By definition, the big difference between mercy and justice is that mercy is never ever obligatory.
R. C. SproulIf you donโt delight in the fact that your Father is holy, holy, holy, then you are spiritually dead. You may be in a church. You may go to a Christian school. But if there is no delight in your soul for the holiness of God, you donโt know God. You donโt love God. Youโre out of touch with God. Youโre asleep to his character.
R. C. SproulNo sinner has the right to say with impunity, 'God you owe me grace.' If grace is owed, it is not grace. The very essence of grace is its voluntary character. God reserves to himself the sovereign, absolute right to give grace to some and withhold that grace from others.
R. C. SproulUnbelief is judged by Jesus not as an intellectual error but as a hostile act of prejudice against God himself.
R. C. SproulWithout the gospel, a gathering of people, though they claim otherwise, cannot be an authentic church.
R. C. SproulThere are times when we suffer innocently at other peopleโs hands. When that occurs, we are victims of injustice. But that injustice happens on a horizontal plane. No one ever suffers injustice on the vertical plane. That is, no one ever suffers unjustly in terms of his or her relationship with God. As long as we bear the guilt of sin, we cannot protest that God is unjust in allowing us to suffer.
R. C. Sproul