Matthew 5 In Vietnamese, For all my readers from Vietnam, Ma-thi-ơ 5m Chúa Giê-xu dạy dỗ dân chúng

Ma-thi-ơ 5

Vietnamese Bible: Easy-to-Read Version (BPT)

Chúa Giê-xu dạy dỗ dân chúng

5 Khi Chúa Giê-xu nhìn thấy đám đông thì Ngài lên ngồi trên một ngọn đồi. Các môn đệ đến với Ngài, 2 rồi Ngài bắt đầu dạy dỗ:

3 “Phúc cho những ai đang nghèo khó về tâm linh [a],

    vì nước thiên đàng thuộc về họ.

4 Phúc cho những ai đang buồn bã,

    vì Thượng Đế sẽ an ủi họ.

5 Phúc cho những ai khiêm nhường,

    vì họ sẽ nhận được đất. [b]

6 Phúc cho những ai lúc nào cũng cố gắng làm điều phải [c],

    vì Thượng Đế sẽ thỏa mãn họ.

7 Phúc cho những ai tỏ lòng nhân ái đối với kẻ khác,

    vì Thượng Đế cũng sẽ tỏ lòng nhân ái đối với họ.

8 Phúc cho những ai có tư tưởng trong sạch,

    vì sẽ được ở với Thượng Đế.

9 Phúc cho những ai mang lại hòa thuận,

    vì Thượng Đế sẽ gọi họ là con cái Ngài.

10 Phúc cho những ai bị ngược đãi vì làm điều phải,

    vì nước thiên đàng là của họ.

11 Người ta sẽ nhục mạ và làm tổn thương các con. Họ sẽ lấy mọi điều xấu vu cáo các con vì các con theo ta. Nhưng khi họ làm như thế thì các con có phúc. 12 Hãy hớn hở vui mừng lên, vì có một phần thưởng rất lớn đang dành cho các con trên thiên đàng. Vì họ cũng đã ngược đãi các nhà tiên tri sống trước các con như vậy.”

Các con là muối và ánh sáng

13 “Các con là muối của đất. Nhưng nếu muối mất vị mặn thì sẽ không thể nào làm cho mặn lại được. Muối đó hoàn toàn vô dụng, chỉ có thể ném bỏ để người ta dẫm lên thôi.

14 Các con là ánh sáng chiếu cho thế giới. Các con là cái thành xây trên núi, không thể bị che khuất được. 15 Không ai thắp đèn rồi đem giấu dưới cái chậu, nhưng người ta đặt trên chân đèn, để nó chiếu sáng mọi người trong nhà. 16 Cũng thế, các con phải làm ánh sáng cho người khác. Hãy sống cách nào để người ta thấy những việc phúc đức các con làm mà ca ngợi Cha các con trên trời.

Luật pháp quan trọng như thế nào

17 Đừng tưởng rằng ta đến để phá luật pháp Mô-se và lời dạy của các nhà tiên tri. Ta đến không phải để phá, mà để hoàn thành những gì luật pháp và các nhà tiên tri nói. 18 Ta bảo thật, sẽ không có một điều gì trong luật pháp biến mất đi cho đến khi không còn trời đất nữa. Dù một chấm một nét cũng không bay mất, cho đến khi mọi việc được hoàn thành. 19 Ai không tuân giữ điều nhỏ nhất trong luật pháp và dạy người ta như thế sẽ là người thấp kém nhất trong nước thiên đàng. Còn ai vâng giữ luật pháp và dạy người ta vâng theo sẽ được tôn trọng trong nước thiên đàng. 20 Ta bảo các con phải sống tốt hơn những người Pha-ri-xi và các giáo sư luật, nếu không các con không thể nào vào nước thiên đàng được đâu.

Chúa Giê-xu dạy về tính nóng giận

21 Các con có nghe người ta dạy dân chúng từ xưa, ‘Ngươi không được giết người. [d] Ai giết người sẽ bị xét xử.’ 22 Nhưng ta bảo các con, ai tức giận anh chị em [e] mình sẽ bị xét xử. Ai nói xấu anh chị em mình phải bị hội đồng cao cấp Do-thái xét xử. Còn ai gọi người khác là đồ điên, thì đáng bị lửa địa ngục trừng phạt.

