The “No-Secret” Secret/没有秘诀

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Dexu Xia

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Jan 3, 2019, 1:09:29 AM1/3/19

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The “No-Secret” Secret

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. Romans 7:15

A coworker confessed to me that he didn’t think he was “Jesus material.” I listened as he described what he called his “comfortable, narcissistic” life, and how it didn’t satisfy him. “But here’s my problem, I’ve been trying to be good, even caring, but it isn’t working. It seems that the very things I want to do, I can’t do, and the things I want to stop doing, I just keep doing.”

“What’s your secret?” he asked me in complete sincerity. “My secret,” I answered, “is that there is no secret. I’m as powerless to live up to God’s standards as you are, which is why we need Jesus.”

I pulled out a Bible and showed him “his” quote as the apostle Paul expressed it in Romans 7:15. Paul’s words of frustration often resonate with both pre-Christians and Christians who find themselves trying to be good enough to deserve God but falling short. Maybe it resonates with you. If so, Paul’s declaration that Christ is the author of our salvation and its resulting changes (7:25–8:2) should thrill you. Jesus has already done the work to free us from the very things that have us so puzzled with ourselves!

The barrier between us and God, the barrier of sin, has been removed without any work on our part. Salvation—and the changes made by the Holy Spirit in the process of our growth—is what God desires for all. He knocks on the door of our souls. Answer His knock today. It’s no secret that He’s the answer!

See christianuniversity.org/NT225 for more study on the book of Romans.

Without Jesus, salvation and spiritual growth are both gifts beyond our reach.

没有秘诀

因为我所做的，我自己不明白；我所愿意的，我并不做；我所恨恶的，我倒去做。-罗马书7章15节

一位同事向我坦承，他认为自己不是“信耶稣的料”。我静静地听他描述他所谓“舒适又爱自己”的生活，但这种生活却又如何无法满足他。他说：“问题是我一直努力要当个好人，关心别人，但却办不到。好像我想做的事，都做不到；不想再做的事，却一直去做。”

他诚恳地问我：“你到底有什么秘诀？”我回答他说：“我的秘诀就是没有秘诀。我跟你一样，无法达到上帝设立的标准。这就是我们需要耶稣的原因。”

我拿出圣经，让他看看他刚才所说的，正是使徒保罗在罗马书7章15节所叙述的情况。这段读来令人沮丧的经文，不管是非基督徒，或是为了让自己配得上帝恩典，而努力行善却无法办到的基督徒，都能感同身受。或许，对此你也能有共鸣。若是这样，保罗的宣告必会让你振奋，他说基督是我们救恩的源头，且能改变我们的生命（7章25节-8章2节）。耶稣已经完成祂的工作，使我们脱离一切困扰我们的事物！

那在我们和上帝之间因罪所造成的阻碍，已经被除去了，我们不必靠自己的努力就能得到救恩。上帝期盼你我能得着救恩，让圣灵改变我们，帮助我们灵命成长。祂正在我们的心门外叩门，现在就为祂开门吧！没有其他的秘诀，唯独耶稣才是问题的解答！