The Terrible Evil of Sin

Genesis 3:1-6, “The Horrible Evil of Sin!” 03/25/12 PM, Sharon OPC Dr. Jeffrey K. Boer [Also see WLC #19-24]

We’re going to talk about sin tonight. Not a very popular subject, I’ll grant you. We’re also going to be talking about the Fall of mankind.

今晚我们要讨论罪的主题。虽然这个话题不常见，我们却要谈谈人类的堕落。

今晚我们要讨论的是“罪”，——我保证你认为是一个不怎么流行的话题。（然而不仅如此），我们还要讨论人类堕落的事。

Let me ask you a question: “Do you hate sin? Do you see the horrible evil of sin?”

先来问你一个问题：“你恨恶罪吗？你看到罪那可怕的邪恶性了吗？”

请允许我问你一个问题：“你恨罪么？你明了罪所具有的可怕的邪恶么？”

I fear that many today, myself included, have become all too insensitive to the horrible evil of sin. So we tend to dismiss it rather lightly. As a result, many people have the impression that God was rather unfair to damn the whole human race to Hell for “Just one bite of an apple.” (I know it probably wasn’t an apple, but may have been a pear or some similar fruit, but we’ll refer to it by the common conception of an apple.)

现在我担心今天的我们(包括我自己在内)都对罪的邪恶性越来越不敏感。所以我们就对之轻描淡写，应付了事。所以，很多人认为 神就因为人“在那苹果上咬了一口”就把全人类定罪要遭受地狱的刑罚是极其不公平的。（我知道有可能不是苹果，也许是梨子或其他类似水果，我们就姑且用常用的苹果表示。）

我担心今天的很多人——包括我个人在内，都对罪所具有的的可怕的邪恶越来越不敏感。所以我们总倾向于轻松随便地把它打发掉，以至于很多人都有这种印象：上帝因为那“仅仅咬一口苹果”的事儿就将全人类打入地狱是极不公正的。——我知道它可能并非苹果，而是梨子或者其他什么水果，但让我们姑且用苹果这个一般观念来表示吧。

Some time ago, a man came to my office on business, and then, just as he was ready to leave, he said, “Can I ask you a question about religion?” (I could tell, instantly, that I was about to be hit between the eyes with one of those “religious trap” questions.)

前些天，有个男子有事到我办公室，临走时他问：“我可以问你一个宗教性问题吗？”（从他的眼神，我感觉到他要给我设的问题是个“宗教陷阱”。）

几天前，有个人到我的办公室交涉公务，然而就在他临走的时候，他说：“我可以问你一个关于宗教的问题么？”老实说，看他那样的眼神，我马上就感觉到他是要用这些“宗教陷阱”问题来教训我。

I said, “You can ask anything you like. I can’t guarantee that I’ll have the answer.”

我说：“你可以随便问。不过我不保证我都能回答。”

我说：“你问什么都可以。但我不能保证我有你要的答案。”

He said, “Let me give you a hypothetical situation: Suppose a father says to his son, ‘Don’t ever open the door to that one closet in the house. You can play anywhere else in the entire house, but I don’t want you to go into that closet. I mean it. Stay out of there or that will be the end of our relationship!’ Then, a little while later, the father catches his son, in the closet, in direct violation of his father’s orders. So... the father picks up his son, throws him out the door of the house and says, ‘That’s it! I never want to see you again!’ And he slams the door shut.”

他说，“我们虚设一个场景：一个父亲对他儿子说 ，“不要开房子里那间密室的门。你可在房间其他地方到处玩，但我郑重告诉你不要进那间密室。不要去碰那间密室的门，否则我们的父子关系就到此为止！”可还不到一分钟，父亲就抓到儿子进了密室，公然直接反抗他父亲的命令。所以父亲把儿子拎起来直接就把他扔出家门，‘出去！我再也不想见到你！’砰的一声把门也锁上了。”

“Now,” said the man, looking me right in the eye, “What would you think of a father who would do that?” “现在” 那人注目看着我说，“你看一个做出这事的父亲会是怎样的父亲呢？” “Not much,” I said, waiting for the other shoe to drop. “没什么好说的，”我说，等着他发下一个球过来。 “Well that’s why I can’t worship the kind of God the Bible reveals,” he said. “What kind of God would condemn the entire human race to Hell eternally for one person just taking one bite of an apple?” 他说“我不可能来敬拜圣经所启示的这样的神，”他又接着说。“什么样的神啊，因为小咬了那苹果一口，就要把全人类都永远地定罪遭遇地狱的刑罚？”

