这位爱的上帝是在监视我的一举一动吗？而且，如果我搞砸了，祂准备好把我扔进“地狱”了吗？

接纳

是，也不是。

首先，是的：我们无法逃脱上帝目之所及（诗篇 139:8）。事实上，他将地球上发生的一切都记录在册，我们将根据这些册子上所记录的内容来受审判（但以理书7:9-10；启示录20:12）

接下来，不是的：圣经说，那些“在基督里”并随从圣灵的人是不会被定罪的（罗马书8:1-2）。这意味着当这本册子被打开并且你的名字和行为出现在上面时，耶稣（法官）看着这本册子，发现你所有的罪上都写着 “被赦免”。更棒的是，他甚至看不到你的罪，而是看到他自己的公义代替了你的不义（哥林多后书5:21）。

这就是福音的好消息。当我们在基督里，基督也在我们里面时，上帝看不到我们的罪。相反，祂看到的是基督的义！

那么，因为我们已经被赦免了（罗马书 6:1-2），我们是否就可以继续犯罪呢？千万不要！结婚后你会欺骗你的配偶吗？得到一份工作后，你就不再去上班吗？不可能！在基督里你已获新生，是的，即使如此，老我的诱惑和以前罪恶的生活方式可能仍然存在。

然而，不管你是谁，也不管你的人生阶段、财富水平、性别、种族、民族、阶级或社会地位如何——当你接受耶稣时，你就被接纳进了宇宙中最伟大的国度。

祂也多次承诺赐你基业。祂赐给你应许的圣灵作为这些产业的“首付”，直到你获得全部的产业（以弗所书 1:11-14）。你已经成为了皇室成员，为什么还要回去过那贫苦的农民生活？

降伏

降服于基督是很好，但为什么基督徒还要像其他人一样经受伤害和死亡呢？

因为我们还没有得到我们所有的产业，包括在一个没有痛苦、罪恶和死亡的世界里与上帝一起享受永生（启示录21:1-4）。当耶稣再来时，我们将获得那份产业，这一事件被称为基督复临（帖撒罗尼迦前书4:16-18）。在那之前，我们仍将面对世界上许多不好的事情，包括死亡。

我们有时也与我们的旧习性作斗争。得救只是上帝的作为，你唯一能做的就是选择接受救恩。形成基督的品格是你每天所要做出的选择，将你的生活交给基督，并让祂帮助你塑造你的决定、行为和愿望。你紧握上帝的手，在祂的话语中学习基督的生平，并在降服和顺从祂的信心中生活。你对祂恩典的信心足以改变你的生活。有了这种心智，您将永远与上帝更加亲近，您的生活将反映出祂的形象。

然而，在你接受耶稣却又犯罪时会怎么样呢？你不是特例，所有基督徒都这样。罪不是一种行为，而是一种生活方式。罪是“违背律法”（约翰一书3：4）。活在基督的灵里是做人的一种新方式。 它完全放弃不法行为，并以基督的义来替代。仅仅因为你“做错事”并不意味着你又成为罪人，被肉体的情欲所吞噬，寻求罪恶来统辖你。

但如果有人犯罪，我们在父那里有一位中保，就是义者耶稣基督（约翰一书2:1）。

只要来到上帝面前承认你所做的，是的，因为耶稣，祂已经原谅了你。如果你得罪了某个人，就和那个人和好。 你不必每次犯错都重新受洗。只是要承认你做过的事，然后不要再做（箴言28:13）。

聚焦耶稣

当我们第一次将生命献给上帝时，我们会做出重大改变，因为我们变成了不同的人。但是上帝有更多关于我们品格的启示要给我们，祂要帮助我们改变和发展我们的品格。基督向我们启示的，是我们所能够承受的；当我们跟随祂时，祂会改变我们。基督是唯一一个从未犯罪的人。多么值得效仿的榜样！

然而，当你环顾教堂时，你会发现并不是每个人都处于相同的属灵境地。每个人的知识和理解可能不同，每个人的自制力可能不同，人们可能有不同程度的耐心。 因此，耶稣告诉我们不要谴责他人（马太福音7:1-2），因为我们不知道他们在灵性旅程中的位置。我们把每个人都看成天国里上帝的孩子，而不是一群罪人。

因此，从今以后，我们不再按肉体看人（哥林多后书5:16）。

耶稣讲了一个故事：一个人种了麦子，看着麦子茂盛地生长。后来，他的仆人说：“嘿，麦子周围长了一堆杂草。” 他们问田地的主人是否要他们去拔除杂草。 他告诉仆人：“这是仇敌干的。 在收获前不要拔除杂草。 在拔草的同时，也可能会拔出一些小麦”（故事详情请阅读马太福音13:24-43）。

