Man, in his arrogance, assumes he has something good to offer God.
It is the evil of human arrogance that assumes mankind has something good to offer God.
It was the evil of Satan that thought the same thing, in his 5 “I wills”.
Here’s what Isaiah writes about Lucifer/Satan, the top fallen angel…
Isa 14:12-15 “How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! 13 You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. 14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” 15 But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.
But that is deception, my friends!
And arrogance can lead us to take scriptures out of context to make the Bible say what we WANT it to say, so it feeds our own arrogance.
It’s a vicious cycle we can all get trapped in if we’re not careful.
We must remember; the Bible says our thoughts are not God’s thoughts and His ways are much higher than our ways.
2 Peter 1:19-21 “So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. 20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
…
So, let’s get into the wonderful, biblical DOCTRINE OF REDEMPTION.
God’s perfect holiness requires an acceptable payment be made for sin, and He chose to pay this ransom for us through the blood of His perfect Son, out of His tremendous grace and love for us.
The problem that every man must realize is that he is born trapped in the slave market of Sin.
The scriptures say that in this life, you are either a slave of sin or a slave of Christ Jesus. It’s one or the other!!
We’ll see that coming up.
So, what hope do any of us have?! – His Name is Jesus Christ. He’s the ONLY HOPE any man has of being saved from his sins.
THAT’S the great of picture of God’s love in action. …
As we enter our discussion on Redemption, let’s consider that the Holy Spirit of God originally inspired the New Testament in the Greek language.
We often go back to the original languages that God chose to have His Word written in because they are very specific languages and they often reveal deeper meaning.Again, let’s look at Gal 3:13 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us — for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE”
Agorazo is from the Greek word agora meaning “marketplace.”
The Word of God teaches that the whole human race is enslaved to sin! And that everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin and resides in the slave market of sin!
And as we will see, a slave cannot live in God’s house forever, unless he becomes a son.
We cannot live in our heavenly Father’s household if we remain slaves to sin.
Therefore, the big question is; how can we fully escape that slavery to sin???
Only the Lord Jesus Christ can set us free from our slavery to sin.
John 8:34-36 “Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. ” The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
Read that again.
Notice, it’s the Son, Jesus Himself, who makes you free! It’s NOT YOU who makes yourself free. That is NOT an option in God’s plan!
And you don’t become free because you stop sinning for a little while! You are a sinner in God’s eyes, period.
We are guilty in God’s eyes, and we cannot pay the perfect price that’s required on our own.
The Son must make you free and He is the only way any of us could be truly free.
At the moment of simple, trusting faith in Jesus Christ as one’s God and Savior, freedom is granted!
It has not been earned, but freedom has been given as a gift by God to those who believe in Christ in their heart! Rom 6:23b, 10:9-10, Eph 2:8-9
All of us being born in sin are like poor slaves without any gold to purchase our own freedom. On top of this, our human currency isn’t accepted by God.
Jer 2:22 “Although you wash yourself with soap and use an abundance of cleansing powder, the stain of your guilt is still before me,” declares the Sovereign Lord.
Isa 64:6 For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
Man has nothing good to offer God on his own, in his own power.
We need heavenly currency that is acceptable to God; and that is the perfect blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who takes away the sins of the world.
John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
Because the Lord Jesus was perfect, unstained by sin, He was an acceptable sacrifice to God the Father, and He was qualified to pay the debt for OUR sins.
And that’s the ONLY way ANY man can be redeemed from the slave market of sin.
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
… Let’s travel back in time.
Man’s problem with sin began in the garden of Eden, when Adam and the Woman disobeyed the command of God to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Gen 2:16-17 “The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”
If we read on, we notice that when they ate of the tree, they did NOT immediately die physically, even though that’s what seems to be stated by God!
But, they did die SPIRITUALLY. They were separated from God because of their sin. Their relationship with God was cut off.
Adam and the woman immediately became spiritually dead when they ate the forbidden fruit. They lost their peaceful relationship with God.
And so, Christ’s death for us on the cross was a spiritual death, BEFORE He died physically…
… so that anyone who believes in Him would no longer be separated from God, but be made spiritually alive!
Think about it this way: Jesus Christ became separated from God on the cross so that whoever believes in Him, the worthy sacrifice, would NO LONGER be separated from God!
But for now, back to the origin of sin:
Adam and the woman’s disobedience to the command of God is responsible for sin entering into the world.
Rom 5:12 “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned”
And the Bible teaches every person has INHERITED Adam’s sin, even from birth.
So, let’s pause for a moment and consider where we all start from…… we don’t start out as good people and then lose it…… we all start out guilty in God’s eyes because we were all born in the sin of Adam.
But, this is actually a blessing in disguise, as we will see.
Again; Adam’s original sin in the Garden is responsible for the whole human race being born into the slave market of sin.
That might not seem fair, but honestly, what do we know?!
As we will see, this was part of the brilliant salvation plan of God to save man from sin for all eternity.
Rom 5:18-19 “So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.”
Even though sin was credited against us, righteousness is credited to us when we trust in Christ!
This was part of God’s Master Plan from the beginning… in this way He makes us perfect, FOREVER, through faith in Jesus Christ!
This is what’s known as imputation. Imputation means something is credited to your account; whether good or bad.
Imagine a bank account in heaven with your name on it. And your bank account had the label of “sinner” on it, so your account was in the negative!
Not only did you have nothing in your heavenly account, but you owed the bank an unpayable debt!
You had a debt you COULD NOT PAY as a guilty sinner. It doesn’t matter how good or moral you tried to be!
But the good news is that when Christ redeemed us, He took away our imputed sin, and instead He imputed to us HIS PERFECT RIGHTEOUSNESS! Rom 5:18-19
Now, for the believer, our heavenly bank account is in the positive with God,… and not because of anything we did, but because of what Christ gave us; His perfect righteousness!
2 Cor 5:21 “He (God the Father) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
And if this righteousness is a GIFT to those who believe, like the Bible says… and therefore you did nothing to earn your salvation…… so then why would you have to do something to keep your salvation?
That’s something to really think about. Either salvation is a gift from God, or it’s not. Rom 5:15,6:23, Eph
2:9
Our only role in salvation is receiving His gift through humility… and we do that by repenting towards God and having faith in the Lord Jesus as our Savior. Acts 20:21
In other words, Christ did ALL the work for our redemption.
All man can do is receive it with gratitude, by faith, giving all the praise and glory to HIM!
