Andreas J. Köstenberger QUOTES

1 " Who do people say the Son of Man is? ...But what about you? Who do you say I am?' (Mt 16:13,15). In the end, people's answer to this question will be the only thing that matters; it alone will determine people's eternal destiny. "

― Andreas J. Köstenberger , Encountering John: The Gospel in Historical, Literary, and Theological Perspective

2 " Despite what some Christians may want to believe, Christmas, as celebrated by many Americans, is a cultural, not a religious holiday. If Jesus were to be completely removed from the equation, Americans could continue to celebrate Christmas with hardly an interruption. "

― Andreas J. Köstenberger , The First Days of Jesus: The Story of the Incarnation

3 " Rather than being devoted to and dependent on the teaching of the apostles, these groups held that secretly revealed knowledge about Jesus trumped historical and theological continuity. The Fathers, on the other hand, taught that the Rule of Faith originated with the Old Testament prophetic message, which was fulfilled in Jesus and proclaimed by the apostles. The Fathers, in turn, guarded this message and passed it on to others, handing the baton to subsequent generations of believers. "

― Andreas J. Köstenberger , The Heresy of Orthodoxy: How Contemporary Culture's Fascination with Diversity Has Reshaped Our Understanding of Early Christianity

4 " John’s Gospel, together with the Book of Romans, may well be considered the enduring “twin towers "

― Andreas J. Köstenberger , John (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament)

5 " It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” —J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings "

― Andreas J. Köstenberger , Truth Matters: Confident Faith in a Confusing World

6 " The siren song of pluralism will always drown out the sobering voice of history. "

― Andreas J. Köstenberger , The Heresy of Orthodoxy: How Contemporary Culture's Fascination with Diversity Has Reshaped Our Understanding of Early Christianity

7 " In our scholarly work, we must never substitute pious posturing for actual research and engagement with the evidence. It is an ever-present temptation for Christian scholars engaged in a given debate to present themselves and their position as the “spiritual,” godly, or Christian interpretation or argument. This manner of framing an issue rarely focuses on the evidence itself and regularly serves to alienate the opposing side, whether nonconfessional or other Christian scholars. Such pious posturing also is guilty of committing the fallacy of engaging in an ad hominem argument. You attack the spirituality of your opponent in a given interchange and imply that anyone holding to such a position cannot be spiritual. Pious "

― Andreas J. Köstenberger , Excellence: The Character of God and the Pursuit of Scholarly Virtue

8 " A willingness to live with irresolvable questions is a mark of intellectual maturity, not a matter of logical nonsense. "

― Andreas J. Köstenberger , Truth Matters: Confident Faith in a Confusing World

9 " We join God’s story and allow him to write our stories by engaging in his mission to the world as his image bearers and commissioned representatives. "

― Andreas J. Köstenberger , The First Days of Jesus: The Story of the Incarnation

10 " excellence does not fall into anyone’s lap; it is the result of sustained, deliberate effort. "

― Andreas J. Köstenberger , Excellence: The Character of God and the Pursuit of Scholarly Virtue

11 " Genuine spirituality will result in academic excellence. "

― Andreas J. Köstenberger , Excellence: The Character of God and the Pursuit of Scholarly Virtue

12 " If Jesus were to be completely removed from the equation, Americans could continue to celebrate Christmas with hardly an interruption. "

― Andreas J. Köstenberger , The First Days of Jesus: The Story of the Incarnation

13 " The Bible continues to tell the story of how God did not simply walk away from his creation in the midst of turmoil and rebellion but purposed to rescue it at great cost to himself through the sacrificial death and subsequent resurrection of his Son, Jesus. "

― Andreas J. Köstenberger , The First Days of Jesus: The Story of the Incarnation

14 " While there may be Christian Sunday School teachers and other significant people in a child’s life, parents must never go back on their God-given responsibility to be the primary source of religious instruction for their children.52 "

― Andreas J. Köstenberger , God, Marriage, and Family: Rebuilding the Biblical Foundation

15 " But it is John who stresses most explicitly that Jesus’ death did not come as an accident but was fully willed and anticipated by our Lord. In a saying found only in John’s Gospel, Jesus is recorded as saying, “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again” (10:17-18). At his own arrest, Jesus is shown to take the initiative, “knowing all that was going to happen to him” (18:4; cf. 13:1-3). And in another saying unique to John’s Gospel, Jesus reminds Pilate, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above” (19:11). "

― Andreas J. Köstenberger , Encountering John: The Gospel in Historical, Literary, and Theological Perspective

16 " Will you and I believe? Will we place our faith once and for all in the one who came and died and rose again so we can be forgiven and have eternal life? If so, our Easter has dawned, and God’s Morning Star has arisen in our hearts.1 For true believers, every day is Easter, and we can celebrate Easter joyfully, thanking God for his amazing salvation and looking forward expectantly to the day when our Lord will return and summon us to spend eternity with him, for his glory and for our eternal happiness. “The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. . . . He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! "

― Andreas J. Köstenberger , The Final Days of Jesus: The Most Important Week of the Most Important Person Who Ever Lived

17 " Biblical spirituality does not consist primarily of mystical, emotional experience, inward impressions and feelings, introspective meditation, or a monastic withdrawal from the world. The primary spiritual disciplines advocated by Scripture are prayer and the obedient study of God’s Word. "

― Andreas J. Köstenberger , Excellence: The Character of God and the Pursuit of Scholarly Virtue

18 " The inclusion of these non-Israelite women foreshadows the spread of the gospel to the Gentiles and bears witness to the grace of God that actively seeks to forgive and restore sinners and to reach out to those who are marginalized and viewed as outsiders. "

― Andreas J. Köstenberger , The First Days of Jesus: The Story of the Incarnation

19 " Our faith and our intellect should never be separated, as if (as some detractors allege) we were called to throw away our minds at conversion and blindly believe contrary to the evidence. "

― Andreas J. Köstenberger , The Final Days of Jesus: The Most Important Week of the Most Important Person Who Ever Lived

20 " Some Pharisees instruct Jesus to rebuke the crowds for their dangerous messianic exuberance, but he refuses to correct or curtail the excitement of the crowd over his entrance into the city (Matt. 21:15–17; Luke 19:39–40). It would be hard to overestimate the political and religious volatility incited by Jesus’s actions—the Pharisees were taken by surprise and had no idea how to respond (John 12:19). Up to this point in Jesus’s ministry, he could still have managed to live a long, happy, peaceful life, but his actions on Sunday set in motion a series of events that could result only in either his overthrow of the Romans and the current religious establishment—or his brutal death. He has crossed the point of no return; there would be no turning back. Caesar could allow no rival kings. As Jesus approaches the city, he weeps over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41–44). "

― Andreas J. Köstenberger , The Final Days of Jesus: The Most Important Week of the Most Important Person Who Ever Lived