Our faith is good if it’s in the right Person.

相信上帝准没错！

[Abraham] did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God. Romans 4:20

[亚伯拉罕]仰望上帝的应许，总没有因不信，心里起疑惑，反倒因信，心里得坚固，将荣耀归给上帝。-罗马书4章20节

“You gotta have faith,” people say. But what does that mean? Is any faith good faith?

在鼓励别人时，人们常说：“你要有信心！”这是什么意思呢？所有的信心都是正确的吗？

“Believe in yourself and all that you are,” wrote one positive thinker a century ago. “Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle.” As nice as that may sound, it falls to pieces when it crashes into reality. We need a faith in something bigger than ourselves.

有些人则说：“你要相信自己，对自己有信心，因为人定胜天。”这类的励志佳语听起来固然铿锵有力，但面临现实问题时却变得不堪一击。其实我们需要相信的不是自己，而是比我们更有能力的。

God promised Abram he would have a multitude of descendants (Gen. 15:4–5), so he faced a huge obstacle—he was old and childless. When he and Sarah got tired of waiting for God to make good on His promise, they tried to overcome that obstacle on their own. As a result, they fractured their family and created a lot of unnecessary dissension (see Gen. 16 and 21:8–21).

上帝应许亚伯拉罕，他的后裔要如天上众星那样繁多（创世记15章4-5节） ，这使他面对巨大的难题，因他年事已高且膝下无子。亚伯拉罕和撒拉等不及上帝亲自成就应许，就尝试用他们自己的力量克服难题。结果导致家族分裂，也引发许多不必要的纷争（16章，21章8-21节） 。

Nothing Abraham did in his own strength worked. But ultimately he became known as a man of tremendous faith. Paul wrote of him, “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be’” (Rom. 4:18). This faith, said Paul, “was credited to him as righteousness” (v. 22).

亚伯拉罕凭己意行事，结果弄得一团糟。然而，他最终仍然成为信心之父，因此使徒保罗说，亚伯拉罕“在无可指望的时候，因信仍有指望，就得以做多国的父，正如先前所说：‘你的后裔将要如此’”（罗马书4章18节） ，这样的信心“就算为他的义”（22节） 。

Abraham’s faith was in something far bigger than himself—the one and only God. It’s the object of our faith that makes all the difference.

亚伯拉罕所相信的是比自己更有能力的独一真神。当我们所相信的是上帝，结果便会截然不同。

Lord, I want a strong faith in You, 

not just faith in myself or my abilities or in others.

I am nothing without You.

主啊，我要对祢有坚固的信心，不是只相信自己
或自己的才干，也不是仰赖他人。
主啊，我需要祢，若是没有祢，我便一事无成。

Read:Romans 4:18-25 New International Version (NIV)

18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” 23 The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

罗马书 4:18-25 Chinese Union Version Modern Punctuation (Simplified) (CUVMPS)

18 他在无可指望的时候，因信仍有指望，就得以做多国的父，正如先前所说：“你的后裔将要如此。” 19 他将近百岁的时候，虽然想到自己的身体如同已死，撒拉的生育已经断绝，他的信心还是不软弱， 20 并且仰望神的应许，总没有因不信心里起疑惑，反倒因信心里得坚固，将荣耀归给神， 21 且满心相信神所应许的必能做成。22 所以这就“算为他的义”。 23 “算为他义”的这句话不是单为他写的， 24 也是为我们将来得算为义之人写的，就是我们这信神使我们的主耶稣从死里复活的人。 25 耶稣被交给人，是为我们的过犯；复活，是为叫我们称义。

整理：于姊妹