罗马书6:12-23

愿恩惠、平安从父神和救主耶稣基督归于你们在基督里做奴仆的人。阿们。

前段时间媒体报道各种“不要王/No King”的示威游行，可能现在偶尔还会有这样的活动零星出现。不管这个反抗的对象是谁，但这现象背后突出一个态度，那就是没有人想要做奴隶，那怕是臣民被管辖、约束；人人都想要自由，想要独立，在二十一世纪，几乎没有一个人想要有一位君王治理他们，除了极个别仍然保留名义上的君主制国家之外，比如英国。但事实上，无论你想不想要做奴隶、奴仆，或者想不想要一位王，从属灵的角度来看，人人都有一位王，人人都是奴仆、奴隶。主耶稣在地上传道的时候，犹太人有着同样的困惑，他们不觉得自己是被捆绑的，他们自认为是自由的。“我们[犹太人]是亚伯拉罕的后裔，从来没有作过谁的奴仆。你怎么说‘你们必得以自由’呢？耶稣回答说：‘我实实在在地告诉你们，所有犯罪的就是罪的奴仆。’”（约8:33-34）

今天使徒保罗告诉我们，“不要容罪在你们必死的身上作王，”这是对现在基督徒的劝勉，而后面他提醒基督徒说：“你们从前……作罪的奴仆，以至于死。”这是所有人在没有基督和上帝的恩典以及救恩时所处的真实状况。我们人人都有一位王，那就是死。我们人人都是奴隶、奴仆，这时候的主人就是死亡。死亡怎么称王的呢？是藉着罪。保罗在罗马书第五章里面说：“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。……因一人的过犯，死就因这一人作了王。”

这一位王最有权势，并且他的势力是无处不在，无孔不入，不分高低贵贱、不分贫富，不分年龄大小，不看人的长相、不看人的情面，更不靠关系。没有人说，我跟这位王的关系好，或者我可以拿钱贿赂他；而且大家都知道，这位王是最冷酷无情，可以让最相爱的人瞬间天人相隔。看清这些真相，我们不得不承认，死亡才是人类的王，死亡才是最有权有势的。死亡俘虏了所有人，而且没有人可以靠自己的能力挣脱死亡。你看现在人类凭着集体的智慧、个人的才干可以去设计人工智能（其实是编程的智能），可以试着征服外太空，可以对付癌症、对付许多疾病，但是人类从未对打败死亡、挣脱死亡的枷锁去真正地幻想过，因为死亡太有权势，太能俘虏人，压制人。

然而，然而，死亡这位王的权势全在于人的犯罪，或者说是基于那一位真正的唯一大君王，创造万有的主的吩咐。人什么时候知道自己会死？从神在伊甸园里面的吩咐：“你吃的日子必定死。”（创2:17）换句话说，死亡再厉害，他也只能藉着罪或者藉着定人罪的律法——上帝的话语来行使自己的权势和威力。因此保罗说，我们信主之前是在“律法之下”，而如今因着信靠基督而活在“恩典之下”。如果罪解决了，律法不能定人的罪，不再咒诅人，那么死亡就没有权势了。保罗引用旧约，不是说：“死啊，你得胜的权势在哪里？死啊，你的毒钩在哪里？死的毒钩是罪，罪的权势就是律法。”（林前15:55）我们怎么胜过死亡和他的权势，从中得自由和释放的呢？藉着耶稣基督：“感谢神，使我们借着我们的主耶稣基督得胜。”（林前15:57）

好，我们再回到今天的罗马书6章的经文。在我们信主之前和信主之后是完全两种不同的状态。前面我们讲了人人在死亡这位王和暴君的权势和折磨之下，都是死亡的奴隶和罪的奴仆；然而，基督来了，祂十字架的福音临到我们了，带给我们恩典，将我们置于恩典之下。“感谢神，因为你们从前虽然作罪的奴仆，现今却从心里顺服了所传给你们道理的模范。”（罗6:17）

这里我们要问一个问题，我们做罪的奴隶，被死亡这位王威吓、辖制，是我们选择的吗？不是，因为我们生来就是如此，这是我们从始祖亚当继承来的“产业”，我们与大卫一同藉着诗篇51承认“我是在罪孽里生的”。希伯来书2章也说，我们得释放之前，是“一生因怕死而为奴仆的人”。我们曾经没有选择顺从私欲和肉体，因为这就是我们的本性，是被奴役的，没得自由的；换句话说，从前，我们是自然而然地犯罪，也没有能力不犯罪。我们本能地将自己的肢体“献给罪作不义的器具”（罗6:13），“献给不洁不法作奴仆，以至于不法”（罗6:19）。而如今，基督来，出于恩典将我们赎买了。在这交易市场当中，我们并没有贡献什么；甚至我们可以说，基督是在这个奴隶市场中挑选最差的，而不是表现最好的，因为祂拣选我们不在乎我们的行为表现，而是出于救主的爱和怜悯。祂用自己的尊贵和受苦受难付了赎价，买我们回来归于祂自己。

