This morning we return in our study of God's Word to Paul's letter to Titus and to chapter 2.   The chapter deals, as I noted for you last time, with the character of a healthy church, the character of a healthy church.   And we're going to be looking at this over the next few weeks and seeing how the Spirit of God will unfold its content for us.

今天早上，我们再来研究上帝的话语，回到保罗写给提多书的书信和第2章。正如我上次为你们指出的，这一章涉及健康教会的品格，健康教会的品格。在接下来的几周里，我们将关注这一点，看看上帝的灵将如何为我们展开它的内容。

This morning I want to address your attention to verses 2 and 3, Titus chapter 2, and let me just read verses 2 and 3: "Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance.   Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips not enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good."

今天早上，我想向你们提多书第2章第2章和第3节提多书第2章和第3节提出问题，让我读第2节和第3节：“年长的人要节制、有尊严、理智、在信心、爱心、坚忍上健全。年长的妇女在行为上也应该虔诚，不要说恶意的流言蜚语，不要被太多的酒所奴役，教导什么是好的。

Now obviously the message this morning is going to be addressed to older men and older women.   And I think that's a very fitting subject, particularly for our time and place in history.   I'm going to give you a fact that might surprise you, but it's true.   America is now the oldest society in the history of the world.   There has never been a society with this percentage of older people.   Material comfort, medical care and a low birth rate have led America to what is called the graying of America and an old population.   In our country, for example, the number of people over 65 passed the number of teenagers.   There are about 23 million teenagers in America. I know sometimes it seems like there are about 250 million of them, but there are 23 or so million teenagers in America, and there are approaching 35 million people over 65.

显然，今天早上的信息将针对年长的男性和年长的女性。我认为这是一个非常合适的主题，特别是对于我们在历史上的时代和地点。我要给你一个可能会让你感到惊讶的事实，但这是真的。美国现在是世界历史上最古老的社会。从来没有一个社会有这个比例的老年人。物质舒适、医疗和低出生率导致美国陷入所谓的美国老龄化和人口老龄化。例如，在我国，65岁以上的人口超过了青少年的数量。美国大约有 2300 万青少年。我知道有时似乎有大约 2.5 亿人，但美国有大约 2300 万青少年，65 岁以上的人接近 3500 万人。

They tell us in 25 years one out of every five people will be over 65 and one out of every ten will be over 80.   The graying of America.   We know it's here.   We see it all around us.   I suppose in some ways we laugh at it.   Bob Hope said, "You know you're old when the candles cost more than the cake."   And Agatha Christie wrote on one occasion that she married an archaeologist.   And someone asked, “Why would you marry an archaeologist?” to which she replied, "Because the older I get the more he'll appreciate me."

他们告诉我们，25 年后，每五个人中就有一人将超过 65 岁，每十分之一的人将超过 80 岁。美国的白发化。我们知道它就在这里。我们周围无处不在。我想在某些方面我们嘲笑它。鲍勃·霍普说：“当蜡烛比蛋糕贵时，你就知道你老了。阿加莎·克里斯蒂（Agatha Christie）有一次写道，她嫁给了一位考古学家。有人问：“你为什么要嫁给考古学家？”她回答说，“因为我年纪越大，他就越欣赏我。

And we want to have a humorous approach to that.   You know, they say there are only three stages in life: youth, adulthood, and "my, you're looking well."   And when they start saying that to you, you know where you are.

我们希望对此采取幽默的方法。你知道，他们说人生只有三个阶段：青年、成年和“天哪，你看起来不错”。当他们开始对你说这句话时，你就知道你在哪里了。

But there is some reality to this getting old that is perhaps not quite as humorous.   There's a certain sadness in it.   We're glad we know what we know as we get older, but we wish we had youth to express it.   As someone said, “It's a shame that youth was wasted on people so young.”   There are negative aspects to getting old, that's true.   We become creatures of somewhat formidable and unbreakable habits.   And the longer we do them, the harder they are to deal with. Sometimes even our besetting sins become so much a part of the fabric of our lives that even recognition of them becomes difficult.   Sometimes we get a little bit obstinate and a little bit stubborn, and sometimes we think we know more than we do know, and sometimes we think age equals wisdom, and it doesn't.   It should bring wisdom, but it may not be the same thing.

但这种变老有一些现实，也许并不那么幽默。其中有一定的悲伤。随着年龄的增长，我们很高兴我们知道我们所知道的，但我们希望我们有年轻来表达它。正如有人所说，“青春被浪费在这么年轻的人身上，真是太可惜了。变老也有消极的一面，这是真的。我们成为有点可怕和牢不可破的习惯的生物。而且我们做的时间越长，他们就越难处理。有时，即使是我们困扰的罪也成为我们生活结构的一部分，以至于甚至很难认识到它们。有时我们会变得有点固执，有点固执，有时我们认为我们知道的比我们知道的要多，有时我们认为年龄等于智慧，但事实并非如此。它应该带来智慧，但可能不是一回事。

No, there are definitely some negative aspects to getting old.   In fact, if you want to see a little bit of a prosaic look at what aging is like you need only to turn to the last chapter of Ecclesiastes.   I would draw you there for just a moment.   Ecclesiastes follows the book of Proverbs and the final chapter is chapter 12, and it gives an insight, I think, into sort of the down side of aging.   The writer says in verse 1, "Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth."   Enjoy God while you're young, know God while you're young.   Let God be the central figure in your life while you're young “before the evil days come."   Well, the implication there is that the older you get the more evil life becomes, the more unfulfilling, the more dissatisfying, the more disillusioning.   He calls them the years when you will say, "I have no delight in them."   Commit your life to God and enjoy God and make God the center of everything while you're young, before you'll not be able to experience all the rich delights of His creation.   Part of getting old, “before the sun, the light, the moon, the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain” - the cloudy times in life, the more barren and bleak times in life when you're old.

不，变老肯定有一些负面影响。事实上，如果你想对衰老有一点平淡无奇的看法，你只需要翻到传道书的最后一章。我会把你拉到那里一会儿。传道书遵循箴言，最后一章是第 12 章，我认为它让我们深入了解了衰老的某种坏处。作者在第1节说：“在你年轻的时候，也要记念你的造物主。年轻时享受上帝，年轻时认识上帝。在你年轻的时候，“在邪恶的日子来临之前”，让上帝成为你生命的中心人物。嗯，这意味着你年纪越大，生活就越邪恶，越不满足，越不满足，越幻灭。他称它们为你会说：“我对他们没有喜悦的岁月。在你年轻的时候，将你的生命交托给上帝，享受上帝，让上帝成为一切的中心，以免你无法体验到他创造的所有丰富喜乐。变老的一部分，“未日前，明月星暗，雨后云归”——人生的阴霾，年老后人生的更贫瘠、更凄凉的时光。

And then he gets very prosaic as he writes, "The day that the watchmen of the house tremble and mighty men stoop, the grinding ones stand idle because they are few, and those who look through windows grow dim; and the doors on the street are shut as the sound of the grinding mill is low, and one will arise at the sound of the bird, and all the daughters of song will sing softly."

然后他变得非常平淡无奇，他写道：“当家里的守望者颤抖，勇士弯腰的那一天，磨砺的人因为人数少而无所事事，透过窗户看的人变得昏暗;街上的门关着，因为磨坊的声音很低，有人会因鸟声而起来，所有的歌女都会轻轻地歌唱。

What is he talking about?   Well, the picture is of a house, but it's symbolic of a human body.   The watchmen of the house, some commentators feel, are the arms and the hands - those are the guards, the protectors, the defenders, and they start to shake as you get old.   And the mighty men would be the legs, and they begin to stoop and bend.   The grinding ones, the teeth, stand idle because they are few.   This is the day before false teeth and bridges and whatever.   Teeth don't work anymore, and those who look through windows grow dim, you don't see like you once could see.   The doors on the street are shut as the sound of the grinding mill is low - could be the slowing down of some kind of internal processes.   One arises at the sound of the bird. You don't need an alarm clock anymore. You wake up if there's a bird 50 yards away tweeting in a tree because you sleep so lightly.   You don't sleep as well as you did.   All the daughters of song will sing softly.   If you bring the whole women's glee club together and all their shrill soprano voices in full glory, you have to go like this, because you can't hear them; it's all soft sound to you.

