双语灵修（葛培理牧师）：9月24日 归信基督

9月24日

归信基督

你们得救是本乎恩，也因着信。这并不是出于自己，乃是神所赐的；也不是出于行为，免得有人自夸。

以弗所书2：8-9

恩典在于神，信心在于我们。神给了我们自由意志去选择，神赐给我们相信和依靠的能力。因此，在每一个人的归信中都有神和人的作为，但它们之间的关系仍然是个谜。

我有幸看到成千上万的人归信基督，但我仍然不明白神的恩典和人信心之间的奥秘，不过，我知道两者都有关系。

一方面，耶稣说：“到我这里来的，我总不丢弃他”（约翰福音6：37）。另一方面，他说：“若不是差我来的父吸引人，就没有能到我这里来的”（约翰福音6：44）。

我深信圣经教导归信的必要性，我对自己的归信绝对有把握，我同样确信，世界各地成千上万人的归信都是真实的。

圣奥古斯丁在一篇著名的文章中描述了自己归信的过程，他说：“我继续痛苦地抱怨，不停地说：‘多久？还要多久？还要再说明天吗？一遍又一遍地说“明天”，为什么不是现在？为什么不在此时就结束我的不洁呢？

“我哭着说这些话，心里极其痛苦，突然，我听到从附近房子里传来一个声音，是男孩还是女孩的声音我不知道，但那是一种歌声，一遍遍地反复着：‘拿起来读，拿起来读，拿起来读吧！’我站了起来，认为这肯定是神的命令，要我打开圣经，读我该打开的章节。

“我拿起书，打开，默默地读着我眼前看到的那段经文：‘不可荒宴醉酒，不可好色邪荡，不可争竞嫉妒；总要披戴主耶稣基督，不要为肉体安排，去放纵私欲。’（罗马书13：13-14）我不想再读下去，也没必要了！因为在那一瞬间，随着这句话的结束，仿佛全然一道信心之光照进我心里，驱散了所有不确信的黑暗。”就在那一刻，奥古斯丁归信了。

在此之前，奥古斯丁是一个放荡不羁的人，无论如何都不能被称为基督徒。他有文化，有教养，但他却是个非信徒。这次经历之后，他成为有史以来最伟大的基督教神学家之一。

今日祷告：

父啊，以前在我里面没有良善，但如今，藉着耶稣，因羔羊的血，我得着良善了。谢谢祢！父啊，求祢保守我纯净圣洁，让我为祢而活；奉耶稣的名，阿们。

September 24

CHRISTIAN CONVERSION

For by grace are ye saved through faith;and that not of yourselves:it is the gift of God:not of works,lest any man should boast.Ephesians 2:8-9

The grace is God’s:the faith is ours.God gave us the free will with which to choose.God gave us the capacity to believe and trust.Therefore within every conversion there is the working of the divine and the human;but their relation to each other remains a mystery.

It has been my privilege to see thousands converted to Christ,and I still do not understand the mystery of God’s grace and man’s faith.But I know that both are involved.

On the one hand,Jesus said,“Him who comes to me I will not cast out”(John 6:37,RSV).And on the other hand He said,“No one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him”(John 6:44,RSV).

I am convinced that the Bible teaches the necessity of conversion.I am absolutely certain of my own conversion.I am equally convinced of the genuineness of the conversion of thousands of people in many parts of the world.

Saint Augustine described his own conversion in a famous passage in which he said,“I continued my miserable complaining.How long,how long shall I go on saying,‘Tomorrow,’and again,‘Tomorrow’?Why not now?Why not have an end of my uncleanness this very hour?

“Such things I said weeping in the most bitter sorrow of my heart,and suddenly I heard a voice from some nearby house,a boy’s voice or a girl’s voice I do not know,but it was a sort of singsong,repeated again and again:‘Take and read,take and read,take and read!’I arose,interpreting the incident as quite certainly a divine command to open my book of Scripture and read the passage at which I should open.

“I snatched it up and opened it and in silence read the passage[Romans 13:13-14]on which my eyes fell:‘Not in rioting and drunkenness,not in chambering and wantonness,not in strife and envying;but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ,and make not provision for the flesh,to fulfill the lusts thereof.’I had no wish to read further,and no need;for in that instant,with the very ending of the sentence,it was as though a light of utter confidence shone in all my heart and all the darkness of uncertainty vanished away.”In that hour Augustine was converted.

Before this moment,Augustine was one of the most wicked of men.In no sense could he be called a Christian.He was cultured and civilized,but nevertheless a pagan.As a result of this one experience he became one of the greatest Christian theologians of all time.

Pray for the Day:

Father,in me,as I once was,there was no good,but now through Jesus I have been made good through the blood of the Lamb.Thank You,Father.Keep me pure and holy.Let me live for You,in Jesus’Name,Amen.