12月2日 重生的三个果子
12月2日，周二
重生的三个果子
“凡信耶稣是基督的，都是从神生的，凡爱那生他的，也必爱那从祂而生的。”（约翰壹书5:1）
重生的第一个果子，就是我相信“耶稣是基督”。很明显，这里的“信”绝不仅是头脑上的同意，或只是理性上的认同。这样的“信”是指，如果我相信，那就意味着我是把整个人生交托给祂；意味着我确信自己已经得了拯救，因为基督已经为我成就了这一切。我看见了，离了祂，我就是迷失的、败坏的，是注定要灭亡的。这是一件极其严肃而深刻的事，是一种委身，是把自己的一切都押上，完全倚靠这个事实——“耶稣就是基督”。
重生的第二个果子，是爱神。约翰这样说：“凡爱那生他的……”基督徒明白自己本来是该下地狱的罪人；若不是神因大爱差祂的儿子来，他们早就该落在地狱中。他们晓得这是神在爱他们，因此他们也爱神；他们明白，自己的一切完全是出于祂。在我看来，这正是基督徒最基本的特征之一。无论他们如今的生活多么圣洁，当他们单单看自己、按自己的本相而论时，仍然觉得自己是该下地狱的罪人；他们深知，自己所有的一切都出于神白白的恩典，是神的爱使他们成为今天的样子。于是，他们不再把神看成要躲避的对象，不再以惧怕和敌意来看神，而是对祂满怀深切的感恩与敬畏。
最后一个果子，当然就是我们爱弟兄姐妹：“凡爱那生他的，也必爱那从祂而生的。”我们看见其他的信徒，就认出他们身上也有与我们相同的、从神而来的新生命和心志。我们知道，他们和我们一样，完全是靠着神的恩典活着；我们也明白，尽管他们仍然有罪，神仍差遣祂的儿子为他们舍命，正如祂也为我们舍命一样；因此，我们意识到，彼此之间有一个真实的属灵联结。即使他们身上有许多让我们不喜欢、甚至难相处的地方，我们仍然会说：“他是我的弟兄，她是我的姐妹。”
默想主题：
我们要常常记得：虽然他们仍然有罪，神仍差遣祂的儿子为他们舍命，正如祂也为我们舍命一样。
麦琴（麦克谦）读经计划进度
家庭敬拜：代下1章，约壹1章
个人灵修：弥7章，路16章
December 2, Tuesday
THREE FRUITS OF REBIRTH
Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. (1 JOHN 5:1)
The first fruit of the rebirth is that I believe that “Jesus is the Christ.” And obviously, believing that is not something intellectual or something I only do with my mind. If I believe, I commit my whole life to Him. If I believe, I know I am delivered because Christ has done that for me. I see that apart from Him I am lost and undone and doomed. This is a profound action; it is a commitment; it is a banking of one’s everything upon that fact.
The second fruit of rebirth is love for God. John’s way of putting it is: “every one that loveth him that begat . . .” Christians see that they are hell-deserving sinners and that they would have arrived in hell were it not for His great love in sending His Son. They realize the love of God for them, and therefore they love God; they realize they owe everything to Him. It seems to me that this again is one of those fundamental things about Christian men and women. However good a life they may be living now as saints, they still feel that they are hell-deserving sinners in and of themselves, and that they owe everything to the grace of God; it is God’s love alone that has made them what they are. They lose their sense of fear and a sense of enmity against God and are filled with a sense of profound gratitude to Him.
And the final thing is, of course, that we love our brethren— “Every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.” We look at other believers, and we see in them the same disposition as in ourselves. We realize that they owe everything to the grace of God, just as we do. We realize that in spite of their sinfulness God sent His Son to die for them, exactly as He did for us; and we are aware of this bond. Though there are many things about them we do not like, we say, “That is my brother, my sister.”
A Thought to Ponder: We realize that in spite of their sinfulness God sent His Son to die for them, exactly as He did for us.