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REDEMPTION: A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE
A) REDEMPTION IS IN THREE STAGES
3) RECEPTION OF A PERFECT REDEMPTION BODY
[The New Scofield Study Bible, NIV, C.I. Scofield, D.D., Editor, Oxford Univ Press, NY, 1967, p. 1179]:
" 'Redemption' means to deliver by paying a price. The work of Christ fulfilling the O.T. types and prophecies of redemption is set forth in three principal Greek words:
(1) AgorazO, to buy in the market (from agora, market). Man is viewed as a slave 'sold...to sin' (Rom 7:14) and under sentence of death (Ezek 18:4; Jn 3:18-19; Rom 6:23) but subject to redemption by the purchase price of the blood of the Redeemer, Jesus Christ (1 Cor 6:20; 7:23; 2 Pet 2:1; Rev 5:9; 14:3-4).
(2) ExagorazO, to buy out of the market, i.e., to purchase and remove from further sale (Gal 3:13; 4:5; Eph 5:16; Col 4:5), speaking of the finality of the work of redemption.
(3) lutroO, to loose or set free (Lk 24:21; Ti 2:14; 1 Pet 1:18), noun form, lutrOsis (Lk 2:38; Heb 9:12). Compare also 'redeemed' (lit. to make redemption, Gk epoiEsen lutrOsin, Lk 1:68), and 'deliverance' (intensive form, apolutrOsis) used commonly to indicate release of a slave (Lk 21:28; Rom 3:24; 8:23; 1 Cor 1:30; Eph 1:7, 14; 4:30; Col 1:14; Heb 9:15; 11:35). Redemption is by sacrifice and by power (Ex 14:30); Christ paid the price, the Holy Spirit makes deliverance actual in experience (Rom 8:2)."
[J. Dwight Pentecost states, ("Things Which Become SOUND DOCTRINE", Revell, Westwood, N.J., 1965, pp. 73-82)]:
"The return of a victorious general to the city of Rome transformed the staid and austere atmosphere of the city into a festive occasion. When a Roman general had been victorious over an enemy, he returned to Rome at the head of a great triumphal procession. He led back in triumph not only the forces that had served under him, but he also brought back the spoils of the conquered land as well as a large number of captives. All these formed the great triumphal procession. When the news of the victory reached the city of Rome, preparations would be made for the conqueror's return, for it was a time in which the glory won by the conqueror was heaped upon his head. He rode into the city to be received by the nobles and the dignitaries in a manner becoming his victory.
This was a time to which the wealthy looked forward, for they could buy from the spoils of conquest the treasures that would adorn their homes. It was a time anticipated by the slave owner who desired to enlarge the number of his slaves, for after the captives had been led in the triumphal procession, they would be taken to the slave market and there, one by one, would be put upon a slave block where they might be examined and tested by prospective buyers, and then purchased to be brought into a life of bondage and servitude.
It was this concept of slaves in a slave market which was uppermost in the minds of the Apostles as they spoke of the great work of the Lord Jesus Christ as a Redeemer and the work of redemption which He has provided for sinners. The Word of God looks upon men who are in sin as bond-slaves. It looks upon them as being under a master who has conquered and subdued them, and who can deliver them over to even greater bondage. The Scripture views the sinner as without any will of his own, indentured to serve sin and to be a bond-slave of Satan, to do whatsoever Satan demands.
[And that includes all men - all are slaves to sin:
(v. 23) "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
(v. 24) and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."
2) [Compare Ro 6:16-17, 19-20]:
(v. 16) "Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey--whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
(v. 17) But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.
(v. 19) I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.
(v. 20) When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness."
(v. 1) "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,
(v. 2) in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient."]
Jesus Christ has come into that slave market in order that He might purchase those who are in sin's chains, so that He might set them free. 'Redeemed, How I Love to Proclaim It!' is a song we delight to sing. We lift our voices to extol not only the Redeemer but the redemption which He has provided. But we will never be able to praise our Redeemer for His redemption until we understand our condition in sin, our need of redemption, the cost of redemption, and the deliverance which has been afforded by the Redeemer."
