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希伯来书：11:7：挪亚因着信，既蒙神指示他未见的事，动了敬畏的心，预备了一只方舟，使他全家得救。因此就定了那世代的罪，自己也承受了那从信而来的义。
大洪水讲的是挪亚和他家人的故事，上帝是如何救他们一家脱离那个邪恶世界，并借此保全关于救主的应许，救主要从他们的后代出来。我们很少思索发生在洪水120年前的事情，那时挪亚和他的家人就开始建造方舟并为将来的一切做准备。对他的一家这是件艰难的事。我们都曾为养家糊口而困顿挣扎，努力维持收支平衡。想想这个庞大工程，需要砍伐木材并小心将它们拼接起来。每天要花费很多时间来建造这个方舟！
想象一下，当诺亚警告邻居们洪水即将来临，并呼吁他们悔改时，邻居们过来嘲笑他所做的事情。他们可能认为他疯了。“因此就定了那世代的罪，自己也承受了那从信而来的义。”每一天这个义人都靠信心活着。
我们也一样。因为我们凭信心而活，所以我们与众不同。但我们的与众不同往往被别人当作怪异。我还记得我们教会里有个很可爱的姐妹叫米莉，她在镇子里的一家工厂上班。米莉不害怕谈论她的信仰。有一次，她对我说：“牧师，那些人甚至不愿意在午餐的时候和我一起吃饭。”她与这里的人格格不入，他们喜欢八卦别人，开粗俗的玩笑，使用低俗的语言。人们并没有因为她的信仰而反感她，但那些人也知道，她不赞成他们的一些做法。尽管我们坚持藉耶稣的恩典来拯救这个世界，但信徒的生命会永远定这个世界的罪。所以做好准备：你会与众不同，你会被嘲笑，你会被人躲着。当一个义人凭着信心活着，他就会这样。
祷告：主耶稣，你救赎了我们，并且呼召我们靠着信心与众不同。我们不再属于这个世界，我们是天国的子民。但当我们还在这世上的时候，请教导我们勇敢而温和地将真理的话语传达给我们的邻舍。如果我们因此被嘲笑，那就让我们为你喜乐地背起十字架吧!阿们。
Hebrews 11: 7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
The story of the flood is about Noah and his family, how God delivered them from the sinful world in which they lived and saved the seed of the promised Savior. We rarely think about those 120 years before the flood, when Noah and his family were building the ark to get ready. That had to be hard on his family! We struggle to make ends meet and to put food on the table. Imagine taking on this mammoth project, hewing out the lumber and carefully putting it together. How much time did it take each day to build the ark!
Imagine the neighbors coming by and ridiculing Noah for what he was doing while he warned them of the flood that was coming and called them to repentance. They probably thought he was crazy. “By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.” Every day, this righteous man lived by faith.
And so do we. Because we live by faith, we are different. We stand out in the world as people who are strange. I remember a dear member of my former church, Millie, who worked in a factory in town. Millie was not afraid to speak of her faith. She said to me once, “Pastor, people don’t even like to sit with me in the lunchroom.” She was a stranger in a place where people gossipped and told crude jokes and used vulgar language. She wasn’t obnoxious about her faith, but they just knew that she didn’t approve. The life of a believer will always condemn the world even while we hold out the grace of Jesus to save it. So expect to be different. Expect to be ridiculed or shunned. That’s what happens when the righteous live by faith.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you have redeemed us and called us to faith to be different. We don’t belong in this world any longer. Our citizenship is in heaven. But while we remain here, teach us to be bold yet gentle as we hold out the word of truth to our neighbors. And should we be mocked for it, then let us bear that cross gladly for your sake! Amen.