If you’re having trouble with this…
Ask yourself; what do you have to offer God that’s worthy or impressive, which will help you earn your salvation? (and remember, God requires perfection!)
The only thing we have that impresses God is His perfect, holy Son living inside of us.
Only JESUS is holy, and by repenting and placing our trust in Him, He makes us holy too.
Again;
2 Cor 5:21 “He (God the Father) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
What an amazing love story we have from the Creator of the universe.
What we have here is what many call THE GREAT EXCHANGE.
Jesus became a sin offering on our behalf. He took upon Himself the judgment for our sins.
And believers become the righteousness of God in Him because TLJC gives us His perfect righteousness…
… and THAT’S the only thing that qualifies any of us to be saved and have a relationship with God forever.
Even though we were all born in sin, Christ allows us to be “born again”, spiritually, or “born of the Spirit”. (see John 3)
He grants believers a spiritual life and a relationship with God, and He declares them “righteous!”
…..
We must remember; man did not first become a sinner through his own personal sin. Man was born into the world with 3 strikes already against him.
The Bible tells us:
1. Adam’s original sin is imputed to us at physical birth. 2. Man inherits a sinful nature, which is the source of personal
sins. 3. Man commits personal sins of his own, as well.
Let’s review these concepts in the Word of God. Again, Adam’s original sin was imputed, or officially charged
to, the entire human race. In the book of Romans, the Word says that when Adam sinned,
we all sinned.
Rom 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.
Therefore, each member of the human race received a sinful nature at their birth, which was passed down from our father Adam.
And THAT is the source of temptation to our personal sinning.
Sin takes place in our lives when we give in to the temptation of the sin nature that’s in our flesh. In fact, the Bible often calls our sinful nature “the flesh”.
We see an explanation of sin and temptation in the book of James. 16
Jam 1:13-16 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
So let’s remember, we were born sinners and we were born spiritually dead, which means separated from God.
But in reality, that was God’s grace towards us!
WHY?
God knew if we were born perfect and we had to remain perfect to go to heaven, that NONE of us could make it.
NONE of us could stay perfect for our whole lives without sinning. God knew this!
God knew we would all eventually fall, just like Adam did. If not, maybe he would have put YOU in the garden of Eden!
With our sinfulness and hopelessness in mind, what did God do?
He came up with a plan where He would allow us to be born sinners, not even by our own fault… and this means that in His perfect fairness (Justice), God could provide us a way out!
He could give us a solution; something we didn’t deserve, by His amazing grace.
God’s perfect integrity would now provide us a way to be saved from sin, forever!
We didn’t deserve being born sinners, and so God can also give us a solution we don’t deserve, by grace.
And again, this is part of God’s grace plan for mankind… because He knows if we were born perfect, we would all eventually sin and be lost forever!
Just think about that for a minute.
If YOU were the one born perfect in the Garden of Eden, how long do you think you would have lasted before sinning against God?!
We should correctly and humbly assume we all would have sinned eventually, just as Adam did.
BUT NOW, all of us by being born in sin, now God can say by His grace that whoever trusts in His Son will be saved forever.
This is because Jesus paid the full price for our sins at the cross! Therefore, by grace, through faith in Him, we can be saved!
Eph 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Our gracious and kind God provided a PERMANENT solution to our sin, and His Name is Jesus Christ!
This is why Jesus said “It is finished” before He died on the cross.
John 19:30
So again, we are all sinners at birth, spiritually dead according to the Bible. Therefore, by God’s grace, we can be made righteous at our second birth!
That’s why Jesus said you must be “born again” to enter the kingdom of heaven. And Jesus said this is only possible through trusting in Him as our Lord and Savior.
Let’s read this passage IN CONTEXT to get the full picture of what it means to be born again, spiritually.
John 3:1-18 “Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.” In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”
Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?
We are all born into this world physically alive, but spiritually dead, in sin, separated from God. Eph 2:1-3
Eph 2:1-3 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
And Holy Scripture says that’s only possible by a trusting faith in the Lord Jesus, Who was our perfect substitute on the Cross.He’s the only One who can make sinful man righteous because He’s the only One who was worthy, and the worthy One paid the price for our sins.
The Apostle Paul explains for us why a man cannot justify himself before God, through the “works of the Mosaic Law,” or by his own “good works”.
Rom 3:19-20 “Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.”
One reason God gave the Law to man was to reveal his own sinfulness… to reveal that no man could keep the Law perfectly, and therefore he needed to turn to God for mercy.
Now, let’s go back to our previous line of thinking…We were all BORN in sin. We were BORN GUILTY by inheriting the sin of the first man, Adam.
And while we didn’t do anything to deserve being born in sin, we also don’t do anything to deserve God’s gift of salvation. Rom 3:21-24
Because God knew we all would have sinned in the Garden, God came up with a master plan to save us, once and for all!
Rom 3:21-24 “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;”
There’s our topic: “the redemption which is in Christ Jesus”!
The redemption of sinful man is only possible through Jesus Christ.
Why is that? – Because man is not perfectly righteous as HE NEEDS TO BE to live with God forever!
By our own efforts, the Bible says we have no hope of being perfect.
In fact, man cannot reach the perfect righteousness of God because he is in a constant state of sinning! (even as believers,
just look at our struggles with mental attitude sins such as worry, fear, doubt, jealousy, bitterness, resentment, anger, lust, etc…. do we need to go on??!)
Rom 14:23b – “whatever is not from faith is sin” All of mankind “misses the target”, which is a good biblical
definition for “sin”.
All of us miss the target of God’s perfect righteousness because we all commit acts of personal sin.
And if you think you can come to a point where you don’t sin anymore, then you need to confess your sin of arrogance!
You are dangerously thinking more highly of yourself than you ought to think. You are buying a lie from Satan!
Rom 12:3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.
If you don’t think you sin anymore, you might as well speak as Satan did in Isa 14 where he said “I will make myself like the most High”.
Isa 14:14 ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’
But that attitude right there is called the sin of arrogance!
In fact, the Bible says you are a liar if you claim not to sin anymore.
That’s what the Gnostics professed 2000 years ago. Thus one reason for the writing of the letter of 1John.
1 John 1:8-10 “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.”
(And if you still think you don’t sin anymore, then take a look at God’s top seven sins in Pro 6:16-19, or look at the long list in Gal 5:19-21)
The difference is that as believers in Christ we don’t WANT to sin anymore,… that’s a sign of our very salvation and that our heart has been changed by God, as Paul talks about in Romans 7.
