Friday, February 22, 2013

Redeemed


The other day I received a coupon in the mail for some items.  One item was free and worth $11 and the others I received at total of $4 off.  Then the store gave me a $5 gift card for buying everything.  The store actually paid me to take everything home!  I felt like I was on a TV show using my coupon skills! I  redeemed those coupons.  I paid in full and had some left over.  The word “redeem” isn’t used much anymore but it is a powerful word and found many times in Scripture.  It means several things:  to recover ownership of by paying a specified sum; to pay off; to turn in something and receive something in exchange; to fulfill; to set free, ransom or rescue; to save; to make up for; to restore with honor worth and reputation.  Jesus did all of these when He redeemed us!

I Peter 1:18-19 tells us, "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors,  but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”  Christians were not redeemed with gold and silver.  They would never do.  Jesus paid the ultimate price – His life, and used the currency of His blood to buy our freedom from sin.  In the same way a slave was redeemed when someone paid to buy their freedom, Jesus redeemed us by giving His life to set us free from the power of sin and death.

Jesus paid dearly, giving His life for ours.  It was our sin but He willingly endured the cross and resurrected to set us free.  2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”  You and I have been purchased by the blood of Christ – redeemed from our wicked ways and set free to live the new creation life in Him (2 Corinthians 5:17).

The redeeming power of the Lord is plentiful.  Not only can we be saved from sin and death (eternal separation from God), we can be healed, delivered, and restored.  Psalm 130:7 says, “O Israel, hope in the Lord!  For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.”  His salvation exceeds the cleansing of our souls – but if that was all, Hallelujah!  It heals broken hearts, relationships, redeems time lost, transforms culture, renews minds, and turns even the hardest hearts.  There is truly plenty of redeeming power for your life!

We cannot earn redemption.   It is only made available through the riches of God’s grace and sacrifice of Jesus’ life.  The items I bought on the shelf were new, shiny, and useful to me.  But in our sinful state, we are not like that.  Still, Jesus desires to buy us back and make us new, shiny and useful for His Kingdom.  Redemption is a free gift that can be received by anyone simply by asking for it.  When we do receive it by asking Jesus to be the Lord of our lives we must  remember we are bought with a price and not our own any longer to do whatever we want (1 Corinthians 6:20).  We must glorify God with our lives and use them for Him sin we are now His!

 Jesus gave His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45; Matthew 20:28).  He became the curse to redeem us from it (Galatians 3:13) and adopt us (Galatians 4:5).  We have redemption through His blood (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14).  Jesus redeems our lives from destruction and crowns us with love and mercy (Psalm 103:4).  Because of all He has redeemed us from, and to by the way, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!” (Psalm 107:2) and speak of how wonderful He has been, is, and always will be! 

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