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！
Showing posts with label Forgiveness Of. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Forgiveness Of. Show all posts
December 08, 2014
November 20, 2014
The Forgiveness of God
In Him we have . . . the forgiveness of sins . . . —Ephesians 1:7
Beware of the pleasant view of the fatherhood of God: God is so kind and loving that of course He will forgive us. That thought, based solely on emotion, cannot be found anywhere in the New Testament. The only basis on which God can forgive us is the tremendous tragedy of the Cross of Christ. To base our forgiveness on any other ground is unconscious blasphemy. The only ground on which God can forgive our sin and reinstate us to His favor is through the Cross of Christ. There is no other way! Forgiveness, which is so easy for us to accept, cost the agony at Calvary. We should never take the forgiveness of sin, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and our sanctification in simple faith, and then forget the enormous cost to God that made all of this ours.
Forgiveness is the divine miracle of grace. The cost to God was the Cross of Christ. To forgive sin, while remaining a holy God, this price had to be paid. Never accept a view of the fatherhood of God if it blots out the atonement. The revealed truth of God is that without the atonement He cannot forgive— He would contradict His nature if He did. The only way we can be forgiven is by being brought back to God through the atonement of the Cross. God’s forgiveness is possible only in the supernatural realm.
Compared with the miracle of the forgiveness of sin, the experience of sanctification is small. Sanctification is simply the wonderful expression or evidence of the forgiveness of sins in a human life. But the thing that awakens the deepest fountain of gratitude in a human being is that God has forgiven his sin. Paul never got away from this. Once you realize all that it cost God to forgive you, you will be held as in a vise, constrained by the love of God.
神的赦免
我們藉這愛子的血……過犯得以赦免。 （弗一7）
別以為神既是父親－－他既是這樣慈愛，必會赦免我們。這種情感作用在新約是沒有的。神赦免我們，唯一的根源就是基督十字架上的大悲劇；若把赦免放在任何別的根據上，是無形的褻瀆。神赦免哦我們，唯一原因是叫我們重生與他相和好，是藉基督的十字架，此外別無他法。赦免是多麼容易接受的事，可是卻付上加略山的苦楚。我們接受赦罪，接受所賜的聖靈，憑單純的信心得以成聖，卻忘記了是神付出極大的代價為我們成就的。
赦免是神恩典的神聖奇蹟：他要付出基督的十字架，才能赦罪，而仍不失為聖潔的神。切勿接受一個把救贖刪去，只以神為父的觀點。神的啟示是他不能赦免；若赦免就違反他的本性。我們蒙赦的唯一途徑，是藉救贖歸回神。神的赦免惟有在超然的領域上，才不反其自然。
若拿赦罪的奇蹟來比較，成聖的經歷就顯得微不足道。成聖不過是人生命蒙赦罪之後奇妙的表現，在人心中挑起最深感激的，該是神赦免罪。保羅從未忘懷這一點。你一旦體會神為赦免你的罪所付出的，你就會被抓住，被神的愛深深激勵。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，為著你透過主耶穌的恩典，向我顯明你至高的父性，我讚美你。噢，我因此可以成為天父的孩子了！
Beware of the pleasant view of the fatherhood of God: God is so kind and loving that of course He will forgive us. That thought, based solely on emotion, cannot be found anywhere in the New Testament. The only basis on which God can forgive us is the tremendous tragedy of the Cross of Christ. To base our forgiveness on any other ground is unconscious blasphemy. The only ground on which God can forgive our sin and reinstate us to His favor is through the Cross of Christ. There is no other way! Forgiveness, which is so easy for us to accept, cost the agony at Calvary. We should never take the forgiveness of sin, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and our sanctification in simple faith, and then forget the enormous cost to God that made all of this ours.
Forgiveness is the divine miracle of grace. The cost to God was the Cross of Christ. To forgive sin, while remaining a holy God, this price had to be paid. Never accept a view of the fatherhood of God if it blots out the atonement. The revealed truth of God is that without the atonement He cannot forgive— He would contradict His nature if He did. The only way we can be forgiven is by being brought back to God through the atonement of the Cross. God’s forgiveness is possible only in the supernatural realm.
Compared with the miracle of the forgiveness of sin, the experience of sanctification is small. Sanctification is simply the wonderful expression or evidence of the forgiveness of sins in a human life. But the thing that awakens the deepest fountain of gratitude in a human being is that God has forgiven his sin. Paul never got away from this. Once you realize all that it cost God to forgive you, you will be held as in a vise, constrained by the love of God.
神的赦免
我們藉這愛子的血……過犯得以赦免。 （弗一7）
別以為神既是父親－－他既是這樣慈愛，必會赦免我們。這種情感作用在新約是沒有的。神赦免我們，唯一的根源就是基督十字架上的大悲劇；若把赦免放在任何別的根據上，是無形的褻瀆。神赦免哦我們，唯一原因是叫我們重生與他相和好，是藉基督的十字架，此外別無他法。赦免是多麼容易接受的事，可是卻付上加略山的苦楚。我們接受赦罪，接受所賜的聖靈，憑單純的信心得以成聖，卻忘記了是神付出極大的代價為我們成就的。
赦免是神恩典的神聖奇蹟：他要付出基督的十字架，才能赦罪，而仍不失為聖潔的神。切勿接受一個把救贖刪去，只以神為父的觀點。神的啟示是他不能赦免；若赦免就違反他的本性。我們蒙赦的唯一途徑，是藉救贖歸回神。神的赦免惟有在超然的領域上，才不反其自然。
若拿赦罪的奇蹟來比較，成聖的經歷就顯得微不足道。成聖不過是人生命蒙赦罪之後奇妙的表現，在人心中挑起最深感激的，該是神赦免罪。保羅從未忘懷這一點。你一旦體會神為赦免你的罪所付出的，你就會被抓住，被神的愛深深激勵。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，為著你透過主耶穌的恩典，向我顯明你至高的父性，我讚美你。噢，我因此可以成為天父的孩子了！
November 19, 2014
“When He Has Come”
When He has come, He will convict the world of sin . . . —John 16:8
Very few of us know anything about conviction of sin. We know the experience of being disturbed because we have done wrong things. But conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit blots out every relationship on earth and makes us aware of only one— “Against You, You only, have I sinned . . .” (Psalm 51:4). When a person is convicted of sin in this way, he knows with every bit of his conscience that God would not dare to forgive him. If God did forgive him, then this person would have a stronger sense of justice than God. God does forgive, but it cost the breaking of His heart with grief in the death of Christ to enable Him to do so. The great miracle of the grace of God is that He forgives sin, and it is the death of Jesus Christ alone that enables the divine nature to forgive and to remain true to itself in doing so. It is shallow nonsense to say that God forgives us because He is love. Once we have been convicted of sin, we will never say this again. The love of God means Calvary— nothing less! The love of God is spelled out on the Cross and nowhere else. The only basis for which God can forgive me is the Cross of Christ. It is there that His conscience is satisfied.
Forgiveness doesn’t merely mean that I am saved from hell and have been made ready for heaven (no one would accept forgiveness on that level). Forgiveness means that I am forgiven into a newly created relationship which identifies me with God in Christ. The miracle of redemption is that God turns me, the unholy one, into the standard of Himself, the Holy One. He does this by putting into me a new nature, the nature of Jesus Christ.
祂既來了
他既來了，就要叫世人為罪、為義、為審判、自己責備自己。 （約十六8）
很少人真懂得什麼叫做為罪責備自己，我們做錯事之後，只有煩惱；可是聖靈叫人為罪自責，把地上一切的關係刪除，只剩下一個關係，就是[我犯罪得罪了你，惟獨得罪了你]。人若這樣為罪自責，他的良心會告訴他，神不會赦免他。若神赦免他，他的公義感就比神更高了。但神實在赦免，這是要透過耶穌的死，使神心腸撕裂破碎，才做得到。神恩典的奇妙，在於他藉主耶穌的死赦罪，以致他赦罪，仍忠於自己的本性。若說神是愛，所以他赦免我們，這是很膚淺無稽的。我們若曾為罪自責，就絕不會這樣說了。神的愛等如加略山，一絲一毫不減。神的愛在十字架上完全表現出來，此外別無他處。神惟獨根據主的十字架而赦免我。在那兒，他的心才得以滿足。
赦免不單是我從地獄中被救出來，進入天堂（沒有人以這個看法接受赦免）；赦免的意思是，我得赦免進入一個新造的關係裡，進入與神在基督的合一里。救贖的奇蹟是神把我這不潔的人，改變成他的標準，是聖潔的；把新的個性－－耶穌基督的個性－－放進我裡面。
祈禱◆對於在世上為你結果子上，我是何等的無助，那麼的氣量狹小，而且毫不像你。求你赦免我，並且藉著住在耶穌裡面，願我多結果子，榮耀父神。
Very few of us know anything about conviction of sin. We know the experience of being disturbed because we have done wrong things. But conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit blots out every relationship on earth and makes us aware of only one— “Against You, You only, have I sinned . . .” (Psalm 51:4). When a person is convicted of sin in this way, he knows with every bit of his conscience that God would not dare to forgive him. If God did forgive him, then this person would have a stronger sense of justice than God. God does forgive, but it cost the breaking of His heart with grief in the death of Christ to enable Him to do so. The great miracle of the grace of God is that He forgives sin, and it is the death of Jesus Christ alone that enables the divine nature to forgive and to remain true to itself in doing so. It is shallow nonsense to say that God forgives us because He is love. Once we have been convicted of sin, we will never say this again. The love of God means Calvary— nothing less! The love of God is spelled out on the Cross and nowhere else. The only basis for which God can forgive me is the Cross of Christ. It is there that His conscience is satisfied.
Forgiveness doesn’t merely mean that I am saved from hell and have been made ready for heaven (no one would accept forgiveness on that level). Forgiveness means that I am forgiven into a newly created relationship which identifies me with God in Christ. The miracle of redemption is that God turns me, the unholy one, into the standard of Himself, the Holy One. He does this by putting into me a new nature, the nature of Jesus Christ.
祂既來了
他既來了，就要叫世人為罪、為義、為審判、自己責備自己。 （約十六8）
很少人真懂得什麼叫做為罪責備自己，我們做錯事之後，只有煩惱；可是聖靈叫人為罪自責，把地上一切的關係刪除，只剩下一個關係，就是[我犯罪得罪了你，惟獨得罪了你]。人若這樣為罪自責，他的良心會告訴他，神不會赦免他。若神赦免他，他的公義感就比神更高了。但神實在赦免，這是要透過耶穌的死，使神心腸撕裂破碎，才做得到。神恩典的奇妙，在於他藉主耶穌的死赦罪，以致他赦罪，仍忠於自己的本性。若說神是愛，所以他赦免我們，這是很膚淺無稽的。我們若曾為罪自責，就絕不會這樣說了。神的愛等如加略山，一絲一毫不減。神的愛在十字架上完全表現出來，此外別無他處。神惟獨根據主的十字架而赦免我。在那兒，他的心才得以滿足。
赦免不單是我從地獄中被救出來，進入天堂（沒有人以這個看法接受赦免）；赦免的意思是，我得赦免進入一個新造的關係裡，進入與神在基督的合一里。救贖的奇蹟是神把我這不潔的人，改變成他的標準，是聖潔的；把新的個性－－耶穌基督的個性－－放進我裡面。
祈禱◆對於在世上為你結果子上，我是何等的無助，那麼的氣量狹小，而且毫不像你。求你赦免我，並且藉著住在耶穌裡面，願我多結果子，榮耀父神。
October 24, 2014
The Proper Perspective
Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ . . . —2 Corinthians 2:14
The proper perspective of a servant of God must not simply be as near to the highest as he can get, but it must be the highest. Be careful that you vigorously maintain God’s perspective, and remember that it must be done every day, little by little. Don’t think on a finite level. No outside power can touch the proper perspective.
