0726 纯洁之道
惟独出口的，是从心里发出来的…从心里发出来的，有恶念、凶杀、奸淫、苟合、偷盗、妄证、谤讟。这都是污秽人的…《马太福音15:18-20》
起初我们相信自己的无知，称之为无辜，接下来我们相信自己的无辜，称之为纯洁。然后，当我们从我们的主那里听到这些强烈的声明时，我们退缩了，说：「但我从未感受到在我心里有那些可怕的东西。」我们怨恨祂所揭示的。要么耶稣基督是人心的最高权威，要么祂就不值得任何关注。我预备好相信祂刺穿深入我心的话了吗？或我宁愿相信自己的「无辜无知」？如果我诚实地看我自己，将变得完全意识到我所谓的无辜，并加以检验，我很有可能会猛然醒悟耶稣基督所说的是真的，我会对在我里面可能有的邪恶和错误感到震惊。但只要我仍继续在我自己「无辜」的虚假的安全感之下，我就是活在愚昧人的天堂里。如果我从来不是公开地粗鲁和辱骂人的人，唯一的原因是我自己的懦弱，加上我从文明生活中得到的保护感。但当我在神面前敞开并完全暴露时，我发现耶稣基督对我的诊断是正确的。
唯一真正能提供保护的是耶稣基督的救赎。如果我就是单单地将自己交给祂，我将永远不必经历我内心那些可怕的可能性。纯洁对于我来说是太深邃了，以至于我无法自然地达到。但当圣灵进入我里面，祂将耶稣基督生命中所彰显的灵，就是圣灵，带到我个人生命的中心，这是绝对无瑕疵的纯洁。
来自章伯斯的智慧
亚伯拉罕信神的伟大之处，乃在于他预备好为神做任何事。《不知往何处去》
0726 The Way to Purity
Those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart….For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man… —Matthew 15:18-20
Initially we trust in our ignorance, calling it innocence, and next we trust our innocence, calling it purity. Then when we hear these strong statements from our Lord, we shrink back, saying, “But I never felt any of those awful things in my heart.” We resent what He reveals. Either Jesus Christ is the supreme authority on the human heart, or He is not worth paying any attention to. Am I prepared to trust the penetration of His Word into my heart, or would I prefer to trust my own “innocent ignorance”? If I will take an honest look at myself, becoming fully aware of my so-called innocence and putting it to the test, I am very likely to have a rude awakening that what Jesus Christ said is true, and I will be appalled at the possibilities of the evil and the wrong within me. But as long as I remain under the false security of my own “innocence,” I am living in a fool’s paradise. If I have never been an openly rude and abusive person, the only reason is my own cowardice coupled with the sense of protection I receive from living a civilized life. But when I am open and completely exposed before God, I find that Jesus Christ is right in His diagnosis of me.
The only thing that truly provides protection is the redemption of Jesus Christ. If I will simply hand myself over to Him, I will never have to experience the terrible possibilities that lie within my heart. Purity is something far too deep for me to arrive at naturally. But when the Holy Spirit comes into me, He brings into the center of my personal life the very Spirit that was exhibited in the life of Jesus Christ, namely, the Holy Spirit, which is absolute unblemished purity.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The great point of Abraham’s faith in God was that he was prepared to do
anything for God. —Not Knowing Whither, 903 R