罗马书6:1-11
向罪死，
向神活！
Dead to Sin,
Living to God!
愿恩惠、平安从我们的父神并主耶稣基督归于你们所有受洗与基督一同死，一同复活的人。阿们。
今天是我主受洗的纪念主日。洗礼在教会生活和基督徒生命当中的重要性和必要性再强调也不为过。首先，我们看到，主耶稣开始自己地上的事工之前，在约旦河受了施洗约翰的洗：“你暂且许我，因为我们理当这样尽诸般的义”（太3:15）。如果上帝的儿子，即我们的主耶稣，作为人，甘愿与罪人站在一起接受约翰“悔改的洗礼”，为要尽“诸般的义”，何况我们这些真正的罪人呢？如果我们要作基督的门徒，就要效法他的脚步，门徒门徒，就是跟随者，他去到哪里，我们也去哪里，他做什么，我们也跟着做什么，尤其是在受洗这件事上更是如此，况且主耶稣在马太福音最后一章明确地吩咐了，“你们要去，使万民作我的门徒……给他们施洗。”
除了主耶稣的命令和吩咐之外，我们还要看到洗礼仪式中的属灵意义，不仅是意义，更是真实发生的事情。保罗在罗马书6章说，“我们受洗归入基督耶稣的人是受洗归入他的死……我们藉着洗礼归入死，和他一同埋葬，原是叫我们一举一动有新生的样式，像基督藉着父的荣耀从死里复活一样”（罗6：3）。我们在洗礼中眼睛所看见只是水，然而凭着信心，藉着所聆听到的主的话语和吩咐，我们知道，这洗礼仪式里面有奇妙的、属天的大事发生。
与基督一同死、一同埋葬，并且一同复活，还有比这更紧密、亲近的跟随主吗？主耶稣出于他的怜悯和恩典，并没有让我们跟他一起钉十字架——这也是我们没有能力承担的，也没必要，因为只有他可以在十字架上为我们赎罪，为世人赎罪。哪怕我们回到两千年前，与耶稣一起钉在十字架上，这也没办法为我们赎罪，因为这本来就是该受的刑罚，不能赐生命。况且，我们也知道，门徒们虽然口上说心甘情愿与主一起死，但真来临的时候，不都撇弃十字架逃跑了吗？彼得代表众门徒说，“我就是必须和你同死，也总不能不认你”（太26:35）。
十字架主耶稣为我们背负，罪孽他为我们担当。他所赐给我们的一同死、一同埋葬，一同复活的经历，是藉着圣洗礼温柔的水，但这十字架流血舍命并且赦罪的功效都在洗礼中赐给我们了。怎么实现的呢？前面我们看到，耶稣在约旦河受洗，就是与罪人站在一起，并且用自己的生命将水分别为圣，使地上普普通通的水，可以因着主耶稣成为赐生命的水——让我们罪得赦免的水。我们要与主一同死，不需要刚烈残酷的十字架，只需要这福音的洗礼。我们眼睛看见的只是水，然而在属灵的意义上，是基督的血掺在其中。我们怎么知道？
一个是旧约利未记洁净礼的活鸟和活水结合在一起的吩咐：“祭司要吩咐用瓦器盛活水，把一只鸟宰在上面。至于那活鸟，祭司要把它和香柏木、朱红色线并牛膝草一同蘸于宰在活水上的鸟血中，用以在那长大麻风求洁净的人身上洒七次，就定他为洁净。又把活鸟[另一只]放在田野里。”（利未记14:5-7）这流血的活鸟就代表着受难的耶稣基督，另一只放飞的活鸟就代表着赐给人的并且叫人自由的圣灵。而这洁净的礼就是藉着撒血的水。
主耶稣受难的时候，我们之前也提过，他肋旁流出了什么？很多人会觉得奇怪，“血和水”，这血与水的喷涌而出，血与水的交融，恰恰是指向洗礼。约翰福音19:34“惟有一个兵拿枪扎他的肋旁，随即有血和水流出来。”希伯来书9:19“因为摩西当日照着律法将各样诫命传给百姓，就拿朱红色绒和牛膝草，把牛犊山羊的血和水洒在书上，又洒在百姓身上。”更有约翰一书5：6-8“这藉着水和血而来的，就是耶稣基督，不是单用水，乃是用水又用血，并且有圣灵作见证，因为圣灵就是真理。作见证的原来有三：就是圣灵、水，与血，这三样也都归于一。”
