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[0:00] Well, I think we're going to see some of that play out in our passage for today. But I want to start with the story of Charlotte Elliott, who lived 200 years ago, more than! She was a disabled young woman, broken hearted, and her life was filled with bitterness and resentment and anger.

[0:30] She was not only angry at God about her circumstances, she was angry at her parents, she was angry at siblings, she was just angry at everybody.

[0:44] And in May of 1822, her parents invited a pastor to come and join them for dinner, and it would just be the four of them, mom and dad whom she lived with, and then her and then this new pastor.

[1:02] And they were hoping, her parents were hoping for a word of some sort that might break through to her, some insight from him that might somehow give some wisdom or discernment about which direction to take.

[1:20] But during the dinner, she got so angry that she began to just light up and rail against God and against her parents and against even the pastor who was visiting that night for the first time.

[1:37] And her parents were so ashamed and so embarrassed that at one point they both got up and left the room, leaving the young woman and the pastor there by themselves.

[1:51] And the pastor turned and he looked at the young woman, Charlotte, and he said this, you're tired of yourself, aren't you?

[2:07] You're tired of what you've become. You're holding on to bitterness and hate because you think there's nothing else to hold on to.

[2:21] Sarcastically, she turned her head and said, well, what is your cure for me? His response was, faith in the person you've come to despise.

[2:44] He went on to share the gospel with her and she seemed to open up to it. And she finally said to him, suppose I wanted to become a Christian like you.

[2:59] What would I have to do? Surely I'd have to clean up my life. I'd have to get some things in order for him to accept me, for him to love me.

[3:11] And the pastor replied, no. Just come as you are. Come as you are. He already loves you.

[3:24] And he'll change you if you just come. That night she did that. She trusted Christ as her savior.

[3:37] And her life was changed forever. That's kind of what's behind the story that we're going to look at today.

[3:50] In our story, we're going to meet two people. One fellow is a Pharisee. His name is Simon.

[4:02] And he has one approach to God. And the other is a nameless woman. We don't know her name. But she's from the town that they're in.

[4:15] And most Bible scholars would say that she is some sort of prostitute or something along those lines. That was her profession at one point.

[4:27] But she's coming in recognizing who she is. That she is a sinner. That she is in need of God's grace in her life.

[4:40] And these two approaches to God we're going to see on display. And you have this on your notes. Two very different ways to approach God.

[4:53] First is the self-righteous way. Or you might think of it as the religious way. The way that is represented by the Pharisee.

[5:05] Which is proud. And yet also curious. And this man and this approach to God asks the question, Does he meet my standards?

[5:24] Referring to Jesus. Does he meet my standards? That's his approach to Jesus. And then the second approach that we'll see in our story today is the approach of sinners.

[5:39] And today that's represented by this forgiven woman that we don't know her name. But she comes in and she comes in very humble.

[5:52] And she comes in very grateful. At the same time. And the question that she seems to be asking is, Do I meet his standards?

[6:06] Do I meet his standards? Two very different approaches. That we'll see as we make our way through the text.

[6:18] So Luke chapter 7, beginning in verse 36. Now, this is after Jesus had preached the Sermon on the Mount. And the centurion's servant has been healed.

[6:32] The woman in Nain. Her son has been raised from the dead. John the Baptist has gone through his moments of doubt and wondering if Jesus is really the one.

[6:46] Jesus' response is absolutely. And that God's wisdom, verse 35, God's wisdom would prove itself out. And we see that on display in this text.

[6:58] That those who approach God with the right mindset will receive the answer that they need. And those who approach God on their own terms, with their own thinking about their own righteousness or their own way of religion, are going to find a way that's, in a sense, rejected.

[7:18] So verse 36. One of the Pharisees asked him, this is talking about Jesus, one of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him.

[7:29] Now, this is kind of significant, right? This is a significant moment because the Pharisees are seen as pretty much enemies of Jesus. And yet, not all of them were so openly enemies.

[7:42] Some of them were genuinely curious. That would describe this man. He's genuinely curious. But again, he's approaching it from a self-righteous point of view.

