罗马书7:14-25

恩惠、平安从父神和救主耶稣基督归于你们时常与属肉体犯罪的律争战的人。阿们。

今天我们继续分享罗马书的信息，关于律法的主题，保罗继续延伸，尤其涉及到我们基督徒新生命所持续不断地遭遇的争战。撇开今天的经文不说，我们平常也常常听到人讲：“人人心中都有一个魔鬼”，或者人们用佛教的思想来表达，“善恶只在一念之间，一念成佛，一念成魔”，等等。按照世俗的标准，似乎人人都想要做好人，但事实上，人们不得不承认，很多时候犯错，作恶，有些“身不由己”；当然这不仅是在客观地描述人类的历史和每个人的生活经验，而且有时候是误用，为了自我解脱，自我开罪，不想要为自己的罪和过错负责人。

上面我们是按照什么标准来说的呢？要记得，是从世俗的道德伦理，人的良心是非对错来说的。那么我们回到今天的罗马书经文，这个标准或者说审判的主体都变了，标准就是神的圣洁良善律法，而审判者就是上帝祂自己。上帝按照自己的真理和仁义，就是自己的形象造人，并且将祂的律法放在我们心中。当我们被置于“属乎灵”的律法之下照一照的时候，我们的结论就完全不一样了，就像人的身体放在X-Ray放射诊断设备之下，一目了然，什么问题都显示出来，整个身体都是透明的了。诊断结果是什么？保罗说：“我是属乎肉体的，是已经卖给罪了。”（罗7:14）

保罗后面继续说，“我也知道，在我里头，就是我肉体之中，没有良善。”（罗7:18）什么意思？我们要分两种情况来说，一种是信主之前，我们怎么样呢？我们是属肉体的，是不属灵的，没有圣灵上帝在我们心中，我们是被罪奴役的，没有生命，只有死亡和咒诅审判等着我们。什么善恶一念间，事实乃是，自从人的始祖亚当犯罪以来，人人在上帝面前都是有罪的，都是恶的，没有一个是良善的。主耶稣自己不也在传道时说：“你为什么以善事问我呢？只有一位是善的，[那就是神]”。（太19:17）为什么要这样讲？道理很简单，如果我们受造的人连至善的上帝，我们的造物主都不承认，我们怎么可以称得上一丁点儿的善呢？我们不承认祂，不相信祂，不倚靠祂，我们就是弃绝善的源头，弃绝生命本身。“不信的必被定罪”，因为是已经在罪中。约翰福音3:18“信祂的人，不被定罪；不信的人，罪已经定了。”罗马书14:23“凡不出于信心的都是罪，”换句话说，人若不信神和救主耶稣基督，你这个人和你所做的一切，在上帝面前，都是有罪的。

反之，人若信，就得着神所应许和恩赐的义和救恩了。“神的义，因信耶稣基督加给一切相信的人，并没有分别。因为世人都犯了罪，亏缺了神的荣耀。如今却蒙神的恩典，因基督耶稣的救赎，就白白地称义。”（罗3:22-24）

上面我讲了一种情况，就是信主之前。那么，信主之后呢？我们因信称义了，就完全了？就不会再犯罪了？称义，称义，就是被算为义，是说我们的身份和本质改变了，在上帝面前的地位也改变了，与神的关系也从敌意到和好的转变。但是，但是，这并不意味着我们就可以躺平了，就可以松懈，不再警惕和斗争。我们要记住，保罗在今天的经文中整个的都是在说“现在”的基督徒生命状态。“我所愿意的，我并不做；我所恨恶的，我倒去做。……既是这样，就不是我做的，乃是住在我里面的罪做的。”（罗7:15-16）如果你看英文，所有的动词都是现在时，此时此刻保罗的属灵状态和经验。保罗所说的并不是之前那个还没信主，还没重生得救的保罗所经历的；事实上，如果一个人还没有归主得救重生，那么他就不可能有这样的争战，有这样的“新我”与罪，新我与肉体，“内心”与“肉体”，神的律与罪的律的争战了。

我们再看一些保罗所说的细节：“立志为善由得我，只是行出来由不得我。……若我去做所不愿意做的，就不是我做的，乃是住在我里头的罪做的。”（罗7:18，20）这里咋一听起来像是精神分裂，双重人格，其实不是这样，因为我们看保罗所说的这个“我”到底是谁，由什么来定义？这个我是由我所做的定义吗？不是的，这个“我”是已经被基督耶稣救赎，从罪和死亡中释放的“新我”。不再是从前被罪捆绑辖制、属肉体的我了。虽然我们仍然活着肉体当中，偶尔会被罪犯所胜过，这个犯罪的律偶尔会在我们身上做成死亡的工夫，结出死亡的果子，但是，但是，这些都不能定义我们的人格，我们的身份，我们的尊严和价值。大家明白这一点吗？虽然罪住在我们里头，但是真正影响和主导我们行事为人的乃是神的话语，圣灵和神的律，让我敬拜主，让我去行善，或者说“愿意为善”。

