經文: 「我們應當離開基督道理的開端,竭力進到完全的地步……信靠上帝。」— [聖經·希伯來書 6章1節]
耶穌曾說過一個寓言,有個人把房子蓋在沙土上,結果一下雨,房子被雨水沖走;還有個人把房子蓋在磐石上,儘管風雨來到,卻屹立不動搖。顯然這兩種不同根基的房子,帶來截然不同的結果,也代表了兩種不同的生命。
保羅將他信仰的根基,奠立在上帝公義救贖的真理上,所以他說「我們又藉著祂,因信得進入現在所站的恩典中,並且歡歡喜喜盼望上帝的榮耀。」(羅馬書 5章2節) 這對迷途的罪人而言,是永不動搖的磐石,是永遠得救的根基。
以耶穌磐石為根基的房子,是怎樣的情形呢?在羅馬書五章12-18節中,保羅指出因救恩而得的平安,只不過是信仰的開端,他繼續指出亞當犯罪,我們的命運是死亡,連那不與亞當一起犯罪的,也在死的權勢下;同樣,我們與第二個亞當(耶穌)憑信同死同復活,更要蒙受極大的恩典,讓耶穌在我們生命中做王,這才叫有根基的生活。
在第六章他闡釋得更清楚,「我們若在祂死的形狀上與祂聯合,也要在祂復活的形狀上與祂聯合。因為知道我們的舊人,和祂同釘十字架,使罪身滅絕,叫我們不再作罪的奴僕。……這樣你們向罪也當看自己是死的。向上帝在基督耶穌裏,卻當看自己是活的。」(羅馬書 六5-11)
藉著與耶穌同死同復活的經驗,我們脫離罪的轄制,同時藉著聖靈,耶穌完全釋放我們不再作罪的奴僕,而把在基督裡的新生命,建立在救贖的根基上。弟兄姐妹們,羅馬書第六章只是淺談因信稱義的道理,我們需要更加進深地真正經歷福音的奧祕,在實際生活中切實經歷何謂與耶穌同釘十字架,何謂與耶穌同復活,如此才能真正過著靈裡聖潔、喜樂的生活。
—《 神 的 心 意 》
[每日靈修 11月17日]
作者:慕安德烈
編輯:榮華興
Scripture: “Let us press on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God.” — [Hebrews 6:1]
The parable of the difference between the foundations and the effect on the houses built on them will teach us important lessons about the two kinds of life. St. Paul lays the foundation of the house of God in the doctrine of Justification by faith in Jesus Christ. That is the one sure immovable ground upon which a lost sinner finds his eternal salvation (Rom. v. 2).
What is the house built upon this foundation ? Read Romans v. 12-18. There the apostle points out that Justification and peace with God are not everything, they are only the beginning. Then he goes on to show that as in Adam we died, so in the second Adam, Christ, we receive the abundance of grace whereby we may live through Jesus Christ. That is the life built on the foundation. He points out in chapter vi. how in Christ we have died unto sin: we are baptized into His death; and as we are united to Him by the likeness of His death we shall be united by the likeness of His resurrection. If we have died with Christ, we may be sure we really are dead to sin, but alive unto God in Jesus our Lord.
It is union with the crucified and risen Christ that sets us free from the power of sin, and through the Spirit, Christ Jesus releases us wholly from the power of sin. This life in Christ is the edifice that must be built upon the foundation of Justification.
How little is Romans vi. grasped or appropriated. We are ever ready to lay the foundation and be content with that. Nay, Child of God, our experience must be deeper. We must experience that Christ is our life, that we are crucified with Him, and in Him, and in Him are dead and risen again. That only will enable us to live a holy, godly life in the joy of the Holy Spirit.
— God’s Best Secrets by Andrew Murray
「 17 November 」