Do It Yourself (1)

. . . casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God . . . —2 Corinthians 10:5

Determinedly Demolish Some Things. Deliverance from sin is not the same as deliverance from human nature. There are things in human nature, such as prejudices, that the saint can only destroy through sheer neglect. But there are other things that have to be destroyed through violence, that is, through God’s divine strength imparted by His Spirit. There are some things over which we are not to fight, but only to “stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord . . .” (see Exodus 14:13). But every theory or thought that raises itself up as a fortified barrier “against the knowledge of God” is to be determinedly demolished by drawing on God’s power, not through human effort or by compromise (see 2 Corinthians 10:4).

It is only when God has transformed our nature and we have entered into the experience of sanctification that the fight begins. The warfare is not against sin; we can never fight against sin— Jesus Christ conquered that in His redemption of us. The conflict is waged over turning our natural life into a spiritual life. This is never done easily, nor does God intend that it be so. It is accomplished only through a series of moral choices. God does not make us holy in the sense that He makes our character holy. He makes us holy in the sense that He has made us innocent before Him. And then we have to turn that innocence into holy character through the moral choices we make. These choices are continually opposed and hostile to the things of our natural life which have become so deeply entrenched— the very things that raise themselves up as fortified barriers “against the knowledge of God.” We can either turn back, making ourselves of no value to the kingdom of God, or we can determinedly demolish these things, allowing Jesus to bring another son to glory (see Hebrews 2:10).

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自己做

將各樣的計謀，各樣阻攔人認識神的那些自高之事，一概攻破了。 （林後十5）

從罪得釋放，並不等於從人性中得釋放。人性中有些東西（例如偏見），聖徒要不顧，才能毀滅；有些東西要靠強力，就是神屬天得能力來拆毀；而另外有些東西則不用爭戰，我們只管站住，靜靜觀看神的拯救。任何理論或觀念，若阻礙了對神的認識，就必須立志靠神的能力去拆毀，而不是靠肉體的努力或妥協（林後十4）。

惟有當我們的性情被神改造，進入成聖的經驗裡去，這一場爭戰才可開始。這場仗不是向罪打，我們永無法與罪對抗：耶穌嫉妒的救贖已對付了罪。戰線是在於把天然生命轉為屬靈生命，這不是容易的，神也不想把這事變得容易。這事的作成，是要經過一連串的道德選擇，神使我們成聖，並不在品性上；乃是叫我們無罪，然後把這無罪透過一連串的道德選擇，轉變成為聖潔的品性。這些選擇往往不斷與我們天然生命的盤踞點，及那些阻攔我們認識神的保壘對抗。我們以回頭，在神的國里一事無成；或者，我們可以決意拆毀這些東西，讓耶穌多得一個兒子進到榮耀裡去。

祈禱◆噢，主啊，願你這天成為一個完全屬乎你這位王的日子。感動我們，噢，主啊，讓我們在屬靈和物質上的一切生活，都可以配合你的計劃。只要是出於你的感動，一切都會變得美好。