罗马书Romans7:1-13
愿恩惠、平安从父神和救主耶稣基督归于你们所有脱离律法的咒诅，归在基督恩典名下的人。阿们。
我们继续罗马书的经文，上周我们讲了作基督的奴仆，活在恩典之下，而不是律法之下。今天，保罗继续这个律法的主题，具体跟我们基督徒生命的关系。
谈到律法，不仅仅是从圣经的十条诫命以及神的一切吩咐说起，也可以包括所有的道德伦理。保罗在今天的经文中就举了一个例子，就是当时的罗马婚姻法，其实今天大体也是这样。当时，妻子是属于丈夫的，在婚姻制度当中，妻子并没有什么选择权，好像可以主动跟丈夫离婚，再嫁，虽然丈夫有权利休妻再娶，这跟摩西律法大体一样；妻子更多的是顺从的角色，隶属于丈夫，而不是相反。如果丈夫死了，那么女人就自由了，就可以再嫁；如果丈夫还活着，再嫁就是做了淫妇。
保罗为什么举这个例子呢？为了说明我们基督徒在归主之前是活在律法之下，是被律法捆绑，没有自由的，律法定我们的罪，咒诅我们，被律法管制，被律法约束。好，这里我们要问，被律法管着不好吗？毕竟，我们平日生活处处都需要律法或者法律法规，比如交通规则，纳税，做生意，学业等等。大家说，法律法规是不是好的？通常是，比如限速，能够帮助大家出现平安。但是，保罗或者说圣经所讲的律法，首先是神的吩咐和旨意，其核心就是十条诫命，比如今天经文后面所论到的“不可贪心”。
我们基督徒也知道，律法是正面的，是好的，就像保罗后面所说的，律法是罪吗？不是，“律法是圣洁的，诫命也是圣洁、公义、良善的。”（罗7:12）但是，但是，律法如果用错了，就会有致命的危险。二十世纪有一位路德会的神学家叫Pieper皮柏尔，他曾经把世界上的宗教分为两种：一种是属于律法，另一种是属于福音。换句话说，世上人为的宗教都是靠律法、靠善行得救的；只有基督教是靠福音应许得救，不在乎自己的行为，不倚靠律法，也因此是唯一的宗教。大家仔细想一想，我们所熟悉的佛教、甚至伊斯兰教，是不是都要靠修炼、积德，祈祷、守戒律或朝圣来得救。甚至基督教的天主教也犯了这个错误，反对“因信、唯独恩典称义得救”，主张基督徒必须靠善行赚取最终的救恩。
保罗甚至指出，律法本身虽然是善的，但是如果用错了，会有适得其反的效果。他怎么说？“那因律法而生的恶欲就在我们肢体中发动，以致结成死亡的果子。……罪趁着机会，就借着诫命叫诸般的贪心在我里头发动。……罪趁着机会，就借着诫命引诱我，并且杀了我。”（罗7:5，8，11）大家能理解这一点吗？我跟你举个例子，如果你带过小孩，很多时候，你告诉他/她不要做什么，他/她借着会故意挑战你的权威，一定要越过边界，试探你的底线，是不是这样一个情况？我们成人基督徒，不也是常常如此？明明知道不该做什么，偏要去做，心里自以为神不在乎，或者神有恩典，一定会赦免我们，这实在是中了撒但的计谋。
就像我们的始祖亚当、夏娃，他们知道吃的时候必定死，因为神说得再清楚不过了。但是，当魔鬼的试探临到的时候，他们竟然完全忽略掉这个诫命、边界，甚至想要知道吃了之后，会不会有更美好的结果，当然这也是魔鬼的伎俩所在，就是藉着神的诫命挑动、刺激他们内心去越界、挑战神的权威和话语。这里面充满了刺激，充满了遐想，充满了新鲜感，远远超过他们平常循规蹈矩的生活。我们基督徒很多时候，也是这样，神不要我们做什么，我们偏要去试下，看后果如何。
本来这个“不可吃”的诫命是要保全他们的生命，保护他们，帮助他们对付魔鬼的试探，使得他们平安地活在神的爱和团契相交当中，活在无忧无虑的恩典当中；但如今，诫命成了他们犯罪的工具，或者说魔鬼、罪藉着诫命要杀死他们。从这个伊甸园的例子我们也可以明白，保罗所说的，“那本来叫人活的诫命，反倒叫我死。”（罗7:10）从这里我们也可以问，如果亚当夏娃一直遵守神的诫命吩咐，他们能够一直永远活着吗？答案是肯定的，但这只是“假如”，事实上，自然亚当夏娃的堕落，人类的历史充满了原罪所结出的果子，到今天仍然是如此。没有人遵守律法，即完全遵守律法。保罗在罗马书3章说：“没有义人，连一个也没有。没有明白的，没有寻求神的。都是偏离正路。没有行善的，连一个也没有。……我们晓得律法上的话都是对律法以下之人说的，叫普世的人都伏在神审判之下。”
