We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. Romans 7:14

我们原晓得律法是属乎灵的，但我是属乎肉体的，是已经卖给罪了。 罗马书7:14

Friend, have you ever fought pornography or immorality so hard, and lost so much, that you despaired of ever achieving victory? Have you ever felt like the apostle Paul—that you've been sold as a slave to sin?

朋友，你是否曾经如此奋力与色情和污秽搏斗，以至于对达到胜利感到绝望？你是否曾经觉得自己就像是使徒保罗－ 认为自己已经被卖给罪作奴仆了？

Believe it or not, this is a common experience in the Christian life. Paul struggled with sin to the point of despair (Romas 7:24). Have you struggled greatly? Are you currently falling so often that you feel like a slave to sin? 

By this time in the course, many people are walking in habitual victory over pornography and sexual sin, but some continue to fall. If you have followed the earlier lessons about radical amputation, there should be no opportunity for you to fall—and yet some still struggle with lust, and fall often.

无论相信与否，这就是在基督徒生活中的普遍经历。保罗与罪抗争到了绝望的地步（罗马书7:24）。你是否曾有激战？你现在是否经常跌倒，以致觉得自己像是罪的奴仆？

课程进行到现在，很多人正行在习惯性的战胜色情和性罪行中，但是有些人还会跌倒。如果你遵行了前面课程中关于彻底根除的教导，应该没有再次跌倒的机会了 ―― 而有些人却仍在欲望中挣扎，而且经常跌倒。

I went through this dark night of the soul, where sin seemed to have dominion over me. Does that mean I was not a Christian? It might. 

Or it might mean that I was being tried in the furnace—experiencing a dark night of the soul. We must be careful not to judge too quickly those who fall often, and then repent.

我曾经过灵魂的漆黑之夜，那时罪仿佛要支配我。这是不是意味这我不是基督徒呢？也许是。或意味者我正在熔炉中被试炼 － 经历着灵魂的漆黑之夜。我们必须谨慎不要太快地论断那些跌倒的人，然后又后悔。

How did Paul describe this experience?

保罗是如何描写这段经历的？

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.Romans 7:15

因为我所作的，我自己不明白。我所愿意的，我并不作；我所恨恶的，我倒去作。 罗马书7:15

Question 1

问题1

Have you had this experience? Describe it here:

你是否有这样的经历？请在这里描述一下：

Course member Raul wrote, "My sin left me totally confused. I knew what was right, agreed that the law was good, and even preached the glory of it. Yet, I did not have the power to do what I preached, which left me in a state of confusion and despair."

学员Paul 写道：“我的罪让我完全混乱了。我知道什么是对的，认同律法是好的，甚至宣扬它的荣耀。然而，我没有能力行出我所宣扬的，这使我陷入混乱和绝望之中。

16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me... 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. Romans 7:16-17,20

16若我所作的，是我所不愿意的，我就应承律法是善的。17既是这样，就不是我作的，乃是住在我里头的罪作的…。20若我去作所不愿意作的，就不是我作的，乃是住在我里头的罪作的。 罗马书7:16-17,20

Underlying this passage is the important issue of identity. Paul's identity, as a Christian, was in his "new man"—not his old, sinful self. 

When he sinned he said, "It is no longer I myself who do it," because he knew that his old man was crucified with Christ. Christians are redeemed, new creations in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17), whose inner man is created in true holiness and righteousness (Eph. 4:24). 

But Christians do still have flesh—the residue of our old, dead nature. Christians may be new creations, but they live in fallen flesh and therefore they still sin.

这节经文的背后，是关乎身份的重要问题。保罗的身份，作为一个基督徒，是他里面的“新人”――不是他的老我，那个罪的自己。

当他犯罪的时候他说，“就不是我做的。”因为他知道他的老我已经与基督同钉。基督徒是被救赎的，新造的人（林后5:17），他们里面的人是按照真理的仁义和圣洁所造（弗4:24）。

但是基督徒的确仍然有肉体――我们老我的残余，必死的属性。基督徒可以是新造的人，但是他们生活在堕落的肉体中因此他们仍然会犯罪。

Question 2

问题 2

How do you see yourself right now? Do you see your identity as a sinner, or as a saint who sins sometimes?

你现在如何看你自己？你认为自己的身份是一个罪人，或是一个又是会犯罪的圣徒？

I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. Romans 7:18

我也知道在我里头，就是我肉体之中，没有良善。因为立志为善由得我，只是行出来由不得我。 罗马书7:18

As a Christian, Paul had the desire to do good, but he lacked the power to carry it out. I can relate to this—for many years I desired to do good and to be free from sexual impurity, but I didn't have the power to accomplish it.

