I am a Lutheran layman who had searched for many, many years to find the truth about what God expected from me.
I tried jumping through all the religious hoops and read all the latest books. There was always something for me to do… and then another thing, and another. I felt like I was never quite there.
Then I heard, for the first time in my life, the gospel for the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ, proclaimed to me, in it’s fullness and clarity, with no qualifications, no strings attached. Nothing left for me to do.
It hit me like a ton of bricks! Beautiful, life changing, freedom giving bricks!
No more religious ladders, no more biblical principles for Christian living, no more of me having to do…anything!
Christ has done it all! True freedom, won by my Lord, for me. And all I have to do is…nothing!
It is so wonderful and liberating, that I want to share this Good News with everyone that I can.
– Steve Martin
e-mails welcome sma9231961@aol.com
Steve,
I came across your blog via comments you made on one of Michael Spencer’s posts. Things aren’t always nice and neat the way we’d like them, are they. We are all very much saint and sinner. By the way, I am starting seminary in the fall at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg.
Keep up the good work. You’re posting great stuff.
Ivy,
Thanks for the encouragement.
Good luck and Godspeed at Seminary. I’m sure you will make a great pastor!
Yours in Christ,
Steve
I doubt any of us have the strength to do what is required of a true christian. What is that you ask…NOTHING, I answer. To believe Jesus died on the cross to save us all from our sins may not be to hard to fathom. To believe we are now required to do NOTHING for our salvation is a tough pill to swallow. I don’t go to church. I don’t give to the needy. I don’t even love my fellow man. This does not make me evil or damned to hell. It makes me human. As a human I believe I am saved because Jesus told me I was over 2,000 years ago. With that belief I will welcome my death and go to my grave. Maybe I’ll be saved maybe not, but the choice is HIS. Nothing I do in this earthly form will change HIS mind about me. So If you want to be a brave christian, do what GOD wants you to do. NOTHING! Let Jesus make the decision, because HE already has. 2,000 years ago.
Thank you, Steve.
doubting thomas,
You are so right. He has made the decision for you…2,000 years ago and whenever it was that you were baptised. He also decided for you right then and there. He adopted you. Know that you are his because of that adoption in water and Word. The kingdom belongs to you. He has done it for you.
Amen.
Thanks for stopping by our site and leaving a comment – It’s an encouragement for me to be reminded of what Christ has accomplished on our behalf! I’ll be sure to check your blog out.
I found you via a comment on WayneDawg’s blog. I am Lutheran as well; your blog is a joy to read!
HannahJ,
Thanks very much, Hannah!
You are always welcome to chime in on any topic. Let me have it if I mess something up!
I glanced at your site (time constrictions today), it looks very interesting. Later tonight I’ll go back and check it out.
Take care, Hannah amd God bless!
– Steve Martin
Steve,
Found your site through Roland. So far so good man. I will definitely stop by for more. keep up the good work and God bless,
~Timm
Timm,
Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate your kind words of encouragement!
Take care, and God bless you.
– Steve
I came across your blog through Ivy, who left you a link to my post on Romans.
I like the phrase “freedom giving bricks”. God’s forgiveness is indeed a powerful thing. And just like getting hit with bricks will leave a mark for all to see, so does one’s life after they have experienced the “bricks of freedom”; God’s forgiveness through the cross. Thanks for the image.
-Pastor Eric-
Pastor Eric,
Thanks for stopping by!
I like the image of “bricks leaving a mark”. You and I (along with countless others) know just how true that is.
I very much enjoyed your post on Romans. That book of Romans contains a truck full of life giving, mark making bricks!
Thanks very much, Pastor!
– Steve M.
Steve,
I found your blog from comments you left on thislamp. You are right on. Thank you, and good work as you keep trusting in Christ’s good work.
bzephyr,
Thanks very much, Bzephyr!
I appreciate the encouragement.
– Steve
This is great Steve…. from Professional Standup Comedy…. to movie actor…. to Believer. Ta-ha. Ok… so I am not the first to observe you share your name with a famous comedian/actor?
Anyway… Your story is fascinating. I am on a journey of rediscovery myelf and can relate to your journey through the dogma of many of the denominations.
It is hard to surrender our beliefs in the do’s and don’ts as being in some way validating of God’s acceptance of us. Sorry… my logic a little jumbled in that last sentance but perhaps you get the picture.
More and more, I am recognizing that Jesus work was/is complete. We need add nothing to it. I havent reached the freedom of a full understanding yet. For me it is a progression.
