Colossians 1:14

Colossians chapter 1, verses 12 the 14. Our focus on verse 14. Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, who have delivered us from the power of darkness, and have translated us into the kingdom of his dear son. in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. May God bless to us is sacred and holy word this morning. Almost 2,000 years ago, the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified atop Mount Calvary outside the city of Jerusalem. We know that the Son of God suffered tremendous pain and agony and died by the most cruel means of death, imaginable, the death of the cross. Most people know about Christ’s death. The common person on this street is aware that Christ was crucified. But the question that needs to be crucified, to be considered is this. What was the sinless son of God doing during that agonizing ordeal? Sadly, few people have a proper understanding of the purpose of Christ’s death and confusion reigns. Paul has been speaking of how God saves his people, how He makes his people, how he makes them fit for heaven. How God has translated you out of Satan’s kingdom of darkness, because you were under the power of darkness, into the kingdom of his dear son. At this point, Paul stops to explain the work of Christ, who has been sent by the father in your salvation from sin, Satan, and the eternal God. wrath of God. So our topic, of course, is the redemption of Christ. Now, the first thing we have to ask this morning is this. What is redemption? What does this word mean? The word redemption is repeatedly used in scripture to refer to Christ’s death. You can’t escape the term. You go through any of Paul’s epistles, and you’re bound to come upon across this particular word. Ask the average person, though, what the word redemption means, and you may get a blank stare. What does it mean to be redeemed? This is true, sadly, of many who actually attend church. You could ask them the same question because, frankly, doctrine is not being taught much in the churches. anymore. Thayer’s Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament defines redemption as this. A releasing affected by payment of a ransom. Redemption, deliverance, liberation, procured by the payment of a ransom. The closest thing we have to this is really a kidnapping case today, where a family receives a note stating if you will pay the ransom, we’ll release your child. And after the family pays some enormous sum of money, they hope that their child will be released on harm. That captures the idea of a ransom. Now, there’s little doubt that Paul, when he uses the word ransom here, he’s thinking in terms of slavery. you have to remember in the Roman Empire in which Paul lived at this time, there were many a 6 million slaves. Slavery was very common. We read about it in the epistles, and we’ll read about it in this epistle. He will talk about the servants or the slaves and what their behavior should be and so forth, and masters. So buying and selling slaves was major business. You get out to the marketplace. there’d be not only food and clothing and things like this, trinkets being sold, but there’d be people being sold. Slavery was common. If a person wanted to be freed by a loved one or a friend who was a slave, you’d have to pay the demanded price, purchase the person, and then you could give them a paper saying that I have now freed you from slavery. And that is the idea here. behind the word redemption. In the Old Testament, remember that prophet Josea had a wife who ran off with another man. In fact, she seems to have been passed from man to man to man along the way, having fling after fling, and finally having been discarded by a number of men, it seems. She ends up having to sell herself as a slave for food and clothing. for it and lodging. And what is Josea commanded to do? He’s commanded to go down to the slave market and repurchase, redeem your wife. And so he goes down to the slave market. He pays 15 pieces of silver and nine bushels of barley instead to purchase his wife back. And he then frees her and graciously takes her back as his wife. this was meant to portray what God would do for his people. And you can now see how the word redemption relates to our context. You were under the power of darkness, and what did we say that meant? We meant, you’re under Satan’s control. Sin’s dominion, under the threat of eternal wrath. You need to be freed. You need to be delivered. from that. You needed to be redeemed. So what is redemption? It’s freedom from bondage by paying a ransom price. And in this case, it was spiritual bondage that we’re talking about. Who provides the redemption? That’s the second question. You’ll notice it says in whom we have redemption. Who is he talking about? He’s talking about the person that he just mentioned in the end of verse 13. the kingdom of God’s dear son, right? So it’s God’s dear son in whom we have redemption. Christ is the one it’s spoken on. The God man is the Redeemer. Whatever God’s justice required to free a sinner from the power of darkness Jesus paid. Christ came to give his life a ransom for many, he tells us. us. In Matthew 2028,, thou shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Matthew 1.21. Hebrews 2 captures it very nicely, verses 14 and 15. For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he, Jesus Christ, also himself likewise took part of the same. He became a man, the God man. That through death, He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver them. Who, through fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage, were