But the fact remains that even as believers we will continue to sin as long as we are stuck with our sinful nature in these earthly bodies.
This is why we are right to reach out for God’s mercy every day. We are all unworthy.
And whenever your God-given conscience reveals that you have sinned, don’t get religious, but instead simply go to God! He is merciful to the humble! Luk 18:14, Jam 4:6, 1Pe 5:5-7, 1Jo 1:9
Confess your sins (agree with God), and always remember, God looks at the heart.
Again, Rom 3:23 says “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
Another translation says that we all fall short of the essence of God; referring to His perfect character, nature and integrity.
And let’s also remember, God’s righteousness does not approve of the good works that man does on his own. We call that man’s relative righteousness. (Isa 64:6)
In other words, we might be “good” compared to some other sinners, but that’s relative/compared to them.
Compared to the perfect Lord, not one of us sinners is good! It’s not even close!
Isa 64:6 For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf,And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
This is simply because God’s works are perfect, but man’s works are NOT perfect. And God requires perfection and purity!! In fact, it’s the infection of sin within us that makes even our good works impure and unclean to God.
Therefore, man CANNOT measure up to the righteous demands of God, no matter how “good” he tries to be.
Allow that truth help you surrender to God and be set free from your own self-righteousness.
What’s the conclusion we are forced to? – Man has a BIG problem that he CANNOT solve on his own. It is FAR BEYOND his own wisdom or abilities.
Thank God we have THE GOOD NEWS! – Man’s problem with sin has been totally resolved through REDEMPTION! (Col. 1:13-14; Eph. 1:7)
We have been redeemed by the blood of Christ! We have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus being the Lamb of God! Joh 1:29
Our freedom has been purchased by the price that Jesus paid for us on the Cross!
And once our all-powerful God redeems us, then “it is finished!” (Joh 19:30)
Those who have humbly placed their trust in the Lord Jesus as their Savior have been redeemed forever…
… and it’s a grace gift from God that can never be taken away!
Rom 11:29 “for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”
Col 1:13-14 “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
Notice the verbs here are in the past tense. This tells us that He has already rescued us, and He has already transferred those who believe to His kingdom!
In the original Greek, both of these verbs are in the aorist tense. The aorist tense says the action of the verb took place at one
moment in time!
This isn’t the present tense that says He has to “keep on doing” something for us.
It’s in the aorist tense which says the Lord already did it for us…. He has already rescued and transferred we believers to the kingdom of God!
And these verbs in the indicative mood in the Greek, which says it’s a dogmatic statement of fact.
God HAS rescued and HAS transferred those who have trusted in Christ to His kingdom!
And because it’s by His grace alone, all the credit and glory goes to God. And our eyes are opened to the Truth that GOD HAS REDEEMED HIS PEOPLE!
And who are His people? – Those who have repented and trusted in Christ alone for their salvation.
And again, how do we recognize those who are saved? Very simply, they follow Him. John 10:27, Mat 25:31-46
Jesus said in John 10:27-28 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.
And this is all possible because the Lord redeemed us through His own precious blood. Eph 1:7-8
Eph 1:7-8a “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He lavished on us…”
The Lord Jesus defeated sin and death once for all at the cross! Grace has won the victory for us!
Unfortunately, many people don’t know what it means to be saved by grace.
The Greek word for grace is “charis”, and it means to freely be given something, or to give something without any strings attached and without any prices placed on the gift.
And not only this, but the Bible teaches the gifts of God cannot be taken back! It would be against God’s own character and integrity!
Rom 11:29 “for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”
Think about this: If eternal life is called a gift in the Bible, and God’s gifts cannot be taken back, then once given, eternal life cannot be taken back! (once a person repents and trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ with their heart, they are saved forevermore!) John 3:16, Rom 6:23, 10:9-11.
Holy Scripture clearly points out that we are saved by grace, and not by our own good works. Rom 11:6, Eph 2:8-9, Tit 3:5
And as guilty sinners, the only way men can be saved is by God’s grace and mercy!
Rom 11:6 “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.”
If it’s by God’s grace, that means you cannot pay for it or earn it on your own.
Eph 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
And look at this wonderful explanation:
Titus 3:4-7 But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, 5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
gift = “doron”; a present; specially, a sacrifice.
2 Cor 9:15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!
Jesus IS the indescribable gift!
And God lovingly sacrificed His own Son to offer you and I the gift of eternal life!
There has never been a greater sacrificial gift in the history of the universe!
Rom 6:23b “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
free gift = “charisma”; a (divine) gratuity, i.e. deliverance
It comes from another Greek word… charizomai; to grant as a favor, i.e. gratuitously, in kindness, to pardon or rescue.
There’s the free gift of eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord, and this all has to do with our redemption!
This is NOT how the “natural” man thinks, because man naturally thinks with his old sinful nature.
Even as believers in Christ, we can think fleshly without the Word of God.
Without constantly learning the Word of God, we will fall back into thinking human thoughts… such as that man has to earn his own salvation, or that he pay back God for his sins.
But the Bible tells us this is IMPOSSIBLE for man.
We must turn to the Word of God every day to be set free from our human thinking.
God’s thoughts are… “I love you, and I paid the price for your sins, once for all. Humble yourself before Me… repent and trust in My Son and you will be saved.” – Mar 1:15, Luk 18:13-14, Joh 3:16, Act 16:31
Luk 18:13-14 “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ 14 “I tell you,
this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
The amazing thing about the Truth is that God’s ways are so far beyond our ways, and yet they are so simple. Isa 55:8-9, 2Co 11:3
And this reminds us that all of our personal sins have been paid for at the Cross once for all. They are no longer an issue in our eternal salvation! Psa 103:1-4,8-14, Isa 43:25, 44:21-24, Heb 8:12,10:17
Even in the Old Testament, God reveals His plan to save us, even though His Son hadn’t come yet.
In other words, God revealed His heart, and He would PROVE His heart when He sent His Son.
Ps 103:1-4 “ Bless the LORD, O my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name. 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits; 3 Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases; 4 Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with lovingkindness (grace) and compassion;”
Only God can redeem our life from the pit of sin.
Imagine for a moment falling into a pit 1000 feet deep, and there is no ladder or rope to pull yourself out.
Our ONLY hope is God doing something to save us.
Ps 103:8-14 “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. 9 He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. 10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. 12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. 13 Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. 14 For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.”
