BA 8 Assurance of Forgiveness
BA 8 宽恕的保证

Lesson Eight
第八课

Assurance of Forgiveness
宽恕的保证

It is said that a young Roman officer named Marius went to visit some Christian friends one evening. As he approached their home, he heard singing in the garden. To him, it was a new kind of singing, and he stopped to listen. Later Marius described his experience like this: “It was the expression not altogether of mirth, yet of some wonderful sort of happiness–the blithe self-expression of a joyful soul of people who still remembered the hour of great deliverance.”
据说，一位名叫马吕斯的年轻罗马军官有一天晚上去拜访一些基督徒朋友。当他接近他们的家时，他听到花园里有歌声。对他来说，这是一种新的歌唱，他停下来听。后来的马吕斯这样描述他的经历：“这并不完全是欢乐的表达，而是某种奇妙的幸福——那些仍然记得伟大解脱时刻的人们快乐灵魂的轻快自我表达。

The Joy of Deliverance
拯救的喜乐

One of our deepest human needs is to find love, joy, peace, purpose, meaning, and satisfaction in life with a clear conscience. Thousands of people commit suicide every year because they have decided life is not worth living. Millions seek satisfaction in alcohol, drugs, wealth, power, and unrestrained sex. But instead of rewarding them with meaningful lives, these pleasures burden them with guilt, disillusionment, shame, emptiness, and misery. Ask anyone who has spent a lifetime chasing happiness through such pleasures.
我们人类最深切的需求之一是在生活中找到爱、喜乐、和平、目的、意义和满足感，问心无愧。每年都有成千上万的人自杀，因为他们认为生活不值得过。数以百万计的人在酒精、毒品、财富、权力和无拘无束的性行为中寻求满足。但是，这些快乐非但没有给他们有意义的生活带来回报，反而给他们带来内疚、幻灭、羞耻、空虚和痛苦。问问谁一生都在通过这样的快乐追逐幸福。

In response to a sermon I preached in Garland, Texas many years ago, a man in his late twenties came forward and made a statement to the congregation. He said, “In my search for happiness, I have tried everything from fast cars to fast women, and nothing has worked. Now I realize that I have been looking for happiness in the wrong places. Tonight, I am giving my life to Jesus who came to give me fullness of life.” After confessing his faith, he was baptized into Christ. When he came up out of the water, the radiant smile on his face reflected pure joy. It was the joy of having his sins washed away–the joy of a clean conscience–the joy of being at peace with God–the joy of salvation. All faithful Christians look back on the hour of their new birth as “the hour of great deliverance.”
多年前，为了回应我在德克萨斯州加兰（Garland）讲道，一位二十多岁的男子站出来向会众发表声明。他说：“在寻找幸福的过程中，我尝试了从快车到快女人的一切，但都没有奏效。现在我意识到我一直在错误的地方寻找幸福。今晚，我要把我的生命献给耶稣，他来给我丰盛的生命。在承认自己的信仰后，他受洗归入基督。当他从水里出来时，他脸上灿烂的笑容反映了纯粹的喜悦。这是洗清罪孽的喜乐——良心洁净的喜乐——与神和好相处的喜乐——救恩的喜乐。所有忠心的基督徒都把他们重生的时刻视为“伟大拯救的时刻”。

The Example of David
大卫的例子

No one but God knows exactly what went through David's mind after he committed adultery with Bathsheba and ordered her husband killed to cover up his sin. David may have gone about business as usual as if nothing had happened. In his mind, he may have tried to justify his sin. However, David revealed later that his conscience gnawed at him and kept him awake at night. That's what sin does to a person who has a sensitive conscience.
除了上帝之外，没有人知道大卫与拔示巴通奸并命令杀死她的丈夫以掩盖他的罪之后，他到底在想什么。大卫可能像往常一样做生意，好像什么都没发生过。在他的心目中，他可能试图为他的罪辩护。然而，大卫后来透露，他的良心啃噬着他，让他彻夜难眠。这就是罪对一个良心敏感的人所做的。

To David's credit, when the prophet Nathan confronted him with his guilt, David repented and confessed his sin. Psalm 51 is the contrite prayer of a guilt-ridden man seeking forgiveness. David pleads, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me” (Psalm 51:1-3).
值得称赞的是，当先知拿单面对他的罪时，大卫悔改并承认了他的罪。诗篇51篇是一个充满内疚的人寻求宽恕的悔恨祷告。大卫恳求说：“神啊，求你怜悯我，照着你永恒的爱;照着你的怜悯，抹去我的过犯。洗净我所有的罪孽，洗净我的罪孽。因为我知道我的过犯，我的罪总是在我面前“（诗篇51：1-3）。