The proper perspective to maintain is that we are here for only one purpose— to be captives marching in the procession of Christ’s triumphs. We are not on display in God’s showcase— we are here to exhibit only one thing— the “captivity [of our lives] to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). How small all the other perspectives are! For example, the ones that say, “I am standing all alone, battling for Jesus,” or, “I have to maintain the cause of Christ and hold down this fort for Him.” But Paul said, in essence, “I am in the procession of a conqueror, and it doesn’t matter what the difficulties are, for I am always led in triumph.” Is this idea being worked out practically in us? Paul’s secret joy was that God took him as a blatant rebel against Jesus Christ, and made him a captive— and that became his purpose. It was Paul’s joy to be a captive of the Lord, and he had no other interest in heaven or on earth. It is a shameful thing for a Christian to talk about getting the victory. We should belong so completely to the Victor that it is always His victory, and “we are more than conquerors through Him . . .” (Romans 8:37).
“We are to God the fragrance of Christ . . .” (2 Corinthians 2:15). We are encompassed with the sweet aroma of Jesus, and wherever we go we are a wonderful refreshment to God.
觀點
"感謝神！常率領我們在基督裡誇勝。"林後2：14
對於一個為神工作的工人，他的觀點不能是接近他所能達到的最高，而必須是最高。要當心只是費力地維持神的觀點，要每天這樣做，一點點地，不要考慮期限。沒有任何外在的力量可以觸到神的觀點。
我們要維持的觀點乃是，我們在這世上單單是為一個目的，即成為基督得勝的軍隊中的俘虜。我們不是在神的陳列室裡，我們在世是要展示一件事－－我們的生命被耶穌基督絕對的俘虜。其他的觀點是何等渺小－－"我在獨自為耶穌爭戰，我要維持基督的事業，為他堅守崗位"。保羅說，我在勝利者的隊伍裡，無論遇到什麼困難，我總是在得勝中。這個觀念是否實際在我們裡面運行呢？保羅喜樂的秘決是神帶領他，一個雙手沾染了鮮血的反叛耶穌基督的人，成為了耶穌基督的俘虜，現在這就是他在世的全部目的。保羅的喜樂就是成為主的俘虜，對天地裡的一切再沒有其他的興趣。對於一個基督徒來說，談論如何得到勝利是一件羞恥的事。得勝者應當完全的得著我們，以致始終都是他的得勝，我們也藉著他成為了得勝者。
"因為我們在神面前，無論在得救的人身上，或滅亡的人身上，都有基督馨香之氣。"（ 15 節）我們被耶穌的香氣包圍，無論我們走到哪裡，都叫神舒暢，使人奇妙的恢復與神的關係。
The proper perspective of a servant of God must not simply be as near to the highest as he can get, but it must be the highest. Be careful that you vigorously maintain God’s perspective, and remember that it must be done every day, little by little. Don’t think on a finite level. No outside power can touch the proper perspective.
The proper perspective to maintain is that we are here for only one purpose— to be captives marching in the procession of Christ’s triumphs. We are not on display in God’s showcase— we are here to exhibit only one thing— the “captivity [of our lives] to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). How small all the other perspectives are! For example, the ones that say, “I am standing all alone, battling for Jesus,” or, “I have to maintain the cause of Christ and hold down this fort for Him.” But Paul said, in essence, “I am in the procession of a conqueror, and it doesn’t matter what the difficulties are, for I am always led in triumph.” Is this idea being worked out practically in us? Paul’s secret joy was that God took him as a blatant rebel against Jesus Christ, and made him a captive— and that became his purpose. It was Paul’s joy to be a captive of the Lord, and he had no other interest in heaven or on earth. It is a shameful thing for a Christian to talk about getting the victory. We should belong so completely to the Victor that it is always His victory, and “we are more than conquerors through Him . . .” (Romans 8:37).
“We are to God the fragrance of Christ . . .” (2 Corinthians 2:15). We are encompassed with the sweet aroma of Jesus, and wherever we go we are a wonderful refreshment to God.
觀點
"感謝神！常率領我們在基督裡誇勝。"林後2：14
對於一個為神工作的工人，他的觀點不能是接近他所能達到的最高，而必須是最高。要當心只是費力地維持神的觀點，要每天這樣做，一點點地，不要考慮期限。沒有任何外在的力量可以觸到神的觀點。
我們要維持的觀點乃是，我們在這世上單單是為一個目的，即成為基督得勝的軍隊中的俘虜。我們不是在神的陳列室裡，我們在世是要展示一件事－－我們的生命被耶穌基督絕對的俘虜。其他的觀點是何等渺小－－"我在獨自為耶穌爭戰，我要維持基督的事業，為他堅守崗位"。保羅說，我在勝利者的隊伍裡，無論遇到什麼困難，我總是在得勝中。這個觀念是否實際在我們裡面運行呢？保羅喜樂的秘決是神帶領他，一個雙手沾染了鮮血的反叛耶穌基督的人，成為了耶穌基督的俘虜，現在這就是他在世的全部目的。保羅的喜樂就是成為主的俘虜，對天地裡的一切再沒有其他的興趣。對於一個基督徒來說，談論如何得到勝利是一件羞恥的事。得勝者應當完全的得著我們，以致始終都是他的得勝，我們也藉著他成為了得勝者。
"因為我們在神面前，無論在得救的人身上，或滅亡的人身上，都有基督馨香之氣。"（ 15 節）我們被耶穌的香氣包圍，無論我們走到哪裡，都叫神舒暢，使人奇妙的恢復與神的關係。
June 22, 2014
The Unchanging Law of Judgment
With what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you —Matthew 7:2
This statement is not some haphazard theory, but it is an eternal law of God. Whatever judgment you give will be the very way you are judged. There is a difference between retaliation and retribution. Jesus said that the basis of life is retribution— “with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” If you have been shrewd in finding out the shortcomings of others, remember that will be exactly how you will be measured. The way you pay is the way life will pay you back. This eternal law works from God’s throne down to us (see Psalm 18:25-26).
Romans 2:1 applies it in even a more definite way by saying that the one who criticizes another is guilty of the very same thing. God looks not only at the act itself, but also at the possibility of committing it, which He sees by looking at our hearts. To begin with, we do not believe the statements of the Bible. For instance, do we really believe the statement that says we criticize in others the very things we are guilty of ourselves? The reason we see hypocrisy, deceit, and a lack of genuineness in others is that they are all in our own hearts. The greatest characteristic of a saint is humility, as evidenced by being able to say honestly and humbly, “Yes, all those, as well as other evils, would have been exhibited in me if it were not for the grace of God. Therefore, I have no right to judge.”
Jesus said, “Judge not, that you be not judged” (Matthew 7:1). He went on to say, in effect, “If you do judge, you will be judged in exactly the same way.” Who of us would dare to stand before God and say, “My God, judge me as I have judged others”? We have judged others as sinners— if God should judge us in the same way, we would be condemned to hell. Yet God judges us on the basis of the miraculous atonement by the Cross of Christ.
不變的考驗
因為你們怎樣論斷人，也必怎樣被論斷。你們用什麼量器量給人，也必用什麼量器量給你們。 （太七2）
這句話不是信口開河的瞎猜，而是神永恆的定律。你怎樣論斷人，就得同樣的回報。報復與報應是不同的。耶穌說人生是以報應為本的－－你用量器量人，人也必用什麼量器量你。你若善於挑剔別人，那你所得的也必如此。你付出多少，就收回多少。這定律是由神的寶座上頒下來的（詩十八25-26）
羅馬書第二章對這定律，更為肯定。其中說人批評別人，自己正犯了同樣的罪。神不單看外面的行為，更看人內心的動機。首先，我們不信聖經的話。試問我們真的相信所批評別人的，正是自己所犯上的罪麼？我們所以能看見別人的虛偽、欺詐、虛浮，是因為我們自己心中也有這些東西。聖徒最大的特徵是謙卑－－[是的，若不是神的恩典，這些東西或其他罪惡，都會發生在我身上，因此我無權批判。 ]
耶穌說：[你們不要論斷人，免得你們被論斷。 ]你若論斷人，神則必照你所論斷的量你。我們誰敢對神說：[我的神，請你照我論斷他人的判斷我吧]?我們判斷別人為罪人，若神也同樣判斷我們，我們早已在地獄了。可是，神卻透過耶穌基督奇妙的代贖來判斷我們。
祈禱◆噢，我只求得嘗祢的靈如風吹拂，或得驅策、或使甦醒、或蒙釋放、或被感動，我就心滿意足了。
This statement is not some haphazard theory, but it is an eternal law of God. Whatever judgment you give will be the very way you are judged. There is a difference between retaliation and retribution. Jesus said that the basis of life is retribution— “with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” If you have been shrewd in finding out the shortcomings of others, remember that will be exactly how you will be measured. The way you pay is the way life will pay you back. This eternal law works from God’s throne down to us (see Psalm 18:25-26).
Romans 2:1 applies it in even a more definite way by saying that the one who criticizes another is guilty of the very same thing. God looks not only at the act itself, but also at the possibility of committing it, which He sees by looking at our hearts. To begin with, we do not believe the statements of the Bible. For instance, do we really believe the statement that says we criticize in others the very things we are guilty of ourselves? The reason we see hypocrisy, deceit, and a lack of genuineness in others is that they are all in our own hearts. The greatest characteristic of a saint is humility, as evidenced by being able to say honestly and humbly, “Yes, all those, as well as other evils, would have been exhibited in me if it were not for the grace of God. Therefore, I have no right to judge.”
Jesus said, “Judge not, that you be not judged” (Matthew 7:1). He went on to say, in effect, “If you do judge, you will be judged in exactly the same way.” Who of us would dare to stand before God and say, “My God, judge me as I have judged others”? We have judged others as sinners— if God should judge us in the same way, we would be condemned to hell. Yet God judges us on the basis of the miraculous atonement by the Cross of Christ.
不變的考驗
因為你們怎樣論斷人，也必怎樣被論斷。你們用什麼量器量給人，也必用什麼量器量給你們。 （太七2）
這句話不是信口開河的瞎猜，而是神永恆的定律。你怎樣論斷人，就得同樣的回報。報復與報應是不同的。耶穌說人生是以報應為本的－－你用量器量人，人也必用什麼量器量你。你若善於挑剔別人，那你所得的也必如此。你付出多少，就收回多少。這定律是由神的寶座上頒下來的（詩十八25-26）
羅馬書第二章對這定律，更為肯定。其中說人批評別人，自己正犯了同樣的罪。神不單看外面的行為，更看人內心的動機。首先，我們不信聖經的話。試問我們真的相信所批評別人的，正是自己所犯上的罪麼？我們所以能看見別人的虛偽、欺詐、虛浮，是因為我們自己心中也有這些東西。聖徒最大的特徵是謙卑－－[是的，若不是神的恩典，這些東西或其他罪惡，都會發生在我身上，因此我無權批判。 ]
耶穌說：[你們不要論斷人，免得你們被論斷。 ]你若論斷人，神則必照你所論斷的量你。我們誰敢對神說：[我的神，請你照我論斷他人的判斷我吧]?我們判斷別人為罪人，若神也同樣判斷我們，我們早已在地獄了。可是，神卻透過耶穌基督奇妙的代贖來判斷我們。
祈禱◆噢，我只求得嘗祢的靈如風吹拂，或得驅策、或使甦醒、或蒙釋放、或被感動，我就心滿意足了。
February 23, 2014
The Determination To Serve
The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve . . .—Matthew 20:28
Jesus also said, “Yet I am among you as the One who serves” (Luke 22:27). Paul’s idea of service was the same as our Lord’s— “. . . ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Corinthians 4:5). We somehow have the idea that a person called to the ministry is called to be different and above other people. But according to Jesus Christ, he is called to be a “doormat” for others— called to be their spiritual leader, but never their superior. Paul said, “I know how to be abased . . .” (Philippians 4:12). Paul’s idea of service was to pour his life out to the last drop for others. And whether he received praise or blame made no difference. As long as there was one human being who did not know Jesus, Paul felt a debt of service to that person until he did come to know Him. But the chief motivation behind Paul’s service was not love for others but love for his Lord. If our devotion is to the cause of humanity, we will be quickly defeated and broken-hearted, since we will often be confronted with a great deal of ingratitude from other people. But if we are motivated by our love for God, no amount of ingratitude will be able to hinder us from serving one another.
