每日读经

罗马书第4章 — 一直因信称义

|

4 分钟阅读

我们该如何因信一直地被算为义呢?不光只是在一开始,而是在我们信仰的生活上始终如一。

罗马书4章中保罗提出了“因信被算为义”(4:3)。当我们初信主时,这个观念或许是最明显的。在我们有任何好行为以先,耶稣已经为我们死了。救恩赐下给我们。因着信神和祂拯救的大能,我们在祂面前被看作义人。当然,正如雅各长老所解释的,身体没有灵魂是死的,信心没有行为也是死的(雅各书 2:26)。要表明我们的信心,我们必须接受洗礼,祈求应许的圣灵,并且在我们的日常生活中学习以及实践神的话语。

难道“因信称义”到此就足够了吗?

我希望进一步地了解这个观念是如何在信主之后持续发挥功用的。为此,我将查考三位圣经人物的案例:摩西、大卫和约伯。

  1. 摩西被认为是世上最谦和的人(民数记 12:3)。他是神的朋友(出埃及记 33:11)。神拣选他来带领约两百万的人出埃及。透过他为以色列人向神所献上的许多恳求,我们看出他是一位充满怜悯的属灵之人。但是,因着他两次以杖击打磐石,他失去了进入迦南地的资格(民数记 20: 11)。在神亲自葬埋他之先神只允许摩西在毗斯迦山顶俯瞰迦南地的全貌(申命记 34:4)。或许我们会疑惑神为何对摩西如此严厉?毕竟摩西的急躁与沮丧是完全可以理解的,也是人之常情。然而,正是因为那次事件,神没有让摩西得以进入应许之地。

  2. 大卫犯下了双重罪:杀人和奸淫(撒下 11章)。之后他也承担了自己行为的后果:他儿子的死亡(撒下 11:15),家庭的混乱以及哀痛的国度(撒下 24:15)。然而他的罪却被赦免了(诗篇 32 和 51)并且依旧是合神心意的人(使徒行传 13:22)。或许我们可能惊讶于神对大卫的宽容,不禁好奇到神的底线在哪里?

  3. 一开始对于约伯的介绍说明了一切。他是完全正直,敬畏神,远离恶事(约伯记 1:1)。神甚至在撒但面前夸耀约伯(约伯记 1:8)。然而神允许他失去所以的财富,儿女,健康,最终甚至于他亲友的信任。他赤裸地显露,在死亡边缘喘息求生。在他极大的痛苦中,约伯向神提出许多问题。但是没有一个问题得到解答。神反而回问他许多的问题。他最终沉默无言,再一次地确信神绝对的主权。

假如神允许摩西进入迦南地会怎样呢?毕竟,摩西一生的忠心与功劳远远超过了那一次的情绪发作。假如神没有赦免大卫所犯的罪会怎样呢?因为他的过犯的确令人震惊。假如约伯真的得到了所有关于他为何受苦的答案又会怎样呢?毕竟他确实是个义人。

如果这些“假如”都是真的,我们可能会永远地相信一个人生命中的好处,例如:健康,财富和伴侣,是因着我们的“表现好”。我们可能会相信人受苦或者在生活中失意是因为他们是“坏“的,或者在神面前是缺乏的。于是,当我们自己遭遇困难与受苦时,也会开始质疑神的信实。如果基督徒已经在当做的事上尽心竭力,为什么他们仍然像其他人一样受苦呢?

苦难是神不断的提醒:我们一生都需要每天因信被算为义。在苦难中,我们要一直相信:

  • 神是良善的。他所怀的意念是赐平安的意念,不是降灾祸的意念,要叫我们末后有指望(耶利米书 29:11)

  • 万物互相效力,叫爱神的人得益处(罗马书 8:28)

  • 那位良善者已经指示我们何为善。祂所要的是我们行公义、好怜悯,存谦卑的心与神同行(弥迦书 6:8)

  • 神可以使无变为有,把绝望化为希望(罗马书 4:18)

  • 即使我们的善行已尽全力,它们也不过是相对的良善。在神绝对的标准面前,我们仍然显得不够(正如摩西和约伯那样)。因此,我们需要祂的恩典才能活下去(如同大卫)。

当我们在试炼与患难中仍一直相信神、紧紧抓住祂时,在神的眼中,我们就因信被算为义。

相关话题

相关内容

但以理书 第四章(英文)

但以理书 第四章(英文)

