“The ironic thing about legalism is that it not only doesn't make people work harder, it makes them give up. Moralism doesn't produce morality; rather, it produces immorality.”

“Moralism doesn't produce morality; it produces immorality.”

“We make a big mistake when we conclude that the law is the answer to bad behavior. In fact, the law alone stirs up more of such behavior. People get worse, not better, when you lay down the law. To be sure, the Spirit does use both God's law and God's gospel in our sanctification. But the law and the gospel do very different things.”

“Legalism breeds a sense of entitlement that turns us into complainers.”

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

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

“Whether it's a Christian or a non-Christian, there's nothing like suffering to show us how small, needy, and not in control we are. Suffering has a way of sobering us up to the realization that we can't make it on our own, that we need help, that we're broken.”