從迷惘到信靠
信仰的分水嶺
經文
希伯來書十19-39
19弟兄們,我們既因耶穌的血得以坦然進入至聖所,
20是藉著他給我們開了一條又新又活的路,從幔子經過,這幔子就是他的身體。
21又有一位大祭司治理神的家!
22並我們心中天良的虧欠已經洒去,身體用清水洗淨了,就當存著誠心和充足的信心來到神面前;
23也要堅守我們所承認的指望,不至搖動,因為那應許我們的是信實的。
24又要彼此相顧,激發愛心,勉勵行善。
25你們不可停止聚會,好像那些停止慣了的人,倒要彼此勸勉,既知道(原文是看見)那日子臨近,就更當如此。
26因為我們得知真道以後,若故意犯罪,贖罪的祭就再沒有了;
27惟有戰懼等候審判和那燒滅眾敵人的烈火。
28人干犯摩西的律法,憑兩三個見證人,尚且不得憐恤而死,
29何況人踐踏神的兒子,將那使他成聖之約的血當作平常,又褻慢施恩的聖靈,你們想,他要受的刑罰該怎樣加重呢!
30因為我們知道誰說:伸冤在我,我必報應;又說:主要審判他的百姓。
31落在永生神的手裡,真是可怕的!
32你們要追念往日,蒙了光照以後所忍受大爭戰的各樣苦難:
33一面被毀謗,遭患難,成了戲景,叫眾人觀看;一面陪伴那些受這樣苦難的人。
34因為你們體恤了那些被捆鎖的人,並且你們的家業被人搶去,也甘心忍受,知道自己有更美長存的家業。
35所以,你們不可丟棄勇敢的心;存這樣的心必得大賞賜。
36你們必須忍耐,使你們行完了神的旨意,就可以得著所應許的。
37因為還有一點點時候,那要來的就來,並不遲延;
38只是義人(有古卷:我的義人)必因信得生。他若退後,我心裡就不喜歡他。
39我們卻不是退後入沉淪的那等人,乃是有信心以致靈魂得救的人。
信息分享
今天我們要思想聖經裡面其中一句最了不起的話──「惟義人因信得生」(哈二4)。新約多次引述過這句經文,而幾乎所有基督徒對它都不陌生。一般信徒不大熟悉的倒是前面的經文:「迦勒底人自高自大,心不正直……」,如果我們忽略了第一句話,就會錯過神向哈巴谷所說的話的真正意思,而如果把兩句經文連起來一起讀,你就會看到一幅圖畫的兩面──完全不信的人以及充滿信心的人。
你看到嗎?我們在這個世上生活,只能夠採取兩種基本的態度:一種是有信心的態度,另一種是不信的態度。有一位解經家如此指出:「我們要不就是根據自己對神的信仰,以及從中所得的結論來看待生命;要不就是將我們自己的看法建立在拒絕神、否認神的基礎上。」
這節經文顯然是信仰的分水嶺,或者有時被稱為「大分界」,把所有人都分成兩邊。我們的生命若不是以信仰為基礎,就是不以信仰為基礎。因此,生命就變成是──我們接受神對宇宙的統治,或者不接受。那些拒絕神統治的人,無論他們發覺與否,都是在過著充滿疑惑和恐懼的生活;而那些接受祂統治的人,卻在過著平靜的信心和信仰的生活。
「我們的生命若不是以信仰為基礎──就是不以信仰為基礎」
進深研究
路十七1-5;可九14-27;來十一6
1. 使徒有甚麼要求?
2. 男孩的父親有甚麼要求?
祈禱
慈愛的天父,我明白無論我喜歡與否,我都要站在分水嶺的其中一邊。親愛的天父,我要站在您那邊,因為沒有任何東西是在您的國度領域以外,特別是沒有任何值得擁有的東西。阿們。
From Confusion to Confidence
The Great Divide
Bible reading:
Hebrews 10:19-39
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,
20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,
21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,
25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left,
27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.
28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?
30 For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"[a] and again, "The Lord will judge his people."[b]
31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
32 Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering.
33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated.
34 You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. 35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.
37 For, "In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay."[c]
38 And, "But my righteous[d] one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back."[e]
39 But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.
Message
We come today to one of the most wonderful statements in Scripture: "the just shall live by his faith" (Hab. 2:4, AV). The verse is quoted several times in the New Testament and is familiar to almost every Christian. What is not so familiar is the statement prior to it: "See, he is puffed up, his desires are not upright...". And if we fail to focus on that first statement, then we will miss the sense of what God is saying to Habakkuk. Join the two statements together and you will notice that they present two sides of a picture - the man who is full of unbelief and the man who is full of faith.
You see, there are only two basic attitudes we can adopt to life in this world - one is the attitude of faith, the other the attitude of unbelief. One commentator puts it like this: "Either we view our lives in terms of our belief in God and the conclusions we are entitled to draw from that, or our outlook is based upon a rejection of God and the corresponding denials."
It is quite clear that this verse is a Biblical watershed, or, as it is sometimes called, "a Great Divide", with every single person being on one side or the other. Our lives are either based on faith - or they are not. So this is what life comes down to: we accept the government of God in the universe or we do not. Those who reject His rule, whether they realise it or not, live lives that are shot through with doubt and fear. Those who receive His rule live lives of quiet confidence and faith.
"Our lives are either based on faith - or they are not"
Prayer
Gracious Father, I see that whether I like it or not, I have to stand on one side of this Great Divide. I stand on Your side, dear Father, for nothing lies outside the domain of Your Kingdom - at least, nothing worth having. Amen.
Further study
Luke 17:1-5
Mark 9:14-27
Hebrews 11:6
1. What was the apostles' request?
2. What was the request of the boy's father?
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