II) STAGE ONE: FREED FROM PAYMENT FOR ONES OWN ACTS OF SIN
"He [Christ] is the atoning sacrifice for our [believers' sins, (v. 2:1)] and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."
Notice that Jesus Christ paid the penalty, i.e., the price for the acts of sin committed by every man, woman & child who will ever live, i.e., "for the sins of the whole world" such that no man's sins will be ever counted against him:
(v. 18) "All this is from God, Who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;
(v. 19) that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation."
As far as the acts of sin are concerned re: every man, woman and child, God has been reconciled through what Jesus Christ did on the cross, and as a result of this no one will be held accountable at any time for any act of sin.
Although no man will be held accountable for his acts of sin, all men lack God's perfect righteousness and still remain under God's condemnation without it until they receive it by faith in Jesus Christ:
(v. 21) "But now a Righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.
(v. 22) This Righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,
(v. 23) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God [i.e., His perfect Righteousness - therefore all are under God's condemnation],
(v. 24) and are justified [i.e., declared perfectly Righteous] freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."
So unless you express a moment of belief in Jesus Christ you remain under God's condemnation:
(v. 16) "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him [should] not perish but have eternal life.
(v. 17) For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
(v. 18) Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son."
Notice that whoever becomes a believer, ["whoever believes" = Gk. "ho pisteuon" = lit. whoever is the believing one] in Jesus Christ, the Son of God to save one is no longer under God's condemnation but has [present tense] eternal life forever [because it is eternal in duration]; but whoever has not believed stands condemned until he believes [changes his mind from not believing to believing]. Thus when one believes in Jesus Christ one receives the Righteousness of God, (Ro 3:21-24) and the free gift of eternal life forever because it's eternal, (Jn 3:16-18)]
(v. 10) "All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.'
(v. 11) Clearly no one is justified before God by the Law, because, 'The righteous will live by faith.'
[lit., the righteous by a moment of faith will live, i.e., have eternal life]
(v. 12) The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, 'The man who does these things will live by them.'
(v. 13) Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written 'Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree. [Dt 21:23]' "
(v. 22) "If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his body is hung on a tree,
(v. 23) you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse. You must not desecrate the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance."
Since all men are under the curse of the Law, i.e., a perfect code of behavior which no one can keep perfectly and are thereby condemned by it, (Ro 7:1; Gal 3:11); then Christ redeemed all men by becoming a curse for us = all men by actually being executed as a criminal for evil which He did not commit but which the whole world did, (1 Jn 2:2).
"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law", (Gal 3:13) =
"redeemed us" = "exegorasen" = a compound verb; aorist tense = completed action indicating a once for all time action; indicative mood = a statement of fact indicating a completed position; this compound verb consisting of "egorasen" = purchase, (cp Rev 5:9), and "ex" = out of, i.e., "exegorasen" = "to purchase out of being subject to the curse of the Law, i.e., the slave market of sin so that one can never return to it.
[J. Dwight Pentecost states, ("Things Which Become SOUND DOCTRINE", Revell, Westwood N.J., 1965, pp. 76)]:
"This word ["exegorasen"] emphasizes the result of the redemption, the result of the purchase by the blood of Christ. When we were purchased out from the curse of the Law and bondage to sin we were purchased out so completely and effectively that we can never be returned to that slave market again... The Apostle tells us that when Christ redeemed us in a redemptive act, and purchased us for Himself by the payment of a price, He redeemed us or purchased us out of the slave market in order that we might be delivered from its bondage forever."
[Notice the phrase, 'that we might be delivered' from its bondage forever which implies potential and depends upon whether or not an individual takes that step of trusting alone in Christ alone unto eternal life]
(v. 4) "But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law,
(v. 5) to redeem those under law [which is all mankind, (Ro 7:1)], that we might receive the full rights of sons."
["might" = potential]
(v. 18) "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that your were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers,
(v. 19) but with the precious blood of Christ, a Lamb without blemish or defect."
