You Have Been Redeemed

First Peter chapter one we're going to read again verses eighteen and nineteen that were printed in the bulletin this morning. They are the the main text of our message today. First Peter one and verses eighteen and nineteen. And first Peter one eighteen And this hold on a second. Verse 18, for as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things.

As silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers. But with the precious blood of Christ, as a lamb without blemish, and without spot. Let's go to the Lord once more in prayer. Lord, we thank you for this day. Thank you for the opportunity to be here to praise your name, to exalt Jesus Christ, our savior, to look into your word, to seek your Holy Spirit power, and work in our life today.

May you take the sword of the spirit, the word of God as it is proclaimed and may you convict us of sin. May you challenge us in your service. May you change us into the likeness of Jesus Christ, your son today. Lord, we pray most of all, if there's one here today that has not yet been redeemed, not yet put their faith trust in Christ alone to save them from sin. I pray Lord they might see that need today and that they might act upon it, that they might bow their knee to you.

As Lord, and trust in you alone to save them. We thank you Lord for the redemption that is in Christ our savior. May he be exalted in this place in Jesus name. Amen. Along with the verse we just read which we will come back to several times this morning.

I'd like to read Ephesians one seven up off the screen here. It says, in whom, that's speaking of Jesus again, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. Wonderful passages of scripture to begin the message today. Full of great, wonderful doctrine, and exceedingly good news. Jesus Christ shed his blood on the cross to redeem us from our sins.

To redeem us back to himself. We throw around this word redeem or redemption quite a bit in Christian circles and yet often times, we really don't know what the term means and sadly, there are many false teachers out there that will take the same terms and give them different definitions than scripture does. And so, we're going to, for the next few weeks, look at several different terms in scripture relating to God's description of our salvation and relationship with him and define them as scripture defines them. That we might know and understand what we have in Christ Jesus better and that we might better be able to proclaim and declare that to others who need to know him also. The word redeem this morning means to buy back, purchase, or pay a ransom price.

It means to buy back or purchase if you're going to go somewhere. When I was a kid, we had green stamps. Anybody remember green stamps? Okay. They gave green stamps at the grocery store and they actually had a store, a green stamp store in Roanoke that you could go to and you could redeem your stamps.

You could use those stamps to purchase things in the Green Stamp store. If you go to the pawn shop and you pawn an item, let's say, you've got a bill, you can't pay it, but you've got something that you can live without for a little while, from time to time, people take those things to the pawnshop. They give them the pawnshop and they have a certain amount of time that they can come back and redeem it back to themselves from the pawnshop. And and so, most of the time that that happens and it is redeemed, bought back, okay. To pay a ransom price, you understand that.

If someone is kidnapped, oftentimes, what what happens? They ask for a ransom. When the ransom is paid, then whoever's kidnapped is released. So these are terms that are a little more understandable that we use in our culture today. To redeem means to buy back, purchase, or pay a ransom price.

A redeemer is one who pays the price of freedom. The one who pays the ransom, the one who pays the price for the freedom of the other or to buy back the thing. They that person is the redeemer, okay? And the redeemed is that which is bought back, that which is purposed, that is which we would call the redeemed, the thing that is redeemed. These are words that are used very often throughout the scripture.

And to understand what Jesus has done for us, we need to know what it means. He has redeemed us. He's bought us back. He is our redeemer, the one who paid the price for our freedom and we are his redeemed in Christ Jesus. The work of almighty God, Jesus Christ, our savior.

The question this morning to start out with is this, what are you redeemed from? You redeemed from what? From what have we been purchased, from what have we been freed? The Bible tells us, look if you would up here on the screen at Romans seven fourteen. For we know that the law is spiritual but I am carnal.

Last three words, sold under sin. What is it that mankind is in bondage to? He is in bondage to sin and it doesn't take long if you're watching the news to recognize that humanity is in bondage to sin. I just this this one thing just keeps popping up in in my mind. We have been here for at least six thousand years on this Earth.

We have seen the ravages of war. We have studied it in school, in history class. And all the terrible atrocities and innocent blood that is shed in war and yet, what happens incessantly? What do we with all of our learning and all of our technology? There is no lack for war in this world.

