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Sermon: REDEEMED
Ephesians 1:3-10
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; 8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; 9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Illustration:
It was almost 1:00 in the morning when the phone rang. Dr. Leo Winters, the highly acclaimed Chicago surgeon, was abruptly awakened. There had been an
accident and his skill hands were needed for immediate surgery. The quickest route happened to be through a rather tough area, but with time being a critical factor, it was worth the risk. At one of the stoplights his door was yanked open by a man with a gray hat and a dirty flannel shirt. “I got to have
your car!” the man screamed, pulling him from his seat. Winters tried to explain the gravity of the situation but the man would not listen. When the
doctor was finally able to get a taxi to the hospital over an hour had elapsed and it was to late as the patient had passed away 30 minutes earlier. The nurse
told him that the father of the victim had gone to the chapel wondering why the doctor never came. Dr. Winters walked hurriedly to get to the chapel and when
he entered he saw the father… he was wearing a gray hat and dirty flannel shirt. (J. Utley) Tragically, he had pushed from his life the one who could
save his son.
That illustration reminds me
That a lot of people push away from their lives the very One who can save them from the penalty and the power of their sin.
Countless numbers turn away from the One who can save them from their emptiness, confusion, hopelessness, and enslavement to their sinful ways.
They are to busy for the One who can deliver them from a meaningless life.
They can’t seem to find time for the One who can redeem their lives.
It is so sad, so tragic because things could be different for so many people if they could only find time for the Lord Jesus Christ the one who came to earth to save us.
Christ is the Savior of the world
we all desperately need him
Jesus came in to the world to save sinners.
the angel of the Lord declared to Joseph that “MARY WILL GIVE BIRTH TO A SON, AND
YOU ARE TO GIVE HIM THE NAME JESUS, BECAUSE HE WILL SAVE HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS.” (Matthew 1:21)
Luke 19:11 says that Christ came “TO SEEK AND TO SAVE THAT WHICH WAS LOST.”
The text we have read uses another word for saved:
It uses the word redeemed.
In verse 7 Paul said that we have been redeemed through the blood of Christ.
He began his letter to the Ephesians rejoicing in the blessing of redemption.
A lot of people might not know this but The word redemption is a term that was used in the bible day marketplace where human beings were offered for sale to the highest bidder. Condemned to a miserable existence these slaves were powerless to escape.
Their only hope was redemption, an uncommon process whereby they were purchased in order to be set free.
Scripture uses the tragedy of slavery to illustrate our human predicament.
Without God’s redemption we are all hopelessly enslaved to self and sin.
We are forced to live in bondage to sin and Satan.
Enslaved by sin and guilt, we are unable to free ourselves.
Jesus said, ‘…. EVERYONE WHO SINS IS A SLAVE TO SIN….” (John 8:34)
Sin traps us and holds us, rendering us powerless to escape
No matter how hard we try we are unable to overcome our sin.
It might be lust, uncontrollable anger, drugs, pornography, envy, covetousness, lying, materialism, destructive behavior, harmful attitudes, or whatever.
In our natural, unsaved condition we are at the mercy of sin; powerless against it.
sin ruins relationships, wrecks lives and brings untold pain, misery and regret
we can’t overcome it by ourselves
Our only hope is Christ who can redeem us,
He is the only one that can set us free from sin’s penalty and its power in our daily lives.
Paul says in verse 7, “…IN CHRIST WE HAVE REDEMPTION THROUGH HIS BLOOD.”
To redeem something is to deliver it on payment of a ransom.
Christ offers to set us free from bondage to sin through the ransom price of his blood.
Hebrews 9:22 says, “WITHOUT THE SHEDDING OF BLOOD THERE IS NO REMISSION OF SINS.”
Through faith in Christ we are delivered from the guilt of our past sin.
But that is only part of what it means to be ransomed.
Our present and future are affected, as we are no longer held captive by the power
of sin.
Delivered by Christ we are saved from our old lifestyle and introduced to a new and better way of life.