所以，我们能靠律法和善行得救吗？不能，要靠什么？靠着基督和十字架，靠着福音，好消息。什么是福音？简单地说，福音就是基督代替我们受死，从死里复活，让我们信的人都能得着赎罪和赦免，以及随之而来的生命，这应许是给所有生在地上的人。用保罗今天用的比喻——女人和丈夫的情景来说，福音就是基督在肉身当中，生在律法之下，成了罪身的形状，作为老我的“丈夫”死在十字架上，然后从死里复活，重新娶我们为妻，让我们完全属于赐生命的主。我们对于律法是死的了，因为我们是在基督里面，与基督一同钉死了，我们受洗的时候就是与主同死同复活。保罗说：“这样，你们借着基督的身体，在律法是也是死的，叫你们归于别人，就是归于那从死里复活的，叫我们结果子给神。”（罗7:4）这是不可思议的地方，基督首先作为属肉体的，“有罪的丈夫”代替我们受死，让我们自由，脱离律法的咒诅，然后死里复活，重新迎娶我们新造的人，重获自由的人，在基督里自由的人。
你可能会问，有没有其他经文支持这个论述？有，比如保罗在罗马书8章继续说：“律法既因肉体软弱，有所不能行的，神就差遣自己的儿子，成为罪身的形状，作了赎罪祭，在肉体中定了罪案。”哥林多后书5章，保罗还说：“神使那无罪的，替我们成为罪，好叫我们在他里面成为神的义。”加拉太书4章特别指出：“及至时候满足，神就差遣他的儿子，为女子所生，且生在律法以下，要把律法以下的人赎出来。”
正是因着基督，他“为我们受了咒诅，就赎出我们脱离律法的咒诅，因为经上记着：‘凡挂在木头上都是被咒诅的’这一位，我们才有机会脱离律法，并且得着救恩，得着赐生命的主。正是因着基督，我们就不再是属肉体、属情欲、属世界的了，“我们既然在捆我们的律法上死了，现今就脱离了律法，叫我们服事主，要得着心灵的新样，不按着仪文的旧样。”（罗7:6）但是，但是，律法就跟我们没有关系了吗？有，因为律法是神的律法，是圣洁良善的，是神旨意的彰显，因此我们要用律法，用得合宜。律法的作用仍然需要继续，其中之一就是继续显明我们的罪：“罪因着诫命更显出是恶极了。”（罗7:13）我们称之为律法的首要功用，也可以说是第二功用，就是显明我们的罪。我们基督徒需要不需要律法显明我们的罪？需要，太需要了，因为我们仍然活在世上，仍然在肉身当中，时常犯罪，时常需要悔改，领受罪得赦免，律法继续催促我们信靠基督，信靠福音。这律法的大棒不断地威吓老亚当，杀死老我，让我们在基督里靠着福音不断地活过来。但是，但是，因为我们在基督里，律法就无法再辖制、奴役我们，我们也不需要活在律法的咒诅之下。
我们在基督里的新人，新生命是时常喜悦神的旨意，神的律法，按着圣灵的带领，“心灵的新样”顺服神。我们说，这个时候，律法起到了一个正面的、积极的引导角色。比如诗篇1篇说：“惟喜爱耶和华的律法，昼夜思想，这人便为有福！”“我们遵守神的诫命，这就是爱他了，并且他的诫命不是难守的。”（约一5:3）若我们这样合宜地使用律法，有针对性地使用律法，就于我们有益，让我们紧紧跟随基督，走在公义、永生的道路上。求主帮助我们，奉耶稣的名。阿们。
Romans 7:1–13
May grace and peace be multiplied to you from God our Father and our Savior Jesus Christ—to all who have been delivered from the curse of the law and brought under the name of Christ's grace. Amen.
