NIV
靈修
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貼圖
為教會
Here again we have the two kinds of life. The first is described in the words, "Ye have received Christ Jesus." That includes conversion, forgiveness of sin through the blood of Jesus Christ, and acceptance as a child of God. Then comes the second, the walk in Christ, "rooted in Him," as a tree that must each moment receive its life from the earth in order to bear fruit. "Builded up in Him," who is the only foundation. "Stablished in your faith and abounding in it," by which each day the Christian by his walk and conversation proves that he abides and lives in Christ. As the roots of a tree receive life uninterruptedly from the soil, so the Christian receives his life and power moment by moment from abiding in Christ.In the confessions of Faith drawn up by the Reformers, prominence is given to conversion, acceptance of Christ. "Justification" and "justified" are words in frequent use. But the word "sanctification" is rarely found. Emphasis is laid on the doctrine of forgiveness of sin, of faith in Christ as our righteousness before God, but we find little about Christ living in us, and our life being rooted in Him. The Heidelberg Catechism gives the explanation of the Ten Commandments, but Christs commands in Matt. v. and John xiii.-xvi. are hardly mentioned.
Let us thank God for the Reformation as a time when the foundation truth of a crucified Saviour was laid, but at the same time let us go on to perfection, to a daily uninterrupted walk in Christ wherein we may abound in faith, experiencing the abun¬dance of grace from the fulness there is in Christ for us to enjoy daily. The earliest description of true godliness is in the words: "Enoch walked with God." So Christians must learn to walk in Christ daily, established in the faith and abounding in it.
Future things are hidden from us. Yet here is a glass in which we may see the unborn years. The LORD says, "From this day will I bless you."
Our days are few, and are far better spent in doing good, than in disputing over matters which are, at best, of minor importance. The old schoolmen did a world of mischief by their incessant discussion of subjects of no practical importance; and our Churches suffer much from petty wars over abstruse points and unimportant questions. After everything has been said that can be said, neither party is any the wiser, and therefore the discussion no more promotes knowledge than love, and it is foolish to sow in so barren a field. Questions upon points wherein Scripture is silent; upon mysteries which belong to God alone; upon prophecies of doubtful interpretation; and upon mere modes of observing human ceremonials, are all foolish, and wise men avoid them. Our business is neither to ask nor answer foolish questions, but to avoid them altogether; and if we observe the apostles precept (Titus 3:8) to be careful to maintain good works, we shall find ourselves far too much occupied with profitable business to take much interest in unworthy, contentious, and needless strivings.
In Jobs uttermost extremity he cried after the Lord. The longing desire of an afflicted child of God is once more to see his Fathers face. His first prayer is not “O that I might be healed of the disease which now festers in every part of my body!” nor even “O that I might see my children restored from the jaws of the grave, and my property once more brought from the hand of the spoiler!” but the first and uppermost cry is, “O that I knew where I might find HIM , who is my God! that I might come even to his seat!” Gods children run home when the storm comes on. It is the heaven-born instinct of a gracious soul to seek shelter from all ills beneath the wings of Jehovah. “He that hath made his refuge God,” might serve as the title of a true believer. A hypocrite, when afflicted by God, resents the infliction, and, like a slave, would run from the Master who has scourged him; but not so the true heir of heaven, he kisses the hand which smote him, and seeks shelter from the rod in the bosom of the God who frowned upon him. Jobs desire to commune with God was intensified by the failure of all other sources of consolation. The patriarch turned away from his sorry friends, and looked up to the celestial throne, just as a traveller turns from his empty skin bottle, and betakes himself with all speed to the well. He bids farewell to earth-born hopes, and cries, “O that I knew where I might find my God!” Nothing teaches us so much the preciousness of the Creator, as when we learn the emptiness of all besides. Turning away with bitter scorn from earths hives, where we find no honey, but many sharp stings, we rejoice in him whose faithful word is sweeter than honey or the honeycomb. In every trouble we should first seek to realize Gods presence with us. Only let us enjoy his smile, and we can bear our daily cross with a willing heart for his dear sake.
God shows us the troubles. Sometimes, as this part of our education is being carried forward, we have to descend into "the lower parts of the earth," pass through subterranean passages, lie buried amongst the dead, but never for a moment is the cord of fellowship and union between God and us strained to breaking; and from the depths God will bring us again.
