By one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified —Hebrews 10:14
We trample the blood of the Son of God underfoot if we think we are forgiven because we are sorry for our sins. The only reason for the forgiveness of our sins by God, and the infinite depth of His promise to forget them, is the death of Jesus Christ. Our repentance is merely the result of our personal realization of the atonement by the Cross of Christ, which He has provided for us. “. . . Christ Jesus . . . became for us wisdom from God–and righteousness and sanctification and redemption . . .” (1 Corinthians 1:30). Once we realize that Christ has become all this for us, the limitless joy of God begins in us. And wherever the joy of God is not present, the death sentence is still in effect.
No matter who or what we are, God restores us to right standing with Himself only by means of the death of Jesus Christ. God does this, not because Jesus pleads with Him to do so but because He died. It cannot be earned, just accepted. All the pleading for salvation which deliberately ignores the Cross of Christ is useless. It is knocking at a door other than the one which Jesus has already opened. We protest by saying, “But I don’t want to come that way. It is too humiliating to be received as a sinner.” God’s response, through Peter, is, “. . . there is no other name . . . by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). What at first appears to be heartlessness on God’s part is actually the true expression of His heart. There is unlimited entrance His way. “In Him we have redemption through His blood . . .” (Ephesians 1:7). To identify with the death of Jesus Christ means that we must die to everything that was never a part of Him.
God is just in saving bad people only as He makes them good. Our Lord does not pretend we are all right when we are all wrong. The atonement by the Cross of Christ is the propitiation God uses to make unholy people holy.
神公平的能力
因為他一次獻祭，便叫那得以成聖的人永遠完全。 （來十14）
若以為得赦免是因為自己的悔罪，實在是踐踏神兒子的血。神赦免我們，對我們無比的寬恕，是因為耶穌基督的死。我們的悔改，只是我們對他成就了的救贖工作，有個人體認而產生的後果。 [基督耶穌成了我們智慧、公義、聖潔與救贖。 ]一旦知道基督成為我們這一切時，神無比的喜樂就開始了；神的喜樂何時止住，死亡的定案就仍然作祟。
不管我們是什麼人，是怎麼樣的人，耶穌基督的死，都可以使我們與神重新建立關係。不是因為耶穌基督苦苦哀求，乃是因著他的死，我們才得拯救，此外別無他途。這不是賺回來的，而是白白領受。若一味苦求，故意拒絕十字架，那是絕無功效的。這樣做，是叩錯了主並未開啟的門。我不想走那條路，把我當作罪人般看待，太屈辱了。 [除他以外，別無拯救……]表面看來無情，其實是神真正的用心，開放無阻的通道，讓人到他那裡去。 [我們在寶血中得蒙赦罪。 ]與基督耶穌同釘十字架，就是向一切不在他裡面的東西死去。
神有理由拯救壞人，倘若他能改變他們。我們的主不會把我們的錯事，一概當作對的。救贖就是神藉耶穌的死所成就的和解，叫不潔的人成為聖潔。
祈禱◆[求你使我專心敬畏你的名！ ]我的心衝塞著自私、自覺和次好的東西，它們在我腦中盤旋，妨礙我的祈禱。主啊，願你全能的手幫助我！
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