诗八九14 公义和公平，是你宝座的根基；慈爱和真实，行在你面前。

　　彼前三18 因基督也曾一次为罪受死，就是义的代替不义的，为要引你们到神面前…。

　　Psalm 89:14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before Your face.

　　1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also has suffered once for sins, the Righteous on behalf of the unrighteous, that He might bring you to God, on the one hand being put to death in the flesh, but on the other, made alive in the Spirit;

　　什么是神的义？神的义就是神作事的方法。爱是神的性质，圣洁是神的性情，荣耀是神的自己。但是公义是神的手续，是神的道路，是神的方法。神因着是公义的缘故，所以就不能随着祂自己的爱来爱人。…不错，神救人是因为祂爱人，但祂这样作必须与祂自己的义，与祂自己的手续，与祂自己的道德，与祂自己的道路，与祂自己的尊严，与祂自己的威严相合，才可以。

　　What is God's righteousness? God's righteousness is God's way of doing things. Love is God's nature, holiness is God's disposition, and glory is God's own being. Righteousness, however, is God's procedure, His way, and His method. Since God is righteous, He cannot love man merely according to His own love. He cannot grant man grace merely according to what He wants. He cannot save man merely according to His heart's desire. It is true that God saves man because He loves man. But He must do so in a way that is in agreement with His own righteousness, His own procedure, His own moral standard, His own way, His own method, His own dignity, and His own majesty.

　　有一件事请你们记得，当主耶稣还没有死的时候，神如果赦免我们的罪，神就是不义。反过来说，当主耶稣死了之后，神如果不赦免我们的罪，神也是不义。…没有血的救赎是不义；有了血，我们还不得救，也是不义。

　　One thing we have to know is that before the Lord Jesus died, it was unrighteous for God to forgive our sins, but after the Lord Jesus died, it would be equally unrighteous for God not to forgive our sins. Without the Lord Jesus' death, God's forgiveness would be unrighteous on His part; He could never do this. With the Lord Jesus' death, He would be held equally unrighteous if God would not forgive. Please remember, redemption without blood is unrighteous. On the other hand, when one has the blood and is denied salvation, this is also unrighteous.

　　神的义有什么用处呢？…第一个用处就是叫我们心里有平安。…现在神把祂的义给了我们，我们就平安了…。平安不能因爱得着，平安只能因义得着。神的爱虽然是可靠，但是从我们人的眼睛看过去，还没有神的义那样可靠。当人才起头学习相信神的时候，要学习相信神的义过于相信神的爱。

　　在这里我举一个比方给你们听。有一天我到兆丰公园去读圣经，天上忽然乌云密布，打起雷来，好像马上要下大雨。我…就快步走回家去，一路上天还是黑的，雷还是一直在打，云还是遮得密密厚厚的。我从兆丰公园一直走到家，感谢主，雨还没有下来，我身上一滴雨都没有。还有一次我到兆丰公园去看书，天又黑起来了，像上一次一样。雷又打起来，云又遮得满天都是。…这一次雨下来了，〔我就跑到公园后头〕一个小房里去。这时候外头就一直下雨，…直到后来天晴了，云散了，雷也不打了，我就回家去。这一次走在路上，身上也是一滴雨都没有。我问你们，这两次我走回家，那一次心里更平安？…第一次虽然身上没有淋雨，但是走在路上，不知道什么时候雨会下来，所以心是吊在那里的。第二次身上也没有淋雨，但是心里平安，因为雨下过了，现在天晴朗了。有许多的人想靠着神的恩典，让自己的罪马虎过去，这样的人就像我第一次走回家去的时候一样，虽然没有淋到雨，但是那时候黑暗还是罩着，雷还是打着，云还是遮着，心是吊在那里的，不知道事情要怎样。但感谢神，赞美神，我们所得的救恩是“下过雨”的救恩，是“打过雷”的救恩。我们的雨已经在各各他山下过了，我们的雷已经在各各他山打过了，现在什么都过去了。所以我们高兴快乐，不只我们的罪得着了赦免，并且是解决了之后赦免的，并不是马虎过去的。因为神已经解决了罪的问题，所以就叫祂的儿子复活来作凭据（神的福音卷一，一○○、一二二、一二四至一二六页）。

　　We should now ask, how is God's righteousness applied to us? God's righteousness is applied to us in two ways. God's righteousness can first be applied in its giving us peace in our heart. Peace cannot be obtained through love; peace can only be obtained through righteousness. Although in reality God's love is reliable, from man's point of view it is not as reliable as God's righteousness. When a person first begins to trust in God, he should learn to trust more in His righteousness than in His love.

　　Here I would like to give you one more illustration. One day I was at Hsiao-feng Park reading my Bible. Suddenly, the sky blackened and thunder began to roll. It looked as if it was going to rain immediately. I closed my Bible quickly and ran to a little house behind the park. But after a while the rain had not yet come, so I walked home hurriedly. On the way home the sky was still quite dark; thunder was rolling, and the clouds were very thick. Yet the rain did not come—not one drop fell on me the entire way home. On another occasion some time later, I went to the same park to read again. This time also the sky blackened like the previous time. Thunder started to roll again, and the clouds were overcast and thick. I counted on my experience from the last time, so I was quite at ease and moved slowly. But unfortunately this time the rain came, and I got wet. I had no choice but to run to that little house again. By the time I reached the house, the rain was pouring down. I did not know how heavy the rain was. But, eventually, the sky cleared, the clouds dispersed, the thunder ceased, and I walked home again. This time, like the previous time, there was not a drop of rain while I was on my way home. But let me ask you a question: On which occasion did my heart have more peace? On both occasions no rain fell on me as I walked home. But which time did I have more peace? Was it the first time, or was it the second time? Although the first time there was no rain on the way home, I did not know when the rain would come; as a result, my heart was held in suspense. On the second occasion there was also no rain on the way home, but my heart was at peace because the rain had already passed and the sky was clear. Many people hope that God's grace would gloss over their sins. They are like I was on my first trip home. Although there is no rain, darkness still hangs overhead; thunder still rolls and the clouds still cover. Their hearts are still held in suspense. They do not know what will happen to them. But praise and thank the Lord, the salvation we have received is one that has already "passed through the rain." It is a salvation that has "passed through thunder." Our "rain" has already been poured out on Calvary, and our "thunder" has already rolled on Calvary. Now everything is over. We rejoice not only because our sins have been forgiven, but because they have been forgiven after being dealt with. They were not glossed over. God has dealt with the problem of our sins. His Son's resurrection has become the evidence of this work.