Scott Petty > Quotes

“If our sins were only pardoned or forgiven, we would only go from being negative to being neutral. But with justification, God goes a step further and declares us to be righteous—to be ‘justified’. He decides to treat us as perfectly good and righteous, like Jesus was in his earthly life. So, in that single declaration from God, we go not only from negative to neutral but also from neutral to positive. It is as if he is not only saying “Go, you’re free”, but also “Come near, you’re actually good”—not because we are naturally good people, but because Jesus is good, and because God the judge makes that decision to treat us as though we share Jesus’ goodness and righteousness.”
― Scott Petty, Little Black Books: Jesus

“You might feel like the punishment doesn’t fit the crime. But our sin is not just an offence to the people we might have hurt, lied to or stolen from. It is primarily an offence against God. And the extent to which we think God’s punishment is too severe is the extent to which we don’t understand either the seriousness of our sin or the supreme holiness and perfection of the God we have so offended. Our sin is serious and real, and God’s anger is righteous and will result in us being punished by God and cut off from his goodness and blessing. We are in a desperate situation, and our only hope can be found in the death of Jesus.”
― Scott Petty, Little Black Books: Jesus