Redemption

 

I. The Meaning of Redemption

 

"Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus..."     — Romans 3:24

 

 The only redemption for a lost sinner is in Christ:

"In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:"     — Colossians 1:14

 

Redemption means "to repurchase," or "deliverance from the power of another, effected by payment of ransom." It is an act to regain something that was lost. The Pilgrim Bible marginal note for Exodus 6:6 says this of the word "redeem:" "To redeem means ‘to buy back.’ The Israelites had been free but they were now slaves of Pharaoh, and God bought them back to liberty. This is the meaning of redemption. We were born slaves to sin and needed to be redeemed by Christ Whose death on the cross was the price of our freedom.

 

Suppose that a boy made a schooner, lost it and then saw it in a shop-window marked FOR SALE. It is his boat, he made it, yet he has to buy it back. So with redemption, God made man in His own image; man sinned and lost companionship with his Creator; God thus redeemed him, bought him back, by the shedding of Christ’s most precious blood at Calvary.

 

That is as good an illustration of redemption as I have ever heard — God made us, and then He bought us back.

 

II. The Price of Redemption

The Bible tells us that there was only one price that would be accepted to set the sinner free. The ransom was higher than any could ever hope to pay: it was the sacrifice of the Son of God.

   

"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time."     — I Timothy 2:5,6

 

It was as if Satan took man captive when Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden.

"Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;"     — Psalm 107:2

It was "from the hand of the enemy" that we were redeemed, and it was necessary that a ransom be paid in order to release man from bondage. Christ’s own blood was the price of our ransom. It was such a high price that we will never be able to appreciate it fully until we get to Heaven. The Apostle John tells us that Christ paid for all the sins of the whole world when He died on the cross.

 

"And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."     — I John 2:2

In explanation of this word "propitiation," I quote the marginal note from The Pilgrim Bible for Romans 3:25:

 

"This word is translated ‘mercy seat’ in Hebrews 9:5. To understand this, we must go back to Leviticus 16. The entrance of the High Priest into the presence of God once a year was made possible by the blood of the sacrifice which he brought. He sprinkled the blood on the Ark of the Covenant, which pictured the throne of God. That throne would have been a throne of judgement, but the blood showed that someone had already been judged, thus the throne became a throne of mercy. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself is said to be the place where the believing sinner may meet God."

 

Christ had to come and be a "propitiation" (meeting place) so He could redeem us from our sin. Just think of it, he died to redeem the vilest of men, not as we were going about doing good or seeking Him in a state of repentance, but while we were yet in an ungodly condition, despising Him who died for our redemption. He did it all for you and me!

 

"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.    — Romans 5:6

 

I’m glad He died for the ungodly, aren’t you? Otherwise, I certainly would have had no chance of salvation or eternal life in Heaven. Furthermore, we read that we become His purchased possession when we believe on Him.

  

"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s."     — I Corinthians 6:19,20

 

Remember the story of the little boy who bought back the boat he had built? It was his property because he made it. However, since it had been lost, he had to buy it back. It then became his purchased possession, which left no question of ownership. We have heard stories of great sums of money being paid to ransom a kidnap victim, but what price would a king pay to ransom one of his children? When all the wealth of the world could not ransom one sinner, our King gave His own life. Just think of it, the great price of our eternal redemption, and ransom for our souls, was nothing less than the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ!

 

"Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."     — I Peter 1:18,19

 

 

III. The Time of Redemption

 

Our redemption has two parts — present and future.

 

A. The PRESENT Redemption Of Our Souls

This takes place the moment we believe — it is complete, final and eternal. Notice that Paul speaks of our redemption in the present tense when he writes his epistle to the Colossians.

 

  "In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:"     — Colossians 1:14

 

 We also read in Hebrews of the eternal redemption of our soul.

"Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us."     — Hebrews 9:12

Paul says:

"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us..."     — Galatians 3:13

  

"To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons."     — Galatians 4:5

 

We know our redemption is complete because we could not otherwise receive "the adoption of sons." Our redemption is a present reality.

 

 

B. The FUTURE Redemption Of Our Bodies

 

"And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." — Romans 8:23

This is a reference to the final and complete redemption of the bodies of the saints at the rapture. Our present bodies are not the final, glorious, new body we shall have forever. Our bodies of flesh cannot go to Heaven because of sin, but one day they too will be redeemed and we will all have bodies without sin.

 

 "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."     — Ephesians 4:30

We should always be thankful for our redemption, being mindful that our Saviour left all the riches of Glory to come into this wicked world to save us. I am reminded of these wonderful words of praise from the hymnbook:

 

"Redeemed — how I love to proclaim it!

Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;

Redeemed thru His infinite mercy —

His child, and forever, I am. "

—    Redeemed,

by Fanny Crosby

Let us proclaim it always, even to the ends of the earth. Can one truly be a child of God and not love to tell of our wonderful redemption by the blood of the Lamb?

 

 

Let’s Review

 

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Redemption 

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Use the following words and verse references to answer the questions.

 

Galatians 3:13 propitiation I Timothy 2:5

redemption I Corinthians 6:20 Romans 3:24

I Peter 1:18,19 Colossians 1:14 ransom

adopted Ephesians 4:30 eternal

Romans 5:6 I John 2:2 Satan

body soul

This verse says justification is free. _________

This verse tells us about the only means of redemption. _________

This word means "to repurchase" (the act of regaining something that was lost). _________

This verse tells who the only mediator is between God and man. _________

The one from whom a believer is redeemed. _________

This word means what must be paid in order to release man from bondage. _________

This word means "meeting place." _________

This verse tells us that Jesus died for the sins of all men everywhere. _________

According to Romans 5:6 what sort of people did Jesus died for. _________

This verse tells us that believers are bought with price. _________

These verses tells us that the purchase price of the believer is the blood of Christ. _________

The redemption of this is complete the moment you believe. _________

According to Hebrews 9:12 the redemption Christ has obtained for us is this. _________

This verse says we were under a curse. _________

What we are according to this verse. _________

According to Romans 8:23 the believer is still waiting for the redemption of this. _________

This verse says that a Christian is sealed until the day of redemption. _________

 

 

 

 

 

Reconciliation

 

I. The Meaning of Reconciliation

"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people."     — Hebrews 2:14-17

 

Reconciliation is the act of restoring something to a former state of peace or harmony. Generally, this has to do with bringing two alienated parties back together.

