Grace and mercy are never deserved.
The glory of the gospel is this: The one from whom we need to be saved is the one who has saved us.
If the being of God ceased for one second, the universe would disappear.
We are not sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners.
It is by virtue of the atonement that God can maintain His justice and yet demonstrate His mercy.
The failure of modern evangelicalism is the failure to understand the holiness of God.