5月22日
标 题：神赦免的法则
经 节：你既藐视我，娶了赫人乌利亚的妻为妻，所以刀剑必永不离开你的家。（撒母耳记下十二章10节）
神饶恕我们的罪，其必要的条件是什么？答案是悔改。但就算是悔改，也无法保证你能够挪去罪。这些罪的后果常提醒我们那可怕、毁灭的罪性。
大卫的色欲、淫乱、劫夺和谋杀的重罪，得到神的赦免。神完全赦免他，并且完全挪去他的罪（诗篇一○三：12）。然而，神并没有挪走他的痛苦，他还是得承受罪恶的后果。大卫淫乱所生的孩子得重病死了（撒母耳记下十二：14）；大卫的儿子暗嫩玷污自己的妹子她玛（撒母耳记下十三：14）；大卫的儿子押沙龙谋杀暗嫩（撒母耳记下十三：28～29）；押沙龙结民谋王位（撒母耳记下十五章）。在大卫的余生，他的王国与家庭充满了暴力，虽然大卫知道自己的罪已被赦免，但终其余生，还是得担负起自己所犯之罪的痛苦后果。
假设在你悔改的那一刻，神会除去你每个罪恶的后果，那你是太一厢情愿了。别以为每次你一为自己的罪行痛悔，神就会让所有的事情恢复原状。祂不见得如此行。有些罪是根源于个性上的弱点，如淫乱罪等。因着你的悔改，神会立即赦免你的罪，但要创建一个人的德行，得花上更多的时间。你的品格是神对你下一步作为的决定因素，与饶恕无关。
我们既然清楚不顺服的可怕下场，让我们竭力避免犯罪，并且“存心忍耐，奔那摆在我们前头的路程”（希伯来书十二：1下）。
God’s Manner of Forgiveness
Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from
your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the
Hittite to be your wife. (2 Samuel 12:10)
What is required for God to forgive sin?
Repentance. But even repentance does not ensure the removal of the consequences
of sin. The consequences often remain as a reminder of the terrible,
destructive nature of sin.
David was forgiven for his grievous sins of lust,
adultery, robbery, and murder. God forgave him absolutely and removed his sin
from him completely (Ps. 103:12). God did not, however, remove the pain that
David would endure as a result of his transgressions. The child born of David’s
adultery died (2 Sam. 12:14). David’s son Amnon raped David’s daughter Tamar (2
Sam. 13:14). David’s son Absalom murdered Amnon (2 Sam. 13:28–29). Absalom
brought the kingdom into rebellion (2 Sam. 15). For the rest of David’s reign,
violence filled his home and his kingdom. Although David knew he was forgiven,
he bore the painful consequences of his sin for the rest of his life.
It is presumptuous to assume that God removes every
consequence the moment you repent of your sin. Do not think that the instant
you show remorse God will restore everything as it was. He may not. Some sins,
such as adultery, come from a flawed character. God forgives sin immediately
upon repentance, but it takes longer to build character. It is character, not
forgiveness, that determines what God brings next to your life.
Because we know the devastating consequences of our
disobedience, let us diligently avoid every sin and “run with endurance the
race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1b).
