Redeemed

Recently I heard this phrase used:  "We are all in the process of being redeemed."  Can this be true?  Are believers really being bought on the installment plan?

Our English word "redeem" is actually a translation of three Greek words:

Agarazo: to buy at the market.

Ex-agarazo: to buy out of the market.

Lutro: to set free (upon receipt or payment of the ransom price)

The Easton Bible Dictionary explains redemption more fully:

[It is] the purchase back of something that had been lost, by the payment of a ransom. The Greek word so rendered is apolutrosis, a word occurring nine times in Scripture, and always with the idea of a ransom or price paid, i.e., redemption by a lutron (see Matt. 20:28; Mark 10:45). There are instances in the LXX. Version of the Old Testament of the use of lutron in man's relation to man (Lev. 19:20; 25:51; Ex. 21:30; Num. 35:31, 32; Isa. 45:13; Prov. 6:35), and in the same sense of man's relation to God (Num. 3:49; 18:15). There are many passages in the New Testament which represent Christ's sufferings under the idea of a ransom or price, and the result thereby secured is a purchase or redemption (comp. Acts 20:28; 1 Cor. 6:19, 20; Gal. 3:13; 4:4, 5; Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14; 1 Tim. 2:5, 6; Titus 2:14; Heb. 9:12; 1 Pet. 1:18, 19; Rev. 5:9). The idea running through all these texts, however various their reference, is that of payment made for our redemption. The debt against us is not viewed as simply cancelled, but is fully paid. Christ's blood or life, which he surrendered for them, is the "ransom" by which the deliverance of his people from the servitude of sin and from its penal consequences is secured. It is the plain doctrine of Scripture that "Christ saves us neither by the mere exercise of power, nor by his doctrine, nor by his example, nor by the moral influence which he exerted, nor by any subjective influence on his people, whether natural or mystical, but as a satisfaction to divine justice, as an expiation for sin, and as a ransom from the curse and authority of the law, thus reconciling us to God by making it consistent with his perfection to exercise mercy toward sinners" (Hodge's Systematic Theology).

Hodge couldn't be more emphatic — our debt has been fully paid.  It is not being paid little by little, bit by bit.  Christ died to pay the penalty against us once for all.

Hebrews 9:11-15 speaks of this — "he entered once for all into the holy places ... thus securing an eternal redemption."  If believers are all in the process of being redeemed, as being claimed, wouldn't Christ have to be dying again and again (Heb 9:6-10)?  (See also Once for all.)

Hebrews 9:11-15 — But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 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. Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

Titus 2:14 tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself for us, "that He might redeem us from all lawlessness, and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works." Our Lord died to redeem us from all iniquity, and He redeemed us unto Himself to be his people. He desires that we should be zealous of good works, but as believers we belong to Him now — bought outright, paid in full.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works (Titus 2:11-14).

No, we aren't being bought on the installment plan.  We are fully redeemed now. We were "bought with a price" and "redeemed to God” (1 Cor 6:20; Titus 2:14). We were "redeemed from the curse of the law" (Gal 3:13). And some day our mortal bodies will be made incorruptible and perfect (Rom 8:22-24). What a glorious day that will be!

May I suggest that instead of saying, "We are all in the process of being redeemed," a more appropriate statement might be, "We are all in the process of being sanctified"?  But even then we must be careful, for the Bible speaks of sanctification as being both already completed (positional) and in the process of being completed (practical).  We should be clear about which one we are speaking.  (See also Who we are - part 3.)

Redeemed—how I love to proclaim it!

Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;

Redeemed through His infinite mercy,

His child, and forever, I am.

Redeemed, redeemed,

Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;

Redeemed, redeemed,

His child, and forever, I am.

Redeemed and so happy in Jesus,

No language my rapture can tell;

I know that the light of His presence

With me doth continually dwell.

I think of my blessed Redeemer,

I think of Him all the day long;

I sing, for I cannot be silent;

His love is the theme of my song.

