Redeemed! Series

How many here today know what S&H Green Stamps are? If you are under 40 years old you might not remember saving up green stamps. Certain stores give you so many trading stamps for each dollar you spend at their store. You save up the stamps, paste them into a collection book. When you have enough, you can go to a redemption center and trade in stamps for something you want.

This transaction has two parts: purchasing the right of redemption and then claiming your merchandise. You buy the right of redemption when you make your original purchase and the store gives you the stamps as a token. Later you take the stamps to the redemption center and use them to claim something you want. Those items you redeem are not free, because in reality you already paid the price for them when you made your original purchases.

Green Stamps is one of the clearest contemporary examples of what redemption means. In the same way, God—by Christ’s blood—has already purchased us from the power of sin, and we are redeemed. Yet God does not come for his merchandise immediately. Instead, he has given us a token of our redemption, the Holy Spirit. So we have redemption and the forgiveness of sin.[1]

Redemption is a major central theme in Christianity. The very act of Jesus dying on the cross, shedding His blood for us was the very act of redemption.

Ephesians 1:7 (NKJV) In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace

The key word here is “redemption.” This word is used 10 times in the NT; 7 times in the writings of Paul; 3 time in Ephesians – 2 of those times are in first and last verses of our focal passage today: verses 7 & 14.

To redeem means “to purchase and set free by paying a price.” There were 60 million slaves in the Roman Empire, and often they were bought and sold like pieces of furniture. But a man could purchase a slave and set him free, and this is what Jesus did for us. The price was His own blood. This means that we are free from the Law, free from slavery to sin, as well as free from the power of Satan and the world. [2]

Through His blood the ransom paid was the very blood of Christ. We need to understand how grievous sin is to God. From the very beginning, in the garden, the requirement for shed blood to cover sin was made when God took the skins of animals to make clothing for Adam and Eve.

Hebrews 9:22 (NKJV) And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.

The whole human race stands condemned before God because of sin. “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We owed a debt that we cannot pay.

Hebrews 9:12 (NKJV) Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

It was not with gold or silver. It was none other than the blood of Jesus shed on that Roman Cross some 2000 years ago.

1 Peter 1:18–19 (NKJV) knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

Jesus paid that price, that debt of blood, that price we could not pay.

Mark 10:45 (NKJV) For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

And by the shed blood of Jesus, we have the forgiveness of sins. Redemption and forgiveness is not the same thing, Forgiveness is a fruit and outcome of redemption. Because God cannot look upon sin, our sin has been taken away and we are able to stand before the throne forgiven. Cleansed from all sin.

How much forgiveness do we get? "according to the riches of His grace." How rich is God’s grace? Infinite, How much forgiveness will God’s grace cover? All our sins, past, present and future. There is no sin too grievous, except the unforgivable sin of rejection of the Holy Spirit. Through the paid price of Jesus’ blood for our redemption, we are reconciled to God. And God desire to reveal to us all things.

Ephesians 1:8–9 (NKJV) which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,