Defining Our Relationship

Well, it's good to be with you this morning.

I hope if you have your Bibles, if you're turned

with me to the Book of Romans, Romans chapter six

this morning, and we're gonna start in verse twenty three

in just a moment, So Romans sixth chapter, I mean

chapter six, verse twenty three.

Now, as you know, we started.

Last week our series through First Timothy, and this morning,

I believe the Lord's leading us to just see a

parallel passage that parallels First Timothy, and that is Romans

chapter six. I will ask you, just as we begin

this morning, to pray for my wife. Most of y'all

know this week it's been a tough week for her family.

On Wednesday, her mom lost her brother, her uncle, and

then on Thursday her dad lost his mom, And so

we had two deaths and her family within just two days.

And so it's a lot for.

Our family to go through such loss as such a

short period of time. So I asked you to pray

for her. I asked you to pray for me today's

you know, you know, as as a pastor, you come

and you you're your you want to lead and pour

out from your heart what the Lord has and sometimes

you come to a Sunday morning light today and you

yourself are hmpty. And so I pray today that the

Lord will speak through me, and today would be his word,

his power, his spirit that will speak through me.

So I asked you to pray for me this morning

as we lead through His word.

And I believe that this is no mistake. I did

have opportunity to just to stay in myrtle beach and

not come back, but I said, I believe that the

Lord want us to come back and be here this morning,

and and I believe the Lord wanted me to preach,

and so I know He's going to use this morning

by ass for your prayers.

The other day, we.

Were leaving the hospital visiting with her grandmother, and her

mom had gotten Braindy's grandmother's ring, her engagement ring, and

we thought we would go by and go by a

jewelry store and get it cleaned. And they were married

when they were seventeen years old. She was turned ninety

one to day, and so the ring was a little old,

probably about seventy years plus, and it was pretty dirty

and it needed to be cleaned. So we took it

only in there just to clean it and we walked in.

The lady got the.

Ring and she looked at it, and then she reached

over in her drawer and she reached over and she

grabbed this magnifying glass, a little small thing, and she

took that magnifying glass and she took that ring and

she held it up real close up magnifying glass.

And she began examining the diamond, and there was little diamonds.

It's kind of a I don't know rings, but it's

like a pair of set. It's got a bunch of

different little ones. And she was looking through all the

little diamond and she says, they're all real. You know,

it's interesting. I don't know about you, as you could tell.

I don't know anything about jewelry. I don't even know

what you call it, just engagement ring. I can't look

at a diamond and I can't tell whether diamond is

real or not. But she as a jeweler, she is

able to look at that diamond. She's able to get

her magnifying glass. She's able to look into that diamond

and evaluate instantly whether it's real or not. You know,

one thing I think is very difficult, and only to

determine whether a diamond is real, but a nothing, I

think is really difficult to determine whether someone had a

real relationship with Jesus or not. But you know, the

truth of the matter is God from heaven looks upon

this earth, and he looks into the soul of every man,

and with every man, he knows whether that man or

woman has a real relationship with him or not. As

we came last week to first Timothy. First Paul was

talking to Timothy and he's explained that to Timothy that

one of the things that's happened in the church is

there's some there's some things in the church are not real.

And what is that? That's some false teachers and they're

not real.

They may look like they real, they may talk like

they're real, but they're falts. And he asked Timothy to

confront these false teachers. And if you remember the passage

of Scripture, he asked him to confront those and he

commanded Timothy to instead of teaching false teaching at their teaching,

he is to combat that with what teaching faithfully. He's

combat that with sound doctrine. One of the things that

the false teacher was doing were misusing the mosaic law.

In Timothy, he just says the word short for law.

We're just talking about the mosaic law. We would think

maybe ten commandments. Right, they're misusing the Ten Commandments to

justify their moral lifestyle. And Paul's confronting that. He's saying, listen,

the law of God, the Old Testament law is really important.

Don't you just will look back just real quickly. First

Timothy one, verses eight, he talks about the law of

God is good.

That's the way he says. Now, we know that the

law is.