说到洁净和罪得赦免，有血的地方就有水，有水的地方就有血，血水交融，一同做工。而这一切都跟十字架的救赎工作有关。我们所领受的洗礼是无血的水洗，但其本质是主耶稣血水的洗礼，连于祂的十字架。因为是使我们洁净的洗礼，因此圣灵就恩赐给我们。这洗礼是“重生的洗和圣灵的更新”（提多书3:5）耶稣基督在十字架上的死是血腥、残暴的，而我们受洗归入他的死却是温和的。
如果说耶稣是惨死的，我们就是安乐死了，几乎没有痛苦。在对付罪这件事上，我们还没有到流血的地步，希伯来书12:4“你们与罪恶相争，还没有抵挡到流血的地步”，因为耶稣已经为了我们对付罪而流血了，他所流出的血已经足够我们对付罪，解决罪，解决死亡。我们受过洗就领受了能力，所要打的仗是轻松的，因为耶稣已经打了胜仗，我们受洗后就是要收拾残余败将，追击溃败四散的敌军，你们明白吗？如果你有时候泄气了，怎么自己还是老样子，老毛病怎么又犯了？同样的罪怎么又给粘上了？回到自己的洗礼当中，路德说得很好，这水所表明的，就是我们“藉着每日的痛心悔改，让这老亚当不断地死去，让新人不断地复生。”
既然我们看到了上帝在这洗礼当中所做的伟大工作，那么我们就不可忘记，要常常默想并且活在其中，这洗礼就是我们的身份，也是我们生命活水的源泉，取之不尽用之不竭。“岂不知……？”你们不要忽略、不要无视这属灵的真谛。上帝在洗礼中让我们与基督一同死，一同埋葬，是向罪死，因为我们曾经是罪的奴隶，控制不住自己不去犯罪，不去得罪神，得罪人，而如今呢？祂“原是叫我们一举一动有新生的样式，像基督借着父的荣耀从死里复活一样。”
保罗在今天这段经文中，论到复活，一个是指向未来，就是主所应许的复活，身体的复活，跟基督从死人中复活一样。“我们若在他死的形状上与他联合，也要在他复活的形状上与他联合……我们若是与基督同死，就信必与他同活。”洗礼是把这身体的复活和永生印记给了我们。
第二点，就是我们今日已经领受了的复活的生命，就是属灵上是已经向罪死，向神活着。基督的死，是代替我们的位置，“向罪死了”，“他活是向神活着”（罗6:10）。我们在洗礼当中也与基督联合，“在他死的形状上与他联合，也要在他复活的形状上与他联合”（罗6:5）。我们在基督耶稣里的人，是向神而活，或者说是“为神而活的”。一方面，神是拯救我们脱离罪、死亡和咒诅的，另一方面，神也是我们新生命的赐予者，他成为了我们的主，我们生活的方方面面就要让主来做主，而不是我们自己作主。我们凡事都要让神喜悦，而不是仍然体贴自己的肉体，让自己快活。
这对我们生活中对付罪和试探非常有帮助，因着洗礼，与主一同死，一同埋葬，我们“向罪当看自己是死的”。当我们控制不住要发脾气的时候，当我们控制不住舌头，想要说出不造就人的坏话的时候，当我们骄傲、瞧不起人、贪恋今生的时候，当我们心里不情愿饶恕人、仍然充满苦毒和怨气的时候，我们是不是应该心里说，我这个想要犯罪的老我是死的，真的是死的，死了的是没有任何发动邪情私欲的能力，即使有念头，也可以很快熄灭。
或许你感觉你里面的老亚当仍然活着，而且活得好好的，好像制服不了他，保罗怎么劝勉？“当看自己是死的，”不管你感觉怎么样，你的态度和认识是要这样，“看待自己是死的，”在罪上来说，罪对你这位在基督里的信徒没有了权势和能力。然后，你更要认识到，你这位重生复活的新人，因着圣灵大能的引领，是向神而活，为神而活，凡事为要讨神喜悦的。最后我们以保罗在罗马书12章所说的结束今天的信息：“把身体献上，当作活祭，不要效法这个世界，只要心意更新而变化，叫你们察验何为神的善良、纯全、可喜悦的旨意。”奉圣父、圣子、圣灵的名。阿们。
## Romans 6:1-11
Dead to Sin, Living to God!