[7:53] He sees himself as a proud man, as a just man. And so he's curious in the sense of, does Jesus meet my standards? And so he invites him to dinner.

[8:05] And he went into the Pharisees' house and reclined at the table. Now, I've highlighted that phrase, reclined at the table, for a reason.

[8:16] And I'm wondering if there's perhaps a young man here who would help me out. Is there a young man over here who would help me out?

[8:27] I need a young man to come up and help me. Who wants to come and help me? Apparently, Caden has volunteered.

[8:46] All right. Now, do you mind sitting on the floor? No. Okay. Okay. Could I? And I want you to do it kind of here. Let's come over here and do it. Have a seat on the floor here.

[8:59] Just have a seat. And then I'll take you from there. Now, normally when we sit on the floor, because they didn't have tables and chairs like what we did. Okay? You'll see it throughout the Gospels.

[9:10] They reclined at the table. What does that look like? What does that mean? So instead of sitting, this is like crisscross applesauce, right? Anybody else call it that? Right? So instead of doing that, what I want you to do is I want you to lean forward and kind of kick your legs back behind you.

[9:34] Perfect. Perfect. Yeah. Come on. Come on. Scoot up here. Here we go. Here we go. Now, this is actually, this seems very awkward to us, doesn't it?

[9:45] This is how they did it. Now, in a rich person's home, there would be many pillows and big, big pillows and kind of, think outdoor furniture cushions.

[9:58] Okay? And there would be a table here and other men and other guests would be seated around that table, actually reclining around that table to the point where even they would like, you know, lean down on your elbow.

[10:15] There you go. Right? And he would take a piece of bread and dip it in the bowl of oil, olive oil, and eat and piece of meat. And that's how they would do it.

[10:26] And then, eventually, maybe these two would imagine there's another guy here and another guy here. And he would strike up a conversation where they would just kind of roll over and talk to each other.

[10:40] It's almost as if you're laying in bed, but at the head of the table, instead of like a headboard of your bed, there would be a table with food on it. Why don't we do that? Thank you, Caden.

[10:54] Got it? Okay. Thank you. So, this is what they were doing. Now, the reason why I wanted to demonstrate this is because in the text you're going to see something come up, and we'll get there.

[11:10] So, Jesus has come into Simon the Pharisee's house, and they're reclining at the table to eat. And behold, which is another way of saying, check this out.

[11:24] A woman of the city, which, you know, that's a loaded term there. A woman of the city who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment.

[11:41] Now, a couple things about this. When someone in town was inviting a visiting rabbi to come to their house to eat, it was known that there was kind of an open invitation for people of the community to come and to listen to the rabbi speak.

[12:01] So, that's why having this woman just kind of show up at the Pharisee's house unannounced doesn't seem so odd in the text. Luke is not like, well, this woman, and nobody invited her, but here she is.

[12:15] They don't have that because the people in the town would have been invited to come and to listen and to maybe even ask questions and that sort of thing. So, here's this woman who comes in, and she brings this alabaster flask of ointment or perfume.

[12:31] Now, this would have been at quite a cost for her to bring this. This would have been a luxury item in that culture. And so, she brings this flask of ointment with her.

[12:46] And standing behind him at his feet. Now, remember, Jesus is reclining, and he's got his head this way, and his feet are kind of kicked back over this way.

[12:58] So, that's kind of what would happen. And the people would kind of gather around the table as the guests were talking and dining and nibbling and having conversation.

[13:12] Again, these kind of things, do they happen in our culture today? But they did back then. And that's how it worked. And so, she was standing behind Jesus, weeping there at his feet.

[13:27] She began to wet his feet with her tears. So, this is sobbing. This is liquid coming out. I mean, this is a woman who is very broken.

[13:40] And very much so going on with her tears. And I would have imagined it would have been at least somewhat of a distraction. There could have been other conversation going on.

[13:53] Maybe she was quiet in the way that she was crying. But it would have been tough to ignore this happening. And I don't think they did ignore it. I think they paid attention.

[14:05] So, she began to wet his feet with her tears. And then, she wiped them with the hair of her head. Now, we're going to see how that's even more remarkable here in a minute or two.