Well, how would you respond? It does sorta make you think, doesn’t it? That’s the question we’re going to be dealing with this evening. 换作是你，你会怎么回答？现在让你有几分思考了，对吧？我们今晚就来思考下这个问题。 For those of you taking notes, there will be three main headings: 1) The Covenant of Life. 2) Adam’s sin. And 3) Our sin. 做笔记的时候，可以关注下这三大点：1）生命之约。2）亚当的原罪。和3）我们的本罪。 First, The Covenant of Life. 首先：生命之约 The Covenant of Life provides the context for Adam’s sin. It’s set forth in Genesis 2:15-17, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.’” 生命之约其实也是亚当犯罪的前约。设立在创世纪2：15-17，“耶和华 神将那人安置在伊甸园，使他修理看守。耶和华 神吩咐他说：“园中各样树上的果子你可以随意吃。只是分别善恶树上的果子你不可以吃，你吃的日子必定死。 ” In some places in our creeds, this covenant is referred to as the Covenant of Life. In other places it’s called the Covenant of Works. Both terms refer to the same covenant, that covenant made by God with Adam, as the head of the whole human race. 在我们的信条中，这个约也被称之为“生命之约”。有些地方称它为“工作之约”。这都是指同一个约，这个约是神与作为全人类代表的亚当所立的。 After this covenant was broken, God made a new and better covenant, which we call the Covenant of Grace. Because this second covenant is called the covenant of grace, the first covenant is sometimes thought of as not being gracious, but that’s not altogether true. 这个约被破坏之后，神另立新约，也是更美好的恩典之约。 因这第二个约是恩典之约，所以第一个约有时候就被认为没有恩典，其实这样讲法是极其错误的。 There was grace in the covenant of works, too, in a sense. That’s why I like the term, covenant of life, better. 工作之约从某种意义上讲也是有恩典的。所以我更喜欢称之为“生命之约”。 When we think of works, we think that means works instead of grace, but that’s not necessarily true. The covenant of works was a gracious covenant in the sense that Adam and Eve didn’t earn or deserve to have this covenant relationship with God. God didn’t owe them this covenant. 当我们想到工作的时候，我们想到的是劳苦工作没有想到恩典，但那不一定对。工作之约之所以是有恩典的，是因为亚当和夏娃不能赚得或说不配跟神建立这种约的关系。神从来就不欠他们一个“约”。 When you think about it, it was very gracious and undeserved for God, the infinite, sovereign master of the universe, to stoop down and to enter into a covenant with a creature made from the dust! Adam had no claims on the God Who had created him. He hadn’t given God anything! And yet, God, in His infinite mercy and wisdom, decided to enter into a covenant relationship with Adam. And keep in mind that this covenant relationship included not only Adam, but since Adam represented all of humankind, this covenant of life included all of us as well. 你可以想像下，其实这都是莫大的恩典且是我们不配得的，无限大能宇宙至高之君却屈就并与出于尘土的被造之物立约！亚当无权要求创造了他的神。他没有给予过神任何报偿！然而，神却因他丰盛的怜悯和智慧决定与亚当有约的关系。但是不要忘记这个约不仅是跟亚当，也是与亚当所代表的全人类所定，包括我们每一个人。 God gave Adam a choice: Eternal life or eternal death. God required of Adam obedience. There are three words our creeds use to describe this obedience: 1) Perfect (that is, not half way or half hearted obedience, 2) Personal (that is, Adam, himself, was to obey, not someone else on his behalf, as in the covenant of grace where Christ obeys for us), and 3) Perpetual (that is, all the time, every second of every day). God required perfect, personal, and perpetual obedience of Adam. 