09-Redemption

VIII. REDEMPTION

Redemption means to purchase or buy back something that originally belonged to the purchaser. Concerning salvation, it refers to the death of Jesus Christ where He buys back the sinner, His blood being the payment.

Redemption is the foundation of salvation; it is the basis of the seven previous doctrines. Before God could provide eternal salvation to anyone, He had to pay the ransom required to release the sinner from his sins. GOD COULD NOT DECREE SALVATION UNTO MAN, HE HAD TO BUY IT!

A. Why Man Needs Redemption

1. Another result of Adam eating from the tree of knowledge is that he, in effect, sold himself to sin. He knew that his disobedience would bring death (1Ti 2:14), but he decided that he would rather die with Eve than live with God. As mentioned before, Adam’s sin did not only affect him, it also affected all of his descendants (see IMPUTATION). The sinful nature he got when he ate is passed on to all humanity. Therefore, every person on earth is hopelessly bound to sin (as well as to its father-Satan, John 8:44); and unless he is redeemed by someone who is not bound to it, he will die and spend eternity in Hell paying for his sinshimself!

2. God saw man’s pitiful condition and according to His great love and grace devised a redemption plan to buy him back from his iniquity (Tit 2:14). The climax of this plan was the sending of His Son to earth to give His life (blood) as the ransom (Mat 20:28). This is the main reason "the Word" became flesh (John 1:1-3). If Jesus came to earth but failed to die a redemptive death, His whole ministry would have been in vain. No matter what else He may have done (healings, miracles, etc.) man would still be in his sins, under a curse, and bound for Hell (Gal 3:10-13).

3. That God would go to such great lengths to redeem His enemy (Rom 5:8-10) shows the extent of the love and compassion He has for him. Christ is the Giver and the Gift, the Offerer and the Offering, the Redeemer and the Redemption. Only through Him can a person be freed from his bondage to sin and death, for He alone can provide redemption (Acts 4:12).

B. The Actual Price Of Redemption For something to be redeemed a specific price has to be paid, and the price to redeem the sinner is blood. According to Lev 17:11, "The life of the flesh is in the blood...it is the blood that maketh atonement for the soul." So blood not only represents life, it is actually physical life itself. Before God would accept an animal sacrifice in the Old Testament, a priest had to apply it’s blood on an altar in behalf of the offerer. The death of the sacrifice alone could not atone for the offerer’s sins. The priest must apply its blood to complete the redemption. Again, the Old Testament sacrifices could not take away sin (see Propitiation). The shedding and application of animal blood which the Old Testament so vividly describes is only a picture of Christ’s blood which can take it away (Hebrews ch. 10).

2. The blood of Christ can redeem sinners for at least three reasons: a. It does not have any taint of sin in it. The Lord did not inherit a sinful nature from Adam as everyone else because a person’s nature comes from his father. Since God is Christ’s father, He has His nature (Mat 1:23; Luk 1:35). Of course, Mary, His mother descended from Adam, but this does not affect Christ in this respect. b. Adam’s sin corrupted his blood and caused his death. The last Adam (Christ) knew no sin; His blood is incorruptible (1Pe 1:18-19). c. The blood that flowed through His veins was His Father’s (Acts 20:28), and since He is God manifest in the flesh, is could be no less (1Ti 3:16).

C. The Application Of The Blood

1. Since God is a spiritual and eternal being, His blood has a spiritual and eternal application to the believer. There is more to Christ’s blood than the physical components that were seen at the crucifixion, for itstill exists and is available to all, but it is only applied to those who receive Him. You cannot get Christ’s blood without getting Him, they are inseparable.

2. The moment a person believes on Christ, Christ literally washes him from his sins with His blood (Rev 1:5), cleansing his soul from all sin (1Jn 1:7), and supplying him with an eternal redemption (Rom 3:24; Heb 9:12). Furthermore, through Christ’s redemption the saint has been completely freed from the curse of the law (Gal 3:13), from all iniquity (Tit 2:14), and from his vain life (1Pe 1:18).

3. In summary, the precious blood of Christ did (and does) the following: a. Purchased the Church (Acts 20:28)
b. Brought justification (Rom 5:9)
c. Brought reconciliation (Col 1:20)
d. Brought propitiation (Rom 3:24)
e. Brought sanctification (Heb 13:12)
f. Brought redemption (Rom 3:24)
g. Washes the believer (Rev 1:5)
h. Cleanses the believer (1Jn 1:7)
i. Makes the believer nigh (Eph 2:13)
j. Gives the believer peace (Col 1:20)

4. The two ordinances of the church also speak of Christ’s redemptive work. The first, baptism, shows His death to sin and the believer’s identification with Him. The broken bread of the second, theLord’s supper, represents His tortured body, and the fruit of the vine, His shed blood (Mat 26:26-30; Rom 6:3-8). God established these ordinances so Christians would not forget the price paid to redeem them.

D. The Believer’s Responsibility

1. The believer must remember that since Christ has bought him he is no longer his own. He is not to do what he desires with his body but what his Owner desires. Every Christian is the steward of his own body and God will judge him according to the works he performs in it. It is God’s will that he glorify his redeemer with a holy and obedient life (1Co 3:11-15, 1Co 6:19-20).