8月25日 紧紧抓住基督
紧紧抓住基督
天父本性中的良善是一股极大的劝勉之力，使人依靠基督里的应许以得赦罪。
“让他持住我的能力，使他与我和好。”（赛27:5）神拯救的大能除了在基督里，还能在哪里寻见呢？天父已将大能加在祂的大能者身上；“凡靠着祂进到神面前的人，祂都能拯救到底”（来7:25）。切莫被堕落的天然理性误导，真正能救你的，并非神抽象意义上的绝对权能或怜悯，而是祂在基督里彰显的圣约大能与怜悯。你抓住了基督，就是抓住了神的膀臂。
诚然，当人思想神的本性就是乐于赦免和施恩时，天父本性中的良善便成为极大的劝勉之力，使人依靠基督里的应许得着赦免。然而，若没有应许将这怜悯借着基督施行在罪人身上，那么“神本性良善”这一事实，只能带给人冰冷的安慰。毕竟，神本可以将亚当的整个后代定罪下地狱，而丝毫无损于祂的良善。
神并未将祂神圣能力范围内所能做的事尽数行出，这当然丝毫无损于祂全能的荣耀。祂若愿意，大可创造出更多的世界；而祂没有这样做，并不意味着祂的能力有丝毫减损。若祂认为合适，祂本可以像拯救失丧的人类子孙那样去拯救堕落的天使。但既然神未曾为此发出任何应许，那么神本性中的良善，便无法给魔鬼留下丝毫指望，让牠们企盼神会行这事。
尽管如此，神的良善依然长存。有些人或因对福音全然无知，或因骄傲的理性而拒绝福音，他们抗拒了神借着基督的代赎使人得平安的道路，反倒指望在末日单靠神抽象的怜悯和良善得救。显然，他们从这种“没有基督的怜悯”中所能得到的益处，绝不会比魔鬼得到的更多。他们最终的灭亡，只会证实一件事：轻忽这借着神儿子宝血所成就的极大救恩，是何等虚妄与绝望。
麦琴（麦克谦）读经计划进度
家庭敬拜：撒上17章，罗15章，
个人灵修：哀2章，路22章
AUGUST 25, TUESDAY
TAKE FIRM HOLD OF CHRIST
The Father’s essential goodness is a powerful persuasion to rely on the promise in Christ for pardon.
Let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me” (Isaiah 27:5). And where is God’s saving strength but in Christ? The Father has laid strength upon His Mighty One who is “able also to save them to the uttermost that come into God by him” (Hebrews 7:25). Do not let natural reasoning mislead you—it is not God’s absolute power or mercy that will help you, but His covenant strength and mercy in Christ. Take hold of Christ and you hold God’s arm.
Indeed, the Father’s essential goodness is a powerful persuasion to rely on the promise in Christ for pardon, when the person considers that God’s very nature is forgiving and merciful. But if there were no promise to apply this mercy to sinners through Christ, the fact of God’s goodness would be only cold comfort. After all, He could have damned the whole stock of Adam and not impaired His goodness in the least.
It is certainly no blot to the almightiness of God’s power that He does not do everything in the spectrum of His divine ability. He could make more worlds if He wanted to; but He is no less powerful because He does not. And He could have saved the fallen angels with the sons of lost man had He thought such a design was fitting. But, having brought forth no promise for such a thing, the essential goodness of God affords the devils little hope that He will do it.
Yet God’s goodness continues. Those who, out of simple ignorance of the Gospel or proud reasoning away from it, reject God’s way of making peace through Christ’s satisfaction and then depend on God’s absolute mercy and goodness at the last day will, it seems, find as little benefit from this Christless mercy as the devils themselves have found. And their final destination will only confirm the futility of neglecting such a great salvation through the blood of God’s Son.