 

by Fanny J. Crosby

Shadow of Death

Lou Nicholes (missionary/author) remembers hearing Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse, pastor of the Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, relate about his first wife’s death. He, with his children, had been to the funeral service, and as he was driving home, Dr. Barnhouse said that he was trying to think of some words of comfort that he could give them. Just then a huge moving van passed them. As it passed, the shadow of the truck swept over the car, and as the truck pulled out in front of them, an inspiration came to Dr. Barnhouse. He said, “Children, would you rather be run over by a truck, or by its shadow?” The children said, “Well, of course Dad, we’d much rather be run over by the shadow! That can’t hurt us at all.” Dr. Barnhouse said, “Did you know that two thousand years ago the truck of death ran over the Lord Jesus in order that only its shadow might run over us?”

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain (1 Cor 15:54-58).
 

Salvation and good works

Many people think that salvation is God’s reward to those who do their best to live good lives. But this isn't true because God’s Word says of those who are saved:

...who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began (2 Tim 1:9).

Referring to this "salvation that is in Christ Jesus," Paul says:

If we have died with him, we will also live with him (2 Tim 2:10-11).

In other words, we have died with Christ.  It was not Christ’s death.  He was no sinner.  He had no death to die.  He was dying our death!  By faith we have been "crucified with Christ" (Gal 2:20). The penalty for all our sins have been fully paid because we have died in Christ AND have risen with Christ to "walk in newness of life" (Rom 6:3-5).

This is all God’s doing.  Only now are we in a position to do good works that will please Him (Rom 6:6-11).  Paul also writes in 2 Tim 2:12:  "if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us."  When our service for Christ is reviewed, some of us "will receive a reward," but others "will suffer loss," though they themselves "will be saved, but only as through fire" (1 Cor 3:14-15).

It will be deeply embarrassing for unfaithful believers to face empty-handed the One who gave His all — Himself — to save them. Yet salvation is by grace, so Paul is quick to conclude with these words:  "if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself (2 Tim 2:13).

So you see, our rewards depend upon our faithfulness, but our salvation (praise the Lord!) depends upon His.

Lord of Life

Though we rose to this tearful sunrise

With sadness for the dawn,

Now we find the grave-stone rolled aside,

Declaring Christ has gone.

 

Here we stand, trembling as an angel speaks,

We can't believe our eyes.

What a marvel, oh, what a mystery:

It's heaven's great surprise.

 

Hear the tomb as it echoes its refrain,

Which shouts of Jesus' pow'r;

Hear it ring with a triumph that proclaims

Salvation's finest hour.

 

Glory to the Great Redeemer,

Glory to the Risen Christ!

Our God reigns forever;

He is the Lord of life!

 

So all saints, let your loudest anthems ring;

We stand with hearts amazed.

Let us join as the heav'nly angels sing,

"He's worthy of all praise!"

 

Glory to the Great Redeemer,

Glory to the Risen Christ!

Our God reigns forever,

He is the Lord of life!

 

Hallelujah for this, our victory,

The end of sin's dark night.

As He lives once again then so shall we;

He is the Lord of life!

 

He is the Lord of life!

words and music by Tony Wood and Phillip Keveren

 

http://listeninglab.stantons.com/title/lord-of-life/424108/?s=1

There is only one God

This is interesting. Found in Sir Robert Anderson's book The Coming Prince, is the calculation of the prophecy found in Daniel 9:25 where it says that the going out of the commandment to restore Jerusalem "to the coming of an anointed one [Messiah]" would be 69 weeks of years (cf. Gen. 29:27; Lev. 25:8). I thought we had always known the calculation of this very specific prophecy, but apparently it baffled to us for many years. Here's why: The predicted time of 483 years (69×7) did not match up with the time of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It was Sir Robert Anderson (1841-1918) who realized that the problem was in the different ways Jews and Gentiles mark time. We number our years using a solar calendar in which each year has 365¼ days, but the Jews used a 360-day lunar calendar, with each year consisting of 12 months of 30 days each.