Paul’s understanding of how Christ had dealt with him is the secret behind his determination to serve others. “I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man . . .” (1 Timothy 1:13). In other words, no matter how badly others may have treated Paul, they could never have treated him with the same degree of spite and hatred with which he had treated Jesus Christ. Once we realize that Jesus has served us even to the depths of our meagerness, our selfishness, and our sin, nothing we encounter from others will be able to exhaust our determination to serve others for His sake.
事奉的決心
人子來，不是要受人的服侍，乃是要服侍人。 （太二十28）
保羅對事奉的觀念與主一樣：[我在你們中間作服侍的，像他一樣。 ][我們為基督的緣故作你們的僕人。 ]我們常以為一個蒙召作傳道的人，是被召成為與眾不同的人。對於耶穌基督，他被召的是別人門前的地毯；做他們的屬靈領袖，卻絕不是他們的上司。保羅說: [我曉得怎樣處卑賤。 ]
保羅對事奉的觀念是這樣：[我為你們耗盡了最後一分力量，你儘管稱讚我，或是指責我，一點也沒有關係。 ]只要有一個人尚未認識耶穌基督，保羅就是欠他的債，要服侍他直到認識主。保羅事奉的根源不是愛人，乃是愛主。我們若獻身人類的幸福努力，很快就會心碎而倒退，因為人忘恩負義，比狗更加厲害。但若動機是出於愛神，那麼怎樣冷酷無情也不能阻攔我們的服侍。
保羅體會耶穌基督怎樣對待他，就成為他決意服侍人的秘訣。 [我從前是褻瀆神的，逼迫人的，侮慢人的。 ]——不論人怎樣對待我，也絕對比不上我昔日怎樣以惡毒來對待耶穌基督。我們一旦體會耶穌基督怎樣為我們的卑鄙、自私、罪惡服侍到底，那麼，不論別人怎樣待我們，也不能改變我們衛士服侍人的決心。
祈禱◆主啊，你僕人的說話，正好標明我內心深切的禱告——我的神，我仰賴你的恩賜，好像我不能從任何人身上尋見，或在人內心的幻想或構思中出現。
Jesus also said, “Yet I am among you as the One who serves” (Luke 22:27). Paul’s idea of service was the same as our Lord’s— “. . . ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Corinthians 4:5). We somehow have the idea that a person called to the ministry is called to be different and above other people. But according to Jesus Christ, he is called to be a “doormat” for others— called to be their spiritual leader, but never their superior. Paul said, “I know how to be abased . . .” (Philippians 4:12). Paul’s idea of service was to pour his life out to the last drop for others. And whether he received praise or blame made no difference. As long as there was one human being who did not know Jesus, Paul felt a debt of service to that person until he did come to know Him. But the chief motivation behind Paul’s service was not love for others but love for his Lord. If our devotion is to the cause of humanity, we will be quickly defeated and broken-hearted, since we will often be confronted with a great deal of ingratitude from other people. But if we are motivated by our love for God, no amount of ingratitude will be able to hinder us from serving one another.
Paul’s understanding of how Christ had dealt with him is the secret behind his determination to serve others. “I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man . . .” (1 Timothy 1:13). In other words, no matter how badly others may have treated Paul, they could never have treated him with the same degree of spite and hatred with which he had treated Jesus Christ. Once we realize that Jesus has served us even to the depths of our meagerness, our selfishness, and our sin, nothing we encounter from others will be able to exhaust our determination to serve others for His sake.
事奉的決心
人子來，不是要受人的服侍，乃是要服侍人。 （太二十28）
保羅對事奉的觀念與主一樣：[我在你們中間作服侍的，像他一樣。 ][我們為基督的緣故作你們的僕人。 ]我們常以為一個蒙召作傳道的人，是被召成為與眾不同的人。對於耶穌基督，他被召的是別人門前的地毯；做他們的屬靈領袖，卻絕不是他們的上司。保羅說: [我曉得怎樣處卑賤。 ]
保羅對事奉的觀念是這樣：[我為你們耗盡了最後一分力量，你儘管稱讚我，或是指責我，一點也沒有關係。 ]只要有一個人尚未認識耶穌基督，保羅就是欠他的債，要服侍他直到認識主。保羅事奉的根源不是愛人，乃是愛主。我們若獻身人類的幸福努力，很快就會心碎而倒退，因為人忘恩負義，比狗更加厲害。但若動機是出於愛神，那麼怎樣冷酷無情也不能阻攔我們的服侍。
保羅體會耶穌基督怎樣對待他，就成為他決意服侍人的秘訣。 [我從前是褻瀆神的，逼迫人的，侮慢人的。 ]——不論人怎樣對待我，也絕對比不上我昔日怎樣以惡毒來對待耶穌基督。我們一旦體會耶穌基督怎樣為我們的卑鄙、自私、罪惡服侍到底，那麼，不論別人怎樣待我們，也不能改變我們衛士服侍人的決心。
祈禱◆主啊，你僕人的說話，正好標明我內心深切的禱告——我的神，我仰賴你的恩賜，好像我不能從任何人身上尋見，或在人內心的幻想或構思中出現。
February 18, 2014
Taking the Initiative Against Despair
Rise, let us be going —Matthew 26:46
In the Garden of Gethsemane, the disciples went to sleep when they should have stayed awake, and once they realized what they had done it produced despair. The sense of having done something irreversible tends to make us despair. We say, “Well, it’s all over and ruined now; what’s the point in trying anymore.” If we think this kind of despair is an exception, we are mistaken. It is a very ordinary human experience. Whenever we realize we have not taken advantage of a magnificent opportunity, we are apt to sink into despair. But Jesus comes and lovingly says to us, in essence, “Sleep on now. That opportunity is lost forever and you can’t change that. But get up, and let’s go on to the next thing.” In other words, let the past sleep, but let it sleep in the sweet embrace of Christ, and let us go on into the invincible future with Him.
There will be experiences like this in each of our lives. We will have times of despair caused by real events in our lives, and we will be unable to lift ourselves out of them. The disciples, in this instance, had done a downright unthinkable thing— they had gone to sleep instead of watching with Jesus. But our Lord came to them taking the spiritual initiative against their despair and said, in effect, “Get up, and do the next thing.” If we are inspired by God, what is the next thing? It is to trust Him absolutely and to pray on the basis of His redemption.
Never let the sense of past failure defeat your next step.
抗拒絕望的動力
起來，我們走罷。 （太二十六46）
門徒該儆醒的時候，卻睡著了。當我們發現自己這個樣子，就失望灰心。事情既無可追悔，就很容易沮喪說：[事到如今，再無挽回的餘地了。 ]我們若認為這樣的沮喪是不經常的，那就錯了，這實在是司空見慣的人生經歷。當我們醒覺自己錯過了大好的行事機會，勢必沉溺在失望之中，耶穌基督說：[安 睡罷，機會失去不再回來，也無法挽回。但起來罷，百尺竿頭，更進一步。 ]
讓過去的事消逝吧！只要消逝在主的胸懷裡；然後與他一同迎接不可抗拒的未來。在各自的人生中，我們都有這樣的經驗——陷在頹唐沮喪中。這種沮喪是從現實而來，我們無法自拔。這里門徒做了無可饒 恕的事，就是沒有與耶穌一同警醒，反而睡著了。但他卻給予他們對抗沮喪的動力——[起來，行下一步吧。 ]我們有了神的感動，下一步該是什麼？完全信靠他，在他救贖的憑據上禱告。千萬別讓失敗的意識阻礙你新的行動。
祈禱◆主啊，一份茫然的孤寂感似乎圍繞著我的生命，它是那樣的模糊不清，令我難以將它說明。我沒有下過錯誤的決定，因為我已經按照你所指示的去行，但那種不肯定的感覺卻揮之不去。求你抹去這片迷濛的雲霧，將它變成帶著秩序和形式的青天。
In the Garden of Gethsemane, the disciples went to sleep when they should have stayed awake, and once they realized what they had done it produced despair. The sense of having done something irreversible tends to make us despair. We say, “Well, it’s all over and ruined now; what’s the point in trying anymore.” If we think this kind of despair is an exception, we are mistaken. It is a very ordinary human experience. Whenever we realize we have not taken advantage of a magnificent opportunity, we are apt to sink into despair. But Jesus comes and lovingly says to us, in essence, “Sleep on now. That opportunity is lost forever and you can’t change that. But get up, and let’s go on to the next thing.” In other words, let the past sleep, but let it sleep in the sweet embrace of Christ, and let us go on into the invincible future with Him.
There will be experiences like this in each of our lives. We will have times of despair caused by real events in our lives, and we will be unable to lift ourselves out of them. The disciples, in this instance, had done a downright unthinkable thing— they had gone to sleep instead of watching with Jesus. But our Lord came to them taking the spiritual initiative against their despair and said, in effect, “Get up, and do the next thing.” If we are inspired by God, what is the next thing? It is to trust Him absolutely and to pray on the basis of His redemption.
Never let the sense of past failure defeat your next step.
抗拒絕望的動力
起來，我們走罷。 （太二十六46）
門徒該儆醒的時候，卻睡著了。當我們發現自己這個樣子，就失望灰心。事情既無可追悔，就很容易沮喪說：[事到如今，再無挽回的餘地了。 ]我們若認為這樣的沮喪是不經常的，那就錯了，這實在是司空見慣的人生經歷。當我們醒覺自己錯過了大好的行事機會，勢必沉溺在失望之中，耶穌基督說：[安 睡罷，機會失去不再回來，也無法挽回。但起來罷，百尺竿頭，更進一步。 ]
讓過去的事消逝吧！只要消逝在主的胸懷裡；然後與他一同迎接不可抗拒的未來。在各自的人生中，我們都有這樣的經驗——陷在頹唐沮喪中。這種沮喪是從現實而來，我們無法自拔。這里門徒做了無可饒 恕的事，就是沒有與耶穌一同警醒，反而睡著了。但他卻給予他們對抗沮喪的動力——[起來，行下一步吧。 ]我們有了神的感動，下一步該是什麼？完全信靠他，在他救贖的憑據上禱告。千萬別讓失敗的意識阻礙你新的行動。
祈禱◆主啊，一份茫然的孤寂感似乎圍繞著我的生命，它是那樣的模糊不清，令我難以將它說明。我沒有下過錯誤的決定，因為我已經按照你所指示的去行，但那種不肯定的感覺卻揮之不去。求你抹去這片迷濛的雲霧，將它變成帶著秩序和形式的青天。
January 10, 2014
The Opened Sight
I now send you, to open their eyes . . . that they may receive forgiveness of sins . . . —Acts 26:17-18
This verse is the greatest example of the true essence of the message of a disciple of Jesus Christ in all of the New Testament.
God’s first sovereign work of grace is summed up in the words, “. . . that they may receive forgiveness of sins . . . .” When a person fails in his personal Christian life, it is usually because he has never received anything. The only sign that a person is saved is that he has received something from Jesus Christ. Our job as workers for God is to open people’s eyes so that they may turn themselves from darkness to light. But that is not salvation; it is conversion-only the effort of an awakened human being. I do not think it is too broad a statement to say that the majority of so-called Christians are like this. Their eyes are open, but they have received nothing. Conversion is not regeneration. This is a neglected fact in our preaching today. When a person is born again, he knows that it is because he has received something as a gift from Almighty God and not because of his own decision. People may make vows and promises, and may be determined to follow through, but none of this is salvation. Salvation means that we are brought to the place where we are able to receive something from God on the authority of Jesus Christ, namely, forgiveness of sins.
This is followed by God’s second mighty work of grace: “. . . an inheritance among those who are sanctified . . . .” In sanctification, the one who has been born again deliberately gives up his right to himself to Jesus Christ, and identifies himself entirely with God’s ministry to others.