他在说什么？嗯，这幅画是一栋房子，但它象征着人体。一些评论家认为，房子的守望者是手臂和手——它们是守卫、保护者、捍卫者，随着年龄的增长，它们开始颤抖。壮士将成为腿，他们开始弯腰弯曲。磨牙的牙齿闲置，因为它们很少。这是假牙和牙桥之类的前一天。牙齿不再起作用了，那些透过窗户看的人变得昏暗，你看不见以前能看到的了。街上的门是关着的，因为磨机的声音很小——可能是某种内部过程的减慢。一个在鸟儿的声音中升起。你不再需要闹钟了。如果 50 码外有一只鸟在树上啾，你就会醒来，因为你睡得太浅了。你睡得不如以前好。所有歌女都会轻声歌唱。如果你把整个女子欢乐俱乐部聚集在一起，把她们所有尖锐的女高音都放在一起，你就必须这样，因为你听不到她们的声音;对你来说，这都是柔和的声音。

And verse 5 says men who aren't afraid of anything become “afraid of a high place.”   Why?   Because they're worried about their instability; they're worried they might fall and break some brittle bones.   And they're worried about the “terrors on the road” as they walk along; they might stumble over a stone and fall and be severely injured.   “The almond tree blossoms” - that probably is referring to the white blossoms on an almond tree, means the hair grows white.   “The grasshopper drags himself along” the walk changes, the pace changes - you used to kind of move along a little bit spritely, and now all of a sudden you're dragging and shuffling.   And eventually the “man goes to his eternal home” and there's a funeral and some people are mourning.

第5节说，什么都不怕的人会“怕高处”。为什么？因为他们担心自己的不稳定;他们担心自己可能会摔倒并折断一些脆弱的骨头。他们担心走路时的“路上的恐怖”;他们可能会被石头绊倒并摔倒并受重伤。“杏仁树开花”——这可能指的是杏仁树上的白色花朵，意思是头发长白。“蚱蜢拖着自己走”，走路变了，步伐变了——你以前有点灵动，现在突然间你拖着拖着。最终，“人回到他永恒的家”，举行了葬礼，有些人在哀悼。

And in verse 6 he says “the silver cord is broken," maybe the spinal cord is referred to there; "the golden bowl," maybe that means the brain.   "The pitcher by the well is shattered"; maybe that means the heart.   "The wheel at the cistern is crushed" - the veins, the arteries.   I'm not sure of all the specific imagery here, but I see it as sort of the demise of a man in his old age and the dust returns to the earth, as it was, and the spirit goes back to God.   Kind of a bleak way to look at old age, but it's reality.   All of it - all of us feel it coming.

在第6节，他说“银绳断了”，也许那里指的是脊髓;“金碗”，也许这意味着大脑。“井边的水罐碎了”;也许这意味着心脏。“蓄水池的轮子被压碎了”--静脉，动脉。我不确定这里所有的具体意象，但我认为这是一个人在晚年时的死亡，尘土回到了地球上，就像原来一样，灵魂回到了上帝身边。看待老年有点黯淡，但这是现实。所有这一切——我们所有人都感觉到它即将到来。

And just because you're growing old life doesn't have to be bleak.   I mean it's, it's certainly for a Christian to be rewarded as a crowning time of life with a level of spiritual maturity you can't have in your youth.   All those who know Christ, all those who have walked with Him for any length of time should look forward to old age because it takes us nearer to heaven, doesn't it?   It puts us in a situation where we have accumulated spiritual experience, which makes us truly rich.   It enables us to be the leaders and the mentors and the models and the examples for the young.   It allows us to filter out life and keep what we think is really valuable.   Should be a good time.

而且，仅仅因为你正在变老，生活就不必黯淡。我的意思是，对于一个基督徒来说，这当然是作为生命中最高时刻的奖励，具有你年轻时无法拥有的属灵成熟程度。所有认识基督的人，所有与他同行的人，都应该期待晚年，因为它使我们更接近天堂，不是吗？它使我们处于一种积累了精神经验的境地，这使我们真正富有。它使我们能够成为年轻人的领导者、导师、榜样和榜样。它使我们能够过滤掉生活并保留我们认为真正有价值的东西。应该是个好时机。

And, you know, in the life of the church it's really very important to have people who are godly seniors.   And that's what Paul is saying to Titus.   Let's go back to Titus.   He's saying, you know, “As you look at your congregation, Titus, you need to start your instruction with the older people because they're so crucial.”   You know, there are a lot of churches today in our country, and I suppose in other places in the world, that are filled with young people.   I really wouldn't want to be a part of one of those churches.   I think, I think that would be a very difficult place to minister because you need some people there who have been where all those young people are going who can help them evaluate what they think at this present time - may be valuable.   You need the hoary heads, you need the aged and the wise who have come and gone and been there to instruct the young, to show them the path of righteousness, to show them the path of goodness, to show them the proper priorities and values.   You need some people who can stand with the apostle Paul and say, “I've fought the good fight; I've kept the faith.”

而且，你知道，在教会生活中，拥有敬虔的长老真的非常重要。这就是保罗对提多说的话。让我们回到提多书。他说，你知道，“提多，当你看着你的会众时，你需要从年长的人开始你的教导，因为他们是如此重要。你知道，今天我们国家有很多教会，我想在世界其他地方，都挤满了年轻人。我真的不想成为这些教会的一员。我认为，我认为那将是一个非常困难的事工场所，因为你需要一些去过所有这些年轻人去过的地方的人，可以帮助他们评估他们目前的想法——可能是有价值的。你需要那些苍白的头，你需要那些来来去去的老人和智慧人来指导年轻人，向他们展示正义的道路，向他们展示良善的道路，向他们展示正确的优先事项和价值观。你需要一些人，他们能与使徒保罗站在一起，说：“我已经打了那美好的仗;我一直保持着信念。

So the aging of Christians is a blessing.   I think churches today don't understand that.   I, I have heard a couple of comments from people who have gone over to Russia and the Ukraine and come back and said, "Well, we really can't work for the church over there; they're just a bunch of old people."   That's a terrible, terrible insight into the shallowness of some people's thinking.   It's the aged people in the congregation that provide its strength, its stability and its wisdom.   Older believers, should they be in great numbers in the future in the church, are going to make the church a better place, a richer place.   The maturity of godliness will be a benediction to the body of Christ.   The aging of America means the aging of the church; the aging of the church could be a great, great blessing.

因此，基督徒的衰老是一种祝福。我认为今天的教会不明白这一点。我，我听到一些人说，他们去了俄罗斯和乌克兰，回来后说：“好吧，我们真的不能为那边的教会工作;他们只是一群老人。这是对某些人思维浅薄的可怕、可怕的洞察。会众中的老年人提供了它的力量、稳定和智慧。年长的信徒，如果他们将来在教会中人数众多，他们将使教会变得更好、更富有。敬虔的成熟将是对基督身体的祝福。美国的老龄化意味着教会的老龄化;教会的老化可能是一个非常非常大的祝福。

Certainly God has told us to revere those who are older than we are - those who are the aged, who have walked with Him.   Leviticus 19:32 says, "You shall rise up before the grayheaded and honor the aged."   Job 12:12, "Wisdom is with the aged...with long life is understanding."   The gray head is a crown of glory if it be found in the way of righteousness.   Somebody old who has walked a long time in the path of righteousness is a treasure, a treasure of wisdom and a treasure of experience and a treasure of understanding, a triumphant Christian who has fought the battle over and over and over and been victorious; who has experienced everything that the young are waiting to experience, become a great treasure to the church.

当然，神告诉我们要尊敬那些比我们年长的人——那些年长的人，那些与他同行的人。利未记 19：32 说：“你要在白发苍苍的人面前起来，尊崇年老的人。约伯记 12：12，“智慧与年老同在......长寿是理解。灰色的头颅如果是在正义的道路上找到的，那就是荣耀的冠冕。一个在公义的道路上走了很长时间的老人是宝藏，是智慧的宝藏，是经验的宝藏，是理解的宝藏，是一次又一次的战斗并取得了胜利的基督徒;他经历了年轻人等待经历的一切，成为教会的宝藏。

In Psalm 71, verse 17, the psalmist says, "O God, Thou hast taught me from my youth, and I still declare Thy wondrous deeds.   And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Thy strength to this generation, and Thy power to all who are to come."   Give me a ministry in my old age because I can talk about Your strength, and I can talk about Your power because I've seen it for so many years - I've lived it.   In Psalm 92, a very similar prayer rises from the heart of the psalmist, starting there in verse 12, "The righteous man will flourish like a palm tree, he will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still yield fruit in old age; they will be full of sap and very green, to declare that the Lord is upright."   Those who can best declare the character of God are those who have walked with Him longest.

