Pastor's Power Points

Redeemed!

“Redemption” represents a crucial doctrine but is a word that, in our day, is little used apart from promotional coupons and mileage points.  At the core of the word, however, is the idea of paying a price (ransom) in order to regain something that otherwise would be given up and used by another or destroyed.  This word is rich in meaning and imagery, and communicates a central truth in revealed Scripture.  Redemption implies rescue and restoration at a required cost. Is there a father who would not do everything in his power to meet the demands of kidnappers in order to rescue his son?  It was Jesus who said that he came to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).  Paul, the apostle, affirms and celebrates this momentous truth:

 He rescued 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.
Col. 1:13-14

Two Greek verbs encompass the meaning of “redeem.” One (i.e. I Cor. 6:20) means to purchase (with a view to set free), and the other (i.e. I Pet. 1:18) is the actual act of release (upon receipt of the ransom).  We are well aware of the ransom for our redemption, but we could never grasp what it cost the triune God to secure our release – at the crux of which is the abandoned cry “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me!?”  He became sin for us; the just suffered for the unjust to bring us to God.

What we must grasp, however, are the specific clutches of what had possession of us before our redemption. We must also comprehend the nature of the liberty that we now enjoy as the redeemed.  Understanding redemption necessitates comprehension of what owned us and held us in bondage (and still wants to), for without bondage, redemption would be unnecessary. In addition, we were not purchased, rescued and released to autonomy, for in God’s universe that is the definition of sin and is responsible for man’s predicament which required redemption in the first place. The accomplishment of redemption is two-fold: release (from) and liberty (to). Jesus said:

 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

Luke 4:18-19