神给亚当一道选题：永远的生或永远的死。神要求亚当完全顺服。我们的神学词典中有三个词把这要求概括得恰如其分：1）完全（不是半信半疑，或打道回府半路的顺服。）2）个人的（亚当，自己要顺服，不是张三李四替他如同主基督在恩典之约中为我们完全顺服那样去做。）3）顺服到底（就是每时每刻，每一天每一秒的顺服）。神要求亚当自己个人完全坚持到底地顺服他的旨意。 God set forth a clear warning for Adam also. To break this covenant would mean the loss of everything. It would mean forfeiting all the blessings God had given him. It would mean death, the complete loss of hope. But at the same time, God’s covenant was very gracious in its terms: “You may eat of any tree in the garden. You may live in perfect paradise which I have created for you. You will have no pain or sorrow, no problems. Everything will be perfect. Everything in the garden is yours to use. You will be king of all, and you will have communion with God. Just obey me in this one little thing. Don’t eat from that one tree.” 神也给亚当非常清楚的警告。如果背约，将失去所有的一切。不仅要失去神赐给他所有的福，也要承受死亡的痛苦，毫无指望的人生 。但同时也看到神的圣约是多么有恩典：“园中各样树上的果子你可以吃，你可以住在我为你而创造的完美天堂。你将没有痛苦，没有悲哀，没有哭嚎，没有难题。一切都将是完美的。园中的一切都是你的，你可以随意享用。你可以统治一切受造物，且与神相交。只要遵守我这一小小的要求。不要吃那棵树上的果子。” In light of all this background, Adam’s sin isn’t all that trivial is it? 在这处境的对照下，亚当的罪是不是显得太琐碎而不那么重要呢？ Also keep in mind that Adam was not a little child, as in the man’s illustration earlier. He was a fully grown adult man who’d been created already mature with the full ability to think and to reason and to weigh consequences and all that. He wasn’t an immature little child. 请注意，亚当并非那个男子故事当中的孩子。他是有完全行为意识、准则、判断能力的成年人。他知道衡量自己的行为将导致的后果，他不是个乳臭未干的孩子。 So that was the Covenant of Life. Not a bad deal, was it? 所以这就是生命之约。这个协议不错吧，对不对？ Next, let’s examine how much evil there was in Adam’s sin: 下面，我们要检查下亚当的罪里含有多少的邪恶成分？ Our second point: Adam’s sin (was it “just one bite of an apple?”) 第二点：亚当的罪（是否“只是对那苹果的一咬而已”） We’ll see that it was much worse than that. 我们可以看到他所做的比这更恶劣。 First of all, Adam called God a liar and believed the Devil! 首先，亚当称神为说谎的而去相信撒旦！ In v. 4, we read, “‘You will not surely die,’ the serpent said to the woman. ‘For God knows that when [literally, “in the day”] you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’” 3：4我们读到，“蛇对女人说：‘你们不一定死，因为神知道你们吃的日子眼睛就明亮了，你们便如神能知道善恶。’” So for Adam to eat of that tree, he had to believe that God lied to him, knowingly, and for selfish reasons, so that God wouldn’t have any competition from Adam. 所以亚当要吃那树上的果子，他就必须相信神是跟他说谎的，在他看来，显然是因着神自己自私的缘故，神就故意不让亚当吃那果子，免得他会与自己相抗衡了。 Not only that, Adam had to be certain that Satan was telling the truth and that God was lying. Think of the risk involved here if Satan were lying and God were telling the truth. Adam would lose all this wonderful paradise and happiness and would suffer death instead. What more could he possibly want or need? But he wanted the chance to be like God. 不但如此，亚当还要相信撒旦是说真话的，而神是说谎的。想一下如果是神说真话，而撒旦说谎话呢，亚当就面临失去乐园的一切美好之物而承受死亡的咒诅的风险。此时，他还怕没有什么呢，还缺少什么呢？但是他却想要能够像神一样。 