Grace and peace be to you from God our Father and Lord Jesus Christ, to all of you who have been baptized into Christ’s death and raised with Him. Amen.
Today is the Sunday commemorating the Baptism of Our Lord. The importance and necessity of Baptism in the life of the Church and the life of a Christian cannot be overemphasized. First, we see that before our Lord Jesus began His earthly ministry, He was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River: *"But Jesus answered him, 'Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness'"* (Matthew 3:15). If the Son of God, our Lord Jesus, as a man, was willing to stand with sinners to receive John’s "baptism of repentance" in order to "fulfill all righteousness," how much more should we, who are actual sinners? If we are to be disciples of Christ, we must follow in His footsteps. A "disciple" is a follower; where He goes, we go, and what He does, we follow—especially in the matter of Baptism. Furthermore, our Lord Jesus explicitly commanded in the final chapter of Matthew: *"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them..."*
Beyond the command and instruction of the Lord Jesus, we must also recognize the spiritual significance within the rite of Baptism. It is not merely a symbolic meaning, but a reality that truly takes place. Paul says in Romans 6: *"Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life"* (Romans 6:3–4). What our eyes see in Baptism is only water; yet, by faith—through the Word and command of the Lord we have heard—we know that within this rite, a marvelous, heavenly event occurs.
To die with Christ, be buried with Him, and be raised with Him—is there any closer way to follow the Lord than this? Out of His mercy and grace, the Lord Jesus did not make us hang on the cross with Him. That is a burden we cannot bear, nor is it necessary, for only He could atone for our sins and the sins of the world on the cross. Even if we could go back two thousand years and be crucified alongside Jesus, it would not atone for our sins; for us, it would be a deserved punishment that cannot grant life. Moreover, we know that although the disciples claimed they were willing to die with the Lord, when the time actually came, did they not all abandon the cross and flee? Peter, speaking for all the disciples, said: *"Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you"* (Matthew 26:35).
The Lord Jesus bore the cross for us; He carried our guilt. The experience He grants us—of dying, being buried, and being raised with Him—comes through the gentle waters of Holy Baptism. Yet, the efficacy of that blood-shedding, life-giving, and sin-forgiving cross is bestowed upon us in Baptism. How is this achieved? As we saw earlier, when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, He stood with sinners and sanctified the water with His own life. He made the common waters of the earth become life-giving water—water for the forgiveness of our sins—because of His Word. To die with the Lord, we do not need a violent and cruel cross; we only need this Baptism of the Gospel. Our eyes see only water, yet in a spiritual sense, the blood of Christ is mingled within it. How do we know this?
One evidence is the Old Testament command in Leviticus regarding the cleansing ritual involving a live bird and living water: *"And the priest shall command them to kill one of the birds in an earthenware vessel over fresh water. He shall take the live bird with the cedarwood and the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, and dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. And he shall sprinkle it seven times on him who is to be cleansed of the leprous disease. Then he shall pronounce him clean and shall let the living bird go into the open field"* (Leviticus 14:5–7). This bleeding bird represents the suffering Jesus Christ, and the other bird released represents the Holy Spirit given to man, who sets us free. This rite of cleansing is through water sprinkled with blood.