Jesus said,” IF THE SON SETS YOU FREE YOU SHALL BE FREE, INDEED.”
Redeemed by the blood of Christ we are set free from the power of sin.
We no longer have to live the way we once did.
Through the power of The Holy Spirit we are able to say “no” to sin.
We are ransomed or delivered to live our lives on a higher plane.
You don’t have to live your life held captive by the sins that mess up your life.
Jesus Christ came to earth “TO GIVE HIS LIFE A RANSOM FOR MANY.”
We all need the deliverance He offers simply because we all know the pain and regret that results from our sins
What looks attractive, compelling and pleasing turns out to be such a horrible thing that it costs the life of Christ to lift us out.
In our text Paul rejoices in the incredible blessings that come with redemption.
He was so grateful that the Lord Jesus had released him form his past life of sin,
That he had been set free to live his life in a better way
Paul emphasizes three blessings of redemption;
1.Forgiveness,
2.overflowing grace
3.spiritual discernment.
He rejoices in them and we should also
These are the three blessings I want to preach on today
The first blessing is
1. FORGIVENESS
In verse seven Paul calls our attention to the blessing of forgiveness. I have a preacher friend some of you may know his name is Sam Miller I heard him use an illustration in one of his sermons once that I would like to use today he said:
“If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. But since our greatest need was forgiveness, God sent us a Savior.”
Forgiveness is one of the blessings of redemption.
At the Last Supper jesus said, “THIS IS MY BLOOD…. WHICH WAS SHED FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS…”
“Forgiveness delivers us from the punishment of sin which we deserve.
Every one of our sins can be covered by the blood of Christ.”1 John 1:9 declares that “IF WE CONFESS OUR SINS, GOS IS
FAITHFUL AND JUST TO FORGIVE US…”
God has promised that He will “FORGIVE OUR INQUITY AND REMEMBER OUR SIN NO MORE…”
In Christ we can be delivered from the guilt of our past.
An illustration I got online was of a man that was shown an expensive handkerchief which had a blot of ink spilled on it "Nothing can be done with it now,” said the owner. “It is absolutely worthless.” The man made no reply but carried it away with him. After a time he sent it back to the great surprise of his friend, who could scarcely believe his eyes In almost skillful and artistic way The man had made a design in India ink, using the ugly blot as the center for the design.
A blotted messed up sinful life is not necessarily a hopeless, useless life.
Through the forgiveness that God offers us in Christ, our lives, no matter of the past, can be made beautiful and useful.
Redeemed we are forgiven and set free to live our lives in a much better way
Everyday we should rejoice in the forgiveness of our redemption.
2. GRACE
Paul says, are Our redemption and forgiveness, “IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE RICHES OF GOD’S GRACE THAT HE LAVISHED UPON US…” (Vss. 7&8)
These “riches of His grace” are all the wonderful things that He gives to us and does for us. Things that we, as sinners, don’t deserve.
God’s grace is His unmerited favor.
He gives us what we, as sinners, could never earn.
Through God’s grace in Christ the door has been opened for us to enter into the presence of God
finding forgiveness and fellowship in spite of our sinful pasts.
When that door was opened we found grace, not ridicule or rejection but total unmerited grace.
When we come to Christ with a sense of need and a sprit of repentance God redeems us and pours out His grace upon us. He blesses us in countless life-changing ways.
Lou Johnson was a 1965 World Series hero for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He tried for 30 years to recover the championship ring he lost to drug dealers in 1971. Drug and alcohol abuse cost him everything from that magical season, including his uniform, glove, and the bat he used to hit the winning home run in the deciding game. When the Dodgers president, Bob Graziano, learned that Johnson’s World Series ring was about to be auctioned on the Internet, he immediately wrote a check for $3,457.00 and bought the ring before any bids were posted. He did for Johnson what the former Dodger outfielder had been unable to do for himself.
God has done for us what we are unable to do for ourselves. He redeems us and makes us the recipient of His amazing grace.