"you were redeemed" = "elutrOthEte", aorist tense =completed action, second person, plural, passive mood - Christ has done it all once for all time.
[Pentecost, op. cit., p. 74-75]:
"The word ["elutrOthEte"] the Apostle chose to use in... [1 Pet 1:18-19] ...which is translated by the English word 'redeemed,' is a word that emphasizes an act: it is the act of setting free, the act of liberating. The word the Apostle used here... emphasizes that a purchase was necessary, and a purchase has been accomplished.
God owns the world and all that is within creation. Because God is the Creator, all that came into being by the word of His power is rightly His. We are His by creation; therefore we are answerable to Him as creatures to the Creator. But when God would bring many sons into glory - that we should be found to the praise of the glory of His grace - God did not bring us into glory by creating us, but rather by purchasing us for Himself. When the Apostle says we were not redeemed with corruptible things but with the precious blood of Christ, he is emphasizing the fact that God Who had created entered into a separate act, or work, whereby the One Who already possessed us bought us to Himself that we might be doubly His: His by creation, and His by a purchased redemption.... Peter has shown us that the redemption price was the blood of Christ"
'...ye were not redeemed with corruptible things" - and the corruptible things he mentions are silver and gold. Silver and gold are corruptible and are corrupted because they are under the curse. When Adam sinned, the ground upon which he trod was cursed By God. God said to Adam":
(v. 17) "To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.
(v. 18) It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.
(v. 19) By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."
[Pentecost, cont.]:
"Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life....
...All that the ground contained, then, was under the curse of God. The silver and gold were cursed by God, and an accursed thing could never be used to pay a satisfactory redemption price to God.
So, the Apostle says that when we were redeemed, we were not redeemed with that which was corruptible because it was corrupted, namely, silver and gold; but that we were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot. The Lamb Whose blood was the purchase price was uncorruptible and uncorrupted. And the Apostle [Peter] is contrasting corruptible silver with uncorruptible blood, corrupted gold with an uncorrupted Son of God. And Peter and John agreed that when God purchased us the purchasing price was none other than the blood of God's own Son.
(v. 11) "When Christ came as High Priest of the good things that are already here, He went through the greater and more perfect Tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, no part of this creation.
(v. 12) He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.
(v. 13) The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean.
(v. 14) How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, Who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
(v. 15) For this reason Christ is the Mediator of a New Covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance - now that He has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the First Covenant."
D) THE METHOD OF MAN'S REDEMPTION WAS BY PURCHASE, I.E., ACQUIRING BY RANSOM
(v. 11) "When Christ came as High Priest of the good things that are already here, He went through the greater and more perfect Tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation.
(v. 12) He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.
(v. 13) The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean.
(v. 14) How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, Who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
(v. 15) For this reason Christ is the Mediator of a New Covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance - now that He has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the First Covenant."
"And they sang a new song: 'You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You were slain, and with your blood You purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.' "
[Pentecost, op. cit., pp. 75-76]:
"Thou hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood!" [KJV] = We find a different word is used in the original text. It is the word which means 'to go shopping' or 'to go into the market to purchase.'
[From the infinitive agorazO = to buy, redeem, acquire by a ransom or price paid]
The Apostle John, in Revelation 5:9, emphasizes the method by which the redemption of which Peter spoke has been accomplished.
It is a redemption by purchase, and the purchase price is stated - it is redemption by blood. The Apostle John [in Rev 5:9] uses a different word [Egorasas = "you were purchased"; aorist tense, a completed action, from the infinitive verb: agorazO, to purchase] than that used by Peter, [(1 Pet 1:18), "elutrOthEte" = "you were redeemed" from the infinitive verb lutroO = to liberate, release for a ransom]; for Peter was emphasizing that God has done an act, but the Apostle John is emphasizing the method by which this act has been accomplished. We have been bought in the market by God by blood. The Apostle John uses a different word than that used by Peter, for Peter was emphasizing that God has done an act, but the Apostle John is emphasizing the method by which this act has been accomplished. We have been bought in the market by God by blood. The Apostle John is emphasizing not only the act of purchase, but the additional fact of the purchase price."