Good if one uses it lawfully, understanding that the law

is not laid down for the just, but for the lawless,

the disobedient. You know today, as you you've ever heard

someone say that the Old Testament, that's the Old Covenant.

You know, the Old Testament, that's the Old Covenant. It's

not relevant for its today. It's not relevance for us

believers today. Well, Paul actually combats that today in this

passage in Firs. Timothy and also in Romans. Today, he says,

the law is good if it used it, if you

use it rightly or lawfully. But listen to what he

says here. The law is good if one uses it lawfully,

understanding that the law is not laid down for the just,

those who are right with the Lord, but for who

but for the lawless, the disobedient. Do you know the

Old Testament is relevant for us today? It's relevant because

it teaches us, what Paul says, it teaches us what

sin is.

It teaches us what is evil.

It teaches us what pleases God and what displeases God.

That's what Paul says it does.

And as we come to Romans today, he's explaining just

like it, like in First Timothy, what is there?

What is the role of the law? How important is

the law? Now? I want you to understand.

In One Timothy, when Paul confronts the false teachers, the

false teachers were misusing the Old Testament law for their

false teaching to just frither more lifestyle. And Romans is

another area where there's another group in Rome. They're called

the Judaizers, and they were also misusing the law. They

were using it to think that they could be saved

by keeping the law and en Romans.

Paul explains that the law.

Is good, it's good for what to show us what

a sin is, but the law cannot save us we

can't be saved by good works. We can't be saved

by keeping the law. So I ask you this morning,

as we just looked through this passage of Scripture, today,

God's going to use his word right today to show

us how we can be saved. As interesting as we

come to this passage of scripture, I really believe this

is God's timing because today I ask you to evaluate

your relationship with the Lord. In next passages we look

in Timothy, Paul really shows us what is a what

is a true example of a true conversion? That's next week,

But this week in Romans, Paul explains what is how

are we truly saved? How Christ saves us, and whether

we have a true relationship with the Lord. You know

that day we took that little ring into that jury store.

We just went into for it to be clean, but

she evaluated it whether it's real or not. You know

today I said from the very beginning, I can't determine

whether real a ring is real or not. And I

can't determine listen today whether you're saved or not. But

I tell you who can. That's the Lord number one.

The second person who can do that is you and

the Bible says, we should work out our salvation and.

Fear and triveling that we should valuate. Is my heart

right with you? Lord? Did I have a relationship with you? Today? Lord?

And I ask you today would you evaluate your relationship?

And today will you examine whether and define your relationship

with the Lord? Is my relationship with the Lord real

or is it not? I want you to see this passage.

Get together with us this turn to Romans. I need

to turn there myself for Romans chapter six. It's a

very popular passage of scripture. It begins her almost six

twenty three. Listened to what it says here today, just

stand together and read God's word together. So what he

says here for the wages of sin is death, but

the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus,

our Lord.

So what verse chapter seven says starting verse one?

Or do you not know, brothers, that I am speaking

to those who know the law, that the law is

binding on a person only as long as he lives.

But I mean, for a married man is bound a

married woman I'm sorry, it's bound by the law to

her husband while he lives.

But if her husband dies, she's released from the law

of marriage.

Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives

with another man while her husband is alive. But if

her husband dies, she is free from that law. And

if she marries another man, she is not an adulteress. Likewise,

my brothers, you also have died to the law. Through

the body of Christ. You may belong to another, to

him who's been raised from the dead, in order that

we might bear fruit for God. For while we were

living in the flesh, our simple passions aroused by the law,

we're at work in our members to bear fruit for death.

But now we are released from the law, having died

to which held us captives, so that we serve in

a new way of the spirit, not only the old

way of the written code. Let's pray together, Father, we

thank you Lord for your word. Today, Lord, I thank

you Lord for how you spoke Lord to the church

at Rome. And God, today we need you to speak

to this church of Bethasada. God, you anointed the lips

and their hands and the words of your your apostle Paul,

to speak clearly your word. And today Lord, I need

that same annoying God, I pray for your feeling. I

pray that you move in this place. God, I pray

today there would be people here today that would evaluate Lord,

whether they have a real relationship with you or not,

whether they're trusting in works or they're trusting in you

for salvation and Lord, I pray today, if there's someone

here that doesn't know you as Lord and Savior God,

I pray they would turn to you. Lord, I pray

they would find a relationship with you. I pray they

would find forgiveness of sin and Lord a new relationship

with you.