[14:18] But imagine this scene. She's having now to get down on her knees and take her hair. She would have had quite long hair.

[14:28] And use that to kind of dry and clean the feet of Jesus. And she also was kissing his feet. And the tense of this verb is not that she kissed his feet once.

[14:42] But that she continued to kiss his feet. Just imagine this scene. We have a tough time in our American culture thinking of this.

[14:55] And imagining this scene. This woman who is lavishing this kind of love on Jesus. So that she's taking her tears.

[15:08] And wiping his feet with her hair. And kissing his feet. And anointing them with this perfume or this ointment. Again, that would have been a lavish kind of luxury thing for her to be doing.

[15:25] But she's recognizing something in Jesus. That obviously the Pharisee does not get. Okay? Can you picture in your mind's eye what this scene looks like?

[15:37] Now when the Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw this. He said to himself. So now he's just thinking. He's not saying this out loud.

[15:48] Nobody is hearing this in his mind. If this man were a prophet. If Jesus was who he said he is. Then he would have known who and what sort of woman this is.

[16:05] So this Pharisee knows who this woman is. And knows her kind. Her sort, if you will. What she represents.

[16:17] And to a Pharisee. To someone who is self-righteous. They would very much so look down upon. And consider this woman a sinner. It's different in our day.

[16:30] In that day a Pharisee would look at a woman like this and say you're a sinner. And the sinner would just. Yep. That's me. I am a sinner.

[16:42] It's why when Jesus talked about sinners in need of a doctor. Or those who are sick in need of a doctor. They wouldn't have protested and said are you calling me sick? Yeah, I'm sick.

[16:54] I have sin. I need help. They recognize that. And so for Jesus to allow this woman to touch him.

[17:06] Would also be a thing where he was allowing her touch to make him ceremonially unclean. Because of her sinful condition.

[17:17] And so here is a Pharisee who would have never allowed this to happen to himself. This woman. He's upset that she's even in his house.

[17:29] But it's a public invitation. And so now here is this woman. With this reputation. Who is weeping and lavishing all kinds of this.

[17:42] Just love and honor and respect and lavish perfume. And what is Jesus doing?

[17:53] If Jesus was a prophet. He would know that this is not appropriate. This is not what should be happening. For she is a sinner.

[18:03] Jesus answering. My question is. Who was he answering?

[18:16] Who did he hear speaking? Nobody. But he knew what Simon was thinking. And that's what he's answering.

[18:28] And Jesus did this multiple times throughout the Gospels. People were thinking one thing. Jesus knew what they were thinking. And answered their question.

[18:40] Or their charge. Jesus answering said to him. Simon I have something to say to you. And he answered. Say it teacher. Alright. So now we have this conversation.

[18:52] Between two guys. Reclining. At a table. And this woman standing behind Jesus.

[19:03] And carrying on. And Jesus goes into a parable. To teach Simon. To help him to understand what's happening.

[19:15] A certain money lender had two debtors. One owed 500 denarii. And the other 50.

[19:27] So 500 denarii. Is 500 days wages. So a denarii was a coin that a typical laborer would earn.

[19:41] For one day's wage. So almost two years worth. When you count off days. That's a lot of money.

[19:52] The other guy owed 50. So they both owed some money. But one was substantially 10 times more. Than the other. Okay. So that's the picture that Jesus has in mind.

[20:04] And when they could not pay. He canceled the debt of both. It's a quick parable. Question based on the parable. And he asks this of the Pharisee.

[20:16] And I would ask this of all of you as well. Which one of them will love him more? The one who owed the smaller amount.

[20:29] The 50. Or the one who owed the 500. The much larger amount. Which one would love him the more? Which one would be more grateful? Which one would respond with even more lavish praise?

[20:46] And honor. And expressions of love and gratitude. Kind of like what the woman was doing. And Simon answered the one I suppose for whom he canceled the larger debt.

[21:03] It's like ah. Kind of an obvious answer. We know the answer to that question. It's not a difficult riddle. And he said to him. You have judged rightly.