There is no lack for shedding of blood, terrorism. It grows. Despite all of our knowledge, beside all of our history, it happens still in this world today and we can look at other examples, many other examples. We know the the the destruction to the family and society that immorality brings and yet, immorality is as much rampant or more so today than in any day. We celebrate it in our culture today.

Humanity is in bondage to sin and it continues to demonstrate that sadly every day. We are in bondage to sins, desires. Look if you would in first Peter four. If you're still in first Peter one, if you turn over to chapter four, I want us to see this morning, we are in bondage to the desires of sin, to our own sinful lusts. First Peter chapter four verse one.

For as much then as Christ has suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind. For he that suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lust of men, but to the will of God. For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles when we walked in lasciviousness, lust, excess of wine, revelings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries. Wherein they think it's strange that she run not with them to the same excess of of riot speaking evil of you. Peter writing to Christians says, we have been freed from this.

This was our life before we met Jesus. We lived and were in bondage to these things, lasciviousness which is immorality, promiscuous living, lust, excessive wine, revelings which is partyings and banquetings and abominable idolatries. We were held captive by these activities and by these lustful thoughts in our life. We've been redeemed. He says, the world around you, he says, if you do not partake of these things, they look at you strangely.

They think you're odd and indeed you are odd. We are odd. But we're odd in a good way. We will always be odd in this world. Jesus said, don't be surprised if the world hates you.

It hated me before it hated you. Why did Cain kill Abel? I always when I I asked that to people and when I was a little kid, immediately, the answer was, oh, he was jealous. He was jealous of of how God treated Abel differently than he treated Cain but I think the real reason that Cain killed Abel was that Abel by his righteousness brought conviction and guilt upon Cain and Cain thought in his anger by killing his brother that he would get out of the way the thing that was bringing him guilt and pain. God said to Cain, Cain, if you will do the right thing, I'll give you a second chance.

I'll accept your offering too but Cain instead of bringing the right sacrifice, did away with his brother. Not I don't believe so much out of jealousy but out of guilt and anger and rebellion to God. Controlled by his what? Sins and man, humanity is in bondage to sin even today. Ephesians chapter two verses two and three, if you want to look in your Bible, you can.

If you're there, if you want to look up on the screen, wherein in time past, you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince and power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we had our conversation or lifestyle. In times past, in the lust of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind and were by nature the children of wrath even as others. Man is in bondage to sin today. They're enslaved to it. They are obligated by it.

They are under its control. But there is one who can free them. There is one who can release them from their shackles, Jesus Christ. They're enslaved not only to its desires, but they are enslaved to its end. If you look up here, the last phrase, if you can see it at the bottom, and says, and we're by nature the children of what?

Wrath, even as others. Wrath, well, what does that mean? Whose wrath? God's wrath upon what? God's wrath upon sin.

As we are enslaved to do and obligated and under the power of sin, we are also responsible still for what we do and God brings judgement upon sin. Sin has a penalty and God's wrath is upon the sin and thereby also upon the what? Upon the sinner. Sin has a price. Romans five twelve, wherefore as by one man, sin entered into the world and death by sin and so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned.

What is sins penalty? Sins penalty is death. Death. Romans six twenty three, for the wages of sin is? Death.

Death. Ezekiel eighteen four. Can you might quote that? Maybe not. You might not recognize the reference.

The last half of the verse says this, the soul that sinneth, it shall die. It shall die. You say, well, we all die. Well, that's right. We all die physically because of sin.

We wouldn't even die physically if it were not for sin but the Bible tells us that there is a what? A second death. We looked at it last week from Revelation 20. It's called the Lake Of Fire and all those whose names were not written in the book of life were judged thereby according to their works were found guilty because they will be found sinners and cast into the lake of fire. So, not only is humanity in bondage to sin's desires, but it's also in bondage to its end, The wrath of God in a place called the Lake Of Fire, the second death.

Held hostage by God's enemy, the devil. Genesis chapter three, God put Adam and Eve in the Garden Of Eden. He told them, he said to them, you can eat of every tree but one, the tree in the middle, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He said, don't eat of that tree. Satan in the form of a serpent comes to Eve and says to Eve, has God not allowed you to eat of all these beautiful trees?

Now, that's paraphrase obviously. And Eve said, oh, we can eat of all the trees except this one right here in the middle. We can't eat of it neither can we touch it lest we die. Now, she may have added the words touch it because that that isn't recorded earlier in the passage or Jesus may have given them more information there than he's given us. I'm not sure.