E) FOR REDEMPTION TO BE POSSIBLE, A KINSMAN REDEEMER MUST VOLUNTEER TO PAY THE RANSOM PRICE
a) THE LAW PROVIDES FOR THE REDEMPTION OF PROPERTY AND PERSON THROUGH A KINSMAN REDEEMER
"The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins," declares the LORD."
[Scofield NIV, op. cit., p. 739]:
"Redemption, kinsman type, [Hebrew = goel]
Summary: The goel, [Hebrew for] kinsman-redeemer, is a beautiful type of Christ:
(1) The kinsman redemption was of persons and an inheritance (Lev 25:25, 48; Gal 4:5; Eph 1:7, 11, 14).
(2) The redeemer must be a kinsman (Lev 25:48-49; Ruth 3:12-13;
Gal 4:4; Heb 2:14-15).
(3) The redeemer must be able to redeem (Ruth 4:4-6; Jer 50:34; Jn 10:11, 18).
(4) Redemption is effected by the goel paying the just demand in full (Lev 25:27; Gal 3:13; 1 Pet 1:18-19).
(v. 47) "If an alien or a temporary resident among you becomes rich and one of your countrymen becomes poor and sells himself to the alien living among you or to a member of the alien's clan,
(v. 48) he retains the right of redemption after he has sold himself. One of his relatives may redeem him:
(v. 49) An uncle or a cousin or any blood relative in his clan may redeem him. Or if he prospers, he may redeem himself.
(v. 50) He and his buyer are to count the time from the year he sold himself up to the Year of Jubilee. The price for his release is to be based on the rate paid to a hired man for that number of years.
(v. 51) If many years remain, he must pay for his redemption a larger share of the price paid for him.
(v. 52) If only a few years remain until the Year of Jubilee, he is to compute that and pay for his redemption accordingly.
(v. 53) He is to be treated as a man hired from year to year; you must see to it that his owner does not rule over him ruthlessly.
(v. 54) Even if he is not redeemed in any of these ways, he and his children are to be released in the Year of Jubilee,
(v. 55) for the Israelites belong to Me as servants. They are My servants, whom I brought out of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.' "
[Pentecost, op. cit., pp. 78-79]:
"But if we are to have redemption, there must be a Redeemer. In the Old Testament, God, pictorially, was preparing the way for the coming Redeemer, for He had instituted a custom in the Old Testament that graphically portrayed the [future] work of the Lord Jesus Christ as God's Redeemer. If an Israelite was sold into bondage or delivered himself into slavery because of indebtedness, provision was made by which that indentured servant could be set free. It was through the provision we know as the kinsman-redeemer: one who was kin to the slave had the right and the responsibility to pay the price in order that his kinsman might be delivered from bondage."
2) FOUR STIPULATIONS MUST BE MET FOR ONE TO QUALIFY AS KINSMAN REDEEMER
[Pentecost, op. cit., pp. 79-82]:
"But there were certain stipulations laid down as to who could be the redeemer, and upon what terms this redemption of the slave could be accomplished. Briefly, may we point out to you four facts.
a) ONE MUST BE THE KINSMAN OF THE SLAVE
(v. 14) "Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death - that is, the devil -
(v. 15) and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death."
[Pentecost, op. cit., pp. 79-81]:
"First, it was necessary that the one who did the work of redeeming the slave be the kinsman of the slave. Not anyone who was moved by compassion when he looked upon the plight of a slave could redeem him. That right of redemption was reserved for a kinsman.
You will recall that when Ruth was to be delivered into bondage, it was the right of Boaz to deliver her because he was a kinsman, (Ruth 2:1-9, 20; 3:1-4:16). If Jesus Christ is to be a Redeemer for men Jesus Christ must be related to men, or He is not eligible to become their Redeemer. The writer to the Hebrews, cognizant of this requirement from the Old Testament, shows us how Christ met this condition so that He could be a Redeemer [Heb 2:14-15 quoted above]...
