SERMON – SUNDAY, MARCH 23, 2014
TITLE – The Redemption that is Ours Through Christ Jesus the Lord
TEXT – Isaiah 43:1; Romans 3:21-26; Galatians 3:13; Colossians 1:13; Titus 2: 11-14; Hebrews 9:11; 1Peter 1:18,19; Rev. 1:5, 5: 6-9
BENEDICTION – REVELATION 1:6b
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I remember a time when our children were small and Paul and I decided they needed a dog. So we went to the human society in Chatham and found a cute little black dog (part bull dog we had figured out). . . .with a happy personality and nice disposition.
We then paid to get him out of there where his demise wouldn’t have been good if left there for very long. That little dog cost us something because the pound needed the money to buy food, and so forth, for all the animals they were housing.
Well. . . we brought him home and the children enjoyed playing with him.
However, he wouldn’t stay home!
When our backs were turned he would start running down the road for points unknown to us.
It didn’t matter what we tied around its’ neck, to try and break him of it. . . . .that thing got dragged down the road after him. . . everything from a car tire to a cement block.
Well. . . enough of that. We decided to take him back to the pound.
To our disgust and amazement, they charged us again to get rid of him.
Such is life.
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The point is that our action in adopting the dog and paying for him, was in effect an act of redemption.
We had redeemed his life from a certain euthanasia!
(But. . . . I can’t help but ponder how long that dog’s life really was. . . . because they were making money off that dog, when prospective owner after owner returned him to the pound.)
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The theme of Redemption is the central message of the bible.
It is the story of God’s plan of redemption for humanity that is woven throughout the pages of Holy Scripture from Genesis to Revelation.
#1. The plan for our redemption was God’s idea, springing out of His love for humanity.
(Is. 43:1; Romans 3:25)
#2. The provider of our redemption is Christ Jesus the Lord. (Gal.3:13)
#3. The price or our redemption is the power of His blood. (1 Peter 1:18,19)
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Think about it for a moment.
#1. God’s plan for our redemption is laid out in scripture through the types of redeemers we read about in the Old Testament.
There was Noah. . .God saved him and his family from death . . . .He instructed Noah to build an ark . . . .the ark being a foreshadowing of Christ himself. . . . redeeming Noah from the sentence of death God was sending upon the whole earth.
Then there was Moses. . . .a type of Christ. . . . This leader redeemed the early Israelites from a sentence of death under the cruel reign of the Pharaoh of Egypt, helping them to escape through the Red Sea and to safety on the other side.
There was also Joshua, the successor of Moses, who redeemed the people from life in the dessert, and finally led the people across the Jordan to the promised land.
Then there was Boaz, the kinsman-redeemer of Naomi, who took Ruth (Naomi’s daughter-in-law) as his wife and redeemed Naomi from the stigma of having no grandchildren to carry on her husband, Elimelch’s lineage. . . .a lineage from which Christ was eventually born.
And of course every time the Israelites offered up a lamb for the sacrifice, it’s represented Christ in the most powerful way. . . .the perfect, sinless sacrifice. . . .whose blood paid the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the people.
These all pointed to Christ Jesus our Lord.
These people were all a type of redeemer who were redeeming people FROM some terrible demise.
#2. Jesus is our Redeemer!. . the provider of our redemption.
He is our Noah. He is our Moses. He is our Joshua. He is our Boaz. . .our kinsman-redeemer.
He is the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world.
He has redeemed us ….or. . .rescued us from spiritual death: separation from God for all eternity because of our sin.
He has paid the price in order to set us free as I says in Gal. 3:13,14. . . “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’. . . He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”
Just as Moses divided the Red Sea, so they could cross over safely to the other side, Jesus has provided a bridge between earth and heaven, for those whom He has redeemed.
Jesus rescued us from the kingdom of darkness, as it says in Colossians 1:13. . . “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
There is that word, “from” again.
Jesus rescued us from what?
. . .the kingdom of darkness.
That is a place of separation from God because of unforgiven sin.
The kingdom of darkness is what is effective in the life of one who is unsaved.
Direction can be wrong. Motives can be for selfish reasons. Aimless living, pointless living, self-centredness, wrong theology, false sense of security, uncertainty about eternity, hopelessness, and the list goes on. . . .this is what is taking place in the kingdom of darkness.
There is no fruit that brings glory to God. . . .but only fruit that glorifies the self in either a direct or an indirect way.
