Holy Light Church in Nanjing, Jiangsu, resumed its on-site Sunday service on March 21, after the suspension due to the resurgence of coronavirus pandemic before the 2021 Spring Festival.
Coincidently with the Lenten season of the ecumenical church, based on Matthew 21:28-32, Teacher Yang Chenxi gave a sermon titled "Repentance and Obedience", sharing with the congregation how to meditate on repentance and practice truth in their lives during the days.
Known as the pre-suffering period, Lent has lasted till now since the establishment of the church. During its forty days, an important aspect is to meditate on repentance. During this festival, believers observe Lent in various ways, such as fasting; but they do not only focus on eating or drinking, but also on training themselves to be godly. On the other hand, by enduring hunger, they can feel the pain of the poor and the suffering of Christ’s cross and prepare themselves to experience the Lord's resurrection.
During this period, not only do the catechumens of the church prepare for baptism in Easter, but previously baptize believers also strived to re-establish their relationship with the Lord through fasting, offerings, and prayer.
Yang stated, "The two sons mentioned in the above-mentioned passage in Matthew 21 were very much like us. The elder son represented people who had heard the gospel but whose souls had not yet awakened; those were people who received God's call but still did not understand the truth. Working in the vineyard symbolized obeying God's will, and the younger one rejected God's will because of his spiritual naiveness and his ignorance of the truth. People often despised God as they thought that man could conquer the sky, but younger son later regretted it and went to the vine."
"Repentance and truth are very important themes in the New Testament. John the Baptist preached the baptism of repentance, Jesus preached the gospel of repentance in Galilee, and so did his disciples; those instances clearly show the importance of the message of repentance," he added.
"Paul emphasized that you must repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus, as repentance was a new beginning and a door to eternal life. Repentance was like a key that could open the door to salvation which was the core of the gospel," the teacher emphasized.
Yang cited a story from the book "Golden Booklet of the Christian Life" written by John Calvin, to describe repentance.
"Repentance was like a person standing on a rock on a cliff that was about to fall. If you kept standing on the stone, you would end up with death. At that time, a rope was dropped from the top to save people from that dangerous place, and one thing a person needed to do was to grab the rope and kick off the stone to jump to a safe place. He believed that the rope could save himself, so he grabbed it."
"How did he get to the safe place? The method was to push off the rocks under his feet. However, some believers held the rope of salvation in their hands but still stepped on the stone of crime under their feet. And they felt that they were at peace, but in fact, had no peace. Repentance is not self-deception but a person's determination to renounce a sinful life."
The Lord Jesus used the story of the two sons to warn that the people who had outward piety could not enter the kingdom of God, he said.
"The initial response (becoming a believer) was not enough and might not last till the end; rejection (of a sinful life) at the beginning does not mean rejection forever," he concluded.
(The original article is published by Gospel Times)
- Translated by Abigail Wu
3月21日，在经历这次疫情后，南京圣光堂迎来了实地主日崇拜。
恰逢大公教会大斋期，杨晨曦老师藉马太福音21章28-32节的经文，以“悔改与顺服”为主题证道，向会众分享了基督徒在大斋期间如何更深地默想悔改并在生活中实践信仰。
大斋期又称预苦期，从教会建立至今一直延续，在这四十天中有一个很重要的主题就是默想悔改。在此节期期间信徒也会通过一些形式来守斋期，如禁食，但这个意义并不在于吃吃喝喝或不吃不喝，乃在于如何操练信徒的灵性。另一方面还要操练饥饿，体会贫乏人的痛苦，与基督共同体会十架苦难，预备心灵迎接主的复活。
教会的慕道者在此期间预备心灵迎接复活节的洗礼。而已经受洗的信徒则通过禁食，奉献祈祷重新建立与主的关系。
在《马太福音》第21章这段经文中讲到的两个儿子，很像现实中的我们。大儿子代表听过福音但灵魂尚未苏醒的人，即神的呼召已经临到，但他还不明白真理的人。葡萄园象征神的旨意，小儿子因为灵性的幼稚不明白真理而拒绝神的旨意。人常以为人定胜天，藐视神。但后面小儿子懊悔就去了。
悔改在新约中是一个很重要的主题，也是新约中一个重要的真理，施洗约翰传悔改的洗礼；耶稣在加利利宣讲悔改的福音；门徒出去传道也让人悔改，这里同时记录了这一重要的信息——悔改。保罗同样强调你们要悔改，个人要悔改奉耶稣的名受洗。悔改是一个新的开始，是进入永生的一扇门。福音的核心是救恩，而悔改就像钥匙打开救恩之门。