Grace is the result of redemption and it is demonstrated to sinner through God’s blessings. He blesses us by saving us from the just penalty of our sins.
He blesses us by giving us victory over the power of sin in our daily living.
He blesses us by providing for us in countless and often miraculous ways.
John 1:16 speaks of this when it says, “FROM THE FULNESS OF HIS GRACE WE HAVE ALL RECEIVED ONE BLESSING AFTER ANOTHER.”
The blessings of God’s grace were evident in John Newton’s life. The author of the famous hymn Amazing Grace. He was raised in a Christian home for several years until his parents died. Orphaned and living with relatives he was mistreated, abused, and ridiculed. Unable to bear the abuse he, though still a boy, fled and joined the Royal Navy. From there his life went downhill as he became a drunkard and a brawler. Deserting the Royal Navy he joined up with a slave trader. His life continued to disintegrate and spiral out of control. One day he stole the ships whisky and got so drunk he fell overboard. He was so close to drowning that one of his shipmates literally
harpooned him and brought him back on board. Consequently he had a huge scar in his side for the rest of his life. Finally, one day during a storm he began to reflect upon some Bible verses his parents had taught him before they died. He reached out to Jesus and his life was redeemed; he was forgiven. But God’s grace didn’t end with his salvation. John Newton the wandering, brawling man drastically changed as he experienced victory over the power of sin. He became, as scripture says, “a new creation in Christ.” When the grace of God entered his life and he matured in Christ, he enjoyed a marriage that was an example to all.
When we yield to Christ and experience God’s grace, we begin to enjoy the restoration of what our life should have been like.
God’s grace changes us for the better.
3. DISCERNMENT
Paul mentions one other blessing that comes with redemption. The blessing of discernment; it is the key to victorious Christian living. In verse 8 he says God has “LAVISHED ON US WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING.” Another word for that would be “DISCERMENT…” Wisdom and discernment enable us to live life properly and victoriously. AS Kent Hughes says, “Wisdom is the knowledge which sees to the heart of things, which knows them as they really are.”
Understanding or discernment enables us to make right decisions and choose right paths.
Discernment enables us to avoid being tricked by the false promises of sin.
Discernment is a tremendous blessing because it enables us to make the right choices. It gives us Godly insight into things.
Through discernment we are able to avoid error, evil ways and wrong paths
Proverbs 14:12 says, “THERE IS A WAY THAT SEEMS RIGHT TO MAN…. BUT IN THE END IT LEADS TO DEATH….”
Discernment protects us from harmful, ungodly, worldly behavior and pursuits.
It keeps us from living for the things that can’t satisfy and that don’t last.
Discernment enables us to focus on the things in life that are most important, like our relationship with God, family and friends.
Those who lack God’s wisdom and discernment get confused about the value of things that really matter and they get their priorities all mixed up.
God’s wisdom and discernment, which come to us when we are redeemed, enable us to live life as God has designed it to be lived.
Discernment enables us to truly experience “Newness of life” in Christ.
CONCLUSION
In 1927, in West Africa, a blood specimen was taken from a native man named Asibi, who was sick with yellow fever. A vaccine was made from the original strain of virus obtained from this man. In fact, all the vaccine manufactured since 1927 by the Rockefeller Foundation and health agencies, derives from the original strain of virus obtained from this one man. Carried down to the present day from one laboratory to another, through repeated cultures and by enormous multiplication, it has offered immunity to yellow fever to millions of people in many countries. Through the creative imagination of science, the blood of this one man in West Africa has been made available to serve the whole human race.
In another, more important way, the blood of another
Man has been made to serve the human race. “IN CHRIST WE HAVE REDEMPTION THROUGH HIS BLOOD…” (Ephesians 1:7)
Christ offers to redeem us. We can live differently; we can gain the victory over those sins that so easily beset us. Reach out to Jesus… surrender to his Lordship… allow him to work in your life. Don’t push from your life the only One who can save you…change… and bless you.