换句话说，我们并不是一直做我所不愿意做的恶，若我们偶尔犯了罪，这对我们重生的人来说也是陌生的，是这个新我所“不明白”的——并不是说我不知道，辨识不出来，而是很陌生，不符合我们在基督里的新生命和我们所喜悦的神的律。在我们里面的罪并不能定义我们是谁，因为这罪和所结出的果子就像我们健康的身体上的一个良性肿瘤，切除并且后期化疗就可以了，时刻警惕，时刻观察，保持健康，不让他复发，不让他变成恶性的以至于糜烂全身，那就糟糕了。这个良心的肿瘤会不会有残余，肯定会有，只是我们不要让他继续生长、恶化，要不断地自我清除干净。

我们继续用这个身体的比喻，我们需要一边对付这个潜在的肿瘤，但这不是我们生命的全部，我们还要好好生活，就是积极顺服圣灵的带领，顺服神的律，结出善果，趋向永生。我们基督徒很容易犯的两个错误，一个就是只专注于罪怎么解决，另外一个错误就是只专注于行善。其实两个都有，如果忽略了对付罪，觉得自己一直做得很好，我们就是不诚实，因为我们会被罪偶尔胜过，需要悔改和领受赦免，持续一生的悔改；而如果忽略了行善，我们就会活在罪的阴影和权势之下，不能够享受神所赐的新生命，也不能造就我们身边的人。所以这两个都要有。还有些时候，我们会感到疲惫不堪，怎么需要一直这样，甚至有些焦虑，需要一直悔改吗？会不会太消极了？不，这是我们所需要的，也是我们真实的状态，就像保罗在今天经文中所分享的。他甚至感叹道：“我真是苦啊！谁能救我脱离这取死的身体呢？”（罗7:24）

保罗接着说：“感谢神，靠着我们的主耶稣基督就能脱离了。”感谢上帝，这是我们所盼望的，更是神藉着主耶稣所应许给我们的。虽然我们仍然活在地上，仍然在肉体当中，仍然会有罪的缠累，有撒但的搅扰，有跌倒和羞愧难当的时刻，有无助和叹息的时刻，但是，但是，我们的出路就是我们的救主耶稣基督，祂必要拯救我们到底，救我们脱离这取死的肉体，在复活之日赐给我们属灵的、不朽坏的身体，跟祂一样，不再有罪和疾病，甚至死亡。到那日，只有永恒的生命。奉圣父、圣子、圣灵的名。阿们。

Sermon on Romans 7:14–25

Introductions

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Savior Jesus Christ, to you who constantly wage war against the law of sin that dwells within the flesh. Amen.

Today we continue our study of the Book of Romans. Paul further extends the theme of the Law, specifically addressing the ongoing warfare that we, as Christians, encounter in our new life. Even apart from today's scripture text, we often hear people in the world say, "Everyone has a demon inside them," or express it through Buddhist philosophy, saying, "Good and evil exist in a single thought; one thought makes a buddha, one thought makes a demon," and so forth. By worldly standards, it seems everyone wants to be a good person, but in reality, people must admit that when they make mistakes or commit evil, they often feel "unable to help themselves." Of course, this is not merely an objective description of human history and individual life experience; sometimes it is misused as a means of self-exoneration, an excuse to escape blame, avoiding responsibility for one's own sin and faults.

The Standard of the Law

By what standard were we speaking just now? Remember, that was from the perspective of worldly ethics, human conscience, and human notions of right and wrong. When we return to today's text in Romans, the standard—and indeed the judge—changes entirely. The standard is God’s holy and good Law, and the Judge is God Himself. God created man in His own image, according to His truth and righteousness, and placed His Law into our hearts. When we are placed under the "spiritual" Law to be examined, our conclusion becomes completely different. It is just like placing a human body under an X-ray machine: everything becomes clear at a glance, every problem is revealed, and the entire body is rendered transparent. What is the diagnosis? Paul says: "For I am of the flesh, sold under sin" (Romans 7:14).

Paul continues later, saying, "For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh" (Romans 7:18). What does this mean? We must examine this in two distinct scenarios.