Guilt Is a Powerful Emotion.
内疚是一种强烈的情绪。

Guilt takes the joy out of life. We either repress the guilt to avoid the pain, or we make things right. If we repress our guilt, the problem only gets worse.
内疚带走了生活的快乐。我们要么压抑内疚以避免痛苦，要么让事情变得正确。如果我们压抑自己的内疚，问题只会变得更糟。

In Psalm 51, David uses three Hebrew words to describe his wrongdoing. The Hebrew word for “transgressions” indicates that David had rebelled against God's righteous law. He had broken three of the ten commandments. The word for “iniquity” means “crookedness.” David had committed a gross injustice by killing an innocent man to cover up his sin. The word for “sin” suggests that David had gone astray from God's standard of righteousness.
在诗篇51篇中，大卫用三个希伯来语来描述他的错误行为。希伯来语中的“过犯”表明大卫背叛了上帝公义的律法。他违反了十诫中的三条。“罪孽”这个词的意思是“歪曲”。大卫为了掩盖他的罪而杀死了一个无辜的人，犯下了严重的不公正。“罪”这个词表明大卫已经偏离了上帝公义的标准。

David also uses three Hebrew words for removing the guilt of his sin: These words indicate that he felt dirty, and he yearned to have his sins thoroughly washed away–completely erased from the record so that he would be clean and pure again.
大卫还用三个希伯来语词来消除他罪的内疚：这些话表明他感到肮脏，他渴望他的罪孽被彻底洗净——从记录中完全抹去，这样他就会再次洁净和纯洁。

The Agony of Guilt
内疚的痛苦

In Psalm 32, David gives us an insight into the agony he experienced when he tried to keep his sin a secret. His attempt to cover up his sin led to excruciating emotional and physical pain. David prayed, “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; and all my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer” (Psalm 32:3-4).
在诗篇32篇中，大卫让我们了解了他试图保守罪的秘密时所经历的痛苦。他试图掩盖自己的罪恶，导致了难以忍受的情感和身体上的痛苦。大卫祷告说：“当我保持沉默时，我的骨头因我整天的呻吟而消失了。你日日夜夜的手重重地压在我身上;我一切的力气都像炎热的夏天一样被消耗殆尽“（诗篇32：3-4）。

As long as David refused to acknowledge his sin, he suffered agonizing physical and psychological pain. He became physically ill and emotionally tormented, groaning all day and feeling the heavy hand of God on him day and night. As someone has said, “David wilted like a plant on a hot summer day.”
只要大卫拒绝承认他的罪，他就会遭受痛苦的身体和心理痛苦。他身体不适，情感饱受折磨，整天呻吟，日夜感受到神沉重的手在他身上。正如有人所说，“大卫在炎热的夏日像植物一样枯萎。

The Joy of Forgiveness
宽恕的喜乐

In his misery, David reached a breaking point. Later, he prayed, “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’–and you forgave the guilt of my sin” (Psalm 32:5).
在痛苦中，大卫达到了一个崩溃的边缘。后来，他祷告说：“那时我向你承认我的罪，没有掩盖我的罪孽。我说，'我要向耶和华认我的过犯'——你赦免了我罪的罪“（诗篇32：5）。

Forgiveness comes only through repentance and complete confession. “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy” (Proverbs 28:13).
饶恕只能通过悔改和完全的认罪来实现。“隐瞒罪孽的，不兴旺，但认罪离弃罪的，必得怜悯”（箴言28：13）。

Having experienced the joy of forgiveness, David wrote, “Blessed [happy, joyful] is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him” (Psalm 32:1-2). What a relief!!!
在经历了饶恕的喜乐之后，大卫写道：“他的过犯被赦免，他的罪被遮盖，他是有福的。耶和华不算他罪的人有福了“（诗篇32：1-2）。真是如释重负!!!