23 Khi các con dâng của lễ cho Thượng Đế nơi bàn thờ, mà nhớ lại rằng anh chị em mình còn có điều gì nghịch với mình, 24 thì hãy để của lễ nơi bàn thờ, trở về giảng hòa cùng anh chị em mình trước đã, rồi sau đó hãy dâng của lễ.

25 Nếu kẻ thù lôi các con ra tòa, hãy làm hòa với họ ngay trước khi đến tòa. Nếu không, kẻ thù các con sẽ giao các con cho quan tòa, quan tòa giao cho người cai ngục tống giam các con. 26 Ta bảo thật, chừng nào chưa trả hết đồng tiền cuối cùng, thì các con không thể bước chân ra khỏi tù được đâu.

Chúa Giê-xu dạy về tội nhục dục

27 Các con có nghe nói, ‘Ngươi không được phạm tội ngoại tình.’ [f] 28 Nhưng ta bảo các con, ai nhìn đàn bà mà động lòng dục với người ấy thì trong tâm trí xem như đã phạm tội ngoại tình với người đàn bà ấy rồi. 29 Nếu mắt phải của các con xui khiến các con phạm tội, thì hãy móc và ném nó đi. Chẳng thà thiếu mất một phần cơ thể, còn hơn toàn thân thể bị ném vào hỏa ngục. 30 Nếu tay phải các con xui khiến các con phạm tội, hãy chặt nó và ném bỏ đi. Chẳng thà thiếu mất một phần cơ thể, còn hơn cả thân thể đi vào hỏa ngục.

Chúa Giê-xu dạy về sự ly dị

31 Có lời viết, ‘Ai ly dị vợ mình thì phải cho người ấy giấy ly hôn.’ [g] 32 Nhưng ta bảo các con: Ai ly dị vợ mình là làm cho người đàn bà ấy phạm tội ngoại tình. Chỉ có một nguyên nhân duy nhất để ly dị vợ là nếu nàng ăn nằm với một người đàn ông khác. Còn ai cưới người đàn bà bị ly dị ấy cũng phạm tội ngoại tình.

Phải thận trọng khi hứa

33 Các con có nghe người thời xưa nói, ‘Không được trái lời thề, mà phải giữ lời thề đối với Chúa.’ [h] 34 Nhưng ta bảo các con, đừng thề thốt gì hết. Đừng chỉ trời mà thề, vì đó là ngôi của Thượng Đế. 35 Cũng đừng chỉ đất mà thề, vì đó là bệ chân Ngài [i]. Đừng chỉ thành Giê-ru-sa-lem mà thề, vì đó là thành của Vua Lớn. 36 Cũng đừng chỉ đầu mình mà thề, vì tự các con không thể làm một sợi tóc trên đầu ra trắng hay đen được. 37 Điều gì phải thì nói phải, không thì nói không. Còn nếu ai nói gì ngoài hai cách ấy, đều do Kẻ Ác mà ra.

Đừng chống trả kẻ ác

38 Các con có nghe nói, ‘Mắt đền mắt, răng đền răng.’ [j] 39 Nhưng ta bảo các con: Đừng chống trả kẻ ác. Nếu ai tát má bên mặt, đưa luôn má bên trái cho họ. 40 Nếu ai kiện các con ở tòa để lấy áo trong, hãy cho họ lấy luôn áo ngoài. 41 Nếu ai ép các con đi một dặm [k] với họ, đi luôn hai dặm. 42 Ai xin gì thì hãy cho họ. Ai muốn mượn gì thì đừng từ chối.

Yêu thương mọi người

43 Các con có nghe, ‘Hãy yêu người láng giềng [l] và hãy ghét kẻ thù mình.’ 44 Nhưng ta bảo các con, hãy yêu kẻ thù và cầu nguyện cho kẻ làm tổn thương mình. 45 Làm như thế thì các con mới chứng tỏ mình là con cái thật của Thượng Đế. Vì Ngài khiến mặt trời mọc lên cho người thiện cùng người ác, làm mưa cho người làm phải cũng như cho người làm quấy. 46 Nếu các con chỉ yêu người yêu mình thì có được thưởng gì đâu? Bọn thu thuế cũng làm được như vậy. 47 Nếu các con chỉ tốt với bạn, thì các con chẳng khá hơn kẻ khác đâu. Những người không biết Thượng Đế cũng tốt với bạn. 48 Cho nên các con phải toàn vẹn giống như Cha các con trên thiên đàng là toàn vẹn.”