Adam was virtually saying, by his actions, that there was practically no chance that God was telling the truth. Otherwise, why would he risk throwing everything away that he’d been given? God had specifically said, “In the day you eat of it you shall surely die!” 亚当用行动证明，在他眼里，实际上神毫无疑问没有说真话。否则，他怎么可能把所得来的一切都抛诸脑后。并且神还明确的跟他说了，“你吃的日子必定死！” So Adam risked everything on the assumption that God was a liar. 所以，亚当用一切身家性命当赌注，认定他假设的神是说谎的谬论。 Second, Adam was filled with selfish pride. He wanted so much to become like God that he was willing to gamble everything for it. Here’s the way the Puritan theologian, Thomas Watson, put it: “This worm, that was but newly crept out of the dust, now aspired after Deity.” 其次，亚当心里充满了自私的骄傲。他是那么想像神一样，以致不惜一切代价要换得这虚荣。清教徒神学家托马斯．华特森这样写：“这蛆虫， 本出于尘土，却突然匍匐在地，立志要‘立地成神’了。” Third, Adam was ungrateful and unthankful. Think about it. Even if God were a liar, Adam still should have obeyed His command anyway, simply out of gratitude for all that God had given him! God wasn’t coming “out of the blue” here to Adam and saying, “Obey me, or else.” God had already showered Adam with gifts and blessings beyond most men’s wildest dreams. Adam ignored all of this, saying to himself, “I’ll take this liar’s power upon myself by eating the forbidden fruit.” 第三，亚当毫无感恩和回报之心。我们想想，即便神就说谎了，亚当也应当遵守神的诫命，权当他对神所赐给他一切的感谢回报！(此处的假设是不妥的，神从不说谎；神或许借着人或事物来试验人，然而，神的法则总是不变的。【申13:1~3】不可用人的情感来论衡神【可9:33】 神并没有贸然的来到亚当面前告诉他，“你要听我的，若不然如何如何。”神已经给了亚当太多太多的恩赐和祝福，多得我们根本无法想象。亚当不理会这一切，跟自己说，“我要化这骗子的能力为我所用，非得要吃这禁果不可。” Fourth, Adam worshipped the creature rather than the Creator who had the authority to command Adam’s obedience. The serpent had no authority over Adam. In fact, the serpent had been placed under man’s authority by God. God had placed Adam in authority over all the other creatures. But Adam chose to listen to the words of a snake rather than the words of God. 第四，亚当敬拜受造之物，却不敬拜有权柄命令亚当顺服的造物主。蛇对亚当没有任何权柄。事实上，神把管理那蛇的权柄交给了人。神要亚当来管理其他一切被造之物。 但亚当却选择听从蛇的诱惑而不听从真神言语。 Fifth, Adam coveted and lusted. Adam was apparently discontent with all the good gifts that God had given him. He wanted more, more, more. His mouth watered as he looked upon that forbidden fruit. He lusted after it in his heart, even though God had given him all things to enjoy. 第五，亚当贪婪并被私欲牵引。亚当显然不满足于神已给予他的所有美好恩赐。他贪得无厌，巴不得拥有更多。他举目看到禁果就口水止不住流，即便神给了他那么多的美物供他享用，这已生根种在他心里的贪欲却无法平息。【注：未犯罪之前人的欲望是被真理引导的，此时亚当在撒旦的诱骗之下，他的欲望开始被世界、被肉体、被自我所引导】 Sixth, Adam was a mass murderer. Not only would Adam’s sin bring death upon himself and upon his wife. But as the head of the entire human race, Adam’s sin plunged the entire human race under the condemnation of God’s wrath in Hell. When Adam died, spiritually, all mankind died with him. Romans 5:12 says, “Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned...” 第六，亚当是全体大众的罪魁祸首。他犯罪不仅让他跟妻子一起遭受死亡的痛苦。作为全人类的头，亚当犯罪也把全人类带到神的震怒和咒诅之下，遭受地狱的刑罚。亚当的灵死时，全人类也一同死在了罪恶过犯之中。罗马书5：12“这就如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。” Here’s how the WSC puts it:威斯敏斯特小要理问答说：

