Redemption

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.

Similarly, scores of people push 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 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 if they could only find time for the Lord Jesus Christ who came to earth to save us. Christ is the Savior we all desperately need.

Christ Jesus came in to the world to save sinners. In announcing His birth, 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.”

TEXT

Our morning text uses another word for saved: redeemed. In verse 7 Paul declares that we have been redeemed through the blood of Christ. He begins his

letter to the Ephesians rejoicing in the blessing of redemption. The word redemption is a commercial term borrowed from the 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 intervention, 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 liberate 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 its clutches. Consequently, try as hard as we might, 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 state we are at the mercy of sin; powerless against it. In spite of the fact that sin ruins relationships, wrecks lives and brings untold pain, misery and regret we can’t seem to overcome it. Our only hope is Christ who can redeem us, setting us free from sin’s penalty and its power in our daily lives.

Describing what God has done for us, Paul says in verse 7, “…IN CHRIST WE HAVE REDEMPTION THROUGH HIS BLOOD.” The Greek word translated redemption is a

commercial term. 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 form 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. (John 8:36) sin