晨興聖言-經歷、享受並彰顯基督(四)(W48-2)
第四十八週.週二
晨興餧養
林前三14 『人在那根基上所建造的工程若存得住,他就要得賞賜。』
林後五10 『因為我們眾人,必要在基督的審判臺前顯露出來,叫各人按著本身所行的,或善或惡,受到應得的報應。』
有的人以為,〔林前三章十五節上半的〕受虧損就是不得救,就是滅亡。然而,事實是我們仍然是得救的,『只是這樣得救,要像從火裏經過的一樣。』(15下。)…我們得救之後還有些大問題要顧到;我們的行為是問題,我們的工作也是問題。主回來時,會有一個審判;在那個審判裏,祂要決定我們得賞賜或受懲罰。
不信的人要在一千年以後,在白色大寶座前受審判。(啟二十11~15。)但主耶穌要在審判臺前審判祂所有的信徒。〔林後五10。〕在基督審判臺前,要斷定我們該受的報應是甚麼—在要來的國度裏享受,或是受某些刑罰。(新約總論第十四冊,四○六頁。)
信息選讀
聖經在積極一面說到得勝者要作王一千年,但在消極一面論到懲罰時,卻沒有說要持續多久。不過照推論,我們能確信,受懲罰必定是在千年國的時候。…在原則上…,主鼓勵我們與祂合作,並警告我們不與祂合作的虧損。
將來的懲罰對我們應當是警惕和警告。我們應當看見,得救後若不出代價追求得勝,並忠信為主作工,將來總歸要受虧損,並且那虧損會厲害到一個地步,讓我們覺得好像是從火裏經過的一樣。(林前三15。)聖經也說,我們若仍犯罪,留戀在罪中,就有火臨到,要像鹽一樣醃我們,(可九49,)除淨我們身上罪惡的細菌。至於在何處受火的刑罰,是用甚麼樣的火,我們不必太追究。…這些關乎賞罰的話都是對…追求者講的。因此,我們不要隨便對人講這些話,乃要先幫助人有飢渴追求的心。當他們的心被激起要追求主時,纔把主在山上以及在屋裏(太五1,十三36)…所講的話,講給他們聽。
賞罰是按照神的思路,根據神的智慧所定規。神的智慧所以這樣定規,主要是為了激勵人,或說強迫人來與祂合作。因為在神的救恩裏有一部分是要人放下自己,撇下一切,來與祂合作,神纔能把祂自己作到人裏面。這件事在人身上是很難的,所以神就在祂恩典的經營裏,智慧的定規了賞罰。神用賞賜來激勵、吸引人出代價放下自己,撇下一切,也用懲罰來強迫人撇下一切,脫去罪惡。這是第一面的用意。
賞罰第二面的用意,乃是要在神兒女的身上彰顯神的公義。不要以為我們既是神的兒女,所以得救後就沒有問題了。若是這樣,神在我們身上好像就只有籠統的恩典,沒有清明的公義;神的兒女在地上的生活工作到底是否蒙神稱許,也沒有清楚明白的分別。但神不是糊塗的,祂把事情分別得非常清楚明白,祂之所以定規將來有賞罰,就是要在我們身上彰顯祂清明的公義。(李常受文集一九五五年第三冊,五○至五二頁。)
參讀:聖經中四個『七』的豫言,第一篇。
WEEK 48 — DAY 2
Morning Nourishment
1 Cor. 3:14 If anyone’s work which he has built upon the foundation remains, he will receive a reward.
2 Cor. 5:10 For we must all be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done through the body according to what he has practiced, whether good or bad.
Some think that to suffer loss [in 1 Corinthians 3:15a] is to lose one’s salvation, that is, to perish. The truth, however, is that we will still be saved, “yet so as through fire” (v. 15b)…After we are saved, there are still great issues to take care of. Our conduct is an issue, and our work also is an issue. When the Lord comes back, there will be a judgment. In that judgment He will determine whether we will receive a reward or punishment.
The unbelievers will be judged at the great white throne a thousand years later (Rev. 20:11-15), but the Lord Jesus will judge all His believers at the judgment seat [2 Cor. 5:10]. There, the decision will be made regarding what reward they will receive—the enjoyment in the coming kingdom or some punishment. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 4453-4454)
Today’s Reading
The Bible reveals that the overcomers will reign for a thousand years, but it does not say how long the punishment for believers will last. However, we can still infer that the receiving of punishment will definitely take place during the millennium…In principle, the Lord wants to motivate us to cooperate with Him and to warn us of the loss that we will suffer for not cooperating with Him.
The possibility of punishment in the future should keep us on the alert and be a warning to us. We should see that if we do not pay the price to pursue to overcome and to be faithful to work for the Lord after we are saved, we will eventually suffer loss, which will be so severe that we will feel as though we are passing through fire (1 Cor. 3:15). The Bible also reveals that if we habitually commit sins and remain in the enjoyment of sin, we will be salted with fire to purge the germs of sin and evil from us (Mark 9:49). As to where the punishment of fire will take place and what kind of fire it will be, we do not need to investigate. These words concerning reward and punishment are spoken to… those who are pursuing the Lord. We should not speak these words casually to others; rather, we need to first help them to have a hungry and thirsty heart for pursuing. When their heart is stirred up to pursue the Lord, we can speak the words spoken by the Lord on the mountain and in the house (Matt. 5:1; 13:36).
Reward and punishment are determined according to God’s thought and wisdom. This determination in God’s wisdom is mainly to motivate or compel us to cooperate with Him. This is because there is a part in God’s salvation that requires us to put the self aside, forsake everything, and cooperate with Him so that He can work Himself into us. This is a very difficult thing to work out in us; hence, in the economy of God’s grace, reward and punishment were determined according to His wisdom. God uses reward to motivate and attract us to put the self aside and forsake everything; He also uses punishment to compel us to forsake everything and put off all sin and evil. This is the first aspect of God’s intention.
The second aspect of God’s intention with reward and punishment is to manifest His righteousness in His children. We should not think that after we are saved, there can be no problem simply because we are God’s children. If this were the case, it would seem as if God’s grace comes to us without a sense of sobriety or righteousness and without any consideration of differentiations in the living and work of God’s children. However, God is not befuddled; His approval is based on a clear and distinct realization of such differentiations. Therefore, God determined to have reward and punishment in the future in order to manifest His sobriety and righteousness in us. (CWWL, 1955, vol. 3, “Reward and Punishment,” pp. 42-43)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1990, vol. 3, “The Prophecy of the Four ‘Sevens’ in the Bible,” ch. 1
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