TonusOH: Sounds like he is a stickler for technicalities. If he paid a price to redeem me, why not just
apply it and save me?
Because you have to receive the payment. Michael the Archangel didn't make the payment for you. Somewhat cryptically Abraham noted that Jehovah would provide himself as a sacrifice:
And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father...and he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb - Gen. 22: 7-8
It is your sinful nature this is opposed to accepting the terms of God. Sinful man is never satisfied with much of anything.... always wanting more, even from God. Cain had a similar objection:
Cain and Abel, "in the course of time” brought offerings to the Lord (Genesis 4:3). Without doubt, they were doing this because God had revealed to them the necessity of a sacrifice. God probably gave some details of what was acceptable, although those instructions are not included in the Genesis narrative.
Abel brought “the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock” (Genesis 4:4, NLT). Cain was a farmer, and his offering was “some of his crops” (Genesis 4:4, NLT).
Cain was really put off when his offering wasn't accepted. So, he (in effect) shook his fist at heaven and said, "That should have good enough for you"!
Unable to attack God, he murdered his brother in a jealous rage instead.
Receiving the payment from the right Jesus is crucial. It would be like providing a million dollar ransom with counterfeit bills and wondering why it wasn't acceptable.
Of course, logic doesn't really matter much when our very nature is opposed to God. The sinful nature can't be redeemed, it must die one way or another. That is why Jesus told Nicodemus three times that we must be "born again". The sinful self naturally doesn't want to die. But, the last time I checked, the death rate has been hovering steadily around 100%. So, logically, it really shouldn't matter to us. There is no down-side.
But, like I said, logic doesn't really matter much when you are fighting for your "life".... the one that will end in a few short years anyway.