We continue our study of the epistle of Romans. Last week, we spoke about being slaves to Christ and living under grace rather than under the law. Today, Paul continues with this theme of the law, specifically addressing how it relates to our lives as Christians.
When we talk about the law, it doesn't just begin with the Ten Commandments and all of God's precepts; it can also encompass all moral ethics. In today’s scripture, Paul uses an example from the Roman marriage law of that time, which aligns quite closely with how marriage is understood today. At that time, a wife belonged to her husband. Within the institution of marriage, the wife had very little choice or right—she could not actively choose to divorce her husband and remarry, whereas the husband had the right to divorce his wife and remarry, which broadly reflects the Mosaic law. The wife held a submissive role, subordinate to her husband rather than the reverse. If her husband died, however, the woman was set free and could remarry. But if she remarried while her husband was still alive, she was considered an adulteress.
Why does Paul use this example? He does so to show that before we came to Christ, we lived under the law. We were bound by the law and had no freedom; the law condemned us, cursed us, governed us, and restrained us.
Now, we must ask: Is being governed by the law a bad thing? After all, in our daily lives, we need laws and regulations everywhere—traffic rules, taxes, business operations, academics, and so forth. Would you say laws and regulations are good? Generally, yes. For instance, speed limits help keep everyone safe. However, the law that Paul—and the scriptures as a whole—speaks of is primarily God’s commandments and His will, the core of which is the Ten Commandments, such as the command mentioned later in today’s text: "You shall not covet."
As Christians, we know that the law is positive and good. As Paul later asks, "Is the law sin? By no means!" Rather, "the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good." (Romans 7:12).
But—and there is a major "but"—if the law is misused, it carries a fatal danger.
In the twentieth century, a Lutheran theologian named Franz Pieper divided the world's religions into two kinds: those belonging to the Law, and that which belongs to the Gospel. In other words, all man-made religions in the world rely on the law and good works for salvation. Christianity alone relies on the promise of the Gospel for salvation, completely apart from one's own deeds or reliance on the law. This is what makes it unique.
If you think about it carefully, the religions we are familiar with—such as Buddhism or Islam—all rely on self-cultivation, accumulating merit, prayers, keeping commandments, or making pilgrimages to achieve salvation. Even Roman Catholicism fell into this error by opposing salvation "by faith alone, by grace alone," asserting instead that Christians must earn their final salvation through good works.
Paul even points out that although the law itself is good, if it is misused, it produces the exact opposite effect. How does he put it?
· "For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death." (Romans 7:5)
· "But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness." (Romans 7:8)
· "For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me." (Romans 7:11)
Do you understand this? Let me give you an example. If you have ever raised children, you know that many times when you tell them not to do something, they will intentionally challenge your authority. They will deliberately cross the line to test your boundaries. Isn't that the case? Are we adult Christians not often the same? We know full well what we shouldn't do, yet we do it anyway, reasoning in our hearts that God won't mind, or that because God is gracious, He will surely forgive us. This is falling directly into Satan's trap.
