HOPE

信息題目: 是兒女，不是奴僕

講員: 蔡佳君牧師

經文：羅馬書第八章第15-17節

信息總結:

曾經有一個十多歲的小女孩，有一天為了一個小小的原因和媽媽吵架，離家出走。當她走在路上，又餓又累得時候，她聞到路邊的麵攤上飄過來的陣陣香氣。經不了這種吸引，她在麵攤的前面流連徘徊。麵攤的老闆娘看到了，請她吃了一碗麵。也許實在是太餓的緣故，小女孩覺得這是她吃過的最好的一碗麵。感激之餘，小女孩向老闆娘表示，願意做她的女兒。老闆娘開導她說 “像我這樣一個陌生人，請妳吃了一碗麵，妳還會感激。但是妳自己的媽媽一生辛苦的扶養妳，現在找不到妳了，不知道她會多麼擔心，趕快回家吧。” 小女孩聽了，終於決定回家。當她離家還有一段距離的時候，就遠遠的看到媽媽已經焦急的在門口等她了。

一、 不知脫離罪的綑綁

兄弟姊妹，我們成為上帝的兒女，生活在恩典的家中，我們是小公主與小王子的身份，卻常不知道或是忘記自己的身份。甚至突然間面臨與自己好像有利的引誘時，嘴一嚐到甜頭，就忘記天父上帝。

在教會中，我們當著眾兄弟姊妹的面前，告白相信耶穌，成為一個基督徒。但是許多人不知道所信的耶穌是誰，也不知為何要信耶穌，不知自己身為兒女的身份與權利，依然保持和沒有得救時同樣的態度，情願活在罪惡當中，做罪的奴僕。

當一個罪惡的奴僕，使我們以為，我們所追求的一切，必須靠自己的打拼，做牛做馬所賺、所存的，生未能享受，死也未能帶走；無論富有或貧窮，一生煩惱勞苦。雖然如此，卻有三種人，情願受罪的綑綁：第一種人是捨不得將所擔的重擔放下，認為重擔是自己註定的命運；第二種人因為對重擔所造成的痛苦已經麻痺，或是不知道要放下；第三種人，是幾乎要認魔鬼當父親，渾然不知受罪惡綑綁的厲害。

我用一艘船上的三種賓客來比喻所講的這三種人：第一種人好像辛苦得到入門票的賓客，上船之後，行李仍然背在身上，不曉得放在自己的房內，也不知船上的設施和美食，都可憑船票享受，白白浪費入門票的價值；第二種人是偷渡客，因為不曉得入門是看票不看人，於是，將自己藏匿在船的最底層，看不見光，也看不見船底很骯髒，充滿蜘蛛絲與老鼠，光一照，才知道所在之處這麼恐怖；第三種人，就是被壞人欺騙的千金小姐，明明船是自己老爸的，卻被騙子唬得要棄船私奔。

二、 奴役心態的可怕

身為一個牧者，我很習慣接受會友推辭或拒絕我對事工的邀請，有時，我會覺得這些拒絕我邀請的人，並不清楚做上帝的工的價值在哪裡，我想，或許他們不知道自己拒絕的是什麼？許多人或許認為，上帝沒力量成就自己的工，才需要我們人的服事，他們不清楚或感覺不到，服事是一種恩典，一種榮耀，也是屬於兒女才有的福氣。若這種人參與服事，就當自己是奴僕，對上帝的要求都是被動回應，就無法在服事中看見服事的價值。

最近電視新聞報導，有一個世界排名第13的富翁，他是世界有名服裝店的老闆，預定最近要將所有的財產，交由他年僅30歲的獨生女繼承。唯一的條件，就是這位千金小姐要在其中的一間服裝店上班，從為顧客服務穿衣、介紹服裝，與整理試穿後的衣服開始做起。雖然，對千金小姐來說，這個工作不輕鬆，但是，若是和千金小姐將繼承的財產相比，這種辛苦根本不算什麼。

我們的上帝就好像這位富有的父親，為要使祂的兒女瞭解祂的心意、祂的國度以及對世人的愛與拯救，祂要求兒女從基礎做起，為要將所有的福氣給祂的兒女。我想，這個富翁的女兒不會誤解父親是沒能力聘請員工，才會叫她來做服務顧客的工作；乃是瞭解父親要她從基礎開始學習，將來才放心與產業交給她；我想，就算父親不給她薪水，這位千金小姐也不會因此，就認為自己作白工，放棄「財產繼承人」的身份。