That is a place that lacks truth and life, and light. . . both of which Jesus provides for the believer.
For He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jn. 14:6
Jesus also referred to Himself as the “light of the world”. . . .which is the opposite of darkness.
People living on the earth can choose, therefore to walk in the light as he is in the light, or to continue to walk in darkness, without the light of truth to guide their way. Both ways are available to people while living on the earth.
But when we are redeemed from the kingdom of darkness, Christ becomes our light.
We live to glorify God and we know that the outcome of our faith is the assurance of heaven.
During life on this earth, He guides our journey down a path of righteousness all the way to heaven, where the final expression of our redemption is made complete.
In Titus 2:14 there is further light to be shed upon the effect of our redemption while here on the earth.
It says there that He gave himself for us. . . . in order to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
Now we are going to consider what He redeems us ‘to’.
We have already said what he redeems us ‘from’.
Now what are we redeemed ‘to’?
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That little dog that we bought for our children was redeemed to a happy home on a farm with children to play with, so that he wouldn’t have to be a prisoner to a cage any more.
He had 100 acres to run on if he wanted to run.
He had ample food and shelter and safety.
He was redeemed ‘to’ this kind of life.. . .
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Jesus redeems us to certain advantages and purposes also!
In this verse from Titus, we see that we are redeemed to a life of purity.
We’re talking about holy living here!
We are to say ‘no’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope. . .the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.”
We are willing to leave behind the old way of life which included ungodliness. . . .with its’ worldly life-styles and passions, so that we can live self-controlled, upright and godly lives.
This suggests that ungodliness lacks self-control!
I would suggest that lacking self-control is the thing that gets us into ungodly behavioural patterns.
If we don’t say “no” to ourselves when those carnal passions surface, then we can get into the habit of indulging in all kinds of passions, which in and of themselves may seem harmless, but the more we practice them. . . the more they have the power to consume more and more of our time, resources and energy until we are serving ourselves and not the Lord.
How do you know if your passions are becoming more important than living for Christ?
It is when those carnal cravings for food, prestige, power, sex, entertainment, money and the life reign in your heart instead of Christ.
It is when your mind is constantly thinking of ways to satisfy your carnal appetites.
So scripture says that we need to train ourselves to say “no” to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live godly and upright lives in this world. . . .even as we await the arrival of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Therefore, we are redeemed to righteous living.. . .which can be deeply satisfying; whereas, worldly living always leaves us hungry for more.
#3. The price of our redemption was the blood of Christ. . . .(last point here)
. . . the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
In the gospel of John, John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and referred to him as “the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world”.
The Lamb of God would be meaningful to the Hebrews who were gathering to be baptized by John, because they were accustomed to celebrating the Passover, which was a time of remembering when they were still in Egypt. It was a time when they killed a lamb and put the blood on their doorposts so that the angel of death would pass over their families and only visit the families of the Egyptians, killing the first-born of each family.
How is it that a payment of blood had to be the price that would prevent a sentence of death and separation from God?
Why couldn’t Jesus have handed over some money to redeem us …..or something else that was expensive?
Why did He have to die such a painful death?
Why did He have to bleed to death?
Well. . .the answer to that is because the serious nature of sin required a serious payment.
It was a payment that no other human being could possibly make.
It was only Christ who could provide such a payment.
It had to be perfect.
It had to cost a great deal. . . . ALL that Christ was.
It had to cost Him is life. . . . .it had to be expensive.
It had to be unique as well. . . .so that no one could have the possibility of paying for his or her own redemption.
If we decided to lay down our own lives physically and cut ourselves in order to produce blood, it would still be insufficient in paying the price for our own sins.
As well as this we can’t earn our way to heaven, because “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith. . . and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. . .not by works, so that no one can boast.” Eph. 2:8,9
It is faith in his blood that makes our salvation sure.
It is only by the blood of the Lamb that we are redeemed.
As it says in Romans 25: “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood……”
IN CONCLUSION:
If we understand that the central bible theme is one of redemption, and if we understand that it was God’s love that motivated the plan, it was Jesus Christ who implemented the plan by becoming a sacrifice for us. . . . . and it was His precious blood that made the plan effective in paying the price of our redemption, ……..then it should affect the way we worship, the way we view the church and its’ mission, the way we live our daily lives, and the way we view humanity.
Let us contemplate these things during this period of time leading up to Easter.
Let us join in with the living creatures and the elders in saying, “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”
To Him be the glory for ever and ever. Amen!
