八福
比雪更洁白!

经文
诗篇五十一1-15
1(大卫与拔示巴同室以后,先知拿单来见他;他作这诗,交与伶长。)神啊,求你按你的慈爱怜恤我!按你丰盛的慈悲涂抹我的过犯!
2求你将我的罪孽洗除净尽,并洁除我的罪!
3因为,我知道我的过犯;我的罪常在我面前。
4我向你犯罪,惟独得罪了你;在你眼前行了这恶,以致你责备我的时候显为公义,判断我的时候显为清正。
5我是在罪孽里生的,在我母亲怀胎的时候就有了罪。
6你所喜爱的是内里诚实;你在我隐密处,必使我得智慧。
7求你用牛膝草洁净我,我就干净;求你洗涤我,我就比雪更白。
8求你使我得听欢喜快乐的声音,使你所压伤的骨头可以踊跃。
9求你掩面不看我的罪,涂抹我一切的罪孽。
10神啊,求你为我造清洁的心,使我里面重新有正直(或译:坚定)的灵。
11不要丢弃我,使我离开你的面;不要从我收回你的圣灵。
12求你使我仍得救恩之乐,赐我乐意的灵扶持我,
13我就把你的道指教有过犯的人,罪人必归顺你。
14神啊,你是拯救我的神;求你救我脱离流人血的罪!我的舌头就高声歌唱你的公义。
15主啊,求你使我嘴唇张开,我的口便传扬赞美你的话!
信息分享
在我们继续讨论清心的意义时,我们要问一个问题:我们怎能确保自己的心已被洁净呢?历来教会都因为这个问题而引起很大的争论。那些认为罪已经深入人类本性的人说,神对罪唯一能做的是赦免。其他人则视心灵为一个战场,在那里肉体和灵性展开长期的争战。还有一些人好像约翰卫斯理(John Wesley)那样宣称,内在的纯洁可以借着神圣的恩典突然倾注而下。
相信这观点的人可以分为三大类:(1)相信纯洁是神的功劳;(2)相信纯洁是赐予的;和(3)相信纯洁是培养出来的。那些相信纯洁是神的功劳的人认为,基督将他公义的袍围在罪人身上,当神看他们时,便只看到他儿子那没有瑕疵的袍子,而看不到他们的罪。那些相信纯洁是赐予的人宣称,有一种经验等待所有信徒来经历,通常都是在归信之后,神会透过危机,将纯洁的恩赐赐下。这信念在卫斯理的发扬下变得很受重视。而那些相信纯洁是培养出来的人,则认为神在我们心灵中不断的工作,以缓慢但稳定的步伐前进。
哪一个说法才是正确的呢?我相信每个观点都有可取之处,倘若只是一面倒地看重某一说法,问题就会出现。神既会缔造和赐下纯洁,也会帮助我们在日常生活和经验中去应用和发挥这些真理。
「神会缔造和赐下纯洁」
进深研究
彼前一1-22;诗二十四3-4;提前一5,五22
1.彼得将纯洁与什么东西拉上关系?
2.保罗给提摩太什么劝告?
祈祷
神,我仁慈的天父啊,很感谢您满足我最深的需要,特别是我对内在洁净的需要。求您洗净我内心,以致我可以比最白的雪更洁白。阿们。
The Beatitudes
Whiter than snow!

Bible reading:
Psalm 51:1-15
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise.
Message
As we continue discussing what it means to be pure in heart, we ask: How do we ensure that our hearts are made pure? Great controversy has raged over this issue in every century of the Church. Those who see sin as having made deep inroads into human nature say that the only thing God can do with sin is to forgive it. Others see the soul as a battleground on which long-drawn-out hostilities take place between the flesh and the Spirit. And there are those who claim, as did John Wesley, that inner purity can be imparted by a sudden influx of divine grace.
Adherents of these views fall into three main groups: (1) those who believe that purity is imputed; (2) those who believe that purity is imparted; and (3) those who believe that purity is developed. Those who believe that purity is imputed say that Christ flings His robe of righteousness around a sinner and then God for ever sees him in the spotless garments of His Son. Those who believe purity is imparted claim that there is an experience awaiting all believers, usually subsequent to conversion, whereby, through a crisis experience, God imparts the gift of purity. This belief received great prominence under John Wesley. Those who believe purity is developed see the work of God in the soul proceeding along the lines of a slow but steady improvement.
Which of these is right? I believe that each view has something to contribute; it is when the emphasis is disproportionately placed that problems arise. God both imputes and imparts purity, and then helps us apply and develop these truths in our daily life and experience.
"God both imputes and imparts purity"
Prayer
O God my gracious Father, I am so thankful that You have provided for my deepest needs - and especially my need for inner cleansing. Wash me so clean on the inside that I will be whiter than the whitest snow. Amen.
Further study
1 Peter 1:1-22
Psalm 24:3-4
1 Timothy 1:5; 5:22
1. To what else does Peter relate purity?
2. What was Paul's exhortation to Timothy?
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