作为一个基督徒，保罗渴望行善，但是他缺乏行出来的能力。我也是这样 ―― 因为多年以来我渴望行善并从淫秽中解脱，但是我却无力达到。

Question 3

问题3

Has this been your experience, as well? Describe what it was like:

这也曾经是你的经历吗？请在描述以下它是怎样的：

For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Romans 7:19

故此，我所愿意的善，我反不作；我所不愿意的恶，我倒去作。罗马书7:19

Paul did not want to sin. Everything within him opposed it, and yet he kept on sinning. This is a horribly dark night to experience! You want to do what is right, you want to cease habitual sin, but somehow you just can't. You don't have the power. 

The pain of this is still fresh in my memory—I remember the years spent sinning against my family, which I did not want to do. Yet I did it anyway... and kept on doing it.

保罗不想犯罪。他里面的一切都在反对它，但是他还是在罪中。这样的经历真是可怕的黑夜！你想要作正确的事，想要停止习惯性的罪，但你就是无法做到，你没有能力。

这种痛苦我至今还记忆犹新 ―― 我记得那些年对我的家庭所犯的罪，我不想那样做。然而无论如何我还是做了，而且一直在做。

Question 4

问题 4

Have you been mastered by sin like Paul describes?

你是否曾经像保罗一样被罪掌管？

So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. Romans 7:21

我觉得有个律，就是我愿意为善的时候，便有恶与我同在。 罗马书7:21

Can you relate to Paul, Friend? I recall longing to be free from pornography and adultery, committing to not indulge on a particular day, resolving all day long to stay free from it. But in all my desires to do good, evil was right there with me.

你能理解保罗吗，朋友？我记得自己渴望从色情和淫乱中被释放，在某天决意不再放纵，下定决心一整天摆脱它。但是在我所有为善的渴望中，恶者与我同在。

If you are going through this right now, know that the dark of night precedes the light of day.Morning is coming and with it, grace and mercy to enable you to be free from this plaguing sin.

如果你现在正经历这种煎熬，要知道那是黎明前的黑暗。清晨即将来到，而且随之而来的恩典和怜悯将使你从这令人厌恶的罪中得到释放。

Question 5

问题5

Share your thoughts on Romans 7:21 above:

请分享你对以上罗马书7:21的感想：

22 For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. Romans 7:22-23

22因为按着我里面的意思（原文作“人”），我是喜欢神的律；23但我觉得肢体中另有个律和我心中的律交战，把我掳去叫我附从那肢体中犯罪的律。罗马书7:22-23

How the long, dark night drags on at times! I prayed for years, weeping to God for freedom from pornography and immorality. 

I was a broken man; I felt God had left me to die in my sins. Paul describes himself above as a "slave" and a "prisoner." I felt exactly the same way.

有的时候这是多么漫长的黑夜啊！我多年祷告，向神哭求从色情和污秽中得释放。我是被破碎的人，我感到神任凭我死在罪中。保罗在上面描写他自己是“奴隶”和“囚犯”，我的感觉完全相同。

Question 6

问题 6

Have you felt this war going on inside you?

你曾经感到内心的这场争战吗？

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Romans 7:24

我真是苦啊！谁能救我脱离这取死的身体呢？ 罗马书7:24

Raul wrote, "Oh how wretched I am! How wretched I have been. My pornography addiction led me to say and do things I would never have imagined. 

My night was so dark, I could not see my hand in front of my face. I thank God for having mercy on my soul!" Source

Raul写道，“哦，我多么苦啊！我曾经是多么可怜啊。色情瘾让我的所言所行是自己从未想象过的。我的夜晚是如此黑暗，我无法看到自己面前的手。我感谢神对我灵魂的怜悯！” 来源

The dark night may lead to overwhelming despair. Your life might be so dark with sin that you see no way out. 

All your friends tell you to read your Bible and pray, while others talk about overcoming sin as if it were a small thing for them. You wonder if God has forsaken you, because their experience is not yours.

这黑夜可能会带来让人崩溃的绝望。你的生活可能因罪变得如此黑暗，以至于你看不到出路。你所有的朋友都告诉你要读经祷告，同时还有一些人当谈起战胜罪恶的时候仿佛对他们是小事一桩。你不确定是否神已经离弃了你，因为他们与你的经历不同。

Friend, if this is you, take heart. God is at work, even still. For God must break a man before He remakes him (Hosea 6:1-3); He must "hand all men over to sin" so that He may have mercy on them (Romans 11:32). 

