Theme: Salvation/Jesus Christ/Redemption June 14, 2015

Devotion: Romans 5:18 Eph. 1:7

Title: Paid in Full

Introduction:
Good morning to everyone, before we begin, let us have a word of prayer…
Last week, you have heard an eye opening message concerning the death of Jesus Christ, more
so the idea of who killed an innocent person. We were enlightened about the importance of
not just the Who, but also about the why. God, in His infinite wisdom and love, had already laid
out the plan of salvation and how He has made a way for man to be reconciled with Him. To be
able to have fellowship with Him once again, as it was in the very beginning. All of this centers
on Jesus Christ, for without Him there would be no salvation for anyone.

That is why of all the names mentioned in the Bible pertaining to Jesus Christ, none is
more precious than the name Redeemer. There are other names we use more often, such as
Lord and Savior, and rightly so because those too are Bible terms, but no word touches the
heart like the word redeemer. When we say Lord, we are recalling that Jesus Christ is the
master over sin and death, and over all of creation. When we say Savior, we are recalling that
he saved us from our sin. But when we say Redeemer, we remember what it cost him to save
us. Redeemer is the name of Christ on the cross. When we say that word, the cross is placarded
before our eyes. We remember not only that he gave us salvation, but that he also paid a
mighty price for it. That is why the title of our message for today is Paid in full.

In ancient times, the word redeem is mostly used in the marketplace. The Greek word
used in the New Testament means “to buy” or “purchase”. But it also eventually used and
recognized in the buying and selling of slaves. In those days you can become a slave in different
ways: You could be born into slavery or you might go into debt and legally fall into slavery. You
might be captured by an army and taken as a slave as part of the spoils of war. A slave could
only become free by two things: In rare cases, a condemned man might have enough money to
pay a price and purchase his own freedom. Far more often, someone would take pity on a slave
and purchase them. They would pay the ransom; the price of their freedom. Jesus has paid the
ransom that was needed to for our freedom.

Exposition: Redemption is one of the key things in the believer’s life. God’s word tells and
reminds us of what it is, and what it has done for us.

Proposition: Brothers and sisters in the Lord, we are sinful beings deserving punishment from a
holy God. And yet Jesus Christ has saved us and has set us free.

Interrogative: What is the importance of this act of Jesus Christ?

I. The condition of mankind

What is the reason? Why did Jesus have to be the one to purchase our freedom?

A. Man is a slave to sin – Jn. 8:34; Rom. 3:23; Rom 5:12; 1Jn 1:8
The reason why it was necessary for man to be redeemed, and to be saved for
that matter, is because man is a slave to sin. Jn8:34 Not just some people, but all of us
were in the bondage of slavery because of sin. Rom3:23 We were slaves to sin itself.
From the moment each one of us were conceived, we were already slaves to sin.
Consider the illustration from before, that you either are slave or free. And a large part
of it depended on whether or not you were born into it. If your parents were slaves, you
are born a slave. If your parents are free, you were born free. Now our in reality, all man
is sinful, because we are born from sinful parents. Rom5:12 Because of the entrance of
sin to the world through one man, all of humanity is guilty before God. As sin separated
Adam from God, so it has also separated all of us from Him. Aside from that, all man is
sinful, because we ourselves choose to sin. So in either respect we are sinful either way.
We must accept this fact, for this is the truth of the matter. 1Jn1:8 Even saying that we
aren’t sinful is a sin in itself! We are slaves, so we do not have any say in the matter. We
cannot choose for ourselves. We cannot break free from our chains. What our sinful
nature says, we always follow. The problem here is that because of this sin, it will surely
lead to our death.

B. Man cannot save himself – Eph. 2:8-9

Now, we know the problem. We know the problem because it is deeply rooted in
our hearts. Many people know of the evil that he does, and the sin that he commits in
his life. So man sets his mind to thinking. How can he make up for the sin that he has
and is committing? Man devised his own plan. But sadly, it is not enough. And it will
never be enough. Eph. 2:8-9 clearly states that we cannot save ourselves. There is
nothing we can do and nothing we can give to be able to pay for the price of sinning
against God. People from all around the world think of ways they might be able to do
this. Some turn to good works. Doing good for the community, for other people. They
think that if they do enough good works, they might be able to cover up their sins. Some
do charity. They give humongous amounts of money to charitable institutions. For the
hope that the good they are doing will let their sin slide past. But that is far from the
truth. No one can boast about being saved because we cannot save ourselves. We
cannot make a way for ourselves. We cannot set ourselves free. We can try and try and
try, but in the end it is all in futility. Doing good cannot save you. Doing charity cannot
save you. Going to church cannot save you. Ephesians 2 says that we are saved only
through faith: faith in that God has redeemed us.