眼開了
要叫他們的眼睛得開……得蒙赦罪……同得基業。 （徒二十六18）
神施恩最完全的首要工作，已包括在這一句裡：[得蒙赦罪。 ]人若經歷不到信耶穌的個人體驗，幾乎都是因為他從未蒙受什麼恩典。一個人得救的唯一標誌，是他從耶穌基督那裡有所領受。作為神的工人，我們的本分就是要開人的眼睛，使他們棄暗投明。可是那並不是得著拯救，那隻是一種轉變——一個被喚醒的人的改變。我說大多數掛名信徒都屬這一類，並不算太過分。
他們眼是開了，卻沒有接受恩典。轉變並不等於重生。今日我們所傳的資訊中，就忽略了這個因素。一個人重生，是因為從全能的神那裡所領受的一份禮物，而非他自己的抉擇。人就是立上許多誓言，而且簽署許願，勇往直前，義不回顧，這一切都不代表[得救]。得拯救是我們被帶到一個地步，憑耶穌基督得特權，從神有所領受——就是[得蒙赦罪]。
接踵而來的，就是恩典的第二步工作——[和一切成聖得人同得基業]。人得了重生，便藉著成聖的功夫，甘心情願地把自己的主權交給主耶穌，並且把自己全然投在神賜福別人的心意上。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，求你賜我更親切和更美善的品性；賜給我屬靈的恩賜，和對別人全然忍耐的生命。你的美善將這一切彰顯了，噢，主啊，只要我被你充滿，我的祈求便成為真實。
This verse is the greatest example of the true essence of the message of a disciple of Jesus Christ in all of the New Testament.
God’s first sovereign work of grace is summed up in the words, “. . . that they may receive forgiveness of sins . . . .” When a person fails in his personal Christian life, it is usually because he has never received anything. The only sign that a person is saved is that he has received something from Jesus Christ. Our job as workers for God is to open people’s eyes so that they may turn themselves from darkness to light. But that is not salvation; it is conversion-only the effort of an awakened human being. I do not think it is too broad a statement to say that the majority of so-called Christians are like this. Their eyes are open, but they have received nothing. Conversion is not regeneration. This is a neglected fact in our preaching today. When a person is born again, he knows that it is because he has received something as a gift from Almighty God and not because of his own decision. People may make vows and promises, and may be determined to follow through, but none of this is salvation. Salvation means that we are brought to the place where we are able to receive something from God on the authority of Jesus Christ, namely, forgiveness of sins.
This is followed by God’s second mighty work of grace: “. . . an inheritance among those who are sanctified . . . .” In sanctification, the one who has been born again deliberately gives up his right to himself to Jesus Christ, and identifies himself entirely with God’s ministry to others.
眼開了
要叫他們的眼睛得開……得蒙赦罪……同得基業。 （徒二十六18）
神施恩最完全的首要工作，已包括在這一句裡：[得蒙赦罪。 ]人若經歷不到信耶穌的個人體驗，幾乎都是因為他從未蒙受什麼恩典。一個人得救的唯一標誌，是他從耶穌基督那裡有所領受。作為神的工人，我們的本分就是要開人的眼睛，使他們棄暗投明。可是那並不是得著拯救，那隻是一種轉變——一個被喚醒的人的改變。我說大多數掛名信徒都屬這一類，並不算太過分。
他們眼是開了，卻沒有接受恩典。轉變並不等於重生。今日我們所傳的資訊中，就忽略了這個因素。一個人重生，是因為從全能的神那裡所領受的一份禮物，而非他自己的抉擇。人就是立上許多誓言，而且簽署許願，勇往直前，義不回顧，這一切都不代表[得救]。得拯救是我們被帶到一個地步，憑耶穌基督得特權，從神有所領受——就是[得蒙赦罪]。
接踵而來的，就是恩典的第二步工作——[和一切成聖得人同得基業]。人得了重生，便藉著成聖的功夫，甘心情願地把自己的主權交給主耶穌，並且把自己全然投在神賜福別人的心意上。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，求你賜我更親切和更美善的品性；賜給我屬靈的恩賜，和對別人全然忍耐的生命。你的美善將這一切彰顯了，噢，主啊，只要我被你充滿，我的祈求便成為真實。
December 08, 2013
The Impartial Power of God
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！
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！
November 20, 2013
The Forgiveness of God
In Him we have . . . the forgiveness of sins . . . —Ephesians 1:7
Beware of the pleasant view of the fatherhood of God: God is so kind and loving that of course He will forgive us. That thought, based solely on emotion, cannot be found anywhere in the New Testament. The only basis on which God can forgive us is the tremendous tragedy of the Cross of Christ. To base our forgiveness on any other ground is unconscious blasphemy. The only ground on which God can forgive our sin and reinstate us to His favor is through the Cross of Christ. There is no other way! Forgiveness, which is so easy for us to accept, cost the agony at Calvary. We should never take the forgiveness of sin, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and our sanctification in simple faith, and then forget the enormous cost to God that made all of this ours.
Forgiveness is the divine miracle of grace. The cost to God was the Cross of Christ. To forgive sin, while remaining a holy God, this price had to be paid. Never accept a view of the fatherhood of God if it blots out the atonement. The revealed truth of God is that without the atonement He cannot forgive— He would contradict His nature if He did. The only way we can be forgiven is by being brought back to God through the atonement of the Cross. God’s forgiveness is possible only in the supernatural realm.
Compared with the miracle of the forgiveness of sin, the experience of sanctification is small. Sanctification is simply the wonderful expression or evidence of the forgiveness of sins in a human life. But the thing that awakens the deepest fountain of gratitude in a human being is that God has forgiven his sin. Paul never got away from this. Once you realize all that it cost God to forgive you, you will be held as in a vise, constrained by the love of God.
神的赦免
我們藉這愛子的血……過犯得以赦免。 （弗一7）
別以為神既是父親－－他既是這樣慈愛，必會赦免我們。這種情感作用在新約是沒有的。神赦免我們，唯一的根源就是基督十字架上的大悲劇；若把赦免放在任何別的根據上，是無形的褻瀆。神赦免哦我們，唯一原因是叫我們重生與他相和好，是藉基督的十字架，此外別無他法。赦免是多麼容易接受的事，可是卻付上加略山的苦楚。我們接受赦罪，接受所賜的聖靈，憑單純的信心得以成聖，卻忘記了是神付出極大的代價為我們成就的。
赦免是神恩典的神聖奇蹟：他要付出基督的十字架，才能赦罪，而仍不失為聖潔的神。切勿接受一個把救贖刪去，只以神為父的觀點。神的啟示是他不能赦免；若赦免就違反他的本性。我們蒙赦的唯一途徑，是藉救贖歸回神。神的赦免惟有在超然的領域上，才不反其自然。
若拿赦罪的奇蹟來比較，成聖的經歷就顯得微不足道。成聖不過是人生命蒙赦罪之後奇妙的表現，在人心中挑起最深感激的，該是神赦免罪。保羅從未忘懷這一點。你一旦體會神為赦免你的罪所付出的，你就會被抓住，被神的愛深深激勵。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，為著你透過主耶穌的恩典，向我顯明你至高的父性，我讚美你。噢，我因此可以成為天父的孩子了！
Beware of the pleasant view of the fatherhood of God: God is so kind and loving that of course He will forgive us. That thought, based solely on emotion, cannot be found anywhere in the New Testament. The only basis on which God can forgive us is the tremendous tragedy of the Cross of Christ. To base our forgiveness on any other ground is unconscious blasphemy. The only ground on which God can forgive our sin and reinstate us to His favor is through the Cross of Christ. There is no other way! Forgiveness, which is so easy for us to accept, cost the agony at Calvary. We should never take the forgiveness of sin, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and our sanctification in simple faith, and then forget the enormous cost to God that made all of this ours.
Forgiveness is the divine miracle of grace. The cost to God was the Cross of Christ. To forgive sin, while remaining a holy God, this price had to be paid. Never accept a view of the fatherhood of God if it blots out the atonement. The revealed truth of God is that without the atonement He cannot forgive— He would contradict His nature if He did. The only way we can be forgiven is by being brought back to God through the atonement of the Cross. God’s forgiveness is possible only in the supernatural realm.
Compared with the miracle of the forgiveness of sin, the experience of sanctification is small. Sanctification is simply the wonderful expression or evidence of the forgiveness of sins in a human life. But the thing that awakens the deepest fountain of gratitude in a human being is that God has forgiven his sin. Paul never got away from this. Once you realize all that it cost God to forgive you, you will be held as in a vise, constrained by the love of God.
神的赦免
我們藉這愛子的血……過犯得以赦免。 （弗一7）
別以為神既是父親－－他既是這樣慈愛，必會赦免我們。這種情感作用在新約是沒有的。神赦免我們，唯一的根源就是基督十字架上的大悲劇；若把赦免放在任何別的根據上，是無形的褻瀆。神赦免哦我們，唯一原因是叫我們重生與他相和好，是藉基督的十字架，此外別無他法。赦免是多麼容易接受的事，可是卻付上加略山的苦楚。我們接受赦罪，接受所賜的聖靈，憑單純的信心得以成聖，卻忘記了是神付出極大的代價為我們成就的。
赦免是神恩典的神聖奇蹟：他要付出基督的十字架，才能赦罪，而仍不失為聖潔的神。切勿接受一個把救贖刪去，只以神為父的觀點。神的啟示是他不能赦免；若赦免就違反他的本性。我們蒙赦的唯一途徑，是藉救贖歸回神。神的赦免惟有在超然的領域上，才不反其自然。
若拿赦罪的奇蹟來比較，成聖的經歷就顯得微不足道。成聖不過是人生命蒙赦罪之後奇妙的表現，在人心中挑起最深感激的，該是神赦免罪。保羅從未忘懷這一點。你一旦體會神為赦免你的罪所付出的，你就會被抓住，被神的愛深深激勵。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，為著你透過主耶穌的恩典，向我顯明你至高的父性，我讚美你。噢，我因此可以成為天父的孩子了！
November 19, 2013
“When He Has Come”
When He has come, He will convict the world of sin . . . —John 16:8
Very few of us know anything about conviction of sin. We know the experience of being disturbed because we have done wrong things. But conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit blots out every relationship on earth and makes us aware of only one— “Against You, You only, have I sinned . . .” (Psalm 51:4). When a person is convicted of sin in this way, he knows with every bit of his conscience that God would not dare to forgive him. If God did forgive him, then this person would have a stronger sense of justice than God. God does forgive, but it cost the breaking of His heart with grief in the death of Christ to enable Him to do so. The great miracle of the grace of God is that He forgives sin, and it is the death of Jesus Christ alone that enables the divine nature to forgive and to remain true to itself in doing so. It is shallow nonsense to say that God forgives us because He is love. Once we have been convicted of sin, we will never say this again. The love of God means Calvary— nothing less! The love of God is spelled out on the Cross and nowhere else. The only basis for which God can forgive me is the Cross of Christ. It is there that His conscience is satisfied.
Forgiveness doesn’t merely mean that I am saved from hell and have been made ready for heaven (no one would accept forgiveness on that level). Forgiveness means that I am forgiven into a newly created relationship which identifies me with God in Christ. The miracle of redemption is that God turns me, the unholy one, into the standard of Himself, the Holy One. He does this by putting into me a new nature, the nature of Jesus Christ.
祂既來了
他既來了，就要叫世人為罪、為義、為審判、自己責備自己。 （約十六8）
很少人真懂得什麼叫做為罪責備自己，我們做錯事之後，只有煩惱；可是聖靈叫人為罪自責，把地上一切的關係刪除，只剩下一個關係，就是[我犯罪得罪了你，惟獨得罪了你]。人若這樣為罪自責，他的良心會告訴他，神不會赦免他。若神赦免他，他的公義感就比神更高了。但神實在赦免，這是要透過耶穌的死，使神心腸撕裂破碎，才做得到。神恩典的奇妙，在於他藉主耶穌的死赦罪，以致他赦罪，仍忠於自己的本性。若說神是愛，所以他赦免我們，這是很膚淺無稽的。我們若曾為罪自責，就絕不會這樣說了。神的愛等如加略山，一絲一毫不減。神的愛在十字架上完全表現出來，此外別無他處。神惟獨根據主的十字架而赦免我。在那兒，他的心才得以滿足。
赦免不單是我從地獄中被救出來，進入天堂（沒有人以這個看法接受赦免）；赦免的意思是，我得赦免進入一個新造的關係裡，進入與神在基督的合一里。救贖的奇蹟是神把我這不潔的人，改變成他的標準，是聖潔的；把新的個性－－耶穌基督的個性－－放進我裡面。
祈禱◆對於在世上為你結果子上，我是何等的無助，那麼的氣量狹小，而且毫不像你。求你赦免我，並且藉著住在耶穌裡面，願我多結果子，榮耀父神。
Very few of us know anything about conviction of sin. We know the experience of being disturbed because we have done wrong things. But conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit blots out every relationship on earth and makes us aware of only one— “Against You, You only, have I sinned . . .” (Psalm 51:4). When a person is convicted of sin in this way, he knows with every bit of his conscience that God would not dare to forgive him. If God did forgive him, then this person would have a stronger sense of justice than God. God does forgive, but it cost the breaking of His heart with grief in the death of Christ to enable Him to do so. The great miracle of the grace of God is that He forgives sin, and it is the death of Jesus Christ alone that enables the divine nature to forgive and to remain true to itself in doing so. It is shallow nonsense to say that God forgives us because He is love. Once we have been convicted of sin, we will never say this again. The love of God means Calvary— nothing less! The love of God is spelled out on the Cross and nowhere else. The only basis for which God can forgive me is the Cross of Christ. It is there that His conscience is satisfied.
