福音的见证
我们来看彼得的故事。五旬节那天，彼得站起来说话时，可以说他的胆子很大。后来他到圣殿去，医好一个瘸子，又对众人讲论。那时，他说了一句很强的话：“你们弃绝了那圣别公义者，…神却叫祂从死人中复活了，我们都是这事的见证人。”（徒三14-15）他使用了“弃绝”这辞。彼得曾三次不认主，犹太人是弃绝主；这“不认”和“弃绝”，在原文里用的乃是同一个字（可十四68，70）。换句话说，当他定罪犹太人说，你们弃绝了耶稣，所使用的“弃绝”一辞，就是他不认主的“不承认”。恐怕他在那里这样说时，旁边会有一个人起来指着他说，“主耶稣被捉拿的那天晚上，你自己还不是三次‘弃绝’祂？”
那时才刚过了五旬节；换句话说，才过了五十天，彼得竟然在那里责备人。并且他的责备是带着定罪的意思；他重重的定罪犹太人说，他们弃绝了主耶稣。然而，他忘了自己也曾三次“弃绝”主。难道他没有犯罪吗？不错，他犯了罪。难道他没有跌倒吗？的确，他也跌倒。难道他没有弃绝主吗？是的，他也弃绝过主。但请记得，在这时候，他乃是一个得着圣灵的人。
不仅犹太人弃绝主，彼得也弃绝过主，这从外面看好像一样。在主耶稣被卖、被钉死的时候，门徒们全数都弃绝了主，包括彼得在内，几乎没有一个例外。大家都犯了弃绝主的罪，彼得更是犯了。然而，经过五旬节圣灵的浇灌，彼得能勇敢的对犹太人说，“你们弃绝了耶稣，你们犯了这罪。”为什么彼得有胆量说这话？因为他实在认识并且经历他的罪完全得赦免了。他知道他的罪已得了赦免，他的良心不再有控告。他知道十字架是什么意义，他也清楚宝血的功效。他知道自己在神面前已蒙赦免，已经与神和好了。他知道他那一次的弃绝主，一点没有使主弃绝他。他确实知道他的罪在神面前蒙赦免，因为他已蒙主饶恕，蒙主宝血洗净。他是一个与主和好，蒙主悦纳的人。所以五旬节那天，他和大家都能得着圣灵的浇灌。他能在圣殿里放胆说，你们这些犹太人弃绝了耶稣，你们有了这弃绝耶稣的罪，直到今天还留着这罪。
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The Testimony of the Gospel (1) — Acts 3:14-15
Let us consider Peter’s story. On the day of Pentecost, Peter stood up to speak with remarkable boldness. Later, he went to the temple, healed a lame man and addressed the crowd. At that time, Peter spoke a striking statement:
“You disowned the Holy and Righteous One… God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.” (Acts 3:14–15) Peter used the word “disown”. Interestingly, Peter himself had denied the Lord three times, and the Jewish people had rejected the Lord. The words “deny” and “reject” come from the same term in Greek language (Mark 14:68, 70). In other words, when Peter condemned the Jewish people for rejecting Jesus, he used the very word that described his own denial of the Lord. Imagine someone standing nearby saying, “On the night Jesus was arrested, didn’t you yourself deny Him three times” ?
It had been only fifty days since Pentecost, and Peter was already reproving others. His reproof was not mild but carried a weight of condemnation. He accused the Jewish people of rejecting the Lord Jesus. Yet Peter seemed to have forgotten his own history of denial. Had Peter not sinned? Indeed, he had. Had he not stumbled? Certainly, he had. Had he not rejected the Lord? Yes, he had denied Him. But at this point, Peter was a man filled with the Holy Spirit.
Both the Jewish people and Peter had rejected the Lord—outwardly, it appeared the same. When Jesus was betrayed and crucified, all the disciples had abandoned Him, Peter included. Virtually none had remained faithful. All had committed the sin of rejecting the Lord, and Peter was no exception. However, after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Peter boldly declared to the Jewish people, “You denied Jesus; you committed this sin.”
Why did Peter have the courage to say this? Because he had come to deeply know and experience the complete forgiveness of his sins. He was fully aware that his sins had been forgiven and that his conscience no longer condemned him. Peter understood the meaning of the cross and the power of the blood of Christ. He knew he had been forgiven before God and reconciled to Him. He also realized that his denial of the Lord had not caused the Lord to reject him. He was assured that his sins were forgiven before God, having been cleansed by the precious blood of Christ. Peter was now a man reconciled with the Lord and received by Him. Because of this, on the day of Pentecost, he and the others received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, Peter could stand boldly in the temple and declare, “You Jewish people rejected Jesus. You bear the sin of rejecting Him, and this sin remains with you even today”.