BY GREG LAURIE , CPCONTRIBUTOR

May 19, 2016 |12:20 pm

中文翻译：Ruth Wei

I heard a story about a man who went out hunting and found a big brown bear. He had always wanted to shoot a bear, and he had just the right gun to do the job. So he got that bear in his sights and was beginning to squeeze the trigger.

我听过一个故事，讲述的是一个猎人出去打猎碰见了一只大棕熊。他一直想要捕猎一只熊，这次正好带了合适的猎枪。当那只大熊进入他的射程内他便要扣动扳机。

But just then, the bear turned around and said, "Excuse me. Isn't it better to talk than to shoot? Why don't we try to negotiate the matter?"

正在那时，大熊转过来说：“打扰了，谈话是不是比射击更好些呢？为什么我们不试着协商一下呢？”

The hunter said, "Well, OK. I am open to that." 猎人说：“可以啊，我同意。”

The bear said, "What is it that you want exactly?"大熊说：“你到底想要什么？”

The hunter said, "Well, what I want more than anything else is a fur coat. I am really cold."

猎人回答：“其实我最想要的是一个毛皮大衣，我实在太冷了。”

The bear said, "OK. That's good. Now we are getting somewhere. How about if we reach some kind of a compromise?Let me tell you what I am looking for: I want a full stomach."

熊说：“好啊，这好办。我们有可以协商的。如果我们达成协议的话怎么样？我想要的是填饱我的空腹。”

So the hunter put down his gun, and he and the bear disappeared into the forest.

所以猎人放下了猎枪，他和熊一起消失在树林里。

The bear emerged alone a little while later, and apparently the negotiations had been successful.

一会之后，熊自己出来了，显然，他们的协商很成功。

The hunter got his fur coat, and the bear got a full stomach.

猎人得到了皮大衣，熊填饱了肚腹。

That is how compromise works.

这就是妥协。

In the New Testament book of Revelation,Jesus had specific words for a church that was engaged in compromise. This church was located in the city of Pergamum, the capital of Asia. Pergamum was built on a rocky hill where the Mediterranean could be seen on a clear day. It was the cultural center of Asia at this time, renowned for its magnificent library that housed 200,000 rolls of parchment.

在新约圣经的启示录中，耶稣特别提到了一个妥协的教会。这个教会坐落于别迦摩—亚细亚的首都。别迦摩建立在一个石山上，晴天的时候可以从这里看到地中海。那时，别迦摩是亚细亚的文化中心，也因图书馆藏书20万册皮卷书而闻名。

Another feature of Pergamum was the altar of Zeus, the largest and most famous altar of all — one of the sevenwonders of the ancient world. There were other gods in Pergamum that were worshiped, including Dionysius and Asclepius, called the savior god.

别迦摩的另一个特点是有个“丢斯”祭坛，此祭坛是最大最有名的，被列为世界七大古观之一。在别迦摩他们还崇拜别的神，包括狄俄尼索斯和亚斯克立飘，他们所谓的救主。

Asclepius was known as the god of healing and was actually symbolized by a snake. People came to this shrine from around the world to be healed. In the temple, there were nonpoisonous snakes slithering around, and those who hoped to be healed believed that if they were touched by a snake, they would be cured of whatever it was that was afflicting them. Imagine the scene: people lying around on the floor of this temple, with snakes crawling around on top of them. It sounds like a scene from an Indiana Jones movie.

 亚斯克立飘的徽号为“蛇”，人们认为他是实行医治的神。人们从世界各地云集到此神殿寻求医治。在大殿里无毒的蛇任意游行，人们相信只要被蛇碰到就可以医治缠绕他们的疾病。试想一下，人们在大殿的地板上趴着，而蛇则在他们的身上爬行。听起来像是印第安纳·琼斯电影中的一幕。

What a creepy place that must have been.

曾经是个多么令人毛骨悚然的地方。

Also in Pergamum was the great temple erected to Caesar Augustus. Augustus means "of the gods." This is where the Caesars not only were accepting worship, but were demanding it. Pergamum was a very spiritually dark place.

