Redemption…. We have heard that word. We have used that word in our studies. And here, Peter tells us that we were “redeemed” from an empty way of life through the “precious blood” of Christ … as a perfect, unblemished lamb slaughtered for sacrifice on the altar of a Roman cross. Indeed, our redemption was “purchased” with something of far greater value than perishable silver or gold….
To redeem something has several meanings. Let’s look at some of these from Merriam-Webster:
1. To buy back or repurchase
2. To get or win back
3. To free from captivity by payment of ransom
4. To release from blame or debt
5. To free from the consequences of sin
6. To change for the better
7. To repair or restore something (i.e. a relationship)
8. To remove the obligation of by payment
9. To exchange for something of value
10. To atone for; to remove guilt; or expiate
There are more, but I think you get the full sense of what redeem can and does mean. And as I review this list, I think to myself: Every one of these definitions articulate what Jesus Christ accomplished through the cross on our behalf. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) And, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) Paul explains that we were “sold as slaves to sin”. (Romans 7:14) The sinful human nature has held us captive … like prisoners of darkness. But Christ Jesus redeemed us! He repurchased us from the slave owner of darkness! He released us from the consequences of our sins! He paid the price of death for our sins … and removed our personal, individual obligation of the required payment. This how we need to understand redemption!
But there is more that Jesus accomplished! His selfless sacrifice was done to brings us back to God … to change us for the better … to restore our broken relationship with the Father. These are the outcomes of His atonement for our transgressions while held under the power of sin. His sacrifice removed our guilt while fulfilling the judgment required for our rebellion. And all this required a high price. The value of our redemption was set higher than the value of all the gold and silver in the earth. God decreed that the just punishment was death … and then took that punishment upon Himself as a demonstration of His passionate love for us. How can we even understand what God has done … except that Jesus Christ fulfilled it before the eyes of His disciples and followers. And His resurrection from the dead confirmed: “It is Finished!” There is no more payment required! An eternal redemption was paid in full on our behalf….
The writer of the Book of Hebrews offers us some insight on this matter:
Hebrews 7:23-27 (NIV)
23 Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; 24 but because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood. 25 Therefore He is able to save completely (forever) those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them. 26 Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 27 Unlike the other high priests, Jesus does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for His own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when He offered Himself.
Hebrews 9:11-14; 24-28 (NIV)
11 But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. 13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; He entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. 25 Nor did He enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26 Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But He has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.
So I pray that we will spend some time mediating on this concept of redemption. It is rooted in Jewish culture and theology; and it best articulates the message of the cross … explaining its necessity and affording a clear visual image of the infinite price exacted by God for our sin. We need to see that the mission of the Messiah was to defeat the kingdom of darkness and to establish the kingdom of light. And this is how Jesus fulfilled the purpose for which He was sent. The kindness of God is seen in the redemption of the cross. His kindness is intended to lead us to repentance. Repentance will prepare us to reconciliation. Reconciliation will bring us to resurrection. Resurrection offers us restoration. Restoration equips us for replication. Replication will complete the love of God is us….
1 John 4:10-17 (NIV)
10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us. 13 This is how we know that we live in Him and He in us: He has given us of His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.
So I hope each of us will internalize the unsurpassed value of our redemption … and how it should move us to the goal of replication. And remember, Jesus is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. He is interceding for us! He is for us! Indeed, Jesus wants us to grow in our faith and to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head! (Cf. Ephesians 4:15) It begins at the cross … the payment for our redemption. May God be forever praised … in the name of Jesus! Amen.
So Now You Know….
Have a Blessed Day!
1 Peter 1:13-25 (NIV)
13 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at His coming. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” 17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through Him you believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him, and so your faith and hope are in God. 22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.
Ephesians 1:3-14 (NIV)
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love 5 He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that He lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. 11 In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of His glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of His glory.
So Now You Know 