三、 恢復兒女的身份

我們今早所讀的經文，講到「後嗣」這字的意思就是「產業繼承人」的意思。我們成為上帝的兒女，是上帝的「後嗣」，也就是上帝的「產業繼承人」；但是卻因為不瞭解上帝要我們做什麼，不瞭解服事的價值在哪裡，白白放棄「產業繼承人」的身份。更可怕的是，魔鬼撒旦就愛訕動這些不瞭解自己身份與權利的基督徒，繼續犯罪，生活在罪惡當中，作罪的奴僕，放棄尊貴的「繼承人」身份。

我們受造成為上帝的「產業繼承人」，卻因犯罪，放棄這個尊貴的身份。上帝才會差派聖子耶穌基督來解決這個最重要的困難。我們告白耶穌基督是我們所相信的救主，就是說，我們的得救是靠著主耶穌基督，當我們靠自己無法回到天父上帝的家時，就靠著主耶穌的聖名，才得以進去。

所以，相信耶穌，就是我們入天堂的門票。

如果，我們以為所犯的罪太多太大，或是我們虧欠上帝太多，所以無法進入上帝的國度，我們就是以為天堂是靠自己打拼而進去的。我們過份看重自己的行為，就是看輕上帝赦免罪的權柄和耶穌基督在十字架上贖罪的功勞。

我們既從耶穌基督領受「產業繼承人」的身份，不會因為任何事物改變。但是，魔鬼撒旦巴不得我們不瞭解這真理，欺騙我們，讓我們以為要積聚功德才能進天堂，騙我們放棄這張唯一的「天堂入門票」－ 耶穌基督。

結論－

如果你覺得在教會中，所有的正確答案都是「主耶穌」，卻不知道為什麼？就是還不夠認識天父上帝。約翰福音 3:16 告訴我們: “神愛世人，甚至將祂的獨生子賜給他們， 叫一切信祂的，不至滅亡，反得永生。” 但是，永生是甚麼? 約翰福音 17:3 說: “認識你獨一的真神，並認識你所差來的耶穌基督，這就是永生。” 所以我們要認識 (瞭解) 耶穌。我邀請你多多參加讀經小組和信仰培訓的課程，瞭解上帝就更能瞭解自己，因為，我們是上帝的兒女，都是依上帝的形象所造。千萬不要到了天堂，發現什麼都不瞭解，無法承擔「產業繼承人」這個重要的身份。

Topic: Children, not Slaves

Scripture: Romans 8:15-17

Summary:

Once upon a time there was a teenage girl who, after a fight with her mother, left home. As she walked on the street, tired and hungry, the smell from a nearby noodle stand attracted her so much that she lingered around the stand back and forth. This caught the attention of the owner of the little stand and she treated her a nice bowl of noodle soup. Perhaps this girl was so hungry that she felt this must be the best bowl of noodle that she had ever tasted. Out of her genuine appreciation of the treatment she received, she offered to be the daughter of this noodle stand owner. To this, the owner replied that rather than showing appreciation to a warm-hearted stranger, she should realize that her own mother must have been worried so much now that she had disappeared for a while - it is time to go home. Obliging to this advice, this teenage girl started off home. But it was still a distance away when she saw her own mother standing at the door, worrying and waiting for her.

I.               In the bondage of sin

Dear brothers and sisters, as children of God, we live in this house of His wonderful grace and enjoy the status of princes and princesses. But, frequently, we are not aware of or simply forget about our status. This seems especially true while facing temptations that appear “beneficial”.

In a church and in front of fellow brothers and sisters, we confess our faith and become Christians. But many of us do not understand who Jesus is and why we should believe in him. We do not understand our role and privilege of being God’s children. Our attitude towards life is the same as when we were not saved; that we rather live in, and being slaves of, sin.

As slaves of sin, we are led to believe that for all the things we pursue we need to labor hard, that we may not enjoy what we work for and certainly we cannot take them along when we die. Regardless of whether we are rich or poor, our life is simply an endless story of struggles. Even so, there are three kinds of people that would rather be slaves of sin: the first being reluctant to lay down the heavy burdens, who think that these burdens are destiny of life; the second being numb to the pains caused by the heavy burdens to the point that they do not realize these burdens can be laid down; and the third, and the worst, kind almost adopt the Devil as their “father”, not realizing the seriousness of the bondage of sin.