Isa 43:25 “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins.”
Isa 44:21-24 ” Remember these things, O Jacob, And Israel, for you are My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant, O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me. 22 “I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud And your sins like a heavy mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.” 23 Shout for joy, O heavens, for the LORD has done it! Shout joyfully, you lower parts of the earth; Break forth into a shout of joy, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it; For the LORD has redeemed Jacob And in Israel He shows forth His glory. 24 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer”
The Redeemer has paid our price so that we don’t have to pay it, thank God!
Notice how your sins being removed is tied in with Redemption!
Heb 8:12 “FOR I WILL BE MERCIFUL TO THEIR INIQUITIES, AND I WILL REMEMBER THEIR SINS NO MORE.”
Heb 10:17-18 “AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE.” 18 Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.”
Our Lord Jesus died IN OUR PLACE, once for all! The Bible says He became our “scapegoat”! Lev 16:8-10
We had a debt we could not pay, but it’s now been removed in Christ! – Halleluia! Praise be to God!
Col 2:13-14 When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, 14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
Our debt was removed from us once for all at the Cross. The final sacrifice has been slain; Jesus Christ. Don’t slay the Lamb again, or look for another sacrifice! Heb 10:29
Heb 10:29 “How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?”
The Lord became our scapegoat, once for all, Lev 16:22. The scapegoat in the Old Testament was a picture of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God! John 1:29
Lev 16:22 “The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.”
John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
In the Old Testament, the priest would place one hand of the head of a man and his other hand on the head of the goat, and he would transfer the man’s sins to the goat.
Then, they would release that goat into the wilderness, NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN.
What a great picture of how your sins will never be seen again if you place your trust in Christ… and that He took them all upon Himself for you, and then took them to the grave!
I love this next passage; for those of us who are stuck in human thinking, who think we see but we do not.
The Lord makes it plain in John 6 that He wants nothing from us but FAITH. He makes it plain that HE has done all the work FOR US.
We cannot do anything to satisfy a perfect God!
And the Bible says the work must be PERFECT to satisfy God, but only Jesus’ work was PERFECT! Joh 6:28-29
John 6:28-29 “Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”
Jesus takes all the pressure off of man and places it upon Himself.
But we must realize and accept that it also takes all the credit away from man… we must stop taking credit…
… and this sets us free from the religious games we play to try to earn our way!
Christ has come and it is finished; we must REST ON THAT!
How do we do that?
When we repent towards God and trust in Christ to save us, Act 20:21, believing in Him who provided our redemption, we then receive Christ’s perfect righteousness that’s required for us to live with God forever!
And He makes we believers RIGHTEOUS, by grace through faith in Christ! Rom. 3:24, 2Co 5:21
Rom 3:24 “being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;”
To be justified means to be made righteous. True believers are now RIGHTEOUS in God’s eyes!
2 Cor 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the one and only Redeemer of mankind, and the only sacrifice that God accepts as worthy (Isa 41:13-14, Mat 20:28, Mar 10:45, 1 Ti 2:6)!
God will not accept our attempts to earn our salvation! Our own good works are called filthy, disgusting rags to Him!
Isa 64:6 “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;”
Please, don’t get arrogant or offended when you read that.
Be humble before the Lord. This is His Word!
Now let’s consider something…
It’s certainly understandable that God would call our SINS “filthy rags”, but why does He call our GOOD WORKS filthy rags?!
It’s because our good works are tainted or polluted by our sinfulness.
God requires purity and perfection for something to be truly “good”.
For example, imagine just one small piece of dung being put into a liter of clean water… would you drink it??!
No! The whole liter of water is now infected!
The Hebrew phrase for “filthy garment” refers to a woman’s menstrual rag.
That’s how God views man’s righteous deeds if they are done without Christ.
So, as a friendly reminder: God will not accept OUR attempts to earn salvation. Even our good works are filthy and disgusting to Him because we are impure, tainted and infected by sin.
God accepts our righteous deeds ONLY when we do them in the power of Christ!!
And how do we do that?
Once born again and saved, a believer is now indwelled by Christ. This means Christ lives inside of them.
As a believer in Christ, you now have His Spirit in you, and you can be FILLED with His Spirit and the Word of God available to you!
We live in HIS power whenever we submit to His Spirit and His Word. Joh 1:1, 4:24, Heb 4:12, Eph 5:18-21, Gal 5:16-26
Please look up all these scriptures for yourselves to see how to live in the power of God.
God literally gives us Himself at salvation, so we can now truly do “good” by His perfect power. And His grace has freely provided all of this for believers.
Jesus said in John 4:24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
It comes back to humility, and that God only gives grace to the humble! Jam 4:6
We cannot perform truly good deeds without relying upon His power.
Otherwise, our fleshly attempts at “good” are not accepted by the Lord. They are called “wood, hay, and straw” in 1Cor 3, and will be burned up.
Therefore, we must be filled with the Spirit when serving Him.
This comes when we rightly humble ourselves before Him each day, as often as we need to.
Here’s an excellent passage that shows us the difference between good works we do in the power of the flesh or in the power of the Spirit:
1 Cor 3:10-15 “According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”
And let’s remember; God looks at the heart (1Sa 16:7, Luk 2:35a). Because the heart is where our true motivation is. And God sees WHY we do what we do!
Luke 2:34-35a Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.
NIV
Let’s say you do something good, but you do it for the wrong reasons.
For example; did you do good to gain attention from others, or in hopes of receiving something in return from someone?
OR… did you do it for the love of Christ, in obedience to your Lord?
God looks at the heart in everything we do, even when believing in Christ for salvation. Rom 10:9-10
There’s only One Person who can make us truly “good”, and that’s the perfectly righteous One; Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the one and only Redeemer of mankind, and the only sacrifice that God accepts as worthy (Isa 41:13-14, Mat 20:28, Mar 10:45, 1 Ti 2:6)!
Isa 41:13-14 “For I am the LORD your God, who upholds your right hand, Who says to you, ‘ Do not fear, I will help you.’ “Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel; I will help you,” declares the LORD, ” and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.”
This is actually the Lord Jesus Christ speaking in Isaiah 41, the second Person of the Trinity, before entering into humanity to accomplish our redemption.