同样在别迦摩也建立了该撒奥古斯都神庙。奥古斯都的意思是“…之神”。在这里该撒被崇拜并且强迫国民去崇拜。别迦摩是一个灵性非常黑暗的地方。

So here was Jesus' assessment of the church in Pergamum:

所以耶稣告诫别迦摩的教会：

"I know that you live in the city where Satan has his throne, yet you have remained loyal to me. You refused to deny me even when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred among you there in Satan's city."But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. In a similar way, you have some Nicolaitans among you who follow the same teaching." (Revelation 2:13–15 NLT)

启示录2：13-15

你要写信给别迦摩教会的使者，说，那有两刃利剑的说，我知道你的居所，就是有撒但座位之处。当我忠心的见证人安提帕在你们中间，撒但所住的地方被杀之时，你还坚守我的名，没有弃绝我的道。然而有几件事我要责备你，因为在你那里，有人服从了巴兰的教训。这巴兰曾教导巴勒将绊脚石放在以色列人面前，叫他们吃祭偶像之物，行奸淫的事。你那里也有人照样服从了尼哥拉一党人的教训。

There were great Christians in Pergamum who were serving God, and Jesus actually commended them for it. But there also were a few problems developing. This church was in danger of compromising their faith.

在别迦摩教会有很多服侍神的基督徒，实际上耶稣对于他们也是非常的肯定。但是依然有一些问题在发生，因为他们对信仰做出了妥协而处于危险中。

Jesus referred to the Old Testamentstory of Balaam, a prophet who was hired by Balak to curse the Israelites. But as he was riding his donkey on the way to curse Israel, the donkey veered off the road, ramming Balaam's leg against a wall. The donkey had seen an angel with sword drawn, standing in the road. Amazingly, the donkey actually began to speak to Balaam. In the end, Balaam did not curse the Israelites, but offered Balak an alternate plan to undermine them: have the Moabite women seduce the young men and draw them into idol worship. That plan worked.

耶稣提到了旧约中巴兰的故事，一个被巴勒雇佣去咒骂以色列的先知。但是当他骑驴去咒诅以色列的时候，驴子偏离正道将巴兰的脚挤到墙壁上。因为驴子看到了拿剑的天使站在路中间。奇妙的是，驴子开口向巴兰说话。最后，巴兰并没有咒诅以色列，而是给巴勒提供两个一个可以削减以色列力量的建议：让摩押的女子引诱以色列的男子拜偶像，这个计划奏效了。

The sin of Pergamum was the toleration of evil.

别迦摩的罪就是容忍罪恶。

It is the mindset of, "Hey, I'm a Christian, but I can still do these things." People want to go to heaven,but they still want to live like hell. Enter the teaching of Balaam. When you start to compromise, your spiritual life will begin to weaken.

通常有这样一种心态，“嘿，我是基督徒但是我可以做那些事情。”人们想要去天堂，却又想活在罪中。学学巴兰的教训，当你开始妥协的时候，那属灵的生命就开始减弱了。

Jesus also referred to the Nicolaitans.The philosophy of the Nicolaitans was one of liberty gone amok. It is the thinking that says, "Don't be so uptight. Don't be so legalistic. Could you just relax a little bit? God will understand. God will forgive you. God knows your heart."

耶稣还提到了尼哥拉一党的人。尼哥拉党的思想就是疯狂的自由。他们觉得：“不要那么紧张，不要那么刻板，能不能放松一下，神会明白的。神会原谅你，神知道你的心。”

The problem is, that is how compromise works. Little things always turn into big things. And when compromise gets into your life, you will start going downhill.

问题是，这个就是妥协。小事总是变成大事。一旦你开始妥协，你就开始走下坡路了。

Some people look at what the Bible says and think, "Oh, I don't like all of these rules. I don't like all of these standards. I don't like these thou-shalt-nots. I want to live the way I want to live." Yet they never stop and think that God gave us those rules, those standards and those truths to protect us from evil.

一些人看到圣经上所说的就想：“我并不喜欢那些法则，我不喜欢所有的标准，我不喜欢不准做什么，我想按照我的方式生活。”他们不曾想过上帝给我们的这些规则标准和真理都是为了保护我们远离罪恶。

Sometimes we think that because we have confessed a sin, we will not have to face the repercussions of it. Yes, God will forgive us. But we still will have to face the aftermath of our own choices.

有时我们觉得我们犯罪了，就不用面对后果了。确实，上帝会赦免我们。但是我们依然要面对自己选择带来的后果。

So remember the lesson from the church in ancient Pergamum. Don't give in to compromise.

所以记住别迦摩教会的教训，不要妥协。

Taken from my weekly column atWorld Net Daily.

选自世界网络灵粮周刊。

Used by permission from HarvestMinistries with Greg Laurie, PO Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514.

Originally posted at blog.greglaurie.com.