Today. Lord, we love you. We ask God, move in

this place.

Lord, may our hearts be attuned to you today. In

your name, we pray, Amen, you may be seated. As

Paul talks through this pastor scripture, it begins in verse

six twenty three. It leads into chapter seven. You got

to remember when the Bible was first written there there

was not numbers that we have today.

These were added muchs later. But as Paul.

Wrote here, you see he says, for the wages of

sin is death right.

What's the purpose of the law. The purpose of the

law is to reveal to us.

What is sin that we've sinned against the Holy God,

and What is the consequences of our sin is death?

And what is he talking about?

Not just physical death here, but spiritual death and hell

that separates us from God for all eternity. The wages

of our sin is death. But listen to this. There's

a good news today, isn't there? There is a gift

that God has provided for all mankind if those who

will put their faith to him. But the free gift

of God is what eternal life in Christ, Jesus our

Lord nows Romans.

As Paul writes to Romans.

As I mentioned earlier, there was a group in the

church in Rome, and we also see this. They were

really scattered. There was a problem throughout all the churches.

We saw early on as we were working through Acts.

It was a group called the Judaizers. The Judaizers were

Jews who grew up as Jews, grew up.

A Jewish faith.

And they again, their whole life, they had kept the

Jewish law, they had followed the Coasher laws.

They had done all these works throughout their whole life.

Then they met Christ, and and Christ came and he

provided a new covenant right and and we saw in

the in the New Testament, I mean in the Gospels

and also in acts that he he he fulfilled the

law right, so they didn't have to keep the Kasher

laws and all that.

But all the Jews struggled with that.

They wanted to do Judaism plus Jesus right, and.

They and that so much so that when the Gentiles

came to.

Know the Lord right, and the Gentiles didn't keep the

Coasher laws, they didn't follow the laws of the Old Testament,

they didn't follow.

The laws of Judaism.

They came to the Greek brothers or the Gentile brothers

that says, okay, I know you you you think you

got saves, but in order for you really to be

right with God, you you really need to become a Jew.

Two. You need to keep the Kosher laws.

You need to do the works of the Old Testament,

you need to keep the Old Covenant. And so that's

what they were creating, this false teaching enrollments that said

you needed Jesus plus works. And so Paul's confronting this

in chapter seven, and he uses the metaphor of a

marriage to describe that when we receive Jesus Christ as

our Lord and Savior, he fulfilled the law and we're

not saved through the works. We don't have to The

works doesn't save us. And so he uses this metaphor,

and listen to how he does it. He describes it

as a marriage right, and he gives this imagery of

a woman who's married to a man, and she says,

if he uses like an illustration or a metaphor, if

a woman today marrors a man, she's bound to the

law that she's to remain faithful to that man right

until what until he dies?

Right?

And then once he's died, she is free to marry another.

Right.

But in our world today, in the Jewish law too,

and in the New Testament at times, if a woman

married to a man and he's not dead and she

goes and marries another, that's called adultery.

That's sinful. Right.

What he's saying here is here in this passage, using

this as again a metaphor, and he says those for

the Old Testament and Judaism, you're either married still to Judaism,

in the works of Judaism, or you have a relationship

with Christ. Let's say this way. You have a relationship

with works or Judaism, or you have a relationship with Christ. Now,

if you have a relationship with Christ, he says, what

is not that you left works and got married to

another Christ, and you're having an affair if you will,

in using his terminology. But he says, when you receive

Jesus Christ, what you died. You died and you are

what a new creature in Christ? And so you died

to the law, and you are a new creature in Christ.

And now you have a relationship with Jesus. That's the

imagery of this peril, this metaphor. Listen to you, hear

me explain that. Listen to what he says.

Let me just read it so you can hear it.

