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What Does "the Wages of Sin is Dead"
Mean in the Bible?

聖經裡罪的工價乃是死的意思是甚麼?

作者

Jason Soroski

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
「因為罪的工價就是死；但神的恩賜，在我們的主基督耶穌裡，卻是永恆的生命。」(羅馬書6:23)

This verse is arguably the most precise Gospel presentation in all of Scripture: it leads us to understand our sinful nature, while promising eternal life in Christ. But is there more to it?
按理來說，這段經文應該是整本聖經裡面最具有準確代表性的: 它讓我們明白我們的罪性，同時也應許在基督裡我們有永生。
但是還有其他意思嗎?

The Bible Verse in Context 以上下文來讀經

First off, any verse in the Bible must be read in context, in the perspective of what is written around it. In this case, we are reading the words of Paul to the church in Rome, and in chapter 6 he is addressing the contrasts between sin and grace, death and life.
首先，任何經文都必須以上下文來解釋，按照文章的切入點來看。以此段經文來說，我們正在研讀保羅對羅馬教會所說的話，在第六章裡他正在對比罪惡與恩典，死亡與生命。

In this portion of Scripture, Paul is defining how when we find eternal life in Christ, we simultaneously become dead to sin. Just as Christ died and was resurrected, we have the hope of a future, resurrected, perfect state of life. Because of God’s great grace, our sins are covered, and we do not need live in sin any longer. This is our hope in Jesus, and this is the hope Paul proclaims to the church in Rome.
在這部分經文裡，保羅在為我們如何以及合時在基督裡得永生下定義，我們並且同時在罪惡裡而死亡。就像耶穌被釘死又復活，我們對未來有盼望，一個復活又完美的生命狀態。因為上帝的極大恩典，我們的罪惡被遮蓋，我們不再需要活在罪惡中。這就是我們在耶穌的盼望，這就是保羅對羅馬教會傳揚的盼望。

Paul had not yet personally visited the Roman church but planned to do so as soon as he could. It was said at the time that ‘all roads lead to Rome’; it was not only the capital of the vast empire but also a diverse, influential city filled with many cultures and beliefs.  Paul knew it was essential that this church have a solid foundation of Christian doctrine, and so this letter expresses theology which still guides the church today.
保羅還沒有親自去探訪羅馬教會，但是他計畫盡快趕去。那時候有句話是說: 條條大路通羅馬。那不僅是強大帝國的首都，也是一個多元，有影響力而充滿許多文化與信仰的城市。保羅知道扎實的基督教義對於羅馬教會來說非常重要，所以這封信所指明的神學到今日都仍帶領教會。

"The Wages of Sin" Meaning 罪的工價是死的意思

First off, why is it called a wage? 
首先，為何稱為工價一詞?

A wage is something we work towards, something we actively pursue whether we realize it or not. When we go to work and expect to get paid for that work, we are earning our wages. In the same way, we are going to be paid at the end of the day for our sin. The payment is death.
工價是我們希望藉由工作得到的，我們努力追求的，不管我們知道與否。當我們去工作而期待被支薪，我們就在賺取薪資。同樣的，我們也會因為罪惡而最後得到工價。償付的工價是死亡。

Generally speaking, no one is actively trying to engage in as much sin as possible to be paid in death, or to see how much can be covered by grace, right? Let’s hope not! (Paul addresses this at the beginning of chapter 6).
通常而言，沒有人積極的為了被償付死亡而拼命犯罪，或是看看能被多大的恩典遮蓋對吧? 我們希望沒有! (保羅在第六章一開始就提到這議題)。

So why does he use the term “wages”? When we work a job for money, we hope to get paid what we deserve, what we have earned. Through the work of sin within us, we have earned, and we deserve, physical and spiritual death. That is a depressing thought, and it should shake us to the core. We spend a lot of time worrying about getting what we deserve in life, and it can leave us feeling entitled, thinking that we deserve more and that we deserve better. But what we deserve is not good. What we deserve is not better. What we deserve is death.
那為何他用工價這個字呢? 當我們為了薪資而工作，我們希望我們獲得應得的薪水，也就是我們賺取的。而透過我們的罪惡，我們應該獲得，而我們賺取到肉體上與精神上的死亡。這是個很讓人沮喪的想法，也能帶我們進到核心概念。我們花很多時間擔心我們應該得到甚麼，這可以使我們認為我們有權獲得，讓我們認為我們該得到更多更好的。但是我們應得的其實不美善。我們不值得更好的。我們應得到死亡。

