I.        INTRODUCTION

A.      The Son of God came to earth as a man for the purpose of paying a ransom for our souls.

                                                             1.      When the mother of the sons of Zebedee requested that her sons be given prominence in Christ’s kingdom, Christ instructed that they should become servants as He was.  He said, “…the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28).

                                                             2.      When Jesus died on the cross, His service was complete, and He paid the ransom for all of us.

B.      Now that the ransom has been paid, let us understand what it means for us.

                                                             1.      The ransom is much more than just a bail bond to release us from Satan’s prison.

                                                             2.      Rather, the ransom is a purchase by which Christ now owns us.  Is the Lord getting what He paid for?

II.      THE PRICE OF REDEMPTION

A.      The word “ransom” means “the price of redemption.”

                                                             1.      Notice the similarity of the original Greek words translated as “ransom,” “redeem,” and “redemption.”

a.       Lytroō – to redeem; to secure release on receipt of ransom

b.       Lytron – the price of redemption; ransom

c.        Anti-lytron – what is given in exchange for another as the price of his redemption (“ransom” in 1Tim. 2:6)

d.       Lytrosis – redemption

e.        The purpose of considering these Greek words is simply to show in an obvious way that “ransom” and “redemption” are very closely related (from the same root word).

                                                             2.      There is also another Greek word that is similar in meaning and is translated as “redeem.”

a.       This word is exagorazō, and it means “to redeem by payment of a price to recover from the power of another.”

i.         This word is related to agorazō, which means “to buy” (used in 1Cor. 6:20 – “you have been bought with a price…”).

ii.        In any redemption, there is always a price, or ransom, to be paid.

b.       In this sense, a redeemed person is like a slave whose liberty has been purchased from the authority of another (example: redeemed from the curse of the Law in Gal. 3:13).

B.      The price of our redemption, our ransom, was the blood of Jesus Christ.

                                                             1.      Notice 1Peter 1:18-19 – “…you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”

                                                             2.      This price tells us not only the cost to Christ who paid our ransom but also the value to us who receive redemption.

a.       Our redemption could only be secured by the payment of a tremendous price, which was and could only have been the blood (the life) of Christ (Heb. 9:11-14, 24-10:4).

b.       The value of redemption must be greater than any other blessing man could acquire because it cost the Lord so much to obtain it for us.

III.   RANSOMED FOR THE LORD

A.      The Lord paid a ransom for (redeemed) us for a purpose.

                                                             1.      God did not redeem us for nothing.  His purpose was not for us to continue in the same manner of life we had previously known, but rather  “He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:13-14).

                                                             2.      Truly, we need to understand our redemption from two perspectives:

a.       We are redeemed from sin (lawless deeds, service to Satan);

b.       We are redeemed for righteousness (good deeds, service to God).

B.      Let us consider the purpose of our redemption according to Titus 2:11-14 (focusing on v. 14 – “…who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds”).

                                                             1.      Christ “gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed.”

a.       The fact that Christ redeemed us from lawless deeds indicates that we were enslaved to those lawless deeds.

i.         Notice Romans 6:16-18:

“Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?  But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”

ii.        We are either in the service of sin (Satan is master) or in the service of righteousness (God is our Master).  There is no other alternative.

iii.      Satan is an oppressive master, but Christ has freed us from the bondage of sin and released into the righteousness of God.

b.       Having escaped the bondage of sin through Christ’s redeeming blood, we must not return to lawless deeds.

i.         The grace of God instructs us “to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age” (Tit. 2:12).

ii.        To return to the bondage of lawless deeds would be worse for us than if we had never been redeemed at all (2Pet. 2:20-22).

                                                             2.      Christ gave Himself for us to “purify for Himself to be a people for His own possession.”

a.       Peter wrote of Christians being “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession” (1Pet. 2:9).

i.         This description is taken from Exodus 19:6, where God made a covenant with Israel to be His special people.  Now the description is applied to Christians.

ii.        Before God inaugurated His covenant with Israel, the people were required to consecrate and cleanse themselves (Ex. 19:10-11, 14).  We also must be consecrated and cleansed by the blood of Christ before we can become His peculiar people.

b.       Without purification by Christ’s blood, we would not be fit to be God’s people or to be in His service.  Consider 2Timothy 2:20-21.

i.         When we were in sin, we were like vessels for dishonor.  No one would use such a vessel for any honorable purpose (example: you would not serve food from a bed pan).

ii.        Now by the redeeming blood of Christ, we have become vessels “for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.”  We have been cleansed to the extent that we can now be useful to God in an honorable way.

                                                             3.      Christ redeemed us to be “zealous for good deeds.”

a.       Paul indicated that good deeds are the reason for our existence.

i.         Notice Ephesians 2:10 – “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

ii.        Such good works are defined and exemplified by the word of God.

b.       Christ did not redeem us for an occasional good deed, but that we would be zealous for good deeds.

i.         “Zealous” indicates eager desire.  One who is zealous for good deeds is actively seeking opportunities to perform them.

ii.        Christians who do good only by compulsion and then consider it drudgery certainly do not serve the purpose for which Christ redeemed them.

IV.    CONCLUSION

A.      Thus, let us comprehend the two-fold nature of our redemption, for we are redeemed by the Lord and for the Lord.

B.      Hence, let us walk in a manner that is respectful of the price our Lord paid for us.  We can never repay our ransom, but we can show our gratitude for it.