Evidence of this is found in Genesis 7:11, where we read that the flood began "in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month," yet exactly "150 days" later (Gen 7:24) "in the seventh month, of the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest" (Gen 8:3-4). The only way an exact period of five equal months can end 150 days later on the same day of the month is if each of those months has 30 days.

Further evidence is seen when we remember that the last half of Daniel’s seventieth week is sometimes said to last "forty-two months" (Rev 11:2), and sometimes it is said to last "for 1,260 days" (Rev 11:3). The only way 42 equal months can work out to 1,260 days is if each of those months has 30 days.

Once Sir Robert recalculated the prophecy using lunar years, he found that the 69 weeks "to the coming of an anointed one" worked out to the very day! the Lord Jesus rode the colt into Jerusalem and made an official presentation of Himself to Israel. No wonder the Lord wept later that day and said, "Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace!" (Lk 19:42, cf. Zech 9:9).

We celebrated this day last Sunday on what we now refer to as "Palm Sunday" (Lk 19:28-42; Jn 12:12-15).  Today we are celebrating "Good Friday" — the anniversary of the day our Lord was crucified.  On Sunday we celebrate His resurrection from the grave.  He is alive!

The point of this whole post? When you are asked why people should trust the God of the Bible, why not give the reason God Himself gives — fulfilled prophecy! (Isa 42:8-9; 44:7-8, cf. Jn 13:19). To those who proclaim that all the religions and/or gods of this world are the same, God says, "Set forth your case…bring your proofs…let them bring them, and tell us what is to happen…tell us what is to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods" (Isa 41:21-24).

The God of the Bible alone is God!

Are you sure?

I have to confess I have a real problem with the notion today that believers must persevere until the end in order to prove that they're saved.  In other words, we must look at how we're living and what works we're doing to see if we're really one of the elect.  I'm hearing this more and more frequently, too, particularly from the popular speakers of today.

One well-known speaker says this in one of his books: "One thing, however, is certain.  There is clearly a link between our assurance and our sanctification." And yet he goes on to say that one can be "certain of his salvation."  Still further on he says this about those who have fallen away: "The first possibility is that their profession was not genuine in the first place"... "The second possible explanation of those who make a profession of faith, give outward evidence of conversion, and then repudiate the faith, is that they are true believers who have fallen into serious and radical apostasy, but who will repent of their sin and be restored before they die.  If they persist in apostasy until death, then theirs is a full and final fall from grace, which is evidence that they were not genuine believers in the first place."  So they were true believers who persisted in apostasy until death so they weren't really true believers?  So our salvation isn't sure?  But who are we to judge anyway?  Can we see the heart?  No, but God can.  And He looks to see if we've placed our faith in His Son's death and resurrection, not at our works or whether or not we've sinned. It seems to me this author is just setting us all up to judge one another.

And the thing is, if our assurance is based even in small part on our practical sanctification, then absolute certainty is impossible — because we all still sin.  Say, for example, you yell at your kids first thing in the morning.  Well there goes your assurance.  You get it back after you pray and confess, but then you think some unkind thoughts about your impossible neighbor before lunch and lose your assurance again.  And so it goes all day long and you've doubted your salvation again and again.  So how many days like that would it take to convince you that security is merely wishful thinking?

But never fear. Even Paul, in Rom 7:14-25, tells us that he frequently did the very things he didn't want to do. We all do.  Because we all still have our old sin natures, there's a battle raging within each one of us. But does Paul wonder if he is truly saved? No! In the very next two verses he breaks out with, "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord ... there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Rom 7:25-8:1).