Q. 16. Did all mankind fall in Adam’s first transgression? 16 问：全人类都在亚当初次犯罪中堕落了吗？ A. The covenant being made with Adam, not only for himself, but for his posterity; all mankind, descending from him by ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell with him, in his first transgression. 答：神和亚当所立的圣约，不单是为他自己也是为了他的后裔；全人类都是按常例传宗接代，由亚当而来，在亚当里犯了罪，在他初次犯罪中与他一同堕落了。 Adam’s mouth watered, and as a result, all mankind’s eyes water in travail and tears in this life. 因亚当流的口水，全人类的眼睛都要在今生的劳作和痛苦中流泪水。 Seventh, Adam’s sin was an act of selfish cowardice. Notice that v.6 says, “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 第七：亚当犯罪是他自私而懦弱的行为。注意到3：6：“于是女人见那棵树的果子好作食物、也悦人的眼目、且是可喜爱的、能使人有智慧、就摘下果子来吃了．又给他丈夫、他丈夫也吃了。” Notice that Eve ate first, but Adam was with her the whole time and did nothing to stop her. He obviously figured he’d let her be the “guinea pig,” and if nothing happened to her, then he’d try a bite. Adam was given authority over Eve, so he was responsible to protect her and to guard her best interests. Instead, he basically “hanged her out to dry,” while he stood by and watched! 我们也看到是夏娃先吃，但亚当是在场的却没有阻拦她不要吃。他明显就是让妻子做“小白鼠”，如果妻子没事，他也要尝一口。亚当对夏娃是有权柄的，所以他本应保护她捍卫她的最高利益。但不幸的是当他站着袖手旁观的时候，他基本上就把她“吊在外面晾干”。 Romans 5:12 is clear about who’s responsible for the Fall:罗马书5：12非常清楚地阐明了堕落是谁的责任。 “Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned...” “这就如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。” Seen in light of all these considerations, there’s quite a big difference between the story of the little boy whose curiosity got the best of him so that he opened the door of the closet, and the story of full grown Adam, isn’t there? Adam had been highly blessed by God, and then, for no good reason, turned on this generous and gracious God and called Him a liar.基于此，我们看见那个好奇心强到一定要打开密室门的小男孩和一个健全的成年人亚当之间极大的不同。亚当蒙受神极大的恩福，却反过来忤逆神称神为说谎者。 But let’s talk about our own sin for a moment. Perhaps you can see some of the gravity and evil of Adam’s sin, in light of all these circumstances. But how about our own sin? Let’s try to see our own sin as God sees it instead of as Satan wants us to see it! 照此景况，我们也来看下我们的本罪，也许你就可以看到亚当的原罪对我们本罪有牵动和助长的作用。然而，我们自己的罪况如何呢？让我们试着用神而不用撒旦看我们的眼光来看下我们的罪况。 Our third point deals with Our Sin. 我们第三点要讲我们的本罪 It’s easy for us to sit back and judge Adam for his terrible sin. But when it comes right down to it, we’re all guilty of Adam’s sin, and more! We saw that Romans 5:12 holds all mankind accountable for this grievous sin of Adam. But our guilt is even greater than that. We continue to sin, day after day, above and beyond that original sin of Adam which has been imputed to us. 我们坐下来审判亚当犯的可怕的罪很容易。但谈到这个审判，亚当犯罪也使我们堕入罪中，甚至是更悲惨的罪中！在罗马书5：12看到全人类都因亚当这可怕的罪而受刑罚。但我们的罪比亚当之罪更可怕。我们还一天一天继续在犯罪，并且这些罪已大大超过从亚当延续给我们这些后代子孙的原罪。 And what is sin? Perhaps it would be good to try to get a handle on exactly what constitutes sin? The WSC gives us an excellent definition of sin: 罪是什么？有可能找到罪所包含的具体内容可以帮我们认识清楚么？威斯敏斯特小要理问答给我们很清晰的定义：

