Christ Our Redeemer
I. The Cost of Our Redemption (Isaiah 53:1-12; Hebrews 9:11 -15)
A. Christ Died for Our Sins (Isaiah 53:1-6)
(Isaiah 53:1) Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
(Isaiah 53:2) For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
(Isaiah 53:3) He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
(Isaiah 53:4) Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
(Isaiah 53:5) But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
(Isaiah 53:6) All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Redemption is a transaction in which something of worth is given to ascribe worth to something else not previously considered of worth. The thing being redeemed may actually be intrinsically worthless and unwanted, or it may be of worth but under a burden of debt that dwarves its intrinsic worth. The Bible tells us that we were both worthless and debtors unable to pay our debt. It would require an incomprehensible price to pay our debt and elevate us to true worth. Who could or would pay such a debt? To Whom could we be so attractive as to motivate the necessary payment? The prophecies of the Redeemer were all the more fantastic because they claimed Some One would make that payment. Isaiah described our Redeemer poetically and powerfully. We have nothing to boast of in this eternal transaction. Jesus became ugly, rejected, humiliated, and impoverished, and wounded for even the least attractive of our unattractive race, based on His unbelievable choice to set His love on us.
B. Christ Overcame Sin and Death (vv. 7-12)
(Isaiah 53:7) He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
(Isaiah 53:8) He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
(Isaiah 53:9) And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
(Isaiah 53:10) Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
(Isaiah 53:11) He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
(Isaiah 53:12) Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
The prophetic words of Isaiah were as directly current and precisely accurate as the best current headline news of the day. Jesus faced and conquered every attack Isaiah foresaw, thereby executing history’s greatest paradox. He paid our debt, we received His redemption, He surrendered His life so we could live, becoming the focal point of the wrath of the Father and giving us access the very throne of the Ancient of Days. We gained as He lost, and yet when the Great Transaction was completed, the rejected Lamb was revealed as Lord of lords, King of kings, and the Lion of the tribe of Judah
(Philippians 2:5) Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
(Philippians 2:6) Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
(Philippians 2:7) But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
(Philippians 2:8) And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
(Philippians 2:9) Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
(Philippians 2:10) That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
(Philippians 2:11) And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
C. Christ’s Effective Sacrifice (Hebrews 9:11 -15)
(Hebrews 9:11) But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
(Hebrews 9:12) Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
(Hebrews 9:13) For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
(Hebrews 9:14) How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
(Hebrews 9:15) And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
Spiritual truth and “physical” truth are inextricably intertwined, as they are both expressions of the full reality that God made and that only spiritual beings can fully comprehend. Christ is both our eternal and efficacious Sacrifice and the High Priest that offered the blood of the Sacrifice. No Other could be What He is. He literally shed His life’s blood, purchasing our redemption, then He ascended to the Father and offered His own blood on the altar of Heaven’s temple. There is no time or decay in Heaven, so the blood He placed on that altar covered every animal sacrifice offered in true faith by the believer in the Old Testament, thereby rendering their offerings effective to justify them in their time. That blood remains fresh and alive to cover us in repentance and salvation in the New Testament. One Sacrifice, One Priest for all time and eternity, that’s who Jesus is.
II. The Value of Our Redemption (Romans 3:21-26; 1 Peter 1:18-20)
A. Righteousness by Faith (Romans 3:21 -23)
(Romans 3:21) But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
(Romans 3:22) Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
(Romans 3:23) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
The worthless cannot buy themselves worth. The dead cannot grant themselves life. The filthy have no power to make themselves clean. The purchase of redemption covered us with the righteousness of Christ. Our past no longer matters, only our future in Jesus.
B. Justification by Grace (vv. 24-26)
(Romans 3:24) Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
(Romans 3:25) Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
(Romans 3:26) To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
Many people live with a sense of entitlement, believing they deserve certain provisions in life simply because they breathe and have a heartbeat. There is no entitlement in the kingdom of God
C. New Way of Living (1 Peter 1:18 -20)
(1 Peter 1:18) Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
(1 Peter 1:19) But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
(1 Peter 1:20) Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
No longer must we rely on temporary offerings that basically kicked the can down the road, necessitating frequent repetitions for continued justification. The cross is the new and better way described in Hebrews.
(Hebrews 10:19) Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
(Hebrews 10:20) By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
(Hebrews 10:21) And having an high priest over the house of God;
(Hebrews 10:22) Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
III. The Results of Our Redemption (Galatians 3:13 , 14; Ephesians 1:3-10)
A. Redeemed and Blessed (Galatians 3:13 , 14)
(Galatians 3:13) Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
(Galatians 3:14) That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
The blessing of Abraham is that God accepted the faith of Abraham and imputed it to him for righteousness, even though he was just as bound by his sin nature as every other man. Through Christ we are righteous as we believe in Him. We are children of God by faith.
B. Accepted by God (Ephesians 1:3-6)
(Ephesians 1:3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
(Ephesians 1:4) According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
(Ephesians 1:5) Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
(Ephesians 1:6) To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
We are not spiritual step-children. The redemption of Christ has opened the door for full acceptance into His family and His kingdom, even granting us the rights of inheritance. God only has children, of which we are part.
C. Conformed to God’s Will (vv. 7-10)
(Ephesians 1:7) In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
(Ephesians 1:8) Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
(Ephesians 1:9) Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
(Ephesians 1:10) That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Through redemption we become integrated into the will and purpose of the Father for His creation. We have a place in His plans. He always loves and desires the benefits of His love for all mankind, but His ideal will for us is fulfilled only if we choose to follow Him. We cannot lose by serving God, and we cannot win by refusing His embrace.
No comments:
Post a Comment