Redemption meaning: The action of regaining or gaining possession of something in exchange for payment, or clearing a debt.
He has delivered us from the power (kingdom or dominion) of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love (the kingdom of light), in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
Colossians 1:13-14 NKJV
The Scriptures help us understand that there are two kingdoms: the Kingdom of Light – where Jesus rules and reigns, and the kingdom of darkness where Satan rules. When God created mankind, He gave man dominion and authority over the earth. However, when Adam and Eve sinned (by disobeying God) in the garden of Eden, the authority that God had given mankind over the earth was usurped by Satan. We also know that Satan is called the god of this world. Adam and Eve were also forced to leave the garden of Eden so that they could no longer eat from the tree of life. Therefore, when we are born into this world, we are all born into the kingdom of darkness by default.
However, the good news is that when Jesus came to earth as a Man (still fully God), He represented mankind and took back the authority which had been usurped by Satan. He paid our debt, He died our death, and He made the way for us to be reconciled back to God, through the atoning sacrifice of Himself on the cross. All praise and glory to God, because Jesus also rose from the dead as our victorious conquering King – over sin, Satan and death. Our God is so amazing, because not only did He win the victory, but He then also shares His amazing victory with us.
There is another important aspect to understand here. When Adam and Eve sinned against God by eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the consequence of that act of disobedience was that mankind developed a sinful nature, and became slaves to sin. Jesus said, “Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.” (John 8:34)
If we look at the history of slavery, we understand that a slave could not free himself/herself. A slave was owned by a slave master, and had to obey everything their master ordered them to do. The same principle applies in the spiritual:
Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness.
Romans 6:16 NKJV
A slave could only find freedom from their slave master, if another person offered to pay (a ransom) for their release. Ransom meaning: a sum of money demanded or paid for the release of a captive. This is what our precious God did for us. He paid the ransom for us to be set free from slavery of sin – not with money, but rather with His own precious blood, and set us free from the power of sin. Thank You Jesus!
Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
1 Peter 1:18-19 NKJV
Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
Acts 20:28 NKJV
In Leviticus 17:11, God tells us that the life of the flesh is in the blood. When Jesus poured out His blood as a ransom to redeem us, it basically means that He gave His life to redeem us. It cost Him everything that He had. I like what Derek Prince said on this matter, “God bankrupt heaven to pay for our redemption.”
For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.
Leviticus 17:11 NKJV
We are so grateful to our great God, because we know that the finished work of the cross was perfect in every way. Jesus has already made the way for us to come out of the kingdom of darkness and into His kingdom of light. But how does this happen for us? What do we have to do?
In John 3:3-5, Jesus tells us that we need to be born again.
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water (water baptism) and the Spirit (baptism of the Holy Spirit), he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
John 3:3-5 NKJV
The first step to becoming a born-again believer in Jesus, is for us to repent of our sins. Having true godly sorrow over that which we have done wrong and being willing to change. Once we have repented, we need to be baptized in water and filled with God’s Holy Spirit. When we get baptized under water, the power of sin loses its hold on us, because the old sinful nature gets buried with Christ. Jesus washes us clean from sin and sets us free from slavery of sin. We then ask God to fill us with His Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit is our Teacher, and He helps us live a pure holy life. He helps us understand God’s Word so that we can obey it in truth, and He also takes each one of us through a process of sanctification. It is through the power of the Holy Spirit living within us, that we are able to overcome sin, temptation and the wicked one. Thank You Lord!
In closing off this message, I would like to share my personal testimony with you because I’d like to leave you with a call to action.
I went through the motion of getting baptized as a child, but because I was too young to understand why I was doing it, my life didn’t change. I was still a slave to sin and bore no fruit of repentance in my life. There is only one true baptism for each of us and I can personally testify that it is life changing. After seeking God with all my heart a few years ago, He opened my eyes to see sin in my life because He wanted me to turn away from these things. The bible also shows us that repentance always goes before baptism. After I had repented of sin, as well as understood the reason why we need to be baptized, I then proceeded to be baptized. This time everything changed for me, and that is why I can personally testify that biblical baptism is powerful!
Jesus always sets the pattern for us. Even though He was completely without sin, He was baptized as an adult to show us that we need to be at an age where we are mature enough to understand the reason why we are getting baptized. We need to be at an age where we know what sin is, so that we can repent to God. We need to be at an age where we make the decision for ourselves, based upon our understanding of the gospel message.
My dear brother or sister, I’d like to strongly encourage you to seek God with all your heart on this matter, because it is so important. He is so faithful – I know He’ll show you and give you His perfect peace as He leads you!
Until next time – Blessings in Jesus’ name.