有时候，一些成年后信主的人往往不愿意加入教会，因为他们感觉到，教会的人仿佛都是那么近乎完美的一群。
然而事实上，我们每个人都像耶稣比喻中的那个税吏一样——是个需要神的赦免和恩典的罪人。这就是为什么诗篇51篇总能深切地引起我们心灵的共鸣。它也帮助我们记得，哪怕是写下这首诗篇的、以色列伟大的国王大卫也并不比我们好——虽然他被誉为“合神心意的人” (撒上 13:14；16:1-13)。
如果我们已经属于教会中的一员，也必须谨慎，不要像耶稣比喻中的法利赛人那样，瞧不起那些我们认为有罪的人——因为我们人人都“犯了罪，亏缺了神的荣耀” (罗 3:23)，“我们若说自己无罪，便是自欺，真理不在我们心里了” (约一 1:8)。
凡是来到主面前承认自己的罪，承认耶稣是唯一救主的人，神就算他为义。基督的教会并不是一群雪白无瑕的人走在一起，而是一群蒙神拯救的罪人聚集的地方。
你经历过神的怜悯吗？如果有，就去把这个好消息分享给他人，好使他们也能经历吧！
主啊，我们为蒙祢的恩典得拯救这个确据感谢祢！感谢祢接纳我们的本相，又因着耶稣的名赦免了我们。奉耶稣的名求，阿们。
诗篇 51:1-9
1上帝啊，求你按你的慈爱怜恤我！按你丰盛的慈悲涂抹我的过犯！
2求你将我的罪孽洗除净尽，并洁除我的罪！
3因为，我知道我的过犯；我的罪常在我面前。
4我向你犯罪，惟独得罪了你；在你眼前行了这恶，以致你责备我的时候显为公义，判断我的时候显为清正。
5我是在罪孽里生的，在我母亲怀胎的时候就有了罪。
6你所喜爱的是内里诚实；你在我隐密处，必使我得智慧。
7求你用牛膝草洁净我，我就干净；求你洗涤我，我就比雪更白。
8求你使我得听欢喜快乐的声音，使你所压伤的骨头可以踊跃。
9求你掩面不看我的罪，涂抹我一切的罪孽。
"The tax collector . . . beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'" — Luke 18:13
Sometimes people who come to faith in Christ as adults are reluctant to join a church, because they feel that everyone else there has got their act together and is virtually perfect.
The truth, though, is that every one of us is often like the tax collector in Jesus' parable— a sinner in need of God's forgiveness and grace. That's why Psalm 51 rings so true in our hearts and minds. It also helps us remember that even the great King David of Israel, who wrote this psalm, was no better than any of us— even though he was called "a man after [God's] own heart" (1 Samuel 13:14; 16:1-13).
If we already belong to a church, we must also be careful not to act like the Pharisee in Jesus' parable, looking down our noses at others whom we think of as sinners— for we have all "sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:9).
Anyone who comes to the Lord, confessing their sins and recognizing Jesus as the only Savior, is justified by God. And the church of Christ is not a place where people have it all together; it's simply a community of sinners saved by grace.
Have you experienced God's mercy? If so, go and share that good news with others so that they can experience it too!
Lord, thank you for the assurance that we are saved by your grace. Thank you for accepting us as we are, and for forgiving us in Jesus' name. Amen.
诵读: 楚云
片头: 张妙阳
