Eternal life is a free gift ready to be received.

永生是白白赐给人的礼物，只等着你我来领受。

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8

你们得救是本乎恩，也因着信。这并不是出于自己，乃是上帝所赐的。-以弗所书2章8节

London’s Café Rendezvous has nice lighting, comfortable couches, and the smell of coffee in the air. What it doesn’t have are prices. Originally started as a business by a local church, the café was transformed a year after it started. The managers felt that God was calling them to do something radical—make everything on the menu free. Today you can order a coffee, cake, or sandwich without cost. There isn’t even a donation jar. It’s all a gift.

伦敦有一间咖啡馆，里面灯光柔和，座椅舒适，还飘着咖啡香。这里什么都有，就是没有收费。起初，这间咖啡馆是由当地一间教会经营的，但一年之后就转型了。经营者觉得上帝要他们做比较特殊的事──拿掉菜单上所有的价格。今天你可以去那里享用咖啡、蛋糕或是三明治，完全不需花费一分一毫。那里甚至连个捐款罐子都没有，餐点全都是礼物。

I asked the manager why they were so generous. “We’re just trying to treat people the way God treats us,” he said. “God gives to us whether we thank him or not. He’s generous to us beyond our imaginations.”

我问了经营者，他们为何如此大方。他说：“我们只是想要用上帝对待我们的方式去对待别人。不论我们是否心怀感恩，上帝都赐给我们恩典。祂对我们的慷慨超过我们的想像。”

Jesus died to rescue us from our sins and reconcile us with God. He rose from the grave and is alive now. Because of this, every wrong thing we’ve done can be forgiven, and we can have new life today (Eph. 2:1–5). And one of the most amazing things about this is that it is all free. We can’t buy the new life Jesus offers. We can’t even donate toward the cost (vv. 8–9). It’s all a gift.

耶稣替我们受死，救我们脱离罪的捆绑，并使我们与上帝和好。祂从死里复活，且永远活着。因为祂的救赎，我们一切的罪恶过犯都能得到赦免，而且现在就可以拥有全新的生命（以弗所书2章1-5节）。其中最让我们惊叹的是，这一切都是白白给予我们的。我们无法用金钱购买耶稣所赐的新生命，甚至无法为我们所得的赎价而捐款（8-9节）。这全都是礼物。

As the folks at Café Rendezvous serve their cakes and coffees, they give people a glimpse of God’s generosity. You and I are offered eternal life for free because Jesus has paid the bill.

这间咖啡馆让人们免费享用蛋糕和咖啡，借此让他们一窥上帝的慷慨赐与。你我能够白白得着永恒的生命，全因为耶稣已为我们付出一切代价。

Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life. Revelation 22:17

口渴的人也当来；愿意的，
都可以白白取生命的水喝。－启示录22章17节

Ephesians 2:1-9New International Version (NIV)

2 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time,gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace,expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

以弗所书 2:1-9Chinese Union Version Modern Punctuation (Simplified) (CUVMPS)

2 你们死在过犯罪恶之中，他叫你们活过来。 2 那时你们在其中行事为人，随从今世的风俗，顺服空中掌权者的首领，就是现今在悖逆之子心中运行的邪灵。 3 我们从前也都在他们中间，放纵肉体的私欲，随着肉体和心中所喜好的去行，本为可怒之子，和别人一样。 4 然而，神既有丰富的怜悯，因他爱我们的大爱， 5 当我们死在过犯中的时候，便叫我们与基督一同活过来。你们得救是本乎恩。 6 他又叫我们与基督耶稣一同复活，一同坐在天上， 7 要将他极丰富的恩典，就是他在基督耶稣里向我们所施的恩慈，显明给后来的世代看。 8 你们得救是本乎恩，也因着信。这并不是出于自己，乃是神所赐的； 9 也不是出于行为，免得有人自夸。

INSIGHT

What does the phrase “dead in your sins” mean? (Eph. 2:1). Dead means lifeless, powerless, inanimate. It means we were incapable of doing anything to change our situation. Sin refers to our rebellion against God. Humanity instinctively rejects God, and this rebellion is expressed through words, deeds, and attitudes.

The spiritually dead have no relationship with God. To be spiritually dead means we are completely cut off from Him and unable to reach out to Him. We cannot fix the things we’ve done that offended Him. We can’t apologize to God for rebelling against Him, for pretending He doesn’t exist, and for living as though we are God.

Any solution to our deadness must come from somewhere other than us. Through Jesus God took action to bring our spiritually dead hearts to life and restore us to a right relationship with Him. What amazing grace!

灵粮透视

“死在过犯罪恶之中”是什么意思（以弗所书2章1节）？“死”意味着没有生命、没有能力，也没有气息，这表示我们根本无 法做任何事情来改变我们的境况。“罪恶”是指我们对上帝的悖逆。人类的本性会拒绝上帝，这种背叛是表现在言语、行为和态度上。

“灵性上的死”是指与上帝没有关系。“灵性上死了”表示我们与上帝完全断绝了关系，无法接近祂。我们无法修正得罪上帝的事，无法向祂认错，承认自己曾经背叛上帝、假装祂不存在，并认为自己就是上帝。

我们无法解决自身死亡的问题，只能靠外来的力量。上帝采取行动，藉着耶稣使我们已死的灵性活过来，让我们与上帝有和好的关系。这是何等奇异的恩典啊！

整理：于姊妹