Before receiving a revelation of the cross, all human beings assume they possess a general righteousness and a lack of need for atonement. Ask someone on the street, “Will you go to heaven when you die?” (or some question concerning eternal life and acceptability in the sight of God), and you will usually get a confident “Yes.” The assumption is a basic correspondence between the righteousness of God and the righteousness of humanity. It is conversion that brings the revelation of sin, depravity, and the need for divine mercy. God is understood as holy, while we are wicked—the cross being the solution. However, this is not a one-time revelation. It is a progressive disclosure of the holiness of God and the depraved state into which we have all been born. Knowledge of the gap between the depravity of mankind and the holiness of God ought to only grow larger, while the glory of the cross and mercy of God ought to only grow greater. - John P. Harrigan, the Gospel of Christ Crucified, p.237