This does not make God the author of our sin; rather, it shows that He works through the sin to bring forth a good outcome.

朋友，如果你是这样，请放心。神在做工，从未改变。因为神要重塑一个人以前一定要破碎他（何西阿书6:1-3）；他必须“把所有人交给罪”这样他好怜悯他们（罗马书11:32）。

这不是说神是我们罪的始作俑者，相反，这显出他通过对罪的工作带来好的结果。

Is your night dark? Are you frustrated, disappointed, discouraged, or even suicidal? If so, you are right there with the Apostle Paul. I've been there, too. 

I thank God that Paul did not stay in Romans 7, but moved on to Romans 8, which is what we will study tomorrow. God will make a way for you!

你的夜晚黑暗吗？你正经历挫败、失望、气馁，甚至想死吗？如果是这样，你正经历使徒保罗所经历的。我也曾经这样。我为保罗没有停留在罗马书第7章而是进入了第8章而感谢神，这将是我们明天要学习。神将要为你开路！

It's possible that you are entirely beyond this Romans 7 experience by this time in the course. If you are walking in victory, never forget your struggle! 

It will help you deal in grace with your brothers and sisters who are falling.

很有可能你在课程进行到这里的时候，已经超越了罗马书第7章的经历。如果你正在胜利中行进，永远不要忘记你的挣扎！这将帮助你在恩典中对待你跌倒的弟兄姊妹。

Paul's horrible struggle with sin ended in praise of Jesus Christ. "But thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord." Here is where we need to run when the night is dark. 

If you feel the power of sin, run to Jesus. Give thanks to God for giving you His Son.

保罗与罪的可怕抗争以对耶稣基督的赞美而结束。“但是感谢神，在我们的主耶稣基督里。”这是我们在黑夜里需要跑向的地方。如果你感到了罪的力量，奔向耶稣。为着神把他的儿子赐给你而感谢他。

Please read the following commentary on Romans 7:24-25 by Matthew Henry and share your thoughts below:

请阅读以下马太·亨利对罗马书7:24-25的注释，并在下面分享你的感想：

His great comfort lay in Jesus Christ (v. 25): I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. In the midst of his complaints he breaks out into praises. 

It is a special remedy against fears and sorrows to be much in praise: many a poor drooping soul hath found it so. And, in all our praises, this should be the burden of the son, "Blessed be God for Jesus Christ.'' Who shall deliver me?

says he (v. 24), as one at a loss for help. At length he finds an all-sufficient friend, even Jesus Christ. 

When we are under the sense of the remaining power of sin and corruption, we shall see reason to bless God through Christ (for, as he is the mediator of all our prayers, so he is of all our praises)—to bless God for Christ; it is he that stands between us and the wrath due to us for this sin. 

If it were not for Christ, this iniquity that dwells in us would certainly be our ruin. He is our advocate with the Father, and through him God pities, and spares, and pardons, and lays not our iniquities to our charge. 

It is Christ that has purchased deliverance for us in due time. Through Christ death will put an end to all these complaints, and waft us to an eternity which we shall spend without sin or sigh. Blessed be God that giveth us this victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

他极大的安慰是在耶稣基督里（第25节）：“感谢神，靠着我们的主耶稣基督。”在诉苦中他爆发出赞美。如此的赞美，是对付恐惧伤悲的特殊疗法：许多意气消沉的可怜人都发现这的确如此。在我们一切的赞美中，主旨应该是神的儿子，“为了耶稣基督感谢神。”

他在（第24节）问，“谁能救我，”他已经无助了。最终他找到了一位全能的朋友，就是耶稣基督。当我们感觉到罪和败坏的残余势力，我们应该明白，要籍着基督感谢神（因为他是我们一切祷告的中保，所以他是配受我们一切的赞美）－－为着基督感谢神；是他挺身把我们和因着这罪我们所要受的忿怒分开。

如果不是因着基督，这住在我们里头的罪就要把我们毁灭了。他为我们在父前代求，通过他神施行怜悯，宽恕我们，赦免我们，不把我们的罪过归到我们身上。日子满的时候，是基督为我们买赎了这拯救。通过基督，死亡将令所有这些悲叹终结，把我们带入永世，那时我们不再有罪，不再有叹息。“感谢神，籍着我们的主耶稣基督赐给我们这个胜利！” 

Question 7

问题 7

Please share your comments on the above quote:

请分享你对以上文摘的感想：

Question 8

问题 8

Where are you in your spiritual life right now? Is your night pitch black? Do you see the rays of dawn approaching? Or are you walking in the light of day and enjoying it?