Still many Christians today believe that true believers persevere and false professors don't. They say that both may believe the same things in their minds, but the only way to find out if you're truly saved is by seeing if you persevere.  Of course, you can't be sure you will persevere until you die because you might die before you confess your latest sin and then you haven't persevered until the end. "Oh come on," you might say, "that's just being nit picky. If you've persevered right up to the end but then fall short, you're still good to go." But who says? Are there degrees of persevering? If so, then who gets to decide the cutoffs? Seems to me the best you can do is look at your works and see if they look like the type of works the Spirit does. But that certainly isn't fool-proof either because false professors do some good works that look like the real thing, too. So how can anybody really know? The plain fact is, when we take our focus off Christ and what He's done and put it on ourselves and what we do, assurance is tentative at best.

I think this author summarizes the problem with this way of thinking rather well: "The bottom line in ... [this type of thinking] ... is that the subjective elements (the works we do and the inner witness of the Holy Spirit) are the real grounds of assurance.  The objective promises of God only apply to me if Christ died for me, and He only died for me if I am elect and I can only know if I am elect by subjective means."

So the question that comes to my mind is this:  Why would anyone look to their imperfect walk for assurance instead of to the firm promises of God?  Many point to 2 Cor 13:5: "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless indeed you fail the test?"  But let's not forget that context is king!  This verse does not tell us to look at our works for confirmation of our election.  Paul is continuing the subject of his credentials as a true apostle.  He begins this subject in 2 Cor12:11 and continues it through the end of the book.  In 2 Cor 13:5 Paul overwhelms the Corinthian believers by pointing out that if he is a reprobate apostle, then they are reprobate Christians because they are all his converts. He challenges them to examine themselves as to whether they are really Christians or not.  Of course they would promptly reply that they were, and so their confidence about themselves would admit and establish Paul's claim to be a true apostle. Now think back and compare this with 1 Cor 4:3-4 where Paul says he does not even examine himself: "But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself. For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord." Now it makes sense.

Over and over Scripture tells us that if we place our faith in Christ, we're saved, period (e.g., Rom 4:5; Eph 2:8-9; Gal 2:16-21; 3:1-3, 26-27). It's never about any works we do, either before or after we trust Christ. It's always and only about what Christ has done. So let's take our focus off ourselves and put it back where it belongs — on Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith (Heb 12:2).

Is weak faith enough to save?

Yes, weak faith is enough to save because the most important thing about faith is not faith at all, but the object of our faith — Jesus Christ!  My pastor tells a story about three people on an airplane which illustrates this point very well.

“In the seat by the aisle is a businessman who flies all the time. In the seat in the middle is a student flying on her own for the first time. In the seat by the window is an old lady who has never flown before, and is already vowing that she will never fly again.

As the plane taxis to the runway, the businessman takes out his paper, the student in the middle is slightly on edge, and the old lady is holding onto the seat white-knuckled with fear.

When the lunch is served, the businessman eats the lot, the student eats about half, and the old lady can’t watch. She has her nose in the barf bag. Here’s the amazing thing: All three of them arrive in exactly the same place at precisely the same time, though their flights were enjoyed (or not enjoyed) in varying degrees.

Why? It’s not your degree of confidence, but the trustworthiness of the plane that will get you there.”

In like manner, our arrival in heaven does not depend on the degree of confidence we have in Christ, but on the Christ in whom we have placed our faith. Therefore, if we are in Christ, our destination is secure. Weak faith will get us there just as surely as strong faith, because it is Christ who saves us, not our faith.

Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved (Acts 16:31).

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Eph 2:8-9).

 

 

 

Acts 13 - We need only believe.

Paul and Barnabas had seated themselves in the large synagogue in Pisidian Antioch. But they were soon recognized. "After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them saying, 'Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it.'" 

These details are important because as Moses, in giving the Law, had declared God’s moral standards, the prophets had for centuries challenged the people to obey the Law and warned them of the consequences of breaking its commands. So passages from the Law and the prophets were generally read in the synagogues, and the religious leaders would then encourage the people to listen to the prophets and obey the Law.

 

Paul responded to the invitation to speak to the people gathered there. But rather than merely encouraging his hearers to keep the Law, he proclaimed Christ, who in love had died for all lawbreakers, closing with these words:

Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses (Acts 13:38-39).