[21:13] You get it. You get it. Simon. The one who owed the larger debt. And then he went on from there. And Jesus is going to include now some cultural clues as to what was happening.

[21:32] To prove that Simon was not ready to accept Jesus. That his approach to God, his approach to Christ was such that I want you to meet my terms.

[21:46] I want you to answer my questions. You're coming to me on my terms. And turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, do you see this woman?

[22:02] Don't just glance at her. Don't just turn a side eye. But look at her. Look at this woman. I entered your house, Simon.

[22:15] But you gave me no water for my feet. Now, we learn this lesson in John chapter 13 when Jesus washed the feet of the disciples.

[22:27] That it was normal custom for the master of the house to provide his guests who were coming in a common courtesy. Because they wore sandals, because the streets were made of dirt, their feet would be dirty, dusty, filthy.

[22:47] Okay? And so it was common to have at the entryway of anyone's house a towel and a basin of water. And if you were wealthy enough, you would have a servant who would do this task for you.

[23:02] Your guest would come in. The servant would greet you. And then would remove your sandals and take the towel and the water and wash your feet. Common courtesy.

[23:13] Before some of you, in your homes, you take off your shoes before you enter the house. And so you have a place by your entryway into your house where kind of your shoes are gathered for where you go in and out of the house.

[23:28] Well, in their circumstance, they had a basin and a towel. And here Jesus comes in as the honored guest, the invited guest.

[23:40] The master of the house provides no servant. And if you were not a wealthy person, then you might have an older child who would perform that task.

[23:50] Or you yourself would go and perform that task out of a common courtesy, welcoming your guest into your home. But it wouldn't just be the water to wash the feet.

[24:03] There would be more than that. You gave me no water for my feet. But she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. Simon, no common courtesy.

[24:17] You gave me no kiss. Now, in our DNA, again, we don't greet one another this way. You don't see two bros going in for the kiss when they're saying, hey, hey, hello, glad to see you.

[24:35] We go in for the handshake, right? And we like our handshakes nice and firm and good grip and, you know, don't give me the limp hand kind of a thing.

[24:48] That's not how they did it. In their culture, they would go up and greet each other like Europeans do today with the kiss on the cheek. Okay?

[24:59] So when Judas betrayed Jesus, it was just, it wasn't out of the ordinary for Judas to kiss Jesus on the cheek. It was just a typical greeting.

[25:11] And that sign, since he was the only one that he kissed in that way, the soldiers would know that it was Jesus that he was kissing. So there was no typical greeting.

[25:23] There was no washing of the feet. There was no, hey, welcome, Jesus, come on in and let's embrace, let's kiss. But from the time that I came in, she has not ceased to kiss my feet.

[25:41] That's above and beyond. That's beyond greeting. This is adoration. This is, in a sense, worship. You did not anoint my head with oil.

[25:55] Again, another cultural custom. When someone would come in to your house, especially if they had traveled from some distance, it was normal to have some oil at the entryway.

[26:08] And so that when they came in, they could adjust their clothing, they could have their feet washed, and they could take some oil. And again, we don't do this, do we?

[26:19] We don't take like, I don't think of taking like Crisco or olive oil. But olive oil was a multi-used item in their culture.

[26:32] And they would take oil, and they would anoint their head with oil. They would wash the dust from their face. They would get their hair back in order because it would have been windblown, and maybe they had a hood on.

[26:48] And whatever the reason was, they would use that oil as a way to manage their hair and prepare themselves to be at a function, a family function, a dinner function with other people, a social setting where you're eating food.

[27:05] And so Jesus is sitting at the table, reclining at the table, and his feet are filthy. And his hair is unkept because Simon has not properly, the title of the sermon, invited, but not welcomed.

[27:31] He was never welcomed into Simon's home. Because he doesn't recognize who Jesus is. And Jesus doesn't seem to be meeting his terms.

[27:45] So he's, in a sense, rejecting what he's hearing. Open to what Jesus is going to say and do, but not accepting.

[27:56] And then, from there, therefore I tell you, uh-oh, Jesus, are you really going to go there? Are you really going to say this out loud?

[28:10] We've seen what happens when Jesus said this earlier, the healing of the man that they broke through the roof and laid him down.