Q. 14. What is sin? 问：14。罪是什么？ A. Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of the law of God. 答：凡不遵守或违背神的律法的，都是罪。

This question reminds us that there are two sides to sin. Sometimes we think of sin only as transgression of the law of God. We see sin as only doing what we’re not supposed to do. And that’s true. Sin is that. When God says, “Don’t step over this boundary,” and we do it anyway, that’s a transgression or a trespassing where we don’t belong. That’s why, in the Lord’s Prayer, the KJV translates it, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us...” 这个问题提醒我们罪的两个方面。有时我们把罪想象成仅仅是违背神的律法。我们只是将罪看作做我们不该做的。 当然那是真的！罪确实是涵括这个意思。当神说，“不可越界，”我们就不越界，否则就是犯了违背或侵犯神所定规的律法的罪。因此，在主祷文，ＫＪＶ版本翻译成“赦免我们的过犯如同我们赦免了人的过犯…” But just because we don’t happen to be trespassing at any given moment, that doesn’t mean that we’re not sinning. Being sinless is not just, “I don’t smoke, and I don’t chew, and I don’t go with girls who do.” Sin is also “any want of conformity unto...the law of God.” The law does more than command us what not to do. It also commands us what we’re supposed to do. The law demands more than a list of “don’ts.” It also demands a great many “do’s.” The law demands that you “Love God with all your heart,” and that you “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The law demands that you put God first in all your thoughts, words, and deeds and that you give Him the life of service that you owe Him. 但是即便我们没有过犯，并不表明我们没有犯罪。没有罪并不仅仅是“我不抽烟，不嚼舌根不跟有的人那样滥交女友”，罪还包含“不遵守神的律法。”律法不仅告诉我们所不应做的，也告诉我们所应当做的。律法不仅给了我们“不应做”的清单，也给我们一大串“应做”的清单。诫命要求你“要尽心爱主你的神。”也要“爱邻舍如同自己。”诫命要求你把神放在你思想、言语和行为的首位，并且把你欠他的生命当作活祭来献给他。 Who can say, “I’ve never failed to love God with everything that’s in me, with my whole heart and soul and mind, and I’ve never failed to love my neighbor as myself?” Who can say, “Not only have I never had any evil thoughts words or deeds against God or my neighbor, but I’ve always had proper love in my thoughts, words, and deeds toward God and my neighbor?” 谁敢说，“我在用我的一切所有在爱神，并且尽了我的全心，尽了我的全灵，尽了我的全意呢？并且爱了我邻舍如同自己了呢？”谁敢说，“我不仅从未对神和邻舍有过邪恶的想法，邪恶的言语，邪恶的行为，并且我还时刻用合宜的想法，合宜的言语，合宜的行为在爱着神和爱着我的邻舍呢？” Hopefully it’s clear to everyone here today that “We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” When we see how the Bible defines sin, we immediately see that we all sin, greatly! 希望今天在座每一位都清楚一点“我们都犯了罪，亏缺了神的荣耀。”当我们看到圣经怎样定义罪的时候，我们看到我们都犯了滔天大罪！ But we must learn not merely to avoid sin. We must also learn to hate sin. And we’ll never learn to hate sin until we’re convinced that the law of God is good and perfect. Romans 7:12 says, “the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.” 但是我们不仅要学会避免犯罪。我们还必须学会恨恶罪。并且除非有一天我们真正信服神律法的全备且良善，我们就学不会恨恶罪。罗马书7：12说，“这样看来，律法是圣洁的，诫命也是圣洁、公义、良善的。” Not everybody believes that. Many people think God’s law is just God’s wishes. They don’t view God’s law as perfectly just and fair and righteous. If they did, they’d have no problem with those who want to make God’s law the law of the land. 并不是每一个人都相信这一点。许多人认为神的律法只是神的期许罢了。他们不看神的律法为全备、公义、圣洁的。如果他们这样看就不会不把神的律法作为全地的律法而遵行了。 Many people say to Christians, “You can believe what you want, but don’t try to legislate your morality on me. Don’t try to make the laws of the land Christian. That would mean the state would have to cater to one particular religion, and we’re supposed to believe in separation of Church and State.” 很多人对基督徒说，“你信你的，但别把你的道德观强加给我。基督徒，别把你的律法弄得遍地通行，那就意味国家要为了迎合某一宗教的需要而这么做，因此我们就该相信政教分权而立。” Even some Christians feel that way. They have this idea that God’s moral laws are a special set of religious requirements for Christians, but that they weren’t intended to be obeyed or enforced by the civil authorities on the general population. 甚至有些基督徒也这么认为。他们的观念是神的道德律，是对基督徒特别的信仰的要求，但并不是司法机构去执行并要求所有人当遵守的法则。 But if, as Romans 7:12 says, “the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good,” then the law of God is the most just and most fair law for every man, woman, and child in every nation of the earth. Why shouldn’t it be obeyed and enforced by the civil authorities of every nation? People don’t seem to understand that the law of God is not some kind of preferential treatment, prejudicial towards Christians. The law of God is the only law that’s completely fair and unprejudicial, giving equal justice for all. The law of God is the only law that’s the very best for everyone concerned, and caters to no special interest groups whatsoever. In fact, any laws that oppose God’s law are unjust, evil, and unfair. In fact, they’re sinful laws! 