9月8日 赐谦卑如孩子的恩典
赐谦卑如孩子的恩典
“我们从前也是无知、悖逆、受迷惑、服事各样私欲和宴乐，常存恶毒嫉妒的心，是可恨的，又是彼此相恨。”（多3:3）
唯有福音能配制出一剂膏药，将纷争的毒核从人心深处拔除。使徒保罗见证了他与弟兄们如何从恶毒的心态中得医治：“我们从前也是无知、悖逆、受迷惑、服事各样私欲和宴乐，常存恶毒嫉妒的心，是可恨的，又是彼此相恨。”（多3:3）随后，保罗详细写明了这医治如何临到：“但到了神我们救主的恩慈和祂向人所施的慈爱显明的时候，祂便救了我们；并不是因我们自己所行的义，乃是照祂的怜悯，借着重生的洗和圣灵的更新。”（多3:4-5）他的意思是说，若神在基督里向我们所施的爱未曾显明，若我们未曾被祂使人重生的灵洗净，我们仍会瘫痪在私欲的权势之下。
治死罪是圣灵的工作。“你们若靠着圣灵治死身体的恶行，必要活着。”（罗8:13）福音就是圣灵手中的献祭之刀，是神用来杀死祂百姓心中罪恶的“宝剑”（弗6:17）。
福音怎样将斧子砍向争竞，连同苦毒的根一并挖出；它也照样把导向平安与合一的原则，充满在那些拥抱福音之人的心里。这些原则包括舍己、忍耐和温柔。舍己使人宁愿别人得尊荣，而不求自己的荣耀；忍耐使人不轻易发怒；温柔纵然遭到冤屈，也依然为平安的回归敞开大门。
我们能看到这一整束甜美的香草，共同生长在一片苗圃中：“圣灵所结的果子，就是仁爱、喜乐、和平、忍耐、恩慈、良善、信实、温柔、节制。”（加5:22-23）这果子并非在随便哪道篱笆旁都能长出，它唯独从福音的种子中生长而来。
麦琴（麦克谦）读经计划进度
家庭敬拜：撒下2章，林前13章，
个人灵修：结11章，约12章
SEPTEMBER 8, TUESDAY
GRACE FOR CHILDLIKENESS
“We ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving diverse lusts and pleasures, living in maliceand envy, hateful, and hating one another” (Titus 3:3).
Only the Gospel can form a plaster to draw out the very core of contention from the heart. The apostle Paul testifies how he and his brothers were healed of malicious attitudes: “We ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving diverse lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another” (Titus 3:3). And then Paul writes in some detail how that healing came: “But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:4–5). He was saying, “If this love of God to us in Christ had not appeared, if we had not been washed by His regenerating Spirit, we would still be paralyzed under the power of our lusts.”
Mortification is a work of the Spirit. “If ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live” (Romans 8:13). And the Gospel is the sacrificing knife in the hand of the Spirit, the “sword” God uses to kill sin in the hearts of His people (Ephesians 6:17).
Just as the Gospel lays the axe to strife and digs it up by its bitter roots, so it fills the hearts of men who embrace it with principles leading to peace and unity. Some of these tenets are self-denial, long-suffering, and gentleness. Self-denial prefers that another be honored before himself. Long-suffering is that which makes one not easily provoked. And if gentleness is pushed by a wrong, it holds the door open for peace to come in again.
We can see a whole bundle of these sweet herbs growing in one bed: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” (Galatians 5:22–23). Now this fruit does not crop up in just every hedge, but only from Gospel seed.