April 19, 2015
Hymn 23 - I will sing of my Redeemer
Prayer
We have been talking about the blessings of salvation. The first two we talked about were forgiveness and justification. Today we will talk about redemption.
Salvation found us in bondage, as prisoners of sin; but by the work of Jesus we could be redeemed. He paid for it all, and we are set free. What wonderful grace!
A young boy was going to make himself a little toy boat. He went out and bought all the materials, and then built the boat and painted it. When it was all done, he took it down to a river and enjoyed watching it float in the water. One day, the boat went out too far and was caught in the main current. He chased the boat as far as he could, but eventually gave up. Some time later, he was walking by a secondhand store and saw the boat he had made in the window. He found the shop keeper and told him, “That’s my boat.” The man replied, “No, that’s my boat, but you can have it for five dollars.” The boy worked hard and when he had finally earned enough money he went back and bought his boat. As he took the boat out of the shop he whispered to it, “Little boat, you’re twice mine. First, because I made you; and then, because I bought you.” The young boy redeemed his little toy boat. It was his to begin with; and when it ended up in other hands, he bought it back. That’s a good picture of redemption.
There’s a similar story about a boy who raised a dog from a little puppy. One day, he lost the dog. The boy felt badly about this, so one day he went to the dog pound and told the owner, “I’ve lost my dog.” The man showed him around the pound, and while they went around, the boy spotted his dog and said, “That’s my dog. May I have him?” “Hold on,” said the man, “That dog didn’t have a license. If you want him back you’ll have to pay for the license.” So the boy worked hard and finally had enough money to pay for the license. He brought the dog home and said to it, “Your doubly mine: from when I brought you up as a little puppy, and now I’ve bought you back.” The boy redeemed his dog. We were the Lord’s to begin with but we ended up in wrong hands; but because He paid the price, we are redeemed and are twice His.
Redemption is the main theme of the Bible. All the way back in Genesis, God created the world, and by chapter 3 the creature He made in His likeness—the one He loved—had disobeyed Him, and was in the hands of the enemy. God made coats of animal skins for them. The animals had to pay the price because of their disobedience. Our Redeemer died and rose again so He could redeem us. Redemption reminds us of His wonderful love.
After that, there were the Children of Israel. They were captives in Egypt, and there was a king who came into power who didn’t know Joseph, and how he brought his people to Egypt. By the time he came into power, the Children of Israel had become a nation. We know the story of the passover lamb, and how they had to put its blood on the door posts of the house. When the angel passed over, he didn’t kill their first-borns. Then, God redeemed the Children of Israel out of Egypt and brought them over the Red Sea.
Those were examples from the Old Testament. In the New Testament, Christ came to Calvary. He redeemed us when we were lost and helpless creatures. He redeems all who put their trust in Jesus.
Ephesians 1:5-7
Verse five tells us we are talking about Jesus Christ. It says “we have redemption through His blood.” It’s not something we have to wait for. It is present tense. It is something we have right now. It’s all through His blood shed at Calvary.
Ephesians 1:14
Here it says, “until the redemption.” There is another redemption. Jesus has paid for our souls and they are redeemed. He has also redeemed our bodies, but they will not change until the Lord comes. If you’re older, you’ll understand the aches of the body. We will be redeemed from all of that. Our redemption is through Him. This is also shown in the story of the Children of Israel. The passover lamb was a symbol of the redemption of our souls. Crossing the the Red Sea was a symbol of redemption of our bodies.
We are redeemed by His blood and by His power. We have been paid for by Him, and we can enter into a joyful relationship that brings in love and mercy. And those of us who are saved can hear Him say, “Your doubly mine. Mine because I made you, and Mine because I bought you back.”
Acts 28
At the end of the last chapter, everyone in the ship with Paul got safe to land. They then found that they were stranded on the island of Melita. The natives were barbarous and superstitious, but treated them kindly and got a fire going to help battle the cold and rain. Julius the centurion gave Paul a lot of liberty, and so Paul helped out here, not really acting as a prisoner, but as an assistant.
As Paul put some sticks on the fire, a viper jumped out and attacked him. He seemed to be immune to its bite, though. Paul might have not been following the Spirit of God in going up to Jerusalem, God still watched over him. The barbarians thought that he was a murderer, and that vengeance was killing him with this snake bite. When he didn’t die, though, they changed their minds and thought that he was a god! Superstition is always wrong.
In Luke 10:19, the Lord gave the seventy special power, especially over snakes. That was particularly for their ministry, but it’s a testimony to God’s care of them and us.
Mark 16:17-18 also speaks of snake protection, but it also speaks of healing ability, which Paul also used. Publius was the main man on the island, and his father was sick. Paul went to him, prayed, laid hands on him, and healed him. He wasn’t trying to exalt himself at all, though. If he hadn’t prayed, those watching would have thought that he healed Publius’ father himself. That prayer tied everything back to God. Others heard that Paul could invoke God’s healing, and they came to be healed. We don’t know if they had their own witchdoctors or medicine men, but if they did, they obviously weren’t working!
After three months, everyone continued traveling to Rome. The people honoured Paul and his companions and gave them all that was necessary for the journey. As they went, they met certain brethren in Puteoli, tarried seven days with them, and kept on traveling. By the freedom he granted Paul, the centurion seemed to acknowledge his innocence. However, God had assured Paul that he would go before Ceaser. In the book of Romans Paul says that he planned to go to Rome. He expected it to be under different circumstances, though!
Hymn 275 – We are by Christ redeemed
Prayer