[28:22] And instead of healing him, Jesus said, hey, your sins are forgiven you. What? Here, this makes a little more sense. Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which are many.

[28:40] So Jesus is not making light of her sin or her sinfulness. He's not, oh, it's no big deal. That's not what he's doing. He's not saying, oh, it's okay that you do this or you do that, and these things that are sin.

[28:57] But Jesus is not doing that. He wouldn't do that. Sin is sin, and he recognizes it for what it is. But what he does say is that even though her sins are many, she is forgiven.

[29:17] She is forgiven. For she loved much. Now, it's not that because she loved much, her sins were forgiven.

[29:29] That's back. It's because she was forgiven unconditionally that she loved much.

[29:40] You see the difference? This is why she came. She sought Jesus out. When she heard Jesus was invited to the Pharisees' home for this dinner, this social gathering.

[29:54] She made her way to either buy this alabaster container of ointment or perfume or made her way to the house where she had it. She got it.

[30:06] She went back to where Simon's house was. She found her way into the house and into the room where they were gathered. And worked her way around the crowd to get to the point where she could be at the feet of Jesus.

[30:24] And she recognizes who he is. That this is the Christ, the Son of God. She needed his forgiveness.

[30:39] But Simon, he who is forgiven little, loves little.

[30:53] Simon, do you get that? But the people gathered there were focused on this. He said to her, your sins are forgiven.

[31:04] I want you to use your imagination for a moment. And I want you to imagine yourself in a conversation with Jesus.

[31:18] And you recognize who he is. And you are giving him the praise and the adoration and the worship that he rightly deserves.

[31:38] And he looks at you in the face and he says, you are forgiven. How does that hit you?

[31:58] My guess, my frustration, is that probably like a typical American. Now, I hope that you're not a typical American when it comes to this.

[32:12] Because this is a big deal. Your sins are forgiven. Do you get what that does for you?

[32:28] The God of eternity is saying to you, your sins are forgiven. Are forgiven. Are forgiven. Isn't that everything?

[32:50] And the people there, those who were at the table with him, began to say among themselves, who is this? Who even does this? Who forgives sins?

[33:03] The answer to that question, of course, is God. God is the only one who can. And it's appropriate for Jesus to do this.

[33:17] And he said to the woman, your faith has saved you. Another phrase. That if you were having this conversation with Jesus.

[33:30] Now, the reality is, in prayer, we can have this conversation. You can confess your sin. You can recognize your sinfulness.

[33:43] You can say, Lord, forgive me. He can absolutely do just that. And say to you, you are forgiven. You are saved.

[33:55] You are a child of God. And it's, it's amazing, this, this scene, and this conversation.

[34:07] But sometimes I think, and sometimes I wonder, do we get it? Or do we miss the significance of this? And so I want to talk to you, and again, on your notes, some hard truths.

[34:25] Hard truths about your standing before God. And number one on this list is, some of us simply don't know what we need.

[34:38] And I would say this is true for a lot of people. Maybe not a lot of people in this room, but certainly some, but out in the world, certainly a lot of people have no idea when it comes to their standing before God, what it is that they need.

[34:55] And to start off with, and this is what the woman gets, and that we need to understand. The consequence for sin. Oh, sin.

[35:06] Okay, sin. Yeah, I'm a sinner. Everybody's a sinner. What's the big deal? The big deal is this, that the consequence for sin, even just a little bit, and then I put in there, if that's possible, because I don't think it is.

[35:23] I think all of us, like this woman, are deathly in trouble because of our sin. the amount of our sin.

[35:41] The consequence for sin, then, is death and separation from God. And you go all the way back to the Garden of Eden to discover this, right?

[35:54] God create Adam and Eve and he puts them in the garden and he says, guys, it's a free-for-all. You have everything. Just have some fun.

[36:05] Grow some food. Have some babies. And be good managers and stewards of all that I've given you. And it's easy. Just one thing.

[36:17] Don't do this one thing. Don't eat that one tree. Don't, don't, just one. What'd they do? The same thing we would do.