在诗篇 71 篇第 17 节中，诗篇作者说：“神啊，你从我年轻时就教训我，我仍然宣告你的奇妙作为。神啊，即使我年老发白，求你不要离弃我，直到我向这一代人宣告你的大能，向所有将来的人宣告你的大能。在我晚年时，请给我一个事工，因为我可以谈论你的力量，我可以谈论你的大能，因为我已经看到它这么多年了——我已经活过了。在诗篇 92 篇中，一个非常相似的祷告从诗篇作者的心中升起，从第 12 节开始，“义人必像棕榈树一样茂盛，在黎巴嫩长得像香柏树。他们栽种在耶和华的殿里，必在我们神的院子里茁壮成长。他们在老年时仍然会结出果实;他们必充满汁液，非常青绿，以宣告耶和华是正直的。那些最能宣扬上帝品格的人是那些与他同行时间最长的人。

Older people, then, in a fellowship do become a treasure, a tremendous blessing.   They bring spiritual experience, spiritual strength, spiritual endurance, spiritual wisdom to all of us.   And if in the years ahead the church has an abundance of such people, what a source of blessing.   But, only if they walk in the way of righteousness.   And that's why the instruction of Titus, verses 2 and 3 in chapter 2, is so very, very important.   There's no value in being old if you're not godly.   There's no value in being old if you're not a model or an example.   And so the apostle Paul lays down some very specific characteristics that are to be manifest in the older people in the congregation.

因此，老年人在团契中确实成为一种财富，一种巨大的祝福。他们为我们所有人带来属灵体验、属灵力量、属灵忍耐、属灵智慧。如果在未来的岁月里，教会有大量的这样的人，那将是多么大的祝福。但是，前提是他们走在正义的道路上。这就是为什么提多书在第2章第2节和第3节的教导如此非常非常重要。如果你不敬虔，那么年老就没有价值。如果你不是模特或榜样，那么老是没有价值的。因此，使徒保罗列出了一些非常具体的特征，这些特征将在会众中的老年人身上表现出来。

Now, by the way, he's going to work his way on down.   We're going to get to the younger women and the younger men as we move through this chapter on the character of a healthy church.   But we start here at the top, as it were.   In chapter 1, you remember, he addressed the leadership. And here in chapter 2 he's addressing the people. Chapter 1 focused on the quality and the character of the pastors, and now the people.   And he gave us, you'll remember, three clauses in chapter 2 that I pointed out to you last time that become the reason or the motive for this.   Verse 5, "That the word of God may not be dishonored."   Verse 8, "That the opponent may be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us."   And verse 10, "That they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect."   For the sake of exalting the Word, for the sake of silencing the critics, and for the sake of demonstrating the saving power of God, this is how you must live.   These are not optional; these are not negotiable; these are required for older saints.   If the church is to have a powerful impact on the world, if the church is to fulfill its evangelistic mission and mandate, then the older people must be like this that they may demonstrate God's saving power - the power of His Word - and silence the critics.   So what we're going to say here is mandatory for those who are older saints.

顺便说一句，现在，他要向下工作。当我们读完这一章时，我们将谈到年轻的女性和年轻的男性，讨论健康教会的品格。但我们可以说，我们从顶部开始。在第一章中，你还记得，他谈到了领导层。在第二章中，他正在对人们说话。第一章的重点是牧师的素质和品格，现在是人们。你会记得，他给了我们，我在第二章中给了我们三个条款，这些条款成为这样做的原因或动机。第 5 节，“使神的话不致羞辱。”第 8 节，“使对手蒙羞，对我们没有坏话可说。”第 10 节，“使他们在各方面装饰我们救主上帝的教义。为了高举神的话语，为了压制批评者，为了彰显神的拯救大能，这就是你必须的生活方式。这些不是可选的;这些是没有商量余地的;这些是年长的圣徒所必需的。如果教会要对世界产生强大的影响，如果教会要完成其传福音的使命和使命，那么年长的人必须像这样，这样他们才能展示神的救赎大能——他话语的大能——并让批评者闭嘴。因此，我们在这里要说的对于那些年长的圣徒来说是强制性的。

Let's look at the men.   And I'm going to spend more time on the men than the women, because that way I get less mail.   Verse 2, "Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance."   Now "older men" is an interesting word, presbuts. It's a word that means just that, “older men.”   Paul uses it in Philemon, verse 9, when he refers to himself as “Paul, the aged.”   Perhaps - and we know he was in his sixties at that time - perhaps a good definition of it will flow out of Luke 1:18. Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, had been told that he would have a son, that his wife would become pregnant, and they would have a son, and, of course, it would be John the Baptist.   But Zacharias says, "How shall I know this for certain?"   I mean, this seems impossible.   Why?   "For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years."   And he uses the word presbuts there, which would lead us to believe that he is saying an old man is one who is unable to produce a child.   So you're talking about an age where child production is no longer the norm.   That's what the word means.   It's talking about a man at that point in his life. And again, Paul uses it to refer to himself in his sixties.

让我们看看男人。我会花更多的时间在男性身上而不是女性身上，因为这样我收到的邮件就会更少。第2节，“年长的人要节制、有尊严、理智、在信心、爱心、坚忍上健全。现在，“年长的男人”是一个有趣的词，presbuts。这个词的意思就是“年长的男人”。保罗在腓利门书第9节使用了这个词，他称自己为“年老的保罗”。也许——我们知道他当时六十多岁——也许路加福音 1：18 会对它有一个很好的定义。撒迦利亚是施洗约翰的父亲，有人告诉他，他会生一个儿子，他的妻子会怀孕，他们会生一个儿子，当然，就是施洗约翰。撒迦利亚说：“我怎么能确定这事呢？我的意思是，这似乎是不可能的。为什么？“因为我是个老人，我的妻子年事已高。”他在那里使用了“presbuts”这个词，这会让我们相信他是在说一个老人是一个无法生育孩子的人。所以你说的是一个生育孩子不再是常态的时代。这就是这个词的意思。它谈论的是一个处于他生命中那个阶段的人。保罗再次用它来指代六十多岁的自己。

There are some ancient sources, such as Philo and Hippocrates, that use the term to refer to people over fifty.   Somewhere in the fifty and over and sixty and over category this term comes into play.   The apostle Paul was an old man by this term, in his sixties, and somewhere beyond fifty I think we could make this term come into play.   So we're talking about that generation of men in the life of the church.

有一些古代资料，例如斐洛和希波克拉底，使用这个词来指代五十岁以上的人。在五十岁及以上和六十岁及以上类别的某个地方，这个术语开始发挥作用。使徒保罗在这个时候已经是六十多岁的老人了，我想在五十岁之后，我们可以让这个词发挥作用。所以我们谈论的是教会生活中的那一代人。

Now these men here are called to be spiritually responsible to demonstrate godly character.   This is very important.   In fact, it's so important in the church that if they don't do it they're to be rebuked.   Back in 1 Timothy 5 it says, "Do not sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father."   Now the assumption here is that in the life of the church older men are going to sin.   And that's true.   It doesn't mean that because I'm older - I'm over fifty, over sixty, over seventy, or over eighty - that all of a sudden I don't sin anymore; not so.   And it is very reasonable to assume that the very fact that Paul is telling Titus to tell these men to behave this way indicates that there's a real possibility that some of them might not.   It is indicated in 1 Timothy 5:1 that elders may need to be rebuked, older men.   They may need to be confronted about their sin.   And Paul says, “If you do it, don't do it sharply.” That's what he's saying.   “Don't do it cruelly.”   The word here, the verb here, is used only here, and it means “to beat with blows,” or “to strike with a fist,” and metaphorically “to abuse verbally,” “to hammer with words,” one lexicon says.   So, if you're going to rebuke an older man, you don't want to hit him, you don't want to strike him, you don't want to hammer him with words in an unkind, abusive, violent, harsh way.   The verb is related to the Greek word plkts, used in chapter 3, and it means “a striker” or “a hitter.”   You don't want to hit them and strike them and abuse them and be harsh with them.   Confronting an older man's sin has to be done without violence and without harsh action - must be done graciously and kindly.   And then it says right there how to do it in 1 Timothy 5:1, "Appeal to him as a father."   Parakale, “come alongside and admonish and encourage and appeal to one” with the consideration and respect that you would give to your father.