Do you not know, brothers, I am speaking to those

who know the law, that the law is binding on

a person as long as he lives. For a married

woman is bound to the law to her husband while

he lives, but if her husband dies, she's released from

the law. Accordingly, she be called an adulteress. She lives

with another man while her husband's alive, but if her

husband dies, she is free from that law. And she

marries another man, that she's not an adulteress. Now he

takes that and he applies it to the law and

then to Christ works if you will in a relationship

with Jesus. Likewise, my brothers, you have also died to

the law through the body of Christ. Again, he's talking

to believers here, You've died to the law through the

body of Christ, so that you may belong to another,

to him who's been raised from a dead, in order

that we might bear fruit for God. For while we

were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by law,

were at work in our members.

To bear fruit for death.

So in this passive scripture, he's saying, listen to these

to the church, he's saying, listen, you either have a.

Relationship worth one or two.

You either have a relationship to works where you think

you're going to be saved through your works, or you

have a relationship with Christ. And Christ has set you

free from the law. He set you let's say it

this way. He set you free from law, but he

sets you free from sin. What was the purpose of

the law? The purpose of law? It Seidt the very

beginning is revealed that you are what a sinner, And

he says, if you've have a relationship with Jesus, he

sets you.

Free from the law. But he sets you free from sin.

You see that.

But you can't have a relationship with both. You have

either a relationship with sin and the works, or you

have a relationship with Jesus. And I want you to

see this. He gives in this passage characteristics of those

who are married to works or to sin, and those

who are married to Christ. I want to look at

those just quickly this morning. Number one characteristics are those

who married to work. Number one, it's a sinful relationship.

He describes this imagery that if you're married, you can't

be married to both. You're married to one or the other.

And if you're married to works, he describes that in

verse five, Likewise, my brothers, you've also died to the

law through the body of Christ. That you belong to another,

to him who's been raised from dead in order that

she might bear fruit.

But listen to this.

For a while, we were living in the flag, our

sinfle passions are aroused by the Law. We're at work in

our members to bear fruit for death, you know, he describes.

He says, but before Christ, you had a relationship with

the law. You had a relationship with work. She had

a relationship with sin, and you were bound to your sin.

He says that.

Your flesh is the description your flesh is was bound

to your sin. You know, you had that people that

I could think of people I've shared the Gospel with

and through the years, and you talk to someone about

knowing the Lord and coming to faith with Christ. And

I've heard some people will say, you know what, one day,

I want to do that, But there's some things in

my life I got to clean up first. There's things

out of life that's got to change before I come

to Christ. And that's the imagery, right that I'm a

sinner and I know I've done some bad things, but

I can do better, and I can change some things

in my life.

I can cleanse myself.

But the reality is, when we're a sinner and we

have a relationship with our sin or relationship with works,

it doesn't matter how hard we try, we can't do

enough good works to outdo the bad.

Things we've done in this earth. You understand that, and

that is.

The way we were for those who were have a

relationship with works or Relationshiship number two, it's a unfruitful relationship.

The Bible says in Romans six twenty three, for the

wages of sin is death, but the free gift of

God is eternal life of Christ Jesus our Lord. The

wages of sin is death, he says in this passage

scripture verse five, For while we were living in the flesh,

her sinful passions aroused by were at work in our

members to bear fruit for death.

You think about that. Just here we.

Are, and we all, as this passage Scripture as Romans

three twenty three says, for all sin and fall short

of the glory of God. And there's not one person

in this room it's not a sinner. We're all sinners.

We all feel the weight of our sin. We all

feel the weight of what we're trying to fix the

things that we've done in the past of our life,

trying to do better, do good things to outweigh the

bad things. But reality is, it's a it's not only

a life that is as I've described as this simful relationship.

We just can't ever do enough, can we? We maybe

do good for a few months or maybe a few years,

and we fall right back into the same sinful trap.

Right.

Not only that, but it's an unfruitful relationship. Can you

imagine someone their whole life thinking thinking I can just

do this, and I could just do this, and I

could be a better man, I could be a better woman.

In the end of their life, they never knew Jesus

and never had a relationship with Jesus, and they die

in their sin, and they die separated from Holy God

that loves them, and all the while they just thought

their whole life, I can do something good that will

merit me favor with God. And in the end there's

nothing they ever could do in this life that would

ever save them.