[36:28] The one thing someone in charge of us tells us you can't do, what's the one thing you want to do? Don't touch the wet paint. You want to touch the, over on the door over there.

[36:44] Do not enter. Private, right? We want to see. We want to, we have this drive now because of Adam and Eve.

[36:57] All of us have come from Adam and Eve. All of us are born into sin. All of us have the consequence of sin as a result of that. We're born into death.

[37:08] We're born into separation from God. God doesn't look at us before we come to Christ as being neutral. Like, here's death and hell and here's heaven and eternal life and until I make the decision, I'm somewhere neutral.

[37:29] I'm on the fence. No. He sees us already as here. As being dead in our trespasses and sins because you are.

[37:41] hell is your future residence. And then, you are. And then, when you hear the message of the gospel, that life-changing message, and you put your faith in Christ, you now become a new creature in Christ Jesus, a new creation.

[38:04] He sees you as once being dead in your trespasses and your sins and now being alive in Christ, part of his family.

[38:15] Heaven is your home. You'll be with him forever. Not separated. The thing that makes hell, hell is not because it's hot. It's because God is not there.

[38:27] Separation from God is something that we don't get the consequence of that. And what makes heaven, heaven, is not because I'll be walking on golden streets and gates of pearl.

[38:43] I'm going to get to heaven and I'm going to get my pick out. I'm going to be chopping away at the floors. No. I think it talks about golden streets because in heaven's economy, gold is like dirt.

[38:58] What makes heaven, heaven is the fact that God is there. And we see him face to face. And we don't shrivel up and die at the sight of him. That's what makes heaven happen.

[39:11] We'll enjoy him forever. James 2.10. Even if you could just do the one thing wrong, that's it. Well, Rich, I've only committed one sin my whole life.

[39:26] One, I think you're lying. You don't understand what sin is. And two, even if that were true, for whoever keeps the law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.

[39:39] You're done. How are you doing with the Ten Commandments? You're done. We're all done. We're all guilty. Right? You're all guilty.

[39:52] You're all... Right? Can I pick on someone? Who can I pick on? Can I pick on you, Doug? Doug is always available for me to pick on. I appreciate that about him. I don't know if he understands that by sitting right in front in the center here that he gets this.

[40:11] So how are you doing with Ten Commandments, Doug? You ever told a lie? You told a lie. Okay. What does that make you? Oh, come on.

[40:22] Be more specific. So if you've told a lie, it makes you a sinner. Be more specific. It makes you a liar. Don't call me a liar. A lot of us would be like, ooh, I don't like that title.

[40:34] Sinner will where? Sinner is okay because everybody's a sinner, right? Everybody's sin. All right. You ever stolen anything, Doug? You have? Okay.

[40:45] Okay. Very good. So what does that make you? A thief. See, we've got to think about it. Yeah, I'll do that. It's not a football player.

[41:02] Now, have you ever murdered someone? Are you sure? Have you ever...

[41:17] Have you ever... Have you ever... Now, this is the point that Jesus is making, right? The Sermon on the Mount. Have you ever responded to someone in anger and called them a name?

[41:32] Okay. Doug is sure he has. Let me tell you, he has. If he tries to... If he tries to deny it...

[41:45] If he tries... See, he just called me an idiot. If he tries to deny any of this, just remind him he's a liar.

[41:58] Okay. So Jesus says you're guilty of what now? Well, you're guilty of murder. Okay.

[42:10] Because you've responded to someone in anger and with an evil word. Just called me an idiot. You're guilty of murder. Somebody called... It's true.

[42:20] With adultery, with worship, with false gods, with taking his name in vain, with any of it. With any of the Ten Commandments.

[42:33] How you doing with the Ten Commandments out there? Right? And that's the whole point of the Ten Commandments. Well, I got to keep the Ten Commandments in order to be accepted by God.

[42:47] No! God didn't give us the Ten Commandments to figure that out. To say that that's what you need to do in order to be saved. God knew you couldn't. He gave us the Ten Commandments to show you how much in trouble you are.