When the Lord Jesus suffered, as we have mentioned before, what flowed from His side? Many find it remarkable: "blood and water." This gushing forth of blood and water, the mingling of the two, points precisely to Baptism. John 19:34 says: *"But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water."* Hebrews 9:19 says: *"For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people."* Furthermore, 1 John 5:6–8 tells us: *"This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree."*
When speaking of cleansing and the forgiveness of sins, where there is blood, there is water; where there is water, there is blood. They mingle and work together. All of this is connected to the redemptive work of the cross. The Baptism we receive is a bloodless washing with water, but in its essence, it is the baptism of the blood and water of the Lord Jesus, connected to His cross. Because it is a baptism that cleanses us, the Holy Spirit is gifted to us. This Baptism is the *"washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit"* (Titus 3:5). The death of Jesus Christ on the cross was bloody and brutal, but our baptism into His death is gentle.
If we say Jesus died a "bitter death," then we have "died peacefully," almost without pain. In dealing with sin, we have not yet reached the point of shedding blood. Hebrews 12:4 says: *"In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood,"* because Jesus has already shed His blood to deal with sin for us. The blood He shed is sufficient for us to confront sin, resolve sin, and overcome death. Having been baptized, we receive power. The battle we are to fight is "light," because Jesus has already won the victory. After Baptism, we are simply clearing the field of the remaining defeated foes and pursuing the scattered, broken enemy. Do you understand? If you ever feel discouraged—wondering why you are still the same, why old habits return, or why the same sins stick to you—return to your Baptism. Luther put it well: this water signifies that *"the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die... and that a new man should daily emerge and arise."*
Since we see the great work God performs in this Baptism, we must not forget it; we should meditate on it and live in it constantly. This Baptism is our identity and the source of the living water of our lives—an inexhaustible wellspring. *"Do you not know...?"* Do not ignore or overlook this spiritual truth. In Baptism, God caused us to die and be buried with Christ. This is a death to sin, because we were once slaves to sin, unable to stop ourselves from sinning or from offending God and man. But now? He did this *"in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life."*
In today's passage, when Paul speaks of resurrection, one aspect points to the future—the resurrection promised by the Lord, the resurrection of the body, just as Christ was raised from the dead. *"For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his... Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him."* Baptism seals within us this promise of bodily resurrection and eternal life.
The second point is the resurrected life we have already received today—that is, spiritually, we are already dead to sin and alive to God. Christ’s death was in our place; He *"died to sin, once for all,"* and *"the life he lives he lives to God"* (Romans 6:10). In Baptism, we are also united with Christ: *"united with him in a death like his... united with him in a resurrection like his"* (Romans 6:5). We who are in Christ Jesus live toward God, or "live for God." On one hand, God is the one who saves us from sin, death, and the curse; on the other hand, God is the Giver of our new life. He has become our Lord. Therefore, in every aspect of our lives, we must let the Lord be Lord, rather than ruling ourselves. In all things, we should seek to please God, rather than continuing to indulge the flesh for our own pleasure.
This is extremely helpful for dealing with sin and temptation in our lives. Because of Baptism—dying and being buried with the Lord—we *"must also consider [ourselves] dead to sin."* When we are about to lose our tempers, when we cannot control our tongues and want to speak harmful words, when we are proud, look down on others, or covet the things of this life, or when we are unwilling to forgive and remain full of bitterness—should we not say in our hearts: "This 'old self' that wants to sin is dead. It is truly dead." That which is dead has no power to stir up evil passions or desires; even if a thought arises, it can be quickly extinguished.
Perhaps you feel that the "Old Adam" within you is still very much alive and well, and that you cannot subdue him. How does Paul exhort us? *"So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin."* Regardless of how you feel, your attitude and understanding must be this: "Regard yourself as dead." In terms of sin, it has no authority or power over you, a believer in Christ. Then, you must further realize that you, this born-again and resurrected "new man," led by the power of the Holy Spirit, live to God and for God, seeking to please Him in all things. Finally, let us conclude today’s message with Paul’s words in Romans 12: *"Present your bodies as a living sacrifice... Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."*
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.