Application:
We needed someone else to help us of our condition. Other people could not help us,
and we could not help other people, nor could we even help ourselves. Jesus came and gave His
life to set us free from the slave market of sin. Somebody may say, “Pastor, I don’t think I’m a
slave to sin.” All I can say is that you don’t know yourself very well. “I can choose to stop
whenever I wanted to” How often have you said this and failed? How often do men and women
want to change their life and their actions for the better, but still keep coming back to the same
empty and wicked things in the world? And that is the point: we want to escape, we want to
change, we want to stop, but we can’t. As we are by our human nature, we are sinful through
and through. We may try and try to clean ourselves of the dirt, sooner or later we find
ourselves in the same pool of mud. We are all by nature slaves to sin. Sin, then, is a chain
around your neck. It weighs you down; it holds you back. Sin enslaves you and me, leaving all of
us helpless and hopeless. The only answer would be for somebody else to reach down and help
us.

II. Jesus Christ paid the ransom

I first heard the word ransom in the context of kidnapping. Both in the context of real life and in
entertainment. Kidnap for ransom was a real fear back in elementary when I was studying in a
Chinese school. While in movies whenever someone was kidnapped, the first thing they do is
look for a ransom note or demand. (tubos sa tagalog) A price is given in exchange for something
of value.

A. Sacrifices in the Old Testament – Lev.17:11; Heb.10:1-4

In the Old Testament, God dealt specifically with His chosen people: the
Israelites. Out of the many groups and nations in the ancient world, God chose them:
not because they were strong or mighty or wealthy, but just because of the opposite:
they were little, weak, and had no name for themselves. God chose them so that
through them His glory might be revealed to the whole world. When they were slaves in
Egypt, it was God who saved them through His servant Moses: He delivered them from
bondage of slavery, in order to bring them to a land of their own. God gave them the
Law, as their covenant with God. If they were to obey the Law, God would bless them,
and would always be with them. But we know, and have heard many, many times from
this very pulpit, that the Israelites disobeyed God time and time again. They could not
keep the law, and were found guilty in the sight of God. The result? The righteous anger
of God on them. But God made a way for that wrath to be turned away: He was also the
one who instituted the system of sacrifices.
It started with the Passover: an event which showed both the mercy and wrath
of God. They had to take a year old lamb without any blemish or defect, to kill it, and to
apply the blood of the lamb to their doorposts. When the destroyer comes, he would
“pass over” those houses whose doorframes had blood. Any household without the
blood on their doorframes would find their firstborn son struck down during the night.
Exo.12:12-13 this was a sign of things to come, as Israel soon was given the command of
sacrificing animals for blood on the altar of the Lord, as a way of atonement for their
sins. Lev.17:11 and so they sacrificed. Day in and day out, year in and year out, the
sacrifice was only good for the sins they had already committed. So if after sacrificing on
the altar a person would sin again, he would have to make another sacrifice for it. This
was the only way for them to atone of their sins, it was in effect, substitution: the
animals were their substitute in order to atone for sins. But it could never bring them
long lasting forgiveness. It was temporary and partial. Heb.10:1-4 it was incomplete and
 had limited effect. Something else was needed. And only one sacrifice was acceptable in
order to pay for the guilt of all people, not just Israel.

B. The sacrifice of the Lamb of God – Jn.1:29; 1 Peter 1:18-19;Eph1:7;Heb.9:11-15

And that sacrifice is none other than Jesus Christ. it was John the Baptist, who,
early in His ministry, was shown the mystery of God, because even though Jesus was
only just beginning His earthly ministry declared Jn.1:29 the lamb of God who takes
away the sin of the world! In 1 Pet.1:18-19, we can read that we have been redeemed
by the blood, the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus shed His precious blood to
purchase us out of the slavery of sin and to set us free forever. The blood of Christ was
violently shed at the cross. The shedding of Christ's blood which resulted in sacrificial
death was offered on behalf of sinners in order to pay the price of forgiveness for sin.
Eph.1:7 His innocent life's blood was poured out in sacrificial death to atone for our sin
and for us being sinners. A slave could be freed with the payment of money, but no
amount of money can ever set a lost sinner free. Only the innocent blood from the
death of Jesus Christ as our substitute can redeem or purchase us. The wages of sin is
always death. He was called a lamb, because He was innocent, without blemish, but it
was He who received the punishment for our sins. He died, so that you and me might
live. Because of His sacrifice on the cross, no longer do we need to offer sacrifices daily,
monthly, or yearly. Jesus paid for it! Once and for all! Heb.9:11-15 what we could not
do, Christ has done for us. We have obtained not temporary redemption, or partial
redemption; we have received eternal redemption!