[43:04] That the only hope that you have is in the only one who could keep the Ten Commandments. And Jesus Christ. Therefore, just as sin came into the world through the one man, Adam, thanks Adam, and death through sin because of Adam, which is why you can't have millions and billions of years of Earth history.

[43:33] Sin is the cause of death. And so if your timeline of world history and evolution and all of that stuff includes the idea of creatures coming and dying and living and dying and living and dying before you ever get to an Adam and Eve, kind of a...

[43:52] It doesn't work. Because you only have death as a result of Adam and Eve's sin. And so death spread to all men because all sinned.

[44:03] Thanks, Adam. I'd be interested to see some of our conversations in heaven with Adam. I imagine they're going to go, Adam, nice to meet you.

[44:16] I don't think I would have done it any differently. I think if all... And we're going to be honest in heaven, right? We're not going to have any false bravado. I wouldn't have done that, Adam!

[44:26] I don't think we'll have that in heaven. I don't think we'll... Whoever keeps the whole law but fails in the one point like Doug so obviously failed has become accountable for all of it.

[44:40] So we're accountable to all of it. We're in trouble because of our sin. Where am I going?

[44:52] I'm going the wrong way on my little clicker. Really? Okay, here we go. Another hard truth is that we can never balance it out or pay it off with good deeds.

[45:06] We could never... We just can't. We don't have enough. It's just never going to work that way. First of all, you and I don't have any good deeds.

[45:19] Isaiah tells us all of us have become like one who is unclean. All our righteous acts are like filthy rags in God's sight. God looks at our righteous deeds that we think, oh, I'm...

[45:30] I'm doing pretty good. And God's saying, no, you're not rich. You're really not. Okay? For by works of the law, no human being will be justified in his sight since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

[45:45] It's just what we've been talking about. Can't do it that way. You are separated, severed from Christ. You would be justified. You who would be justified by the law, you'll forever remain separated.

[45:59] You have fallen away from grace. You can't do it that way. Paul reminds us here. And then I love this one at the end of the Sermon on the Mount where Doug was just slaughtered.

[46:17] You therefore must be perfect. All right, a show of hands. How many of you are perfect? Right? And if you are raising your hand, I'm calling you a liar.

[46:29] Okay? None of us. That the only path to forgiveness is the path to the cross where Jesus paid the penalty for our sin through the shedding of his blood like a lamb to the slaughter and paid the penalty that you and I deserve to pay.

[46:55] He died. Didn't deserve it. But we do. Or we don't deserve it, but he gives it to us through what he accomplished.

[47:06] There's only one way. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Jesus. There is no other road to salvation. I do not nullify the grace of God.

[47:19] Paul writes this in Galatians 2.21. For if righteousness were through the law, why did Jesus have to die? I mean, if a person could be saved either through the law by being a good person, right?

[47:39] If a person could be saved, could get to heaven because their good outweighs their bad, because they've been good enough compared to all the other evil that's out there, I think God's going to smile on me.

[47:51] Why did Jesus have to die? That's sick that God would put his only son to death in that gruesome of a way if it didn't matter.

[48:09] The same thing is true with other religions. If all religions lead to God, then the sickest of them all is Christianity. Christianity. Because what was the point of the death of Christ on the cross if I could come through Buddha or through Muhammad or through any other way?

[48:32] The last religion I would ever look to is Christianity because that was pointless. It was purposeless. What in the world would Jesus have to go through that for if it didn't matter?

[48:50] This is what Paul is saying here in Galatians 2.21. What's the point? Of course it matters. Of course there's only the one way. It is only through Christ.

[49:02] It is only through his sacrifice on the cross that we can find forgiveness. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God put forward as a propitiation as a sacrifice that pays for by his blood to receive by by faith.

[49:33] That's how we're saved. By faith in what he did for us. And then 1 Corinthians 10.20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God.

[49:51] Whenever you see a false religion whenever you see something that is not of the scriptures where is it coming from? This ought to be very sobering to us.

[50:04] anything that is a lie comes from the father of lies. It is coming from Satan. So when we see people who are worshiping an Allah or a false god in some way listen am I going to get in trouble for saying this?

[50:28] It's demonic. It is led by demons and it is the worship of demons they offer these sacrifices to demons and not to God.