Forgiveness doesn’t merely mean that I am saved from hell and have been made ready for heaven (no one would accept forgiveness on that level). Forgiveness means that I am forgiven into a newly created relationship which identifies me with God in Christ. The miracle of redemption is that God turns me, the unholy one, into the standard of Himself, the Holy One. He does this by putting into me a new nature, the nature of Jesus Christ.
祂既來了
他既來了，就要叫世人為罪、為義、為審判、自己責備自己。 （約十六8）
很少人真懂得什麼叫做為罪責備自己，我們做錯事之後，只有煩惱；可是聖靈叫人為罪自責，把地上一切的關係刪除，只剩下一個關係，就是[我犯罪得罪了你，惟獨得罪了你]。人若這樣為罪自責，他的良心會告訴他，神不會赦免他。若神赦免他，他的公義感就比神更高了。但神實在赦免，這是要透過耶穌的死，使神心腸撕裂破碎，才做得到。神恩典的奇妙，在於他藉主耶穌的死赦罪，以致他赦罪，仍忠於自己的本性。若說神是愛，所以他赦免我們，這是很膚淺無稽的。我們若曾為罪自責，就絕不會這樣說了。神的愛等如加略山，一絲一毫不減。神的愛在十字架上完全表現出來，此外別無他處。神惟獨根據主的十字架而赦免我。在那兒，他的心才得以滿足。
赦免不單是我從地獄中被救出來，進入天堂（沒有人以這個看法接受赦免）；赦免的意思是，我得赦免進入一個新造的關係裡，進入與神在基督的合一里。救贖的奇蹟是神把我這不潔的人，改變成他的標準，是聖潔的；把新的個性－－耶穌基督的個性－－放進我裡面。
祈禱◆對於在世上為你結果子上，我是何等的無助，那麼的氣量狹小，而且毫不像你。求你赦免我，並且藉著住在耶穌裡面，願我多結果子，榮耀父神。
October 24, 2013
The Proper Perspective
Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ . . . —2 Corinthians 2:14
The proper perspective of a servant of God must not simply be as near to the highest as he can get, but it must be the highest. Be careful that you vigorously maintain God’s perspective, and remember that it must be done every day, little by little. Don’t think on a finite level. No outside power can touch the proper perspective.
The proper perspective to maintain is that we are here for only one purpose— to be captives marching in the procession of Christ’s triumphs. We are not on display in God’s showcase— we are here to exhibit only one thing— the “captivity [of our lives] to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). How small all the other perspectives are! For example, the ones that say, “I am standing all alone, battling for Jesus,” or, “I have to maintain the cause of Christ and hold down this fort for Him.” But Paul said, in essence, “I am in the procession of a conqueror, and it doesn’t matter what the difficulties are, for I am always led in triumph.” Is this idea being worked out practically in us? Paul’s secret joy was that God took him as a blatant rebel against Jesus Christ, and made him a captive— and that became his purpose. It was Paul’s joy to be a captive of the Lord, and he had no other interest in heaven or on earth. It is a shameful thing for a Christian to talk about getting the victory. We should belong so completely to the Victor that it is always His victory, and “we are more than conquerors through Him . . .” (Romans 8:37).
“We are to God the fragrance of Christ . . .” (2 Corinthians 2:15). We are encompassed with the sweet aroma of Jesus, and wherever we go we are a wonderful refreshment to God.
觀點
"感謝神！常率領我們在基督裡誇勝。"林後2：14
對於一個為神工作的工人，他的觀點不能是接近他所能達到的最高，而必須是最高。要當心只是費力地維持神的觀點，要每天這樣做，一點點地，不要考慮期限。沒有任何外在的力量可以觸到神的觀點。
我們要維持的觀點乃是，我們在這世上單單是為一個目的，即成為基督得勝的軍隊中的俘虜。我們不是在神的陳列室裡，我們在世是要展示一件事－－我們的生命被耶穌基督絕對的俘虜。其他的觀點是何等渺小－－"我在獨自為耶穌爭戰，我要維持基督的事業，為他堅守崗位"。保羅說，我在勝利者的隊伍裡，無論遇到什麼困難，我總是在得勝中。這個觀念是否實際在我們裡面運行呢？保羅喜樂的秘決是神帶領他，一個雙手沾染了鮮血的反叛耶穌基督的人，成為了耶穌基督的俘虜，現在這就是他在世的全部目的。保羅的喜樂就是成為主的俘虜，對天地裡的一切再沒有其他的興趣。對於一個基督徒來說，談論如何得到勝利是一件羞恥的事。得勝者應當完全的得著我們，以致始終都是他的得勝，我們也藉著他成為了得勝者。
"因為我們在神面前，無論在得救的人身上，或滅亡的人身上，都有基督馨香之氣。"（ 15 節）我們被耶穌的香氣包圍，無論我們走到哪裡，都叫神舒暢，使人奇妙的恢復與神的關係。
The proper perspective of a servant of God must not simply be as near to the highest as he can get, but it must be the highest. Be careful that you vigorously maintain God’s perspective, and remember that it must be done every day, little by little. Don’t think on a finite level. No outside power can touch the proper perspective.
The proper perspective to maintain is that we are here for only one purpose— to be captives marching in the procession of Christ’s triumphs. We are not on display in God’s showcase— we are here to exhibit only one thing— the “captivity [of our lives] to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). How small all the other perspectives are! For example, the ones that say, “I am standing all alone, battling for Jesus,” or, “I have to maintain the cause of Christ and hold down this fort for Him.” But Paul said, in essence, “I am in the procession of a conqueror, and it doesn’t matter what the difficulties are, for I am always led in triumph.” Is this idea being worked out practically in us? Paul’s secret joy was that God took him as a blatant rebel against Jesus Christ, and made him a captive— and that became his purpose. It was Paul’s joy to be a captive of the Lord, and he had no other interest in heaven or on earth. It is a shameful thing for a Christian to talk about getting the victory. We should belong so completely to the Victor that it is always His victory, and “we are more than conquerors through Him . . .” (Romans 8:37).
“We are to God the fragrance of Christ . . .” (2 Corinthians 2:15). We are encompassed with the sweet aroma of Jesus, and wherever we go we are a wonderful refreshment to God.
觀點
"感謝神！常率領我們在基督裡誇勝。"林後2：14
對於一個為神工作的工人，他的觀點不能是接近他所能達到的最高，而必須是最高。要當心只是費力地維持神的觀點，要每天這樣做，一點點地，不要考慮期限。沒有任何外在的力量可以觸到神的觀點。
我們要維持的觀點乃是，我們在這世上單單是為一個目的，即成為基督得勝的軍隊中的俘虜。我們不是在神的陳列室裡，我們在世是要展示一件事－－我們的生命被耶穌基督絕對的俘虜。其他的觀點是何等渺小－－"我在獨自為耶穌爭戰，我要維持基督的事業，為他堅守崗位"。保羅說，我在勝利者的隊伍裡，無論遇到什麼困難，我總是在得勝中。這個觀念是否實際在我們裡面運行呢？保羅喜樂的秘決是神帶領他，一個雙手沾染了鮮血的反叛耶穌基督的人，成為了耶穌基督的俘虜，現在這就是他在世的全部目的。保羅的喜樂就是成為主的俘虜，對天地裡的一切再沒有其他的興趣。對於一個基督徒來說，談論如何得到勝利是一件羞恥的事。得勝者應當完全的得著我們，以致始終都是他的得勝，我們也藉著他成為了得勝者。
"因為我們在神面前，無論在得救的人身上，或滅亡的人身上，都有基督馨香之氣。"（ 15 節）我們被耶穌的香氣包圍，無論我們走到哪裡，都叫神舒暢，使人奇妙的恢復與神的關係。
June 22, 2013
The Unchanging Law of Judgment
With what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you —Matthew 7:2
This statement is not some haphazard theory, but it is an eternal law of God. Whatever judgment you give will be the very way you are judged. There is a difference between retaliation and retribution. Jesus said that the basis of life is retribution— “with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” If you have been shrewd in finding out the shortcomings of others, remember that will be exactly how you will be measured. The way you pay is the way life will pay you back. This eternal law works from God’s throne down to us (see Psalm 18:25-26).
Romans 2:1 applies it in even a more definite way by saying that the one who criticizes another is guilty of the very same thing. God looks not only at the act itself, but also at the possibility of committing it, which He sees by looking at our hearts. To begin with, we do not believe the statements of the Bible. For instance, do we really believe the statement that says we criticize in others the very things we are guilty of ourselves? The reason we see hypocrisy, deceit, and a lack of genuineness in others is that they are all in our own hearts. The greatest characteristic of a saint is humility, as evidenced by being able to say honestly and humbly, “Yes, all those, as well as other evils, would have been exhibited in me if it were not for the grace of God. Therefore, I have no right to judge.”
Jesus said, “Judge not, that you be not judged” (Matthew 7:1). He went on to say, in effect, “If you do judge, you will be judged in exactly the same way.” Who of us would dare to stand before God and say, “My God, judge me as I have judged others”? We have judged others as sinners— if God should judge us in the same way, we would be condemned to hell. Yet God judges us on the basis of the miraculous atonement by the Cross of Christ.
不變的考驗
因為你們怎樣論斷人，也必怎樣被論斷。你們用什麼量器量給人，也必用什麼量器量給你們。 （太七2）
這句話不是信口開河的瞎猜，而是神永恆的定律。你怎樣論斷人，就得同樣的回報。報復與報應是不同的。耶穌說人生是以報應為本的－－你用量器量人，人也必用什麼量器量你。你若善於挑剔別人，那你所得的也必如此。你付出多少，就收回多少。這定律是由神的寶座上頒下來的（詩十八25-26）
羅馬書第二章對這定律，更為肯定。其中說人批評別人，自己正犯了同樣的罪。神不單看外面的行為，更看人內心的動機。首先，我們不信聖經的話。試問我們真的相信所批評別人的，正是自己所犯上的罪麼？我們所以能看見別人的虛偽、欺詐、虛浮，是因為我們自己心中也有這些東西。聖徒最大的特徵是謙卑－－[是的，若不是神的恩典，這些東西或其他罪惡，都會發生在我身上，因此我無權批判。 ]
耶穌說：[你們不要論斷人，免得你們被論斷。 ]你若論斷人，神則必照你所論斷的量你。我們誰敢對神說：[我的神，請你照我論斷他人的判斷我吧]?我們判斷別人為罪人，若神也同樣判斷我們，我們早已在地獄了。可是，神卻透過耶穌基督奇妙的代贖來判斷我們。
祈禱◆噢，我只求得嘗祢的靈如風吹拂，或得驅策、或使甦醒、或蒙釋放、或被感動，我就心滿意足了。
This statement is not some haphazard theory, but it is an eternal law of God. Whatever judgment you give will be the very way you are judged. There is a difference between retaliation and retribution. Jesus said that the basis of life is retribution— “with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” If you have been shrewd in finding out the shortcomings of others, remember that will be exactly how you will be measured. The way you pay is the way life will pay you back. This eternal law works from God’s throne down to us (see Psalm 18:25-26).