你现在的属灵生命是怎样的？你的夜晚是一片漆黑吗？你看到曙光正在接近吗？还是你已经行走并享受在白昼的光中？

Thoughts to consider today:

今日思想

For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity. Proverbs 24:16

因为义人虽七次跌倒，仍必兴起，恶人却被祸患倾倒。箴言24:16

21 Then Peter came to him and asked, "Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?" 22 "No!" Jesus replied, "seventy times seven! Matthew 18:21-22

21那时彼得进前来，对耶稣说：“主啊，我弟兄得罪我，我当饶恕他几次呢？到七次可以吗？”22耶稣说：“我对你说：不是到七次，乃是到七十个七次！ 马太福音18:21-22

Then Christian fell down at his feet as dead, crying, Woe is me, for I am undone! At the sight of which Evangelist caught him by the right hand, saying, "All manner of sin and blasphemies shall be forgiven unto men" (Matt. 12:31). "Be not faithless, but believing" (John 20:27). Then did Christian again a little revive, and stood up trembling, as at first, before Evangelist. from Pilgrim's Progress

然后基督徒倒在他的脚下，哭喊着，我真痛苦，我没有成功！传道人的右手扶住他，看着他说：“人一切的罪和亵渎的话，都可得赦免”（马太福音12:31）“不要疑惑，总要信！”（约翰福音20:27）。而后基督徒有些振作，在传道人面前就像第一次那样，颤抖着站立起来。 摘自《天路历程》

This also shall not be, any more than that. It is the glory of God that he multiplies to pardon, that he spares, and forgives, to more than seventy times seven times. fromPilgrim's Progress

本不该如此，却比那还多。是神的荣耀使他一再地饶恕，怜悯，和赦免，远超过七十个七次。摘自《天路历程》

To clarify what the first accountability question means, we have included the following explanation.

为了厘清第一个责任问题的涵义，我们给出以下的解释。

What does "feasting" mean?"

Feasting" is more than just reading the Bible; it is a term to express the nourishing of our souls in Jesus Christ. It means that we are sitting at the feet of Jesus, hearing His Word and believing it, for the purpose of implementing the truths into our lives. It means we are receiving spiritual nourishment and we are delighting our souls in His grace and truth. 

This may be done in reading our Bibles, hearing God's Word preached, interacting with others in the Scriptures, and studying through this course, etc. This definition is at least a start; further explanation is included in the lessons. 

什么是“享用筵宴”？

这里的“享用筵宴”不仅仅是读圣经。                                                 

这是一个表示我们的灵魂在耶稣基督里得到喂养的词。这表示我们坐在耶稣的脚前，听祂的道，笃信之，目的是要把真理行在我们的生活中；这表示我们得到灵里的滋养，在主的恩典和真理中心灵得喜乐。这可以是读经、听讲道、与他人就经文互动，以及通过这个课程来学习等等。这里只给出一个初步的定义，将来的课程里会有进一步的解释。  

Have you been feasting on God's word?

你享用神的话了吗？ 

Yes是   No 否

If so, when was the last time you feasted? And how? In other words, how did you enjoy God? Reading? Prayer? Worship? Fellowship? Witnessing? 

如果是，你最近一次是什么时候？怎样做的？换句话说，你是怎样靠神喜乐的？是读经、祷告、崇拜、团契，还是做见证？ 

These next, tough, accountability questions apply to the entire period since you did your last lesson. 

接下来那些棘手的责任问题，会在整个课程中出现，要根据你上节课以来的情况来回答。 

Were you free from pornography since you did the last lesson?

上节课以来，你离开色情了吗？ 

Yes是  No否

Were you free from self-gratification since you did the last lesson?

上节课以来，你戒除自我放纵了吗？ 

Yes是  No 否

Were you free from sexual immorality since you did the last lesson?

上节课以来，你远离了淫乱了吗？ 

Yes是  No否

If you answered "no" to any of the above questions, tell us what led to your fall. If you answered "yes" to the above questions, you may use this area for questions or additional comments. 

如果任何一个问题的答案是“否”，请告诉我们是什么导致你的跌倒。如果对以上问题你回答了“是”，你可以在此提出你的问题或其他的评论。