耶稣说小麦和杂草代表将一起成长到最后的人。 小麦和杂草不是由你来区分的。 上帝会在基督再来时将他们分开。你的工作是凭信心过基督徒的生活。像对待小麦一样对待每一个人。

隐喻

耶稣用了一些有趣的比喻来谈论我们应该如何过基督徒的生活。当耶稣说祂是生命的粮时，祂其实是在说我们里面应该充满祂的生命。祂并不是说我们真的要去喝祂的血并吃祂的肉。这是一种比喻性的语言，意味着我们应该阅读基督的生平，然后放弃我们的生活，这样我们才可以像祂一样。基督和圣灵努力重塑我们的思想和行为，使其与基督的一样。 当我们阅读《圣经》并看到基督的行为和生活方式时，我们渴望像祂一样。我们将自己的意志顺服于祂的旨意，它们就合而为一了。 祂的渴望变成了我们的渴望。祂的行为成为我们的行为。这就是上帝在我们里面并与我们一起工作，直到基督复临时完成祂的工作（腓立比书1:6）。

《圣经》就是祂的话。祂通过《圣经》和圣灵对我们说话。如果二者不一致，那么你的灵命就有问题。祂告诉我们，我们的成长就像葡萄树。如果我们住在葡萄树（耶稣）里，祂就会赐我们圣灵（约翰福音14:26），我们就会结果子（约翰福音15:4）。圣灵的果子是爱和基督的品格（加拉太书5:22、23）。你生命中爱的证据是遵守基督的诫命（约翰福音15:9, 10）。

余民

最后，上帝总是有忠心的余民。正如创世记第4章所描述的，亚伯是忠心的人。在创世记6-9章中，挪亚和他的家人是忠心的人。在创世记第12章，亚伯拉罕和撒拉是忠心的人。以色列国在埃及是忠心的。在出埃及记第32章当以色列人误入歧途时，利未人是忠实的。迦勒和约书亚是在应许之地边缘的忠实者。当以色列人接受偶像崇拜时，以利亚是忠实的。当以色列处于流亡边缘时，先知们是忠心的。门徒是忠心的犹太人，他们将耶稣的福音传到了世界各地。在早期的几个世纪，当普世基督教会叛教时，华尔多人是忠实的基督徒。约翰威克里夫和改革家是宗教改革时期的忠实信徒。

今天，上帝也有忠心的余民。《圣经》中是这样描述他们的：遵守上帝诫命并像耶稣一样有信心的人。（启示录12:17）

你可以成为这些余民的一份子。这需要向基督降服并过着受圣灵洗礼的生活，使基督在你生命中掌王权并救赎你的生命（约翰福音3:6-8）。

弟兄姐妹们，我们想通过本平台分享更多国外本会优质影像资料。因为人手有限，希望招募一些志同道合的主内同工，做英文视频字幕翻译，视频字幕合成制作，视频中文配音，配音对轨制作。有意者请留言输入“义工申请”。以马内利！

【A Picture Of God】 8 Growth

Adoption

Is this God of love watching my every move and every behavior? And, if I mess up is He ready to throw me into “hell”?

Yes and no.

First, the Yes: There is no place you or I can go where God is not watching (Psalm 139:8). In fact, He is recording in books everything that happens here on earth, and we will be judged by what’s written in those books (Daniel 7:9-10; Revelation 20:12).

Now, the No: The Bible says that there is no condemnation to those who are “in Christ” and who walk according to the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:1-2). Which means that when the book is opened and your name and deeds show up, Jesus (the Judge) looks at the book and sees “Forgiven” written all over your sins. Better yet, He doesn’t even see your sin but sees, instead, His own righteousness in the place of your unrighteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21).

This is the good news of the gospel. When we are in Christ, and Christ is in us, God doesn’t see our sinfulness. He sees Christ’s righteousness, instead!

Should we go on sinning, then, because we have been forgiven (Romans 6:1-2)? God Forbid! Do you go around cheating on your spouse after you get married? Do you quit showing up to a job after you get the job? No. You live in the new life given you in Jesus, even though, yes, the lure of the old life and the old sinful ways may remain.

Yet, still—no matter who you are, your station in life, your level of wealth, your gender, your race, your ethnicity, your class or caste – when you accepted Jesus then you have become adopted into the greatest kingdom in the universe.

He has made numerous promises about your inheritance, too. He has given you a down payment on these promises in the person of the Holy Spirit, that is, until you receive the full inheritance (Ephesians 1:11-14). Why would you ever go back to a life of doomed peasantry after you become royalty?

Surrender

That’s great, but Christians still get hurt and die like everyone else. Why?

