It isn't our righteous acts that gets us right with God.

It is the righteous act of another being imputed to us that makes us right with God,

which means that if you are an absolutely murderous, adulterous, thieving, lying, wretch in this room, you can be saved.

Why is the obedience of Christ good news for us no matter how terrible our sin is?

In this episode of Light and Truth, John Piper opens Romans 5, 12 to 21 to show

how Christ frees us from all condemnation. This sermon was originally preached on August

20, 2000. So now Father, we want to leap into this ocean of grace and be soaked by it and healed by it and emboldened by it and freed from fear by it and humbled by it.

We want there to well up within our heart strong confidence in our acceptance with you on the basis of the righteousness of Christ and not our own

righteousness.

And so I ask for your help to unfold some of these verses.

Would you draw near and give an ear to hear to all of us?

Would you show yourself great and your grace greater than all our sins?

And would those who've come in among us,

oh God, who are not born of God and do not

trust Jesus Christ and cling to Him for righteousness be changed, be made alive and be brought to faith and given life.

So let there go out from us, Lord, great waves of truth and love this morning.

I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

It might be helpful to connect this text with yesterday's newspaper as we begin.

Killing and dying are common in the world and in our city.

Way too common, aren't they?

Sometimes murder multiplies so fast it takes your breath away,

and you wonder what kind of a city we live in.

...