现在，这里的这些人被呼召在属灵上负责，以彰显敬虔的品格。这非常重要。事实上，这在教会中是如此重要，以至于如果他们不这样做，他们就会受到责备。早在提摩太前书第5章就说：“不要严厉责备年长的人，倒要像父亲一样向他祈求。现在，这里的假设是，在教会的生活中，年长的人会犯罪。这是真的。这并不是说因为我年纪大了——我已经五十多岁、六十多岁、七十多岁或八十多岁了——突然之间我不再犯罪了;事实并非如此。而且非常合理的假设是，保罗告诉提多告诉这些人要这样做，这一事实表明他们中的一些人确实有可能不会这样做。提摩太前书 5：1 指出，年长的男人可能需要责备长老。他们可能需要面对自己的罪。保罗说：“如果你这样做，就不要急于求成。这就是他在说的。“不要残忍地这样做。”这里的词，这里的动词，只在这里使用，它的意思是“用打击殴打”或“用拳头击打”，隐喻为“言语虐待”、“用语言锤击”，一个词典说。所以，如果你要斥责一个年长的男人，你不想打他，你不想打他，你不想用不友善、辱骂、暴力、严厉的方式用言语锤他。该动词与第 3 章中使用的希腊语单词 plkts 有关，意思是“前锋”或“击球手”。你不想打他们、打他们、虐待他们、对他们严厉。面对老年人的罪必须不使用暴力，不采取严厉的行动——必须以仁慈和仁慈的方式进行。然后，在提摩太前书 5：1 中，它说如何做到这一点，“你们要像父亲一样向他祈求”。帕拉卡莱，“与一个人并肩而行，劝诫、鼓励和呼吁”，就像你对父亲的体贴和尊重一样。

General regard for people in their senior years is of grave concern to God, believe me - very concerned is God about it.   How you treat your father is a matter for God to even discuss in the commandments, the Ten Commandments.   In fact, the death penalty was required for disrespect, for hitting, striking your father or mother, or for cursing your father or mother according to Exodus chapter 21, verses 15 and 17.   Those who are older are to be treated with kindness and love and honor and respect. So when you confront an older man because of his sin, you do it graciously.   You come alongside and appeal to him with the respect that you would give to a father.

相信我，对老年人的普遍尊重是上帝非常关心的——上帝非常关心这一点。你如何对待你的父亲，是上帝在诫命、十诫中讨论的问题。事实上，根据出埃及记第21章第15和17节，不尊重、殴打、殴打你的父母或咒诅你的父母，都需要判处死刑。年长的人应该受到仁慈、爱、荣誉和尊重的对待。因此，当你因为一个年长的人的罪而面对他时，你要仁慈地去做。你走到旁边，以你对父亲的尊重来吸引他。

Now, Paul is saying to Titus, "You must confront the older men in your congregation and you must call them to this level of spiritual living, or else” - the implication is – “they must be so confronted."   And again I point out to you, that on the one hand we give respect to the older generation, on the other hand, we hold them accountable for their behavior and accountable for maturity and godliness.   The patriarchs are to be respected, but they are to be holy also.   And when they are, when the older men in a church are holy, godly men, they will become the mentors and models for a level of godliness that will pervade the congregation - including the women and the younger men.   Every older man should set as his goal to come to the latter years of his life and be able to say with Paul, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7).   Every older man should be able to say, "I want you to be a follower of me as I am of Christ."   Every older man should be able to say to the younger man, "Let me show you how to live life."

现在，保罗对提多说，“你必须面对会众中的长老，你必须呼召他们过上这种属灵的生活，否则”——言下之意是——“他们必须如此面对。我再次向你们指出，一方面我们尊重老一辈，另一方面，我们要求他们对自己的行为负责，对成熟和敬虔负责。族长们应该受到尊重，但他们也应该成为圣洁的。当他们成为教会中的年长男性是圣洁、敬虔的人时，他们将成为一定程度的敬虔的导师和榜样，这种敬虔水平将弥漫在会众中——包括妇女和年轻男性。每个年长的人都应该把来到他生命的晚年作为他的目标，并能够与保罗一起说：“我已经打了那美好的仗，我已经完成了这路，我坚守了信心”（提摩太后书 4：7）。每个年长的人都应该能够说：“我希望你跟随我，像我跟随基督一样。每个年长的男人都应该能够对年轻人说：“让我告诉你如何生活。

As older men, we should have so much to offer.   Paul suggests, first of all, three characteristics: “temperate,” “dignified,” and “sensible.”   Let's take the first one, “temperate.”   The word here literally means "not drunken."   But metaphorically it means “moderate, not indulgent, not extravagant.”   The older man is a man who, who isn't in to excess, who is generally a moderate person.   He has learned the high cost of self-indulgent living.   He has learned the high cost of filling out all his pleasures, satisfying all his whims, pursuing all his dreams.   And he's now filtered through all of that, and he's left a lot of stuff along the path discarded.   When he was young it was a matter of accumulation.   And as he accumulated he began to find out what really had value.   As a young man he poured energy into a lot of things; as an older man he can look back and see where that energy was wasted in so many cases.   As a young man he dreamed a thousand dreams and wanted to accomplish a thousand things and looks back only to a handful of things that had eternal value.   As an older man he has had a myriad of experiences, one after another, day after day, month after month, year after year, and life has been moderated by those experiences.

作为年长的男人，我们应该有很多东西可以提供。保罗首先提出了三个特征：“节制”、“端庄”和“理智”。让我们以第一个为例，“温和”。这里的字面意思是“不醉”。但从比喻上讲，它的意思是“适度，不放纵，不奢侈”。年长的男人是一个不过度的人，他通常是一个温和的人。他已经了解到自我放纵生活的高昂成本。他已经学会了填满他所有的快乐、满足他所有的奇思妙想、追求他所有的梦想的高昂成本。他现在已经过滤了所有这些，他留下了很多东西被丢弃了。年轻的时候，就是积累的问题。随着他的积累，他开始发现什么才是真正有价值的。年轻时，他把精力投入到很多事情上;作为一个老年人，他可以回顾过去，看看在很多情况下，精力被浪费在哪里。年轻时，他梦想着一千个梦想，想要完成一千件事，但回顾过去只回顾了少数具有永恒价值的事情。作为一个年长的人，他有过无数的经历，一个接一个，日复一日，月复一月，年复一年，生活被这些经历所调节。

He has found that what he thought he wanted that would give him satisfaction never did.   And all the possessions and all the accumulation and all the reputation and all the achievement and all the accolades have been somehow set aside on the path of life and discarded because they had no real value.   He has come to a right value system.   He has come to be, as a related verb puts it, "sober-minded," used in 1 Corinthians 15:34.   Or as another related word, used in 1 Peter, "sober in spirit."   In other words, he's got his priorities down now.   He knows what experiences were valuable, and in many cases they were the ones he feared the most and now knows they rendered him the best fruit.   They made him the man he is.   In many cases what he didn't want was what was most valuable, and what he pursued with all his might was least valuable.   He knows that now.   He's filtered life out.

他发现，他认为自己想要的能给他带来满足感的东西从未实现过。所有的财产、所有的积累、所有的名誉、所有的成就和所有的荣誉都以某种方式被搁置在人生的道路上，因为它们没有真正的价值而被丢弃。他已经找到了一个正确的价值体系。正如一个相关的动词所说，他已经成为“头脑清醒”，在哥林多前书 15：34 中使用。或者作为另一个相关词，在彼得前书中用到，“心灵清醒”。换句话说，他现在已经确定了优先事项。他知道哪些经历是有价值的，在许多情况下，它们是他最害怕的，现在知道它们给了他最好的果实。他们让他成为现在的他。很多时候，他不想要的才是最有价值的，他全力追求的是最不值钱的。他现在知道了。他过滤了生活。

And very often when men come to this age in life - although there are certain physical things they need to perhaps increase their comfort level - they have, if they're godly and have walked the path of righteousness, they've really filtered through almost everything.   And they should find themselves reduced, being reduced, to a simpler and simpler and simpler life, because they now know what things have real value.   They now know what people have real value, what relationships have real value, what efforts have real value.   That is absolutely crucial for them to dispense to a younger generation.

很多时候，当男人到了这个年龄——尽管他们可能需要某些物质上的东西来增加他们的舒适度——如果他们是敬虔的，走在公义的道路上，他们几乎已经过滤了几乎所有东西。他们应该发现自己被简化，被简化，过着越来越简单、更简单的生活，因为他们现在知道什么东西才有真正的价值。他们现在知道什么人有真正的价值，什么关系有真正的价值，什么努力有真正的价值。这对他们分发给年轻一代来说绝对至关重要

Where there is a moderate, non-indulgent, non-extravagant, sober-minded, sober-spirited knowledge of priorities through years and years of experience, you have the wisdom that needs to be passed down.   It's like the father who sits with his little children and says, "I know you don't understand why. You'll have to trust me for this.   You can't do this. I know why you can't do it. You don't understand why. I've been there. I'll tell you why."   And so these men are to be men who are temperate.   Their lives have been reduced to the irreducible minimums of what really matters.

