While any form or vestige of slavery is wrong and repugnant, a story is told about Abraham Lincoln, who went to the slave block and noticed a young girl up for auction. Moved with compassion, he purchased her freedom. When Lincoln told the disbelieving girl what he had done, she asked, “What does that mean?”
“It means you are free,” he replied.
“Does that mean,” she said, “I can say whatever I want to say?”
“Yes, my dear, you can say whatever you want to say.”
“Does that mean I can be whatever I want to be?”
“Yes, you can be whatever you want to be.”
“Does that mean I can go wherever I want to go?”
“Yes, you can go wherever you want to go.”
With tears streaming down her face, the girl responded, “Then, I will go with you.”
Admittedly, the account is probably more legendary than legitimate. Yet, it does communicate an important spiritual truth. If you have been reborn, you have been redeemed and set free to willingly serve the Redeemer.
Last weekend we focused on the word remember and were challenged to not ever forget to remember what God has done for us.
After today, Lord willing, there will be six more weeks of messages in our “RE” series. Here’s where we’re headed.
• Reaffirm
• Repent
• Return
• Rebuild
• Reconcile
• Recovery
Today, our sermon will be part theology class because we’re going to unpack the word redemption, a theological concept rich in meaning and application. Here’s our main idea: To experience redemption, you must receive the Redeemer.
As we begin, I’m going to pray the words of Scripture from four verses which contain the words “Redeemer, Redemption, and Ransomed.”
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my REDEEMER [because] in you we have REDEMPTION through your blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of your grace…for you have entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of your own blood, thus securing an eternal REDEMPTION…because you are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you have RANSOMED people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation…” In the mighty name of our Redeemer we pray, Amen. (Psalm 19:14; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 9:12; Revelation 5:9)
In the Bible, salvation is described with a variety of terms, images, and metaphors. Like a multifaceted diamond, we can look at this glorious truth from different angles and under different light. Here are 10 theological terms, along with brief definitions:
1. Propitiation. The satisfaction of God’s holiness and justice by the sacrificial payment of the blood of Christ on the cross.
2. Atonement. The act of God by which He reconciles sinful humanity to Himself through the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.
3. Imputation. The act of God whereby our sins are transferred to Christ and His righteousness is credited to our account.
4. Reconciliation. The act by which God makes peace between Himself and sinful humanity through the finished work of Christ on the cross.
5. Regeneration. The act of God realized by faith alone in Christ alone whereby He gives new life to the believer.
6. Conversion. The turning of a sinner to God, giving new life, forgiveness, purpose, and an assured place in eternity with Him.
7. Justification. The act by which God, for Christ’s sake, declares a guilty sinner righteous in His sight by grace through faith, thus satisfying the penalty for sin.
8. Sanctification. The process by which God grows the believer in holiness, breaking the power of sin, so we can grow in Christlikeness.
9. Glorification. God’s final removal of the presence of sin as He transforms believers into the image of Christ in eternity.
10. Redemption. At its core, to “redeem” refers to “buying back,” usually by the payment of a ransom. To redeem means to set free by the paying of a price. In Greek, it means, “to loosen,” or to be set free from chains, slavery, or prison. It is a covenantal legal term associated closely with each of the other theological terms.
The word redemption in its various forms is found 50 times in the Bible. The concept hearkens back to the marketplace where a slave was released from captivity through the payment of a ransom price. The word was also used for the release of prisoners of war. Redemption by payment is strange in our day, but was clearly understood in the Jewish, Roman, and Greek cultures.
Redemption is rooted in the Old Testament as seen in Deuteronomy 15:15: “You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you.” The premier example of redemption is found in Exodus 15:13 when God bought and brought His people out of Egypt: “You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.”
Redemption is the heart and soul of Christianity. One theologian summarized it this way: “Redemption is chief among the doctrines of grace for from it all the rivers of grace flow.”
