If Jesus Christ is only a teacher, then all He can do is frustrate me by setting a standard before me I cannot attain.

Sin is a fundamental relationship—it is not wrong doing, but wrong being—it is deliberate and determined independence from God. The Christian faith bases everything on the extreme, self-confident nature of sin.

As good heirs of the Bible, we think that a great misfortune necessarily follows a great infraction. In this respect the intellectual caste, in our world, is the penitential class par excellence, continuing the role of the clergy under the Old Regime. We have to call its members what they are: officials of original sin.

The church is not a theological classroom. It is a conversion, confession, repentance, reconciliation, forgiveness and sanctification center, where flawed people place their faith in Christ, gather to know and love him better, and learn to love others as he designed.

Sin makes us moral quadriplegics.

The Bible says that our core problem, the fundamental reason we do what we do, is sin.

We're not only held captive by our sin, but also by the delusion of our righteousness. Resting in God's grace isn't just about confessing your sin; it's about forsaking your righteousness as well.

You'll never celebrate grace as much as you should when you think you're more righteous than you actually are.

Grace allows you to face your sin, to own it and not shift the blame.

fact is that no one gives grace better than someone who is convinced that he needs it, as well.

The church is not a theological classroom. It is a conversion, confession, repentance, reconciliation, forgiveness, and sanctification center, where flawed people place their trust in Christ, gather to know and love him better, and learn to love others as he has designed.

There's not a day without sin rearing its ugly head and not a day in which God's abundant mercies are not new.