19世纪英国布道家查尔斯·司布真曾说，宗教改革始于马丁路德在他的修道院内发现一本废弃的圣经。他一开始阅读，神的话就像一粒种子一样在他心中成长，其结果是一次转化世界的运动。
然而，希伯来书 4:12所描述的神话语的大能，与路德这粒种子的柔和形像有点不同。这节经文是“唯独圣经”这个基本概念的关键经文之一。在这里，神的话被形容为锋利、大能、精准的刀刃，它将真理与我们心中所怀悖逆的谎言区分开来。
只有神的话有这种大能——教会的传统没有，领袖的洞见也没有。正如路德所言，“一个有圣经的普通信徒，胜过没有圣经的最高教皇。”的确，在谈及他所开始的宗教改革时，路德说：“我什么都没做。是神的话成就了一切。”
神的话，也就是圣经，有着你在任何其它地方都找不到的精准和大能。你愿意它在你里面产生功效吗？请敞开心来读吧。让它来塑造你口中发出的话语和身体的行动。只有认识神的话并彻底活在其中，我们才能在每日的生活中事奉祂，讨祂的喜悦。
主啊，祢的话是活泼大能的真理，唯独它能刺透我内心的虚假。我为此感谢祢！今天，愿祢的话驱走我里面的黑暗，并播下真理的种子。奉耶稣的名求，阿们。
希伯来书 4:1-13
1我们既蒙留下，有进入他安息的应许，就当畏惧，免得我们中间或有人似乎是赶不上了。
2因为有福音传给我们，像传给他们一样；只是所听见的道与他们无益，因为他们没有信心与所听见的道调和。
3但我们已经相信的人得以进入那安息，正如神所说：“我在怒中起誓说：‘他们断不可进入我的安息！’”其实造物之工，从创世以来已经成全了。
4论到第七日，有一处说：“到第七日，神就歇了他一切的工。”
5又有一处说：“他们断不可进入我的安息！”
6既有必进安息的人，那先前听见福音的，因为不信从，不得进去。
7所以过了多年，就在大卫的书上，又限定一日，如以上所引的说：“你们今日若听他的话，就不可硬着心。”
8若是约书亚已叫他们享了安息，后来神就不再提别的日子了。
9这样看来，必另有一安息日的安息为神的子民存留。
10因为那进入安息的，乃是歇了自己的工，正如神歇了他的工一样。
11所以，我们务必竭力进入那安息，免得有人学那不信从的样子跌倒了。
12神的道是活泼的，是有功效的，比一切两刃的剑更快，甚至魂与灵，骨节与骨髓，都能刺入、剖开，连心中的思念和主意都能辨明。
13并且被造的没有一样在他面前不显然的；原来万物在那与我们有关系的主眼前，都是赤露敞开的。
"The word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit . . . it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." — Hebrews 4:12
The 19th-century English preacher Charles Spurgeon once said that the Reformation began when Martin Luther found a discarded Bible in his monastery. As he began to read it, God's Word grew like a seed in his heart, and the result was a world-transforming movement.
But this gentle image of a seed is not the way the power of God's Word is described in Hebrews 4:12, one of the key verses in the foundational idea of sola Scriptura, or "Scripture alone." Here God's Word is described as a sharp, powerful, and precise blade, dividing truth from the rebellious lies we harbor in our hearts.
Only Scripture has this power — not the traditions of any church, nor the insights of any leader. As Luther said, "A simple layman armed with Scripture is greater than the mightiest pope without it." Indeed, in speaking about the Reformation that he initiated, Luther said, "I did nothing. The Word did everything."
God's Word, the Bible, has a precision and power you will find nowhere else. Will you let it be active in you? Read it with an open heart. Let it form the words that come from your mouth. Let it shape the actions you take. Only by knowing and living in and through God's Word can we please him and serve him in our daily lives.
Thank you, Lord, for the living and powerful truth of your Word, which alone can penetrate the falsehoods in my heart. Let it drive out the darkness and plant seeds of truth in me today. Amen.
诵读: 楚云
片头: 张妙阳
