The Price and Prize of Redemption

UV 875/10,000 Redemption None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him: Psalm 49 v 7 No man however rich or virtuous or wise can redeem even his brother nor can he redeem himself. We cannot be redeemed by silver or gold or knowledge or wisdom. We are not saved by virtue of our own virtue as the Greeks taught but we are redeemed by our faith that God gave Christ Jesus as a ransom for all mankind irrespective of their deeds or background. His only begotten Son Jesus was not only the most virtuous among all humanity but He is His most prized and favoured Son. In terms of sheer value in God’s mind and heart, His value is equal to the rest of all creation. Redemption means to live fully in the here and now and forever in eternity. We are not born free but we are born in captivity to sin and satan. The price for a man’s soul to be redeemed and to live forever is too great for him to pay. Our souls are mortgaged to the prince of darkness. Our souls are bound to see corruption. Our bodies are bound to decay. But since we are precious in God’ s sight, He made the provision by making payment of His most prized and favoured Son, the Prince of Peace, the Prince of Light, the Prince of Love. A more than adequate payment has been made for all people and for all time and for all types of sin. Satan cannot accuse God of adopting double standards, of not being just and righteous. The ends of both justice and mercy are met in one act of God. That one act of God has inspired the children of God right through history to overcome fear of evil, fear of death, fear of the devil, fear of judgement and to do the acts of the apostles: teaching, healing, preaching, prophesying, delivering, proclaiming. When we believe in the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, our own wages of sin are paid in full. We are freed from guilt. Satan can no longer accuse us and drag us into the lower realms that belong to him. Just as the sin of the first father Adam held us in captivity to death, the sinlessness and sacrifice of the second Adam, Christ Jesus set us free from the captivity forever. Abraham was only called a Friend of God but we are called now children of God. Jesus has set us free to be His brothers and sisters. We cannot experience greater freedom, greater joy than this that we are now destined to live fully in the here and now and live forever in the hereafter. Prateep V Philip