兩條路（2）
雷克-喬納
2023.1.31
耶穌給罪人以希望，因為祂是來拯救他們的。祂回來不是為了毀滅世界。祂走到十字架上不是為了譴責這個世界，而是為了拯救它。祂非常重視這個世界，包括那些背離祂的罪人，以至於祂上了十字架來拯救他們。這種從祂身上散發出來的大愛吸引了罪人來找祂。當真正的耶穌被舉起來的時候，祂將吸引所有的人到祂自己身邊。
耶穌是有史以來最聖潔的人。真正的聖潔吸引著那些在黑暗中的人，因為它呼喚著我們的內心，是我們被創造的方式，也是我們心裡都知道我們應該生活的方式。真正的聖潔不是以自我為中心；而是以基督為中心，以祂的方式自我犧牲。
自義使人厭惡。自義是自我尋求的結果，而不是尋求神。它建立在驕傲之上，而不是尋求神的恩典的謙卑。這就是為什麼耶穌似乎對罪人有無限的憐憫，但對自以為是的人卻沒有憐憫。
在人生道路的兩邊有一條溝。一邊是無法(lawlessness)；另一邊是律法主義。我們想保持在道路上，不掉進任何一條溝裡。然而，如果我們必須靠向一邊，讓我們遠離律法主義，因為它是一個最致命的陷阱，也是最難逃脫的。律法主義會使我們偏離生活的道路--十字架的生活--去反對神的工作，而不是去侍奉祂，就像反對耶穌的律法家和自以為是的人一樣。
使徒保羅在寫給祂的屬靈兒子提摩太的信中說："不但如此，凡立志在基督耶穌裡敬虔度日的也都要受逼迫。"（提摩太後書3:12）。耶穌的真敬虔使祂受到自以為是的法利賽人的假敬虔的迫害。今天真正跟隨耶穌的人也是如此。那些真正走在基督腳下的人被我們這個時代的屬靈法利賽人迫害的程度遠遠超過那些被罪桎梏的人。
當我們這個時代的基督教法利賽人認可我們的時候，我們應該更關心而不是高興。當現代基督教法利賽人認為我們可以接受時，這並不是我們被神接受的好跡象。相反地，我們可能上了自以為是的最大騙局，這是在自尋死路的盡頭。生命之路就是捨己，背起我們的十字架，為祂的緣故而不是我們的緣故做一切事情。對於那些發現自己在這個自以為是的陷阱中的人來說，這樣的挑戰是嚴重的。
然而，我們有這樣的命令："你們要追求與眾人和睦，並要追求聖潔；非聖潔沒有人能見主。"（希伯來書12:14）。追求和睦並雖不總是能夠與某些人實現和睦，但對主來說不是這樣。
然而，在追求和睦和我們都必須擁有的見主的聖潔之間存在著一種連結。在閱讀福音書時，我們可能認為耶穌沒有追求與法利賽人的和睦，但祂確實追求了。這種和睦不是來自於向他們或他們的方式妥協，而是來自於挑戰他們放棄他們邪惡和自以為是的方式。要把人從深深的靈性盲點中喚醒，通常需要對他們的生活方式提出最大膽的挑戰，甚至可以說他們是"偽君子"。然而，這樣做必須始終希望能喚醒他們，使他們認識到唯一能拯救他們的現實。
神愛所有的人，希望他們得救，包括屬靈的法利賽人。對那些跟隨基督的人來說，最大的挑戰之一是愛我們的敵人，特別是那些聲稱跟隨基督但沒有走上神的恩典之路的人。為了接觸他們，我們必須愛他們，追求與他們的和平，同時決不向自以為是的致命邪惡妥協。
WEEK 5
Two Paths, Part 2
Rick Joyner
Jesus gave hope to sinners because He had come to save them. He is not coming back to destroy the world. He did not go to the cross to condemn the world, but to save it. He valued this world, including the sinners who had turned from Him, so much that He went to the cross to save them. This great love which emanated from Him attracted sinners to Him. When the true Jesus is lifted up, He will draw all men to Himself.
Jesus is the most holy man to ever live. True holiness attracts those who are in darkness because it calls to our innermost being as the way we were created and the way we all know in our hearts we should live. True holiness is not self-centered; it is Christ-centered and self-sacrificing the way He is.
Self-righteousness repels people. Self-righteousness is the result of self-seeking rather than seeking God. It is built on pride rather than humility which seeks the grace of God. That is why Jesus seemed to have unlimited mercy for sinners, yet none for the self-righteous.
There is a ditch on either side of the path of life. On one side is lawlessness; on the other side is legalism. We want to stay on the path and not fall into either ditch. However, if we must lean to one side, let us lean away from legalism since it is a most deadly trap and the most difficult to escape. Legalism will lead us away from the path of life—the life of the cross—to oppose the work of God rather than to serve Him, much like the legalists and self-righteous who opposed Jesus.
The apostle Paul wrote to his spiritual son, Timothy, saying, “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (II Timothy 3:12). The true godliness of Jesus led Him to be persecuted by the false godliness of the self-righteous Pharisees. The same is true for those who truly follow Jesus today. Those who truly walk in the footsteps of Christ are persecuted by the spiritual Pharisees of our time far more than by those shackled by sin.
When the Christian Pharisees of our time grant us their approval, we should be more concerned than glad. When the modern Christian Pharisees find us acceptable, that is not a good sign that we are acceptable to God. Instead, we may have fallen for the greatest deception of self-righteousness, which is at the end of the self-seeking trail. The path of life is one of denying ourselves, taking up our crosses, and doing all things for His sake, not ours. Such is a serious challenge for those who find themselves in this trap of self-righteousness.
Yet we have this command to “pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).Again, pursuing peace is not always achieving it. It is not always possible to achieve peace with some, just as it was not for the Lord.
However, there is a link between pursuing peace and the sanctification we all must have to see the Lord. While reading the Gospels, we may think that Jesus did not pursue peace with the Pharisees, but He did. Such peace does not come from compromising with them or their ways, but from challenging them to forsake their evil and self-righteous ways. To awaken people from deep spiritual blindness usually requires the boldest challenges to the way they live, even to the point of calling them “hypocrites.” However, this must always be done in the hope of awakening them to the only reality that can deliver them.
God loves all men and desires that they be saved, including spiritual Pharisees. One of the greatest challenges for those who follow Christ is to love our enemies, especially those who claim to follow Christ but are not on the path to God’s grace. To reach them, we must love and pursue peace with them, while never compromising with the deadly evil of self-righteousness.