REDEMPTION: Freedom by Payment of a Price.
All of the blessings of Romans 3:21-24 namely:
- God’s righteousness – which is available to all men today, and is specifically imputed to those who believe;
- Justification – whereby God declares a believing sinner righteous; and that, freely by His grace. . .
…have all become available to the Believer through one tremendous event. Everything in Romans 3:21-28 hinges on this one event which is found in the last part of verse 24:
- “THROUGH THE REDEMPTION THAT IS IN CHRIST JESUS”
Even though all of these blessings are given freely to us, the blessings had a price tag; and the Lord Jesus Christ paid the price.
The word “Redemption” was a common word used in Bible days. It was often used in the purchase of a slave. There were three different words used which spoke of three types of redemption.
- “Agorazo” – which means to buy in a market place. Kind of like a trade center. In Bible days a person could go to a slave market and purchase a slave.
- “Exagorazo” – which means to buy out of the market place. For one reason or another a slave could be purchased out of the marketplace, never to be put up for sale again.
- “Lutroo” – which means to set free by paying the price. The price of the slave’s freedom is called the ransom price. According to this type of purchase, the ransom price of the slave is paid in his behalf allowing him to be set free, liberated, delivered from bondage.
The Greek word for “redemption” in Romans 3:24 is “apolutroseous” which is a stronger form of “lutroo”. What Romans 3:24 tells us is that the ransom price held against us has been paid and we have been set free from bondage.
In bible days sometimes a person became a slave because they couldn’t pay their debts. In Leviticus 25:25-27, God laid out the conditions of the law of redemption:
- The Redeemer must be kindred.
- The Redeemer must be able to pay the price fully.
- The Redeemer must be willing to pay the price.
If a relative loved the slave enough and was able to pay off their debt and willing to; they could go to the slave market, pay the price for that slave, and set him free. This is “REDEMPTION” – freedom by payment of a price. This is what the lord Jesus Christ did for us when he died upon the cross.
We were enslaved under the debt of our sin. Romans 6:23 says that THE PAYMENT OF SIN IS DEATH. The Lord Jesus Christ loved us enough to come (by virgin birth) to the earth (the slave market). As kin to mankind and being the sinless Son of God, He was able to pay the price for all of mankind’s sins; and He willingly died upon the cross, shedding His Blood for the payment of our debt of sin.
God’s righteousness is imputed to us who believe, and we are declared righteous freely by His grace, ONLY because the lord Jesus paid the price! We have been set free from sin.
No wonder the Bible says salvation is a gift and not of works. The work is done! Not only did Jesus Christ die for our sins, but he was raised for our justification according to Romans 4:25.
PRACTICAL POINT:
Some who resist the truth of salvation being a gift given to those who believe–apart from works–argue against this doctrine by calling it “Cheap Grace“.
How dare anyone refer to the blood of Jesus Christ shed at Calvary in payment for man’s sins as “Cheap Grace” and then think of their own works as something more valuable than the blood of the Son of God? That kind of thinking would indicate that they don’t really know the gospel and that they have not believed the truth.
Another thing redemption does is free a person from guilt. Since Jesus Christ paid for our sins–rather than just letting us off the hook–we can now live with a clear and grateful conscience before God forever. If our sins were not paid for, we would have to carry the guilt of those sins.
For instance, if you owed someone money and could not pay them back and they eventually let you off the hook, every time you saw the person after that, you would remember how you cheated them out of some money. But if a friend of yours paid them back on your behalf, you could face them with a clear conscience every time you met.
This is now true of our relationship with God the Father because Jesus Christ paid for our sins.
Redemption is what Christ accomplished for man, but at the same time Jesus Christ accomplished something for God the Father. Find out what that was next week!