Application:
How much do you appreciate the act of God in His redemption of us? How much do you
thank God for this fact? This is something that we must never forget. This is something that will
never fade away. Because of this fact, you and I have been saved. Because of this fact, you and I
have been set free. Would you go back to the slave market, after you have already been bought
for the high price of blood? The sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sake?

III. Set free from slavery

Now we understand what Jesus Christ had done on the cross, and the reason why He
and only He, had to do it. Those who have been bought by the blood of Jesus Christ have been
set free from their slavery to sin. Just as those people last Sunday who believed in the Lord
Jesus Christ, you are now truly free. But it’s not over yet. This is what’s next:

A. We have received countless blessings – Eph.1:3;

In Eph1:3 it is the apostle Paul who declares that we have been blessed by God
with every spiritual blessing. And all of this came about because of what God had done
for us in Jesus Christ. There are so many and each one of them are grand in its own right
because none of us ever deserved them! Let us read then the spiritual blessings we have
received in this sacrificial act of Jesus Christ. v.4-14 we have been chosen…to be holy
and blameless…to be children of God. we received forgiveness of sins…God made
known to us the mysteries of His will…we have received an inheritance…we have been
 sealed with the holy spirit…the guarantee that God will deliver on all of his promises to
us. There are so much more, but we lack the time to enumerate them all. But just
looking at what Paul has mentioned here is a big and overflowing heap on our plate.
People who were once separate from God, are now called His children. People who
once were recipients of God’s wrath, have not obtained forgiveness. People who were
once destined for Hell, are now destined for eternal life.

B. We have been given responsibility – 1Pt.4:1-2;1Cor.6:19-20;1Cor.7:17-24

But before we forget, we also have been given responsibility. But you know, the
more I think about it, the less it becomes responsibility and the more it becomes the
effects of redemption on a person who has been saved and forgiven. Why is that?
Remember that when Jesus paid the price for our freedom, we have been set free. We
had a change of position, from slavery to freedom, we also had a change of condition,
from sinner to saint, and a change of life: from old to new. I can say that these are
effects of redemption: a person who is truly saved is different. I can also say that this is a
responsibility: it helps us from becoming complacent and ungrateful in our faith.
1Pet.4:1-2 when we were saved, only then can we finally stop sinning, and start obeying
the will of God. We no longer live just to feed our flesh and lusts, but to obey the will of
God. In 1Cor.6:19-20, this is where we learn that when we were saved, we no longer
own our life or our body. God brought us for a price. He owns us. And He wants us to
glorify Him with everything that we have got. Not just our time, our possessions, but
even our body.

Application: Tit2:11-14
Titus 2:11-14 shows it clearly: salvation is now. It has come, and it is available to all. we
need only faith. But God doesn’t just redeem us, and lets us loose afterwards. He trains us,
molds us, and transforms us into His likeness. It doesn’t stop at just being saved. It continues so
that we might bring glory to Him through the life that we are living. He didn’t clean us up just
for us to go back in the mud. God cleaned us, clothed us with His righteousness, and expects us
to continue in His righteous will. Let not anyone of us go back then to the bondage of slavery.
Make Christ’s sacrifice meaningful in your life. Don’t let it go to waste. Do not make light of the
shedding of the savior’s blood. God had a purpose in our redemption. Let us make sure we do
not accept it in vain.

Conclusion:
What does it mean to be set free from sin? No more guilt. No more dwelling in the past.
No more shame or memories to haunt you. No more fear of hell. No more anger and despair.
The debt of sin is cancelled, the chains are broken forever. The bonds that bind us and hold us
back, and all of those dirty habits that we can’t seem to break, all of them gone forever. No
more price on our heads, no more debt to be paid.
Let me tell you, there is no sin, no matter how bad, no trespass, no iniquity so deep within the
human soul that it cannot be forgiven and wiped away, changed by the blood of Jesus Christ,
the Son of God. That is the gospel truth. That is the hope of the Christian faith. The only way
that will ever be broken is by coming to the cross of Jesus Christ and having your sins forgiven
and being set free by Jesus Christ. That is what redemption is. It means you are now set free
from sin.
For my conclusion,
Because of redemption, the price for sin has been fully paid. If you are born again, you are
forgiven. You don’t have to pay anymore. Jesus has already paid it in full.
Because of redemption, you are no longer in bondage to the old way of life.
Since redemption is a work of God, it results in freedom which is three things—absolute,
complete and eternal. What it means is you are absolutely free, you are completely free and
you are eternally free.