You know.

The reality is, Oh, ask Philip if you'll grab a

ladder for me. You got a little illustration. The reality

is you do have to understand with everyone in this room,

everyone in this room, he's bringing a ladder, so don't

be surprised.

Thank you, Philip, the awesome job.

Everyone in this room, you do have a relationship with

one of the two, right, every one of you here

this morning. You are a sinner, and every one of

you have a relationship with something that you think that's

going to save you. And it's either works or it's Jesus.

It's just plenty of simples one of the other.

And the reality is in false teaching.

We've you know, we as I've talked about.

Before last week, false teaching. One of the issues with

false teaching is false teaching teaches you that you.

Can be saved through good works. Do you know.

Every religious system outside of a Protestant believes that you

can save yourself through good works? Right, Just think about that.

I'm going on to mister Tripp in a few weeks

and I've been on the mister tripped in many different countries,

and many years ago, I was in a Muslim country

and I ate suffered that on my birthday with a

Muslim and he was very proud of.

The things that he'd done.

He says, I've been to Mecca six times and I've

done I prayed this many times a.

Day, and he followed all the rules.

But he thinks because of his works that he can

work his way into heaven. Now, this latter is a

little illustrition. And you know there is this idea of

where do you say heaven is if you talk to

little child, yes, heaven to heaven?

Is that way? Right?

With this idea in our lives many times that if

this is a ladder, and this is a ladder heaven,

we think that we can do good things, and by

doing good things, we get a little closer to heaven.

Just one a little step again, a little closer. For

that Muslim man, that day he prayed three six he'd

been to Mecca six times. That was one step. He

prays three times a day, that's another steps. He gives

alms and that's another, and he thinks by doing these

different things that he's getting a little closer to Heaven.

It's the same thing with jehova witnesses. They believe that

they joined the Jehovah witness Church and they do good things,

and that's something that they can do. They go witnessing,

that's something that they're doing good and they're getting a

little closer to heaven. And they're part of the one

hundred and forty four thousand. That's another step. And they

do these different things, and they do these different Bible studies,

and every little step they're getting a little close to heaven.

And in the end, at the end, they all it's

based upon His works. That's working my way into heaven.

That's Muslims, that's your witnesses, that's any religious system outside

of faith in Jesus Christ. But I say that to

to not pick on our our Jeovah witness friends or

our Muslim friends, because we good Baptists, we do this too.

I've been that's been the badest preacher for a long time.

And I've talked to many people and you heard me

say this, and I talked to them. Do you know

you have a relationship which he is? Well, Preacher, you

know I've given, I've given to the poor. I've done

good things for people. Lord, what pastors you knew? I

grew up in church and and I was baptized as

a child.

Yeah, I'm I'm I'm you know, I have a Bible.

My mama used to read me the Bible when I

was a little boy.

Oh yeah, preacher, you know you know, Preacher, I've been

on mission trips.

I'm going to Heaven. Sure I've done those things.

Oh, preacher, you know you know I've given to the church,

and that's Baptists.

What are we saying?

If I give to the poor, I'm a little closer

to Jesus if I get baptized on a little closer Jesus,

if I read my Bible, get a little closer Jesus.

Become church. On Sunday morning, and get a little closer

Jesus in what we're doing. By many of us, we

think the good works of what we do as Southern.

Baptists is getting us closer Jesus.

And reality is according to Paul, it's an unfruitful relationship.

You know why there's no power over.

Sin in your life because you think the works are

going to save you instead of a relationship with Jesus

that saves you. That's the imagery of this passage of scripture,

Paul saying, a relationship of works is a simple relationship.

What will that produce? No heaven, no fruit. What it

produces is death. I ask you today, if you would

say today, pastor one day, I'm going to stand before

the Lord one day and he's gonna ask you why

should I let you into my heaven? Will you answer

him and say, well, I was baptized, I gave to

the church, I read my Bible.

I did all these things to get closer to you Jesus.

In this pastor of Scripture, Paul explains what is a

true relationship, what is the right relationship? How can we

truly be saved? How can we be free from the law?

