2024-07-06 周六 没有帕子遮蔽

经文:但他们的心几时转向主,帕子就几时除去了。(林后三16,另译)

我们需要没有帕子遮蔽

我们都该是镜子,观看并返照主。但我们若要成为镜子观看并返照主的荣光,就不可有任何帕子的遮蔽。假定一面镜子样样都好,也对准所要观看并返照的物体,但镜子却蒙了一层帕子。镜子只要用布遮盖、蒙蔽,就失去了功用。帕子使镜子不能观看,也不能返照。

如果所有的帕子都靠着主的怜悯和恩典除去了,我们就能以没有帕子遮蔽的脸,好像镜子观看并返照主。你这面镜子有帕子遮蔽,还是没有帕子遮蔽?如果你被帕子遮蔽,即使你呼求主的名,你仍然不能观看祂。我们若要观看并返照主,就必须除去所有的帕子。我们每一个人都必须是完全没有帕子遮蔽的人。

不被宗教观念遮蔽

许多基督徒不能观看并返照主,因为他们被厚厚的一层帕子,或是几层帕子遮蔽了。想想看,今天天主教里有多少人,并且有多少人被天主教的影响所遮蔽。假如所有的天主教徒都还没有信主,对神一无所知,那么我们把福音传给他们,带他们归向主就容易多了!但是,你若想对天主教徒说到神新约的经纶,你会发现他们大多都被遮蔽了。

没有宗教背景的人,比起在天主教或更正教里长大的人,更容易进入新约的真理。然而,甚至没有宗教背景的人,仍然可能受到宗教的影响。有些人得救以前,对敬拜神的方式就已经有一些观念。他们可能已经有一种想法,认为基督徒的礼拜,要有牧师主持,会众以一定的方式祷告、唱诗。这些观念都会成为帕子。

不被天然观念遮蔽

除了宗教观念以外,每一个人都被某些天然观念或天然想法所遮蔽。这些帕子通常与我们天生是那一种人有关。如果你是个安静的人,你也许很喜欢在大教堂里敬拜神,那里天花板很高,有彩色玻璃,灯光暗淡。你一进去,举止行动立刻会敬虔起来;那种气氛自然会使你安静肃穆。你想要保持缄默,甚至不与隔壁的人讲话。因为你生来就是个安静的人,所以你欣赏大教堂里面宁静的气氛。如果这种人来参加教会的聚会,会中圣徒们一直赞美主,他会非常受搅扰。他无法欣赏聚会中任何有价值的东西。

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To Be Unveiled – 2 Cor. 3:16

We all should be mirrors looking at the Lord and reflecting Him. However, if we would be mirrors beholding and reflecting the glory of the Lord, we must not have any veils over us. Suppose a mirror is proper in every way. It is in the right position with respect to the object it is to behold and reflect. But the mirror is covered with a veil. As long as a mirror is covered with cloth, veiled, it loses its function. The veil keeps the mirror both from beholding and from reflecting. 

If, by the mercy and grace of the Lord, all the veils are removed, we shall be mirrors beholding and reflecting Him with unveiled faces. As a mirror, are you veiled or unveiled? If you are veiled, you may call on the name of the Lord and still not behold Him. If we would behold and reflect the Lord, all the veils must be removed. Every one of us needs to be fully unveiled.

Not Veiled by Religious Concepts

Many Christians cannot behold and reflect the Lord because they are covered by a thick veil or perhaps several layers of veils. Consider how many people there are in today’s Catholicism, and how many have been veiled by the influence of Catholicism. Suppose there were no such thing as Catholicism and all those in Catholicism were unbelievers who did not know anything about God. How much easier it would be to preach the gospel to them and bring them to the Lord! However, if you try to speak to those in Catholicism concerning God’s New Testament economy, you will discover that the majority are veiled. 

Those without a religious background often find it easier to enter into the truths of the New Testament than those who were raised in either Catholicism or Protestantism. Nevertheless, even those without a religious background may still be under the influence of religion. Even before certain ones became Christians, they had some concept concerning the way people worship God. They may already have the thought that in a Christian service of worship there is a pastor who does certain things and that the congregation will pray or sing in a certain way. These concepts can be veils.

Not Veiled by Natural Concepts

In addition to the religious concepts that veil people, every person is veiled by certain natural concepts or ideas. Often these veils are related to the kind of people we are by our natural constitution. If you are a quiet person, you may prefer to worship God in a cathedral that has a high ceiling and stained glass windows and is dimly lit. Upon entering such a building, you immediately act in a reverent way. The atmosphere spontaneously causes you to be quiet and solemn. You want to be silent and not even speak to the person next to you. Because you were born a quiet person, you appreciate a quiet atmosphere in a cathedral. If this kind of person attends a church meeting in which the saints are praising the Lord, he would be very bothered and wonder how anyone could worship God in this way. He would not be able to appreciate anything of value in the meeting.