Jesus warned us, ‘Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees’. Let us consider for a moment the possibility of leaven being found in our houses. We have been warned and we ought to watch. There are many ‘Pharisees, Sadducees and Herodians’, who are seeking to contaminate our houses, homes, and culture. We must continue to purge out leaven if we desire to have a worthy house.
We must learn to identify the contaminant of malice and wickedness as it comes into our houses. It is incumbent upon us to identify our predispositions. By this, we mean that we are all inclined towards and familiar with certain kinds of leaven. Perhaps your house is predisposed to disbelieve the word when it comes as the bread of heaven. This kind of leavening influence will never promote faith. Therefore, the word will not be mixed with faith.
In the most practical sense, we must discern the body, eating and drinking in a worthy manner. A worthy house is one which is alert to the contamination of leaven. It is a household given to keeping the feast and purging out old leaven; malice and wickedness. A worthy house will demonstrate the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Only then can the Passover Lamb and His blood effect a continuous offering and process of perfection. If we do not keep the feast then we will have no heart for a perfecting process. This process of offering and cleansing is to continue to the Feast of Tabernacles in the seventh month. Like the Israelites, we are to prepare the unleavened bread, the grain offering of our firstfruits, in our houses. This is truly the fruit of a worthy house.
During the time of the prophet Hosea, the children of Israel found themselves in a completely backslidden state. They had rejected the fellowship of Yahweh and lost the knowledge of God - Elohim. They had transgressed the covenant and dealt treacherously with the Lord. The people had turned to harlotry and begun to worship Yahweh the Lord as though He were equal, and even inferior, to Baal. So the prophet declared, ‘Come, let us return to the Lord [Yahweh]; for He has torn us, but He will heal us’. Then he implored, ‘Let us press on to know the Lord [Yahweh]’. This is most certainly our hope. It is our goal to know Yahweh, our Lord who is One. We can only do this by knowing Yahweh Elohim who is three individual and distinct persons in the fellowship of one life. We are included in the fellowship of Yahweh, but our fellowship is with the Father, with the Son, and with the Holy Spirit.
The prophet Hosea continued, ‘I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, and
in the knowledge of God [Elohim] rather than burnt offerings’. We must not assume from this verse that Elohim is in any way opposed to offering. It is the essential mode of Their life. Offering is the way that God gives. It is the most fundamental expression of the love of God. Offering is the work of God. It is the bread of Yahweh. Without a true knowledge of the fellowship of Yahweh and the community of Elohim, offering is meaningless. They are completely given to each other. Offering is Their way of life. We cannot know the Lord apart from Their offering. The covenant was cut and enacted by the blood of the offering of Elohim.
Jesus said, ‘Make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings’. He was not speaking about friendship with the world, for we know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God. Jesus was talking about using the wealth of unrighteousness to make friends for ourselves in the kingdom. If God has given us the power to make wealth, then we need to take initiative to do that. However, we need to be careful, because nobody can serve God and wealth. We cannot serve two masters. Our singular goal in generating wealth must be the increase of the kingdom of God. Wealth can only be understood as the things that belong to God given to us to steward. God must stand between a man and his possessions if he is to have real wealth; that is, ‘true riches’. Remember Jesus said, ‘My kingdom is not of this world’. This is the everlasting kingdom of offering. We are in the world, but not of the world. Our interest is only to priest an acceptable priesthood because that is the kingdom which cannot be shaken. When we return the material things of this world to the Lord, then we convert them by offering to the currency of the kingdom. By this means, the wealth of the nations is brought into the body of Christ. The prophet Isaiah said, ‘You will be called the priests of the Lord; you will be spoken of as ministers of our God. You will eat the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.’ Likewise, the prophet Haggai said, ‘I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory’.
Quoting from the prophet Joel, Paul declared, ‘Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved’. This is a powerful statement, extending far beyond a cry for help. Abraham, the father of faith, built an altar and called upon the name of the Lord. We cannot call upon the name of the Lord without presenting our body as a living sacrifice. King David was very specific about the nature of his offering when he said, ‘To you I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and call upon the name of the Lord’. And verifying that this can only be done in fellowship, he continued, ‘I shall pay my vows to the Lord, Oh may it be in the presence of all His people’. Calling upon the name of the Lord is our commitment to join Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. This is the ongoing reality of our baptism. We are united with Him in the likeness of His death; and likewise, we are united with Him in the likeness of His resurrection. We are being raised to walk with Him in newness of life. As we call upon the name of the Lord, His name is called upon us. This is the real meaning of baptism. We are clothing ourselves with His sonship. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul said, ‘You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ’.