I simply cannot disbelieve Jesus was who he said he was and I accept his gift to me and others. I am simply fighting the well-formed habit of guilty conscience. Yet I feel I am where I need to be on my journey of discovery.
I heard a profound thought on … of all places…. the TV series “Kung Fu” which I never watch but happened to stop at while channel surfing because of an intriguing fight scene. A student told his master that he wanted to quit whatever progression of teaching he was receiving at that time because he thought it was useless. To which the wise master told him…
“The student can never know the value of the lesson until the lesson is complete”.
I feel this describes where I am at.
Glad to cross your path.
Ciao.
Chaz
Chaz,
Thanks for stopping by ‘the old Adam’!
Your journey is not unlike countless people who have heard the freedom of the gospel of Jesus Christ and who have never looked back.
It is a journey. It is a process. Thankfully He is in control of the process and He will bring you through it.
“The student can never know the value of the lesson until the lesson is complete”.
I like it!
His blessings to you, Chaz!
– Steve (the jerk) Martin
It is finished!!!!!
Interesting blog. I’ll add it to my Google Reader.
J.K. Jones,
Thanks very much! I look forward to reading your insights from time to time, here on ‘the old Adam’. You are always welcome, J.K.
I have added Fear and Trembling to my blogroll and I look forward to perusing there!
– Steve M.
Just Brilliant! I followed your comment from Isaiah 54:3 who recently linked me. Loving the posts! Praise Jesus!
Glen
A Lutheran and you had to search for years? Galatians and Ephesians weren’t enough? Oh, and that guy named Martin Luther. Didn’t he write something about this? Just teasing you, my brother!
Wow, thank you for the comforting words of the gospel!!
I’m so happy this site is here for myself and all the other believers that see no hope in themselves and can only Count on Christ. Because God has taught us that is the Only Way and Truth. And this is the Only Hope any of us have to hope in and comfort our hearts and minds in the Gospel.
God bless All of you with more Grace and Truth in our Precious Saviour.
Sincerely,
BB5
Martina,
I appreciate your kind words!
Thanks for coming by!
There is no hope in ourselves..only in Him and Him alone!
You are always welcome here.
His Grace to you!
– Steve
After years of religion and its different hoops, I too came to a point that I realized it doesn’t really work. God, later on, amazingly revealed the truth of His grace and unconditional love.
The information you shared here resonates well with me.
Keep growing in His grace!
Bino,
Thanks for dropping by and your testimony of God’s grace!
Thsi God that we have ceratinly is an awesome God.
That He loves us anf forgives us all the things we have done and will yet do against His Word, is mind boggling.
I hope you will come by often and give us your thoughts on whatevet it is we are batting around.
Thanks very much, Bino!
– Steve Martin
PS-Looking forward to your blog and doing some perusing!
Thank you for commenting on my blog. Though not a Lutheran myself, I respect your denomination and love to listen to good Lutheran teaching.
Blessings
Anna
Anna,
Thanks a lot, Anna!
I look forward to perusing a bit on your blog.
Any proclamation that puts forth Christ and His work on the cross for sinners is alright with me, too. I don’t care what label it’s attached to.
Christ first…Christ last…and Christ always!
Take care Anna, and God bless!
– Steve
Steve,
Though we CANNOT do anything for our salvation, surely you agree we WILL do some things, and stop doing others, because of our salvation. Luther may have thought James a “strawy epistle” but I like how C.S. Lewis put it: “”Regarding the debate about faith and works: It’s like asking which blade in a pair of scissors is most important.”
I agree with your point though and that is where I am now. “Those who are in Christ are free from the law of sin and death!”
ProdigalKnot,
Yes, we will do some things and not do others. True enough. The law demands good works and the Holy Spirit inspires them.
Luther realized the point that you make. With him it was a matter of emphasis. In James, the gospel seemed almost absent and works seemed the emphasis.
Luther himself, was a very busy guy, doing good works all over the place, but he knwe that the old Adam in us would latch onto that kind on language and fget it all mixed up with grace if he didn’t keep them very well seperated.
Good thoughts, my friend!
Thanks for checkin’ out ‘the old Adam lives!’
– Steve M.
Free to do nothing…but called by love into all things…LIFE! When we get “it”…our life really begins!
We changed churches about three years ago and it was then that my husband and I realized we had bought into double mindedness…While truly believing that we were saved by grace through faith in Jesus…we had become very much caught up in the doing vs the being!
