2月8日
马太福音 6:5-15
唱诗：赞美诗 47:6

你们不饶恕人的过犯，你们的天父也必不饶恕你们的过犯。（太6·15）

主祷文的第五个祈求很值得注意，这似乎在说，神对我们的饶恕取决于我们对别人的饶恕，我们的行为怎么能决定或改变上帝的行为呢？

当然，我们的行为不可能决定或限制神的作为。神是至高无上的统治者，不管我们如何行动，祂只做他所喜悦的事。但我们的救主在主祷文中教导我们一件很重要的事，如果我们想得到神的饶恕，就必须学会饶恕得罪我们的人。

我们必须注意到，“饶恕”这一祈求是主基督从主祷文中唯一提取并重复的一条，这说明“饶恕”是非常重要的。如果我们已被饶恕了，那么拒绝饶恕得罪我们的人就是一件很不合理的事情。

今天文章中“饶恕”这个词的时态是指一种已经完成并不断持续的状态。我们已经饶恕，并且将来还要饶恕，一次性的饶恕是不够的，因为饶恕是一种持续不断的努力。

我们每天都在犯罪，这一现实必然使我们非常谦卑。我们应该像保罗一样承认，我们都是“罪魁”（提前1: 16）。在这样的谦卑中，我们才能与那些得罪我们的人或在对神的服侍上有亏欠的人靠近。

思考问题：爱与惩罚的关系是什么？（见启示录3:19   ——  凡我所疼爱的，我就责备管教他。所以你要发热心，也要悔改。）

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February 8
Matthew 6:5-15
Song: Hymn 47:6

AS WE ALSO HAVE FORGIVEN

“But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."（Matthew 6:15)

The fifth petition in the Lord's Prayer is rather remarkable.It seems that God's forgiveness of us depends on our forgiveness of our debtors. How can God's actions ever be determined or altered by our actions?

Of course,God's actions are never determined or limited by our actions. The Lord is sovereign and does what pleases him, regardless of how we act. But in the Lord's Prayer, our Savior teaches us something very important. If we wish to receive forgiveness from God, we must learn to forgive others the sins committed against us.

We must note that the only petition the Lord Jesus lifts out of the prayer and repeats is the one about forgiveness. This means that the matter is very important. If we have been forgiven, it is then absurd that we refuse to forgive those who have sinned against us.

The verb "forgive"in the passage for today is written in a tense indicating a completed fact that is ongoing. We have forgiven and we will forgive. A one-time act of forgiveness does not suffice because forgiving is a constant effort.

We fall into sins every day again.This reality must render us very humble. We should confess, as Paul did, that we are "the worst of sinners"(1 Tim 1:16).In this humility, we approach others who have sinned against us or fallen short in their service of God.

Question: What is the relationship between love and discipline? (See Revelation 3:19.)