Then the [writer of Hebrews] continues by showing us that Jesus Christ did not identify Himself with angels, for if He were an angel He would be ineligible to redeem men. [Heb 2:16-18]. But Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, through the virgin birth took upon Himself full and complete humanity in order that He, as the Son of Man, related to men by a human birth, might be their representative and their kinsman-Redeemer. Jesus Christ was related to men - 'He became flesh' for the work of redemption."
ii) [Philippians 2:5-8 NASB]:
5
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 Who, although He existed in the
form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but emptied Himself, taking the
form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
8 Being found in appearance as a man,
He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a
cross.
b) THE REDEEMER MUST HAVE THE PRICE OF REDEMPTION
[Pentecost, op. cit., pp. 79-80]:
"Second, we find from the Old Testament that it was necessary for the redeemer to have a redemption price to pay to set the slave free. He must be able to redeem. The nearest kinsman of Ruth was unable to redeem, and Boaz came forward to be the kinsman-redeemer, not only because he was related, but because he had an ability that the prior kinsman did not have: he had the substance by which he might redeem. [Ruth 4:1-15]. If Jesus Christ is to become a redeemer for men, He must have a satisfactory redemption price. We find, when we turn to Acts 20:28, that Jesus Christ was One Who was able to redeem, for we read that the elders are to...
"Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own blood.'
His blood was His purchase price...."
c) THE REDEEMER MUST BE WILLING TO REDEEM
[Pentecost, op. cit., p. 80]:
"The third requirement of the kinsman-redeemer was that he must be willing to redeem. The one who was the nearest kinsman to Ruth was not willing to assume responsibility for Ruth after he had redeemed her. Therefore, he must forego his right as a kinsman-redeemer. Boaz was not only related, not only able, but he was willing to redeem. We follow our Lord into the Garden of Gethsemane and we listen as He poured out His heart to God in prayer and cried...
" 'Father, if you are willing, take this cup from Me; yet not my will, but yours be done."
...We recognize that He was signifying He was not only able but willing. It is testified of Him in Hebrews...
"Then I said, 'Here I am - it is written about Me in the scroll - I have come to do your will, O God.' "
When Peter sought to dissuade Christ from going to the cross, Peter was reproached by Christ Who said, 'Get thee behind me, Satan:
...for thou savourest not the things that be of God...' (Mt 16:23). When Peter sought to protect Christ from those who would lay hand on Him to drag Him before a Roman tribunal, Peter's sword was returned to its sheath, for our Lord reminded Peter that He could call upon God for ten legions of angels who could deliver Him from the adversaries. But He went with the Romans because He was willing.
If Jesus Christ had been an unwilling sacrifice, God would have perpetrated the greatest crime ever committed in the history of the universe. But if Jesus Christ was a willing sacrifice, the cross of Christ stands as the greatest demonstration of submission and obedience to the will of God that the world has ever seen. He was willing to redeem."
d) THE REDEEMER MUST NOT NEED REDEMPTION HIMSELF
[Pentecost, op. cit., pp. 81-82]:
"And finally, it was necessary that the redeemer should not himself need the redemption which he purposes to provide for another. This was to say, no slave could redeem another slave, for if a man were in bondage to another he was in no position to redeem someone else. His need was as great as the need of any other slave. If Jesus Christ was to redeem men from the slave market of sin, He must be without sin Himself. That is why it is significant that the writer to the Hebrews... says...
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin."
...The same writer who said that we were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ also said...
(v. 22) "'He [Christ, (v. 21)] committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.'
(v. 23) When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him Who judges justly.
(v. 24) He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed."
...the Word of God presents the truth that Jesus Christ was an acceptable Redeemer for the human race, for sin had not laid its finger upon Him. He, as the sinless One, needed no redemption for Himself but He could offer His blood as the purchase price for sinners everywhere. We can extol God, not only for the redemption that is in Christ, but also for the Redeemer, the One Who took upon Himself flesh, that He might redeem us; the One Who was able to redeem because He submitted Himself to the will of God; the One Who, because He was not implicated in sin, could offer Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.