Like a broken mirror 就像破裂的鏡子

Death as we know it did not exist in the world until the first sin was committed. This means that although the potential for sin existed, it had not as of yet entered or affected the human experience. We were not meant to live in sin, but in harmony and relationship with God.
我們知道，直到世界出現第一次的犯罪，死亡都是不存在的。這意思是罪的可能性存在著，但是還沒有進入或是影響人類的世界。我們並不是註定活在罪裡，但是我們是要與上帝保持一個和諧的關係。

The Bible states in Genesis 1:27 that people were created ‘in the image of God’. Sadly, sin has completely changed the image and nature of humanity.
聖經創世紀1:27寫到人是按著神的形象造的。可惜的是，罪已經完全改變了人類的形象與本性。

One way to think of it is that we were created as a mirror image of God – a perfect reflection of who he is and what he is like. With the entrance of sin, that mirror has been shattered. The mirror continues to be a mirror; the pieces are still there and can still fulfill a semblance of its original purpose – to reflect the image and glory of God. Yet it is cracked and distorted and no longer looks like it was meant to look or does what it was meant to do.
我們可以想像我們就像神鏡中的模樣，一個跟神一樣與類似的完美映像。而當罪進入，這面鏡子就被打碎了。鏡子仍然是鏡子，碎片仍在也可以實踐類似原始的創造目的，去反映神的形象以及榮耀。但是已經跟原本的樣子相差甚遠，或是已經離創造的目的不同了。

A mirror, once shattered, cannot be simply glued back together. Broken glass is forever broken. No matter how hard we try, we cannot make a broken mirror look like a new mirror again. It has to be made new again, and so do we. We were born in sin, and to be restored to what we were meant to be we have to be born again. We cannot fix ourselves, but in Christ there is hope.
一面已經打碎的鏡子沒有辦法只靠著膠水黏回去。鏡子一破就是破了。不管我們怎樣努力嘗試，我們就是沒有辦法讓一個破碎的鏡子變成新的。它必須被變成一面新的鏡子，我們同樣也是。我們在罪惡裡出生，也需要被恢復成我們原本的樣子以重生。我們自己沒有辦法解決，但是在基督裡我們就有盼望。

"The Gift of God is Eternal Life" Meaning 神的恩賜是永恆的生命

Paul says that the wage we deserve is death. It is only by God’s grace through the death and resurrection of Christ that we can hope for anything but death. Through Christ we are given a gift of eternal life. The only way to escape our sin is through Christ, and because it is a gift, it is incredibly simple to receive:
保羅說過罪的工價就是死亡。只能透過神的恩典才能死亡後在基督裡復活，讓我們除了死亡還有盼望。在基督裡我們被給予一份永恆的生命的恩賜。唯有透過耶穌，我們才能逃過罪惡，也因為這是一份恩賜，要獲得其實很簡單:

“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).
你如果口裡承認耶穌是主，心裡相信神使他從死人中復活，就將得救。(羅馬書10:9)

Paul makes a strong contrast between what we deserve and what we have been given. What we deserve, and what we have earned, is sin and death. 
保羅將我們應得的與我們會被給予的做了強烈對比。我們應得的與我們自己賺得的是罪惡與死亡。

A gift is not something we deserve or have earned, but rather something that is given to us out of love and grace especially when we don’t deserve it.
恩賜並不是我們應得的或是賺取的，而是因為愛以及恩典給予我們的，尤其當我們根本不應該得到。

We only receive life and hope and peace in Christ through a gift freely given by the grace of God. Jesus paid sin’s penalty of death on the cross in our place. This turns our attitude from complaining about what we deserve to one of thankfulness for what we have been given that we could never deserve. 
我們只能透過上帝白白給予我們的恩賜在基督裡得到盼望與平靜。耶穌替我們為罪在十字架上被釘死付出代價。這改變我們的態度，從抱怨我們應該得到甚麼，變成我們感謝我們得到了永遠不應得的恩典。

Because of Jesus, we can know what love looks like. We can know what grace looks like. We can know what eternal life looks like. 
因為耶穌，我們知道愛的模樣。我們知道恩典的模樣。我們也可以知道永生的模樣。

We can live a life better than we could ever hope to deserve, a life that is abundant regardless of circumstance and filled with grace and thanks.
我們可以擁有一個我們最盼望得到的生活，一個充滿豐盛與恩典，還有感謝的生命，不管外在景況如何。