Mercy is not getting what you deserve — the wrath of God. Grace is getting what you don’t deserve — the righteousness of Christ. Everything you’ve done wrong is forgiven and forgotten. And everything Christ did right — His righteousness — is transferred to your account. And then God calls it even. It’s like God says, “I’ll take the blame for everything you did wrong and give you credit for everything I did right.” It doesn’t get any better than that, and that’s why it’s called the gospel. It’s not