦人交往或拜访外邦人不再是令人反感的事。因此，彼得不应该称任何人为俗人或不洁净的人（使徒行传 10：14，28），包括罗马百夫长哥尼流。这是因为，通过基督获得的救赎不仅仅是为了以色列人，也是为了世界上所有的人，从那些我们可能会误认为是 "被玷污 "的人，到那些我们可能从小就与之撇清关系的人。
上帝不是一个部落的上帝，祂对所有按照祂的形象被造的人都没有偏袒。
在使徒行传第 10 章中，我们还了解到神通过祷告向人显明祂的旨意，包括向罗马百夫长（10:3-4）和使徒彼得（10:9-10）。因此，如果向外邦人传教的使命在今天要成功，基督的见证人就不能坚持根据定义 "纯洁 "的礼仪和饮食限制将人分类。正是因为彼得成功地转变为 "到直到地极的见证人 "类型的信徒，罗马百夫长和他的家人才有机会在基督里获得了救赎。
避免重蹈约拿的错误，他为了避免向外邦人传道而退缩到约帕去（约拿书 1：3）。然而，在约帕这个海滨城市，彼得如今却做出了正确的回应。你呢？
应用：抛弃我们的种族偏见。在使徒行传 1：8 中，上帝的旨意是让祂的门徒到地极作见证。不要让我们的偏见阻碍我们完成这一个使命。