那什么才是悔改呢？
杨老师引用《基督徒的生活》一书中的一个故事用来描述悔改。他说悔改就像有一个人站在悬崖的一块石头上，而这块石头马上就要掉下去。如果一直站在石头上结局就是死，但在这时候上面垂下来一根藤条可以救人脱离这个危险的地方，而人需要做的一件事就是抓住这根藤条，用力蹬掉脚下的石头跃到平安的地方。抓住藤条是因为相信这个藤条可以救自己，那如何渡到彼岸呢，方法就是用力蹬掉脚下的石头。可是在信仰中，部分信仰者常手里抓着救恩的藤条，脚下却踩着犯罪的石头，觉得自己很平安，其实没有平安。悔改不是自欺欺人，而是有悔改的行为，决志弃绝罪中的生活。
主耶稣借着两个儿子的故事警戒百姓外表的敬虔并不能进入神的国，最初的回应并不是终级的回应，一开始的拒绝不一定就永远拒绝，而只有一开始回应也是不够的。
最后杨老师劝勉信徒都能在真理里拥有真实的悔改的生命，过一个顺服神旨意的生活。
南京江宁圣光堂主日崇拜宣讲“悔改与顺服”
Holy Light Church in Nanjing, Jiangsu, resumed its on-site Sunday service on March 21, after the suspension due to the resurgence of coronavirus pandemic before the 2021 Spring Festival.
Coincidently with the Lenten season of the ecumenical church, based on Matthew 21:28-32, Teacher Yang Chenxi gave a sermon titled "Repentance and Obedience", sharing with the congregation how to meditate on repentance and practice truth in their lives during the days.
Known as the pre-suffering period, Lent has lasted till now since the establishment of the church. During its forty days, an important aspect is to meditate on repentance. During this festival, believers observe Lent in various ways, such as fasting; but they do not only focus on eating or drinking, but also on training themselves to be godly. On the other hand, by enduring hunger, they can feel the pain of the poor and the suffering of Christ’s cross and prepare themselves to experience the Lord's resurrection.
During this period, not only do the catechumens of the church prepare for baptism in Easter, but previously baptize believers also strived to re-establish their relationship with the Lord through fasting, offerings, and prayer.
Yang stated, "The two sons mentioned in the above-mentioned passage in Matthew 21 were very much like us. The elder son represented people who had heard the gospel but whose souls had not yet awakened; those were people who received God's call but still did not understand the truth. Working in the vineyard symbolized obeying God's will, and the younger one rejected God's will because of his spiritual naiveness and his ignorance of the truth. People often despised God as they thought that man could conquer the sky, but younger son later regretted it and went to the vine."
"Repentance and truth are very important themes in the New Testament. John the Baptist preached the baptism of repentance, Jesus preached the gospel of repentance in Galilee, and so did his disciples; those instances clearly show the importance of the message of repentance," he added.
"Paul emphasized that you must repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus, as repentance was a new beginning and a door to eternal life. Repentance was like a key that could open the door to salvation which was the core of the gospel," the teacher emphasized.
Yang cited a story from the book "Golden Booklet of the Christian Life" written by John Calvin, to describe repentance.
"Repentance was like a person standing on a rock on a cliff that was about to fall. If you kept standing on the stone, you would end up with death. At that time, a rope was dropped from the top to save people from that dangerous place, and one thing a person needed to do was to grab the rope and kick off the stone to jump to a safe place. He believed that the rope could save himself, so he grabbed it."
"How did he get to the safe place? The method was to push off the rocks under his feet. However, some believers held the rope of salvation in their hands but still stepped on the stone of crime under their feet. And they felt that they were at peace, but in fact, had no peace. Repentance is not self-deception but a person's determination to renounce a sinful life."
The Lord Jesus used the story of the two sons to warn that the people who had outward piety could not enter the kingdom of God, he said.
"The initial response (becoming a believer) was not enough and might not last till the end; rejection (of a sinful life) at the beginning does not mean rejection forever," he concluded.
(The original article is published by Gospel Times)
- Translated by Abigail Wu
"Repentence is Determination to Renounce Sinful Life", Says Bible Teacher
