牧者心聲

近年，「重啟人生」成了熱門題材。日劇《重啟人生》講述主角一次又一次重過人生，體會日常與友誼的珍貴；美國學者亞瑟・布魯克斯（Arthur Brooks）的同名暢銷書，則探討不少看來甚有成就的人，為何私底下仍常感痛苦，引導讀者重新衡量何謂成功與幸福。「重啟」這題材能引發共鳴，因為大家都曾想過：若生命真能重來，會否作出不同選擇？不能重來，又怎樣好好走下去？

然而，時光不能倒流。基督卻在我們無法重來的人生裡，賜下新的生命。保羅在《加拉太書》開首宣告，基督照着父神的旨意，「為我們的罪捨己，是要救我們脫離現今這個邪惡的時代」（加一 4，新漢語）。信靠祂的人不僅蒙神接納，更成為天父的兒女；到了書信結尾，他總結道：「成為新造的人才是要緊」（加六 15）。「新造的人」沒有抹去歷史：信徒仍要誠實面對過往，昔日的失敗卻不再能界定我們在神面前的身分。當日加拉太教會受假教師攪擾，他們動搖信徒身分的根基，誤導人以為單信基督仍未足夠，還需受割禮、守律法，才算完全屬神。保羅於是嚴正指出，在基督救恩外另設門檻，福音便失去原意。

宣信牧師讀加拉太書時，特別講解「基督在我裏面活著」（加二 20）這句。他強調，我們所需要的，遠超過把舊我改好；主所賜的，乃是祂自己。祂愛我們，為我們捨己，如今更藉聖靈住在我們裡面。因此，更新的力量是來自每天信靠內住的基督，遠勝意志的苦撐。這正是信徒與基督聯合的真理。

今天我們不再爭論割禮，卻常按事奉、靈修、道德水平或他人稱讚，衡量自身屬靈價值。這些本是蒙恩結出的果子，一旦變成換取神接納的憑據，反成了重負。口裡唱頌奇異恩典，心裏仍不斷追問：自己做得不夠好，或失敗了，神還會愛我嗎？

加拉太書提醒我們：「基督已經使我們自由，為要我們得自由。所以你們要站穩，不要再被奴役的軛鉗制。」（加五 1）基督付代價成就的自由，使我們無須靠外在表現證明自己；待人方式亦隨之改變：不再任意妄為，反倒靠著聖靈引導，以愛心彼此服事、互相接納。

各位，無論你是初信，抑或信主多年，都盼望你隨着這一季《加拉太書》的研讀，在基督恩典中站穩，靠聖靈活出新造之人的豐盛，得享因福音重啟人生的輕省。

In recent years, "restarting life" has become a popular theme. The Japanese drama Brush Up Life follows its protagonist as she lives her life over and over again, coming to appreciate the preciousness of everyday life and friendship. Arthur Brooks, a social scientist who studies happiness, picks up related questions in his bestselling book—published in Chinese as《重啟人生》(literally “Restarting Life”)—as he reflects on success, happiness, and the second half of life. He explores why many people who appear highly successful still often feel miserable in private, leading readers to reconsider what success and happiness really mean. This theme of "restarting" resonates with us because we have all wondered: If we could live life over again, would we make different choices? And if we cannot, how can we make the most of the life that lies ahead?

Yet, we cannot turn back the clock. But in this life that we cannot live over again, Christ gives us new life. At the beginning of Galatians, Paul declares that Christ, according to the will of God the Father, "gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age" (Galatians 1:4). Those who trust in Him are not only accepted by God but also become children of our Heavenly Father. At the end of the epistle, Paul sums it up by saying, "what counts is the new creation" (Galatians 6:15).

Being a "new creation" does not erase our history: believers must still honestly face the past, but our former failures can no longer define who we are before God. At that time, the Galatian churches were troubled by false teachers who were undermining the foundation of the believers' identity. They misled people into thinking that faith in Christ alone was not enough, and that circumcision and law-keeping were also needed to fully belong to God. Paul therefore firmly pointed out that setting up any additional requirements beyond Christ's saving grace strips the gospel of its true meaning.

When Rev. A. B. Simpson taught from Galatians, he gave special attention to the words, “Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). He emphasized that what we need is far more than improving our old selves. What the Lord gives us is Himself. He loves us and gave Himself for us, and now He lives in us through the Holy Spirit. The power for renewal therefore comes from daily trust in the indwelling Christ, not from gritting our teeth through sheer willpower. This is precisely the truth of the believer’s union with Christ.

Today, we no longer argue about circumcision. Yet we often measure our spiritual worth by our ministry, devotional life, moral standards, or the praise of others. These things are originally fruits that grow out of grace. Once they become the basis for earning God’s acceptance, they become a heavy burden. We may sing about amazing grace, while still asking ourselves: If I have not done well enough, or if I have failed, will God still love me?

Galatians reminds us: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1) The freedom Christ purchased for us means that we do not need to prove ourselves by outward performance. It also changes how we treat others: not doing whatever we please but instead being led by the Spirit to serve one another in love and accept one another.

Dear brothers and sisters, whether you are new in the faith or have believed in the Lord for many years, my hope is that through studying Galatians this quarter, you will stand firm in the grace of Christ, depend on the Holy Spirit to live out the fullness of the new creation, and experience the freedom and lightness of a life restarted by the gospel.