9月30日         

標　　題：與神同感

經　　節：亞拿尼亞聽見這話，就僕倒，斷了氣；聽見的人都甚懼怕。（使徒行傳五章5節）

當神審判某人時，我們傾向於同情那位被管教的人。然而，當神實施審判時，我們的同情心應該與神站在同一邊。只有神知道所有事情的利害關係，也只有祂知道整個情況，惹動祂的怒氣，懲罰那個人。

亞拿尼亞和撒非喇的經歷，是新約記載中最令人費解的故事之一。神的救恩是給全人類，祂對這對夫妻的處罰似乎太嚴酷了。然而，這整個欺詐事件是有其背景原因的。當時的教會正處於成型時期。亞拿尼亞和撒非喇曾經目睹許多神跡，並且親眼看見幾千人添加教會。但他們公然地對神及對教會撒謊，他們不尊重神的靈。如此非禮、大不敬的態度，對靠著聖靈指引與同在的教會，帶來極大的破壞力。神嚴肅地提醒後世的人，祂並不寬容罪。

在太多的情況之下，基督徒的罪嚴重地影響其他人。有時候，神選擇嚴厲地審判某人的罪，成為其他人的警惕。不要試著保護某人不受神的審判，落在永生神的手中是非常可怕的（希伯來書十：31）。然而，祂在一個人身上的審判，最終可能救那個人和其他許許多多人。當神審判其他人，我們要留心注意，檢查自己的生命，引以為鑒。神知道事情的利害關係，祂非常愛祂的兒女，所以願意嚴格地警告罪的危險性。

Sympathy with God

Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. (Acts 5:5)

When God brings judgment upon someone, our natural inclination is often sympathy toward the one being disciplined. Yet when God acts in judgment, our sympathies ought always to lie with Him. Only God knows all that is at stake, and only He knows the full circumstances that provoked His wrath upon the one He is judging.

Ananias and Sapphira’s experience is one of the most perplexing stories in the New Testament. In a time when God’s grace had provided salvation for all mankind, His response to this couple seems unusually harsh. Yet there was much at stake in their deception. The church was in its formative stages. Ananias and Sapphira had witnessed the miraculous power of God and had seen thousands of people being added to the church. Nevertheless, they showed little regard for the Spirit of God when they blatantly lied to God and the church. Such irreverence would have been devastating to a church whose very life depended upon the presence and guidance of God’s Spirit. God left a sobering reminder that He would not tolerate sin.

Many times the sin of one Christian has a devastating effect on others. At times, God chooses to judge someone’s sin severely, as a deterrent for others. Don’t try to protect someone from the judgment of God. It is a terrifying thing to fall under His judgment (Heb. 10:31). Yet His judgment on one may ultimately save that person and many others. When God is judging others, take heed and examine your own life. God knows what is at stake; He loves His children enough to provide a stark warning of sin’s dangers.