[50:44] There's only one way. It's only through Christ. And then if we don't want forgiveness guess what?

[50:56] You don't get forgiveness. You don't get forgiveness. this is evident in the story between the Pharisee and the tax collector who come to worship Jesus or who come to worship at the temple Old Testament.

[51:21] It's New Testament story by Jesus but it's Old Testament worship so they're not worshiping Jesus yet. Two men went to the temple to pray a Pharisee and a tax collector. The Pharisee standing by himself said this God I thank you that I'm not like this other guy this other creep.

[51:37] I mean that's basically the story between Simon the Pharisee and this woman who is weeping and washing the feet of Jesus. It's basically the same story different circumstance.

[51:48] Thank you that I'm not like this other guy here extortioners unjust adulterers or even like this tax collector. What a rotten guy this is. I fast twice a week get a load of me.

[52:01] I give tithes of all that I get. But the tax collector Jesus said standing far off would not even lift up his eyes to heaven but beat his breast saying God be merciful to me a sinner.

[52:15] And I tell you this man went down to his house justified rather than the other. That's what we have to recognize. Do you recognize your sinfulness and your need of salvation?

[52:32] If you don't you won't get it. It doesn't matter how religious you are. And then for those of us who are believers some of us don't understand what we have.

[52:46] And I'm trying to rush through these. but listen sometimes you listen to believers and what you hear is stuff like this that our greatest problem is my finances it's my health it's my happiness it's my relationship with my spouse it's my relationship with my kids it's it's again your biggest problem is your problem with sin.

[53:13] even after you've trusted Christ as your savior you've still got a sin problem. The disciples had gone out and done some incredible miracles we're going to see this in Luke chapter 10 and verse 20 Jesus says guys don't get all hyped up and rejoicing in this that you had control against evil spirits but rejoice that your names are written in heaven that's the biggest deal that's the biggest deal 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 even though our outer self is wasting away our inner self is being renewed day by day we're getting closer and closer to heaven as we get older for this light and momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison as we look not to the things that are seen but the things that are unseen the things that are seen are not important not in the scope of eternity you might say well rich the fact that we're getting kicked out of our house you're saying that's not important or the fact that

[54:31] I have cancer and I'm in trouble physically that's not yes those things are important but in the scope of eternity here's what matters yes let's find a house for you less yes let's pray for healing for the things that are seen are transient but the things that are unseen are eternal and then finally those who understand their forgiveness are far more it's supposed to be a check mark they're supposed to be far they will be far more thankful like this woman right again in the story that Jesus told now which one of them will love him all the more they're going to be more obedient right people will get it if you love me you will keep my commandments and then finally they will be more forgiving because they've understood what they've been forgiven put on then as

[55:38] God's chosen ones holy and beloved forgiving each other as the Lord has forgiven you so you must also forgive I want to encourage you if you've never trusted Christ as your savior if you might see yourself as well I'm kind of in between I'm not I don't not believe but I'm not sure that I'm all on board remember how God sees you and then remember what God has done for you Jesus has already paid the debt you don't you can't pay the debt so today trust Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior Lord we thank you so much for this message of good news that we have been given and that we have been given the task to share with the world that you came into this world in sinless perfection lived a perfect and holy life and then of your own free will of your own decision because of your love for us you went to the cross and there through the shedding of your blood paid the price paid the penalty for our sin and Lord we thank you that you did not remain in the grave you rose again from the dead you are who you claimed to be the whole time you are

[57:51] Jesus the Christ the son of God the son of man and you are our savior our Lord I pray Lord for those who have not yet made that decision that even on this day they would recognize their need and like this woman come say Lord yes I know I am a sinner I am guilty I stand no chance on my own my only hope is through faith in you trust you as Lord and Savior Lord I pray that you would enlighten those hearts open the eyes and the hearts of those who need to hear and those who need to accept you

[59:06]  Lord we love you and we praise you and we give you thanks for all that you have done in Jesus name amen and we thank you and we thank you and we thank you and we and we thank you and we thank you and we thank you and we and we and we and we thank you and we and we and we and we and we