It is when we reach the depths of despair over our sin that we experience the highest joy over our forgiveness. In a sermon posted on the Internet, Jim Erwin points out that the 32nd Psalm “gives us the forgotten secret of happiness, telling us that sin brings sorrow, but confession brings forgiveness, and forgiveness brings joy.”
当我们对自己的罪感到绝望时，我们才会对自己的宽恕体验到最高的喜乐。在互联网上发布的一篇讲道中，吉姆·欧文（Jim Erwin）指出，第32篇诗篇“给了我们被遗忘的幸福秘密，告诉我们罪带来悲伤，但认罪带来宽恕，宽恕带来喜乐。

Forgiveness Opens Doors to Service
宽恕打开服务之门

The last eight verses of Psalm 51 may seem anti-climatic after reading David's plaintive cry for forgiveness, but these verses are there for a reason. They reveal to us a God who forgives when we repent–a God who lifts us out of the gutter and invites us to have fellowship with him again. In spite of our past sins, God gives us an opportunity to serve him.
诗篇51篇的最后八节经文在读了大卫平淡的求饶恕后，可能看起来是反气候的，但这些经文是有原因的。他们向我们揭示了一位在我们悔改时饶恕的神——一位将我们从阴沟中抬出来并邀请我们再次与他相交的神。尽管我们过去犯了罪，但上帝给了我们一个服侍他的机会。

David prays, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you. Save me from bloodguilt, O God, . . . and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise” (vss.12-15).
大卫祷告说：“求你恢复你救恩的喜乐，赐予我一个愿意支撑我的灵。然后我要教导过犯者你的道路，罪人会回转给你。上帝啊，救我脱离血腥的罪恶。我的舌头要歌颂你的义。耶和华啊，求你张开我的嘴唇，我的口必宣告你的赞美“（12-15节）。

David fulfilled his pledge by writing and singing psalms of praise. Many of these psalms are addressed to God, but not to God only. They were also written for the benefit of people in every generation. They have drawn men, women, and young people to the Lord for nearly 3,000 years. David's Psalms teach us about the grace and mercy of God and about the joy of forgiveness.
大卫通过写和唱赞美诗篇来实现了他的承诺。这些诗篇中有许多是写给上帝的，但不仅仅是写给上帝的。它们也是为了每一代人的利益而写的。近3000年来，他们吸引了男人、女人和年轻人归向主。大卫的诗篇教导我们神的恩典和怜悯，以及饶恕的喜乐。

God Wants to Forgive Us.
上帝想要饶恕我们。

It is God's nature to forgive. God's people in the days of Isaiah were rebellious, disobedient, and unfaithful. Instead of calling upon God in prayer and expressing their gratitude through worship, they ignored him. He had not burdened them with heavy demands, but they had burdened him with their sins. They worried him with their offenses (Isaiah 43:22-24).
饶恕是上帝的本性。以赛亚时代神的子民是悖逆、悖逆和不忠的。他们没有在祷告中呼求上帝，也没有通过敬拜来表达他们的感激之情，而是忽略了他。他没有用沉重的要求来负担他们，但他们用他们的罪孽重担了他。他们用他们的冒犯担心他（以赛亚书43：22-24）。

The Israelites deserved punishment. God could have withdrawn his presence from them and allowed their enemies to make life miserable. But instead, God spoke to them tenderly. He said, “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sin no more” (Isaiah 43:25). In these surprising, unexpected words, we see the grace of God on full display. He forgave them, not because they deserved it, but because he wanted to forgive them. He forgave them for his own sake. His motive for forgiving and forgetting their sins was the love, grace, and mercy within his own heart.
以色列人应该受到惩罚。上帝本可以从他们身上撤出他的同在，让他们的敌人使生活变得悲惨。但相反，上帝温柔地对他们说话。他说，“我，甚至我，都是为我自己的缘故涂抹你们过犯的，不再记念你的罪”（以赛亚书43：25）。在这些令人惊讶、出乎意料的话语中，我们看到神的恩典得到了充分的展示。他饶恕了他们，不是因为他们应得的，而是因为他想饶恕他们。他为了自己的缘故原谅了他们。他饶恕和忘记他们罪的动机是他自己内心的爱、恩典和怜悯。

Jesus Died to Please His Father's Desire to Forgive Us
耶稣的死是为了取悦他父亲饶恕我们的愿望

The extent of God's desire to forgive us is seen in the gift of his Son who bore our sins on the cross and paid our penalty for us. That was God's eternal plan.
神饶恕我们的渴望程度可以从他儿子的礼物中看出，他在十字架上承担了我们的罪孽，并为我们付出了代价。那是神永恒的计划。

