1996-11-03 The Arraignment

Do we agree with God's opinion about people we care about who aren't saved, or do we minimize the seriousness of being under sin? If we're connected to sin through doing sins, having sinful nature, and inheriting Adam's sin, how can we possibly stand before a holy God? This message presents God's devastating arraignment of humanity—all are under sin with no exceptions, affecting character (not righteous, dense, not seeking God), conversation (open graves, deceit, poison), and conduct (violence, ruin, no peace). Through Paul's systematic dismantling of every excuse, the teaching reveals that the law's purpose is silencing every mouth and making people conscious of desperate need. But then comes the glorious "but"—righteousness from God apart from law comes through faith in Christ, justifying believers freely by grace, transforming prisoners into preachers and lost people into redeemed children who plunge beneath Christ's blood and lose all guilty stains.