We know this from comparing scripture to scripture, as we see that only Jesus Christ redeemed us and He is called the Savior of the world. Mat 20:28, 1Ti 2:3-6
As Jesus said in Mat 20:28 “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
The original Greek word for ransom means something to loose with, i.e. a redemption price (figuratively, atonement)
Atonement means paying a price for another to release them from their debt; or to make peace by repairing the injury of another.
There’s nothing more beautiful in life than that! That’s God’s love in action through forgiveness!
And oh, all the sins God has forgiven each of us of!! Luk 7:47
1Ti 2:3-6 “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.”
Here the original Greek word for ransom is slightly different… it means a redemption price.
Our Lord Jesus Christ has fully paid our redemption price!
The Lord Jesus Christ is the only One qualified to be our Redeemer because He is impeccable (1 Pe 1:19, Heb 4:15)!
1 Pe 1:18-19 “knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ”
Impeccable means that He was perfect when He went to the Cross! As a man, Jesus never committed any mental attitude sins, verbal sins, or overt sins in His entire lifetime!
For example, Hebrews 4 speaks of Jesus as our the true High Priest, and it also tells us He was without sin.
Heb 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”
And because of the virgin birth, Jesus had no sin nature passed down to Him from a human father, because the Holy Spirit is the One who impregnated Mary! Luk 1:34-35
Therefore we can conclude; Jesus wasn’t born in sin AND He also never chose to sin in His entire lifetime.
Therefore, He was totally free from sin when He went to the Cross for us!
And this is so important because ONLY A FREE MAN CAN SET A SLAVE FREE! And Jesus was truly FREE FROM THE BONDS OF SIN, unlike any of us.
Therefore, He was QUALIFIED TO BE OUR SUBSTITUTE in judgment and to be our Redeemer forever!
If you as a slave of sin could set yourself free, then you wouldn’t need another man to purchase your freedom.
But we were all born in the chains of sin. Eph 2:1-3
Eph 2:1-3 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
Picture yourselves in chains… that you are totally helpless. You CANNOT help yourself if you are wrapped up in chains!
Think about it; why did Christ leave heaven and become a man and suffer so horribly in our place?
For Him to willingly do that, it must have been ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to save us!
And think about His love; would YOU have left heaven to suffer and die to save a rebellious people on earth?
Do not be deceived; the Bible says we were all God’s enemies because of our sins against Him, our Creator.
Rom 5:6-11 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
Continuing to ponder spiritual things; if we had the ability to save ourselves by our own good works or by being sinless, then the Lord would not have gone to such extremes as to suffer and die on The Cross.
If there were any way we could save ourselves, He would not have had to enter into flesh to save us!
As the Bible says, God purchased our freedom with His own blood.
That’s why Pastors are given this message in Acts 20:28 “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”
Jesus tells us that God is Spirit in John 4, so how can He have blood? This is another reason we know Jesus is actually God Almighty in the flesh.
And He has done all the work for man’s salvation, so we must NOT insult the grace of God by adding human works to God’s gift of eternal life!
Either salvation is by grace, or it is not. And the Bible says grace is NO LONGER GRACE if we add works to it. Rom 6:23, 11:6, Eph 2:8-9
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Rom 11:6 “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.”
Eph 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Either salvation is by grace, or it is not. And the Bible says grace is NO LONGER GRACE if we add our works to it. Rom 6:23, 11:6, Eph 2:8-9
When you die and come face to face with the Lord, do you want to be judged by your works, or by His grace?
It’s your free will choice; make the right choice now! The Bible says TODAY is the day of salvation!
2 Cor 6:1-2 And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain — 2 for He says,
“AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU.” Behold, now is “THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,” behold, now is “THE
DAY OF SALVATION” —
And tell your people, “you must choose one or the other”, you can’t stay on the fence. By faith, you must jump in the Lord’s boat if you want to be saved!
You either trust in yourself and your own supposed goodness or you trust in the Lord Jesus to save you. Which one are you relying on in your heart?
This is one reason Jesus tells us to deny ourselves and pick up our cross and follow Him. Mat 16:24, Mar 8:34
That’s what repentance and faith look like.
No matter how many good works a sinner does, he’s still a sinner. And that’s why God can’t accept our good works for salvation!
As we’ve already seen in the scriptures, we cancel out the grace of God if we add good works as a requirement to be saved.
Relying on the Lord Jesus alone is the only way for a sinner to be saved. That’s why a man must deny himself (he’s a sinner and cannot save himself), and follow Christ.
John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
Our Lord Jesus Christ was truly free from sin, blameless and upright, and THEREFORE He was the only human being QUALIFIED to purchase us out from the slave market of sin. (John 8:36; Gal 4:4-7).
John 8:36 “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed”
Gal 4:4-7 “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law (therefore He was qualified!), 5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 6 Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.”
This was all accomplished for us by our one and only Redeemer.
Our Lord Jesus Christ lived a perfect life without any personal sin, and He always obeyed the Father’s will.
Do you realize that our Lord Jesus, even as a child, never lied to anyone? Do you realize that Jesus was never selfish? And
never arrogant? NOT EVEN ONCE did He go against the Father’s will and plan for His life.
Our Lord Jesus lived out a life as PERFECT humanity and this qualified Him to be our Redeemer. (Isa 53:9, John 8:46,19:4, 2 Cor 5:21, Heb 4:15, 7:26-28 ).
Isa 53:9 His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
John 8:46 “Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me?
Heb 7:26-28 For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; 27 who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. 28 For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever.
Being trapped in sin, man CANNOT redeem himself, but only the God-Man, Jesus Christ can (Ps 49:7-8 ).
Ps 49:7-8 “No man can by any means redeem his brother Or give to God a ransom for him — For the redemption of his soul is costly, And he should cease trying forever —
There we see it’s impossible for man to redeem himself, or to redeem his brother!
We CANNOT come up with the price that God’s perfect righteousness demands! We don’t have it and we can’t earn it or work for it.
We should stop trying to please God in our own strength. (i.e. Tower of Babel- Gen 11)
Ps 68:19-20 “Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death.”
ONLY from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death!
Our Lord’s spiritual death on the cross was more than enough to redeem our souls.
He purchased the souls of men through His spiritual death, when He was separated from God and judged for our sins by God the Father.
We have been bought with a price (1 Cor 6:20, 7:23)!
This is why we are told to glorify God in our bodies, so we don’t waste away the freedom He purchased for us!
51
1 Cor 6:20 “For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”
1 Cor 7:23 “You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.”
Once we place our trust in Christ and God saves us, we then rightly live for the One who purchased our freedom.