但是正如罗马书7：12所说：“律法是圣洁的，诫命也是圣洁、公义、良善的。”那么神的律法对世上的万民万邦中每一个男人、女人、小孩都最公义，为什么不要被国家司法机构 颁布实施并且让每一个人都遵守呢？人们好像还不明白神的诫命并非是对信徒的特殊优待。神的诫命是公平毫无偏见的给每一个世人的。神的诫命也是对每一个人而言最好的且唯一的诫命，不是为了迎合哪个团体组织的需要。事实上，所有违背神诫命的律法都是不公的，都是邪恶的。实际上，这些都是罪恶的律法。 Christians, we need to learn to love the law of God the way Kind David learned to love it. We need to learn to hate sin as much as God hates sin. Why is it so easy for us to learn to hate people but so hard to learn to hate sin? 基督徒们，我们须学习像大卫一样爱慕神的律法。我们须学习像神一样恨恶罪。可我们为什么偏偏不需要学习就很容易恨恶别人，却那么难学会恨恶罪呢？ We seem quite ready to learn to hate someone who hurts us, or who hurts those we love, but we don’t realize that sin does all that and more! Sin hurts us and the ones we love! 通常我们很快就可以恨恶一个曾伤害过我们或我们亲人的人，但是我们没有意识到是罪使我们那样，甚至使我们更悲惨！ 罪伤害我们，也伤害我们所爱的人。 Notice how the Bible describes sin. Let’s try, for a moment, to see sin the way God sees it. 注意圣经怎样定义罪的。让我们试一试用一点点时间来用神的眼光看看罪。 I John 3:8 says sin is “of the devil.” If we can hate Satan, we should hate sin. 约翰一书3：8说罪是“属魔鬼的。”如果我们恨恶撒旦， 我们就应该恨恶罪。 II Corinthians 7:1 says that sin, “contaminates body and spirit.” If we hate diseases that contaminate our bodies – if we hate cancer and AIDS and hepatitis, how much more should we hate sin which contaminates both body and spirit? Yet we allow our minds and spirits to be contaminated daily by the things we watch on TV or read or think about. 哥林多后书7：1说罪是“身体灵魂一切的污秽。”如果我们恨恶败坏我们身体的疾病──像癌症、艾滋病和肝炎，那我们更应该何等恨恶败坏身体和灵魂的罪呢？那我们怎么还会任凭自己去看一些败坏的电视节目，去读一些世俗的读物并还昼夜思想这些污秽呢？ Ephesians 5:12 says that sin is “shameful even to mention.” 以弗所书5：12说罪是“暗中所行的，就是提起来也是可耻的。” Ephesians 4:30 says sin “grieves the Holy Spirit of God.” 以弗所书4：30说罪是“叫神的圣灵担忧。” Do we ever think of that when we choose to do something we know is sinful? 当我们明知是罪却去犯罪得罪神的时候，我们是否想到这些呢？ In Matthew 23, Jesus calls sinners “blind.” He compares them to “snakes and vipers” and to “unclean dead men’s bones.” 马太福音23章，耶稣说罪人是“瞎眼的。”他把他们比作“毒蛇的种类”，“里面装满了死人的骨头和一切的污秽。” Psalm 5 gives us God’s attitude toward sinners, outside of Jesus Christ, “You [God] hate all who do wrong...bloodthirsty and deceitful men the LORD abhors...their heart is filled with destruction, their throat is an open grave, with their tongue they speak deceit.” 诗篇5 给我们看到神对没有在耶稣基督里蒙拯救的恶人的态度，“凡作孽的，都是你所恨恶的…好流人血弄诡诈的都为耶和华所憎恶….他们心里满有邪恶，他们的喉咙是敞开的坟墓，他们用舌头谄媚人。” Isaiah compares sin to filthy menstruous cloth, and Paul compares it to dung. Sin is dirty, ugly, and poisonous.以赛亚把罪比作污秽不堪的衣裳，保罗把罪当作粪土。罪很肮脏，很丑陋，很恶毒。 Not only that, sinners gain nothing by sinning. It only serves to bring God’s judgments and chastisements upon themselves. 罪人不仅在犯罪时得不到任何好处，反而在为自己积攒神公义的审判和愤怒的刑罚。 Proverbs 13:15 says, “The way of a sinner is hard!” 箴言13：15说，“奸诈人的道路崎岖难行。” People of God, if you’re not yet convinced of how awful and grievous sin is, consider, for a moment, how much our Savior had to suffer for it. God the Creator of all the universe, humbled Himself, in the person of the Only Begotten Son of the heavenly Father, and He became flesh and lived among us. He was despised and rejected of men. This innocent and sinless Son of God suffered abuse, and beatings, and crucifixion at the hands of sinful men. And as He hung upon the cross, He suffered the ultimate penalty of sin. He suffered the wrath and rejection of His heavenly Father. He suffered the pains of Hell for all those for whom He died. Who can remember the suffering and sacrifice of our Savior and still not hate the sin that caused Him this great suffering? 神的儿女门，如果你们还不认为罪有多么可怕，多么严重，接下来思索下，我们的救主为我们的罪所承受的是多么深重的刑罚？神的爱子，创造宇宙万有的主宰，谦卑己身，作为天父的独生爱子却道成肉身住在我们中间。他被人厌弃拒绝。这位无瑕疵无斑点的神的羔羊却忍受凌辱，遭遇责打甚至忍受被污秽罪人钉死在十字架上的痛苦。他承受极重的罪的刑罚，他承受神的咒诅与父神隔绝。他代替他所救赎之人所应当承受的担当地狱的痛苦。谁能铭记我们救主所受这深重的苦刑和极大的牺牲却仍不恨恶使他遭遇这一切的罪呢？ Well, you might be wondering how I responded to that man in my office when he implied that God was totally unreasonable to treat Adam that way? 问我最后要怎么回答在我办公室的那位责问神没理由那样对待亚当的男子？ I said, “You’re right. I agree with you. God is unreasonable in the way He treated Adam.” 我说，“你说得对。我同意你所说的。神真没理由那样对待亚当。” That got his attention!

