八福
屬靈的心臟手術

經文
馬太福音十五1-20
1那時,有法利賽人和文士從耶路撒冷來見耶穌,說:
2你的門徒為什麼犯古人的遺傳呢?因為吃飯的時候,他們不洗手。
3耶穌回答說:你們為什麼因著你們的遺傳犯神的誡命呢?
4神說:當孝敬父母;又說:咒罵父母的,必治死他。
5你們倒說:無論何人對父母說:我所當奉給你的已經作了供獻,
6他就可以不孝敬父母。這就是你們藉著遺傳,廢了神的誡命。
7假冒為善的人哪,以賽亞指著你們說的預言是不錯的。他說:
8這百姓用嘴唇尊敬我,心卻遠離我;
9他們將人的吩咐當作道理教導人,所以拜我也是枉然。
10耶穌就叫了眾人來,對他們說:你們要聽,也要明白。
11入口的不能污穢人,出口的乃能污穢人。
12當時,門徒進前來對他說:法利賽人聽見這話,不服(原文是跌倒),你知道嗎?
13耶穌回答說:凡栽種的物,若不是我天父栽種的,必要拔出來。
14任憑他們吧!他們是瞎眼領路的;若是瞎子領瞎子,兩個人都要掉在坑裡。
15彼得對耶穌說:請將這比喻講給我們聽。
16耶穌說:你們到如今還不明白嗎?
17豈不知凡入口的,是運到肚子裡,又落在茅廁裡嗎?
18惟獨出口的,是從心裡發出來的,這才污穢人。
19因為從心裡發出來的,有惡念、凶殺、奸淫、苟合、偷盜、妄証、謗讟。
20這都是污穢人的;至於不洗手吃飯,那卻不污穢人。
信息分享
今天我們要研讀八福中被認為是最崇高的福:「清心的人有福了!因為他們必得見神」(太五8)。
讓我們來思考一下,「心」的意思是什麼?聖經對這詞語的一般用法,是指我們生命內在的核心所發生的事。心不單是情感的所在,也是一切行動的根源。在我們今天閱讀的經文中,我們的主這樣說:「因為從心裡發出來的,有惡念、凶殺、奸淫、苟合……」(19節)。章伯斯博士(Dr. Oswald Chambers)說:「如果一個罪人真的想明白他的心,讓他花五分鐘,以不防避的姿態聆聽自己口所說的話吧。」路加這樣說:「……惡人從他心裡所存的惡,就發出惡來,因為心裡所充滿的,口裡就說出來」(路六45)。
有人說福音是新事物的宗教。牠帶給我們新的誕生、新的生命、新的盼望、新的喜樂,以及在末日時給我們新的名字。不過,在基督賜給他的孩子的所有迷人新事物中,或許沒有什麼比賜給他們新心更令人著迷。這個應許首先出現在以西結的預言中:「我也要賜給你們一個新心,將新靈放在你們裡面」(結三十六26)。可見,關於屬靈的事物,事情的核心都是由心而來。聖經其中一個最大的應許,就是基督說要改變我們的心。要記得,我們的主不滿足於在我們生命表面的修修補補,他的目的是潔淨我們的心靈。
「事情的核心都是由心而來」
進深研究
詩五十一1-10,十九12-13,七十九9
1.詩人的祈禱是什麼?
2.把牠作為你今天的禱告。
祈禱
我的父,我的神,我正在逐漸地被八福這「美麗的態度」薰陶著。我知道您還有更多東西讓我慢慢去發現。在我接受屬靈的心臟手術時,求您擁抱我。奉耶穌的名祈求,阿們。
The Beatitudes
Spiritual heart surgery

Bible reading:
Matthew 15:1-20
1 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked,
2 "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!"
3 Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?
4 For God said, 'Honor your father and mother'[a] and 'Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.'[b]
5 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is 'devoted to God,'
6 they are not to 'honor their father or mother' with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.
7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8 "'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
9 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.'[c]"
10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand.
11 What goes into someone's mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them."
12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?"
13 He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots.
14 Leave them; they are blind guides.[d] If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit."
15 Peter said, "Explain the parable to us."
16 "Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them.
17 "Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body?
18 But the things that come out of a person's mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.
19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.
20 These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them."
Message
Today we come to the Beatitude which is considered by many to be the most sublime of them all: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God" (Matt. 5:8).
First we ask: What is meant by the term "heart"? According to the general use of the word in Scripture, it has reference to what goes on in the core of our being. The heart is more than just the seat of the emotions; it is the fount from which everything proceeds. In our reading today, our Lord put it thus: "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality..." and so on (v.19). Dr Oswald Chambers said: "If a sinner really wishes to understand his heart, then let him listen to his own mouth in an unguarded frame for five minutes." Luke put it this way: "...the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks" (Luke 6:45).
It has been pointed out that the gospel is a religion of new things. It offers us all a new birth, a new life, a new hope, a new happiness, and, at the end of time - a new name. However, out of all these fascinating new things which Christ offers His children, none is perhaps more intriguing than His offer of a new heart. The promise is first given in the prophecy of Ezekiel: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you" (Ezek. 36:26). Quite clearly, when it comes to spiritual things, the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. Christ's offer of changing our hearts is one of the greatest promises of the Bible. Be encouraged: our Lord is not content with tinkering about on the surface of our lives - His goal is to purify our hearts.
"The heart of the matter is the heart"
Prayer
My Father and my God, slowly but surely I am coming under the sway of Your "beautiful attitudes". But I see You have more for me to discover. Hold me dose as I go through Your spiritual heart surgery. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.
Further study
Psalm 51:1-10; 19:12-13; 79:9
1. What was the Psalmist's prayer?
2. Make it your prayer today.
本文英文版權屬 CWR 所有,承蒙允准刊載。
背景音樂版權屬 讚美之泉音樂事工 所有,承蒙允准使用。