Matthew 5 in Italian, for all my Italian Readers,Matteo 5 Il sermone sul monte, 5–7 Le beatitudini

Matteo 5

Nuova Riveduta 2006 (NR2006)

Il sermone sul monte, 5–7

Le beatitudini

5 Gesù, vedendo le folle, salì sul monte[a] e si mise a sedere. I suoi discepoli si accostarono a lui 2 ed egli, aperta la bocca, insegnava loro dicendo:

3 «Beati i poveri in spirito, perché di loro è il regno dei cieli.

4 Beati quelli che sono afflitti, perché saranno consolati.

5 Beati i mansueti, perché erediteranno la terra[b].

6 Beati quelli che sono affamati e assetati di giustizia, perché saranno saziati.

7 Beati i misericordiosi, perché a loro misericordia sarà fatta.

8 Beati i puri di cuore, perché vedranno Dio.

9 Beati quelli che si adoperano per la pace, perché saranno chiamati figli di Dio.

10 Beati i perseguitati per motivo di giustizia, perché di loro è il regno dei cieli.

11 Beati voi, quando vi insulteranno e vi perseguiteranno e {, mentendo,} diranno contro di voi ogni sorta di male per causa mia. 12 Rallegratevi e giubilate, perché il vostro premio è grande nei cieli; poiché così hanno perseguitato i profeti che sono stati prima di voi.

Il sale della terra; la luce del mondo

13 «Voi siete il sale della terra; ma, se il sale diventa insipido, con che lo si salerà? Non è più buono a nulla se non a essere gettato via e calpestato dagli uomini. 14 Voi siete la luce del mondo. Una città posta sopra un monte non può essere nascosta, 15 e non si accende una lampada per metterla sotto un recipiente[c]; anzi la si mette sul candeliere ed essa fa luce a tutti quelli che sono in casa. 16 Così risplenda la vostra luce davanti agli uomini, affinché vedano le vostre buone opere e glorifichino il Padre vostro che è nei cieli.

Cristo e la legge antica

17 «Non pensate che io sia venuto per abolire la legge o i profeti; io sono venuto non per abolire, ma per portare a compimento[d]. 18 Poiché in verità vi dico: finché non siano passati il cielo e la terra, neppure un iota[e] o un apice[f] passerà dalla legge senza che tutto sia adempiuto. 19 Chi dunque avrà violato uno di questi minimi comandamenti e avrà così insegnato agli uomini, sarà chiamato minimo nel regno dei cieli; ma chi li avrà messi in pratica e insegnati sarà chiamato grande nel regno dei cieli. 20 Poiché io vi dico che, se la vostra giustizia non supera quella degli scribi e dei farisei[g], non entrerete affatto nel regno dei cieli.

Ingiuria, offerta, perdono

21 «Voi avete udito che fu detto agli antichi: “Non uccidere[h]; chiunque avrà ucciso sarà sottoposto al tribunale”; 22 ma io vi dico: chiunque si adira contro suo fratello [senza motivo] sarà sottoposto al tribunale; e chi avrà detto a suo fratello: “Raca[i]” sarà sottoposto al sinedrio[j]; e chi gli avrà detto: “Pazzo!” sarà sottoposto alla geenna[k] del fuoco. 23 Se dunque tu stai per offrire la tua offerta sull’altare e lì ti ricordi che tuo fratello ha qualcosa contro di te, 24 lascia lì la tua offerta davanti all’altare e va’ prima a riconciliarti con tuo fratello; poi vieni a offrire la tua offerta. 25 Fa’ presto amichevole accordo con il tuo avversario mentre sei ancora per via con lui, affinché il tuo avversario non ti consegni in mano al giudice e il giudice [ti consegni] in mano alle guardie, e tu non venga messo in prigione. 26 Io ti dico in verità che di là non uscirai, finché tu non abbia pagato l’ultimo centesimo.

Concupiscenza, ripudio, adulterio

27 «Voi avete udito che fu detto[l]: “Non commettere adulterio”[m]. 28 Ma io vi dico che chiunque guarda una donna per desiderarla ha già commesso adulterio con lei nel suo cuore. 29 Se dunque il tuo occhio destro ti fa cadere in peccato, cavalo e gettalo via da te; poiché è meglio per te che uno dei tuoi membri perisca, piuttosto che tutto il tuo corpo sia gettato nella geenna. 30 E se la tua mano destra ti fa cadere in peccato, tagliala e gettala via da te; poiché è meglio per te che uno dei tuoi membri perisca, piuttosto che vada[n] nella geenna tutto il tuo corpo.

