I am currently participating in a book study group, going through John Stott’s “The Cross of Christ.” I have found this book nourishing my soul and bringing to my mind vivid images of the work of Christ on the Cross. In Chapter 7 Stott provides four images of salvation: propitiation, redemption, justification and reconciliation.
As the Easter season approaches, I have felt drawn to the Cross in a fresh way by focusing on each of these images. This study entails my research on the Redemption image.
Redemption
re-dem´er, re-demp´shun , pa-rak, “to tear loose,” “to rescue,” , pa-dha-h, ga’al; , agora-zo, referring to purchase, lutrou-mai, from lu-tron, “a ransom”): (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)
Revelation 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation
Redeem: a marketplace, commercial image, meaning to purchase or buy back.
Christian redemption focuses on the desperate situation of sinners needing to be rescued, being ransomed by the cross.
from lu-tron, “a ransom” – the purchase price of a slave; price to free someone from bondage
Old Testament Context: References to redemption/ransom pertained to property, animals, people and the nation of Israel.
Property – Purchased back to keep property in the family or tribe. Lev. 25:25-28; Boaz served as the redeemer for Naomi-Ruth
Animals- First-born of animals belonged to God, had to be bought back from the Lord
Unclean animals – redeemed for 85 shekels of silver
Cow/Sheep/Goat – offered on the altar
People – Firstborn had to be redeemed, a sacrifice offered to God;
Israel – Israel was delivered from the nation of Egypt through the powerful hand of God;
Passover – The lamb was the substitution for the life of the firstborn son. The death of the lamb is the ransom for the firstborn son. The blood of the lamb provided safety from God’s judgment at the hand of the death angel of the Lord.
New Testament Context: There were millions of slaves in the Roman Empire, it was a major business. Some were Christians. They understood that the only way to be freed from slave service was either to earn their freedom through payment, or to be purchased by a friend of loved one and then given a decree of freedom.
Modern context – the image of shackled African slaves purchased by white masters to populate the work teams of southern plantations at the whim of their overseers invokes a powerful image of life in captivity. Their freedom was granted through a presidential declaration and was ultimately brought about through the horrors of the Civil War.
Covenant of Redemption (Grudem)
A covenant between co-equal and co-eternal members of the Trinitarian Godhead in which God the Son voluntarily agreed to the incarnation, identification with and representation of humankind, complete obedience to God’s law on our behalf, and the payment of the penalty we deserve for sinning against the Holy Father.
Why we need redeeming:
We are in captivity to the bondage of sin. We are sinful and under the judgment of God; under the guilt and power of sin; thus we need rescue from sin and judgment, from guilt and corruption. We are under the curse of the Law because we are law-breakers. We sin. We experience pain, decay and futility. We live in a world that is in bondage to sin and under the power of Satan. Outside of Christ, we too, are in sin, in bondage to the power of sin. We are unable to do anything but sin. We are guilty of sin and under its condemnation.
Our common bondage: captive to sin, from birth
- Romans 6:17 described as “servants to sin”
- Romans 7:14 described as “sold to sin”
- John 8:34 “everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin”
What is sin? It is the rejection of God and His glory. It means that we have exchanged knowledge of, obedience to, and love for God as the purpose of our being and we have treasured other things. We have dishonored God by not glorifying God in the way He deserves.
His will for us is to love Him completely and fully in every area of our lives. Unfortunately, we do have not loved Him. We have loved other things more than God. By our lovelessness we have deemed Him unworthy. We have said to God, “you are not the most precious thing in the universe.” Or “You are not the all-wise Creator of the universe.” Or “You are not my King and Judge”
We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. (1 John 5:19)
knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold (1 Peter 1:18)
All the images of debt, captivity, slavery, exile and condemned to death together illustrate the need for which we need redemption. We are in bondage to the power and control of sin, we are guilty, we stand under judgment and we are condemned. We need redemption, we need forgiveness.
What was the ransom for our redemption? Jesus
His Incarnation: There was a cost to Christ in leaving heaven and in entering our condition to save us.
His Obedience: Christ obeyed God fully. He suffered in His obedience, persecution, hunger, even under the threat of death.
His Death: Christ died a brutal death in bleeding out on the cross. Christ died a humiliating death in suffering crucifixion. Christ died a sacrificial death in dying on our behalf, paying our penalty. His blood is the reminder of the brutal slaughter of the Son of God on the cross.
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)
knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, (19) but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. (20) He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you (21) who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. (1 Peter 1:18-21)
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace (Ephesians 1:7)
Ransom is the price paid to redeem someone from bondage or captivity. (Grudem)
Thomas Watson said this, quote:
Great was the work of creation, but greater the work of redemption. It cost more to redeem us than to make us. In the one there was but the speaking of a word. In the other there was shedding blood. The creation was but the work of God’s fingers. Redemption is the work of His arm,
To Whom was our Ransom paid?
The ransom price was paid to God, not Satan.
Ephesians 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Hebrews 9:14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
Romans 3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.
What is the implication of our redemption?
The Lordship of Jesus Christ over that which He has purchased.
Creation: We were created by God, for His glory.
Redemption: We are purchased back for God through the death of His Son.
Indwelling: The Spirit of God indwells us to give us life, to sustain us, and to serve as the seal of deposit.
Our captivity is of such that the only ransom sufficient for our release is the life of the Son of God.
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.(Hebrews 2:14-15)
He has delivered 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. (Colossians 1:13-14)
Christ, our redeemer, our ransom.
And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation (Revelation 5:9)
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it– the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:21-26)
