Frederick the great visited a prison in the city of Potsdam. One prisoner after another assured their king that he was innocent and the victim of a framer. Finally one man, however, looked down at the floor and said, "your majesty, I am guilty, and richly deserving punishment." Frederick bellowed for the warden. "Free this rascal and get him out of our prison," he ordered, "before he corrupts all the noble innocent people here."

You often view ourselves as the innocent imprisoned souls. We are not sinners, we protest. But we are all sinners here. We stand in need of the all-sufficient, sacrificial, substitutionary, atoning death of Jesus Christ for our sins.