意想不到的拯救

作者:每日箴言   来源:普世佳音

“他们就哀声叹气,所以耶和华后悔了。” - 士 2:18

士师记曾七次告诉我们,神的子民行耶和华眼中看为恶的事(士师记 2:11; 3:7 12; 4:1; 6:1; 10:6 ;13:1),而每一次神都差派拯救者来救他们脱离愁苦。感谢神,祂有无穷尽的怜悯,足以覆盖我们对罪和愁苦不止息的迷恋。

然而,神的怜悯并不表示我们可以不断犯罪和不断蒙赦免,好叫恩典显多(罗马书 6:1-2);相反来说,神的怜悯激励我们去坚定我们的信心。我们恳求神赦免我们的罪,而藉着耶稣,祂已施行了赦免;可是,驱使我们行不义的权势是如此难以抗拒,以致我们可能会相信,神不愿意一次又一次赦免我们同一的罪行。

士师记(和整本圣经)告诉我们一个好消息:神又阔又深的慈爱,足以覆盖我们重覆的罪行。当神的子民屡次因犯罪受苦时,神屡次意想不到地差派被圣灵充满的士师来(士 3:10;6:34),一次又一次拯救他们。

诗人在诗篇 32:3-5说,在充满挑战的信心之旅中,向神呼求、不遮掩我们的罪或为罪找藉口,能带给我们不配得、甚至意想不到的赦免。假若我们不知道应该怎样做,或害怕把我们的罪带到神面前,圣灵会在我们的软弱中和按着神的旨意来帮助我们的。

祷告

主啊,我们为我们慈爱的救主和审判者耶稣基督感谢你,祂差派祂的灵,把我们因罪和伤痛导致的哀叹带到你面前。阿们。

罗马书 8:26-30

26况且,我们的软弱有圣灵帮助。我们本不晓得当怎样祷告,只是圣灵亲自用说不出来的叹息替我们祷告。
27鉴察人心的,晓得圣灵的意思,因为圣灵照着神的旨意替圣徒祈求。
28我们晓得万事都互相效力,叫爱神的人得益处,就是按他旨意被召的人。
29因为他预先所知道的人,就预先定下效法他儿子的模样,使他儿子在许多弟兄中做长子;
30预先所定下的人又召他们来,所召来的人又称他们为义,所称为义的人又叫他们得荣耀。

Unexpected Salvation

“The LORD relented because of their groaning... ” - Judges 2:18

英语音频 English Audio

Seven times Judges tells us that God’s people did evil in the eyes of the Lord (2:11; 3:7, 12; 4:1; 6:1; 10:6; 13:1), and each time God sent saviors to rescue them from their misery. Thanks be to God that his mercy is everlasting, that it covers our endless dedication to sin and misery.

But God’s mercy does not give us a license to keep on sinning—and being forgiven—so that grace may increase (Romans 6:1-2). Rather, God’s mercy impels us to persevere in faith. We implore God to forgive us our sins, and through Jesus he has done that. But the power of our unrighteousness can be so overwhelming that we might believe God doesn’t want to forgive our same old sins, again and again.

The good news of Judges (and the whole Bible) is that God’s compassion is wide and deep enough to cover our repeated sins. When God’s people suffered for their sin, time after time, God sent Spirit-empowered judges (3:10; 6:34), repeatedly and unexpectedly, to rescue them, again and again.

Crying out to God, not covering up our sins or making excuses for them, says the psalmist (Psalm 32:3-5), brings undeserved, even unexpected, forgiveness on the challenging road of faith. And if we do not know how, or if we are afraid to bring our sins to God, the Holy Spirit does it for us in our weakness, in line with God’s will.

Prayer

Thank you, Lord, for our compassionate Savior and Judge, Jesus Christ, who sent his Spirit to bring to you our groans of sin and sorrow. Amen.

诵读: 骆云秀
片头: 张妙阳


发布日期:2019-07-06