我们再自己看下前面提到的经文。“你们从前虽然作罪的奴仆，现今却从心里顺从了所传给你们道理的模范。”（罗6:17）“顺从”或者说新的“顺服”是不是我们可以选择的？可以，我们讨论过自由意志，信徒得救之后完全有能力配合圣灵的工作，过圣洁的生活，顺服神的旨意。但是，我们成为基督徒得救，并不在乎我们的顺服，而在于这个传给我们的“道理的模范”。什么是“道理的模范”？就是基督的教导、福音，或者说基督的教义。“你们必晓得真理，真理必叫你们得以自由”（约8:32）“我就是道理、真理、生命。”（约14:6）

我们再进一步强调一点，这里和合本翻译是说“传给你们道理的模范”，这本身没有错，但却失去了原文所有强调的一点。如果要直接翻译，可以说：“你们被交付于这道理的模范”。这很关键，因为我们听道，甚至信道都是神的工作，我们是被动领受主的恩典。回到前面这个奴隶和主的画面，我们自始至终，在得救的事上都是被动的，是被交易，被交付给新的主人，那就是爱我们、为我们舍命的主耶稣基督。而这也正是教会和牧者的工作，不断地带领你们来到主面前，聆听祂的话语，将你们一次次交付给主的道，坦然等候将来的审判。

这是一次伟大的交易，让我们拥有了新的主人。作新主人的奴仆、奴隶是祝福，而不是咒诅，是生命，而不是死亡。用保罗的话，我们是“被义约束”了。主的义已经赐给我们，成为我们的义，并且不断地结出义的果子。之前，不义和罪引向的是死亡和永恒的审判与灭亡，而如今，义和圣洁的果子，“结局就是永生。”（罗6:22）永生是目的地，目标，但不是我们圣洁和行义的酬劳，因为这一切都是“恩赐”。罗6:23“罪的工价是死；惟有神的恩赐，在我们的主基督耶稣里，乃是永生。”

感谢上帝，既然我们被交付给这样伟大的主，得了这样伟大的恩典，我们怎么可以继续犯罪，活在私欲的辖制，顺从肉体，作罪的奴仆呢？我们怎能不去欢喜快乐地服侍这位新的主人，创造天地万物的主，为我们死在十字架上并且死里复活的主呢？况且，我们受洗了的，是已经是与主同死同复活的了，因此就要活得像从死里复活的人（罗6:13）。我们就要积极主动地将“自己献给神，并将肢体作义的器具献给神。”（罗6:13）我们从心里，而不是口头或者表面上顺服主基督和祂的教训，作“顺命的奴仆，以致成义”（罗6:16）。这个顺命就是顺服神的命令、旨意或者吩咐。感谢主，奉耶稣基督的名。阿们。

Romans 6:12-23

May grace and peace from God our Father and our Savior Jesus Christ be granted to you who are bondservants/slaves in Christ. Amen.

Some time ago, the media reported on various "No King" protests and demonstrations, and perhaps such activities still pop up sporadically now and then. No matter who the object of this rebellion is, the attitude highlighted behind this phenomenon is that no one wants to be a slave, or even subjects who are governed and restricted. Everyone wants freedom and independence. In the twenty-first century, almost no one wants a king to rule over them, except for a very few countries that still retain a nominal monarchy, such as the United Kingdom.

But in fact, whether or not you want to be a slave, or whether or not you want a king, from a spiritual perspective, everyone has a king, and everyone is a slave. When the Lord Jesus was preaching on earth, the Jews had the same confusion. They did not feel they were bound; they considered themselves free.

"We [Jews] are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?" Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin." (John 8:33-34)

Today, the Apostle Paul tells us, "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body," which is an exhortation to Christians today. And later he reminds Christians: "You were once... slaves of sin," leading to death. This is the true condition of all people when they are without Christ, without the grace and salvation of God. Every one of us has a king, and that king is death. Every one of us is a slave, and our master then is death. How does death reign as king? It is through sin. Paul says in Romans chapter 5:

"...sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned... because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man."

The Most Powerful Tyrant

This king is the most powerful, and his influence is omnipresent and pervasive. He makes no distinction between high or low, rich or poor, old or young. He does not look at a person's appearance, nor does he show favoritism, let alone rely on connections. No one can say, "I have a good relationship with this king," or "I can bribe him with money." Furthermore, everyone knows that this king is the most cold-hearted and ruthless, capable of instantly separating those who love each other most, as far as between heaven and earth.

