保羅對普世性罪惡與罪咎的狠狠揭露Paul’s Devastating Exposure of Universal Sin and Guilt
摘錄者：Shane Lems/Maria Marta
『然而我們曉得，凡律法所說的，都是對在律法之下的人說的，好讓每一個人都沒有話可講，使全世界的人都伏在 神的審判之下。沒有一個人可以靠行律法，在 神面前得稱為義，因為藉著律法，人對於罪才有充分的認識。』（羅三19-20；《圣經新譯本》）
我很欣賞約翰·斯托得對羅馬書三章9-20節所作的註釋的結論：
「最後，在二十世紀未閱讀到普世人類都犯罪負咎的事實，被保羅揭露得體無完膚的我們，又當作出怎樣的回應呢？我們不當顧左右而言他，空談要尊重人的自尊，或將自己的行為歸咎於遺傳、環境、教育、社會。外在因素舞論可等的惡劣，我們都不是舞助的受害人，必須對自己的行為負責；這是我們人類尊嚴不可或缺的一部分。因此，我們對保羅控訴的第一个回應，應當是盡可能肯定自己的內心，確然已經接受了神對人類處判斷的正確性，並且肯定自己已經從神對我們罪公義的審判底下，逃到惟一的避難所：為我們的罪而死的耶穌基督。因為我們不能訴諸功德，也無法推託。在神面前也是啞口無言、罪名成立。我們必須到了這個地步，才可以聆聽美妙的『但如今』，在第21節出現。保羅在此開始解釋神怎樣為我們救恩之故，藉基督和祂的十架插手幹涉。」
摘錄自聖經信息系列《羅馬書》The Message Of Romana ，139頁，斯托得（John R.W.Stott)著/李永明譯，校園書房出版社，1997。
Paul’s Devastating Exposure of
Universal Sin and Guilt
by
Reformed Reader
Romans
3:19-20 makes this declaration: “Now we know that whatever the law says, it
says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and
the whole world may be held accountable to God. For no one is declared
righteous before him by the works of the law, for through the law comes the
knowledge of sin” (NET Bible).
I
appreciate John Stott’s conclusions on this part of Romans 3:
In
conclusion, how should we respond to Paul’s devastating exposure of universal
sin and guilt, as we read it at the end of the twentieth century? We should not
try to evade it by changing the subject and talking instead of the need for
self-esteem, or by blaming our behaviour on our genes, nurturing, education or
society. It is an essential part of our dignity as human beings that, however
much we may have been affected by negative influences, we are not their
helpless victims, but rather responsible for our conduct. Our first response to
Paul’s indictment, then, should be to make it as certain as we possibly can
that we have ourselves accepted this divine diagnosis of our human condition as
true, and that we have fled from the just judgment of God on our sins to the
only refuge there is, namely Jesus Christ who died for our sins. For we have no
merit to plead and no excuse to make. We too stand before God speechless and
condemned. Only then shall we be ready to hear the great ‘But now’ of verse 21,
as Paul begins to explain how God has intervened through Christ and his cross
for our salvation.
Stott, J. R. W. (2001). The Message of Romans:
God’s Good News for the World (pp. 104–105). Leicester, England; Downers Grove,
IL: InterVarsity Press.
Shane
Lems
Hammond,
WI, 54015