认识上帝

As human beings, we have a problem that we may not even recognize. This problem exists in every culture, and social circle, with a penalty, always attached. The problem is SIN, and the Bible teaches us people sin from birth, which is a big problem in our world.

罗马书 3:23

“因为世人都犯了罪，亏缺了神的荣耀；”

Sin comes with a steep penalty that no one wants to pay. The penalty for sin is death and eternity in hell.

罗马书 6:23

“因为罪的工价乃是死；但上帝的恩赐是通过我们的主耶稣基督的永生。”

But thank God, there is hope. A man named Jesus Christ is our hope! Christ chose to give up life as God so He could present us with an answer to our sin problem. He is the only answer we have for the penalty that we must pay.

约翰福音 3:16

“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。”

I love this scripture in John. This verse is probably one of the most well-known scriptures in the Bible, but I want to give you something to think about. What if someone gave you a gift? I do not know about you, but I like it when someone thinks about me with a gift, even if it is something small. In America, we celebrate people’s birthdays by giving gifts. We wrap the gift in special paper so the person can’t see it until they take off the paper. What if someone gave you a beautifully wrapped gift. Would you wonder what it is? Well, the only way you’ll find out is to unwrap the gift! You will never know what it is if you leave the gift on the table and choose not to remove the wrapping paper.

God gave the gift of His only begotten Son to each of us. But for us to partake in this great gift, we need to remove the wrapping paper and accept it. If we never take the gift and believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, we will never experience power over sin. Without this gift, our lives will remain stuck in unhappiness and despair. To be more specific, we’ll stay stuck in our lives of drugs and alcohol with a lot of turmoil and destruction. Will you accept God’s gift for you today? If you have already accepted this gift, you already know what I am talking about.

我们不能靠自己的力量得到这份礼物。

提多书 3:5

“不是借着我们所行的义，乃是照他的怜悯，借着重生的洗和圣灵的更新，拯救了我们；”

Christ gives himself freely to us, allowing us to choose him over death in sin.

约翰福音 1:12

“但凡接待他的，就赐给他能力，成为神的儿子， 甚至 对信他名的人说：”

If we accept the gift of Christ and follow with our whole hearts living devoted to God, he will forgive our sins, and we can rest assured of our Salvation in Christ.

约翰一书 5:13

“我将这些话写给你们信奉神儿子之名的人；好叫你们知道自己有永生，并且可以信神儿子的名。”

Our decision to “know” Christ is the most critical decision we will ever make. It is the beginning of a new life of purpose and impact that we can never know otherwise.

You might say, ” how do I get this gift?”  First, you must be genuinely sorry for the sins that you committed and then choose to turn your life over to God wholly.

2 哥林多前书 7:10

“因为敬虔的忧愁使人悔改得救，不可悔改；但世人的忧愁却使人死亡。”

The Lord wants all men to come to him with repentance.

2 彼得 3:9

“主在他的应许上并不松懈，像有些人算松懈；而是对我们病房忍耐，不愿一人灭亡，只愿人人悔改。”

The repentance called for throughout the Bible is a summons to a personal, absolute, and ultimate unconditional surrender to God as Sovereign. Though it includes sorrow and regret, it’s also more. In repenting, one completely changes direction (180° turn) toward God. In other words, we choose to turn away from our old way of life, leaving our sinful ways behind, and turn toward God and live His ways instead.

Let’s look at the story of the Prodigal’s son. A young son became discontent with his life at home and felt he was missing something. So he decided to leave his father’s house and try the world for himself. He asked his father for his inheritance and went on his way. The Bible teaches that the son spent all he had on riotous living. He had many friends while he was spending his money. But when his inheritance was gone, so were all the people surrounding him. Having nothing of any value or substance to show for, the young man found himself in a hog pen, eating the same corn husks he fed to the hogs. It was then that the young man understood how good life was at his father’s house in a new way. Humbled by his current existence in the hog pen and realizing what he left behind, the Bible teaches us; the young man came to himself. At that moment, he decided his life would be better as a servant in his father’s house than the way he was currently living. The attitude of his heart had changed, and he was genuinely sorry for the way he left his father’s house. Feeling unworthy to return to his father as a son, the young man returns with a humbled desire to serve. This young man was ready to accept the gift of God. Repentance began in his heart when he realized what he had done and began his journey back to his father.

路加福音 15:21

“儿子对他说，父啊，我得罪了天，在你面前，我不配被称为你的儿子了。”

约翰呼吁撒都该人和法利赛人证明他们愿意在受洗之前真正悔改。

马太福音 3:8

“因此结出果子来迎接悔改：”

彼得也传讲悔改。

使徒行传 2:38

“彼得对他们说，你们要悔改，奉耶稣基督的名受洗，使罪得赦，你们就必领受圣灵的恩赐。”

使徒行传 3:19

“因此，你们要悔改归正，使你们的罪得以涂抹，那时主的同在使舒畅的日子来临；”

Repentance is where we start down the path of “knowing” Christ. When we repent, God saves us and makes us his child. Then we become a new person in Christ.

Tell Christ that you choose to “know” and accept His gift to you of Himself. Tell Jesus that you desire to have more than just head knowledge about His plan. Instead, you want a much deeper heart knowledge truly “knowing” God. If you do not know God as your personal savior, ask Christ to forgive you of your sins. Without repentance, it is impossible to know God. Or experience the wonderful things He has planned for your life and in heaven.

RHT