THE HISTORICITY OF ADAM & EVE

'The liquidation of sin "once for all" in the datable, localizable event of Golgotha...presupposes the teaching of Genesis. Twice the same structure, instituted by God, has come into play: the organic solidarity which united the members of one humanity under its Head, and gives him power to be its representative. On both occasions it had to be a real act, otherwise the second Adam would not have been able to put right the work of the first. The obedience of the unique Man on that Good Friday has set free a great multitude because the evil which held us all enslaved had its origin in history, and we all contracted it through the offence of the first man, on that first evil day. For historical sin there is a historical redemption.'  

Henri Blocher, In the Beginning, p.170 

HUMANKIND

'Everyone worries, everyone feels at least a little bit doomed basically all the time, even the richest, most successful, most secure among us live in perpetually anxious states of barely hanging on. Desperation's just part of being human, so when relief comes in whatever form, as knights in shining armor, say, or digitized eagles swooping down on the slopes or Mordor, of the U.S. cavalry charging out out of yonder blue, that's a powerful trigger in the human psyche. Validation, redemption, life snatched from the jaws of death, all very powerful stuff. Powerful.' 

Ben Fountain, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, p.6. 

THE CROSS

'We need not, and cannot, add to what Jesus has done. We do not need, and are not able, to do anything more to have a cleansed consience. Imagine going in to a famous art gallery wth a child's paintbrush and paints in your coat pocket. You stand before some great work of art by Rubens or Michaelangelo, quietly get out your paintbrush and - when the attendants are not watching - start adding your own touches of paint. When challenged, you say, "Well, it's a lovely painting. But I thought it had a few parts missing. So I was touching it up. I hope that's OK." No, it is not OK. You are ruining it! In the same way, I cannot add anything to Jesus' completed work of redemption on the cross, without taking away from its value.'

Christopher Ash, Pure Joy, p.139.  

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

'Deeper than Marx's claim that workers "have nothing to lose but their chains" is the Christian promise that we have "nothing to lose but our sin." Nothing that is truly human is lost in redemption. Death in baptism is to  self, not of self. He came that we "may have life, and have it more abundantly" (John 10:10) and that your "joy may be full" (John 16:24).'

C FitzSimmons Allison, The Cruelty of Heresy, p.112.

JESUS & REDEMPTION

'Jesus Christ did not make it possible for us to be saved. He did not begin a work of redemption. He did not do "his part" so that we could do ours. Rather, Jesus Christ has accomplished everything. He has assumed our flesh. He has fulfilled all righteousness in our place and has borne the judgment for every one of our sins as our substitute. And he has been raised as the firstfruits of a whole harvest, the beginning of the resurrection from the dead. There is no more redeeming work to be done!'

Michael Horton, The Gospel Commission, p.29.

REDEMPTION

'The more I reflect on the elder son in me, the more I realize how deeply rooted this form of lostness really is and how hard it is to return home from there. Returning home from a lustful escapade seems so much easier than returning home from cold anger that has rooted itself in the deepest corners of my being. My resentment is not something that can be easily distinguised and dealt with rationally.

It is far more pernicious: something that has attached itself to the underside of my virtue. Isn't it good to be obedient, dutiful, law-abiding, hardworking, and self-sacrificing? And still it seems that my resentments and complaints are mysteriously tied to such praiseworthy attitudes. The connection often makes me despair. At the very moment I want to speak or act of my most generous self, I get caught in anger or resentment. And it seems that just as I want to be most selfless, I find myself obsessed about being loved. Just when I my utmost to accomplish a task well, I find myself questioning why others do not give themselves as I do. Just when I think I am capable of overcoming my temptations, I feel envy towards those who gave into theirs. It seems that wherever my virtuous self is, there also is the resentful complainer.

Here I am faced with my own true poverty. I am totally unable to root out my resentments. They are so deeply anchored in the soil of my inner self that pulling them out seems like self-destruction. How to weed out these resentments without uprooting the virtues as well?

Can the elder son in me come home? Can I be found as the younger son was found? How can I return when I am lost in resentment, when I am caught in jealousy, when I am imprisoned in obedience and duty lived out as slavery? It is clear that alone, by myself, I cannot find myself. More daunting than healing myself as the younger son is healing myself as the elder son. Confronted here, with the impossibility of self-redemption, I now understand Jesus' words to Nicodemus: "Do not be surprised when I say: 'You must be born from above.'" Indeed, something has to happen that I myself cannot cause to happen. I cannot be reborn from below; that is, with my own strength, with my own mind, with my own psychological insights. There is no doubt in my mind about this because I have tried so hard in the past to heal myself from my complaints and failed...and failed...and failed, until I came to the edge of complete emotional collapse and even physical exhaustion. I can only be healed from above, from where the Father reaches down. What is impossible for me is possible for God. "With God, everything is possible."'

Henri JM Nouwen, The Return of the Prodigal Son, p.75.

IDENTITY

'People tend to make two mistakes when they think about the redeemed life. The first is to understimate the sin that remains in us; it's still there and it can still hurt us. The second is underestimate the strength of God's grace; God is determined to make us new.

As a result, all Christians need to say two things. We admit that we are redeemed sinners. But we also say boldly and joyously that we are redeemed sinners.'

Cornelius Plantinga Jr., Beyond Dioubt: Faith-Building Devotions on Questions Christians Ask, p.89.