7月25日 圣洁必关乎邻舍
圣洁必关乎邻舍
世人固然可以对邻舍秉公行事、以礼相待，但与此同时，他们却常常亏负了基督；他们虽有端正的品行，却并非受基督之爱的激励。
若仅凭外表对律法的遵行，犹太人、异教徒与基督徒的表现或许并无二致。既然异教徒与犹太人同样能成为孝顺的儿女、守法的公民和友善的邻舍，那么，将真基督徒与他们分别出来的独特记号究竟是什么呢？
使这二者截然不同的，是动机与目的。世人固然可以对邻舍秉公行事、以礼相待，但与此同时，他们却常常亏负了基督；他们虽有端正的品行，却并非受基督之爱的激励。若没有这爱，你充其量不过是个诚实守信、道德高尚的异教徒，却绝无可能成为真正的基督徒。
假设一位主人委托仆人将一笔钱还给债主。这仆人虽照办了，却非出于对主人的敬重或爱戴，而纯粹是惧怕背上偷窃的罪名。对债主而言，他的确结清了债务，但也仅此而已；就其内心的动机而言，他已经亏负了主人。世人每日也是这般轻慢耶稣：他们在与邻舍和同侪的交往中严守公道、一丝不苟，对基督却充满了怠慢与藐视。然而，真正的爱之所以能行出公义，是因为它内心深处渴望讨神圣洁之子的喜悦。
基督将在福音中对邻舍的爱称为“一条新命令”（约13:34）。我们对弟兄的爱，乃是被神对我们的爱所点燃的。除非我们先爱基督，并单单为祂的缘故去遵行，否则我们断不能真正守住任何一条诫命。诚如主所言：“你们若爱我，就必遵守我的命令。”（约14:15）
正如神在颁布十诫之先宣告了祂的名，基于同样的旨意，基督也将祂的圣名，置于基督徒顺服诫命的本分之前。换言之，我们之所以遵守这些诫命，是因为它们是基督的圣言与律法，好叫我们借此向祂显明我们的爱。正是这位基督，救赎我们脱离了律法的咒诅，更将我们从那比以色列人深陷埃及为奴之地还要可怕得多的捆绑中，拯救了出来。
麦琴（麦克谦）读经计划进度
家庭敬拜：士8章，徒12章，
个人灵修：耶21章，可7章
JULY 25, SATURDAY
HOLINESS MUST RELATE TO OTHERS
It is common for men to wrong Christ and yet treat their neighbors with respect and fairness.
Outward obedience to the law is a road where Jews, Christians, and heathens may be found walking along together. How can we distinguish the Christian from these others, when heathens and Jews also are obedient children, loyal citizens, and loving neighbors?
The motive and goal make all the difference. It is common for men to wrong Christ and yet treat their neighbors with respect and fairness; they choose right behavior but not because love for Christ has constrained them. And without this love you may be an honest, moral heathen but you can never be a Christian.
Suppose a man trusts his employee to pay a certain creditor a sum of money. The person does this, not out of respect to the command or love for his boss but out of fear of being called a thief. As far as the creditor is concerned he has done his job but that is all—his attitude has wronged his employer. Men scorn Jesus like this every day; they are exact and righteous in their transactions with their neighbors and associates, but insulting to Him. Love carries out righteousness because it wants to please God’s holy Son.
Christ called evangelical love to our neighbor “a new commandment” (John 13:34). This love to our brother takes fire from God’s love to us. It is impossible to perform any commandment unless we first love Christ and then do it for His sake. “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).
Just as God set His name before His Ten Commandments, for the same reason Christ set His name before the Christian’s obedience to those Ten Commandments. That is, we are to keep them because they are Christ’s word and law, and so that we may illustrate our love to Him who has redeemed us from the curse and brought us out of a far worse kind of bondage than Egypt was for Israel.