First Scenario: Before Coming to Faith

First, what were we like before coming to faith in the Lord? We were of the flesh, not spiritual. We did not have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling in our hearts; we were enslaved by sin. We had no life—only death, condemnation, and judgment awaited us. Forget the idea that "good and evil are separated by a single thought." The reality is that ever since our first ancestor, Adam, fell into sin, every single person stands guilty and evil before God; there is none who is good. Did not the Lord Jesus Himself say during His earthly ministry, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good" (Matthew 19:17)? Why did He speak this way? The reason is simple: if we, as created beings, do not even acknowledge the supremely good God, our Creator, how can we claim to possess even a tiny shred of goodness? When we do not acknowledge Him, believe in Him, or rely on Him, we reject the very Source of goodness and life itself. "Whoever does not believe will be condemned," because they are already in sin. John 3:18 states, "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already." And Romans 14:23 says, "For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin." In other words, if a person does not believe in God and the Savior Jesus Christ, that person and everything they do stand condemned as sinful before God.

Conversely, if a person believes, they receive the righteousness and salvation promised and gifted by God.

"The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." (Romans 3:22–24)

Second Scenario: After Coming to Faith

I have just described the first scenario: before coming to faith. What about after we come to faith? Since we are justified by faith, are we now completely perfect? Will we never sin again? Justification means being declared or counted as righteous. It means our status and essence have changed, our position before God has altered, and our relationship with God has been transformed from hostility to reconciliation.

However—and this is a crucial "however"—this does not mean we can simply coast along, slacken our efforts, or stop being vigilant and fighting. We must remember that throughout today's text, Paul is describing the present state of the Christian life.

"For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate... So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me." (Romans 7:15, 17)

If you look at the text, all the verbs are in the present tense; this is Paul’s spiritual state and experience at that very moment. Paul is not describing what he experienced in the past before he believed and was regenerated. In fact, if a person is not yet converted, saved, and regenerated, it is impossible for him to have this kind of warfare. He would not experience this battle between the "new man" and sin, the new man and the flesh, the "inner self" and the "flesh," or the law of God and the law of sin.

Let us look closer at the details of what Paul says:

"For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out... Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me" (Romans 7:18, 20).

At first hearing, this might sound like schizophrenia or a dual personality, but it is not. We must look at who this "I" Paul speaks of actually is, and how it is defined. Is this "I" defined by the sinful things done? No. This "I" is the "new man" who has already been redeemed by Christ Jesus and set free from sin and death. It is no longer the old, fleshly self that was bound and dominated by sin. Although we still live in the flesh and are occasionally overtaken by sinful faults—and though this law of sin occasionally works death within us and bears the fruit of death—nevertheless, these things do not define our personhood, our identity, our dignity, or our value. Do you understand this point? Although sin dwells within us, what truly influences and directs our life and conduct is the Word of God, the Holy Spirit, and the Law of God, which moves us to worship the Lord and "desire to do what is right."

In other words, we do not continuously practice the evil we do not want to do. If we occasionally fall into sin, this is foreign to us as regenerated people; it is something this new man "does not understand"—not meaning we cannot recognize it, but that it is completely alien and inconsistent with our new life in Christ and the Law of God in which we delight. The sin within us cannot define who we are. This sin and its fruits are like a tumor on an otherwise healthy body; it must be excised, followed by ongoing treatment. We must remain constantly vigilant, observing it and maintaining health so that it does not relapse or turn malignant, spreading corruption through the whole body—which would be disastrous. Will there be remnants of this controllable tumor? Certainly. But we must not allow it to keep growing and worsening; we must continually purge it.

The Double Trap and Our True Deliverance

Continuing with this bodily metaphor, while we must deal with this latent tumor, it is not the entirety of our life. We must still live fully—which means actively following the guidance of the Holy Spirit, obeying God's Law, bearing good fruit, and moving toward eternal life.

There are two common errors we Christians easily fall into:

·       Focusing solely on how sin is resolved, while ignoring the pursuit of good.

·       Focusing solely on doing good deeds, while ignoring the reality of sin.

In reality, both aspects coexist. If we neglect to deal with sin because we think we are doing perfectly well, we are being dishonest; we will occasionally be overcome by sin and need daily repentance and the reception of forgiveness—a lifelong repentance. On the other hand, if we neglect doing good, we will live under the shadow and power of sin, failing to enjoy the new life God has given us and failing to benefit those around us. Therefore, both are necessary.

At times, we may feel utterly exhausted by this constant struggle, perhaps even anxious. Do we really need to repent continuously? Is this too negative? No, this is exactly what we need, and it reflects our true condition, just as Paul shares in today's passage. He even cries out in anguish: "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" (Romans 7:24).

But Paul immediately answers: "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:25).

Thanks be to God! This is our hope, and it is precisely what God has promised us through the Lord Jesus. Although we still live on this earth, still dwell in flesh, and are still entangled by sin, troubled by Satan, experiencing moments of stumbling, deep shame, helplessness, and groaning—nevertheless, our way out is our Savior Jesus Christ. He will surely save us to the end. He will deliver us from this body of death and, on the day of resurrection, grant us a spiritual, imperishable body just like His own—no longer subject to sin, disease, or even death. On that day, there will be only eternal life.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.