This Redeemer has made a purchase; it is a purchase by His own blood, a purchase that sets us free and promises that we will never be brought back into slavery again. It is a purchase that sets glory as our destiny, and security as our confidence and assurance, because of the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. If you should be without Christ as our Redeemer, may we say to you, on the authority of the Word of God, that it is not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He has saved us - not by works, but by purchase possession by faith in Christ."
Although the penalty for an individual's sins has been paid for whether one believes it or not, thus satisfying God relative to that matter; God's forgiveness and therefore His eternal salvation of that individual is only received when one trusts alone in Christ alone in order to be saved.
A) FORGIVENESS OF SINS = FORGIVENESS OF THE INDIVIDUAL HIMSELF, HIS INTRINSIC SINFUL NATURE
Since all men's sins are paid for then anyone who goes to the Lake of Fire does not go in order to make payment for his sins but because his sins were not forgiven, i.e., he was not personally forgiven. The phrase 'forgiveness of one's sins' is a figure of speech. An action is not something that can literally be called upon to be forgiven. It is simply an action. An event in time cannot be forgiven. It is the individual who committed those sins, i.e., his intrinsic sinful nature which is in view. His soul which generated those acts of sin needs forgiveness - the person himself. Once that individual has expressed his faith alone in Christ alone he is forgiven of committing all acts of sin past, present and future as a result of having been declared, (but not yet made), absolutely righteous by God, (Acts 10:43, Ro 3:22). Then that individual is declared by God, (but not yet made, Eph 1:14), perfectly righteous as Jesus Christ, (Ro 3:22).
That individual is also sealed by the indwelling Holy Spirit unto the future day of his redemption, (Eph 1:13-14), i.e., until the reception of an actual body of perfect righteousness in order to fully qualify him to dwell with God in heaven forever, (1 Cor 15:51-54).
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Picture two human sons. One son commits crimes for which the second son is permitted by the judge to make complete and final restitution. All costs are therefore completely covered as a result of the second son's compensation to the court. So the judge does not hold the first son accountable for any of his crimes. But there remains the personal guilt for these crimes. So the second son was permitted by the judge to take upon himself the punishment for the personal guilt of the first son with the proviso that the first son must accept payment for him by the second son as a complete and final action whereupon he would gain his freedom from punishment for his personal guilt.
In the same way, picture all sons of man, (Num 23:19; Job 25:6), and the Son of Man, (Dan 7:13 = Jesus Christ). All sons of man (= all men) continually commit sins, (Num 23:19; Job 25:6; Ro 3:23), all sins of which the Son of Man was required by the Father to take upon Himself (= "the iniquity of us all", ref. Isa 53:4-6; 1 Jn 2:2). All of these sins are therefore completely covered as a result of the Son of Man's compensation to the Father, (Heb 9:11-15; 1 Jn 2:2). So the Father does not hold the sons of man accountable for their sins, (2 Cor 5:18-19).
But there remains the personal guilt to pay for, i.e., the personal unforgiveness and unrighteousness - under which condition the sons of man remain under condemnation while they do not believe, (Ro 3:20, 23; Jn 3:18). So the Son of Man was also required by the Father to take upon Himself unrighteous natures of the sons of man, (2 Cor 5:21), so that each individual son of man who accepted what the Son of Man did for him by a moment of faith in Him would be personally forgiven, (Acts 10:43), and declared as righteous as God, (2 Cor 5:21).