Now we are definitely running the race to win…the “Fun Run”… way better than the “Guilt Run”!
Nancy,
” …While truly believing that we were saved by grace through faith in Jesus…we had become very much caught up in the doing vs the being!
Now we are definitely running the race to win…the “Fun Run”… way better than the “Guilt Run”!”
Amen, Nancy!!
Great thoughts!
A real pleasure to discuss these matters of the Christian faith with you, my friend!
Thanks, very much!
– Steve
Just letting you know that you’re a great guy!
Thanks!
Hey Steve, thanks for coming by and commenting on my blog. It’s great to meet new people! I’m really enjoying reading your blog too. Looking forward to reading more.
God bless and happy blogging!
Matt,
Thanks very much!
I am looking forward to doing some perusing over at ‘The Church of No People’.
His blessings to you, my friend!
– Steve
Steve- We’re all on journey seeking truth. We’re at different points on that journey. The destination is not what we seek. It IS the journey. We will all arrive at the same destination one day. Blessings to you!
Don,
Thank you, Don!
I appreciate you stopping by!
I think that the “truth” has found us, in the person of Christ Jesus.
He said it Himself, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life…”
Thanks be to God that He does seek after us, the lost.
By His grace, we will arrive there!
Take care, and God bless you, my friend!
– Steve
I liked your comment on David Hayward’s cartoon: Caution Failing People–that you were among a group that helped the wounded. That was encouraging. I have completed a doctoral dissertation that looked at how people recovered after ‘muddy tunnel’ church experiences.
I have made this dissertation available online at the following address: ChurchExiters.com.
It may be helpful to many people who have been wounded or those who love and care for those who have been wounded. Keep at it–in Him.
Barb O.
Barb O.,
Thank you, Barb.
I’ll try and check out your dissertation in the very near future.
I sure appreciate you stopping by.
Yours in Christ,
Steve
Hey
I found you on Jon Spadino’s blog. I am a Lutheran and I enjoy your posts a lot. Thanks.
Sarah,
Nice of you to stop by, Sarah!
All are welcome here, but I have a particularly soft spot in my heart for fellow Lutherans!
– Steve
Hi
I am delighted to tell you that my Book Proposal has been accepted by a publisher. I am thankful for this further opportunity of making my doctoral research available to a wide audience.
This will immediately affect the availability of my dissertation on my Church Exiters website: http://www.churchexiters.com. I will leave excerpts and point people to the book but access to the entire dissertation will soon come to an end. Thought you and your readers would like to know.
Attending The Insititute of Basid Youth Conflicts seminar many years ago nearly ruined my life.
I have since learned the 3 steps to finacial freedom.
The 5 steps to a godly marriage.
The 10 steps to being a godly man.
Oh heck, I give up!
I’m loving your blog. I clicked over to your blog from evangelicalinthewilderness.blogspot.com. I am a practicing Presbyterian, but I was raised Lutheran and will never forget the years of Lutheran parochial school or my confirmation. I have a soft spot for Luther
I’m happy to have found another blog to read!
Jamie
Jamie,
Thanks for stopping by!
I have a soft spot in my heart for Presbyterians!
R.C. Sproul is one of my favorites!
You have a terrific blog, Jamie. I look forward to going over there and looking around a bit.
And congrats on baby #3!
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Steve
RC be my man, bro!
Sproul rocks! (as the kids say)
Hello Steve – I read your comment on 3 myth about preaching.
you quoted “I never measure my congregation, I weigh it.” Dr. Joseph Parker –
I thought that was a clever and partially true quote… Do you have anything else that can help with what Dr. Joseph means by it?
Thanks
any commentary would also be welcome.
Scott,
Are you sure that was me?
I don’t remember that.
I am losing it, though, and I don’t remember what I had for breakfast.
I wonder if it was another Steve?
Scott,
It was the guy below me(in the comments on that other blog) that spoke of Dr. Joseph.
Sorry about that.
Though I’m a member of TEC my mom is Lutheran and my deceased dad was an anglo-catholic Epicopalian so I and my siblings were dragged to both churches. I’m in complete agreement with you. So now what are we going to do about Dawkins aned the missionary atheists?
S.D.G.!
Nihilist/Christian?! Has nihilism been assigned a new and completely different meaning than it has had in our language for centuries? It is about as opposite of Christian as a philosophical point of view can be, denying each and every oft-repeated truths in the Bible.