双语灵修（葛培理牧师）：8 月 8 日 神圣自律

8 月 8 日

神圣自律

不要将你们的肢体献给罪作不义的器具；倒要像从死里复活的人，将自己献给神，并将肢体作义的器具献给神。

 罗马书 6:13

保罗是一位严于律己的基督徒杰出典范，他说：“所以弟兄们，我以神的慈悲劝你们，将身体献上，当作活祭，是圣洁的，是神所喜悦的，你们如此侍奉，乃是理所当然的”（罗马书 12:1）。既然我们的身体是圣灵的殿，就必须配得上住在我们里面的圣灵。这劝诫不仅要我们约束自己的身体，也要约束我们的心。我们必须像杰里米·泰勒（Jeremy Taylor）所祷告的那样：“让我的身体成为我灵魂的仆人，让我的身体和灵魂都服事耶稣。”

当你在罪中时，你的身体就献给罪。你的欲望被撒但怂恿而无法遏制。神赋予你的创造力在欲望的祭坛上被献给撒旦。从某种意义上说，罪人是一个献身的人，屈服于他私欲的渴求。但当基督进入人内心时，我们就要将身体献给祂。我们的身体常是一个叛逆不羁的仆人。若非通过严厉的管教，就无法控制它，使它完全顺服基督。我们必须儆醒，不让欲望败坏我们的良知，使灵魂枯萎，削弱我们为主做见证的能力。

也许很多事情是合法的，但是否合宜？它们可能会带给我们快乐，但会荣耀主吗？保罗渴望让自己所想所作的都荣耀主，以至于他说：若有一件事（嗜好）叫我的弟兄跌倒，我就永远不做。他已将自己的身体当作活祭献给基督了。今天，我们需要这样的自律。

亚历山大-麦克拉伦（Alexander MacLaren）是一位有影响力的浸信会牧师和作家，于 1910 年去世。 他清楚地阐述了有关自我牺牲的问题。他写道：“在基督徒的道路上，必须为神设立祭坛，并在那里把自己献上，否则你将永远裹足不前。”

今日祷告：

天父，求祢使我们在正路上行走，把自己当作活祭献在祢的圣坛上，这样，我们就能在祢的国度中前行；祷告奉主耶稣的名，阿们。

August 8

DIVINE DISCIPLINE

Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. Romans 6:13

Paul, who was a splendid example of a disciplined Christian, said, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1). Since our bodies are to be the temples of the Holy Spirit, they must be worthy of Him who indwells us. This exhortation calls for us to discipline our bodies as well as our minds. We must pray as Jeremy Taylor once prayed, “Let my body be a servant of my spirit, and both body and spirit servants of Jesus.”

When you serve sin, your body is dedicated to the service of sin. Your appetites, whetted by Satan, rage unthrottled. Your God-given creative impulses are sacrificed to Satan on the altar of lust. A sinner, in a sense, is a dedicated person, yielded to his appetites and selfish desires. But when Christ comes into the human heart we are to yield our bodies to Him. Our human frame is often a rebellious and unruly servant. Only through rigid discipline are we able to master it into complete subjection to Christ. We must guard against appetites which blight the conscience, wither the soul, and weaken our witness for Christ.

Perhaps many things are lawful, but are they expedient? They may bring pleasure to us, but do they bring glory to Christ? Paul was so desirous of making every thought and act glorify Christ that He said, “If an indulgence offend my brother, I will not indulge anymore.” He had given his body as a living sacrifice to Christ. We need that kind of self-discipline today.

Alexander MacLaren, the forceful Baptist preacher and writer who died in 1910, put this whole matter of self-sacrifice in clear perspective when he wrote, “All along the Christian course, there must be set up altars to God on which you sacrifice yourself, or you will never advance a step.”

Pray for the Day:

Father, I pray that You will keep us on the right path, sacrificing ourselves on the altar of living sacrifice, so that we can advance in Your Kingdom; in Jesus’ Name, Amen.