But Satan went on to say, oh oh God. God just doesn't want you to have any fun. God knows that in the day you eat of that, you're going to become just like gods. You're going to become your own gods. You make your own decisions.

You don't have to listen to him and he knows that. He's holding you back. And Eve took of that fruit and she ate. She gave him to Adam and he ate, and you say, well, wait a second, it's not my fault I wasn't there. You're made of the same stuff they were and if you were there, you'd have done the same thing in your sin and in Adam, we all died and Satan got a victory.

A victory he thought would lead to his domination of this Earth and his kingdom and would rob God. But he didn't count on one thing. Jesus Christ. And the redemption price he paid on Calvary's Cross. To defeat Satan and make a way for us, God's creation, God's children to be redeemed unto himself by the blood of Jesus Christ.

We talk about slavery in The United States. That that word always brings a puts a bad taste in our mouth, and and slavery indeed has been an ill and a sign of, again, once once again of the the sinfulness of man throughout this world. In The United States, years ago, people were enslaved, taken from their homes, brought across an ocean under incredibly incredibly terrible conditions. Many died even on the journey. In some cases, they were sold into slavery by their by friends and others and brought to the port for the slavers to take.

When they got here, they were sold like a piece of a piece of meat, a pet, a piece of furniture. They became slaves. Not only that but their descendants, some of them were born in the slave, slavery. They they were a slave the moment they were they were born into this world. And we think about how terrible that is and indeed it was.

But you realize that we were all born slaves in this world. All born slaves to sin. All born in bondage to it without the power to free ourselves from it. Only Jesus Christ can free us, can redeem us, can buy our souls back from the task master of sin. In Psalm fifty one five, it says, David writes, behold, I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me.

You don't have to teach a child to sin. They they have a proclivity to it. All on their own. That's the sin nature that you and I and everyone are born with, in which we are in bondage to. That is what we must, we need to be freed from.

We need to be ransomed from. We need to be redeemed from. The next question is this, what? With what? Can we be redeemed?

With what? Can we be redeemed? As I mentioned just a moment ago, a slave can do little in many cases to earn or gain his freedom. He does not have the power. He does not have the means to buy his freedom.

The Bible says, our righteousness are as filthy rags. You say, God, I'm going to earn my way to heaven. I want to earn my way out of this mess, okay? Show me. Stop sinning.

Just stop sinning. You can't. You can't. You can't stop sinning and even if you could stop sinning what would you give to pay the penalty for the sins that you've already committed? We have nothing with which to pay.

We have no righteousness in ourselves With which to to buy our freedom from sin and to redeem us, to to change. The Bible says, prior to salvation, we are dead in trespasses and in sins. The law, the law of Moses has nothing to offer but a list of rules that you can't keep. You say, oh but pastor, I haven't murdered anybody and I haven't stolen anything and I don't have a foul mouth and take God's name in vain. Well, that's that's good.

But have you ever lied? That's there too, you know. Have you ever been greedy and covetous? You know, that's the tenth commandment. Jesus said, if you've lusted in your heart after another woman other than your wife, then you have already committed what?

Adultery already with her in your heart. He said, if you've hated other people, then, you've already committed murder in your heart. You see, the commandments, the law wasn't given to save. The law was given to reveal to us that we are sinners in need of a what? A savior.

In the Old Testament, when they broke the law, they had to bring a what? A sacrifice to cover their sins. The law was there to show them that they didn't measure up and they needed to sacrifice. Of course, these sacrifices, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and that's Jesus Christ. We have nothing with which to pay.

The Bible says, for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. Other idols and false hopes have nothing to offer. There are people all over this world who do recognize they have a problem. And they seek all kinds of religion and they bow before all kinds of idols. Who are powerless.

An idol is nothing but a piece of something carved out of stone. Cannot hear their prayers. It cannot answer their prayers. There is only one true and living God that can redeem people from sin. Idols are powerless.

Religions are powerless. Rules are powerless. Christianity is not about rules and regulations and man's religion. It is about a person and that person is Jesus Christ, the redeemer. Silver and gold are of no consequence.

What shall a man give in exchange for his soul? The answer is nothing. There is nothing we have to give. No amount of gold and silver will ever press almighty God. It might impress your neighbors, might make you feel more secure but it cannot purchase your redemption.