And good works are the way we say “I love You” and “Thank You” to God, for all He has already done for us in salvation.
Good works should be done in response, in gratitude.
Good works are not the means of salvation, but they are the result of salvation. Eph 2:8-10
Eph 2:8-10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
Good works are not the way to heaven, but they are the inevitable results of true believers responding to God’s grace. Mat 7:16-20
Take note! Good works are not a way of gaining salvation, but they are a response to receiving the grace of God in our lives through Jesus Christ.
52
So we each might ask ourselves: WHY are we wanting to do good works? What’s our motivation?
Is it to earn our way with God? Or is it because we realize He spared our life and purchased our freedom by His blood? Act 20:28
It’s all in our motivation… and God looks at our hearts!!! God looks at WHY we do what we do, as He reads our minds and
hearts. 1Sam 16:7, Heb 4:12-13
1 Sam 16:7 “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
Heb 4:12-13 “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
If those scriptures don’t humble us, I don’t know what will.
Walking by faith allows us to walk in the works He has laid out before us as believers.
2 Cor 5:7 for we walk by faith, not by sight
53
And in that way we can bring tremendous glory to our Lord, as long as our hearts are good before Him.
God gives believers a “good conscience” to walk with, which is influenced by His Spirit! He provides divine power to us once we place our trust in His Son! 1Tim 1:5, 18-19.
1 Tim 1:5 “The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith”
1 Tim 1:18-19 “Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, 19 holding on to faith and a good conscience”
How do we fight the good fight of faith? We hold on to faith and a good conscience, which God has given us by grace!
And walking that way, we can bring glory to our God and Savior as “vessels of honor”.
2 Tim 2:20-22 “Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels , but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. 22 Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”
54
But we must remember, this is only possible in our lives because Christ first completed the perfect work in us.
JESUS CHRIST HAS FULLY PURCHASED SALVATION ON OUR BEHALF!
And by faith alone in Christ alone, we can receive His gift of eternal life. John 3:16, 5:24, 6:28-29.
Let’s revisit a previous principle, with some more scriptural support:
Man CANNOT redeem himself, but only the God-Man, Jesus Christ can (Ps 49:7-8, 68:19-20). Only Divine Omnipotence can redeem the souls of men (Ps 49:15, 77:15a).
Ps 49:7-8 “No man can by any means redeem his brother Or give to God a ransom for him — For the redemption of his soul is costly, And he should cease trying forever —
Ps 49:15 “But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol, For He will receive me. Selah.
Ps 68:19-20 “Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death.”
Ps 77:15a “You have by Your power redeemed Your people,
55
There we see, it’s impossible for man to redeem himself, or to redeem his brother!
—–
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Redeemer of Israel (Psa 78:35, Isa 43:14, 44:24, 49:7, 54:5,8, 60:16)…
… AND the Lord Jesus Christ is Redeemer of the Church, which is made up of anyone who repents and believes in Him to be saved! (Rom 10:9-13, 1Cor 1:30, Gal 3:13, Eph 1:7,14, Col 1:14, Titus 2:14)
1Cor 1:30-31 “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”
Isn’t it a great relief that we don’t need to find something in ourselves to boast about?
Isn’t it freeing that we can stop all the posing and posturing, trying to make ourselves look spiritual in front of others, or trying to impress God with a fleshly attempt at holiness?
The Truth is that it’s not about us. It’s about the Lord Jesus Christ.
We can let go and admit we are wretched sinners before God and embrace the freedom He has granted us through our Lord Jesus Christ!
56
Rom 7:21-25 I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.
Our merciful God knows we’re sinners, yet He still accepts those who humbly turn to Him through faith in Jesus Christ.
So now, we believers can rejoice in His grace and simply boast in the Lord for all He has done for us and in us!
Another angle into redemption is that Jesus Christ VOLUNTARILY became a curse for us so that we would not have to be cursed!
Gal 3:13 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us — for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE”
The curse of the Law was that mankind was commanded to keep it all, but he couldn’t! It was a curse to us because its perfect standards were impossible for man!
57
But thank God that Jesus came down and completely fulfilled the Law, as a Man!
This qualified Him to be a worthy sacrifice, and then He voluntarily took the judgment for our sins upon Himself at the Cross.
Out of love, the Lord of the Universe became a curse for us!
Eph 1:7-8 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us”
Eph 1:13-14 “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”
When God seals something it cannot be broken because God is all-powerful! Imagine Almighty God sealing a glass jar… how could any man could possibly open it?
And another analogy is the sealing of an animal by its owner. Once a farm animal has a seal burned into its hide, then nothing can change that!
That creature is sealed with his owner’s seal; it is a permanent sign of ownership.
58
And we’ve been sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise! Also think of John 10:27-30.
John 10:27-30 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. ” My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are One.”
If you have placed your trust in Jesus Christ as your God and Savior (Tit 2:13, 2Pe 1:1), then the omnipotent (all-powerful) God has sealed you forever as His child and nothing and no one can change that. Rom 8:28-39, 1Pe 1:5, Col 1:13-14
That’s why Romans 8 says what it says so boldly in vs. 38-39.
Rom 8:38-39 “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
There we clearly see that NOTHING can separate us from the love of Christ once we have trusted in Him alone for our salvation.
1 Pe 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will
59
not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
Do you see how God protects those whom He has purchased/redeemed?!
Once again, our verse in Acts 20 is appropriate:
Acts 20:28 “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”
Col 1:13-14 “For 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.”
Titus 2:11-14 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”
Let’s now move on to an Old Testament explanation of our redemption through Jesus Christ.
60
The Bible reveals that the Lord Jesus Christ is mankind’s Kinsman-Redeemer. (Lev 25:48-49, Ruth 3:12-13, Heb 2:14-15)
You and I were born in sin according to the Scriptures (i.e.- Eph 2:1-3).
We were born in spiritual chains and 100% guilty in God’s eyes.
If you don’t believe you’re guilty in God’s eyes, just measure yourself against the 10 Commandments.
And remember, the Bible says if you’ve broken just ONE part of God’s Law, you’ve broken it all. (Jam 2:10)
Jam 2:8-10 If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.
From the beginning we needed someone to redeem us, to save us from the slave market of sin that we were all born captive to.
First of all, according to the Old Testament, a Kinsman-Redeemer must be RELATED to the one who is being redeemed, AND He must be able to AFFORD to pay the ransom price, fulfilling its righteous demands.