Take our first parents, Adam and Eve. They knew that if they ate of the tree, they would surely die, because God could not have made it any clearer. Yet, when the devil's temptation came, they completely ignored this commandment and boundary. They even wanted to see if eating it would bring about a grander outcome. This is precisely the devil’s tactic: using God’s commandment to stir up and stimulate the human heart to cross the line and challenge God’s authority and Word. It feels thrilling; it is filled with imagination and novelty, far exceeding the predictable routine of an obedient life. Many times, we Christians act the same way—God tells us not to do something, but we want to try it anyway to see what the consequences will be.
Originally, the commandment "you shall not eat" was meant to preserve their lives, protect them, help them withstand the devil's temptation, and keep them living peacefully within God’s love, fellowship, and carefree grace. But now, the commandment became a tool for sin—or rather, the devil and sin used the commandment to kill them. From this example in the Garden of Eden, we can understand what Paul meant: "The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me." (Romans 7:10).
From this, we might also ask: If Adam and Eve had kept God’s commandment, could they have lived forever? The answer is certainly yes. But that is only a "what if." In reality, since the fall of Adam and Eve, human history has been saturated with the fruits of original sin, and it remains so today. No one keeps the law perfectly. As Paul writes in Romans 3:
"None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one... Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God."
The Triumph of the Gospel
Can we be saved by the law and good works? No. What must we rely on? We must rely on Christ and the cross—on the Gospel, the Good News.
What is the Gospel? Simply put, the Gospel is that Christ died in our place and rose from the dead so that all who believe in Him receive redemption, forgiveness, and the life that follows. This promise is for everyone born on this earth.
Using Paul’s analogy of the wife and the husband: the Gospel means that Christ came in the flesh, born under the law, in the likeness of sinful flesh. He died on the cross as the "husband" of our old self, and then rose from the dead to marry us anew, so that we might belong entirely to the Lord of life. We have died to the law because we are in Christ, crucified with Him. When we were baptized, we died and rose with the Lord. Paul states: "Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God." (Romans 7:4).
This is the incredible part: Christ first died in our place as the fleshly, "sinful husband" to set us free from the curse of the law, and then rose from the dead to wed us as new creations—people who are liberated and free in Christ.
You might ask if there are other scriptures that support this framework. Yes, there are. For example, Paul continues in Romans 8:3: "For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh." In 2 Corinthians 5:21, Paul also says: "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." Galatians 4:4–5 specifically points out: "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law."
It is precisely because of Christ—who "redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree'" (Galatians 3:13)—that we have the opportunity to be delivered from the law, to receive salvation, and to possess the Lord of life. Because of Christ, we are no longer of the flesh, of sinful passions, or of the world. "But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code." (Romans 7:6).
The Proper Use of the Law
Does this mean the law no longer has anything to do with us? No, because the law is God’s law; it is holy and good, a manifestation of His will. Therefore, we must use the law, but use it lawfully.
The function of the law must continue. One of its primary roles is to continue exposing our sin: "in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure." (Romans 7:13). We call this the primary function—or the second use—of the law: to reveal our sin.
Do we Christians still need the law to expose our sin? Yes, desperately so. Because we still live in this world and remain in the flesh, we sin frequently and continually need to repent and receive the forgiveness of sins. The law constantly drives us back to trust in Christ and lean on the Gospel. The club of the law continually threatens the Old Adam, putting the old self to death, so that we may constantly be brought to life in Christ through the Gospel. Yet, because we are in Christ, the law can no longer dominate or enslave us, and we do not have to live under its curse.
Furthermore, our new man—our new life in Christ—delights in the will of God and His law. Led by the Holy Spirit, we obey God in the "new way of the Spirit." In this sense, the law takes on a positive, encouraging role as a guide. As Psalm 1:2 says: "but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night." And 1 John 5:3 reminds us: "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome."
When we use the law rightly and apply it properly to our lives, it benefits us, keeping us close to Christ as we walk on the path of righteousness and eternal life. May the Lord help us. In Jesus' name. Amen.