作者: Burk Parsons譯者: Maria Marta
羞恥----我們都會感覺到，或者我們至少應該感覺到。我們所有人都有罪，我們的罪帶來羞恥。盡管羞恥這一詞幾乎從我們的文化詞彙中消失了, 而且在很大程度上, 在許多教會裡受到忽略, 盡管如此，羞恥的感覺依然存在，因此我們必須承認與面對。
倘若我們對自己誠實，更重要的是對上帝誠實，那麼我們不得不承認，因爲我們的罪, 我們感到羞恥。無論私下犯罪, 還是公開犯罪------甚至假裝沒有犯罪----我們的羞恥感都是真實的。我們感到羞恥, 因爲上帝按著祂的恩典創造人類, 人具備這種對犯罪後果感到羞恥的能力。約翰加爾文曾寫道，「只有那些學會成為對自己深感不滿，對自己的苦惱感到窘迫和羞恥的人, 才真正明白基督教的福音。」倘若我們對自己的罪從不真正感到羞恥，那麼我們從未真正悔改過。因爲只有當我們意識到自己是多麽卑劣的人時，我們才能高唱「奇異恩典」，才能體會這首甜美詩歌的真正涵義。
甚至當我們還是孩童的時候------從我們生命中知道做錯事的那一刻起------我們會羞愧得臉紅耳熱，把頭垂下。問題不是我們是否感到羞愧，而是我們所做的令我們感到羞恥的事。一些人想方設法隱藏自己的羞恥；一些人企圖盡可能久地無視自己的羞恥；一些人變得鐵石心腸, 對自己的羞恥無動於衷；一些人沈溺於羞恥, 過著寡言絕望的生活。然而，身爲基督徒，我們有一個地方能對付我們的羞恥------十字架底下。我們有一位救贖主，祂將我們的恥辱帶到十字架上。因此我們頌唱：「祂被人辱被人譏，代替我站罪人地；賜我生命賜我力。哈利路亞！何等救主！」
耶穌基督不僅在將來把我們從上帝的憤怒和地獄中拯救出來，而且現在就把我們在罪咎和羞恥的泥潭打滾中拯救出來。耶穌基督應許給我們的，不单单是未來的永恒生命，而且从現在就開始的豐盛的生命。耶穌來到世上生活，受死，不僅是爲我們的罪孽，而且也是爲我們的罪的羞恥。耶穌忍受、鄙視十字架的羞辱，好叫我們不必沈溺於羞恥當中。上帝吩咐我們要把我們的羞恥帶給祂，而撒旦卻想要我們用余生來承受我們羞恥的重壓，並沈溺其中，不能自拔。如果我們每天都活在昨天的羞恥當中, 每天都擔心明天的恥辱，那麼今天我們決不會經曆到在基督𥚃的豐盛生命的喜樂。因此，讓我們擡起緊盯著恥辱的疲憊眼睛，專一注視耶穌，就是我們信心的創始者和完成者。
本文原刊于Tabletalk雜誌2015年四月號。
The Weight of Shame
FROM Burk Parsons
Shame—we all feel it, or at least we
should. We are all sinful, and our sin brings shame. Although shame has all but
disappeared from our culture’s vocabulary and is largely ignored by many in the
church, it exists nonetheless and must be recognized and reckoned with.
If we are honest with ourselves, and
more importantly, honest with God, we cannot help but admit that we feel shame
as a result of our sin. Whether we sin in private or in public—and whether we
perhaps even pretend not to have it—shame is undeniably real. We feel shame
because God in His grace created all human beings with the capacity to feel
shame as a consequence of their sin. John Calvin wrote, “Only those who have
learned well to be earnestly dissatisfied with themselves, and to be confounded
with shame at their wretchedness truly understand the Christian gospel.” If we
have never truly felt the shame of our sin, we have never truly repented of our
sin. For it is only when we recognize what wretches we are that we are able to
sing “Amazing Grace” and know what a sweet sound it truly is.
Even when we are young children—from
the very first moment in our lives when we know we’ve done something wrong—we
blush and hang our heads in shame. The question is not whether we feel shame,
but what we do with our shame. Some try to hide their shame, some try to ignore
it as long as possible, some grow callous and complacent toward their shame,
and some wallow in their shame and live their lives in quiet desperation.
However, as Christians, we have a place to go with our shame—the foot of the
cross. We have a Redeemer who has taken our shame to the cross. So we sing,
“Bearing shame and scoffing rude, in my place condemned he stood, sealed my
pardon with his blood: Hallelujah, what a Savior.”
Jesus Christ redeemed us not only
from His wrath and hell in the future but from having to wallow in the mire of
guilt and shame in the present. Jesus promised us not only eternal life in the
future, but abundant life that begins in the present. Jesus lived and died not
only for the guilt of our sin but for the shame of our sin. He endured the
cross, despising its shame, so that we would not have to wallow in shame. Our
Lord calls us to bring our shame to Him, whereas Satan wants us to bear the
constant weight of our shame and wallow in it for the rest of our lives. But if
we live each day bearing the shame of yesterday, and we’re worried about the
shame of tomorrow, we will never experience the joys of abundant life in Christ
today.Ž Therefore, let us lift our weary eyes from gazing upon our shame and fix our eyes of
Christ, the author and finisher of our faith.
This post was originally published in
Tabletalk magazine.