Jesus came to do his Father's will. At Jacob's Well, Jesus said to his apostles, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” (John 4:34). In John 5:30, Jesus said, “I seek not to please myself, but him who sent me.” In John 6:38, Jesus said, “I have come down from heaven, not to do my will, but to do the will of him who sent me.” Everything Jesus said and did during his ministry was designed to please his Father and to fulfill his Father's will.
耶稣来遵行他父的旨意。在雅各井，耶稣对他的使徒说：“我的食物是遵行差我来的旨意，完成他的工作”（约翰福音4：34）。在约翰福音5：30中，耶稣说：“我寻求的不是取悦自己，而是要讨我来的。在约翰福音6：38中，耶稣说：“我从天上下来，不是要遵行我的旨意，乃是要遵行差我来的旨意。耶稣在服侍期间所说的和所做的一切都是为了取悦他的父，并成就他父亲的旨意。

Jesus died on the cross to please his Father and to fulfill his Father's desire to forgive our sins.
耶稣死在十字架上是为了讨父的喜悦，并满足他父赦免我们罪的愿望。

The sacrificial system of the Old Testament was a temporary solution for the problem of sin. “Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22). Yet, “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin” (Hebrews 10:4). Why? Because the animals weren't guilty. Human beings were guilty. Every animal sacrificed as a sin offering in Old Testament times pointed forward to Jesus Christ, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Animal sacrifices were “copies” of “the heavenly things” (Hebrews 9:23). They were copies of the sacrifice of Jesus who “appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:26). Jesus died to save us and to satisfy his Father's desire to forgive our sins.
旧约的献祭制度是罪问题的临时解决方案。“不流血，就没有饶恕”（希伯来书9：22）。然而，“公牛和山羊的血不可能带走罪”（希伯来书10：4）。为什么？因为动物们没有罪。人类是有罪的。在旧约时代，每一种献祭的动物都指向耶稣基督，“神的羔羊，带走了世人的罪孽”（约翰福音1：29）。动物献祭是“天上的东西”的“复制品”（希伯来书9：23）。它们是耶稣献祭的复制品，耶稣“在世末出现一次，借着牺牲自己来除去罪”（希伯来书9：26）。耶稣的死是为了拯救我们，满足他父赦免我们罪的愿望。

Forgiveness Is “in Christ.”
饶恕是“在基督里”。

In his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8). On the merit of Jesus' sin offering, God is able to forgive us without compromising his integrity.
保罗在写给罗马人的信中写道：“你看，在我们仍然无能为力的时候，基督为不敬虔的人死了。很少有人会为一个义人而死，尽管为了一个好人，有人可能敢死。但神在这方面表明了他对我们的爱：当我们还是罪人的时候，基督就为我们死了“（罗马书5：6-8）。凭着耶稣赎罪的功劳，神能够在不损害他的正直的情况下饶恕我们。

In his Pentecost sermon, Peter declared to the crowd, “God has made this Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36). “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’” (Acts 2:37). Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). That day, about 3,000 people were baptized into Christ (Acts 2:41).
在他的五旬节讲道中，彼得向群众宣告，“神使你们钉在十字架上的耶稣成为主和基督”（使徒行传2：36）。“百姓听见这话，就被割伤心，对彼得和其他使徒说：'弟兄们，我们该怎么办呢？'”“（使徒行传2：37）。彼得回答说：“你们各人要悔改，奉耶稣基督的名受洗，赦免你们的罪。你们必领受圣灵的恩赐“（使徒行传2：38）。那天，大约有3000人受洗归入基督（使徒行传2：41）。

Can you imagine the grief that gripped the hearts of those 3,000 people when they realized they had killed their Messiah? And can you imagine the joy–the relief–the inner happiness those 3,000 people felt when they realized God had forgiven them? They had been responsible for Jesus' death, and now they were participating in his resurrection.
你能想象当那3000人意识到他们杀死了弥赛亚时，他们心中的悲伤吗？你能想象这3000人意识到上帝已经饶恕他们时所感受到的喜悦、解脱和内心的幸福吗？他们为耶稣的死负责，现在他们正在参与他的复活。

In Christ, “we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us” (Ephesians 1:7-8). God wants to forgive us and to bless us eternally, and the sacrificial death of Christ makes that possible.
在基督里，“我们借着他的血得救赎，罪得赦免，照着神丰盛的恩典，照着他丰盛的恩典赐给我们”（以弗所书1：7-8）。上帝想要饶恕我们，永远祝福我们，而基督的牺牲使这成为可能。

God's desire to forgive us, coupled with the sacrifice of Christ, makes forgiveness possible and gives us blessed assurance.
上帝饶恕我们的渴望，加上基督的牺牲，使饶恕成为可能，并给我们祝福的保证。

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