You cannot give it in exchange for your soul. When you stand before God in heaven, it will be worthless before him. So, if silver and gold won't do it, if religions and idols won't do it, if the law won't do it, if I can't do it, well, then I'm in trouble. The Bible says that we are without hope except in Jesus Christ. Slaves in the Old Testament and slaves throughout the world are often purchased by silver and gold transferred from one individual to another.

Sad story. But we cannot be bought. We are not bought with silver and gold but with something far better. Look if you would again, first Peter chapter one, first Peter chapter one verse 18. For as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, as what?

Silver and gold. Received from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers. You can work all you want, your good works will never earn you salvation. The things you receive by tradition from your fathers will never earn you salvation. But we are redeemed by the what?

The precious blood of Christ as the lamb without blemish and without spot. What is it that redeems man's soul? What is it that can be given in exchange for a man's soul? The blood of Jesus Christ. The innocent, righteous, holy blood of Jesus Christ shed on Calvary's Cross to pay sin's price and to buy us back from sin and Satan and hell.

By Jesus Christ, our savior. I've got a couple other verses Let's see. There it is. For you are bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are gods.

You are bought with a price. Paul writes, what price was that? The shedding of Jesus blood on Calvary's Cross and the suffering that he bore. The Bible says in Isaiah 53, we he was bruised. He for our iniquities, okay?

He suffered there not for his sin. He suffered there for yours and by his stripes, you are healed. Healed from what? Healed from sin. Healed from sin.

Matthew 20 verse 28, even as the son of man came not to be to ministered unto but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many. Why did Jesus come? He didn't come to be served and bowed down to the first time as king. He came to serve us by dying on the cross to pay the price for our sin, to redeem us back to the father, the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God. He purchased us with his blood.

As I was as I was waiting up here for the opportunity to get up here and preach this message. I, another verse came to mind that I hadn't thought of before. It's Acts twenty twenty eight. It says this, take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock over which the holy ghost hath made you overseers to feed the church of God which he hath purchased with his own blood. Purchased, redeemed, not by the blood of the guilty, not by the works of man's hands, not by silver and gold, things that perish, things that are tainted but by the innocent and pure blood and suffering of the sinless son of God.

He hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God. In him. It is Jesus Christ that is purchased, redeemed, fallen mankind to himself through his sacrifice on Calvary's Cross. Kate, where'd she go? She's going to come up.

Imma do something a little unorthodox this morning. I'm going to sing in the middle of my sermon, okay? I like this song. It's entitled The Blood of Jesus and you'll see why I want to sing it here. It fits so well with these verses.

The blood of Christ Jesus has power to save the blood of my savior has conquered the grave he left heaven's glory and died on a tree to purchase salvation for sinners like me the blood of Jesus flows from the cross pleading my pardon though painful the cause pure son of God how loving the heart merciful savior come into my heart find peace through the blood of the lamb who was slain cry unto my Jesus oh call on his name come unto the father through Jesus his son your pardon is certain redemption is done the blood of Christ Jesus is God's only way to ransom the sinner and wash sin away how worthy the lamb through the ages will ring he came as my savior he'll come as my king the blood of Jesus flows from the cross pleading my pardon though painful the cause pure son of God how loving the merciful savior come into my think I have John one twenty nine up here on the screen. The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him and saith, behold the lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. There was a an illustration book I I bought years ago.

Had a story in there. Over in Europe, they had the plague, the Black Death, they called it. And there was a geneticist, I think maybe it was Louis Pasteur, but I don't remember completely. There was a geneticist, nobody wanted to listen to him back then. And he purchased 10 horses, and he gave those 10 horses the plague.

He injected them with the disease, the virus and those horses began to die one right after another. But one of those horses didn't die. One of the 10 survived the plague. He took that horse and then he killed it. He drained the blood of the horse.

He made vaccines from the blood of the one who overcame the plague. He injected it into the people. Many of them recovered and many of them never got sick. The blood of the overcomer redeemed them from the death of the plague. Jesus Christ not only suffered on Calvary's Cross for our sin, but he overcame it, and he rose again from the dead.

He is our overcomer, and only through faith in his shed blood on Calvary's Cross can we be redeemed from the terrible plague of sin that wishes to destroy humanity and God's design. Jesus Christ is that overcomer. How do we receive this redemption for which he died? We receive it by faith. First Peter chapter one verse twenty and twenty one.

