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the cross-centered life

Here are a few quotes that I didn't use in Sunday's message, "The Cross-centered Life."  


“The concept of substitution may be said . . . to lie at the heart of both sin and salvation. For the essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man. Man asserts himself against God and puts himself where only God deserves to be; God sacrifices himself for man and puts himself where only man deserves to be. Man claims prerogatives which belong to God alone; God accept penalties which belong to man alone.”  
--John R.W. Stott, The Cross of Christ (InterVarsity Press, 1986)


“All our obedience, every resolve to do good, and every work of faith is ‘by his power’ and so that the Lord Jesus would be glorified because of the grace he gives. Yes, we must pursue obedience, but that obedience must always be cruciform, formed by Christ’s cross. We must seek to obey because of the cross, find the grace to obey because of the cross, and live free from condemnation whether we succeed or fail in the light of the cross. The cross must be our only story, as Paul boldly proclaimed: ‘For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified’ (1 Cor. 2:2).” 
- Elyse Fitzpatrick and Dennis Johnson in Counsel from the Cross (Crossway Books, 2009)


"Let the thoughts of a crucified Christ be never out of your mind. Let them be meat and drink to you. Let them be your sweetness and consolation, your honey and your desire, your reading and your meditation, your life, death, and resurrection."
--Thomas Brooks, from Smooth Stones Taken From Ancient Brooks


"Your mind can only protect against the deceit of the flesh if you are cross-eyed.  That is, you can only keep the rottenness of sin and the kindness of God in mind if you fix your eyes on the cross.  What shows God's hatred of sin more than the cross?  What shows God's love to you more than the cross?  If you want to know exactly what sin deserves, you have to understand the cross.  If you want to know how infinitely deep the rot of sin reaches, you have to think through all the implications of the cross.  If you want to know how far God was willing to go to rescue you from sin, you have to see his precious Son hanging on the cross for you."  
--Kris Lundgaard, The Enemy Within: Straight Talk About the Power and Defeat of Sin

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