Let me use three kinds of guests of a cruise ship to illustrate my point. The first kind of guests toil hard to obtain the tickets to the ship, just to carry their luggage with them all the time, not knowing that they have the full right to all the facilities and fine dining available. The second kind of “guests” are the smugglers, who hide themselves on the lowest deck. Without light, they cannot see the filth of their surroundings. But, as the light shines, they suddenly realize the horrible state of their place. The third kind are like the spoiled rich girls, who are easily misled by the bandits and liars to the point of deserting their ship, although the ship belongs to their father.

II.             The dreadful state of being a slave

As a pastor, I am used to rejection to my invitation extended to my congregation for participating in ministries. Sometimes I felt that those who rejected me did not realize the value of participating in God’s ministry. I think, perhaps, they did not know what they were rejecting. It could be that some of them thought that God did not have the power to accomplish these tasks, and so He needs participation of men. They did not know, or feel, that service is a blessing, a kind of glory, which belongs to “children” and children only. And, consequently, when they serve, they had the mindset of being a slave and only reacted passively to God’s request. For them, it is impossible to see the value of serving in service.

Lately there was a TV news clip about a billionaire, ranked 13^th in the world, an owner of a well-known fashion brand, who arranged to have his 30-year-old daughter, his only child, to inherit his wealth. The only condition was that this girl would need to work in one of his stores, starting from fitting customers, explaining fashion trend, and organizing the clothes afterwards. To this girl who was about to inherit this fortune, the work may not be easy. However, when compared to what she was about to inherit, the “sacrifice” she made was proportionally insignificant.

Our God is somewhat similar to this wealthy fashion tycoon. In order for His children to understand His plan, His kingdom, and His love and salvation for mankind, He requested that His children to start from the basics, so that they may share in all the blessings. To me, this 30-year-old girl will never misunderstand that her father’s request for her was not because he could not hire more clerks, his intention was for her to learn about the enterprise from the basics, so that one day he can be sure to leave the entire business with her. I think even if she were not paid, she would not think for a moment of herself as working all this in vain and giving up her status as the “heiress of the property”.

III.           Regaining the status of a child

The scripture we read this morning mentioned “heir(s)”, a word meaning “the one to inherit the property”. By becoming God’s children, we are God’s heirs, and we inherit His properties. But we don’t understand what God has in mind for us, we don’t understand the value of service, and we give up our status as the “heirs of His properties”. Even worse, Devil fans into flame, in the heart of those Christians who fail to understand their status and privilege, the desire to keep on sinning, even to live in the pool of sins, being slaves of sin, and giving up the precious status of being “heirs”.

We are created to be God’s heirs, and by sinning we give up this precious title. For this, God sent His son Christ Jesus to resolve this dilemma. We confess that Jesus Christ is our savior, in other words, we confess that our salvation is through and by our Lord Christ Jesus. When we cannot return to the heavenly home of God by ourselves, we gain access to it by way of the holy name of the Lord, Christ Jesus.

Therefore, believing in Jesus is my “ticket” to the heavenly kingdom.

But if we think we cannot enter into God’s kingdom because we had sinned greatly and we owed God dearly, then we are still in the realm of thinking entering into Heaven is something we can achieve through our own effort. By emphasizing our own effort, we take God’s authority of forgiving sin and Christ’s redemptive work on the cross too lightly.

The fact that we have inherited the status of “heirs of properties” from Jesus Christ cannot be modified by any thing or any object. Devil, on the other hand, would rather that we don’t understand this truth. So he plays tricks on us, causing us to think that entering Heaven is a result of accumulating merits, coercing us into giving up this one and only “Ticket to Heaven” – Christ Jesus.

Conclusion

If anyone should feel that all the correct answers in a church is “Lord Jesus” but fails to understand why, then he or she still doesn’t know God sufficiently. John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” The question is, what is “eternal life”? The answer is found in John 17:3 “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” I invite you to bible study groups and various training programs to know God, and yourself, more. For we are His children, created in His image. Let us not discover that we cannot assume the important status of “heirs of the property” when we arrive at Heaven, because we fail to understand God’s will and His purpose.