Grace and mercy are unearned blessings.

恩典和怜悯是我们不应得的福分。

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

惟有基督在我们还作罪人的时候为我们死。-罗马书5章8节

My son’s blue eyes sparkled with excitement as he showed me a paper he had brought home from school. It was a math test, marked with a red star and a grade of 100 percent. As we looked at the exam, he said he had three questions left to answer when the teacher said time was up. Puzzled, I asked how he could have received a perfect score. He replied, “My teacher gave me grace. She let me finish the test although I had run out of time.”

儿子喜孜孜地将学校的数学考卷交给我，眼睛里闪耀着兴奋的光彩。我仔细一看，考卷上有个星星和一百分。他告诉我，其实考试时间结束的时候，他还有三题没写完。我疑惑地问他：“这样怎么能拿到满分？”他说：“虽然时间到了，但我的老师宽容我，给我多一点时间，让我把题目做完。”

As my son and I discussed the meaning of grace, I pointed out that God has given us more than we deserve through Christ. We deserve death because of our sin (Rom. 3:23). Yet, “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (5:8). We were unworthy, yet Jesus—sinless and holy—gave up His life so we could escape the penalty for our sin and one day live forever in heaven.

于是，我趁这个机会告诉儿子，凡是我们不应该得到却得到了，便可说是恩典。我指出，我们因为有罪原本不应该得到赦罪的恩典，但上帝却藉着基督赐给我们。因为罪，我们本当受死（罗马书3章23节，6章23节） ，但是“基督在我们还作罪人的时候为我们死”（5章8节） 。我们是不配得的，但圣洁毫无瑕疵的耶稣牺牲了祂的生命，好让我们可以免去罪的刑罚，而且有一天，我们将会在天家永远与主同住。

Eternal life is a gift from God. It’s not something we earn by working for it. We are saved by God’s grace, through faith in Christ (Eph. 2:8–9).

永生是上帝所赐的恩典，不是靠我们自己努力而获得的。我们得救是藉着相信并接受基督，是靠着上帝的恩典（以弗所书2章8-9节） 。

Dear God, Your undeserved favor has made it 

possible for us to be saved from our sin. 

You have shown us amazing grace. 

Thank You for
the gift You gave. Use me to tell others 

about You and what You have done.

亲爱的上帝，因祢赐给我不配得的恩惠，
使我从罪中得着拯救。谢谢祢赐下奇妙的恩典，
求祢使用我，让我能向人传扬祢的福音。

 Read：Romans 5:6-15 New International Version (NIV)

6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ

12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—

13 To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law.14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.

15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!

罗马书 5:6-15

基督为罪人死显明神的爱

6 因我们还软弱的时候，基督就按所定的日期为罪人死。 7 为义人死是少有的，为仁人死或者有敢做的； 8 唯有基督在我们还做罪人的时候为我们死，神的爱就在此向我们显明了。 9 现在我们既靠着他的血称义，就更要借着他免去神的愤怒。 10 因为我们做仇敌的时候，且借着神儿子的死得与神和好，既已和好，就更要因他的生得救了。 11 不但如此，我们既借着我主耶稣基督得与神和好，也就借着他以神为乐。

罪由亚当而来恩由基督而得

12 这就如罪是从一人入了世界，死又是从罪来的，于是死就临到众人，因为众人都犯了罪。 13 没有律法之先，罪已经在世上，但没有律法，罪也不算罪。 14 然而从亚当到摩西，死就做了王，连那些不与亚当犯一样罪过的，也在它的权下。亚当乃是那以后要来之人的预像。 15 只是过犯不如恩赐。若因一人的过犯，众人都死了，何况神的恩典与那因耶稣基督一人恩典中的赏赐，岂不更加倍地临到众人吗？

整理：于姊妹