提要
我在耶路撒冷牧會時,有天有一個良心不安的年輕人來找我。他作了一件嚴重的錯事,而在那週的晚堂崇拜時深刻認知自己行為的錯誤。當他向我「告解」時,他的臉上充滿憂傷,眼淚盈眶。當我們一起禱告時,他的身體更因啜泣而顫抖不已。最後,當他離開時他說:「牧師,謝謝你和我一起作認罪的禱告。我真希望我沒有犯那個罪,但我相信上帝已經赦免我了。我絕不再重蹈覆轍。」就我所知,他的確沒有再犯。
用保羅的話說,那位年輕人就是「依著上帝的意思憂愁」,或者如某些傳道人說的,那是聖靈的「定罪」。心理學家或許會稱之為罪咎感。但最重要的是它帶出來的結果:悔改。那位年輕人脫離他的罪行而不再犯。結果,他也變得更快樂(或者「更健康」)。他的悔改增強了他的生命。
與以上那位年輕人相反的是,一個人有罪咎感,但卻毫不理會,也不採取任何行動。他的良心可能也受責,但他仍然繼續犯罪。結果如何呢?至終他的行為會腐蝕他的良心。他不理會內心的聲音,直到那聲音終於沈默了,他的良心也麻木了。柔軟的心結了剛硬的疤。
我們每個人都有可能扼殺自己的良心。當然我們不會將它一槍擊斃,但我們卻是一點一點的對它施以凌遲,直到我們的道德意識死亡,而從聖經來看,當我們的良心死亡,我們的心靈也就壽終正寢。如果我們拒絕傾聽良心的聲音,我們就是選擇了屬靈的死亡。今天我們可能還不後悔,但有一天必將懊悔不已。所以,為什麼不在今天選擇生命呢?讓我們悔改而得生!
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Overview
One day, while pastoring in Jerusalem, I was visited in my office by a young man with a stricken conscience. He had done something very wrong and, in our Sunday evening service that week, had become very convinced of the wrongness of his action. As he spoke to me, his face was etched with sorrow, his eyes brimmed with tears, and as we prayed his body shook with sobs. When he left he said, "Thank you, pastor, for praying with me about that sin. I wish I'd never done what I did, but I believe God has forgiven me. I'll never do it again." To my knowledge, he never did.
In Paul's terms, the young man had experienced "godly sorrow". Or, as some of my evangelical friends might put it, "conviction of sin". Perhaps a psychologist might call it guilt. But what gave it value was its product: repentance. The young man turned away from his sin and never did it again. And, by the way, was much happier (or "healthier") as a result. His repentance strengthened his life.
Contrast this to the person who does wrong, feels guilty, but does nothing about it. His conscience may be stricken, but he continues to sin. What happens? Eventually his action erodes his conscience. It chips away at that inner voice until that voice is silent. His conscience has become "seared". Tenderness of heart gives way to scar tissue.
All of us have the potential to kill our conscience. No, we won't do it with one shotgun blast, but we do it by degree, little by little, until or moral sense is dead. And, in Biblical terms, when our conscience dies, our spirit dies. If we refuse to listen, we are choosing spiritual death. We may have no regrets today, but there will come a day of great regret. So why not choose life today? Repent and live!
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