Redemption: An Act of The Master Planner
Maintaining a Healthy Fear of God
Trust and Obey – Part 5
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The Gospel of Christ – Redemption: An Act of The Master Planner
While we do His good will, He abides with us still, And with all who will trust and obey.
“ Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: THAT CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES, AND THAT HE WAS BURIED, AND HE ROSE AGAIN THE THIRD DAY ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES, AND THAT HE WAS SEEN BY CEPHAS, THEN BY THE TWELVE. AFTER HE WAS SEEN BY OVER FIVE HUNDRED BRETHREN AT ONCE, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8)
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” (Ezek. 36:26–27)
I want to start this look at Redemption by taking us back to some of what we looked at the beginning of this mini- series Trust and Obey, especially where we asked the questions – What is God’s good will? And What provisions has He made for us to take hold of this good will?The answer for the first question being that God’s good will is the pursuit of His eternal purpose. The answer to the second question The Gospel of Christ is what we are now looking at.
In our look at The Gospel of Christ, we saw that it is the singularly most important communication of God to man. We saw that in Jesus, who is God the Son, we have the revelation of God‘s love and sacrifice that saves us from Gods righteous judgment upon sinners. We then started our look at this GOD‘S FULL SALVATION which comprises of Regeneration, Transformation and Consummation.
REGENERATION•
God justifies us through propitiation by Christ Jesus and regenerates us in our spirit with His life by His Spirit. It involves: Propitiation, Redemption, Justification, Forgiveness, Imputation, Sanctification (Positional), Sanctification (Experiential), Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Reconciliation to God
TRANSFORMATION•
This is the process of our freedom from the dominion of indwelling sin. It involves: Freedom from Sin, Sanctification (mainly dispositional Roman 6:19, 22), growth in life, transformation, building up and maturing.
CONSUMMATION•
Redemption of our corrupted body (Roman 8:23) and transfiguring into Christ’s glory (Phil. 3:21). This is the inheritance of God’s Kingdom and participation in Jesus’ Kingship.
We are now looking at Regeneration , of which in our last post we touched on Propitiation.
We will now continue with our look at Redemption.
REDEMPTION
Re·demp·tion
1. Repurchase, buy back (as of something sold).
2. Christianity
a. Deliverance or rescue from sin through the incarnation, sufferings, and death of Christ
b. Atonement for guilt
3. An act or process of redeeming or atoning for a fault or mistake, or the state of being redeemed.
Redeem – gain or regain possession of (something) in exchange for payment.
Compensatory – Providing, effecting, or aiming at compensation, in particular. (Of a payment) Intended to recompense someone who has experienced loss, suffering, or injury.
Retrieve – Get (something) back; regain possession of.
Regain – Obtain possession or use of (something, typically something
abstract) again after losing it.
Reach – (a place, position, or thing) again; get back to.
Reclaim – Retrieve or recover (something previously lost, given, or
paid); obtain the return of. The action or process of
reclaiming or being reclaimed: “beyond reclaim”.
Repossess – Retake possession of (something)
Redemption is the act of buying something back; or an act by which the original or prospective owner of a thing pays a price to return that thing from a present owner (back) to his/her possession.
Three of the Greek words that point to redemption in the Bible are – ‘agorazo’, ‘exagorazo’ and ‘lutroo’.
Click on Image to see presentation on Propitiation
In our next post please look out for Justification (Romans 5:8-10) the Third component of Regeneration.
You might say – “Why do I have to know and experience this Jesus you are going on about” Here is why, when and how you can get to know Him.
Admit your spiritual need.
We all are sinners: nobody likes that title “SINNER”, but the bible says in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”.
What is the result of sin?
In Romans 6:23 we read “The wages of sin is death…” in other words, every sin is another step towards death. One thing that we need to remember is that God never sends anyone to hell; one can send himself there by rejecting the truth.Since we can never measure up to God’s standards by our own strength; God has reached out to mankind.
The Bible tells us in John 3:16-17. ”For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” In Romans 5:8 we read, “God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”.
What must a person do to accept this gift?
Simply receive it! Matthew 11:28 states –“come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…for my yoke is easy and my burden is light”.
Revelation 3:20 says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me” Jesus stands at the door of your heart and knocks, seeking entrance into your life to give you peace, change you for the best. John 1:12 says: “For as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God”.
If you haven’t already received Christ as your Saviour, don’t put it off another day! Take time right now to reflect on the state of your life, how does Romans 3:23 apply to you? Ask God to empower you to see the true state of your heart – “The heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) then when enabled, invite Jesus into your life. Confess your sins. Receive His forgiveness and the gift of eternal life. You might pray something like thisREPENTANTLY (Having brought your sins before God with a determination to completely turn away from them):
Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner in need of a Saviour. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. Thank You for giving me eternal life. Help me to live my life in a way that pleases You, for whatever time You give me here on earth. I look forward to living forever in Heaven with You. Amen.