7月17日 信的神跡

我說的話講的道，不是用智慧委婉的言語。（林前二1－5）

保羅是第一流的學者和演說家；他說這話並非出於下乘的謙遜，乃是說如果他傳福音時，若用漂亮的言詞去吸引人，就掩蓋了神的能力。信耶穌時一項神跡，惟救恩的功效，不是靠話語的魔力、諂媚、說服，而是單憑神的大能。救贖的創造大能，是由傳福音，而不是傳道者的人格帶出來。傳道者真正的禁食，不是食物的禁食，而是在辭鋒、出奇吸引的字眼，及一切阻攔神福音傳送的東西上禁食。傳道者是神的代表——就好像神藉我們勸你們一般。他要傳的是神的福音。若人單因為我的講道，而發奮向上，他們就永遠無法接近主耶穌。我傳福音若有任何高舉自己，就必使我成了主耶穌的叛徒，因為我攔阻了他救贖的創造大能作工。

“我若從地上被舉起來，就要吸引萬人來歸向我。”

祈禱◆噢，主啊，我何等需要你！我來到你面前，求你恩慈地將更新的生命賜給我，直至我的理解力、想像力和說話都全屬你。今天我所尋求的，是你的感動和振奮的恩典。

July 17 The Miracle of Belief

 “My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom…” —1 Corinthians 2:4

Paul was a scholar and an orator of the highest degree; he was not speaking here out of a deep sense of humility, but was saying that when he preached the gospel, he would veil the power of God if he impressed people with the excellency of his speech. Belief in Jesus is a miracle produced only by the effectiveness of redemption, not by impressive speech, nor by wooing and persuading, but only by the sheer unaided power of God. The creative power of redemption comes through the preaching of the gospel, but never because of the personality of the preacher.

Real and effective fasting by a preacher is not fasting from food, but fasting from eloquence, from impressive diction, and from everything else that might hinder the gospel of God being presented. The preacher is there as the representative of God— “…as though God were pleading through us…” (2 Corinthians 5:20). He is there to present the gospel of God. If it is only because of my preaching that people desire to be better, they will never get close to Jesus Christ. Anything that flatters me in my preaching of the gospel will result in making me a traitor to Jesus, and I prevent the creative power of His redemption from doing its work.

“And I, if I am lifted up…, will draw all peoples to Myself” (John 12:32).