During New Testament times, the Roman Empire had as many as six million slaves, and the buying and selling of them was a major business. If a person wanted to free someone, he would buy that slave for himself and then grant him freedom, testifying to the deliverance by a written receipt, or certificate. This is what’s behind Colossians 2:14: “By canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”
The Holman Treasury of Key Bible Words provides this insight:
Two cognate words in the New Testament, lutrosis and apolutrosis, are both typically translated “redemption” in various versions. Lutrosis indicates the act of “freeing or releasing” by paying a ransom price; apolutrosis indicates the act of “buying back” by paying a ransom price. Christ paid the ransom price with His own blood (1 Peter 1:18–19) and thus freed us from the demands of the law, and its curse on sin, to become children of God (Galatians 3:13; 4:5).
Fanny Crosby loved to write songs about redemption. Listen to these words from “To God Be the Glory”: “Perfect redemption, the purchase of blood, to every believer the promise of God; the vilest offender who truly believes, that moment from Jesus a pardon receives.”
You’ll want to stick around to the end of the service today to hear Pastor Ed and Pastor Tim, accompanied by Carrie, as they sing another Fanny Crosby song called “Redeemed.”
Please open your Bible to the Book of Colossians. The Apostle Paul had never been to the city of Colossae but became alarmed when he heard false teaching had infiltrated these new believers. In essence, they were being told Christ was not enough, and Christians were inadequate. As a result, Paul preached the preeminence of Christ and the high position of the Christian.
Colossians 1:13-14 has been called one of the most important and profound sentences in the Bible: “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
To help us see how we are redeemed by Christ, let’s focus on four indispensable ingredients of our identity in Christ.
1. We’ve been rescued from Satan. Verse 13 begins: “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness…” At the exact moment you receive Christ, you are immediately delivered from the domain of darkness. The word “delivered” is emphatic and was used of snatching someone from severe and acute danger. It literally means, “to drag away,” much like what you see in war movies when a soldier pulls an injured comrade to safety. The “domain of darkness” refers to the sphere of Satan.
Apart from Christ, everyone is under the authority of the evil one and in bondage to sin. Proverbs 5:22: “The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.” Jesus said in John 8:34 that “everyone who practices sin is a slave of sin.” 1 John 5:19 says, “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”
There are only two possible realms to reside in – at this very moment, you are either in the domain of darkness, and under the dominion of the Deceiver, or you have been transferred into the kingdom of the beloved Son, and under His reign and rule. You are lost, or you are saved. You are unforgiven, or you are forgiven. You are at war with God, or you’ve been reconciled to Him. You are in the dark, or you’re living in the light. You are on the narrow road to Heaven or on the wide highway to Hell. There is no middle ground. Psalm 86:13 tells us God rescues us because of His love for us: “For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.”
To experience redemption, you must receive the Redeemer.
2. We’ve been reestablished to serve. We’ve been removed from one realm and repositioned into another; we’ve been rescued from Satan and reestablished to serve the Savior. We see this in the last part of verse 13: “…and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.” The word “transferred” was used to describe a change of place or condition. In the ancient world, when one nation defeated another, it was customary to take the population of the defeated country and totally transfer to the conqueror’s land. That’s what happened with Judah when they were exiled to Babylon for 70 years.
When God sets prisoners free, it’s always for the purpose of bringing them into His own kingdom. Isaiah 43:1: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” “Beloved Son” literally means, “the son of His love.” This echoes back to the baptism of Jesus when the Father declared in Mark 1:11: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” and in Mark 9:7 at the Transfiguration, “This is my beloved Son; listen to Him.”
Interestingly, we go from slavery to sin, to slavery to the Savior according to Romans 6:18: “And, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.” We will either serve Satan or the Savior. As the song goes, “You ‘gotta serve somebody!”
To experience redemption, you must receive the Redeemer.
We’ve been rescued from Satan, and we’ve been reestablished to serve. The third indispensable ingredient of our identity in Christ is…
3. We’ve been redeemed by the Savior. Check out how verse 14 begins: “In whom we have redemption…” Notice the key phrase, “in whom.” None of this is possible on our own merits; no matter how committed we might be.
The phrase, “in Christ” is used over 160 times in the New Testament. It’s only in Him, by Him, because of Him, through Him, and for Him! As the Reformers would say, “Soli Deo Gloria!” To the glory of God alone.
The phrase, “we have” is in the present tense, meaning redemption is our current and continuous possession because in Christ we are once and for all liberated from bondage. Hebrews 9:11-12: “But when Christ appeared…He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of His own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.”