Romans 2:1 applies it in even a more definite way by saying that the one who criticizes another is guilty of the very same thing. God looks not only at the act itself, but also at the possibility of committing it, which He sees by looking at our hearts. To begin with, we do not believe the statements of the Bible. For instance, do we really believe the statement that says we criticize in others the very things we are guilty of ourselves? The reason we see hypocrisy, deceit, and a lack of genuineness in others is that they are all in our own hearts. The greatest characteristic of a saint is humility, as evidenced by being able to say honestly and humbly, “Yes, all those, as well as other evils, would have been exhibited in me if it were not for the grace of God. Therefore, I have no right to judge.”
Jesus said, “Judge not, that you be not judged” (Matthew 7:1). He went on to say, in effect, “If you do judge, you will be judged in exactly the same way.” Who of us would dare to stand before God and say, “My God, judge me as I have judged others”? We have judged others as sinners— if God should judge us in the same way, we would be condemned to hell. Yet God judges us on the basis of the miraculous atonement by the Cross of Christ.
不變的考驗
因為你們怎樣論斷人，也必怎樣被論斷。你們用什麼量器量給人，也必用什麼量器量給你們。 （太七2）
這句話不是信口開河的瞎猜，而是神永恆的定律。你怎樣論斷人，就得同樣的回報。報復與報應是不同的。耶穌說人生是以報應為本的－－你用量器量人，人也必用什麼量器量你。你若善於挑剔別人，那你所得的也必如此。你付出多少，就收回多少。這定律是由神的寶座上頒下來的（詩十八25-26）
羅馬書第二章對這定律，更為肯定。其中說人批評別人，自己正犯了同樣的罪。神不單看外面的行為，更看人內心的動機。首先，我們不信聖經的話。試問我們真的相信所批評別人的，正是自己所犯上的罪麼？我們所以能看見別人的虛偽、欺詐、虛浮，是因為我們自己心中也有這些東西。聖徒最大的特徵是謙卑－－[是的，若不是神的恩典，這些東西或其他罪惡，都會發生在我身上，因此我無權批判。 ]
耶穌說：[你們不要論斷人，免得你們被論斷。 ]你若論斷人，神則必照你所論斷的量你。我們誰敢對神說：[我的神，請你照我論斷他人的判斷我吧]?我們判斷別人為罪人，若神也同樣判斷我們，我們早已在地獄了。可是，神卻透過耶穌基督奇妙的代贖來判斷我們。
祈禱◆噢，我只求得嘗祢的靈如風吹拂，或得驅策、或使甦醒、或蒙釋放、或被感動，我就心滿意足了。
February 23, 2013
The Determination To Serve
The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve . . .—Matthew 20:28
Jesus also said, “Yet I am among you as the One who serves” (Luke 22:27). Paul’s idea of service was the same as our Lord’s— “. . . ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Corinthians 4:5). We somehow have the idea that a person called to the ministry is called to be different and above other people. But according to Jesus Christ, he is called to be a “doormat” for others— called to be their spiritual leader, but never their superior. Paul said, “I know how to be abased . . .” (Philippians 4:12). Paul’s idea of service was to pour his life out to the last drop for others. And whether he received praise or blame made no difference. As long as there was one human being who did not know Jesus, Paul felt a debt of service to that person until he did come to know Him. But the chief motivation behind Paul’s service was not love for others but love for his Lord. If our devotion is to the cause of humanity, we will be quickly defeated and broken-hearted, since we will often be confronted with a great deal of ingratitude from other people. But if we are motivated by our love for God, no amount of ingratitude will be able to hinder us from serving one another.
Paul’s understanding of how Christ had dealt with him is the secret behind his determination to serve others. “I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man . . .” (1 Timothy 1:13). In other words, no matter how badly others may have treated Paul, they could never have treated him with the same degree of spite and hatred with which he had treated Jesus Christ. Once we realize that Jesus has served us even to the depths of our meagerness, our selfishness, and our sin, nothing we encounter from others will be able to exhaust our determination to serve others for His sake.
事奉的決心
人子來，不是要受人的服侍，乃是要服侍人。 （太二十28）
保羅對事奉的觀念與主一樣：[我在你們中間作服侍的，像他一樣。 ][我們為基督的緣故作你們的僕人。 ]我們常以為一個蒙召作傳道的人，是被召成為與眾不同的人。對於耶穌基督，他被召的是別人門前的地毯；做他們的屬靈領袖，卻絕不是他們的上司。保羅說:[我曉得怎樣處卑賤。 ]
保羅對事奉的觀念是這樣：[我為你們耗盡了最後一分力量，你儘管稱讚我，或是指責我，一點也沒有關係。 ]只要有一個人尚未認識耶穌基督，保羅就是欠他的債，要服侍他直到認識主。保羅事奉的根源不是愛人，乃是愛主。我們若獻身人類的幸福努力，很快就會心碎而倒退，因為人忘恩負義，比狗更加厲害。但若動機是出於愛神，那麼怎樣冷酷無情也不能阻攔我們的服侍。
保羅體會耶穌基督怎樣對待他，就成為他決意服侍人的秘訣。 [我從前是褻瀆神的，逼迫人的，侮慢人的。 ]——不論人怎樣對待我，也絕對比不上我昔日怎樣以惡毒來對待耶穌基督。我們一旦體會耶穌基督怎樣為我們的卑鄙、自私、罪惡服侍到底，那麼，不論別人怎樣待我們，也不能改變我們衛士服侍人的決心。
祈禱◆主啊，你僕人的說話，正好標明我內心深切的禱告——我的神，我仰賴你的恩賜，好像我不能從任何人身上尋見，或在人內心的幻想或構思中出現。
Jesus also said, “Yet I am among you as the One who serves” (Luke 22:27). Paul’s idea of service was the same as our Lord’s— “. . . ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Corinthians 4:5). We somehow have the idea that a person called to the ministry is called to be different and above other people. But according to Jesus Christ, he is called to be a “doormat” for others— called to be their spiritual leader, but never their superior. Paul said, “I know how to be abased . . .” (Philippians 4:12). Paul’s idea of service was to pour his life out to the last drop for others. And whether he received praise or blame made no difference. As long as there was one human being who did not know Jesus, Paul felt a debt of service to that person until he did come to know Him. But the chief motivation behind Paul’s service was not love for others but love for his Lord. If our devotion is to the cause of humanity, we will be quickly defeated and broken-hearted, since we will often be confronted with a great deal of ingratitude from other people. But if we are motivated by our love for God, no amount of ingratitude will be able to hinder us from serving one another.
Paul’s understanding of how Christ had dealt with him is the secret behind his determination to serve others. “I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man . . .” (1 Timothy 1:13). In other words, no matter how badly others may have treated Paul, they could never have treated him with the same degree of spite and hatred with which he had treated Jesus Christ. Once we realize that Jesus has served us even to the depths of our meagerness, our selfishness, and our sin, nothing we encounter from others will be able to exhaust our determination to serve others for His sake.
事奉的決心
人子來，不是要受人的服侍，乃是要服侍人。 （太二十28）
保羅對事奉的觀念與主一樣：[我在你們中間作服侍的，像他一樣。 ][我們為基督的緣故作你們的僕人。 ]我們常以為一個蒙召作傳道的人，是被召成為與眾不同的人。對於耶穌基督，他被召的是別人門前的地毯；做他們的屬靈領袖，卻絕不是他們的上司。保羅說:[我曉得怎樣處卑賤。 ]
保羅對事奉的觀念是這樣：[我為你們耗盡了最後一分力量，你儘管稱讚我，或是指責我，一點也沒有關係。 ]只要有一個人尚未認識耶穌基督，保羅就是欠他的債，要服侍他直到認識主。保羅事奉的根源不是愛人，乃是愛主。我們若獻身人類的幸福努力，很快就會心碎而倒退，因為人忘恩負義，比狗更加厲害。但若動機是出於愛神，那麼怎樣冷酷無情也不能阻攔我們的服侍。
保羅體會耶穌基督怎樣對待他，就成為他決意服侍人的秘訣。 [我從前是褻瀆神的，逼迫人的，侮慢人的。 ]——不論人怎樣對待我，也絕對比不上我昔日怎樣以惡毒來對待耶穌基督。我們一旦體會耶穌基督怎樣為我們的卑鄙、自私、罪惡服侍到底，那麼，不論別人怎樣待我們，也不能改變我們衛士服侍人的決心。
祈禱◆主啊，你僕人的說話，正好標明我內心深切的禱告——我的神，我仰賴你的恩賜，好像我不能從任何人身上尋見，或在人內心的幻想或構思中出現。
February 18, 2013
Taking the Initiative Against Despair
Rise, let us be going —Matthew 26:46
In the Garden of Gethsemane, the disciples went to sleep when they should have stayed awake, and once they realized what they had done it produced despair. The sense of having done something irreversible tends to make us despair. We say, “Well, it’s all over and ruined now; what’s the point in trying anymore.” If we think this kind of despair is an exception, we are mistaken. It is a very ordinary human experience. Whenever we realize we have not taken advantage of a magnificent opportunity, we are apt to sink into despair. But Jesus comes and lovingly says to us, in essence, “Sleep on now. That opportunity is lost forever and you can’t change that. But get up, and let’s go on to the next thing.” In other words, let the past sleep, but let it sleep in the sweet embrace of Christ, and let us go on into the invincible future with Him.
There will be experiences like this in each of our lives. We will have times of despair caused by real events in our lives, and we will be unable to lift ourselves out of them. The disciples, in this instance, had done a downright unthinkable thing— they had gone to sleep instead of watching with Jesus. But our Lord came to them taking the spiritual initiative against their despair and said, in effect, “Get up, and do the next thing.” If we are inspired by God, what is the next thing? It is to trust Him absolutely and to pray on the basis of His redemption.
Never let the sense of past failure defeat your next step.
抗拒絕望的動力
起來，我們走罷。 （太二十六46）
門徒該儆醒的時候，卻睡著了。當我們發現自己這個樣子，就失望灰心。事情既無可追悔，就很容易沮喪說：[事到如今，再無挽回的餘地了。 ]我們若認為這樣的沮喪是不經常的，那就錯了，這實在是司空見慣的人生經歷。當我們醒覺自己錯過了大好的行事機會，勢必沉溺在失望之中，耶穌基督說：[安睡罷，機會失去不再回來，也無法挽回。但起來罷，百尺竿頭，更進一步。 ]
讓過去的事消逝吧！只要消逝在主的胸懷裡；然後與他一同迎接不可抗拒的未來。在各自的人生中，我們都有這樣的經驗——陷在頹唐沮喪中。這種沮喪是從現實而來，我們無法自拔。這里門徒做了無可饒恕的事，就是沒有與耶穌一同警醒，反而睡著了。但他卻給予他們對抗沮喪的動力——[起來，行下一步吧。 ]我們有了神的感動，下一步該是什麼？完全信靠他，在他救贖的憑據上禱告。千萬別讓失敗的意識阻礙你新的行動。
祈禱◆主啊，一份茫然的孤寂感似乎圍繞著我的生命，它是那樣的模糊不清，令我難以將它說明。我沒有下過錯誤的決定，因為我已經按照你所指示的去行，但那種不肯定的感覺卻揮之不去。求你抹去這片迷濛的雲霧，將它變成帶著秩序和形式的青天。
In the Garden of Gethsemane, the disciples went to sleep when they should have stayed awake, and once they realized what they had done it produced despair. The sense of having done something irreversible tends to make us despair. We say, “Well, it’s all over and ruined now; what’s the point in trying anymore.” If we think this kind of despair is an exception, we are mistaken. It is a very ordinary human experience. Whenever we realize we have not taken advantage of a magnificent opportunity, we are apt to sink into despair. But Jesus comes and lovingly says to us, in essence, “Sleep on now. That opportunity is lost forever and you can’t change that. But get up, and let’s go on to the next thing.” In other words, let the past sleep, but let it sleep in the sweet embrace of Christ, and let us go on into the invincible future with Him.
There will be experiences like this in each of our lives. We will have times of despair caused by real events in our lives, and we will be unable to lift ourselves out of them. The disciples, in this instance, had done a downright unthinkable thing— they had gone to sleep instead of watching with Jesus. But our Lord came to them taking the spiritual initiative against their despair and said, in effect, “Get up, and do the next thing.” If we are inspired by God, what is the next thing? It is to trust Him absolutely and to pray on the basis of His redemption.
