Redeemed

Reading – Acts 8:26-39; 1 John 1-2:2
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, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.
On April 14, 1865 Abraham Lincoln was shot dead by John Wilks Booth in the Ford’s Theatre. Lincoln’s shirt and overcoat were stained with his blood.
In 1876 some people wanted to take a piece of history with them. So, they cut up a sleeve from his overcoat that was blood stained into tiny pieces. It was the stain of the blood on the overcoat that made the cloth a collectable and valuable item.
Peter tells us we should be holy because our Father redeemed us at infinite cost. The blood of Christ is far more valuable than the blood of Lincoln.
[1] REDEMPTION IMPLIES PREVIOUS BONDAGE. 18 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, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
For Peter’s readers, slavery and redemption were everyday words and for some everyday experiences. The Roman Empire had by some estimates as many 6 million slaves and the buying and selling of them was a major business. If a person wanted to free a slave, he would pay the redemption price, purchasing that slave and then granting him freedom, keeping proof by a written certificate.
Some of them had been born to slaves. Others had become slaves when Rome conquered their homeland. Still others had become slaves by falling into debt.
A slave was the property of another person; they could not come and go as they pleased. They weren’t free, they had to work with no payment, they were often ill treated and abused. The slave was in bondage and felt it….until someone redeemed them by paying the price set for their freedom.
#1] Life is empty apart from Jesus Christ! The bible tells us here that every one who has not been redeemed is in bondage to sin and death. Peter describes it as “the empty way of life inherited from your forefathers.”
The same word is translated “worthless” in James 1:26. Many thoughtful people feel this keenly. Have you ever wondered why some art seems bleak, why some sculpture is horrible, why some music is discordant, why some literature is black and depressing? People have looked hard at life and thought ‘what’s the point’.
The author of Ecclesiastes put his powers of wisdom to work to examine the human experience. His perspective is limited to what happens “under the sun”.
He considers life as he has observed it within the boundaries of this visible world.
He attempts to see what human wisdom can do, and discovers that it cannot find out the larger purposes of God or the ultimate meaning of human existence.
He sees a busy human ant hill in mad pursuit of many things, trying now this and that. Trying to burst through the bounds of human limitations, control their destiny, and achieve a state of secure and lasting happiness—people pursuing unrealistic hopes and aspirations.
He takes a hard look and concludes that human life in this mode is futile.
Humans cannot by all their striving achieve anything of enduring significance.
All their striving after unreal goals leads only to disillusionment.
You live for yourself, trying to grab all the things that you think will bring you happiness. You work hard, gain a few things, lose a few things, get sick and die.
You may life a long life but there’s no guarantee, it may come soon. Life’s futile!
Paul confirms this fact that life in the world is full of frustrations and disappointments in Romans 8:20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope
Ecclesiastes concludes that to live meaningfully, purposefully and joyfully we need to place God at the centre of our life. We need to be content and accept our divinely appointed lot in life, and reverently trust and obey the Creator-King.
The NT echoes this Eph 4:17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. He says Christians are no longer to be living like pagans who are superstitious and worship man made gods.
#2] The worst part of this bondage is it people don’t realise it.
People don’t realise the bondage of their futile way of life. We enjoy a pretty good life these days with a comparatively high standard of living in the world. When Christians say, “Jesus Christ came to be your Saviour? People think, “I have a pretty good life, I am OK.
They try and avoid thinking how unfilled and aimless their life is. They don’t think how time flies and how soon they will die and meet God. They don’t accept that apart from Jesus Christ, they’re in bondage to sin and futility, heading for hell!
Unless we feel the bondage of being enslaved to sin and death and hell, we won’t appreciate what Christ did in shedding His blood for us on the cross.
#3] Often the empty way people live is inherited.
What is gained from earthly forefathers is often of negative value but what we receive from our Heavenly Father is priceless.
Peter was without doubt writing to some people who like himself had been brought up in Jewish families. These people had wonderful traditions and so a large part of the truth. They were rightly proud of the way they lived, they had a far better justice system than the rest of the world, they had good hygiene, their family life was strong, human life was precious, the work ethic was rewarded and the poor and disadvantaged were provided for.
However, they were still sacrificing animals to try and find peace with God. They were still awaiting a messiah to come and save them. What they refused to believe that the Saviour had already come and provided redemption by His death.
Peter was for sure writing to people from pagan homes who had been brought up to worship idols. They lived in superstitious fear, they lived immoral, drunken and violent lives, they had no proper concept of sin.
People today are carrying on living irreligiously or with an empty religion.