in bondage under the power of Satan and Christ came to free us. That is the message of Scripture. Christ’s redemption secured everything necessary for an individual’s salvation. As he Hebrews tells us he obtained eternal redemption for us. If Christ paid the ransom for your soul, there is no longer any possibility of you being under the power of darkness. Under Satan’s power, under his control, or under sin’s dominion, or under the threat of eternal wrath. You and I are incapable of redeeming ourselves. It’s like the slave. How are we going to redeem ourselves. We’re completely broke or we wouldn’t be slaves in the first place. We’re broke. We can’t redeem ourselves. Somebody else has to do it. And Christ is the one who could pay the ransom price. He is the one and only redeemer. There is no redemption outside of Christ. The story is told about a Russian soldier who was much distressed because he was heavily in debt. And he was in great despair. He owed a great deal of money. He didn’t know how he’s going to pay it. So he decided he would list all the money, all the monies that he owed and made this long list of who he owed money to. And then underneath it, he wrote who will pay these debts? And left it laying out on his bunk in the barracks. Well, in the soldier’s absence, while he was out doing training, the emperor happened in Camp Guy, the camp for inspection, the Emperor of Russia. He passed by, he noticed a piece of paper, picked it up, looked at it, and being in a gracious mood, the Emperor, Nicholas, decided he would just sign the bottom of it. Nicholas. So when the soldier got back and looked at the paper the next day, he scarcely could believe his eyes, who will pay these debts was the despairing question, and underneath was Nicholas would pay. And so you were asked, who will redeem me from sin and from Satan and eternal wrath? And the answer is, God’s dear son, the Lord Jesus Christ, he will do it. He is the redeeming. Who provides redemption? Jesus Christ provides redemption. What was the price of redemption? Here’s the third thing he takes up. It is redemption, the Bible says, through his blood. Now, for a slave to be redeemed, some type of price has to be paid. Something has to be paid to secure his release. Paul deliberately chooses the word blood here. Scriptures were bought with a price. We’re not our own. So the cost of redemption was the blood of Christ. He’s conveying the idea that Christ had to die in order for us to be redeemed. die as a sacrifice or a substitute in the place of the sinner. First scripture says in Hebrews 912, neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he entered once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. Now in the Old Testament, had to keep sacrificing the animals. Because those sacrifices never took away sin, but they pointed forward to Christ’s great sacrifice. But his sacrifice, like that of the animals of the Old Testament, was a substitutionary sacrifice in the place of the sinner. Remember in the Old Testament when they brought a sacrifice, you had to lay your hands on the head of the animal. There was a a confession, in a sense, of your sin or a transfer of your sin to the animal. And that animal would be put to death, and his blood was shed and sprinkled about the altar, you remember, and it was burnt on the altar and everything. Why? Because the person was guilty. And the only way to make redemption or to atone for it was to have something substitute in your place. Now, Jesus Christ, is the real substitute. All those sacrifices only pointed to him. When he came, when he died on the cross, all our sins are transferred to him as believers. He dies in the place of his people. Thus, when you read about those in heaven, singing praise to the Lamb who was slain. what do we read? Thou art worthy to receive all honor and glory for thou hast redeemed us to God by thy blood. You’ve redeemed us to God. You are not redeemed with corruptible things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, the scripture says. My friends, it costs Christ His life. Sin is a serious business with God. Now, Jesus Christ, and did not pay this ransom unto Satan. He paid it under God. Notice in Ephesians 5, 2, we read, Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling saver. I like the way James Ferguson puts this. He said, when God the just judge was satisfied, Satan the jailer, an unjust tyrant, did lose his right to keep us longer in bonds. So Christ doth justly deliver the redeemed ones by force. When we come to the Lord’s supper, and there is the broken bread, and there is the juice in the cup. We see in that a reminder of the price of redemption. The broken body and shed blood. of our Lord Jesus Christ. So what was the price of redemption? Redemption through his blood. That’s what it was. Who enjoys this redemption? Now notice he says here, we, we have redemption. The we refers to those who Paul has addressed. And Paul and Timothy himself, who are the writers here, or the ones that are listed here at the BAT the BATTS. at the beginning of the book as the ones who were sending the message. In other words, these are the ones saved by divine grace. They’re further described as those in Christ. And who are those in Christ? Aren’t they the elect? We were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. Arthur W. Pink says this, and I think it’s very interesting. Election is necessarily and clearly implied by some of the most important terms used in scripture concerning various aspects of our salvation. The yea, they are unintelligible without it. For example, every passage which mentions, makes mention of redemption, implies a previous possession. It is Christ buying back. delivering those who were gods at the beginning. Think about that. He already had us. We were chosen in Christ. We were then fallen in Adam. We had to be bought back. Those are the ones who were redeemed. Friends, Scripture teaches that God’s elect are the ones redeemed by the Lord. Christ didn’t die for all mankind. Isaiah 53-8 for the transgression of my people was he stricken. Matthew 1.21, He shall save his people from their sins. John 10.15. I lay down my life for my friends. Ephesians 525. Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. Now think about the implication of these verses. If Christ died for the sheep, he didn’t die for the goats. If Christ died for the church, he didn’t die for all mankind. If Christ died for his. people. He didn’t die for those who were the non-elect. If we are redeemed by Christ here, and these are described as saints in this passage of scripture, the faithful, those translated into the kingdom of Christ, those made fit for heaven, and he didn’t die for everybody else. What comfort is there in a redemption where Christ does no more for you. that he did for Cain or Abel or, excuse me, Kane or Pharaoh or Judas. Think about that a minute. Didn’t those three all perish in their sins? Are you telling me that my Savior didn’t do anything more for me than he did for those three guys? Then what you’re telling me is that salvation must depend on something I do in addition to the work of Christ because the work of Christ must not save if those three were redeemed by Christ and yet perished in their sins. Think about that. Think of the implications of that. If universal redemption were true, then works has to be added into your salvation. In a sense, we know that everybody limits redemption one way or another. Either you limit its extent, and say that Christ didn’t die for everyone, but only for the elect. Or you have to limit its effectiveness that Christ did not actually secure the salvation of anyone. So you’ve got one or two choices. The Bible tells me that Christ death saves. So the first choice has to be the correct. If you carefully evaluate what a substitutionary death means, it’d be compelled compelled to believe in limited atonement. Did Christ die in the place of the center? And did he pay a ransom price for the sinner’s freedom or not? If Christ paid the ransom price to free the sinner, how can you still be a captive to sin of Satan? How can God punish you in hell? If Christ has already been punished in your place on the cross? Wouldn’t that be double punishment for sin? If Christ provided universal redemption, according to scripture, you’d have to have universal salvation. So if you really understand the death of Christ, and you understand what a substitutionary death means, you have to come to one conclusion. Christ’s death says, and therefore those for whom he died have to be saved. They have to be redeemed. It is true that the Bible sometimes uses the fact that, you know, like Christ died for all or Christ died for the world. But when he uses the word all, it’s used in a restrictive sense, in the sense of all kinds of, or all sorts of people. Not every single individual. And when he uses the word world, he often uses it in contrast to the Jews to indicate that the Gentiles were included. Not everybody in the world, but Jews and Gentiles. Because if you study scripture carefully, you’ll notice that the world is always contrasted with either the church or the Jews. One reason for these general terms is to combat the false notion that the Jews had that salvation was only for them. And that had to be changed. So who enjoys redemption? We, the people of God, the elect, have redemption. Now, what is the benefit of redemption? even the forgiveness of sins. There is the removal of the penalty of your sin. Now, notice that Christ’s sacrifice procures divine forgiveness here. The sinner is granted a full pardon from the punishment of eternal death. This is essential. For every sin must be severely punished by God. His justice demands full satisfaction. God is angry with the wicked every day. His holy displeasure with you as a transgressor of his commandments is clear from Scripture. The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, the Scripture says in Romans 118. Oh, this seems so foreign to our culture. We talk about all smile. God loves you. Has a wonderful plan for your life. Read the scriptures and see what God says. Scripture reveals the everlasting punishment of hell fire waits for those whose sins are not blotted out. The wicked shall be turned into hell, Psalm 917 says. Jesus warned if you believe not that I am he, the Messiah, the Savior, ye shall die in your sins. My friend’s multitudes will suffer the damnation of eternal punishment because their sins are unforgiven. However, those forgiven for Christ’s sake, receive a full pardon by God. I like what the psalmist says in Psalm 32. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity. Does it charge it to his account? You can’t get any better than that. You can’t get any better than a clean slate. And nothing being charged on that any longer. It’s cleaned off. It’s gone. When you are forgiven all those sins you committed, cannot come back to haunt you because the payment is lifted. The punishment, excuse me, is lifted. Now notice with forgiveness of sin, God’s favor now rest upon you. Christ’s redemption is called a propitiation elsewhere in scripture like Romans 325. You know what that means? A turning away of the wrath of God. I like what Isaiah 121 says. Though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away. And thou comforts me. That’s what the Christian has. God was angry with us. His wrath was against us. But by Christ’s redemption that wrath is turned away and now he comforts us. We’re accepted in Christ. You’re treated as if you’d never sinned. You’re in fellowship with the Lord. You’re restored. Dr. Neal, who was the eminent Roman Catholic, once took John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s progress and rewrote it. What I call Romanized it. Made it Catholic. He represented pilgrim as coming not to the cross, but to a certain bath into which he was plunged and washed, and then his burden was washed away. According to this perverted addition of the allegory, Christian was washed in the labor of baptism and all his sins were removed. That was the Roman Catholic manner of getting rid of sin. John Bunyan’s way, of course, is when you come, when Christian gets to the cross, his burden just rolls. And he looks on the cross, his burden comes off. Now, according to Dr. Neil’s pilgrims’ progress, the burden grows again on Pilgrim’s back after he gets his washing. So it’s never really taken away. It comes back. And no wonder, for baptism can never wash away sin and remove it completely. Sin still troubles a person’s soul. The burden that we want to lose is we have to lose at the cross. At Christ’s cross. Not in water. Water is only symbolic of what Christ is done. We want to go to Christ and then we know that God’s favor favor has never lost. What is the benefit of this redemption is forgiveness of sins? Two thoughts as I close. And the first is this. Salvation is found in Christ’s redemption. Sin always leads to misery and ultimately to eternal death in the lake of fire. Since all have sin and come short of the glory of God, we all have a problem. We’re all in serious condition. You need forgiveness of sins. Jesus Christ is the only answer. Neither. is there salvation, Scripture says, in any other. All self-righteousness, all so-called good works, try to earn our way to heaven has to be cast aside. We have to trust in Christ’s sacrifice completely and solely for the forgiveness of our sins and salvation. Whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. Acts 1043. Christ removes the blackest of sins, so there’s no reason to hesitate. But you should go to him. Get your sins taking care of him. He’s the one he can take care of them. And secondly, only limited atonement provides assurance of salvation because only limited atonement teaches that Christ’s death saves. Many years ago, during a major construction phase in Pittsburgh, we used to have a uncompleted bridge over a river. This large span went only partly over the body of water and it stood that way for a period of time because they stopped construction and you know how funds were and when they got the money they’d do more. Well, for a long time it just stood there and it became known as the bridge to nowhere. That was its nickname. Well, one day, despite all precautions by the construction team and I don’t know if the motorist was drunk or what the case was. I just don’t know. He accidentally drove his car off the bridge and plunged it into the waters below. I remember being on the front page of the newspaper. At the time, it was the Pittsburgh Press. And they had a picture. There’s the bridge and they’re below, they’re trying to get this car out of the river because it had gone over. The driver somehow managed to get on the bridge. But because it was only partially completed, the span couldn’t take them over to the other side. My friends, if you believe in universal redemption, your problem is you can get everybody on the bridge, but your bridge doesn’t get you to the other side. It doesn’t provide salvation. And therefore, ultimately, you’re doomed. You’re not going to make it. It doesn’t secure the salvation of any soul. It doesn’t secure the forgiveness of sins for everyone. because if it did, everybody would be saved and end up in heaven. Those who understand that Christ’s death actually saves may have a narrow bridge. We don’t get everybody on the bridge. Only God’s people are on the bridge, but the bridge goes all the way across. It’s completed. Christ’s death saves. He obtained eternal redemption for us. Hebrews 912. Thus we say, if Christ died for you, then you have assurance of redemption from sin plus the forgiveness of all your sins. There’s no question about it. Romans 832 says that if God gave his son for us, how will we not give all things that we need? Why would you want a redemption that doesn’t redeem? Why would you want an atonement that doesn’t atone? Limited atonement provides a proper understanding of what the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished on that cross 2,000 years ago. That’s the only thing it will. There are those that say, well, Christ died for everybody’s sins except for the sin of unbelief. That’s the only sin you get punished for. Then he didn’t die for everybody’s sin. Then he missed a sin. He didn’t cover it. That means you and I have to cover the sin of unbelief in some way, shape, or four. Weren’t we all in a state of unbelief at one time? Weren’t we all guilty of the sin? How’s that sin going to be forgiven? How is it going to be covered? You can have universal atonement. It doesn’t save anyone. Give me a definite atonement. Give me one that saves souls. And that’s what Paul teaches in our text this morning. I’ll just close with a word of praise.