31 Fu detto: “Chiunque ripudia sua moglie le dia l’atto di ripudio”[o]. 32 Ma io vi dico: chiunque manda via sua moglie, salvo che per motivo di fornicazione, la fa diventare adultera, e chiunque sposa colei che è mandata via commette adulterio.

Istruzioni sul giuramento

33 «Avete anche udito che fu detto agli antichi: “Non giurare il falso[p]; da’ al Signore quello che gli hai promesso con giuramento”. 34 Ma io vi dico: non giurate affatto, né per il cielo, perché è il trono di Dio; 35 né per la terra, perché è lo sgabello dei suoi piedi; né per Gerusalemme, perché è la città del gran Re. 36 Non giurare neppure per il tuo capo, poiché tu non puoi far diventare un solo capello bianco o nero. 37 Ma il vostro parlare sia: “Sì, sì; no, no”; poiché il di più viene dal maligno.

Amare i propri nemici

38 «Voi avete udito che fu detto: “Occhio per occhio e dente per dente”[q]. 39 Ma io vi dico: non contrastate il malvagio; anzi, se uno ti percuote sulla guancia destra, porgigli anche l’altra; 40 e a chi vuol farti causa e prenderti la tunica, lasciagli anche il mantello. 41 Se uno ti costringe a fare un miglio, fanne con lui due. 42 Da’ a chi ti chiede, e a chi desidera un prestito da te, non voltar le spalle.

43 Voi avete udito che fu detto: “Ama il tuo prossimo[r] e odia il tuo nemico”. 44 Ma io vi dico: amate i vostri nemici [, benedite coloro che vi maledicono, fate del bene a quelli che vi odiano,] e pregate per quelli [che vi maltrattano e] che vi perseguitano, 45 affinché siate figli del Padre vostro che è nei cieli; poiché egli fa levare il suo sole sopra i malvagi e sopra i buoni, e fa piovere sui giusti e sugli ingiusti. 46 Se infatti amate quelli che vi amano, che premio ne avete? Non fanno lo stesso anche i pubblicani? 47 E se salutate soltanto i vostri fratelli[s], che fate di straordinario? Non fanno anche i pagani[t] altrettanto? 48 Voi dunque siate perfetti, come è perfetto il Padre vostro celeste[u].

Footnotes:

Mark Duggan was not holding gun but was 'lawfully' killed by police marksman

Mark Duggan was not holding gun but was 'lawfully' killed by police marksman

Words for the Wise, Romans 6 , The Believers Dead to Sin, Alive to Salvation

Romans 6

New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

Dead to sin, alive in Christ

6 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning, so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin – 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

Slaves to righteousness

15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey – whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

19 I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[b] Christ Jesus our Lord.

Footnotes:

Romans 6:6 Or be rendered powerless

Romans 6:23 Or through

2324 Jesus Christ, as Saviour

God’s work of salvation is accomplished supremely through the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through faith, the believer is able to share in all the saving benefits won by Jesus Christ through his obedience to God.

Jesus Christ is the Saviour

Jesus Christ is called Saviour Tit 1:4 See also Lk 2:11; Tit 3:6; 2Pe 1:1; 2Pe 3:2,18

Jesus Christ is the promised Saviour Ac 13:23 See also Lk 1:69-75; Lk 2:28-30

Jesus Christ’s purpose is to save Lk 19:10 See also Mt 1:21; 1Ti 1:15

Jesus Christ’s qualities as Saviour

Jesus Christ is the unique Saviour Ac 4:12 See also Jn 6:68-69; Jn 10:9; Jn 14:6; Ac 10:42-43

Jesus Christ is the complete Saviour Heb 7:25 See also Jn 19:30; Php 3:21; Col 1:19-20; Heb 5:9; Heb 9:26-28; 1Jn 1:9; Jude 24

Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the world Jn 4:42 See also Lk 2:30-32; 1Ti 2:5-6; 1Ti 4:10; 1Jn 4:14