The story in Daniel Chapter 4 is perhaps not unfamiliar to many of us. King Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of the great Babylonian empire, the king of kings, being turned into a beast, how spectacular is that? It's not until we read through this chapter for ourselves that we realise something even more spectacular: this whole chapter is told by King Nebuchadnezzar himself. Daniel Chapter 4 is King Nebuchadnezzar's own personal testimony! Isn't King Nebuchadnezzar the infamous evil king? How is it that in this chapter he gives praise to the almighty God? Perhaps the first thing that should catch our attention from today's chapter is the repeated phrase in verses 17 and 32. The Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He wills. This phrase can even be said to be the theme of the whole Book of Daniel. This book is mostly set in the time of exile, when there seemingly was no longer any king over the people of God. Yet, in the Book of Daniel we see that though there was no earthly king ruling over Israel, God made it clear to these foreign kings that He is the almighty God. He was still the one who was truly the King. The outcome of this is that the evil king Nebuchadnezzar, probably the greatest and most powerful man during his time, writes this testimony for all peoples, nations, and languages to hear (Daniel 4:1-3). Imagine being a subject in the Babylonian empire, and receiving this declaration from king Nebuchadnezzar praising and glorifying the God of Israel. Though God's people sin against Him and are punished by being taken into exile, the name of God is still magnified. God is not put to shame. Today through baptism we have entered into the Kingdom of God. Yet, it is key for us to consider whether God truly is the King of our lives. It's natural to make many plans for our future, out of a desire to lead our dream lives. But for us Christians, the sovereignty and authority of God is something that we must be well-aware of and fully willing to submit to. If God doesn't let me get that job, are we able to accept it? If God closes the path towards our dreams, are we will to say "Let Thy will be done"? If God takes away all that we have, are we able to be like Job and say "Blessed be the name of the Lord"? If all this is causing us to struggle, remember this: God loves us. He knows what's best for us, He knows what we need. He has already given His life for us, and given us His precious Spirit to dwell within us. Having faith in God's love towards us gives us strength to submit to our King with full assurance that this is the best path for us, this is the way to blessing and to eternal life. Since our God is the highest and rules over the kingdom of man, what then should our response ought to be? Nebuchadnezzar begins and ends his testimony by praising and glorifying God. Giving praises to God is something that we have been often taught but perhaps we have not given enough thought to or taken seriously enough. Yet, throughout the Bible, it's clear that praises are a key part of our worship to God (just read the Book of Psalms). What might we praise God for? Like Nebuchadnezzar, we can praise God for His greatness and His almightiness. Just consider the stars, or the intricacies of the human body. We can praise God for His love and wisdom as seen in His creation as well as in His word. The more we study into the holy scriptures, the more we are filled with awe at how complete, connected, and wonderful these life-giving words are. We can also glorify God for His salvation which He has so freely given to us. Imagine how different our lives might be today if not for His grace and mercy! It's when we decide to finally take the importance of praising God seriously and intentionally set aside some time in our daily prayers to praise God, that we truly experience the blessing that comes along with it. We go through life being filled with joy and gratitude, knowing that we have such a great and powerful Heavenly Father who loves us. In fact, it was when Nebuchadnezzar took the glory for Himself rather than giving all glory to God, that the infamous transformation into a beast took place. This brings us nicely to the final point of reflection for this devotional. Pride - when we take glory for ourselves rather than giving glory to God. Nebuchadnezzar's testimony serves as a stark warning for us. Even just a sentence or thought of pride can greatly displease God. How often have we unknowingly taken credit for ourselves for any achievements we have, or for any divine work that we do? Being puffed up with pride and not keeping to one's proper domain is precisely the sin of satan (1 Tim 3:6, Jude 6-7). If we are filled with pride, what difference is there between us and satan? In fact, while satan exalted himself, God on the contrary lowered Himself, coming in the likeness of man and humbling Himself even to the point of death (Phil 2:5-8). Whose example do we want to follow, that of God or of satan? Let us take warning from the story of Nebuchadnezzar and carefully consider who's example we want to follow. Indeed, God opposes the proud while giving grace to the humble. He blesses the meek, that they might inherit the earth .

关于本会

我们是真耶稣教会,一间建立在耶稣与使徒们的教导上的全球性非宗派教会。藉由圣灵创立,我们的使命是把全备的救恩真理传向地极/世界尽头。

关于本会

We have four places of worship, and we gather for Sabbath and night worship services. We welcome you to join us for any of our in-person services!

参与崇拜聚会