Never let the sense of past failure defeat your next step.
抗拒絕望的動力
起來，我們走罷。 （太二十六46）
門徒該儆醒的時候，卻睡著了。當我們發現自己這個樣子，就失望灰心。事情既無可追悔，就很容易沮喪說：[事到如今，再無挽回的餘地了。 ]我們若認為這樣的沮喪是不經常的，那就錯了，這實在是司空見慣的人生經歷。當我們醒覺自己錯過了大好的行事機會，勢必沉溺在失望之中，耶穌基督說：[安睡罷，機會失去不再回來，也無法挽回。但起來罷，百尺竿頭，更進一步。 ]
讓過去的事消逝吧！只要消逝在主的胸懷裡；然後與他一同迎接不可抗拒的未來。在各自的人生中，我們都有這樣的經驗——陷在頹唐沮喪中。這種沮喪是從現實而來，我們無法自拔。這里門徒做了無可饒恕的事，就是沒有與耶穌一同警醒，反而睡著了。但他卻給予他們對抗沮喪的動力——[起來，行下一步吧。 ]我們有了神的感動，下一步該是什麼？完全信靠他，在他救贖的憑據上禱告。千萬別讓失敗的意識阻礙你新的行動。
祈禱◆主啊，一份茫然的孤寂感似乎圍繞著我的生命，它是那樣的模糊不清，令我難以將它說明。我沒有下過錯誤的決定，因為我已經按照你所指示的去行，但那種不肯定的感覺卻揮之不去。求你抹去這片迷濛的雲霧，將它變成帶著秩序和形式的青天。
January 10, 2013
The Opened Sight
I now send you, to open their eyes . . . that they may receive forgiveness of sins . . . —Acts 26:17-18
This verse is the greatest example of the true essence of the message of a disciple of Jesus Christ in all of the New Testament.
God’s first sovereign work of grace is summed up in the words, “. . . that they may receive forgiveness of sins . . . .” When a person fails in his personal Christian life, it is usually because he has never received anything. The only sign that a person is saved is that he has received something from Jesus Christ. Our job as workers for God is to open people’s eyes so that they may turn themselves from darkness to light. But that is not salvation; it is conversion-only the effort of an awakened human being. I do not think it is too broad a statement to say that the majority of so-called Christians are like this. Their eyes are open, but they have received nothing. Conversion is not regeneration. This is a neglected fact in our preaching today. When a person is born again, he knows that it is because he has received something as a gift from Almighty God and not because of his own decision. People may make vows and promises, and may be determined to follow through, but none of this is salvation. Salvation means that we are brought to the place where we are able to receive something from God on the authority of Jesus Christ, namely, forgiveness of sins.
This is followed by God’s second mighty work of grace: “. . . an inheritance among those who are sanctified . . . .” In sanctification, the one who has been born again deliberately gives up his right to himself to Jesus Christ, and identifies himself entirely with God’s ministry to others.
眼開了
要叫他們的眼睛得開……得蒙赦罪……同得基業。 （徒二十六18）
神施恩最完全的首要工作，已包括在這一句裡：[得蒙赦罪。 ]人若經歷不到信耶穌的個人體驗，幾乎都是因為他從未蒙受什麼恩典。一個人得救的唯一標誌，是他從耶穌基督那裡有所領受。作為神的工人，我們的本分就是要開人的眼睛，使他們棄暗投明。可是那並不是得著拯救，那隻是一種轉變——一個被喚醒的人的改變。我說大多數掛名信徒都屬這一類，並不算太過分。
他們眼是開了，卻沒有接受恩典。轉變並不等於重生。今日我們所傳的資訊中，就忽略了這個因素。一個人重生，是因為從全能的神那裡所領受的一份禮物，而非他自己的抉擇。人就是立上許多誓言，而且簽署許願，勇往直前，義不回顧，這一切都不代表[得救]。得拯救是我們被帶到一個地步，憑耶穌基督得特權，從神有所領受——就是[得蒙赦罪]。
接踵而來的，就是恩典的第二步工作——[和一切成聖得人同得基業]。人得了重生，便藉著成聖的功夫，甘心情願地把自己的主權交給主耶穌，並且把自己全然投在神賜福別人的心意上。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，求你賜我更親切和更美善的品性；賜給我屬靈的恩賜，和對別人全然忍耐的生命。你的美善將這一切彰顯了，噢，主啊，只要我被你充滿，我的祈求便成為真實。
This verse is the greatest example of the true essence of the message of a disciple of Jesus Christ in all of the New Testament.
God’s first sovereign work of grace is summed up in the words, “. . . that they may receive forgiveness of sins . . . .” When a person fails in his personal Christian life, it is usually because he has never received anything. The only sign that a person is saved is that he has received something from Jesus Christ. Our job as workers for God is to open people’s eyes so that they may turn themselves from darkness to light. But that is not salvation; it is conversion-only the effort of an awakened human being. I do not think it is too broad a statement to say that the majority of so-called Christians are like this. Their eyes are open, but they have received nothing. Conversion is not regeneration. This is a neglected fact in our preaching today. When a person is born again, he knows that it is because he has received something as a gift from Almighty God and not because of his own decision. People may make vows and promises, and may be determined to follow through, but none of this is salvation. Salvation means that we are brought to the place where we are able to receive something from God on the authority of Jesus Christ, namely, forgiveness of sins.
This is followed by God’s second mighty work of grace: “. . . an inheritance among those who are sanctified . . . .” In sanctification, the one who has been born again deliberately gives up his right to himself to Jesus Christ, and identifies himself entirely with God’s ministry to others.
眼開了
要叫他們的眼睛得開……得蒙赦罪……同得基業。 （徒二十六18）
神施恩最完全的首要工作，已包括在這一句裡：[得蒙赦罪。 ]人若經歷不到信耶穌的個人體驗，幾乎都是因為他從未蒙受什麼恩典。一個人得救的唯一標誌，是他從耶穌基督那裡有所領受。作為神的工人，我們的本分就是要開人的眼睛，使他們棄暗投明。可是那並不是得著拯救，那隻是一種轉變——一個被喚醒的人的改變。我說大多數掛名信徒都屬這一類，並不算太過分。
他們眼是開了，卻沒有接受恩典。轉變並不等於重生。今日我們所傳的資訊中，就忽略了這個因素。一個人重生，是因為從全能的神那裡所領受的一份禮物，而非他自己的抉擇。人就是立上許多誓言，而且簽署許願，勇往直前，義不回顧，這一切都不代表[得救]。得拯救是我們被帶到一個地步，憑耶穌基督得特權，從神有所領受——就是[得蒙赦罪]。
接踵而來的，就是恩典的第二步工作——[和一切成聖得人同得基業]。人得了重生，便藉著成聖的功夫，甘心情願地把自己的主權交給主耶穌，並且把自己全然投在神賜福別人的心意上。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，求你賜我更親切和更美善的品性；賜給我屬靈的恩賜，和對別人全然忍耐的生命。你的美善將這一切彰顯了，噢，主啊，只要我被你充滿，我的祈求便成為真實。
December 08, 2012
The Impartial Power of God
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！
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！
November 20, 2012
The Forgiveness of God
In Him we have . . . the forgiveness of sins . . . —Ephesians 1:7
Beware of the pleasant view of the fatherhood of God: God is so kind and loving that of course He will forgive us. That thought, based solely on emotion, cannot be found anywhere in the New Testament. The only basis on which God can forgive us is the tremendous tragedy of the Cross of Christ. To base our forgiveness on any other ground is unconscious blasphemy. The only ground on which God can forgive our sin and reinstate us to His favor is through the Cross of Christ. There is no other way! Forgiveness, which is so easy for us to accept, cost the agony at Calvary. We should never take the forgiveness of sin, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and our sanctification in simple faith, and then forget the enormous cost to God that made all of this ours.
Forgiveness is the divine miracle of grace. The cost to God was the Cross of Christ. To forgive sin, while remaining a holy God, this price had to be paid. Never accept a view of the fatherhood of God if it blots out the atonement. The revealed truth of God is that without the atonement He cannot forgive— He would contradict His nature if He did. The only way we can be forgiven is by being brought back to God through the atonement of the Cross. God’s forgiveness is possible only in the supernatural realm.
Compared with the miracle of the forgiveness of sin, the experience of sanctification is small. Sanctification is simply the wonderful expression or evidence of the forgiveness of sins in a human life. But the thing that awakens the deepest fountain of gratitude in a human being is that God has forgiven his sin. Paul never got away from this. Once you realize all that it cost God to forgive you, you will be held as in a vise, constrained by the love of God.
神的赦免
我們藉這愛子的血……過犯得以赦免。 （弗一7）
別以為神既是父親－－他既是這樣慈愛，必會赦免我們。這種情感作用在新約是沒有的。神赦免我們，唯一的根源就是基督十字架上的大悲劇；若把赦免放在任何別的根據上，是無形的褻瀆。神赦免哦我們，唯一原因是叫我們重生與他相和好，是藉基督的十字架，此外別無他法。赦免是多麼容易接受的事，可是卻付上加略山的苦楚。我們接受赦罪，接受所賜的聖靈，憑單純的信心得以成聖，卻忘記了是神付出極大的代價為我們成就的。
赦免是神恩典的神聖奇蹟：他要付出基督的十字架，才能赦罪，而仍不失為聖潔的神。切勿接受一個把救贖刪去，只以神為父的觀點。神的啟示是他不能赦免；若赦免就違反他的本性。我們蒙赦的唯一途徑，是藉救贖歸回神。神的赦免惟有在超然的領域上，才不反其自然。
若拿赦罪的奇蹟來比較，成聖的經歷就顯得微不足道。成聖不過是人生命蒙赦罪之後奇妙的表現，在人心中挑起最深感激的，該是神赦免罪。保羅從未忘懷這一點。你一旦體會神為赦免你的罪所付出的，你就會被抓住，被神的愛深深激勵。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，為著你透過主耶穌的恩典，向我顯明你至高的父性，我讚美你。噢，我因此可以成為天父的孩子了！
Beware of the pleasant view of the fatherhood of God: God is so kind and loving that of course He will forgive us. That thought, based solely on emotion, cannot be found anywhere in the New Testament. The only basis on which God can forgive us is the tremendous tragedy of the Cross of Christ. To base our forgiveness on any other ground is unconscious blasphemy. The only ground on which God can forgive our sin and reinstate us to His favor is through the Cross of Christ. There is no other way! Forgiveness, which is so easy for us to accept, cost the agony at Calvary. We should never take the forgiveness of sin, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and our sanctification in simple faith, and then forget the enormous cost to God that made all of this ours.
Forgiveness is the divine miracle of grace. The cost to God was the Cross of Christ. To forgive sin, while remaining a holy God, this price had to be paid. Never accept a view of the fatherhood of God if it blots out the atonement. The revealed truth of God is that without the atonement He cannot forgive— He would contradict His nature if He did. The only way we can be forgiven is by being brought back to God through the atonement of the Cross. God’s forgiveness is possible only in the supernatural realm.
Compared with the miracle of the forgiveness of sin, the experience of sanctification is small. Sanctification is simply the wonderful expression or evidence of the forgiveness of sins in a human life. But the thing that awakens the deepest fountain of gratitude in a human being is that God has forgiven his sin. Paul never got away from this. Once you realize all that it cost God to forgive you, you will be held as in a vise, constrained by the love of God.