Jesus Christ saves through his grace

Ac 15:11 See also Ro 3:24; Eph 5:23-27; Tit 3:4-5

Jesus Christ saves by his mighty acts

Jesus Christ saves by his death 1Pe 1:18-19 See also Mt 20:28 pp Mk 10:45; Lk 24:45-47; Jn 1:29,36; Jn 10:15,17-18; 1Co 1:18; Rev 7:10

Jesus Christ saves by his resurrection life 1Pe 3:21 See also Ro 5:10; 2Ti 1:10

Jesus Christ saves by his coming again Php 3:20 See also Tit 2:13; Heb 9:28; 1Pe 1:5

Jesus Christ saves by defeating Satan 1Jn 3:8 See also Jn 13:31; Jn 16:11; Heb 2:14; Rev 2:10-11

Jesus Christ saves from all forms of evil

Jesus Christ saves from physical danger Mt 8:25-26 pp Mk 4:38-39 pp Lk 8:24-25; Ac 26:17; 2Co 1:10; 2Ti 4:18

Jesus Christ saves from the power of sin 1Jn 1:7 See also Ac 5:31; Ro 3:25-26; Ro 5:18-19; Ro 6:6-7; Gal 1:4; Rev 1:5-6

Jesus Christ saves from the condemnation of law Gal 3:13 See also Ac 13:38-39; Ro 8:1-4; Gal 4:4-5; Eph 2:15

Jesus Christ saves from God’s wrath 1Th 1:10 See also Ro 5:9; 1Th 5:9; Rev 11:17-18

Jesus Christ saves from the power of death 2Ti 1:10 See also 1Co 15:55-57; Heb 2:15; Rev 20:6; Rev 21:4

Jesus Christ saves from Satan’s power Ac 26:18 See also Lk 10:18-19; Lk 13:16; Col 1:13; 1Jn 3:8

Jesus Christ saves to bring people to God

Jesus Christ saves for eternal life Jn 6:40 See also Jn 3:14-16,36; Jn 5:24-25; Ro 6:23

Jesus Christ saves so that people may live for God 1Jn 4:9 See also Ro 6:8-11; Ro 7:21-25; Gal 2:20; 2Ti 1:9; Heb 9:14-15; 1Pe 2:24; 1Jn 3:5-6; 1Jn 5:18

Jesus Christ’s salvation is received through faith

Ac 16:30-31 See also Ac 2:21; Ro 10:13; Joel 2:32; Ro 1:16; Ro 10:9; 2Th 2:13; 2Ti 3:15

6028 sin, God’s deliverance from

The gospel reveals the purpose and power of God to deal with sin and all of its effects. Scripture uses a range of images to express the comprehensiveness of salvation.

God’s removal of sin

Atonement for sin Isa 6:7 See also Ex 32:30; Lev 4:27-31; Pr 16:6; Ro 3:25; Heb 2:17

Forgiveness of sin Mic 7:18; Ac 13:38 See also 1Ki 8:35-36; 2Ch 30:18-20; Ps 103:2-3; Isa 33:24; Isa 55:7; Joel 3:21; Mt 26:27-28; Lk 24:46-47; Eph 1:7; 1Jn 1:9

Cancellation of a debt Mt 6:12 See also Mt 18:21-35; Lk 7:41-50

A covering over of sin 1Pe 4:8 There is a close relation between “covering over sin” and “atoning for sin”. See also Ps 32:1; Ps 85:2; Jas 5:20

The taking away of sin Ps 103:12 See also 2Sa 12:13; Isa 6:6-7; Zec 3:4; Jn 1:29; Heb 9:28; 1Jn 3:5

Remembering sin no more Isa 43:25 See also Ps 25:7; Jer 31:33-34; 2Co 5:19

God’s deliverance for the sinner

The salvation of the sinner 1Ti 1:15 See also Ps 28:8-9; Mt 1:21; Lk 19:9-10; Jn 3:17; Heb 7:25

The image of healing Lk 5:31-32 pp Mt 9:12 pp Mk 2:17 See also 2Ch 7:14; Isa 53:5; Isa 57:18-19; Hos 14:4; 1Pe 2:24

The image of cleansing Ps 51:2 See also Lev 16:30; Eze 36:25; Jn 13:1-11; Ac 22:16; Heb 10:22; 1Jn 1:9

