The Book of Romans interprets life, life that you don't even know about, you read about, in the Book of Romans.

How might your life be different if you allowed Paul's letter to the Romans to interpret it?

In this episode of Light and Truth, John Piper discusses the significant influence that Romans had on his life.

This sermon was originally preached at Bethlehem Baptist Church on April 26, 1998.

Well, almost 18 years now, I have been ministering the Word here at Bethlehem, and again and again I have waited, wondering when the time would be for preaching through the Book of Romans.

I have considered it over and over. I have walked up to the mountain and looked up into the clouds that surround the peak of this Everest and walked away to lower heights and contended myself with other things because it is absolutely daunting to stand before these 16 chapters that have been so unbelievably used of God in the history of the church and think that God would give me grace and life.

To preach through this book, but in God's patience and grace it seems to me that the time is right.

We're at the end of a millennium, and I am well into the second half of what God willing will be a 30-year pastorate at this church, if you will have me.

And at age 52, the pace of time seems quicker than it did when I came at age 34, and the gospel of the glory of God in the face of Christ is more bright to me now.

It's brighter with every precious say to dies, and this book is the place where the gospel of Christ shines most brightly and most thoroughly in all the Bible, the Book of Romans.

I'm not as moved today as I once was by the tyranny of the urgent or by the need to respond to every trendy view that blows across the American cultural landscape.

I'm well past midlife, and my confidence has grown very deep that the way to be lastingly relevant is to take your stand on old, tried, unshakable truths rather than jumping from pragmatic bandwagon to bandwagon, trying to do the latest thing to make things happen in the church.

So I don't feel any need to do that sort of thing anymore.

Romans is solid, Romans is durable, Romans is reliable, Romans is unshakable, Romans is old, Romans is thorough, it fifths where I am in my latter chapter.

Now I've got a history with this book, and I want to tell you the history. The reason I venture so much personal stuff this morning is because this book is personal, Paul, there's a lot of Paul in this book, he starts off with himself, maybe, check that out in a minute.

Has a lot to say about himself in Romans seven, to be an authoritative apostolic spokesman in the Bible didn't mean you had to not talk about what God was doing in your life.

Some people I just got back from 10 days in England, and there's certain stayed churches and certain traditions where, like my hero Jonathan Edwards, you can read 1200 sermons of Edwards and you don't hear one word about Jonathan Edwards.

It's all about God, that's over done.

You can go way far the other way where preachers bringing in his marriage and his kids and his ulcers and his cars and his computers all the time, and the congregation will say,

Oh God, please, can we have a little God here? However, the reason I'm going to tell you my personal history with Romans is because I think it might ignite in some of you, I desire to know this book and to be familiar with the God of this book and worship him and love him and enjoy him, obey him, trust him.

Follow him.

I don't remember my conversion.

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