One admires loyalty to traditions provided they are beneficial and good. But thank God that we British no longer sacrifice humans like our Druid ancestors. Julius Caesar writing in 44 B. C: ‘All the people of Gaul are completely devoted to religion, and for this reason those who are greatly affected by diseases and in the dangers of battle either sacrifice human victims or vow to do so using the Druids as administrators to these sacrifices, since it is judged that unless for a man's life a man's life is given back, the will of the immortal gods cannot be placated.’
Only Christ can redeem us from this futile bondage to sin and death. Only He can forgive sins and give power to live a holy life. Only He can take the sting from physical death and give the sure hope of resurrection to spend eternity with Him.
[2] REDEMPTION INVOLVES COST For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
Gold and silver have always been synonymous with worth. From Genesis through to Revelation the Bible refers to gold and silver no less than 783 times.
Precious metals can do many things for you. They can buy basic necessities, get you many comforts in life, and provide some security for the future.
However they are relatively soft compared to some materials so Peter calls them “perishable things”. Also there are some things which money cannot buy.
Money said the Beetles cannot buy me love. Money cannot save us from the wrath of God against my sins. Jesus’ blood is more precious than money because money could never redeem us from sin. No matter how much silver and gold we paid, we could never pay for even one of our sins. Money matters. But not when it comes to forgiving your sins. That’s Peter’s point.
J.P. Morgan who was a multi-millionaire wrote this in his will “I commit my soul in the hands of my Saviour, and full of confidence that having redeemed me and washed me with His most precious blood, He will present me faultless before the throne of my heavenly Father. I entreat my children to maintain and defend at all cost of personal sacrifice, the blessed doctrine of complete atonement of sins through the blood of Jesus Christ once offered and through that alone.”
Morgan realized that his wealth would not get him into heaven. The only way was through the blood of Jesus.
The imagery of redemption by blood goes back to the very first people on this earth. God warned Adam and Eve that if they sinned, it was so serious they would surely die.
He meant not only physical death, but also spiritual death, which is separation from Him. When they did sin, God mercifully did not kill them on the spot. Instead, He killed animals and made skins for them to cover their shame and guilt. God was showing them that the life is in the blood and without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins.
God told Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice on Moriah. By faith Abraham proceeded to obey the most difficult command God has ever given to a human being except the cross. At the last moment, God intervened and provided the ram caught in the thicket and its life redeemed Isaacs. This sacrifice illustrates the great cost our Heavenly Father paid in giving His own Son for us.
In the OT, Israel was a slave nation enslaved in Egypt. God was the redeemer, who used His power and providence to redeem them. Exodus 6:6 says: “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 will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.”
Not only were the nation redeemed but individuals needed to be redeemed as well. Each family who believed God’s threat that the angel of death was coming in judgement took the blood of the unblemished Passover lamb and daubed on the doorways. When the death angel saw the blood of the lamb applied to the doorposts in Egypt, he passed over that house and the firstborn was spared.
In the same way, if God’s judgment is to “pass over” your life, so that you are not eternally destroyed, the precious blood of Jesus must be applied to your heart by faith, only then will you be spared. No amount of money could ever do that. Isaiah 41 says 14 Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you," declares the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
In the 16th century, Spanish soldiers were going from house to house in Rotterdam and executing the Dutch. In one house a group of men, women, and children huddled together awaiting their fate. Suddenly, a young man had an idea. He took a goat killed it and swept the blood of the goat under the door of the house. When the Spanish soldiers came to the door one soldier called out “Look at the blood running under the door. Come away, men, the work here is already done.”
A little while later the band of thankful Dutch people came out safe and sound saved by the blood of a goat! In the same way, we are saved from the wrath of God by the blood of a lamb - Jesus the lamb of God.
[3] REDEMPTION INVOLVES A SET PRICE you were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
A slave in Roman times could be redeemed by the payment of a certain amount of silver or gold. Many years ago people captured by slave-traders, were chained together, and driven to the seacoast. Each of the prisoners had a heavy iron collar around his neck. As the slaves passed by, a chief might notice a friend of his among the captives and offer to pay the slave-traders in gold, ivory, silver, or brass. The prisoner would be redeemed by the payment and he would be set free.
An American pastor during a trip to Columbia met a prisoner working to help his team move. The convict through an interpreter said, "Sir, would you redeem me?'' The guard explained, that the policy is that men who have served their sentences still can't get out of prison unless someone redeems them by paying ransom money.'' The man needed another 800 pesos. The pastor reached in his pocket and ''redeemed'' this man. The price of that man's redemption was $8.