神的赦免
我們藉這愛子的血……過犯得以赦免。 （弗一7）
別以為神既是父親－－他既是這樣慈愛，必會赦免我們。這種情感作用在新約是沒有的。神赦免我們，唯一的根源就是基督十字架上的大悲劇；若把赦免放在任何別的根據上，是無形的褻瀆。神赦免哦我們，唯一原因是叫我們重生與他相和好，是藉基督的十字架，此外別無他法。赦免是多麼容易接受的事，可是卻付上加略山的苦楚。我們接受赦罪，接受所賜的聖靈，憑單純的信心得以成聖，卻忘記了是神付出極大的代價為我們成就的。
赦免是神恩典的神聖奇蹟：他要付出基督的十字架，才能赦罪，而仍不失為聖潔的神。切勿接受一個把救贖刪去，只以神為父的觀點。神的啟示是他不能赦免；若赦免就違反他的本性。我們蒙赦的唯一途徑，是藉救贖歸回神。神的赦免惟有在超然的領域上，才不反其自然。
若拿赦罪的奇蹟來比較，成聖的經歷就顯得微不足道。成聖不過是人生命蒙赦罪之後奇妙的表現，在人心中挑起最深感激的，該是神赦免罪。保羅從未忘懷這一點。你一旦體會神為赦免你的罪所付出的，你就會被抓住，被神的愛深深激勵。
祈禱◆噢，主啊，為著你透過主耶穌的恩典，向我顯明你至高的父性，我讚美你。噢，我因此可以成為天父的孩子了！
November 19, 2012
“When He Has Come”
When He has come, He will convict the world of sin . . . —John 16:8
Very few of us know anything about conviction of sin. We know the experience of being disturbed because we have done wrong things. But conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit blots out every relationship on earth and makes us aware of only one— “Against You, You only, have I sinned . . .” (Psalm 51:4). When a person is convicted of sin in this way, he knows with every bit of his conscience that God would not dare to forgive him. If God did forgive him, then this person would have a stronger sense of justice than God. God does forgive, but it cost the breaking of His heart with grief in the death of Christ to enable Him to do so. The great miracle of the grace of God is that He forgives sin, and it is the death of Jesus Christ alone that enables the divine nature to forgive and to remain true to itself in doing so. It is shallow nonsense to say that God forgives us because He is love. Once we have been convicted of sin, we will never say this again. The love of God means Calvary— nothing less! The love of God is spelled out on the Cross and nowhere else. The only basis for which God can forgive me is the Cross of Christ. It is there that His conscience is satisfied.
Forgiveness doesn’t merely mean that I am saved from hell and have been made ready for heaven (no one would accept forgiveness on that level). Forgiveness means that I am forgiven into a newly created relationship which identifies me with God in Christ. The miracle of redemption is that God turns me, the unholy one, into the standard of Himself, the Holy One. He does this by putting into me a new nature, the nature of Jesus Christ.
祂既來了
他既來了，就要叫世人為罪、為義、為審判、自己責備自己。 （約十六8）
很少人真懂得什麼叫做為罪責備自己，我們做錯事之後，只有煩惱；可是聖靈叫人為罪自責，把地上一切的關係刪除，只剩下一個關係，就是[我犯罪得罪了你，惟獨得罪了你]。人若這樣為罪自責，他的良心會告訴他，神不會赦免他。若神赦免他，他的公義感就比神更高了。但神實在赦免，這是要透過耶穌的死，使神心腸撕裂破碎，才做得到。神恩典的奇妙，在於他藉主耶穌的死赦罪，以致他赦罪，仍忠於自己的本性。若說神是愛，所以他赦免我們，這是很膚淺無稽的。我們若曾為罪自責，就絕不會這樣說了。神的愛等如加略山，一絲一毫不減。神的愛在十字架上完全表現出來，此外別無他處。神惟獨根據主的十字架而赦免我。在那兒，他的心才得以滿足。
赦免不單是我從地獄中被救出來，進入天堂（沒有人以這個看法接受赦免）；赦免的意思是，我得赦免進入一個新造的關係裡，進入與神在基督的合一里。救贖的奇蹟是神把我這不潔的人，改變成他的標準，是聖潔的；把新的個性－－耶穌基督的個性－－放進我裡面。
祈禱◆對於在世上為你結果子上，我是何等的無助，那麼的氣量狹小，而且毫不像你。求你赦免我，並且藉著住在耶穌裡面，願我多結果子，榮耀父神。
Very few of us know anything about conviction of sin. We know the experience of being disturbed because we have done wrong things. But conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit blots out every relationship on earth and makes us aware of only one— “Against You, You only, have I sinned . . .” (Psalm 51:4). When a person is convicted of sin in this way, he knows with every bit of his conscience that God would not dare to forgive him. If God did forgive him, then this person would have a stronger sense of justice than God. God does forgive, but it cost the breaking of His heart with grief in the death of Christ to enable Him to do so. The great miracle of the grace of God is that He forgives sin, and it is the death of Jesus Christ alone that enables the divine nature to forgive and to remain true to itself in doing so. It is shallow nonsense to say that God forgives us because He is love. Once we have been convicted of sin, we will never say this again. The love of God means Calvary— nothing less! The love of God is spelled out on the Cross and nowhere else. The only basis for which God can forgive me is the Cross of Christ. It is there that His conscience is satisfied.
Forgiveness doesn’t merely mean that I am saved from hell and have been made ready for heaven (no one would accept forgiveness on that level). Forgiveness means that I am forgiven into a newly created relationship which identifies me with God in Christ. The miracle of redemption is that God turns me, the unholy one, into the standard of Himself, the Holy One. He does this by putting into me a new nature, the nature of Jesus Christ.
祂既來了
他既來了，就要叫世人為罪、為義、為審判、自己責備自己。 （約十六8）
很少人真懂得什麼叫做為罪責備自己，我們做錯事之後，只有煩惱；可是聖靈叫人為罪自責，把地上一切的關係刪除，只剩下一個關係，就是[我犯罪得罪了你，惟獨得罪了你]。人若這樣為罪自責，他的良心會告訴他，神不會赦免他。若神赦免他，他的公義感就比神更高了。但神實在赦免，這是要透過耶穌的死，使神心腸撕裂破碎，才做得到。神恩典的奇妙，在於他藉主耶穌的死赦罪，以致他赦罪，仍忠於自己的本性。若說神是愛，所以他赦免我們，這是很膚淺無稽的。我們若曾為罪自責，就絕不會這樣說了。神的愛等如加略山，一絲一毫不減。神的愛在十字架上完全表現出來，此外別無他處。神惟獨根據主的十字架而赦免我。在那兒，他的心才得以滿足。
赦免不單是我從地獄中被救出來，進入天堂（沒有人以這個看法接受赦免）；赦免的意思是，我得赦免進入一個新造的關係裡，進入與神在基督的合一里。救贖的奇蹟是神把我這不潔的人，改變成他的標準，是聖潔的；把新的個性－－耶穌基督的個性－－放進我裡面。
祈禱◆對於在世上為你結果子上，我是何等的無助，那麼的氣量狹小，而且毫不像你。求你赦免我，並且藉著住在耶穌裡面，願我多結果子，榮耀父神。
October 24, 2012
The Proper Perspective
Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ . . . —2 Corinthians 2:14
The proper perspective of a servant of God must not simply be as near to the highest as he can get, but it must be the highest. Be careful that you vigorously maintain God’s perspective, and remember that it must be done every day, little by little. Don’t think on a finite level. No outside power can touch the proper perspective.
The proper perspective to maintain is that we are here for only one purpose— to be captives marching in the procession of Christ’s triumphs. We are not on display in God’s showcase— we are here to exhibit only one thing— the “captivity [of our lives] to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). How small all the other perspectives are! For example, the ones that say, “I am standing all alone, battling for Jesus,” or, “I have to maintain the cause of Christ and hold down this fort for Him.” But Paul said, in essence, “I am in the procession of a conqueror, and it doesn’t matter what the difficulties are, for I am always led in triumph.” Is this idea being worked out practically in us? Paul’s secret joy was that God took him as a blatant rebel against Jesus Christ, and made him a captive— and that became his purpose. It was Paul’s joy to be a captive of the Lord, and he had no other interest in heaven or on earth. It is a shameful thing for a Christian to talk about getting the victory. We should belong so completely to the Victor that it is always His victory, and “we are more than conquerors through Him . . .” (Romans 8:37).
“We are to God the fragrance of Christ . . .” (2 Corinthians 2:15). We are encompassed with the sweet aroma of Jesus, and wherever we go we are a wonderful refreshment to God.
觀點
"感謝神！常率領我們在基督裡誇勝。"林後2：14
對於一個為神工作的工人，他的觀點不能是接近他所能達到的最高，而必須是最高。要當心只是費力地維持神的觀點，要每天這樣做，一點點地，不要考慮期限。沒有任何外在的力量可以觸到神的觀點。
我們要維持的觀點乃是，我們在這世上單單是為一個目的，即成為基督得勝的軍隊中的俘虜。我們不是在神的陳列室裡，我們在世是要展示一件事－－我們的生命被耶穌基督絕對的俘虜。其他的觀點是何等渺小－－"我在獨自為耶穌爭戰，我要維持基督的事業，為他堅守崗位"。保羅說，我在勝利者的隊伍裡，無論遇到什麼困難，我總是在得勝中。這個觀念是否實際在我們裡面運行呢？保羅喜樂的秘決是神帶領他，一個雙手沾染了鮮血的反叛耶穌基督的人，成為了耶穌基督的俘虜，現在這就是他在世的全部目的。保羅的喜樂就是成為主的俘虜，對天地裡的一切再沒有其他的興趣。對於一個基督徒來說，談論如何得到勝利是一件羞恥的事。得勝者應當完全的得著我們，以致始終都是他的得勝，我們也藉著他成為了得勝者。
"因為我們在神面前，無論在得救的人身上，或滅亡的人身上，都有基督馨香之氣。"（ 15 節）我們被耶穌的香氣包圍，無論我們走到哪裡，都叫神舒暢，使人奇妙的恢復與神的關係。
The proper perspective of a servant of God must not simply be as near to the highest as he can get, but it must be the highest. Be careful that you vigorously maintain God’s perspective, and remember that it must be done every day, little by little. Don’t think on a finite level. No outside power can touch the proper perspective.
The proper perspective to maintain is that we are here for only one purpose— to be captives marching in the procession of Christ’s triumphs. We are not on display in God’s showcase— we are here to exhibit only one thing— the “captivity [of our lives] to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). How small all the other perspectives are! For example, the ones that say, “I am standing all alone, battling for Jesus,” or, “I have to maintain the cause of Christ and hold down this fort for Him.” But Paul said, in essence, “I am in the procession of a conqueror, and it doesn’t matter what the difficulties are, for I am always led in triumph.” Is this idea being worked out practically in us? Paul’s secret joy was that God took him as a blatant rebel against Jesus Christ, and made him a captive— and that became his purpose. It was Paul’s joy to be a captive of the Lord, and he had no other interest in heaven or on earth. It is a shameful thing for a Christian to talk about getting the victory. We should belong so completely to the Victor that it is always His victory, and “we are more than conquerors through Him . . .” (Romans 8:37).
“We are to God the fragrance of Christ . . .” (2 Corinthians 2:15). We are encompassed with the sweet aroma of Jesus, and wherever we go we are a wonderful refreshment to God.
觀點
"感謝神！常率領我們在基督裡誇勝。"林後2：14
對於一個為神工作的工人，他的觀點不能是接近他所能達到的最高，而必須是最高。要當心只是費力地維持神的觀點，要每天這樣做，一點點地，不要考慮期限。沒有任何外在的力量可以觸到神的觀點。
我們要維持的觀點乃是，我們在這世上單單是為一個目的，即成為基督得勝的軍隊中的俘虜。我們不是在神的陳列室裡，我們在世是要展示一件事－－我們的生命被耶穌基督絕對的俘虜。其他的觀點是何等渺小－－"我在獨自為耶穌爭戰，我要維持基督的事業，為他堅守崗位"。保羅說，我在勝利者的隊伍裡，無論遇到什麼困難，我總是在得勝中。這個觀念是否實際在我們裡面運行呢？保羅喜樂的秘決是神帶領他，一個雙手沾染了鮮血的反叛耶穌基督的人，成為了耶穌基督的俘虜，現在這就是他在世的全部目的。保羅的喜樂就是成為主的俘虜，對天地裡的一切再沒有其他的興趣。對於一個基督徒來說，談論如何得到勝利是一件羞恥的事。得勝者應當完全的得著我們，以致始終都是他的得勝，我們也藉著他成為了得勝者。
"因為我們在神面前，無論在得救的人身上，或滅亡的人身上，都有基督馨香之氣。"（ 15 節）我們被耶穌的香氣包圍，無論我們走到哪裡，都叫神舒暢，使人奇妙的恢復與神的關係。
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