12月24日 悔改
12月24日，周三
悔改
“神啊！求祢按着你的慈爱恩待我，照着祢丰盛的怜悯涂抹我的过犯。”（诗篇51:1）
一个人若要经历基督福音中那伟大的救恩，有些事必须先行发生。有些事我们必须意识到、必须领会、必须确信，而这其中最首要的，就是“悔改”。
关于悔改这整件事，我们必须十分清楚。去查考圣经中任何一个归主的案例，你会发现其中总是包含着“悔改”这一要素。翻阅历代圣徒的传记，研读在过往世代中，那些在神的教会历史上举足轻重之人的生平，你会发现：每一个真正经历过神恩典大能的人，都是在生命中显明出悔改凭据的人。因此，我毫不犹豫地断言：没有悔改，就没有救恩。圣经从不把“悔改是否必要”当作一个可以讨论的选项；它不是先辩论、后结论，而是直接宣告：悔改是必须的。我要说，人若不悔改，绝不可能成为基督徒；人若不知道什么是悔改，就绝不可能经历救恩。因此，我要强调：这是一个生死攸关的问题。
施洗约翰刚一开始他的事工，就出去传讲悔改的洗礼，使罪得赦。这是为主耶稣预备道路的第一篇信息。马可告诉我们，我们的主、救主耶稣基督也到处宣讲：人必须悔改。悔改是绝对重要的。保罗到处传讲向神悔改、信靠我主耶稣基督。彼得在五旬节那天，在基督教会正式开展的事工下，讲完了第一篇道，当时有些人大声呼喊：“我们应当作什么呢？”彼得说：“你们应当悔改！”若没有悔改，就不认识救恩，也无法经历救恩。这是不可或缺的一步，是第一步。
默想主题：
没有悔改，就没有救恩。
麦琴（麦克谦）读经计划进度
家庭敬拜：代下29章，启15章
个人灵修：亚11章，约14章
December 24, Wednesday
REPENTANCE
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. (PSALM 51:1)
Certain things must happen before a man can experience the great salvation that is found in the Christian Gospel. There are certain things that we must realize, we must grasp, we must believe, and the first of these is repentance.
We must be clear about the whole question of repentance. Read the case of any convert you can find in the Bible, and you will always find that this element of repentance comes in. Read the lives of the saints, read the history of men who figure in the church of God in past ages, and you will find that every man who has really known the experience and the power of the grace of God in his life is always a man who gives evidence of repentance. I do not hesitate, therefore, to make the assertion that without repentance there is no salvation. The need for repentance is one of the absolutes about which the Bible does not argue. It just says it. It just postulates it. It is impossible, I say, for a man to be a Christian without repentance; no man can experience salvation unless he knows what it is to repent. Therefore I am emphasizing that this is a very vital matter.
John the Baptist when he began his ministry went out and preached the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. It was the first message of the first preacher. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we are told by Mark, went about and preached that men must repent. Repentance is absolutely vital. Paul went about and preached repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost the first sermon under the auspices of the Christian Church, and when he had finished certain people cried out, “What shall we do?” “Repent!” said Peter. Without repentance there is no knowledge of salvation, there is no experience of salvation. It is an essential step. It is the first step.
A Thought to Ponder: Without repentance there is no salvation.