7月23日
標 題:藉著你的生命顯示神
經 節:就當恐懼戰兢做成你們得救的工夫。因為你們立志行事都是神在你們心裡運行,為要成就祂的美意。(腓立比書二章12下~13節)
救恩不是一個事件,而是一段過程。救恩是神的禮物,因為我們不可能靠自己做甚麼,來救自己(以弗所書二:8~9)。然而,得到救恩的同時,你也有責任要使救恩真的成就在你身上。我們一旦被拯救,就必要宣告救恩已經成為我們的了。
藉著救恩,神讓你勝過罪。這些罪不單指過去的罪,也包括未來你會犯的罪。當你成為基督徒,神使你成為新造的人(哥林多後書五:17)。當你與神同行的時候,神要繼續在你的生命建造新事。當祂救贖你的時候,祂賜下喜樂給你,祂要每日以祂的喜樂充滿你。當你第一次為罪悔改,你放棄生命的主權,將它交給神。神不斷地要求你的意志能順服、跟隨祂的引領,而不是自己決定人生方向。成為基督徒的那一刻,神已經將一切的事賜給你,要如何使用這些賜予是你的選擇(彼得後書一:3~9)。
這是在基督徒的生命中,看起來似是而非的理論。我們當勤勉地讓自己的信心成長,然而,我們得銘記在心,只有基督可以帶給我們生命最終的改變。當我們看到神在我們身上動工,要更努力地學習。神從來不會逼迫我們改變,我們也不可能不靠聖靈而徹底改變自己。
當你感受到神在你生命某一方面動工,添加祂的作為,讓祂的救恩在你生命中淋漓盡致地展現。
Displaying God through Your Life
Work out your own salvation with fear and
trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His
good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12b-13)
Salvation is not an event; it is a process.
Salvation is God’s gift, for there is nothing we can do to save ourselves (Eph.
2:8–9). Yet with salvation comes the responsibility to work out our salvation.
Once we have been saved, we must claim all that has become ours.
Through salvation, God gave you victory over sin.
That victory applies not only to past sins but also to every sin you will ever
commit. When you became a Christian, God made you a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17).
God wants to continually build new things into your life as you walk with Him.
God gave you His joy when He saved you, and He wants to fill you with His joy
daily. When you first repented of your sin, you relinquished your right to your
life. God continues to ask you to yield your will to Him and to follow His
leading rather than setting your own direction for your life. When you were
converted, God made everything available to you; how you implement what He has
given you is your choice (2 Pet. 1:3–9).
This is the great paradox of the Christian life. We
are to work diligently on our faith, yet always with the awareness that only
God can bring about lasting change in our lives. As we see God at work in us,
we are motivated to work even more diligently. God will not force His changes upon
us; neither can we bring about lasting change in our lives apart from the work
of the Holy Spirit.
When you sense God developing an area of your life,
join Him in His activity so that His salvation will be demonstrated fully.