只要有适度的、不放纵的、不奢侈的、清醒的头脑、清醒的知识，通过多年的经验，你就拥有了需要传承的智慧。这就像父亲和他的小孩坐在一起说：“我知道你不明白为什么。为此，你必须相信我。你不能这么做。我知道你为什么做不到。你不明白为什么。我去过那里。我会告诉你为什么。因此，这些人应该是有节制的人。他们的生活已经沦为真正重要的事情的不可减少的最低限度。

Secondly, they are to be “dignified,” semnos, “serious, worthy of respect, venerable.”   It doesn't mean that they're boring, gloomy people. It just means they're not frivolous.   They're not flippant.   They're serious in life.   I mean, they've lived long enough to see that life is a serious thing.   They're over the feeling of immortality and invincibility that plagues young people.   And they've seen too much and felt too much to be trivial.   They've buried their parents in many cases, most cases.   They've buried their sisters and brothers.   They've stood in hospital waiting rooms while those they love died.   They've been waiting for the surgeon to come out and explain what happened in the cancer surgery to a life partner.   They've watched a child rebel.   They've watched a child born who turned away from everything they believed in. They watched a child die of leukemia.   They watched a child die of cancer.   They've seen it all.   They've felt it all.   They have borne the burdens of their own life and family and the burdens of a myriad of other people with whom they have shared life.   They've come to the disillusioning reality and fact that the world is not going to get any better, and they couldn't make it any better, and neither can anybody else.   They've lived through all the anticipated utopian thoughts.   They have lived through the hopeful euphorias that said, “We're going to fix everything.”   And they're down on the other side of it, and they know with an honesty that life is the way it is because man is the way he is, and he is not going to change by himself.

其次，他们要“有尊严”，semnos，“严肃，值得尊重，受人尊敬”。这并不意味着他们是无聊、阴郁的人。这只是意味着他们并不轻浮。他们并不轻率。他们在生活中很认真。我的意思是，他们已经活得足够长了，可以看到生活是一件严肃的事情。他们克服了困扰年轻人的不朽和无敌的感觉。他们见过太多，感觉太多，不能是微不足道的。在很多情况下，他们埋葬了父母，大多数情况下。他们埋葬了他们的兄弟姐妹。他们站在医院候诊室里，而他们所爱的人却死了。他们一直在等待外科医生出来向生活伴侣解释癌症手术中发生的事情。他们看着一个孩子反抗。他们看着一个孩子出生时背弃了他们所相信的一切。他们看着一个孩子死于白血病。他们看着一个孩子死于癌症。他们已经看到了这一切。他们已经感受到了这一切。他们承担了自己生活和家庭的重担，也承担了与他们共同生活的无数其他人的重担。他们已经认识到一个令人失望的现实和事实，即世界不会变得更好，他们无法让它变得更好，其他人也做不到。他们经历了所有预期的乌托邦思想。他们经历了充满希望的欣喜，说：“我们会解决一切问题。他们站在它的另一边，他们诚实地知道，生活就是这样，因为人就是他本来的样子，他不会自己改变。

Things aren't as funny as maybe they were when he was young because life is too serious.   I don't know about you but I, I don't relate that necessarily with getting old, but I look at some of these programs that are supposedly the funniest programs on television and I find myself utterly unable to laugh at any of it.   And I still think I'm, I have a pretty good sense of humor.   I read somewhere where “Roseanne” is the number one program on television, so I decided I'd make myself watch it once to see if it was funny.   And I didn't think any of it was funny because all I could see was people manifesting a lifestyle without God.   And it simply became a demonstration of a point of identity where a whole nation of people identify with these people.   And all I saw through the microcosm of “Roseanne” was a nation of people living without God.   That isn't funny.   That is tragic.   Now there's a certain sense of humor that we all have. And, after all, God must have a sense of humor. I mean, just look around at who is sitting near you.   And we can laugh, and that's a gift.   But at the same time, mature Christian men have reached a level of dignity where they are venerable. They see life the way it really is.   And if they laugh they laugh at what is laughable, not what is tragic.   And if they smile they smile because there's something to smile about, really smile about - a sunset, a beautiful day, a beautiful scene, a precious child, love.   They don't laugh at what is tragic.

事情不像他年轻时那么有趣，因为生活太严肃了。我不了解你，但我，我不一定与变老有关，但我看了一些据说是电视上最有趣的节目，我发现自己完全无法嘲笑其中的任何一个。我仍然认为我有很好的幽默感。我在某处读到《罗珊娜》是电视上排名第一的节目，所以我决定让自己看一次，看看它是否有趣。我不认为这些都好笑，因为我所能看到的只是人们表现出一种没有上帝的生活方式。它只是展示了一种身份认同点，整个国家的人都认同这些人。而我通过《罗珊娜》的缩影看到的只是一个没有上帝生活的民族。这并不好笑。这是悲剧性的。现在我们都有一定的幽默感。而且，毕竟，上帝必须有幽默感。我的意思是，看看谁坐在你附近。我们可以笑，这是一份礼物。但与此同时，成熟的基督徒男性已经达到了他们值得尊敬的尊严水平。他们以真实的方式看待生活。如果他们笑，他们就会嘲笑可笑的事情，而不是悲剧的事情。如果他们微笑，他们就会微笑，因为有一些事情可以微笑，真的微笑——日落、美好的一天、美丽的场景、宝贵的孩子、爱。他们不会嘲笑悲剧性的事情。

And the third thing he says about these older men is they should be characterized by what is “sensible.”   They should be “sensible.”   This means they have discretion and discernment.   That comes by age.   They've experienced it all.   They've gone through all the experiences, and they have developed a strength of mind and a depth of experience and a grip on truth and a devotion to what is right, and they have learned how to control their instincts and their passions.   And that word "sensible" means they've got the loose ends of their life tied down - they're under control, they have discernment, discretion.   They - to borrow the same basic concept, the same root word from Paul's statement in Romans chapter 12, verse 3 - they think “so as to have sound judgment.”   They think soundly.

关于这些年长的人，他所说的第三件事是，他们应该以“理智”为特征。他们应该是“明智的”。这意味着他们有判断力和洞察力。这取决于年龄。他们经历了这一切。他们经历了所有的经历，他们培养了一种力量的思想和深度的经验，对真理的把握和对正确事物的奉献，他们学会了如何控制自己的直觉和激情。“明智”这个词意味着他们已经束缚了生活中的未解决的问题——他们处于控制之中，他们有洞察力和谨慎性。他们——借用同样的基本概念，来自保罗在罗马书第12章第3节的陈述——他们认为“要有正确的判断力”。他们思考得很清楚。

These qualities, being temperate, dignified and sensible, replace the qualities of youth.   Do you know what they are?   Recklessness, impetuosity, thoughtlessness, and instability.

这些品质是温和的、有尊严的、理智的，取代了青年的品质。你知道它们是什么吗？鲁莽、浮躁、轻率、不稳定。

Then there are three more positive virtues that are all summed up in the final statement: “sound in faith, in love, in perseverance.” “Sound” means “healthy, without weakness, without disease, without debilitation.”   They have strong, well, whole attitudes in these areas.   First “in faith”; this is wonderful.   They are to be healthy in faith.   They have spiritual faith that is healthy, whole, well, sound, solid. What does that mean?   That means their faith in God is unwavering.   They've seen enough.   They've been through enough.   The 50, 60, 70, 80 years have shown them God, and God is to be trusted, right?   They don't doubt.   They don't question God.   They never lose their trust in God's good intention.   They never lose their confidence in God's plan.   They never lose their hope for God's sovereignty to fulfill itself.   They never accuse God of disappointing them.   They never doubt the truth of Scripture.   They never question the power of the Holy Spirit.   They never ever question whether the gospel can save.   They know; they've seen it.