Redemption by God Ps 130:8 See also Isa 44:22; Tit 2:14; 1Pe 1:18-19

Justification before God Gal 2:16 See also Isa 53:11; Ro 3:24-26; Ro 4:5,25; Ro 5:16-19; Ro 8:33

Freedom from condemnation Ro 8:1 See also Jn 3:18; Jn 8:3-11; Ro 8:34

Peace with God Ro 5:1 See also Isa 53:5; Lk 2:14; Eph 2:17

Reconciliation with God 2Co 5:18 See also Ro 5:9-11; Col 1:19-20

Sanctification to God Heb 10:10 See also 1Co 6:11; Eph 5:25-26; Col 1:22

Freedom from sin and the sinful nature Ro 7:24; 1Pe 2:24 See also Ro 6:1-18; Ro 8:1-9; Gal 5:24

A transition from death to life Col 2:13 See also Lk 15:22-24; Eph 2:4-5

Receiving eternal life Ro 6:23 See also Jn 3:16,36; Jn 5:24

The Bible Panorama

Romans 6

V 1–4: CONTINUE SINNING? Paul picks on the objections of some by asking if we are already justified, shall we sin more to show how great that justification is? He exclaims dogmatically, ‘Certainly not!’ Spiritually we were buried into Christ in His death. His resurrection life has become ours. If we are truly born again, we will want to walk in newness of life. Baptism echoes that meaning.

# V 5–7: CRUCIFIED SELF Just as we share in Christ’s resurrection, we share in His crucifixion. Our position, as those risen with Christ, is therefore that our ‘old man’ (our unsaved self) is crucified with Christ. I cannot claim the one without the other.

 V 8–14: CALCULATED SEQUENCE We are to reckon ourselves to be ‘dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord’. That reckoning is based upon the knowledge that we are both crucified with Christ and also risen with Him in our status before God. God never asks us to make false calculations! This reckoning results in the sequence of logic and holiness that if we are dead to sin and alive to Christ we must not let sin reign in our bodies, but we must present our bodies as alive from the dead to be instruments of righteousness to God. We are no longer under the dominion of sin and death caused by the law, but we are under God’s grace.

V 15–19: CONSECRATED SLAVES We are not now the slaves of the broken law, fearing judgement and death, but we present ourselves as slaves of ‘righteousness for holiness’ having been set free from one tyrannical master, and become the willing slaves of another Master who is gracious.

 V 20–23: CHRIST’S SALVATION Previously, we faced death and produced fruit of which we were ashamed. Now we have God’s gift of ‘eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord’ and, as joyfully consecrated slaves, seek to produce holy fruit for our loving Master who has saved us.

The Bible Panorama. Copyright © 2005 Day One Publications.

Yours by His Grace

Blair Humphreys

Southport

8^th January 2014 

'Haunting film that made me see Dad was a hero - not just a cruel drunk I despised': How seeing The Railway Man healed a lifelong rift between father and daughter, Daily Mail

By BRYHER SCUDAMORE

PUBLISHED: 23:53, 7 January 2014 | UPDATED: 00:07, 8 January 2014

 
 
 

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My father was an angry, troubled man who was deaf in one ear — the result, my mother confided to me one day, of a vicious beating by a Japanese soldier. 

Daddy, who was called Douglas Mitchell, was also an alcoholic who lived entirely for the moment. Not once did he concern himself with the future. Indeed, our household finances were irrelevant to him. 

My mother, Peggy, who died in 1999, had to manage all the bills so we weren’t thrown out of our home in South London, or plunged into cold and darkness when the electricity was cut off. 

Bryher Scudamore, pictured with her father Douglas Mitchell. She said a new film, The Railway Man, which is released nationwide this Friday, made her realise her father was a hero, not a cruel drunk

Many memories of my father still sting me to this day. The sheer mortification I felt when I was a child and he would turn up drunk at school open days. 

The time I discovered he’d sold my precious Christening gifts — a sapphire brooch and a beautiful antique silver spoon — to buy himself alcohol. 

My mother had always promised that these gifts would be released from their hiding place and given to me on my 21st birthday. 

On the morning of my birthday, I discovered what my father had done. 

My poor mother had to break the news that they were gone: that Daddy had sold them because he needed the money ‘for drink’.

He died in 1991 from a massive stroke. He was 75. And although I arranged his funeral, I shed no tears. After so many years of neglect, I simply had no feelings left. 