Seeing these truths clearly, we have to admit that death is the true king of mankind, and death is the most powerful. Death has captured everyone, and no one can break free from it by their own ability. Look at how humanity today, relying on collective wisdom and individual talent, can design artificial intelligence (which is actually just programmed intelligence), try to conquer outer space, and fight against cancer and many diseases. Yet, humanity has never truly fantasized about defeating death or breaking free from the shackles of death, because death is too powerful, too capable of taking captives and oppressing people.

However, the power of this king, death, lies entirely in human sin—or rather, it is based on the command of the true and only Great King, the Lord who created all things. When did man know he would die? From God's command in the Garden of Eden: "in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die" (Genesis 2:17). In other words, no matter how powerful death is, he can only exercise his power and might through sin or through the law that condemns man—the Word of God.

Therefore, Paul says that before we believed in the Lord, we were "under the law," but now, because we trust in Christ, we live "under grace." If sin is dealt with, and the law can no longer condemn or curse man, then death has no power. Paul quotes the Old Testament, saying:

"O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law." (1 Corinthians 15:55-56)

How do we overcome death and his power, and gain freedom and deliverance from it? Through Jesus Christ:

"But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:57)

The Two States of Man

Now, let us return to today's text in Romans 6. Before and after we believe in the Lord, we are in two completely different states. Earlier, we spoke of how everyone is a slave to death and a servant of sin under the power and torment of this tyrant, death. However, Christ came, and the Gospel of His cross came to us, bringing us grace and placing us under grace.

"But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the pattern of teaching to which you were committed." (Romans 6:17)

Here we must ask a question: Was being slaves to sin, intimidated and controlled by this king, death, our choice? No, because we were born this way. This is the "inheritance" we received from our ancestor, Adam. Together with David, we confess through Psalm 51, "I was brought forth in iniquity." Hebrews 2 also says that before we were delivered, we were those who "through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery." We once had no choice but to obey our desires and the flesh, because this was our nature—enslaved, without freedom. In other words, in the past, we sinned naturally and lacked the ability not to sin. We instinctively presented our members "to sin as instruments for unrighteousness" (Romans 6:13) and "as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness" (Romans 6:19).

But now, Christ has come and redeemed us out of grace. In this marketplace, we contributed nothing. We could even say that Christ chooses the worst in this slave market rather than the best performers, because His election of us does not depend on our performance, but stems entirely from the Savior's love and mercy. He paid the ransom with His own glory, suffering, and death, buying us back to belong to Himself.

Delivered Over to a New Master

Let us look again at the scripture mentioned earlier: "But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed" (Romans 6:17). Is "obedience," or this new "submissiveness," something we can choose? Yes. We have discussed free will; after believers are saved, they have full ability to cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit, live a holy life, and obey God's will. However, our becoming Christians and being saved does not depend on our obedience, but on this "standard of teaching" delivered to us. What is the "standard of teaching"? It is Christ's teaching, the Gospel, or rather, Christian doctrine.

"And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32)

"I am the way, and the truth, and the life." (John 14:6)

Let us emphasize this point further. The Chinese Union Version translates this as "the pattern of doctrine delivered to you," which is not wrong in itself, but it loses a point of emphasis in the original text. A direct translation would be: "you were delivered over to this standard/pattern of teaching." This is crucial because our hearing the Word, and even our believing the Word, is the work of God; we passively receive the Lord's grace. Returning to the previous imagery of the slave and the master: from beginning to end, we are passive in the matter of salvation. We are traded and delivered over to a new Master, who is the Lord Jesus Christ who loves us and gave His life for us. And this is precisely the work of the church and the pastor—to continually bring you before the Lord, to listen to His Word, to deliver you again and again to the Word of the Lord, and to peacefully await the coming judgment.

The Great Exchange

This is a great exchange or deal that gives us a new Master. To be a servant or slave of this new Master is a blessing, not a curse; it is life, not death. In Paul's words, we are "enslaved to righteousness." The righteousness of the Lord has been given to us, becoming our righteousness, and it continually bears the fruit of righteousness.

Previously, unrighteousness and sin led to death and eternal judgment and destruction. But now, the fruit of righteousness and holiness has its "end, eternal life" (Romans 6:22). Eternal life is the destination, the goal, but it is not the wages of our holiness and righteous deeds, because all of this is a gift.

"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23)

Thanks be to God! Since we have been delivered to such a great Lord and have received such great grace, how can we continue to sin, live under the control of selfish desires, obey the flesh, and be slaves to sin? How can we not joyfully and gladly serve this new Master, the Lord of all creation, who died for us on the cross and rose from the dead?

Moreover, we who have been baptized have already died and risen with the Lord; therefore, we must live like those who have been brought from death to life (Romans 6:13). We must proactively "present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness" (Romans 6:13). We obey Lord Christ and His teachings from the heart, not just verbally or superficially, becoming "slaves of obedience, which leads to righteousness" (Romans 6:16). This obedience means submitting to God's commands, will, or instructions.

Thanks be to the Lord, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.