61
This was all prophesied regarding what the Messiah would do for us.
Our Lord Jesus fulfilled these requirements in His incarnation by becoming true humanity… He became our “kinsman”, or our brother, and therefore was qualified to redeem us.
AND Jesus satisfied the righteous demands of God the Father by remaining free from sin His entire life!
As our Kinsman-Redeemer, our Lord had to become like us. He had to be our “kinsman”, of blood relation, therefore He voluntarily took upon Himself flesh and blood.
He knew that according to the Father’s plan, the only way to save us was to become one of us, so He could pay the price for us.
This is why the 2nd Person of the Trinity became a man; truly human (John 1:14, 1Tim 3:16, Heb 2:14, 1 Jo 1:1).
The doctrine of the Incarnation states that the Son of God entered into the human race and took upon Himself flesh and blood.
First let’s compare a couple scriptures in John 1, which reveal the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ…
John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
62
John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
We know from many scriptures that Jesus was more than a man or a prophet, but He was God Himself in the flesh!
And our Lord Jesus Christ became our Kinsman-Redeemer and His type was shown to us in the Old Testament.
Kinsman redemption was possible for redeeming people, estates, and inheritances (Lev 25:25,48, Gal 4:4-5, Eph 1:7,11,14).
A kinsman, a blood relative, could buy back land, or buy people out of slavery, or buy back their inheritance.
So here we see that a blood relative had the right to pay off the debt of another relative.
Lev 25:25 ‘If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor he has to sell part of his property, then his nearest kinsman is to come and BUY BACK what his relative has sold.”
Lev 25:47-49 ‘Now if the means of a stranger or of a sojourner with you becomes sufficient, and a countryman of yours becomes so poor with regard to him as to sell himself to a stranger who is sojourning with you, or to the descendants of a stranger’s family, then he shall have REDEMPTION RIGHT after he has been sold. One of his brothers
63
may redeem him, or his uncle, or his uncle’s son, may redeem him, or one of his blood relatives from his family may redeem him;
Gal 4:4-5 “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”
The Lord Jesus Christ is a type of Kinsman-Redeemer in that He became like one of us – truly human, and truly our brother in the flesh!
And He also shared in our sufferings… He was born of a woman, born under the Law, and 100% human with all the frailties of the human body and human emotions.
And as a man, He was also tempted in every way mankind could be tempted, YET WITHOUT SIN. Heb 4:14-15
Heb 4:14-15 “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”
The Son of God left heaven and truly became our brother, a real human being; and therefore He was qualified to be our Kinsman-Redeemer.
64
Jesus was able to afford and pay our ransom price, which was His substitutionary spiritual death; His separation from God the Father for 3 hours on the cross, for our redemption!
And He was also WILLING to pay that ransom price; He was NOT forced to do so.
Christ as the Kinsman-Redeemer fulfills the type of being WILLING TO REDEEM.
In the Bible, The Kinsman-Redeemer type says that the Redeemer MUST be a kinsman (or related by blood), and MUST be able to pay the redemption price, and MUST be able to meet the righteous demands, and MUST be “willing” to pay the redemption price.
He had to meet all these requirements if he was going to set his brothers free.
Let’s review these and go to some passages to see how this is foretold in scripture.
a. Must be a kinsman or related by blood (Lev 25:48-49, Ruth 3:12-13, Heb 2:14-15)
When a godly man named Boaz was talking to his maid-servant Ruth, he was describing how she could be redeemed.
Ruth 3:12-13 “Now it is true I am a close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I. “Remain this night, and when morning comes, if
65
he will redeem you, good; let him redeem you. But if he does not wish to redeem you, then I will redeem you.”
Notice Boaz had to give the closest relative the first right to redeem.
In accordance with this, the Lord Jesus Christ became our close relative becoming truly human so He could redeem us from our sins!
Otherwise, we would have been condemned forever because we’re all guilty and under the judgment of sin, AND we’re all unable to pay the tremendous debt we owe God.
Heb 2:14-15 “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”
Because Jesus became our close relative, He was able to redeem us and free us from both sin and death, once for all!
From God’s perspective, Jesus paid the price for every man’s freedom so that whoever repents and believes in Him will never perish, but has eternal life. Joh 3:16, Mar 1:15
So again, a Kinsman-Redeemer must be related by blood, and the Son of God became a man to fulfill that requirement.
66
It’s simply beyond human comprehension that God would do this for us.
b. Must be able to pay the redemption price (Ruth 4:3-6, Jer 50:34, John 10:11,18 )
Ruth 4:3-6 Then he said to the closest relative, “Naomi, who has come back from the land of Moab, has to sell the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. “So I thought to inform you, saying, ‘ Buy it before those who are sitting here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if not, tell me that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am after you.'” And he said, “I will redeem it.” Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the deceased, in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance.” The closest relative said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, because I would jeopardize my own inheritance. Redeem it for yourself; you may have my right of redemption, for I cannot redeem it.”
Again, the Kinsman-Redeemer must be able, or qualified, to pay the redemption price! And our Lord is able and He is qualified!
Jer 50:34 “Their Redeemer is strong, the LORD of hosts is His name; He will vigorously plead their case.
The Lord has perfect strength and therefore He has no problem paying the price required.
67
John 10:11 ” I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
John 10:14-18 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father-and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life-only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” NIV
c. Must be able to meet the righteous demands (Lev 25:27, Gal 3:13, 1Pe 1:18-19)
Gal 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us — for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE”
1Pe 1:18-19 “knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ”
Jesus’ blood was pure and without sin, and therefore He became the acceptable sacrifice before God the Father.
Jesus was able to meet the righteous demands because He alone was worthy!
68
But that’s not everything. Another key factor is in play.
d. Must be “willing” to pay the redemption price. He is not forced to do so. (John 10:18, Phil 2:5-8 )
Remember, we just read in Ruth 4 that the closest relative was NOT WILLING to redeem Ruth.
He didn’t have to, and he chose not to. Jesus possessed the free will to say “no” to the Father’s plan!
But thank God, He was truly willing to go forward with the plan of the Cross and redeem us!
Speaking about His own life, Jesus said in John 10:18 “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”
Jesus in His humanity chose to obey the Father’s commands, every one of them, as a perfectly obedient Son who loved His Father.
He was willingly humble to bring glory to His Father, no matter what was asked of Him.
And He was our wonderful example of the unselfish, sacrificial love of God.
