2004-10-18 - Redemption

Ephesians 1:7, "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace."

Here are the doctrines Paul Bayne sees, that we should gather out of verse seven:

1. In Christ is to be found deliverance from all spirituall thraldome.
2. All of us are by nature no better then in a spiritual captivity.
3. Wee have deliverance from our spiritual thraldome by Christ.
4. That by which we are ransomed and redeemed, is the bloud of Christ.
5. To have our sinne forgiven, is to be redeemed and set free from all evill.
6. Every believer in Christ receiveth forgivenesse of his sinnnes.
7. God, from his rich grace, giveth us pardon of sinne.

Here it is: the meaning, so to speak, of life. Forgiveness of sins is in Christ. We see here the centerpiece of the gospel. This is the very place where satan would try to confuse us, because if we understand and believe this, we are children of God and forgiven in Christ. At the heart of the gospel of salvation is this focal point that there is salvation in Christ, and consequently, no salvation anywhere else. Again, part of rational thought is that the positive assumes the negative. So if we positively say that forgiveness is in Christ, we have also said, without needing to say it, that there is no salvation apart from Christ.

"In Him we have redemption," means that salvation is from Christ. Our salvation is not something we can create ourselves, but it is centered in Christ. This is the heart of the gospel, and yet there are many today who say that the reason Christ came was to be a good moral teacher, or to set an example for us and show us what we have to do to save ourselves. This is pure foolishness. Christ did not come to be our teacher or example, or to help us save ourselves. That is the point of the Sermon on the Mount. We can't keep the law of God ourselves. We can't even match the standard of "love your neighbor as yourself," (Matthew 5:43) and yet in the next verse, Christ even adds more to that command. Jesus Christ did not come to tell us how to save ourselves, but rather, He came to save. We see that here in this verse.

When we read the words, "In Him we have redemption," we are not merely looking into the possibility of salvation. "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him," 2 Corinthians 5:21. We first need to take from this verse that Christ is not only the greatest statement, ever, of God's love and kindness, but also that Christ is forgiveness. Jesus Christ is not merely a positive statement of God's willingness to forgive, but rather, Jesus Christ is salvation for lost sinners. In Him, we have redemption.

Soli Deo Gloria,
T-

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