Part 3: Jesus Died For Our Freedom
“…we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” Titus 2:13-14
What is redemption not?
Sadly, it has been commonly taught by some Christian theologians since the early days of the church (e.g. Origen) that the concept of redemption was adopted from the pagan slave market where a price was paid to free a slave. This led to wild speculation that Jesus died to pay off Satan which is preposterous as Jesus owes Satan nothing. Present-day liberal theologians have wrongly said that because redemption was a concept taken from paganism that the Bible endorses paganism. Therefore, to accommodate current paganism they re-cast Jesus’ work on the cross according to modern pagan thinking such as goddess worship, radical environmentalism, and other religions.
What is redemption?
Redemption is synonymous with being liberated, freed, or rescued from bondage and slavery to a person or thing. The word and derivatives thereof (e.g. redeemer, redeem) appear roughly 150 times in the English Bible, with only roughly 20 occurrences in the New Testament. The prototype for redemption is not the pagan slave market, but rather the deliverance of God’s people from slavery and tyranny under Pharaoh also known as the Exodus. There, God liberated His people but in no way paid off the satanic Pharaoh but rather simply crushed him. Exodus 6:6 “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.”Other verses providing the Exodus as the prototype of redemption include Exodus 15:1-18, Deuteronomy 7:8 and 15:15, 2 Samuel 7:23, 1 Chronicles 17:21, Isaiah 51:10, and Micah 6:4.
Who is our redeemer?
The theme of God the Redeemer echoes throughout the Old Testament (Ps. 78:35; Isa. 44:24; 47:4; 48:17; 63:16; Jer. 50:34; Hos. 7:13; 13:14). In the New Testament at the birth of Jesus it is prophesied that He is God the Redeemer (Luke 1:68; 2:38). Paul also speaks of Jesus as our Redeemer (Rom. 3:24; 1 Cor. 1:30; Gal. 3:13-14; 4:4-5; Eph. 1:7; Titus 2:13-14).
How has Jesus redeemed us?
Hebrews 9:12 He [Jesus] did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.
1 Peter 1:18-19 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 forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
How do we receive Jesus’ redemption?
Romans 3:22-24 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
What has Jesus redeemed us from?
- The curse of the law (Galatians 3:13)
- Satan & demons (Colossians 1:13-14)
- The flesh (Romans 6:6-7)
- The world (Galatians 6:14) What redemption still awaits us?
- Life forever with God (Psalm 49:15)
- The return of Jesus (Job 19:25)
- A resurrection body (Romans 8:23)