然后还有三种更积极的美德，它们都总结在最后的陈述中：“在信心、爱心、坚忍中健全。“声音”的意思是“健康、无虚弱、无疾病、无衰弱”。他们在这些领域有强烈的、整体的态度。首先是“在信心中”;这太好了。他们要在信心上保持健康。他们有健康、完整、健康、健全、坚实的属灵信仰。那是什么意思？这意味着他们对上帝的信仰是坚定不移的。他们已经看够了。他们已经经历了足够多的事情。50、60、70、80 年已经向他们展示了上帝，上帝是值得信赖的，对吧？他们不怀疑。他们不质疑上帝。他们永远不会失去对上帝良善旨意的信任。他们从未失去对上帝计划的信心。他们从未失去对上帝主权实现的希望。他们从不指责上帝让他们失望。他们从不怀疑圣经的真实性。他们从不质疑圣灵的能力。他们从不质疑福音是否能拯救人。他们知道;他们已经看到了。

Those who have lived through all the years and God has shown Himself and shown Himself and shown Himself and shown Himself through all of the vicissitudes and struggles and all the difficulties of life. He has been there, and he has proven himself, and he's an old man now, and he says, “I believe God.”   And his faith holds up the church.   He's strong.   His faith is courageous because a life of believing has taught him to trust God.   God has proven Himself faithful over the long years.   In all the hospitals, at all the funerals, in all the losses and disappointments of life, God has been faithful.   Through all of the sins and the temptations and the trials and the repentances and the renewals, through all of the exposure to the truth and the application of the Word, it has been as God said it would be, and He can be believed.   And that kind of mature faith holds up the church.   It gives us a faith to emulate.

那些经历了这么多年的人，上帝已经通过人生的所有沧桑、挣扎和一切困难，向自己显现，向自己显现，向自己显现。他去过那里，他已经证明了自己，他现在已经是老人了，他说：“我相信上帝。他的信心支撑着教会。他很强壮。他的信仰是勇敢的，因为相信的生活教会了他信靠上帝。在漫长的岁月里，上帝已经证明了自己是信实的。在所有的医院里，在所有的葬礼上，在生命中所有的损失和失望中，上帝都是信实的。通过所有的罪、试探、试炼、悔改和更新，通过所有接触真理和应用话语的经历，一切都如神所说的那样，他可以被相信。这种成熟的信仰支撑着教会。它给了我们一种可以效仿的信念。

Secondly he says he is to be healthy “in love.”   He has a healthy spiritual love.   Certainly he has this love toward God and toward others as well.   He is a man who loves.   He's not a bitter man.   That's the saddest thing there is in the world is to see an old man who is bitter.   Here is a man who loves.   Here is a man who loves by bearing “one another's burdens, and thus fulfilling the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).   Here is a man who loves sacrificially. Here is a man who loves serving. Here is a man who has learned through the years what ought to be loved and what not to love.   His love is set on things that should be loved.   He's learned to love when love is not returned.   He's learned to love when love is rejected.   He's learned to love when love isn't even deserved.   He's learned to love, and in his love to forgive, and in his love to serve.   He's learned to love patiently, kindly.   His love is not jealous.   His love does not brag.   His love is not arrogant.   It doesn't act unbecomingly.   It doesn't seek its own.   It isn't provoked.   It doesn't take into account a wrong suffered.   It never rejoices in somebody else's sin; it rejoices with the truth.   His is a love that bears all things, believes all things and hopes all things, endures all things, and his love never fails.

其次，他说他要“在爱中”保持健康。他有健康的属灵之爱。当然，他对上帝和对他人都有这种爱。他是一个热爱的人。他不是一个苦涩的人。世界上最可悲的事情就是看到一个苦涩的老人。这里有一个爱的男人。这里有一个人，他通过“承担彼此的重担，从而成全基督的律法”（加拉太书 6：2）来相爱。这是一个牺牲地爱的人。这里有一个热爱服务的人。这是一个多年来学会了什么应该被爱，什么不该爱的人。他的爱是放在应该被爱的事物上。当爱得不到回报时，他学会了去爱。当爱被拒绝时，他学会了去爱。当爱甚至不值得时，他学会了去爱。他学会了去爱，在他的爱中学会了宽恕，在他的爱中学会了服务。他学会了耐心、善良地去爱。他的爱不是嫉妒。他的爱不会吹嘘。他的爱并不傲慢。它不会表现得不合时宜。它不寻求自己的。它不是被激怒的。它没有考虑到所遭受的错误。它从不为别人的罪而欢欣;它因真理而欢欣鼓舞。他的爱是一切承受，一切相信并希望一切，一切忍耐，他的爱永不失败。

One of the tragedies of old age is when people become unloving and bitter and selfish.   This older man that the church desperately needs is healthy in his love.   He doesn't love out of emotion; he loves out of principle.   He loves because it's right.   He loves with his will, not his feelings.   Part of growing old is you don't do everything by your feelings.

老年的悲剧之一是人们变得没有爱心、苦毒和自私。教会迫切需要的这位年长的人在他的爱中是健康的。他不是出于情感而爱;他爱是出于原则。他爱，因为这是对的。他用他的意志去爱，而不是他的感受。变老的一部分是你不会靠自己的感觉做所有事情。

And then there's a third familiar thing.   He is to be sound “in perseverance,” “endurance.”   He's been through enough trials.   He's suffered enough.   He knows.   He is to be a very model of patience.   He has been through it all.   He has the courage that is the result of that.   He never loses heart in spite of disappointment, unfulfilled aspirations, physical weakness, growing loneliness.   The godly man becomes tempered like steel.   His body is weaker, his spirit is stronger, he can endure to the very end.   These make the gospel glory shine.

然后还有第三件熟悉的事情。他要“坚忍”和“忍耐”。他已经经历了足够多的考验。他受够了。他知道。他要成为耐心的典范。他经历了这一切。他有勇气，这就是这样做的结果。尽管失望、未实现的愿望、身体虚弱、日益孤独，他从不灰心。敬虔的人变得像钢铁一样淬炼。他的身体更虚弱，他的精神更强大，他可以坚持到最后。这些使福音的荣耀闪耀。

And then - and I told you I was going to spend less time on the women - verse 3 says, "Likewise” - or “in the same way; just the same” – “older women are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips, not enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good."

然后——我告诉过你，我会花更少的时间在女人身上——第 3 节说，“照样”——或“照样;同样“——”年长的妇女在行为上要虔诚，不要恶意的流言蜚语，不要被太多的酒所奴役，教导什么是好的。

Do you know that if an older woman isn't what God wants her to be, she's to be rebuked also?   First Timothy 5:2 says, "If you have to rebuke an older woman, rebuke her as a mother."   It's hard to rebuke your mother, isn't it?   Well-nigh impossible because you have so much love and so much respect because your heart gets in the way of your head.   But sometimes older women need to be rebuked, but it must be done gently and lovingly and graciously and kindly, and they must be treated with the dignity and respect that a mother deserves.   And again I remind you, if one is to strike his mother or to curse his mother, in Exodus 21 it says he is to forfeit his life.

你知道如果一个年长的女人不是神希望她成为的样子，她也会受到责备吗？提摩太前书 5：2 说：“你们若要责备年长的妇人，就要责备她为人母。很难责备妈，不是吗？几乎不可能，因为你有太多的爱和尊重，因为你的心妨碍了你的头脑。但有时年长的女性需要受到责备，但必须温柔、充满爱心、亲切和善意地对待，并且必须以母亲应得的尊严和尊重对待她们。我再次提醒你，如果一个人要打他的母亲或咒诅他的母亲，出埃及记 21 章说他要丧失自己的生命。

The older women were handled, I think, very graciously by Paul, if you want an example of how to handle them in Philippians 4.   There were two women messing up the church.   Paul says, "I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord."   He had to rebuked them publicly in this letter.   They've got to get their act together.   And then he said, "Indeed, true comrade," and he points to someone there and says, "I'm asking you to help these women.   You help them solve this animosity.”   They've “shared in my struggle in the cause of the gospel."   What a commendation.   They shared together with Clement, and they shared with the rest of the fellow workers whose names are in the Book of Life.   They're believers, they're in God's book, and they've served the Lord - help them resolve this. That's a tender way to deal with two women having a problem, sinning - gracious handling of it.

