“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are mine."
(This is part 3 - click here for
part 1,
part 2)
Redemption is a very special word that is used quite specifically in the bible… it has to do with slavery. If someone is redeemed, it means that they used to be a slave – but are no longer. Redemption is a ‘buyback’, or a swapping of an equivalent or better slave for another and setting that one free. Does it sound like anything else in the Bible? The cross! But here we are reading it in Deutero-Isaiah – nearly 650 years before Christ even came, let alone died on the cross. That means that all along, GOD’s design has been for us to have an identity and purpose that is linked to redemption. An identity that says “I was a slave. I am now released. I am not bound.”
In order to know what we were slaves to, we need to remember that until Jesus died on the cross and rose again, as our Lord and Saviour, we were bound and living in bondage to Sin. Christ’s death on the cross had nothing to do with forgiveness, it had to do with salvation – with GRACE; with redemption. GOD always offered forgiveness to His people, so that was nothing new. The issue was the old covenant, it was a law that we could never fulfill in its entirety, only Christ could fulfill it. That’s what happened in His finished work on the cross - GRACE. In order for the law to be fulfilled, a life had to be given - GRACE. The human race was stuck in the condition of Sin – that’s what we needed saving from; and GOD’s alternative - GRACE.
Often we think that salvation is an event that happens, and WHAMMO – we’re saved. I like to think of it like this: Living in Sin is like drowning in the ocean; we can swim, but the distance to shore is just too great for us to swim it alone. We need a lifeguard to save us, one who knows the currents, swells, squalls and waves. One who is a seasoned swimmer. Now, the lifeguard swims out to us, but we still have to swim to shore, with Him. Just because the lifeguard has reached out, doesn’t mean that the journey of being saved is over. It’s the same with our walk with salvation in Christ – it’s a journey.
Until Jesus Christ cut loose those bonds, we were slaves to Sin. We lived differently. We spoke differently. We looked different. Change is noticed by differences, growth and newness and this happens a little more everyday. Some changes may be radical, but others will be hard and we will have to work through them everyday. All of this begins with us embracing our identity as REDEEMED! Before – people would look at us and see us alone. Now, when they see us, they should see our lifeguard too – what a challenge!
People need to see the change in our lives, they need to see that we are no longer bound if we are going to live with purpose. Worship is proclaiming the majesty of GOD – not just in words, but also by our choices.
‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. The old is gone, the new has come.’ 2 Cor 5:17.
I believe that we need to be encouraged to know that we do not need to act like slaves – for we are redeemed, we are released – we are not bound to Sin!
