FREELY REDEEMED

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Awake, awake, Zion, clothe yourself with strength! Put on your garments of splendor, Jerusalem, the holy city. The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again.

Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, Daughter Zion, now a captive. For this is what the Lord says:

“You were sold for nothing, and without money you will be redeemed.”

For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“At first my people went down to Egypt to live; lately, Assyria has oppressed them. And now what do I have here?” declares the Lord. “For my people have been taken away for nothing, and those who rule them mock,” declares the Lord. “And all day long My name is constantly blasphemed. Therefore my people will know My name; therefore in that day they will know that it is I who foretold it. Yes, it is I.”

Isaiah 52:1-6

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Are you redeemed?

It’s a question that everyone needs to consider because the answer carries with it the very prediction of our respective futures and yet you rarely hear the subject discussed with any sense of urgency. I guess the world is too enticing for people who are looking for instant gratification in the here and now at the expense of whether or not they will live beyond their death and rest assured death will come to everyone.

So again I ask, are you redeemed?

Maybe the very question raises a secondary one such as:

What does it mean to be redeemed?

In other words, people may need a definition of the word redeemed in order to understand that it is critically important to them. With that, allow me to offer the following:

First, a look at the dictionary offers the following two definitions of redeemed:

1. to compensate for the faults or bad aspects of (something).

2. gain or regain possession of (something) in exchange for payment.

Now let me relate this to the matter of our human shortcomings and how redemption has offset those shortcomings.

We have to start at the truth that we are all sinners. There is no debating this for ever since Adam and Eve’s fall in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3), mankind has been afflicted with a disease of iniquity that placed them in direct odds with God their Creator. Without redemption, every person would be destined for destruction and annihilation.

So where does one find redemption where our faults and bad aspects (namely, our transgressions) are compensated for? And what is the price we have to pay to gain God’s favor, forgiveness, and mercy to avoid His wrath and judgment?

I’ll tackle the first question and then the second.

In answer to the first question, there is only one source of our redemption and His name is Jesus Christ. He is the only way we can be saved and He is the only way to God the Father (John 14:6). He compensates for the sins we have committed because He already paid the penalty we rightfully deserved when He was crucified on Calvary’s cross more that 2,000 years ago, bringing God’s salvation promise to anyone who would simply place their faith and belief in Him as Savior (John 3:16). Because Jesus died for us, we gain redemption when we accept Jesus as our Savior and Redeemer, acknowledging through that commitment that there is no way possible by which we can save and redeem ourselves. There is only one way and that is through Jesus.

And so with that, I think you can figure out the answer to the second question for there is no cost imposed on us to gain redemption. It is freely given to us even though it was far from free in being attained. Jesus suffered greatly in our place so that we might have the opportunity to be redeemed and saved. We must never forget that our free redemption came at a cost; our salvation was purchased with the shed blood of Jesus Himself who offered Himself as the Lamb of God, a living sacrifice to atone for mankind’s sinfulness once and for all.

As we look at our scriptures for today from the opening verses of Isaiah 52, we find the Lord speaking to His people about free redemption but in a different sense. Look again at these verses here:

Awake, awake, Zion, clothe yourself with strength! Put on your garments of splendor, Jerusalem, the holy city. The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again.

Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, Daughter Zion, now a captive. For this is what the Lord says:

“You were sold for nothing, and without money you will be redeemed.”

For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“At first my people went down to Egypt to live; lately, Assyria has oppressed them. And now what do I have here?” declares the Lord. “For my people have been taken away for nothing, and those who rule them mock,” declares the Lord. “And all day long My name is constantly blasphemed. Therefore my people will know My name; therefore in that day they will know that it is I who foretold it. Yes, it is I.”  Isaiah 52:1-6

Here the Lord is talking in reference to judgment but it is not the eternal judgment that is to come to every person in this world: past, present, and future. No, this is the seventy year judgment He had imposed on His people for their willful worship of idols and false gods in direct disobedience to His commandments. The people of Israel were sold to their captors, the Babylonians for nothing. God imposed no fee on them for doing His judgment work. And when the time came, God would not have to pay a cent to redeem His people and restore them to their homeland to rebuild their homes, their faith, and His temple in Jerusalem.

And so you have it. You know what redemption is, you know where it comes from, and you know it comes freely to you when you believe in Jesus who bore the punishment you deserved in order to bring you redemption.

So my friends, are you redeemed by the precious shed blood of Jesus?

Please don’t end this day without answering, “Yes.”

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com