“The cross [is] the ultimate statement of God's involvement in the world on this side of heaven.”

“Legalism says God will love us if we change. The gospel says God will change us because He loves us.”

“God is the one to be praised, not our transformation.”

“God's capacity to forgive is greater than our capacity to sin; while our sin reaches far, God's grace reaches farther. It's a message revealing the radical contrast between the sinful heart of mankind and the gracious heart of mankind's Creator.”

“The God of the Bible is a holy and righteous God. Which is another way of saying that to relate to Him on His own terms, or to receive His blessing, requires perfection. God articulates this perfection in His Law ("Thou shalt" and "Though shalt not"). The problem is that we are anything but perfect! We are only human, as the saying goes. And the divine standard makes it painfully clear just how significant our limitations are. The person who takes the Law seriously is immediately humbled, if not demolished completely.”

“God's ability to clean things up is infinitely greater than our ability to mess things up.”

“The world isn't scandalized by our freedom but by our fakeness.”