Therefore the ungodly will not rise in the judgment," because the Jews do not confess their wrong and do not accuse themselves. But as the righteous man is the first to accuse himself, so the ungodly man is the first to defend himself. Thus the Jews do not accuse their own ungodliness but defend it.

For it is not possible to make the mercy of God large and good, unless a person first makes his miseries large and evil or recognizes them to be such. To make God's mercy great is not, as is commonly supposed, to think that God considers sins as small or that He does not punish them.

If I examine myself I find enough unholiness to shock me. But when I look at Christ in me I find that I am altogether holy.

Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly.

Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.

It is here, my daughters, that love is to be found -- not hidden away in corners but in the midst of occasions of sin. And believe me, although we may more often fail and commit small lapses, our gain will be incomparably the greater.

grace (free forgiveness when you don't deserve it a bit).

Sin is here the kind of purity that wants the world cleansed of the other rather than the heart cleansed of the evil that drives people out by calling those who are clean "unclean" and refusing to help make clean those who are unclean. Put

This is a book about worshiping the true God and letting the true God act in us. It tells us as plainly as possible that the true God is a God who cannot stop giving and forgiving, and that our knowledge of this true God is utterly bound up with our willingness to receive from the hand of God the liberty to give and forgive.

Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart" (Ps. 24:3—4). We need to be pure before God by turning from our sinful ways, receiving forgiveness through Christ, and walking in the Spirit. (See Romans 8:3—4.)

The church is not supposed to be a society of perfect people doing great work. It's a society of forgiven sinners repaying their unpayable debt of love by working for Jesus's kingdom in every way they can, knowing themselves to be unworthy of the task.

Lent is a time for discipline, for confession, for honesty, not because God is mean or fault- finding or finger-pointing but because he wants us to know the joy of being cleaned out, ready for all the good things he now has in store.