What I didn’t realise then was that my flawed father’s life was utterly defined by his experiences as a ‘railway man’ in World War  II. He was one of the many British prisoners of war put to work by their Japanese captors to build a railway — it became known as the Death Railway — from Burma to Thailand.

Some 13,000 Allied troops and 100,000 native labourers died building it, and prisoners of war were routinely starved and beaten in the most horrific manner.

But it’s only recently that I came to realise that what happened to my father had marked him — and me — for life, in the darkest and most indelible of ways. 

This revelation was down to a most remarkable film, The Railway Man, which is released nationwide this Friday. 

Douglas as a young man. He scarred by his experiences as a 'railway man' in World War¿¿II

Colin Firth plays Eric Lomax, a British Army officer sent to a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in 1942, who wrote an award-winning book about his experiences, on which the film is based. 

It is a compelling story of brutality, courage and reconciliation. The prisoners’ daily work to construct the railway involved lugging huge stones, and carving through solid rock by hand — a form of torture in itself. 

During his time in the camp, Lomax is brutalised by the Japanese, suffering ferocious beatings before being almost water-boarded to death. 

Years later, and still suffering the trauma of his wartime experiences, Lomax, with the help of his wife Patti — played by Nicole Kidman — and best friend Finlay, decides to find and confront one of his captors. 

He returns to the scene of his torture and manages to track down his tormentor, intending to kill him. I won’t give away the ending — but it certainly moved me to tears when I watched a preview of The Railway Man recently. 

I entered the cinema with some considerable fear and trepidation, but also with hope that it might reveal to me something of what my father went through. I thought it might even allow me a greater understanding of the complex man he was.

For until I saw it, I simply had no idea that this was the reality of my father’s life. Daddy never talked  about his experiences. Although I knew he’d been a PoW, he simply never revealed the sheer brutality of what he had endured. 

The only time he came even close to unburdening his soul was when we watched Bridge Over The River Kwai on television one Christmas when I was a child. 

As the film showed scenes depicting the building of the very railway he had shed blood and sweat over, my father flew into a rage. He turned the TV off, shouting: ‘It wasn’t like that! You have no idea.’ 

While I may have discovered he was a ‘railway man’ — whatever that was — I was young, scared, and unwilling to explore his terrifying rages with him. I never asked him what being a railway man actually was like. It’s something I regret so much now.

But as I grew up, it was impossible to have a sensible conversation  with Daddy because of his alcoholism. 

 

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He preferred the male camaraderie he found inside a pub to conversations at home. 

And my mother rarely discussed his ordeal. Indeed, despite my closeness to her, I have no idea exactly how much she knew of his past. 

For most of my life I both feared and despised Daddy. Even now, I  live with the scars of his volatile,  angry behaviour. 

He insisted, for example, that I always cleared my plate, no matter what was on it or how much I insisted I’d had enough to eat — a legacy, no doubt, of his own starvation in the PoW camp.

If there was a disgusting piece of gristle left on my plate, he’d say: ‘I’d have been so grateful for that. 

If you don’t eat it now, you will eat it tomorrow. It will stay on your plate every day until you eat it.’

The fear his presence alone caused was palpable. Unease would ripple through the whole house the moment his key went into the lock. 

My mother and I would sit in the front room at night listening for his return, never knowing if it was Daddy the ebullient drunk, or Daddy the angry drunk who would walk through the door. 

What made his rage and self-pity all the more frustrating was that life had dealt him a good hand. He could have given me so much. 

Jeremy Irvine and Colin Firth play Eric Lomax, a British Army officer sent to a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in 1942, who wrote an award-winning book about his experiences, on which the film is based

More than that, he could have been so much.

He had been brought up as an impeccably mannered, rather well-to-do young man. 

His mother, Rosa, was terribly elegant; his father owned a fine china and glass import company. 

The family lived in a pleasant home in Wallington, Surrey, and my father attended a good public school, Dulwich College, before studying at the prestigious Wye Agricultural College.

For all his myopic self-pity in later years, he was a man who had tasted some of the world’s most exotic sights and experiences. 

He had become a tea planter in the Assam hills of India when war broke out.

 'Daddy never talked  about his experiences. Although I knew he’d been a PoW, he simply never revealed the sheer brutality of what he had endured.'