As L.E. Maxwell says:

"The purpose of the Cross of Christ, as all His teaching, was to set self aside and to bring our hearts and wills into harmony with God."

 

By sin, Adam and Eve were alienated from God. In Adam, therefore, all men are alienated from God. Paul describes this condition in his letter to the Ephesians.

 

 "That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ, For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to us which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father."     — Ephesians 2:12-18

 

Since Adam’s sin, man has not sought reconciliation with God, because there is nothing in man that desires to set self aside, and reckon it crucified on the Cross.

 

The Bible says:

"There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one." — Romans 3:11,12

The scripture says that there is no one seeking after God. There is nothing good in man, and therefore nothing in him that would desire God. But, you might say, "I was seeking after God when I got saved." Yes, but only after He had sought you first, and had begun to draw you to himself. Then you began to be moved and to seek Him. God made the first move toward reconciliation, not man. It was the great desire and plan of God from the beginning to bring us back to Himself.

   

"No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him..."     — John 6:44

 

II. The Means of Reconciliation

Jesus himself is the means of our reconciliation to God, and only through Him can we be reconciled to God. In our lesson on redemption we learned that Jesus is our Propitiation, our "meeting place." As the son of man, the Lord Jesus Christ reaches down from Heaven to man. As the son of God, He reaches the Father. Therefore, Christ is the "mediator" who reconciles all who would come unto Him by faith.

 

 "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;"     — I Timothy 2:5

  

"For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life."     — Romans 5:10

 

"And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven."     — Colossians 1:20

 

Without His death — without His blood, there could be no reconciliation and everyone would be eternally damned. But because He did give His life for us and offered His own blood as an atonement for sin, we have "eternal redemption" and are eternally secure in Him.

 

 "Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us."     — Hebrews 9:12

We have no confidence in the works of the flesh to merit our salvation. Furthermore, we could never trust our flesh to keep us from sinning once we were saved. If that were the condition for maintaining our salvation it would surely be short-lived. On the contrary, we count our flesh as having suffered the final death blow at Calvary, because of its failure to ever obey God. When Christ reconciled us unto Himself, it was not on a trial basis (until we might sin again and lose our salvation), otherwise He would have to reconcile us to God many times.

 

Jesus said,

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one."     — John 10:27-30

 

Christ reconciled us to himself "once for all" (Hebrews 10:10). His own words were " give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish." Beloved, the scriptures are simple and clear about this.

 

What kind of life has He given us? ETERNAL!

Is it possible that we could perish? NEVER!

How well Charles Wesley expressed it in the words of that great hymn, Arise My Soul, Arise:

 

 

"Arise my soul, arise,

Shake off thy guilty fears;

The bleeding sacrifice

In my behalf appears:

Before the throne my surety stands —

My name is written on His hands.

 

My God is reconciled,

His pard’ning voice I hear;

He owns me for His child,

I can no longer fear:

With confidence I now draw nigh,

 

And ‘Father, Abba, Father’ cry."

 

Notes On Eternal Security

Before we conclude this section, here is a chain of references on eternal security. In the front or back of your Bible, write the words "Eternal Security." Next to these words write down the first verse in the chain of references. (You may want to write all of them all down together.) Next, turn in your Bible to the page where the first reference is found. Mark the verse, and then in the margin write down the page or reference you want to turn to next. Then you will be able to go from one verse to another with speed and confidence when you want to show someone what the Bible teaches on this subject. Here are the verses in the order you want to mark them. I Corinthians 1:6-8; Ephesians 1:13,14; 4:30; Philippians 1:6; John 5:24; John 6:37-39; John 10:27-29; Romans 8:35-39; I John 5:12,13.

 

III. The Ministry of Reconciliation

"And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God."     — II Corinthians 5:18-20

 

What a wonderful privilege it is to be a Christian! Not only has the Lord Jesus Christ reconciled us to God, but He has enabled us to be partakers of the ministry of reconciliation. We are blessed to be able to bring others to Christ. We are like an extension of His hand, reaching out to the lost. We should yield ourselves as instruments of God to proclaim His wonderful plan of salvation.

 

"Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God."     — Romans 6:13

 

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." — Romans 10:13-17

 

As ministers of the word of reconciliation, we should be mindful of the precious seed we bear and the promises given us as sowers.

 

"He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."     — Psalm 126:6

 

" he seed is the word of God."     — Luke 8:11

 

Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever." — I Peter 1:23

 

Are you reconciled to God through the Saviour? Are you ministering "the word of reconciliation" unto others? Why not begin today to tell others about the One who has reconciled us to God forever?

 

 

Let’s Review

 

 

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Reconciliation

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1. __________ is the act of restoring some thing to a former state of peace or harmony.

 

2. Because of sin all men are __________ from God.

 

3. The natural man does not __________ reconciliation with God.

 

4. According to John 6:44 God the Father __________ men to Christ.

 

5. __________ is the means of our reconciliation to God.

 

6. I Timothy 2:5 tells us that Jesus is our__________.

 

7. According to Colossians 1:20 it is Jesus’ __________ that reconciles us to God.

 

8. No believer today can lose his salvation. We call this the doctrine of __________.