我认为，保罗非常仁慈地对待年长的妇女，如果你想在腓立比书 4 章中举一个如何处理她们的例子。有两个女人把教堂搞得一团糟。保罗说：“我劝留底亚，也劝辛提基在主里和睦相处。他不得不在这封信中公开斥责他们。他们必须齐心协力。然后他说，“确实，真正的同志，”他指着那里的人说，“我请求你帮助这些妇女。你帮助他们解决这种敌意。他们“与我一起为福音事业而奋斗”。多么值得称赞。他们与克莱门特一起分享，并与其他名字在生命册上的同工分享。他们是信徒，他们在上帝的书中，他们事奉了主——帮助他们解决这个问题。这是处理两个有问题、犯罪的女人的温柔方式——优雅地处理它。

Women are to be a godly resource in the church.   Back in 1 Timothy chapter 5, older women who become widows are singled out. And those women, he says in verse 9, who are sixty years and older, who have been one-man women, chaste, faithful, pure wives who had a good reputation “for good works,” who “brought up children,” who “showed hospitality to strangers,” and “washed the saints' feet,” and “assisted those in distress,” and “devoted themselves to every good work,” - those women you need to take care of them.   Now if they have a family, let the family take care of them.   If they don't have anybody to take care of them at all, he says in that same chapter, and their only hope is in God, then you take care of them.   Those kinds of women are worthy of your care.   Bring them into the church, put them on the list of cared widows.   They're precious.

妇女应该成为教会中敬虔的资源。回到提摩太前书第5章，成为寡妇的年长妇女被挑出来。他在第9节说，那些年满六十岁的妇女，都是单一的女人，贞洁、忠贞、纯洁的妻子，“因善行”，“养育儿女”，“款待客人”，“为圣徒洗脚”，“帮助患难的人”，并“专心做各样的善事，“ - 那些你需要照顾她们的女人。现在如果他们有家庭，就让家人照顾他们。如果他们根本没有人照顾他们，他在同一章中说，他们唯一的希望是上帝，那么你就照顾他们。这样的女人值得你关心。把他们带进教会，把他们列入受照顾的寡妇名单。他们很珍贵。

Sinning women who haven't been faithful and weren't faithful to their husbands and didn't bring up children properly and didn't show hospitality to strangers and weren't known for their good works and all of that – why, you don't put those on the list.   No. The Scripture exalts those women who are godly women.   And they should be brought into the church to be models to the younger women.

那些不忠心、不忠于丈夫、不正确抚养孩子、不热情好客、不以善行闻名的犯罪妇女——为什么，你不把这些列在名单上。不。圣经高举那些敬虔的妇女。她们应该被带进教会，成为年轻女性的榜样。

Paul suggests several qualities that should mark these women.   "The older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior."   That's one word in the Greek, and it's used only here in the Bible.   And the word means “priest-like.” They're to be like priests.   What does that mean?   In other words, they're holy.   They're the kind of women who should have access to God. They're the kind of women who could enter God's holy presence - sacred character, godly lives.

保罗提出了这些妇女应该具有的几个品质。“年长的妇女在行为上也要虔诚。”这是希腊语中的一个词，也只在圣经中使用。这个词的意思是“像牧师一样”。他们要像牧师一样。那是什么意思？换句话说，他们是圣洁的。她们是那种应该能够接近上帝的女性。她们是那种可以进入神圣同在的女性——神圣的品格，敬虔的生活。

Such a woman is described for us in Luke chapter 2 in that wonderful little vignette of Anna.   Anna who was advanced in years.   She was a widow to the age of 84.   “She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers.”   An 84- year-old godly woman who was priest-like in her behavior, reverent in her behavior.

路加福音第2章在亚拿的那个美妙的小插曲中为我们描述了这样的女人。年事已高的安娜。她一直守寡到 84 岁。“她从未离开过圣殿，日夜为斋戒和祈祷服务。”一位 84 岁的敬虔妇女，她的行为像牧师一样，行为虔诚。

That kind of behavior is called for by Paul in writing to Timothy in 1 Timothy 2:9, these are women who “adorn themselves with the proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly ornaments.”   They're humble; they're meek. They're properly dressed to call attention to the Lord and not themselves.   They haven't piled a fortune in their hair to call attention to themselves.   These are women who choose good works as befits “women making a claim to godliness” (1 Timothy 2:10).   They are women who “quietly receive instruction” with submission and do not exercise authority in the church or teach men.   They are women who through the bearing of children have removed the stigma of their sin and have continued in faith and love and purity with self-restraint.   That's the kind of behavior God wants - modesty and discretion, virtue, submission to a husband, godliness, raising children in a godly way, helping strangers.   The outward action of holiness is dependent on an inward condition of holiness.   And so Paul says to Titus, "You must tell the older women to be holy, to be like priests who enter the very presence of God."

保罗在提摩太前书 2：9 中写给提摩太的信中呼吁这种行为，这些妇女“穿着适当的衣服，端庄而谨慎，不要用辫子、金子、珍珠或昂贵的装饰品”。他们很谦虚;他们很温顺。他们穿着得体，以引起人们对主而不是他们自己的关注。他们没有在头发上堆积一大笔钱来引起人们的注意。这些妇女选择了与“自称敬虔的妇女”相称的善行（提摩太前书 2：10）。她们是顺服地“默默地接受教导”的女性，不在教会中行使权柄，也不教导男性。她们是妇女，通过生育孩子，消除了罪的污名，并在自我克制的情况下继续保持信仰、爱和纯洁。这就是神想要的那种行为——谦虚和谨慎、美德、顺服丈夫、敬虔、以敬虔的方式教养孩子、帮助陌生人。圣洁的外在行动取决于圣洁的内在条件。因此，保罗对提多说：“你必须告诉年长的妇女要圣洁，像进入神面前的祭司一样。

And then he adds, secondly, "not malicious gossips." Boy, what immediate contrast that is.   You know what the word is for “malicious gossips”?   It's the Greek word diabolos, thirty-four times in the New Testament it appears as a name for Satan.   Nothing is more Satan-like than slander.   And whereas men tend to sin and violently react physically - men prove to be rough or violent in their action - women have a tendency to be rough or violent in their words.   Satan is a malicious slanderer, slandering night and day.   Don't be Satan-like.   Older women may have in the island of Crete, as elsewhere, found themselves with a lot of time on their hands, and because they had less time, less to occupy their time, they were given over to talk. And that talk became gossip, criticism, fault finding, slander.   Paul says that's the devil's work.   Older women should not vent their depravity through their speech.   They should be anything but a “malicious gossip.”

“然后他补充道，其次，”不是恶意的八卦“。天哪，这是多么直接的对比。你知道“恶意八卦”是什么词吗？这是希腊语 diabolos，在新约中出现了 34 次，它是撒旦的名字。没有什么比诽谤更像撒旦了。虽然男人倾向于犯罪并在身体上做出暴力反应——男人在行为上被证明是粗暴或暴力的——但女人在言语上有粗暴或暴力的倾向。撒旦是恶毒的诽谤者，日夜诽谤。不要像撒旦一样。在克里特岛，老年妇女可能和其他地方一样，发现自己手头有很多时间，而且由于她们的时间更少，占用时间更少，她们被交给了她们来说话。而这种谈话变成了八卦、批评、挑剔、诽谤。保罗说这是魔鬼的工作。大龄女性不应该通过言论来发泄自己的堕落。它们不应该是“恶意八卦”。

And then, thirdly, he says, "Not enslaved, or nor enslaved to much wine."   This term refers to a drunkard.   It's a strong term.   Apparently in Crete as elsewhere, older people turn to stimulants to refresh their weary bodies, tired minds, and he says, “Your women are not to do that.   Your women don't need to become slaves to that.”   It must have been a common thing as it even is today.   These older believers are not to become drunkards; they're not to give themselves to wine; they're to maintain their senses.

然后，第三，他说，“没有被奴役，也没有被很多酒所奴役。这个词指的是酒鬼。这是一个强有力的术语。显然，在克里特岛和其他地方一样，老年人转向兴奋剂来恢复疲惫的身体和疲惫的头脑，他说：“你们的女人不应该这样做。你的女人不需要成为它的奴隶。这一定是一件司空见惯的事情，甚至在今天也是如此。这些年长的信徒不要成为酒鬼;他们不应该把自己交给酒;他们要保持理智。

Now we understand from our past studies of this matter of wine that God knew people in that culture would have to drink fermented drinks.   And wine was generally then mingled with water or reduced to a paste and without fermentation. Then water was introduced into it again, and it could be drunk.   The implication here is not that they were drinking normal wine, which would be mixed with water so you couldn't get drunk from it, but the idea of someone who was a drunkard.   Perhaps in the pain of their old age and maybe even in the loneliness of their old age they wanted to dull their senses a bit, and so they gave themselves over to these things, and he says that's not fitting. They need to be in full use of their senses for God's holy purposes. They are to be like priests who draw into the presence of God. Their tongue is to speak nothing but that which is edifying and seasoned with grace. Never are they to talk like the devil does, slandering or gossiping, and never are they to become slaves of anything that inebriates them or takes away their senses.