How we need this message today! We may forever encourage one another to keep the Law, but who of us hasn't already broken it? Instead, we should thank God that He is a loving Savior as well as a just Judge, and that as God the Son, He paid for our sins Himself at Calvary so that we might be "justified by His grace" (Titus 3:7; Gal 3:13a). We need only believe.

Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved (Acts 16:31a).

I'm clean!

I've written quite a bit over the past several years but have never told you how I came to know the Lord.  I'd like to do that now.  Better late than never, I guess.

My testimony isn't as dramatic as some.  I didn't come out of the drug culture or any kind of self-destructing life style.  Nor did I go through a long period of searching for the true meaning of life before coming to Christ.  You see, I was raised in a Christian home and accepted Christ as my savior when I was about 6 years old.

After church one Sunday I had a lot of questions about becoming a Christian.  My father very patiently answered them by showing me verse after verse in the Bible.  He explained to me that I could become a Christian by placing my faith in what Jesus Christ did for me on the cross and not by doing good things.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (Jn 3:16).

He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5).

Then my father prayed with me.  My faith was very simplistic because I was so young, but I still remember it very plainly.

Over the years I've had spiritual growth spurts as well as plateaus and valleys, just like every other believer, as I constantly battle this old nature of mine.  But how freeing to know that I stand justified ("just as if I'd never sinned") before God because — and only because! — of His Son's death on the cross and resurrection!

It took me a while to fully comprehend this fact, though.  Too many times I had been told in church that I must constantly confess my sins to God, that I must "keep short lists" of my sins with Him, so that I wouldn't forget to ask for forgiveness for each and every one.  Of course this made me worry that I might actually forget to confess some of them...and then what?  I wasn't sure.  So I got into the habit of not only constantly focusing on and confessing every sin I could think of, but also, just for good measure, of saying a "blanket" prayer asking forgiveness for any sins I happened to forget.  Whew, I was covered!  But what a tremendous burden I lived under.

I remember coming across a book sometime during my high school years in which a young married couple talked about how joyful their Christian walks had become since coming to realize what Christ's death and resurrection for them really meant.  They seemed so happy, so free.  I didn't understand what they were talking about, but I knew I wanted to.

It was still several years after that — during my college years — before I finally understood that God had forgiven me — not only for my past sins, but also for my present and future sins — from the moment I placed my faith in His Son's death and resurrection on my behalf.  And now, because I'm in Christ (Col 2:8-12), I stand before God just as if I'd never sinned.  Isn't that amazing?!

You've probably noticed that I frequently post this quote from Bob George based on Heb 10:1-14.  I like it because it explains so vividly where I was then and where I am now:

When the Israelite who hears that Christ's sacrifice has taken away his sin continues to go on the Day of Atonement to offer animal sacrifices, what is he saying about the blood of Christ? When the Catholic continues to rely on his priest for forgiveness, what is he saying about the Spirit of grace? When the Protestant continues to send up prayers of confession to bring about forgiveness, what is he saying about the blood of the covenant? The Christian world tells the Israelites, "You no longer have to offer animal sacrifices." The Protestants are saying to the Catholics, "You don't have to confess to a priest, you can go directly to God." And God in heaven is saying to all of us, "IT IS FINISHED."

I wasn't going to the confessional per se', but I might as well have been.

I still struggle with my old sin nature, of course, just like every other believer.  The Apostle Paul talked about these struggles:

So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 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. Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. (Rom 7:17-8:2).

But now I know that in Christ I'm clean!

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor 5:21). 

I've also come to learn that it's in fully understanding God's grace towards me — not confession — that helps me to say no to sin.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works (Titus 2:11-14).

I look forward to the day when I no longer have to struggle with my old sin nature and we are all together in heaven with our Savior.  What a wonderful day that will be — AND, it's going to be forever!

justme ("just as if I'd never sinned" me)