【双语灵修】诚实对神HONESTY WITH GOD

约翰一书 1:8-10

我们若说自己无罪，便是自欺，真理不在我们心里了。我们若认自己的罪，神是信实的，是公义的，必要赦免我们的罪，洗净我们一切的不义。我们若说自己没有犯过罪，便是以神为说谎的，他的道也不在我们心里了。

11月9日

诚实对神

“我们若认自己的罪，神是信实的，是公义的，必要赦免我们的罪，洗净我们一切的不义。” - 约壹 1:9

羞耻心导致我们与神隔离，就像井旁的妇人那样。人类自从堕落犯罪之后（《创世记》3章），便警觉到我们破坏了神为我们作的最好安排，因此便与神保持距离了。甚至到了今天，我们仍然记着那些不快的回忆、破碎的期望和累积的悔意。出于羞愧，我们在不知不觉中避开了神。

怎样才能解决这个问题呢？神在《圣经》中吩咐我们要认罪悔改。基本上，悔改牵涉对神完全坦诚：不单承认我们做了什么事，更要承认我们已经成为怎样的人。坦诚的悔改帮助我们经历罪得赦免的神迹，我们的罪债已经归到基督身上了。更促进我们的成圣过程，就是神用来更新我们的方式。

我们务要谨记，悔改关乎关系的层面。悔改不只是牵涉承认犯错，它更牵涉某种关系被破坏了。《圣经》中悔改这个词语意味着“回转”，当我认罪悔改时，我离开那个罪行，返回神吩咐我去过的生活。悔改牵涉到我们在某些方面离开了神，现在回转回到祂那里。

你上一次悔改回到神那里，是几时的呢？

祷告

主啊，求你帮助我坦诚对你。求你让我看见我犯了什么罪，帮助我全然回转归向你，又打开心门来被你更新，阿们。

1 John 1:8-10

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9

HONESTY WITH GOD

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. —1 John 1:9

Shame creates distance from God, just as it did for the woman at the well. Since the fall into sin (Genesis 3), a sense of having spoiled God’s best for us has caused us to keep our distance from him. Even today we carry bad memories, broken expectations, and accumulated regrets. In our shame we subtly back away from God.

How do we fix this problem? In the Bible God calls us to repentance for our sin. At its core, repentance involves complete honesty with God: a recognition of not only what we have done but also who we have become. Honest repentance provides a step toward the miracle of having our sins washed away, with our debts charged to Christ’s account. It furthers the process of our sanctification, God’s way of making us new.

There is also a relationship side to repentance that is important to remember. Repentance involves more than simply acknowledging that a rule was broken. It involves recognizing that a relationship was damaged. The biblical word for repentance refers to “turning around.” When I repent of a sin, I turn away from that behavior and back toward the way God calls me to live. Repentance involves a new realization that we have in some way left God and are turning back toward him.

When was the last time you repented, turning back to God?

Lord, help me to be honest with you. Show me where I have sinned, and help me to turn fully toward you, with my heart open to renewal. Amen.