救恩

The Webster’s Dictionary defines Salvation as saving a person from sin or its consequences.

罗马书 5：8-10

“8 但上帝称赞他对我们的爱，在我们还是罪人的时候，基督已经为我们死了。

9 不仅如此，我们现在因他的血称义，也将因他而免于忿怒。

10 因为当我们是仇敌的时候，如果我们因他儿子的死而与上帝和好，更何况是和好，我们将因他的生命而得救。”

Suppose you committed a crime, and a judge sentenced you to a hefty fine or a year in prison.  If I paid the fine for you, you wouldn’t have to go to jail unless you rejected my payment.  Jesus paid the death penalty for our sins by his death on the cross.  Accepting this payment for your sins reconciles you to God.  Being reconciled means the separation is over.  You are now a friend of God.  Is that what you want?  So, the question I ask you is, who wants to be close to God?

让我们看看上帝赐给我们的救恩的伟大应许。

马太福音 1:21

“21她要生一个儿子，你要给他起名叫耶稣，因为他要把自己的百姓从罪恶里救出来。”

上帝派他的天使到玛丽那里，告诉她她会有一个儿子，他会把他的子民从罪恶中拯救出来。这个承诺的美妙之处在于它适合所有人。”

约翰福音 3:16

“16 神爱世人，甚至将他的独生子赐给他们，叫一切信他的，不至灭亡，反得永生。”

The beauty of John 3:16 is that “whosoever” is everyone.  Notice Jesus does not say if you are twelve years old, you cannot receive Salvation.  Instead, Jesus says “whosoever” comes to Him.  Whosoever means Salvation is for everyone, young and old alike.  There is no age limit.  So, the good news of the gospel here is that Jesus came to save young people too.  He did not just come to save people out of college or older.  Jesus came to save “whosoever,” which means anyone who comes to Jesus can have Salvation.  One might ask, “Why do we need salvation?” and the answer is so we can have remission of our sins and make heaven our home.  Each of us is guilty of committing a crime, although one might also ask, “What crime is that?  or say, “I’ve never committed a crime?”.  However, our crime is that we all have sinned against God.  No one can say, “I have never sinned.”  I know this first by my experience as a young person.  Before I gave my heart to God, I did not have power over sin, but second and most important, the Bible teaches us that all have sinned, which means we all need Salvation.  Another way to say it is that we all need to be reconciled with God at some time in our lives, but preferably when we are young.

罗马书 5:12

“12 因此，罪进入世界，死也因罪进入；于是，死亡临到了所有人，因为所有人都犯了罪：”

圣经教导我们所有人都犯了罪，但马太福音 1:21 如此美妙地向我们展示了耶稣来拯救我们脱离罪恶。事实上，罪使我们与神隔绝。

约翰一书 1:8-9

“8我们若说自己无罪，就是自欺欺人，真理不在我们心里。”

9 如果我们承认我们的罪，他是信实和公义的，会赦免我们的罪，洗净我们一切的不义。

God wants to cleanse all of us from our sin.  God’s forgiveness and His plan of Salvation are offered to everyone today.  Praise God; His Salvation is ready and available to all young people today as well.  One might ask, “What is sin?  and “How do I know if I am sinning?” Let us look at the following scriptures to help us understand what sin is.

雅各书 4:17

“17所以，知道行善却不去行的，在他看来就是罪了。”

God is calling all of us to do good and keep His commandments.  So if we know, we should not lie and do it anyway; this is sin.  If we learn we should not cheat and do it anyway, this is also sin.  And we also sin if we know we shouldn’t disobey our parents, but we disobey anyway.  In any case, if we do something we know we should not do, we are sinning.  The Bible is clear about what sin is and gives many examples for us to follow.  In the old testament, God gave Moses the ten commandments, and we can find explicit instruction from God.  For example:

• 在你之前你不能有其他的神。
• 你不得制作任何不属于上帝的雕刻图像
• 你不可妄称主的名。  妄称上帝之名 is cursing, and we shouldn’t do it.

上帝专门给年轻人的另一条诫命是孝敬父母，好让你在这片土地上长寿。

上帝将这个伟大的救恩赐给了每个人，为了公平起见，上帝向所有人明确了罪的定义。考虑以下经文。

加拉太书 5: 19-21

“19 肉体的作为就显露出来，就是奸淫、淫乱、污秽、淫荡、

20 拜偶像、巫术、仇恨、分歧、争竞、忿怒、纷争、叛乱、异端、

21 嫉妒、凶杀、醉酒、荒宴等：其中我从前告诉你们的，正如我从前告诉你们的那样，做这种事的人不能承受神的国。”

圣经对我们非常公平。耶稣给我们列出了我们不应该做的事情。所以，如果我们继续走在罪的路上，加拉太书教导我们，我们将无法进入神的国度。美妙之处在于基督来赐给我们胜过罪恶的能力。当我们将心交给上帝并接受救恩时，耶稣将我们从罪及其后果中拯救出来。我们不再与上帝分离，而是成为祂的孩子。我今天劝告你们，就像保罗多年前所做的那样。我们不需要继续犯罪。

希伯来书 3:13

“13 却叫今日，天天彼此劝勉；免得你们中间有人因罪的诡诈而刚硬。”

Paul urged the Hebrews to stay away from sin and praise God through the power of His Son and the blood He shed on the cross we can live each day free from sin.  Living without sin means we do not have to lie, cheat, or do any unclean thing.  The beautiful part of Salvation means that we can live holy in this life.  So, who can receive Salvation from sin?

罗马书 10:13

“13 因为凡求告主名的，就必得救。”

我们再次看到这个词，“无论是谁”。当我年轻时将我的心献给上帝时，我非常兴奋地得知，当圣经说“无论谁”时，上帝的意思是我！当我年轻时将我的心交给上帝时，他能够将我从罪恶中拯救出来！今天，当我宣扬基督想要给每一个人的伟大救恩时，我有一个问题要问你。你有没有接受神进入你的心里？

约书亚记 24:15

“15 如果你觉得侍奉主不好，今天就选择你要侍奉的人；无论是你们列祖所事奉的在洪水那边的神，还是你们所居住的亚摩利人的神，至于我和我家，我们要事奉耶和华。”

So, I challenge you today, have you chosen to serve God, and do you have Salvation?  Choose you this day whom you will serve.  The Bible teaches us how to get Salvation from God in the following verse.

罗马书 10:9

“9 你若口里认耶稣为主，心里信神叫他从死里复活，就必得救。”

Christ came so that we could be saved and become children of God.  But this requires us to confess and admit that we have sinned and then believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Once we have done this, we can receive Salvation.  This Salvation is for “whosoever.”  Whether you are young or old, God can give you this Salvation.  God wants to give you this Salvation so you can be free from your sins.  God does not make it hard for us to receive His Salvation.  I want to encourage you, young and old, that God invites you to give your heart to Him.

RHT