The Redemption of Man

By Roy Loney

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     "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold.... But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot (1 Peter 1:18, 19. The word redemption means to deliver and bring out of bondage. When a person is kidnapped, he is held in captivity until the ransom price is paid. The ransom is the price of his freedom. Man in sin is a slave to sin. Jesus said, "He that committeth sin is the servant (slave) of sin" (John 8:34). "Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" (Rom. 6:16). Paul speaks of those who were taken captive by the devil at his will (2 Tim. 2:26). When Adam sinned in Eden he was no longer a free man. Satan had him in his terrible power, even though he had willingly placed himself under that bondage. It was said of wicked Ahab, the king of Israel, that he "did sell himself to work wickedness, in the sight of the Lord" (1 Kings 21:25).

     From this bondage, man cannot redeem himself. It is far beyond his own power to pay the price that will effectuate his freedom. The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23) and thus man by yielding to Satan's snares has forfeited his soul and all that he has. God told rebellious Israel "Ye have sold yourselves for naught; and ye shall be redeemed without money" (Isaiah 52:3). We may ask, why cannot money be used for man's redemption? Jesus gives us the answer in his great question: "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul: or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matt. 16:26). Christ's question indicates the value of a man in the sight of God. No one can estimate his value in view of eternity. All the silver and gold in the world cannot equal the value of just one soul. God told Israel "I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir" (Isaiah 13:12). The gold of Ophir was famed for its purity and value because of that purity, yet its value was as nothing compared to the value of a man. Man, made in the image of God with an eternity bound soul, cannot be compared with the material things that perish. God determined he would show the value of a man by the price he would pay for his redemption, and so the greatest price ever paid in all the transactions of the world was paid when God gave his only begotten Son as a ransom for all to be testified in due time (1 Tim. 2:6). If the sinless and holy Son of God could willingly pay the price of your redemption with his own blood, then surely your soul is of far too much value to waste on the perishable things of time.

     The value of any commodity is generally determined by the price paid for it; and no price could have been greater than the price Jesus paid to save you from the eternal consequences of your sins. David once condemned those who "trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches" (Psalms 49:6-8) yet all of their wealth cannot redeem their brethren, nor give God a ransom for him. "For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth forever." The wealth of man is temporary and cannot effect the permanent salvation of a sinful soul. Only the blood of the Son of God, could accomplish that divine purpose. This fact is the central thought of the entire book of God. The Fountain opened for the cleasing of sin and uncleanness (Zech. 13:1) was the fountain of blood that flowed from Emmanuel's veins, and the sinner that is plunged beneath that flood, loses all its guilty stains. "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace" (Eph. 1:7). The blood stained, nail pierced cross of Calvary is the stern finger of God point-

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ing to the lost race of man saying "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23); but that cross is also the proof of God's infinite love for the creature man who has forfeited his standing with God. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). It was not a mere man who shed the blood of redemption at Golgotha. It was both a God and a man, for Jesus was "God with us" (Matt. 1:23), and he did not die just for his friends. He died for all! The vile, the criminal and all the wicked may be cleansed and made pure in that redemptive blood. "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Through the one offering Jesus made upon that cross, Jesus can perfect forever them that believe. In view of all the above facts, our plea to you is most earnest and fervent that you give heed to the things God has revealed for your learning in his blessed book, the Bible.

     "THE CHURCHES OF CHRIST SALUTE YOU" (Rom. 16:16).

      (This article is in tract form and may be secured from Roy Loney, 927 Louisiana St., Lawrence, Kansas. Write him for prices.)