Our redemption is not just for now; it’s for eternity. If you’ve been reborn, your redemption is effective and permanent because the transaction is complete. No one can purchase you away from the One who bought you at the infinite cost of the blood of the Lamb.
The Bible teaches once you are saved, you are eternally secure in your salvation. One of the passages we memorize in our Intentional Discipleship groups is 1 John 5:11-12: “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” I like to add verse 13: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.”
Jesus has fully paid the price of ransom, satisfying the demands of a holy God. According to Mark 10:45, that’s why Christ came: “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus served the needs of others and then demonstrated the ultimate act of servanthood when He gave His life as the ransom payment for our sins, so we can be set free. As the song says, “He paid a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay.”
Thankfully, we no longer have slavery in our country, or do we? It’s called “human trafficking” and it takes place right here in this community and in communities all over the world. Manuel and Kim Contreras, our Go Team partners in Fresno, are reaching out to women who have been trafficked. We’ve sent several teams to serve with them. Several years ago, Kim received the “Woman of the Year” award for Fresno, California! She is doing all she can to free women from this modern-day slavery.
I reached out to Kim this week and learned they will soon have a second apartment available to help women take courageous steps to follow Jesus. Since COVID started, the women are staying with them for 4-6 months instead of the 10-12 days before COVID, which is giving them the opportunity to build relationships and point women to Jesus the Redeemer.
Earlier this year, they had the privilege of training 87 ministry leaders in Jesus-focused trauma healing globally and locally. Recently, they were able to train someone who is reaching out to members of the Taiwanese church in Laguna Hills which endured the shooting earlier this month.
Jesus gave His life voluntarily and vicariously, meaning what He did was for us, instead of us, and in our place. 1 Timothy 2:5-6: “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all…”
He paid the price, and we are set free. We give Him our rottenness and in exchange, He grants us His righteousness. When Jesus died, He triumphantly proclaimed, “It is finished,” which means, “the price has been paid, the debt is forgiven.”
The Puritan Thomas Watson had some tremendous insight when he wrote: “Great was the work of creation, but greater the work of redemption. It cost more to redeem us than to make us. In the one, there was but the speaking of a word. In the other, there was shedding of blood. Creation was but the work of God’s fingers. Redemption is the work of His arm.”
I’m reminded of the young boy who wanted a wooden boat he could float in the river. His family did not have much money, so he worked all summer to build one by hand. He tenderly made the sails and painted his boat with great precision.
Finally, the time came for him to take the boat to the river to see if it would sail. The boy was delighted as he watched his boat accomplish what he had designed it to do! However, a strong wind began to blow, and the current got stronger. Eventually, the string attached to the boat snapped and the boat was carried away from its maker. The boy was devastated.
A couple days later, he was walking through town and passed a small shop. When he looked in the window, he saw a boat which looked very much like his. He ran inside, examined it for a few moments, and realized it was, in fact, his boat. He found the store owner and said, “Sir, that is my boat. I made it myself, but it was lost from me.”
The owner told the boy if he wanted the boat, he would have to buy it. The boy left. For several weeks, he worked morning and night until he had enough money. He went back to the store and said, “I want to buy MY boat back!” After receiving his boat, the boy held it in his hands and said, “NOW, you are DOUBLY MINE. First, I created you and now I have PURCHASED YOU. You are DOUBLY MINE!”
This beautifully depicts what Christ has done for us. He created us and was delighted as we fulfilled what He designed us to do. We were soon swept away by the current of sin, however, and captured by another owner. Then, the Redeemer came for us and purchased us back with His own blood and now we are doubly His.
Before his conversion, Martin Luther was tormented by the guilt of his sins. As an Augustinian monk and professor of theology, he sought to live a holy life and thereby make himself right before God. All his efforts failed. No matter how hard he tried, he could not rid himself of his sinfulness and guilt.
Then, through his study of the Bible, Luther discovered God made sinners right (justification) by faith in Jesus Christ and not by works prescribed by the church. God’s righteousness is a promise freely given to sinners He had redeemed through the purchase price of His blood. This certainty not only freed Luther from his guilt, but it also set him free from the practice of penance.
