第五週 · 週五

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📖晨興餧養

羅七24 『我是個苦惱的人！誰要救我脫離那屬這死的身體？』

  八2 『因為生命之靈的律，在基督耶穌裏已經釋放了我，使我脫離了罪與死的律。』

人裏面有一個犯罪的因素，一個犯罪的癮，那就是撒但。我們乃是作他的俘虜。…首先撒但把我們俘擄了，然後他就來住在我們裏面，作我們犯罪的主動者、主使者；結果他就成了我們非法的主人，我們就作了他的俘虜，使我們好事不作，專作犯罪的事。…在聖經裏撒但還有一個名字，叫作別西卜。別西卜這名字在聖經裏按原文說，是糞堆之王，意思是蒼蠅之王，因為糞堆上面全是蒼蠅。撒但是糞堆之王，他專門帶着〔罪人像〕蒼蠅〔一樣〕來喫糞，所以他又是蒼蠅之王。…即使高尚的人，也是蒼蠅；他們所去的舞會，是稍微高尚一點的場所，可以說是文明的糞場，所以別西卜也會化裝成高尚的樣子，叫個個『蒼蠅』跟着他也都高尚起來。他們這些蒼蠅裝扮得很好看、很斯文，跳起舞來個個都變得很高尚。表面看他們在那裏跳舞，實際上他們是在『喫糞』（李常受文集一九八四年第四冊，四○頁）。

📖信息選讀

沒有人願意犯罪，但是當你上了癮的時候，給別西卜一挑動，你就非跟着他，讓他牽着鼻子走不可。等到事過之後，你就懊悔：『我真笨阿，我這是在作甚麼，何必作這個？』人人心裏實在都不願意犯罪，結果個個都犯了罪，都身不由己，都成了罪的奴隸。因此主耶穌說，『凡犯罪的，就是罪的奴僕。』（約八34）

罪在我們裏面的確是個真正的轄制〔參羅七24〕。…感謝神，羅馬八章二節說，在基督裏有一個生命之靈的律，釋放了我們脫離罪與死的律。…感謝主，蒙主的憐憫，我可以對你們作見證：我現在生氣，半分鐘就過去了，並且不再氣了。為甚麼？這是因為生命之靈的律釋放了我，使我不必再受罪的轄制了！

福音的福氣就是歸回神，得着神，也就是神作了我們的產業。神一作了我們的產業，我們一享受神作產業，我們就自由了。阿利路亞，惟有享受神的人能不犯罪，惟有享受神的人有真自由。約翰八章三十六節說，『神的兒子若叫你們自由，你們就真自由了。』你要自由，要能不犯罪，就必須享受神的兒子，得着神的兒子。今天神的兒子就是賜生命的靈。這賜生命的靈就是生命之靈，祂在我們裏面就是生命之靈的律。這個生命之靈的律就是主自己。主經過死而復活，成了賜生命的靈，也就是生命之靈。這個生命的靈有一個律。沒有一個生命是沒有律的，生命就是一個律。這個生命之靈的律，把我們釋放了，叫我們脫離罪的律。我們不僅在信主的那一刹那，享受禧年的自由；我們乃是從那一天起，一生都應該享受這個自由，並且一直享受到永世。這個自由乃是從享受神來的。祂作了我們的產業，給我們享受；我們一享受祂，就得着自由。…但如果我們享受神不彀，就在許多事上還會受捆綁。

禧年乃是我們歸回神作產業，作我們的享受，我們就自由了，就從一切的轄制下得釋放，而從撒但權下歸回神，從罪惡的奴役之下得了自由。因此掙扎努力是沒有用的，…立志沒有用，一定要享受主。我們一定要學習接觸這位又真又活的主，享受祂。這樣，祂在我們裏面就作我們的釋放，作我們的自由。結果我們又有產業，又有自由（李常受文集一九八四年第四冊，四一至四三頁）。

參讀：路加福音生命讀經，第六十四至六十九篇。

WEEK 5 — DAY 5

Morning Nourishment

Rom. 7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?

          8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death.

There is a sinning factor, an addiction to sinning, within man. This factor, this addiction, is Satan himself, and man is his captive…First Satan captured us; then he came to dwell in us as the inciter, the instigator, of our sins. The result is that he has become our illegal master, and we have become his captives to the extent that we are unable to do good and can only commit sins. In the Bible, Satan is also called Beelzebul…Beelzebul means “the lord of the dunghill,” from the name meaning “the lord of flies.”…Satan specializes in leading flies to feed on dung; hence, he is also the lord of flies. Since he is the lord of flies, all sinners are like flies that follow Satan to “feed on dung.”…Even upper-class people are like flies. Beelzebul can disguise himself with a high-class appearance so that all the “flies” following him appear to be of a high class. Such persons hold dancing parties in upperclass places, but such places are merely cultured “dunghills.” These people dress nicely and are very cultured, and when they dance, they seem elegant. In actuality, however, they are “eating dung.” (CWWL, 1984, vol. 4, “The Jubilee,” p. 29)

Today’s Reading

Deep in his heart, no one wants to sin, but when a person becomes addicted and is stirred up by Beelzebul, he has to follow, allowing himself to be led around “by the nose.” Afterward, he regrets it and may say, “I am so stupid; what was I doing? Why did I have to do that?” Although deep in his heart no one wants to sin, eventually everyone sins. No one has control over himself, and everyone has become a slave of sin. This is why the Lord Jesus said, “Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin” (John 8:34).

The sin within us is a real controlling power [cf. Rom. 7:24]…How we thank God for Romans 8:2, which says that in Christ the law of the Spirit of life frees us from the law of sin and of death! We thank the Lord for His mercy. Many can testify that when they get angry, they can get over it very quickly, and the anger does not come back. This is because the law of the Spirit of life frees us from the bondage of sin.

The blessings of the gospel are the return to God and the gaining of God as our possession. Once we enjoy God as our possession, we are free. Only those who enjoy God do not commit sin and are really free. John 8:36 says, “If therefore the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed.” If we want to be free, if we do not want to commit sin, then we must obtain the Son of God and enjoy Him. The Son of God today is the life-giving Spirit. This life-giving Spirit is the Spirit of life, who is in us as the law of the Spirit of life. Therefore, the law of the Spirit of life is just the Lord Himself, who passed through death and resurrection to become the life-giving Spirit, the Spirit of life. Every
life has a law, so the Spirit of life also has a law. The law of the Spirit of life releases us from the law of sin. We enjoy the freedom of the jubilee not only at the moment we believe in the Lord, but beginning from that day we should enjoy this freedom all our life and for eternity. This freedom comes from our enjoyment of God. He has become our possession for our enjoyment, and when we enjoy Him, we obtain freedom…However, if we do not enjoy God sufficiently, we will still be in bondage in many things.

The year of jubilee is for us to be returned to God as our possession and as our enjoyment so that we may become free and be released from all oppression. Thus, we are returned to God from the authority of Satan and are freed from the slavery of sin. Hence, it is useless to struggle and strive…Making up our mind will not work; we must enjoy the Lord. We must learn to contact this true and living Lord to enjoy Him. In this way He becomes our release within us and our freedom. As a result, we have not only our possession but also our freedom. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 4, “The Jubilee,” pp. 29-31)

Further Reading: Life-study of Luke, msgs. 64—69