Never Too Sinful 恩典大于罪恶

[Dexu Xia]

Never Too Sinful

You are a forgiving God . . . abounding in love.  Nehemiah 9:17

“If I touched a Bible, it would catch fire in my hands,” said my community college English professor. My heart sank. The novel we’d been reading that morning referenced a Bible verse, and when I pulled out my Bible to look it up, she noticed and commented. My professor seemed to think she was too sinful to be forgiven. Yet I wasn’t bold enough to tell her about God’s love—and that the Bible tells us we can always seek God’s forgiveness.

There’s an example of repentance and forgiveness in Nehemiah. The Israelites had been exiled because of their sin, but now they were allowed to return to Jerusalem. When they’d “settled in,” Ezra the scribe read the law to them (Nehemiah 7:73–8:3). They confessed their sins, remembering that despite their sin God “did not desert” or “abandon them” (9:17, 19). He “heard them” when they cried out; and in compassion and mercy, He was patient with them (vv. 27–31).

In a similar way, God is patient with us. He won’t abandon us if we choose to confess our sin and turn to Him. I wish I could go back and tell my professor that, no matter her past, Jesus loves her and wants her to be part of His family. He feels the same way about you and me. We can approach Him seeking forgiveness—and He will give it!

Do you know someone who feels they’re too sinful for Jesus to forgive them? How does the truth that Jesus has come not for “the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17) speak to this way of thinking?

Dear Father, thank You for forgiving my sins and for Your assurance that no one is too sinful to be forgiven.

恩典大于罪恶

但祢是乐意饶恕人……有丰盛慈爱的上帝。—尼希米记9章17节

我的社区大学英语教授说：“如果我触摸圣经，它会在我手中起火。”我听了有点难过。那天早上，我们阅读的小说里引用了一节圣经的经文，当教授注意到我拿出圣经查阅时，她说了这一番话。这位教授似乎认为自己的罪孽过于深重，以致无法被赦免。可惜我那时没有勇气去告诉她关于上帝的爱，以及圣经明确指出，我们随时都能寻求上帝的宽恕。

在尼希米记就有一个悔改和宽恕的例子。以色列人虽然因为犯罪而被掳，但后来他们得到允许返回耶路撒冷。当他们安定下来后，文士以斯拉便向他们宣读律法（尼希米记7章73节-8章3节）。百姓承认自己的罪，并且谨记纵然他们犯了罪，上帝仍没有丢弃或离开他们（9章17、19节）。他们一呼求，上帝就从天上垂听，并以怜悯和恩慈宽容他们（27-31节）。

同样地，上帝也一直宽容我们。如果我们选择承认自己的罪并求告祂，祂也不会离弃我们。但愿我可以回去告诉这位教授，无论她过去如何，耶稣都爱她，并希望她能成为上帝家中的一分子。上帝对你对我也是如此！我们都能来到上帝面前寻求祂的赦免，祂必会饶恕我们！

你知道有谁自觉罪孽深重，无法得着耶稣的赦免？
在马可福音2章17节，耶稣说：“我来本不是召义人，乃是召罪人。”这句话对他会有什么帮助呢？

亲爱的天父，感谢祢赦免我的罪，并向我们保证：没有任何人会因罪孽过于深重而得不着祢的饶恕。