After verse 19 which we read with the precious blood of Christ, the lamb without blemish and without spot, it says in verse 20, who barely was foreordained before the foundation of the world was manifest in these last times for you, who by him do believe in God, that raised him from the dead and gave him glory that your faith and hope might be in God. Might be in God in his only son who died on the cross for your sins and mine. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh under the father but by me. How do we receive this precious gift?

How are we redeemed? Through faith in Jesus Christ. Look if you would back in Ephesians chapter two. Ephesians chapter two, beginning in verse two. Ephesians two verse two, Wherein in time past, you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince and power of the air, that is the devil, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.

Verse three, among whom also we all had our conversation, our lifestyle, and times past, and the lust of our flesh fulfilling the desires of the flesh and the mind and were by nature of the children of wrath even as others. We read those two verses earlier. Verse four, but God, but God, if it weren't for God, we would be stuck there forever but God but God who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us. Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us. The word quicken means made alive, hath quickened us together with Christ by grace are you saved and hath raised us up together and made us to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward us through Jesus Christ.

For by grace are you saved. By God's power and his power alone, by his gift. For by grace are you saved through faith, through faith, through trusting in him and his sacrifice. By placing your soul and life in his hands. For by grace are you saved through faith and that none of yourselves.

It is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should bow. The Bible says in Hebrews 11, it is impossible to please him without what? Without faith. For he that cometh him must believe that he is and he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

How do you receive this wonderful gift? How can you be redeemed? You accept God's offer. You accept God's offer of redemption and eternal life in your behalf by faith. Your freedom from sin, your freedom as sons, as children of God.

John one twelve, but as many as received him, that is Jesus. To them gave he power to become the sons of God even to them that believe on his name. If you're here today and you by faith have believed on the name of the son of God who died for you on the cross to redeem you from sin. If you have humbled yourself before him, repented of your sin, confessed it before him, and trusted in Christ alone as savior. You are what?

You are redeemed. You are redeemed by the blood of the lamb. You have been set free. You've been set free. You say, but pastor, I still sin.

Yes, I know. But you don't have to. You still do sometimes. You still choose wrong but there's another voice inside your heart and there's another voice inside your head and there's another power that lives inside of you, the Holy Spirit who gives you the power and gives you the victory. If we'll walk in the spirit, we will not fulfill what?

The lust of the flesh because we have been redeemed. Not only are redeemed from the bondage of sin but we are redeemed from its price because Jesus paid that price on Calvary's Cross. For the wages of sin is death. Romans six twenty three, for the wages of sin is death but the what? The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The gift of God is eternal life. Eternal life, he has redeemed us unto eternal life. Made us his children Look if you would in verse 10 of Ephesians two. He has given us this gift. Verse 10, for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus on the good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

He saved you. Yes, he saved you to give you eternal life. He redeemed you to himself from sin but he freed you from its power that you might serve and live for him who has redeemed you. You see, he didn't just set you free from sin so that we can just do whatever we want. He redeemed us from sin so we can once again do that which where we were created and designed to do.

To bring glory to our heavenly father. To serve a new master a loving one, a kind one, a humble one, a father, a friend who has our best interest at heart. Sin may look appealing. The devil may whisper in your ear and say, Hey, this isn't so bad. Hey, you don't want that.

It will restrict you. The only way you can be freed to enjoy what life the way God intended and to receive eternal life is through faith in Jesus Christ, his son. Have you done that? I pray you have. If you haven't, you can.

He died for you, he loves you, he calls out to you today. Come unto me. I will receive you. I will not cast you out. I will redeem you.

I will save you. I will free you. I'll never leave you nor forsake you. Let's pray. Dear heavenly father, we thank you Lord.

Today, for the redemption that we have in Christ Jesus. Lord, we've been freed. There's no longer any condemnation for Jesus Christ took our punishment on Calvary's Cross. Lord, we've been freed. We don't have to serve sin today.

We've been freed to serve the savior. Lord, thank you for redeeming our soul, for doing for us that which we can never do for ourselves. Lord, I pray if there's one here today that's never trusted you. It's not saved, not yet redeemed. Lord, I pray they would come.

As we give this hymn of invitation this evening. This morning, in Jesus name we pray. Amen.