Because we haven’t received all our inheritance yet, which includes eternal life with God in a world without suffering, sin, and death (Revelation 21:1-4). We will receive that inheritance when Jesus returns, an event known as the Second Coming (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18). Until then, we face many of the bad things of the world, including death.

We also at times struggle with our old ways. Being saved is an act of God alone, where the only thing you can do is choose to accept salvation. Growing into the character of Christ is a daily choice that you make to surrender your life to Christ and to allow him to help you shape your decisions, actions, and desires. You clasp hands with God, you study the life of Christ in His Word, and live by faith in surrender and obedience to Him. Your faith in His grace has a transforming power upon your life. With this mindset, you will forever be growing closer to God and your life will reflect His image.

What happens, though, after you accept Jesus but mess up? Welcome to the club. All Christians do. Sin is not an act, it is a way of life. Sin is “lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). Living in the Spirit of Christ is a new way to be human. It is completely forsaking lawlessness and exchanging it for Christ’s righteousness. Just because you “mess up” doesn’t mean you are back to being a sinner, consumed by fleshly lusts, pursing sinfulness which reigns over you.

But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1 John 2:1).

Just come to God and confess what you did and, yes, because of Jesus, He has already forgiven you. If you had wronged someone, make it right with that person. You don’t need to be re-baptized every time you make a mistake. Just confess what you did and then don’t do it anymore (Proverbs 28:13).

Jesus in Focus

When we first give our lives to God, we make major changes because we become different people. But God has more to reveal to us about our character, which He helps us change and develop. Christ reveals information to us as we are able to handle it; and He changes us as we follow Him. Christ was the only person who ever lived who never sinned. What a model to emulate!

Yet, when you look around the church, you will see that not everyone is at the same spiritual place. Every person’s knowledge and understanding might be different. Every person’s self-control might be different. People might have different levels of patience. So, Jesus tells us not to condemn others (Matthew 7:1-2) because we can’t know where they are in their spiritual journey. We look at everyone like a child of God in the kingdom, not like a bunch of sinners.

From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh (2 Corinthians 5:16).

Jesus tells a story about a man who plants wheat and watches it bountifully grow. Later, his servants say, “Hey, there are a bunch of weeds growing in around the wheat.” They ask the owner of the field if he wants them to go pull up the weeds. He tells them, “An enemy has done this. Don’t pull up the weeds until the harvest. In pulling up the weeds, you might pull up some wheat too” (You can read the whole story in Matthew 13:24-43).

Jesus says that the wheat and weeds represent people who will grow together until the end. It is not for you to distinguish between the wheat and the weeds. God will separate them at Christ’s Second Coming. Your job is to live, by faith, the Christian life. Treat everyone like wheat.

Metaphors

Jesus used some interesting metaphors to talk about how we are to live the Christian life. When Jesus says that He is the bread of life, He is essentially saying that we should consume His life. He isn’t saying that we need to actually drink His blood and eat His body. It is figurative language that means we should read about the life of Christ, and then surrender our lives so that we can be like Him. Christ and the Holy Spirit work to reshape our thoughts and actions to be like Christ’s. When we read the Bible and see the way that Christ acted and lived, we desire to be like Him. We submit our will to His will, and they become indistinguishable. His desires become our desires. His actions become our actions. This is God working in us and with us until He completes His work (Philippians 1:6) at the Second Coming.

The Bible is His Word. He speaks to us through the Bible and the Holy Spirit. If they aren’t in agreement, then you have the wrong spirit. He tells us that our growth is like a vine. If we abide in the vine (Jesus) than He will send us the Holy Spirit (John 14:26) and we will bear fruit (John 15:4). The fruit of the Holy Spirit is Love and a character like Christ’s (Galatians 5:22, 23). The evidence of Love in your life is that we keep Christ’s commandments (John 15:9, 10).

Remnant

Finally, God has always had a faithful remnant. Abel was the faithful one, as depicted in Genesis 4. Noah and his family were the faithful, in Genesis 6-9. Abraham and Sarah were the faithful, in Genesis 12. The nation of Israel was the faithful in Egypt. The Levites were the faithful when Israel went astray, in Exodus 32. Caleb and Joshua were the faithful at the edge of the promised land. Elijah was the faithful when Israel had accepted idolatry. Prophets were faithful when Israel was on the verge of exile. The disciples were the faithful Jews who carried the gospel of Jesus to the world. The Waldenses were the faithful Christians when the universal Christian church apostatized in the early centuries. John Wycliffe and the Reformers were the faithful during the Reformation.  

God, today, has a faithful remnant as well. They are depicted in the Bible like this: People who keep the commandments of God and have faith like Jesus. (Revelation

You can be a part of this remnant. It will require making Christ the Lord and Savior of your life by surrendering to Him, and living your life baptized by the Holy Spirit (John 3:6-8).