Putting our faith in Christ is not about trying harder; it means transferring our trust away from ourselves and resting in him.

When people say, "God is love," I think they mean that love is extremely important, or that God really wants us to love. But in Christian conception, God really has love as his essence.

How Religion Works: If I obey, then God will love and accept me. The Gospel: I'm loved and accepted, therefore I wish to obey.

The cross is the place where the Judge takes the Judgment.

The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.

Only on the cross do you have a totally holy God and a totally loving God.

The prerequisite for receiving the grace of God is to know you need it.