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希伯来书12:14-17：14你们要追求与众人和睦，并要追求圣洁；非圣洁没有人能见主。15又要谨慎，恐怕有人失了神的恩；恐怕有毒根生出来扰乱你们，因此叫众人沾染污秽。16恐怕有淫乱的，有贪恋世俗如以扫的；他因一点食物把自己长子的名分卖了。17后来想要承受父所祝的福，竟被弃绝，虽然号哭切求，却得不着门路使他父亲的心意回转。这是你们知道的。

         以下的两种说法都是对的。任何罪都能将你关在天堂之外。没有任何罪能把你关在天堂之外。要理解为什么这两种说法都对，你需要理解律法和福音的区别。律法说，我们犯了一件罪，就犯了全律法。因此，即使是一次罪，也能把我们关在天堂之外。但是福音提醒我们，耶稣，上帝的儿子的宝血洁净了我们所有的罪。因此没有任何罪能把我们关在天堂之外。

         《希伯来书》的作者今天早晨提醒我们，我们生命中的任何罪都可能成为崇拜偶像的根源，使我们弃绝天父上帝和救主耶稣。他举了以扫的例子，他为了一碗汤出卖了长子的名分。这个罪的背后潜藏着一个更大的罪，就是不信。当一件事变得比上帝与我们之间的关系还重要，那么所有的事都可能变得比上帝与我们之间的关系更重要。

“（你们）又要谨慎，恐怕有人失了神的恩。”我们没有失去神的恩典，并不是因为因为神的恩典期待我们做的有多好。相反，神的恩典是如此丰盛，以至于它遮盖了我们所有的罪。当我们让自己的心紧紧抓住属世的罪和和享乐，而不是上帝的恩典，我们就“失了神的恩。”

这是律法和福音的问题。律法说，任何罪都可以把我们关在天堂之外，这是对我们重要的提醒。福音说，没有任何罪能阻止我们进入天堂，这是因为上帝丰盛的恩典牢牢地抓住了我们。

祷告：亲爱的阿爸父啊，你用你的恩典紧紧抓住我，并带领我信靠你的儿子耶稣。藉着他，我在你的面前称义，并被救赎成为你亲爱的孩子。以下是我今日的祷告：请不要让任何罪在我生命里停留或成为我生命中重要的事情，以至于我失去了你给我的恩典。我这样祈求是奉你的名。阿们。

Hebrews 12: 14 Pursue peace with everyone and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. 15 Take care so that no one falls short of God’s grace and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and so defile many. 16 Take care that no one becomes sexually immoral or worldly, like Esau, who gave away his right as firstborn for a single meal. 17 Certainly you know that afterward he was rejected when he wanted to inherit the blessing, for he found no chance to change his father’s mind, even though he sought it with tears. (EHV)

      Both of these statements are true.  Any sin can keep you out of heaven. No sin that can keep you out of heaven. To understand how both of those statements can be true, you have to understand the distinction between law and gospel. The law says that even one sin makes us guilty of breaking the whole law. Therefore even one sin can keep me out of heaven. But the gospel reminds us that the blood of Jesus, God’s Son, purifies us from ALL sin.  Therefore no sin can keep me out of heaven.

         The writer to the Hebrews reminds us this morning that any sin in our lives can become a source of idolatry, in which we reject our God and Savior. He gives the example of Esau, who sold his birthright for a bowl of soup. That sin was a symptom of his greater sin, the sin of unbelief. When one thing becomes more important than our relationship with God, then everything becomes more important than our relationship with God.

         “Take care that no one falls short of God’s grace,” the writer says. We do not fall short of God’s grace because God’s grace expects too much of us. On the contrary, God’s grace is so abundant that it covers the entire multitude of our sins. We “fall short of it” when we allow our heart to cling to the sins and pleasures of this world instead of God’s grace.

         It’s a matter of law and gospel. The law says that ANY sin can keep us out of heaven, if that’s what is important to us. The gospel says that NO sin can keep us out of heaven, because God’s abundant grace has laid hold of us. Prayer:   Dear Father, abba Father, you have laid hold of me by your grace and brought me to faith in your Son, Jesus, through whom I am justified in your sight and redeemed to be your dear child. My prayer today is this. Let no sin linger in my life and become so important to me that I lose my grasp on the grace you’ve given me.  I ask this in your name.  Amen.