          他这下来劲了！

Then I said, “God definitely was unreasonable in the way He treated Adam. It certainly would not have been unreasonable for God to condemn all mankind to Hell for their ungrateful and hateful sin. That’s merely justice. What’s unreasonable is that God would be so gracious and so merciful, that even after Adam’s terrible sin, He promised to raise up for Adam a Savior. What’s unreasonable is that God the Father would willingly give up His Only Begotten Son to take the place of wicked sinners like us on the cross and to suffer Hell for us! What’s unreasonable is for Jesus Christ, the sinless Lamb of God, to voluntarily take the wrath of God for sinners upon Himself. Now that’s unreasonable! 然后我说，“神 确定无疑没有理由那样对待亚当。神使全人类因为他们的忘恩负义和可恨的罪，使他们遭受地狱的刑罚不是不合理的，反倒完全公义！而不合理的是神出于他的慈爱和怜悯，即便在亚当犯可怕的罪之后，他还应许给亚当一个救赎主。不合理的是天父上帝既然愿意为我们这些邪恶罪人舍了他的独生爱子，替我们的罪死在十字架上忍受地狱的咒诅！不合理的是，耶稣基督，神无罪的羔羊，自己却甘愿为我们这些该死该灭亡的罪人忍受神的咒诅和刑罚。这才真是不可思议！” “God didn’t kick Adam out of the house after eating just one bite of an apple. Rather, after a willful and grievous sin, wherein the adult child, Adam, literally disowned his own Father and called him a liar, God sent Adam outside to teach him obedience. And then, that same Father went after that spoiled brat, Adam, and at great cost and pain to Himself, sought out his rebellious son, won Him over in love, and brought him back to live with Him for all eternity. I’m afraid you missed a few of these details in your story of the child and the closet.” “神没有因为亚当咬了苹果一口就把他扫地出门，反而，在他蓄意犯了可怕的罪之后，这当中我们看见一个成年孩子亚当忤逆神甚至称神为说谎的；然后，神把亚当逐出伊甸是让他学会顺服。同时却还是这位慈爱父亲自己付出极重的代价和背负极大的痛苦去寻找这娇惯了的小子亚当，扭转这儿子的悖逆并用爱挽回使他得以与自己一同住在永恒里。恐怕你讲述的那个小孩和密室的故事里漏掉了这许多细节。” And then I read to him Ephesians 2:1-10, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” 然后我读给他听，以弗所书2：1-10你们死在罪恶过犯当中，他叫你们活过来。那时，你们在其中行事为人，随从今世的风俗，顺服空中掌权者的首领，就是现今在悖逆之子心中运行的邪灵。我们从前也都在他们中间，放纵肉体的私欲，随着肉体和心中所喜好的去行，本为可怒之子，和别人一样。然而 神既有丰富的怜悯，因他爱我们的大爱，当我们死在罪恶过犯中的时候，便叫我们与基督一同活过来（你们得救是本乎恩）。他又叫我们与基督耶稣一同复活。一同坐在天上。要将他极丰富的恩典，就是他在基督耶稣里向我们所施的恩慈，显明给后来的世代看。你们得救是本乎恩，也因着信；这并不是出于自己乃是神所赐的；这也不是出于行为，免得有人自夸。我们原是他的工作，在基督耶稣里造成的。为要叫我们行善，就是神所预备叫我们行的。

I don’t know whether this man has ever repented of his sin and turned to Jesus Christ for pardon or not. But at least he has a little different picture of what really happened in the Fall. And at least he also has a little different picture of what kind of a God we worship! 我不知道这个男子最终有没有悔改来信耶稣。但至少他已经有对那一幅 “ 堕落”画面新的认识，也对我们所敬拜的神有了新的认识！ Amen!阿门！