There are many people who are living without God and hope in the world. They will attempt to fill the void in their heart through good works, philosophy or religion.
Religion puts a yoke and a burden on people. Sets them on a performance treadmill to appease and please the god through offering good work and self- discipline. Yet they think that GOD is not pleased with them but in actual fact God came looking for them! Nobody will ever be good enough in their own effort because of the sin nature in them.
They fail to know that in the eyes of the true God, all their best actions are filthy through and through which will Never be able to bring them to stand righteously before Him.
When we use performance as a measure of God’s love for us then we will also use the same measure to love others. We will not love someone unless they change BUT the sad fact is it is only when we begin to change then we see the changes in others.
Therefore, understanding God’s kind of love is important and His love is based on Grace thus not based on performance. There is a huge difference between a religion and a relationship based on grace. When we fully understand God’s love then we will naturally want to respond in our love for Him and people around us using His principles of love.
Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
GRACE is the unmerited favour of God towards sinners, it is something that we do not deserve but He willingly gives to us. It has absolutely nothing to do with us nor by works so that we will not boast! God loves us while we are yet sinners. He just loves us!
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
God loves the sinner and hates the sin by dealing with the sin issues that separated man from God.
2 Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
God first loved us and extended grace to us!
God didn’t wait for us to change from being evil to good and then He loved us. God hates the sin but loves the man. We know that God’s love for us is not based on our performance but purely by His grace, therefore we can rest in His love and we are open to his rebuke and correction.
Sermon Series: Knowing God’s Love to Love Others
因恩典而得蒙神爱
世上有很多人的生命中没有神,没有盼望。 他们试图借助于善行, 哲理或宗教来填补他们心里的空虚。
宗教让百姓负轭, 承载负荷。 让人们在行为表现的跑步机上, 通过善行和自律来满足和取悦于神。他们认为神对他们不满意, 可事实却是神一直在寻找他们! 因为人的罪性, 通过人自己的行为是不可能变得足够好的。
他们不知道, 在真神的眼中, 他们所有最好的行为都是完全肮脏的, 更永远不可能帮助他们以公义来到神的面前。
当我们用自己的行为表现作为尺度来衡量神对我们的爱时,我们也会用同样的尺度去爱他人。 除非他们做出改变, 否则我们不会爱他们。然而, 残酷的事实是, 只有当我们自己开始改变, 我们才能看见他人的改变。
所以, 理解神的爱是重要的。 祂的爱基于恩典而非行为表现。 宗教和基于恩典的关系有天壤之别. 当我们完全理解了神的爱时,我们会自然而然地想要应用神的爱之法则, 以我们对神的爱和对我们周边人的爱来回应。
以弗所书2:8-9 你们得救是本乎恩，也因着信；这并不是出于自己，乃是 神所赐的； 9也不是出于行为，免得有人自夸。
恩典乃是神赐予罪人们的白白而来的恩惠, 虽然不配得, 但神心甘情愿地赐予我们。 这与我们或我们的行为完全无关, 因此我们不能自夸! 在我们还是罪人时, 神先爱我们。 神就是爱我们！
罗马书5:8 惟有基督在我们还作罪人的时候为我们死， 神的爱就在此向我们显明了。
神爱罪人, 但憎恶罪, 罪将人与神分离, 为此神解决了罪的问题。
哥林多后书5:21 神使那无罪的，替我们成为罪，好叫我们在他里面成为神的义
神先爱我们, 并为我们降下恩典！
神没有等待我们从坏变好之后再爱我们。 神憎恶罪但爱人。 我们晓得神对我们的爱不是基于我们的行为表现而纯粹出于祂的恩典, 因此, 我们可以在祂的爱里得到安息, 也愿意接受祂的管教和纠偏。
讲章系列：爱神，爱人