In 1941, after Japan’s entry into the war, my father immediately enlisted while still in India. I have no idea which part of the Army he served in — his drunken rages and unpredictable silences saw to that — but he did tell me that he was captured almost straightaway. 

He then spent four years as a prisoner of war in South-East Asia.

The very fact he survived his toil on the infamous Death Railway was a miracle; nothing in his comfortable upbringing could have prepared him for the horrors that awaited him. 

As I watched the unbelievable brutality of the Japanese soldiers on the big screen, and the constant terror of the PoWs, I wept. 

Here was what my silent, angry father had endured.

History books tell us that for my father and his imprisoned comrades, starvation was the norm. 

Healthy soldiers rapidly became like skeletons. 

Some even resorted to eating maggots to survive. 

Casual cruelty and humiliation was a daily occurrence. 

The Japanese would shove ailing soldiers into latrines for fun.

Executions by sword were commonplace, and many were bayoneted to death.

Some soldiers were beheaded on a whim. 

Men like my father buried their friends in makeshift graves. 

My father’s silence about his ordeal was reflected in the film, too. 

The PoWs in the film are similarly taciturn about their experiences — a fact picked up on by Lomax’s  friend, Finlay, who says that the PoWs don’t talk about what happened because no one would believe the horrors they endured.

During his time in the camp, Lomax is brutalised by the Japanese, suffering ferocious beatings before being almost water-boarded to death. Years later, with the help of his wife Patti - played by Nicole Kidman - and best friend Finlay, decides to find and confront one of his captors

It’s a wonder, considering how silent he was, that my father ever managed to woo my mother. 

They met shortly after he was repatriated to the UK in 1946. They married and went to live in Fowey, Cornwall, where my father became an antiques dealer. I was born five years after the war ended, in 1950. 

Watching The Railway Man, I felt only too sharply how my own childhood and relationship with my father had been profoundly affected by his despair. 

So many painful memories of my own childhood were excavated in that darkened cinema, as Colin Firth acted out the story of my father’s post-war existence: his unexplained rages, for example, and his inability to show any affection. 

After dabbling unsuccessfully in antiques, my father became a motoring journalist. 

In the Sixties, when Japan started to infiltrate the car market in Britain, he found it impossible to attend launches and press conferences if any Japanese people were present. Quite simply, he just couldn’t bear to be in the same room as them. 

 '... 20 years after his death, I finally feel I have some understanding of why Daddy was as he was. He had seen the worst of humanity, living for years on a knife edge that, at any moment, could have seen him beaten to death.'

His attitude softened a little over the years, but he never forgave the Japanese for not apologising for what had happened in the war. 

And he remained furious that, unlike German children, Japanese children were not taught about their nation’s role in World War II. 

My father’s war didn’t just leave him deaf in one ear, it left lifelong scars on his psyche and his soul. He survived the experience physically, but at enormous mental cost.

I’ll never know whether my father might have found some peace in his life had he, like Eric Lomax in the film, the courage or the opportunity to meet the men who were his torturers. 

But 20 years after his death, I finally feel I have some understanding of why Daddy was as he was. 

He had seen the worst of humanity, living for years on a knife edge that, at any moment, could have seen him beaten to death. 

And he lived the rest of his life consumed with hatred for the people who had treated him so terribly. 

I don’t think anyone could survive that experience undamaged, and I see now why he turned to drink to dull the pain of his  memories. So many men like my father became forgotten soldiers, whose experiences and memories went unrecorded. 

Untold numbers of Japanese prisoners of war have disappeared from the history books, their personal stories of extraordinary bravery forgotten.

My biggest regret is not finding out more about Daddy’s life.

So, at the age of 60, I started a business helping people to write their life stories. 

From the many emails I receive, I know how much families come to treasure these unique books of memories. 

Sadly, the one book I will never read is my own father’s autobiography.

Watching The Railway Man has opened a well of grief and emotion within me. For the first time, I have wept for my father — and I have even found in my heart some compassion for what he went through. 

I have come to see him as a brave man, a war hero. 

Thanks to this film, I know I can find it in my heart to forgive him for all those years of cruelty and violence.

• The Railway Man is released on Friday. Bryher Scudamore is the creator of autodotbiography.com

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2535528/Haunting-film-Dad-hero-not-just-cruel-drunk-I-despised-How-seeing-The-Railway-Man-healed-lifelong-rift-father-daughter.html#ixzz2pmhbUikM
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