And he talks to these as he's talking to verse seven,

he's talking to people he believes has already experienced that,

and he does that by describing characteristics of those who

are not married to the law and sin, but married

on the other The other example.

Here are those who are married to christis.

Or what says number one, it's a fruitful relationship, looks

in what verse six be Verse four says likewise, my brothers,

you've also died to the law through the body of Christ.

You know, if we're have a right relationship with Jesus,

we read the Bible. You know what happens when we

read the Old Testament. We're convicted of our sin and

we realize, Lord, I've sinned against you. Lord, I've done

I'll live my life in a way that doesn't please

you God, and you're a holy God, and I realize

I've done things against sin, against the Holy God and God.

I want a right relationship with you, and therefore I

put my trust in you and what you've done for me,

Not what I have done, but what you've done for me.

And God, I ask you to come into my life

and into my heart, and therefore Jesus produces fruit for us.

Right. It's a fruitful relationship. I want you to see. Secondly,

it's a freeing relationship. He says.

Here likewise, my brothers, you have died to the law

the body of Christ. I love that passage of Scripture.

And in Glatians two twenty, that's what it is.

Right.

We we realize we're sinner fall short of the glory

of God.

We say, God, I want to give you what my life.

Remember baptism. You think about baptism, Baptism is you're in

a pool of water. Wouldn't say you're in a six

foot of water, but you're a pool of water.

You stand there.

And what do we say, buried with Christ in the

likeness of death, raised with Christ and his glorious right.

What are we saying by doing that this person has

died to themselfs right, They've died the sinful life of

the past, and they're raised to what a new life?

And that's what Glatians too says. Listen what Glacians two

twenty says. I have been what crucified with Christ. It's

no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.

The life I now live in the flesh is I

live by faith in the Son of God, God who

loved me and gave himself for me. Right, that's what

happens when we put our when we have a relationship

with Jesus, as we say, God, I know I'm a

sinner of Jesus. I know I'm a sinner and God.

I want to die of my old self. I want

to die of my sin and Lord, I don't want

to live my life for me. I want to live

my life by faith for you.

Lord. I want you to live in and through me.

Do you see that?

Second Corinthian says this five seventeen. Therefore, if anyone's in Christ,

listen to this. He is what a new creation the oldest.

Past, and behold the new has come.

The beautiful thing about this a characteristics those are marriat

to Christ. It's a fruit for relationship. But secondly it's

a freeing relationship. You see, when Christ comes, he what

he saves us, He produces fruit in us, and secondly

he frees us from sin. Listen, you see the imagery

of the those who who believe in that have a

relationship with works and sin. They think that they can

do something to overcome their sin. They can do enough

works or good things or good works to outweigh the

bad things. Those who have a relationship with Jesus recognize, Jesus,

there's nothing good in me. Lord, There's nothing I can

do to overcome my sin. Lord, there's no way I

can repay your or pay the debt of my sin.

My only hope is put my trust in You and.

That God, not that I can free myself from sin,

but God, you can free me from sin. And God,

I'm going to trust you will come and save me

and cleanse me.

And free me from sin.

And that's what the Bible says that Jesus does here. Likewise,

my brothers, those who have died to the law through

the body of Christ says, you may belong to another

hymn who has been raised from that in Lord.

That you may be a fruit. Let's get verse six.

But now we are released from the.

Law, having died to what has held as captive, so

that we serve in a new way of the spirit,

not of the old way of the written code. When

we have a relationship with Jesus, listen, it's a fruit

for relationship. But listen, it's a free relationship.

Jesus frees us from our sin. He cleanses Us from

our sin. Here's the good news today. The good news

is for you, and I is Jesus knew. Listen today,

Jesus knew.

There's no good works there ever get you to him.

No matter how hard you try, to know, how hard

you work, no matter how times you try to stop sinning,

there's no way you're getting him. There's no way you

would ever be free. And there's no way that you

would ever produce fruit on your own. So Jesus looks

at this, and I know I'm gonna make a lot

of people nervous.

Just hang on.