As he handed him the money, he said I can set you free physically but only Jesus Christ can redeem you for eternity. The price of your redemption and my redemption was the life of Jesus Christ.
Why can’t God just forgive sins without the shedding of blood? God could not relax the penalty and still be just and holy. None of us could serve as a substitute for others, because we all have our own sin to pay for. Only the Lord Jesus, who was without the flaw or stain of sin, could offer Himself in our place--the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
[4] REDEMPTION IS GOD’S PLAN 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.
A] God planned redemption from the very beginning: The cross wasn’t God’s last-minute plan put into place after man fell into sin. He ordained it well in advance of the creation of the human race. Foreknowledge means God knows and plans in advance, though it does not absolve sinful man of responsibility. In his sermon on the Day of Pentecost, Peter said, “This Man [Jesus], delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death” Acts 2:23.
Some people think that when Adam and Eve sinned, God didn’t see it coming, and the coming of Christ was an afterthought in God’s plan. But God knew they were going to sin and bring ruin to the world and in the councils of eternity, the Father said the Son, “You must go to the earth to save them from their sins.”
Redemption was on God’s heart long before sin entered the world. As Spurgeon said, while the universe lay in the mind of God like a forest of oaks in the cup of an acorn, God purposed to send his Son
B] God executed the plan of redemption at the fitting time: Christ was revealed in these last times for your sake. At the proper time in human history, in fulfilment of the prophecies, God sent His Son into this world. We had nothing to do with it. Generations lived and died. But we are privileged to experience what the ancients only wondered about.
C] God applied redemption to us: 21 Through him you believe in God. Christ redeeming death was particular, if you believe, it’s because God imparted saving faith to you through Christ. It wasn’t vague, it wasn’t a matter of take it or leave it, it secured the salvation of millions of individuals. Through Jesus Christ we have a relationship with God. We know him personally and intimately. What an astonishing thing to say, “I know God”. If we are not astonished by that, it’s because we take it too much for granted.
D]God completed redemption by raising Christ and giving Him glory. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
Peter and the other apostles and many others were witnesses to the fact that God raised Jesus bodily from the grave. The apostles saw the risen Jesus ascend into heaven where He now sits at the right hand of the Father in glory, awaiting the day of His return. Christ’s resurrection proves that God is able to raise the dead.
[5] REDEMPTION TELLS US WHO WE OWE EVERYTHING TO
The bottom line is, “You are not your own; you have been bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body” 1 Cor. 6:19- 20.
Peter wants us who are the children of God to see the great price He paid to redeem us from our sins. Seeing the Saviour’s blood should motivate us to be holy.
As C. T. Studd put it, “If Christ be God and died for me, there is nothing too great that I can do for Him.”
Titus says, "Jesus Christ gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good works" Titus 2:13-14.
A boy made an expensive model boat. One day it sailed away on the lake and was lost. A few weeks later he saw the boat he lost in the window of shop. The boy bought it back and said to the boat: “I made you. I lost you. I paid a great price for you. Now you are twice mine.” God says to each one of us. “I made you, you were lost, I paid a great price for you. You are twice mine.”
Leslie Flynn told this story. An orphaned boy was living with his grandmother when their house caught fire. The grandmother, trying to rescue the boy, died in the fire. The boy’s cries for help were finally answered by a man who climbed an iron drainpipe and came back down with the boy hanging tightly to his neck.
Several weeks later, a public hearing was held to determine who would receive custody of the child. A farmer, a teacher, and the town’s richest citizen all gave the reasons they felt they should be chosen to give the boy a home.
Then a stranger walked to the front and took his hands from his pockets, revealing severe burn scars on them. This was the man who had saved the boys life. His hands had been burned when he climbed the hot pipe. With a leap the boy threw his arms around the man and held on for dear life. The others walked away, leaving the boy and his rescuer alone. Those scarred hands had settled the issue.
The boy wanted to belong to the one who had shown such costly love.
When we think of the extreme suffering Christ endured to purchase our freedom from sin’s penalty, our hearts should overflow with love for Him.
That is precisely Peter’s argument: Because God redeemed us at infinite cost, we dare not frolic with the sin for which Christ shed His precious blood. Peter wants us to see what a terrible sin has done.
After President Kennedy was assassinated Jackie, his wife accompanied his coffin back to Washington. She was still wearing the clothes she had on at the time of the assassination. The clothes were stained with the blood of her husband. Many encouraged her to change her clothes, but her reply was “No, let them see what they have done.”
Let us see what God has done for us in the blood of his Son, Jesus Christ.