现在，我们从过去对葡萄酒问题的研究中了解到，上帝知道在那个文化中，人们必须喝发酵饮料。然后，葡萄酒通常与水混合或变成糊状，无需发酵。然后又把水引入其中，就可以喝了。这里的言外之意不是说他们喝的是普通的酒，酒会与水混合，这样你就不会喝醉，而是酒鬼的想法。也许在晚年的痛苦中，甚至在晚年的孤独中，他们想让自己的感官变得迟钝一点，所以他们把自己交给了这些事情，他说这不合适。他们需要充分利用自己的感官来实现上帝的神圣旨意。他们要像祭司一样，吸引他们进入上帝的同在。他们的舌头只会说造就人、有恩典的话。他们绝不能像魔鬼那样说话、诽谤或说闲话，也绝不能成为任何使他们陶醉或夺走他们理智的东西的奴隶。

They also have a positive duty at the end of verse 3, they are to be “teaching what is good.”   They're to be “teaching what is good.”   “Older women, you need to be teaching.”   Teaching whom?   Verse 4, teaching the young women “to love their husbands, love their children, be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their husbands that the word of God may not be dishonored.”   “You teach the younger women.   You've already taught your children.   They're come and gone.   Now it's your time to teach the younger generation.”

在第3节的结尾，他们也有积极的职责，他们要“教导良善的事”。他们要“教导什么是好的”。“年长的女性，你需要教书。”教谁？第4节，教导女青年“要爱丈夫，爱儿女，要懂事，要纯洁，在家作工，要和蔼，要顺服丈夫，免得神的话被羞辱。“你教年轻女性。你已经教过你的孩子了。他们来来去去。现在是你们教年轻一代的时候了。

That's so important.   That's why you have to have those godly older women in the congregation to teach the younger ones, to teach them how to raise their children, how to love their husbands, and how to be godly.   The teaching place of the older woman is not in the church; he “permits not a woman to teach,” 1 Timothy says in chapter 2.   The teaching place of an older woman is the home, informal teaching by word, by example, in a group of women here and there and wherever to bring along a generation of godly women.   I fear what's going to happen in the church in the future if our godly women today don't teach the next generation, because they don't have normal families to bring them up with any kind of sense about what a family is.

这非常重要。这就是为什么你必须在会众中让那些敬虔的年长妇女来教导年轻的妇女，教导她们如何抚养孩子，如何爱她们的丈夫，以及如何敬虔。年长妇女的教导场所不在教会中;他“不许女人教导人”，提摩太前书在第2章说。年长妇女的教导场所是家庭，在一群妇女中，到处以身作则，以言传身教导，带来一代敬虔的妇女。我担心，如果我们今天敬虔的妇女不教导下一代，未来教会会发生什么，因为她们没有正常的家庭来教养她们，让他们对家庭有任何认识。

She is to teach “what is good,” kalodidaskalos - one word - “teach good.”   What is right and what is good is to “encourage young women to love their husbands, love their children, be sensible, pure, workers at home,” etc., etc.   That's their primary role, to raise a godly generation of young women.   I challenge the older women in our church to do that. The young women in your life are crucial, crucial. And you have them. They may be your daughters. They may be your daughters-in-law.   They may be your granddaughters. They may be your daughter's friends. They may be your nieces. They're around. They may be those you know because of friendships, the daughters of your friends.   They may be people in the church family.   I don't think they're asking here for some kind of formal seminar.   You have to come alongside and teach them how to live life, nurture them to godliness.

她要教导“什么是好的”，kalodidaskalos - 一个词 - “教好”。什么是对的，什么是好的，就是“鼓励年轻女子爱丈夫，爱孩子，懂事、纯洁、在家打工”等等。这是她们的主要职责，培养敬虔的一代年轻女性。我挑战我们教会中年长的女性这样做。你生命中的年轻女性至关重要，至关重要。你有它们。她们可能是你的女儿。她们可能是你的儿媳妇。她们可能是你的孙女。他们可能是你女儿的朋友。他们可能是你的侄女。他们就在身边。她们可能是你因为友谊而认识的人，是你朋友的女儿。他们可能是教会大家庭中的人。我不认为他们在这里要求举办某种正式的研讨会。你必须与他们并肩作战，教导他们如何生活，培养他们敬虔。

So that you older people are not the cause of dishonoring God's Word, so that you older people are not the cause of giving the opponent something to say bad about the church, and so that you are not the cause of people who would doubt God's saving power. You need to live like this.   A lot is at stake; a lot is at stake. And you have so much to offer.

这样，你们年长的人就不会成为羞辱神话语的原因，这样你们年长的人就不会成为对手说教会坏话的原因，这样你们就不会成为那些怀疑神拯救大能的人的原因。你需要这样生活。很多事都处于危险之中;很多事都处于危险之中。你们有太多可以奉献的东西。

Not long after the beginning of the racist black power movement and the start of the group called the Black Panthers, a little 67-year-old lady named Margaret Kuhn in Philadelphia decided she wanted to get in on the movement, only from a different standpoint. So she started the gray power movement and started an organization called Gray Panthers.   And her whole idea was just to get a bunch of gray people to make a change in the world.

在种族主义黑人权力运动开始和名为“黑豹”的组织成立后不久，费城一位名叫玛格丽特·库恩的 67 岁小女士决定加入这场运动，只是从不同的角度出发。于是她发起了灰色权力运动，并成立了一个名为灰豹的组织。她的整个想法只是让一群灰色人改变世界。

Well what about the church?   What about the gray power in the church?   I look out over the congregation and I see a lot of gray.   You're a powerful force in this church.   We need you.   Moses was eighty when God called him to lead Israel, eighty.   And he gave many excuses, but age wasn't one of them.   Don't underestimate your capability.

那么教会呢？教会中的灰色权力呢？我向外看会众，看到很多灰色。你是这个教会的一股强大的力量。我们需要你。摩西在上帝呼召他领导以色列人时已经八十岁了，八十岁。他给出了很多借口，但年龄不是其中之一。不要低估自己的能力。

John Wesley traveled 250,000 miles by horseback or on foot to preach.   He preached 40,000 sermons, produced 400 books, and knew 10 languages.   At eighty-three he was annoyed that he couldn't write for more than fifteen hours a day without hurting his eyes.   Get this, at eighty-six he was ashamed that he could only, that he couldn't preach more than twice a day.   And he said, since his eighty-sixth birthday, he had to admit there was an increasing tendency to lie in bed until 5:30 a.m.   What a terrible decline in character that is.

约翰·卫斯理骑马或步行 250,000 英里去传道。他讲道 40,000 次，出版了 400 本书，懂 10 种语言。八十三岁的他很恼火，因为他每天写字的时间不能超过十五个小时而不伤到眼睛。明白这一点，在八十六岁的时候，他为自己只能讲道而感到羞耻，因为他每天不能讲道超过两次。他说，自从他八十六岁生日以来，他不得不承认，在床上躺到凌晨 5 点 30 分的趋势越来越大。这是多么可怕的品格下降。

You have so much to offer - godly older generation; crucial to the life of the church.   Let's pray.

你有很多东西可以提供——敬虔的老一辈人;对教会生活至关重要。让我们祷告。

Father, thank You for our time this morning in Your Word and the wonderful practicality of it.   Thank You for the richness this church has in its senior saints, and, O God, how we pray that they'll be the kind of people You want them to be, and that they might bring great stability, great strength and character and wisdom to this congregation. That You'll give them a ministry in the lives of the youth of this church and those in the middle years that the lessons that they have learned and the character they have developed can become that which is passed on to the following generations.   Preserve Your church, Lord, as the older generation who walked with You for so many years pass on the great, life-changing truths and their practical implications.   Bless this congregation.   Bless its seniors and make them all that You want them to be, and we'll give You praise in Christ's name.   Amen.

天父，感谢你今天早上让我们在你的话语中抽出时间，以及它奇妙的实用性。感谢祢，为这个教会在年长圣徒身上所拥有的丰富，神啊，我们多么祈求他们成为祢希望他们成为的那种人，并使他们能为这个会众带来极大的稳定、极大的力量、品格和智慧。你会在这个教会的年轻人和中年的年轻人的生命中给予他们一个事工，使他们所学到的教训和他们所培养的品格可以传给后代。主啊，请保护你的教会，因为与你同行多年的老一辈人将伟大的、改变生命的真理及其实际影响传递给我们。祝福这个会众。祝福他们的前辈，使他们成为你希望他们成为的样子，我们就会奉基督的名赞美你。阿门。