I've done this many times. Jesus, listen, look down from

heaven and he saw you a sinner, and he came

down and he died on the cross for you. And

he left heaven and came to this earth and died

on the cross. Listen, that he might pay your debt,

that he might pay your sin, that he might set

you free. And he came down from heaven, and this

morning he comes to you and he says, today, I

want to set you free. Today, I want to produce

fruit on you, and I want to have a relationship

with you, and I'll produce fruit in you. And I

want to set you free. And when I set you free,

then listen. Then you produce fruit for me. Then you give,

then you go, then you serve, then you love. Why

it's not because you're doing it for good works, It's.

Because you're living. I'm living through you. I ask you

today you have that relationship with Jesus or do you

have a relationship with works today?

Are you depending upon your goodness? Are you depending upon

what He's done for you on the cross?

By faith?

You know Martin Luther, if you know Martin Luther is

a reformer. Martin Luther really was broken over his sin

so much so he was just tormated by sin. Therefore,

he actually became a pope in order to become to

kind of.

Think if he did that, he would he would be

good enough for God.

And so he'd do that, and Martin Luther did.

It didn't help.

He got there, and when he went into and became

a Catholic priest, he would go to confessional for.

Hours just confessing.

He would be tormented that night just thinking about all

different things he'd done against God. He would say there

was times where he would just he thought being a

pope was going to be good enough, thought about confession

would be good enough. He thought about all these different things.

One day he heard that in Rome that they took

some of the steps that where Jesus walked up the

steps to Polot's court. They took those steps from Jerusalem

and they took took them to Rome. And it was

believed in in Roman Catholicism, if you go upon those steps,

and upon every step, if you would pray, you'd get

by the time you get to the top of the steps,

you'd be forgiving your sin. Martin Luther thought, this is it.

He'd been so much tormented by a sin, just never

could be free. All the things he thought he did,

just never saw any fruit. So he thought he'd go

to those steps. They story goes that Martin Luther came

to the steps, and I think there was thirty eight

or twenty eight, and one by one he'd get on

his hands and knees, and he'd kiss every step, and

he'd pray for forgiveness all the way up to the steps.

And he got to the top of those steps and

he looked down at all those steps he had prayed

over and kissed over, thinking it would get him closure

to God. And he asked this question, what if it's

not enough? And in that moment, Martin Luther realized that

he was trusting in his works for salvation instead of

trusting in the.

Work of Christ.

I ask you today, what if the works that you're

doing is not enough? Would you today say, Lord, I

don't want to trust in my goodness or my works.

I want trust in the work you've done for me

on the cross and by fate. Today I want a

relationship with you, Jesus, Jesus today, would you come save me?

Would you cleanse me? The Lord?

Today, I want a relationship with you if you pray

with me, every head, body, every close.

Lord, we love you. We thank you Lord for today. Lord,

you know.

Our struggles, our tendencies to think that we can do things,

that we can earn our salvation, that we could work

our way into heaven.

Our good things would be good enough. Lord.

Today I pray that there would be those who today

would evaluate their relationship with you today they recognize the

law is good, and the law is good because today

it exposes of our simple nature, the things we've done

against you, a holy God, and it also reveals to

us that it can never save works can never save us.

Lord, we need Lord.

Your free gift of eternal life that you provide through

us through Christ. Or I pray it'd be those today

that would say, Lord, today I put my faith not

in my works, but Lord, I put my faith in

what you've done for me on the cross. God, I

thank you today that you left heaven and you came

down to earth for me to save me from my sin.

Pray there be those who pray that today, Lord, today

save me, or today on a relationship with you, cleansing me.

Lord Today, I want a relationship with you Lord today, Lord,

may the old.

Go it, may the new come.

May today, Lord, you do a new work in my

heart today. Or I pray there'd be those today that

would do business with you. Lord, lead us now in

this time of invitation. I pray that we would respond

to your calling today. I pray they'd be those today

that know someone that thinks they're okay because of something

they've done.

In their past, some works, but they are not right

with you.

I pray that may it's altary be full of people

who are praying for people's salvation, that people would come

and put their faith in your work in what you've done.

Lord.

We love you. We thank you, Lord for your love

for us. Lord, may you move now, We praying him

bade it, and all to him.