6月8日 罪的丑陋
罪的丑陋
纯全的心，并非蒙蔽了神的双眼，使祂看不见圣徒的罪，而是使祂以体恤的怜悯而非震怒来对待这些罪。
罪，这辖制灵魂的暴君，极大地毁坏了人原本美好的面容，使人不再像神起初创造时那般荣美，正如地狱的恶魔已完全丧失了它当初在天上还作圣洁天使时的模样。但基督因着祂的恩典，已亲自担当了医治之工，来抚平罪在人性中所造成的创伤。祂医治的大能正运行在祂的选民身上，然而，这医治目前在今生尚未达到毫无疤痕的完美境地。这些残余的疤痕，正是需要用纯全的心去遮盖的“不美观之处”。
赦罪的怜悯总是热切地拥抱真实无伪的灵魂。基督是那位遮盖我们失败与罪过的主，但祂唯独将自己的公义之袍，披在那些内心纯全的人身上：“得赦免其过、遮盖其罪的，这人是有福的！凡心里没有诡诈，耶和华不算为有罪的，这人是有福的！”（诗32:1-2）人人都喜欢相信这段经文前半句的应许，但请注意领受这怜悯的前提条件：“心里没有诡诈”。因此，是基督的公义遮盖了我们那可耻不义的赤身露体，而信心则是穿上这件义袍的恩典之手。
神接纳纯全的人为圣洁和公义，尽管他尚未完全脱离罪的残余。正如神绝不会将圣徒的罪误认为是他的纯全，同样，神也绝不会因着这罪就剥夺他圣徒的身份。比如，圣经记载约伯曾落入罪的坑中，但神看见约伯在过犯中仍夹带着内心的纯全，便仍然称他为完全人。
纯全的心，并非蒙蔽了神的双眼，使祂看不见圣徒的罪，而是使祂以体恤的怜悯而非震怒来对待这些罪。这就像一位丈夫确知妻子对他的忠贞，便会体贴她的软弱，依然将她视作贤妻来珍爱。神说：“在这一切的事上约伯并不犯罪，也不以神为愚妄。”（伯1:22）在这场属灵争战结束时，神也为约伯作了有利的见证，宣告祂的仆人说：“你们议论我不如我的仆人约伯说的是。”（伯42:7）约伯自己察觉到了在自己的热忱之中存在着软弱与失败，这促使他在神面前认罪悔改，而不是放肆地滥用神的怜悯。然而，神却看中了约伯的纯全。
麦琴（麦克谦）读经计划进度
家庭敬拜：申12章，诗97-98章，
个人灵修：赛40章，启10章
JUNE 8, MONDAY
SIN’S UGLINESS
Sincerity does not blind God so He can not see the saint’s sin, but makes Him consider it with compassion instead of anger.
The soul-master of sin has so marred man’s sweet countenance that it is no more like the comeliness God created than the fiend of hell’s similarity to the holy angel which he had been in heaven. But by His grace Christ has undertaken to heal this wound which sin has given to man’s nature. His healing power is at work in his elect, but the cure is not yet so complete that no scars remain; this, then, is the uncomeliness which sincerity covers.
Pardoning mercy eagerly embraces sincerity. Christ is the One who covers our failures and sins, but He throws His garment of righteousness only over the sincere soul: “Blessed is he… whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity.” Everyone likes to believe this, but notice the requirement of receiving this mercy: “… in whose spirit there is no guile” (Psalm 32:1–2). Thus Christ’s righteousness covers the nakedness of our shameful unrighteousness, but faith is the grace which puts this garment on.
God approves of the sincere man as holy and righteous even though he is not totally free of sin. And just as God does not mistake the saint’s sin for sincerity, neither does He unsaint him for it. For instance, Scripture recorded that Job fell into the pit of sin, but God saw sincerity mixed with his transgression and judged him perfect.
Sincerity does not blind God so He cannot see the saint’s sin, but makes Him consider it with compassion instead of anger. This is like the husband who knows his wife is faithful to him so he pities her weaknesses and cherishes her as a good wife. “In all this,” God said, “Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly” (Job 1:22). And at the end of the combat God brought Job through with the favorable testimony that His servant had “spoken of me the thing that is right” (Job 42:7). Job himself saw his own earnestness dashed with failures, and this made him confess his sin rather than presume upon God’s mercy. But God saw the sincerity.