if i remove myself from the means of grace you know what i thought let me tell you how sinful i am got on my bed this morning i wasn't feeling all that great to tell you the truth and i thought well it's too late to call tim and ask him to teach class i've been doing didn't add too much to him anyway and i said so we have class this morning then we have the service but it's going to be extra long this morning because we're having communion and i thought i wish we weren't having communion today can you believe that that's what i thought i mean thanks be to god it wasn't within five seconds that god the holy spirit slammed me body slammed me to the ground for even thinking like that i thought what's wrong with you sprole that you're sitting here despising that this morning you're coming to the table of christ you're telling these people every time we celebrate the lord's supper here he is he's here he's really here he's here to help us and you're too tired today oh wretched man that i am who will deliver me from this body of death you see that's how the flesh operates that's what we all struggle with that's why god tells us we have to work out our salvation with fear and trembling it is work for god is at work within us both to will and to do now that brings us through chapter 6 and chapter seven and i've got two more minutes to do the rest of romans and i resolved this morning you notice how quick i started this morning i said it's going to be tough job to do romans in one hour well guess what i failed i'm not going to do it and i wouldn't dare do to this book what i would have to do if i tried to finish it in the next two minutes so we we're not in any hurry all right let's wait till the next time and look at the second half of the book of romans but again do you see how paul begins with our need for christ with the revelation of the holiness of god the revelation of the law that slays us all the revelation that there's none righteous no not one and that together jew and greek are brought before in the tribunal of god and every human being is found guilty and we are told that by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified but now the righteousness of god is revealed by faith by the righteousness of the one who while we were still sinners made satisfaction to god for us on the cross and who gives to us freely the gift of his righteousness that covers us in our standing before god by faith alone and then once that happens begins to work within us to mold to shape to change to bring us into the conformity of christ you know what when i first became a christian i went nuts in the first year on a roller coaster ride of spiritual ups and downs i mean one day there would be this great big high peak of spiritual excitement followed by the pit of despair and followed by a revival that take me right back up on the mountain and that would last me a couple of days until i would fall into some miserable state and this hill and valley thing was driving me nuts i went to see a pastor and i told him i said is it always going to be like this he said no he says the ups and downs are commonplace in the christian life but thanks be to god that the overarching movement even though it's up and down is still upward and onward and that it may take a long time but god is working in our souls and it is changing us and he said you'll find out the longer you're in christ that the highs won't be so high and the lows won't be so low you'll start to mature and you'll start to get a little bit more stable in your christian life and when i look at my life today and i look at and say how could you think the way you were thinking this morning about the lord's supper what's the matter with you or even convert it then i look back to 1957 and i look from 1957 till today i say rc have you done in your sanctification it's like asking the pittsburgh steelers how they're doing when they're two and five the way i look at it you know i i look like that and say boy i haven't gotten anywhere near where i should be after all these years yet i know that over those years there's been change that i have seen some fruit of the gospel in my life not enough but some is there enough not to despair and enough to look forward to walking across the veil where my sanctification will be instant when i see him as he is in the meantime in between time it's work and we have to make diligent use of the means of grace but again i'm not interested in putting a guilt trip on you you have all the guilt you need already but the way out of it the way to growth is the scripture the word of god feeds your souls prayer learning how to pray learning how to love prayer learning how to pray because you want to pray not because it's a duty learning how to love worship so much that you'd rather die than miss sunday morning at the church you know every sunday morning before i even i get my my scuzzy clothes i go to out for breakfast and i have breakfast same place then i go home and get dressed up come to church and every day when i leave the restaurant the lady says to me have a nice day and i say i will i can't miss it's sunday you know even the steelers can't ruin that for me though they try we hope you've enjoyed this month's message and we sincerely thank you for your continuing partnership with us through our message of the month program if you've received a copy of this message from a friend and would like more information about dr r c sproul and ligonier ministries or about the partnership program then please contact us using our toll-free number 1-800-435-4343 our web address is ligonier.org you can write to us at p.o box 863 595 orlando florida three two eight