69
Phil 2:5-8 “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
Even though Jesus had it ALL in heaven, He was more than willing to pay the price for us because that’s how deep His love is for us. It’s unfathomable!
God’s ways are MUCH higher than our ways, and His thoughts are MUCH higher than our thoughts. Isa 55:8-9
Isa 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
NIV
Our greatest imagination could not have invented what God has actually done for us. It goes far beyond human comprehension!
Our Lord WILLINGLY stooped down to such lows; lows that none of us would have ever stooped to for a rebellious people.
We rejoice as we remember that He willingly redeemed a totally unworthy and ungrateful creature, called mankind.
70
Jesus stepped out of eternity and limited Himself to time!
And He did this NOT to bring glory to Himself, but He knew He would be mocked and ridiculed and beaten, and put to death on a lonely cross.
But, because Jesus received our judgment upon Himself, we do not have to be judged, if we believe in Him with our hearts. Rom 10:8-11
Rom 10:8-11 But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART” — that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”
GOD is crazy in love with us, with an indescribable love. This is a love that none of us will truly understand until we arrive in heaven!
But when you realize that Jesus WILLINGLY went to the cross for you, that should convince you of God’s love for you. That’s the greatest evidence of His love.
Consider this: the value of something is measured by how much someone is willing to pay for it. (just think about real life and products often going to the highest bidder)
Well, how valuable are you to God if He was willing to give up His uniquely born Son for you?
Let’s take a moment to celebrate our Brother-in-arms;
the One who became a soldier to save our eternal lives;
the One greatest soldier to ever put on a uniform;
and His uniform wasn’t camouflaged to hide and protect Himself, but it was simply flesh, to the harm of Himself.
What Jesus did for us is simply beyond words.
Only the words found in the Word of God can give us a glimpse of something so wonderful, and so horrible at the same time. To Him be the glory forever and ever.
Rom 11:36 “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”
Jesus became our Kinsman-Redeemer, and He willingly followed through on all the requirements to redeem us.
Let’s see some scriptures about His atonement for our sins!
Rom 5:6-9 “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
2 Cor 5:14-15 “For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.
2 Cor 5:19 “namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
1 Tim 2:5-6 “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.
1 Tim 4:10 “For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.
Heb 2:9 “But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.
1 John 2:1-2 “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
Let’s close by looking at the results of redemption:
- Forgiveness of sins (Isa 44:22, Eph 1:7, Col 1:14, Heb 9:12-15)
- Basis of justification (Rom 3:24)
- Basis for sanctification (Eph 5:25-27)
- Basis for the eternal inheritance of the believer (Heb 9:15)
- Basis for strategic victory of Christ in the invisible spiritual war (Col 2:14-15, Heb 2:14-15)
- Redemption of the soul in salvation leads to redemption of the body in resurrection (Eph 1:14)
- Redemption of the body is the ultimate status of the family of God forever (Rom 8:23, Eph 4:30).
Knowing that the Lord has taken care of our sins once for all, how thankful should we be in our hearts every day?
How should we decide to live our lives?
Rom 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
The scriptures teach us that the true believer will follow Christ because His heart has been changed by the Lord. i.e.- Joh 10:27
John 10:27-30 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish;
and no one will snatch them out of My hand. “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. “I and the Father are one.”
We are called to live in the new life He has purchased for us.
Gal 5:13 “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
Heb 9:14 “how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Believers have been set free from slavery to sin and death. Believers have also been set free from slavery to human good and evil.
So, what will we do with the mercy we have been shown? What will we do with the freedom we have been granted?
Matt 20:28 “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
As we’ve already seen in this study, the Greek word for “ransom” is lutron: something to loose with, i.e. a redemption price (figuratively, atonement)
Redemption, as represented by this word, is assurance that Christ has not merely transferred the sinner’s bondage from one master to another. The purchase was made so that the ransomed one may be free, or loosed!
He truly died to set us FREE!
And Jesus hopes we realize Who He really is; our Lord and Savior, and that we follow Him.
In the type of Exodus 21:1-6 (cf. Deut. 15:16-17), a slave set free by his master was truly free; BUT he could then choose to voluntarily remain as the slave of the master whom he loved.
The new voluntary relationship was sealed by the master piercing the ear of the slave with an awl (like a big nail).
The slave so appreciated being set free that he chose to stay with his master. And that’s a picture of us choosing to follow Jesus Christ, the One who truly set us free.
A love-motivated piercing: The willing slave would be taken by his master to a doorpost, and there his ear would be pierced through with the awl.
What’s your response to your freedom in Christ?
According to this type, the believer IS TRULY SET FREE, and then he has the OPPORTUNITY to yield himself fully as a servant to the One who redeemed him.
What a privilege to serve a loving Master like Jesus Christ!
So we have the opportunity to follow Rom 12:1, to honor such a loving and gracious Master who has truly set us free from sin and its judgment, once for all:
Rom 12:1 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
In like manner, Christ on His human side was the perfect example of voluntary yielding to the will of another.
And God wants our service to be voluntary, from a grateful heart!
According to Ps 40:6-8, also quoted in Hebrews 10:5-7 and contemplating the sealing of the voluntary slave, the Lord Christ said,
Psa 40:6-8 “Sacrifice and meal offering You have not desired; My ears You have opened; Burnt offering and sin offering You have not required. Then I said, “Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart.”
In this passage, the phrase “My ears You have opened” may as well be translated (according to the Hebrew language), “My ears you have bored,” and evidently refers to Exo 21 where the slave chooses to stay with his Master and has his ear pierced.
Jesus is in every respect the yielded servant of God the Father, and so we can determine to be, in gratitude for the fact that He has permanently set us free through Kinsman-Redemption!
Our Redemption through Christ is much like this story.
There is a story about a man who went down to the slave block to buy a slave girl. As she looked at the rich man bidding on her, she figured he was another evil man who would buy her and abuse her. She had heard all the stories.
The rich man won the bid, and as he was walking away with his property, he said, “Young lady, you are free.”
She said, “What does that mean?”
“It means you are free.”
She said “Does that mean that I can say whatever I want to say?”
The gentleman said “ Yes, my dear, you can say whatever you want to say.”
She said, “Does that mean that I can be whatever I want to be?” He said, “Yes, you can be whatever you want to be.” She said “Does that mean that I can go wherever I want to go?”
He said, “Yes, you can go wherever you want to go.”
The girl, with tears streaming down her face, said, “Then I will go with you.”