Growing worse and worse!
越变越糟！
By Arthur Pink, “A Fourfold Salvation” 1938
作者：Arthur Pink，《四重拯救》1938年
(You will find it helpful to Listen to the Audio, as you read the text below.)
（在阅读以下文本时，听音频会对您有所帮助。）
By nature we are thoroughly in love with ourselves–but as the Divine work of grace is carried forward in our souls, we come to loathe ourselves. Those who have been saved from the penalty of sin, are being made increasingly conscious not only of sin’s polluting presence, but of its tyrannizing power!
我们天性完全爱自己——但随着神圣恩典的工作在我们灵魂中进行，我们开始厌恶自己。那些已经从罪的惩罚中得救的人，不仅越来越意识到罪的污染存在，还意识到它的专制力量！
How can we explain the fact, that the more closely he endeavors to walk with God, the Christian finds himself growing worse and worse? The answer is because of increased light from God’s Word, by which he now discovers heart-filth of which he was previously unaware.
我们如何解释这个事实，即基督徒越努力与神同行，就越发现自己变得越来越糟糕？答案是因为从神的话语中获得了更多的光照，通过这光照，他现在发现了以前不知道的内心污秽。
The sun shining into a neglected room, does not create the dust and cobwebs–but simply reveals them. Thus it is with the Christian. The more the light of the Word searches him, the more he discovers the horrible plague of his heart (1 Kings 8:38), and the more he realizes what a wretched failure he actually is!
阳光照进一个被忽视的房间，并不会制造灰尘和蜘蛛网——而只是揭示了它们。基督徒也是如此。神的话语之光越是搜寻他，他就越发现自己内心可怕的瘟疫（列王纪上8:38），也就越意识到自己实际上是多么可悲的失败者！
The fact is, dear discouraged soul, that the more you are growing out of love with yourself, the more you are being saved from the power of sin. Wherein lies sin’s fearful potency? In its power to deceive us. Our heart lies to us. (Jeremiah 17:9) It did so to Adam and Eve. It gives us false estimates of values, so that we mistake the tinsel for real gold. To be saved from the power of sin, is to have our eyes opened so that we see things in the light of God’s Word–it is to know the truth about things all around us, and the truth about ourselves.
事实上，亲爱的灰心的灵魂啊，你越是不再爱自己，就越是从罪的权势中得救。罪可怕的力量在哪里？在于它欺骗我们的能力。我们的心欺骗我们。（耶利米书17:9）它对亚当和夏娃就是这样做的。它给我们错误的价值估计，使我们错把金箔当成真金。从罪的权势中得救，就是让我们的眼睛得开，使我们在神话语的光中看事物——这就是知道关于我们周围事物的真相，以及关于我们自己的真相。
But further–sin not only deceives, it puffs up, causing its infatuated victims to think highly of themselves. Sin ever produces pride, self-love, and self-righteousness. But when God takes us in hand, it is the very opposite–the workings of the Spirit subdue our pride–by giving increasing discoveries of SELF and of the exceeding sinfulness of SIN, so that each one cries out with Job, “Behold! I am vile!” (40:4). Such a one is being saved from the power of sin–its power to deceive and to puff us up with pride!
但更进一步——罪不仅欺骗，它还令人自高自大，使其迷恋的受害者对自己评价过高。罪总是产生骄傲、自爱和自以为义。但当神接管我们时，情况恰恰相反——圣灵的工作通过让我们越来越发现自我和罪的极度邪恶来制服我们的骄傲，以至于每个人都像约伯一样呼喊：”看哪！我是卑贱的！”（40:4）。这样的人正在从罪的权势中得救——罪欺骗我们和使我们骄傲自大的权势！