Scott Petty

“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