To reflect his newly found freedom, Martin changed the spelling of his surname from Luder to Luther to reflect the Latin name Eleutherius, which is a cognate of the Greek word eleutheros, which means, “free.” Every time he said his name, he was reminded of his redemption from sin: Martin the Free.
Let’s personalize this. Allow me to rename some of you right now [John the Free, Mary the Free, Wayne the Free, Suzy the Free, etc.].
To experience redemption, you must receive the Redeemer.
If you’re born again through faith in Christ alone, you can say, “I’ve been rescued from Satan, I’ve been reestablished to serve, and I’ve been redeemed by the Savior…and now I’m free.” There’s one final ingredient of our identity found in this passage…
4. We’ve been released from our sins. As a result of redemption, verse 14 ends with this promise: “…the forgiveness of sins.” To “forgive” has the idea of “releasing, sending away and removal.” We are released from the power of sin and from the penalty for having sinned.
• Some of you don’t believe you’re fully forgiven. Meditate on Psalm 103:12: “As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us.”
• Do you feel like you’re disqualified because of your disobedience? Listen to what Jesus said in Luke 7:47: “Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven.”
• Are you feeling condemned and burdened by false guilt and incessant shame? If so, commit Romans 8:1 to memory: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Here’s what we’ve learned. If you are in Christ, you have been…
• Rescued from Satan
• Reestablished to serve
• Redeemed by the Savior
• Released of your sins
One of the most powerful redemption stories I’ve heard is how God saved Christopher Yuan out of a life of homosexuality and drugs. Through the faithful prayers of his mother, who prayed and fasted for seven years, Christopher received the Redeemer and experienced redemption while he was in prison. During this month commonly referred to as “pride month,” it’s good to be reminded how the Redeemer can redeem anyone who humbly receives Him by faith.
Christopher now teaches at Moody Bible Institute and is a speaker at Summit, which is where many of our students are headed this weekend for two weeks of apologetics training. I highly recommend his two books, which are posted on Sermon Extras – “Out of a Far Country: A Gay Son’s Journey to God. A Broken Mother’s Search for Hope” and “Holy Sexuality: Sex, Desire, and Relationships Shaped by God’s Grand Story.”
To experience redemption, you must receive the Redeemer.
Action Steps
Because slaves to sin have become saints who serve, let’s put our position into practice.
1. Tell others how God has redeemed you. It’s time to stand up and speak out according to Psalm 107:2: “Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom He has redeemed from trouble.”
2. Live a pure life. Because Jesus paid for us, we now belong to Him and must therefore serve Him with our bodies. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: “…You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
3. Be involved in serving. You have been saved to serve. Titus 2:14: “Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works.”
4. Live without fear. Once you’re redeemed, you can live without fear according to Isaiah 43:1: “But now thus says the LORD, He who created you, O Jacob,
He who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.’”
5. Sing songs about the Redeemer. Isaiah 52:9: “Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted His people; He has redeemed Jerusalem.”
6. Receive the Redeemer and be redeemed. Job was able to say in 19:25: “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth.” You can have that same certainty today. The word “know” refers to an intimate knowledge which comes from entering a relationship. Job could say, “My Redeemer” because he personally trusted in God’s redemption.
Almost 200 years ago, a man named George Wilson was sentenced to die by hanging after he killed a guard while robbing a federal payroll. President Andrew Jackson, feeling gracious and merciful, decided to pardon him. Unbelievably, Wilson refused to accept the pardon. The case became so legally confusing the Supreme Court had to give a ruling. Chief Justice John Marshall delivered this verdict: “A pardon is a parchment whose only value must be determined by the receiver of the pardon. It has no value apart from that which the receiver gives it. George Wilson has refused to accept the pardon. We cannot conceive why he would do so, but he has. Therefore, George Wilson must die.”
If you’re ready to repent and personally receive your pardon from the Redeemer right now, would you pray this prayer?
“God Almighty, I confess I am a sinner, so I repent by turning from how I’ve been living. I personally receive the free gift of redemption from Your Son who suffered and died in my place on the cross and then was raised to new life. I want to experience redemption, so I receive You as my Redeemer. Please forgive me for my sins and make me into the person You want me to be. I surrender now to Your sweet sovereignty for the rest of my life, for You are God and I am not. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Closing Song: Redeemed