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Now picture a human father and his son. The son commits a crime for which the father makes restitution. The charges are dropped and the son does not have to go to jail, i.e., pay the penalty for his crime. The son, however, does not believe that he must be HELD responsible for his actions, but maintains an ungrateful and unrighteous attitude. The father therefore cannot forgive the son which is demonstrated by his ungrateful attitude toward his father's payment for wrongdoing. So the father punishes his son himself; not for the crime he committed, for restitution was already made, but for his unrighteous attitude of not being willing to accept responsibility for his wrongful actions and the father's propitiating (satisfying) the justice system relative to his son's wrongdoing. The justice system was satisfied but the son's ungrateful and unrighteous attitude blocked any forgiveness that the father could personally bestow upon his son. In like manner, an unbeliever has had all of his sinful thoughts, words and deeds paid for by what Jesus Christ did for him on the cross, (1 Jn 2:2; 2 Cor 5:18-19). But as an unbeliever, until he believes, he will remain permanently unforgiven and under God's condemnation because of his unrighteous nature as a result of his unbelief, (Jn 3:18). Such an unrighteous condition bars him from entering heaven's shores. You must be as perfectly righteous in your nature as God is in order to enter heaven which is provided to the individual as a gift when he believes in Jesus Christ's sacrifice for him on the cross, (Ro 3:21-24) and becomes a believer. So the unbeliever with his sin nature fully intact after he dies retains his capability and propensity to sin. God cannot permit him to enter heaven in such a condition. That's why God must declare an individual perfectly righteous at the point of faith in Christ, (Ro 3:21-24; Phil 3:8-9), and then make that individual perfectly righteous in the future in order to qualify him to enter heaven and remain with Him forever, (Eph 1:13-14). The unbeliever therefore dies in his sins, (Jn 8:24). He does not acknowledge his helpless guilt and sinful nature before God by accepting Christ's payment for him in total; thus enabling God to provide a perfectly righteous and sinless nature for him so he can qualify for eternal life in the Kingdom:
" 'I said therefore to you, that you shall die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins.' "
The unbeliever never once repented, i.e., changed his mind to accepting exclusively what Christ did for him on the cross and nothing else. The unbeliever never once believed that his actions were accountable before God and must be dealt with exclusively through what God has provided for him because he is a sinner by nature and without recourse. That individual will spend an eternity in the Lake of Fire not for paying the penalty for his acts of sin but for his unwillingness to trust alone in Christ alone to provide for his sins and unrighteous nature. So having one's sins paid for is one thing and receiving forgiveness for those sins, a perfectly righteous nature and eternal life is another.
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B) THE REDEMPTION OF THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS COMES VIA A MOMENT OF FAITH ALONE IN CHRIST ALONE
(v. 1:7) "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace"
(v. 2:8) "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--"
[Notice that one receives the redemption through His blood, "the forgiveness of sins", (v. 1:7), exclusively "through faith" alone in Jesus Christ alone, (v. 2:8)]
(v. 12) "Giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.
(v. 13) For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves,
(v. 14) in Whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."
[Notice that those who are "qualified to share in the inheritance of the saints", (v. 12a), i.e., believers are in view here; so the second stage of redemption: the forgiveness of sins is also in view, (v. 14).
And forgiveness of sins is received when one believes in Jesus Christ to forgive one]:
"All the prophets testify about Him that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name."
(v. 13) "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,
(v. 14) Who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory."
[Notice that the moment we believe in Jesus Christ we are "included in Christ" and guaranteed redemption, (v. 14). When we believe we are made "alive with Christ"; and from the following verses it can be said that, having believed and being made alive with Christ "He forgave us all our sins"]:
(v. 13) "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,
(v. 14) having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross."
[Notice that before you believed you were "dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your sinful nature", that is, separated from God and under His condemnation as a result of your sinful nature that committed those acts of sin, (cf Jn 3:18). You were at that time not forgiven of your sins and remained under the "written code, with its regulations" and thereby had to behave with the perfect righteousness of God - which is impossible.
But when you believed, you were made alive with Christ which occurred when you believed in Him and were placed into Him, (Eph 1:13-14). Whereupon "He forgave us all our sins" and "canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us, (Col 2:13-14)." The written code, i.e., the perfect standard of behavior which all men must be accounted by God as having met was canceled because we received the gift of the perfect righteousness of God when we believed in Jesus Christ instead]:
(v. 21) "But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.
(v. 22) This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,
(v. 23) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
(v. 24) and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."
"through the redemption" = Gk "apolutrOseOs"
[Pentecost, op. cit., p. 77]:
"There is a fourth word that is used in the New Testament concerning redemption. [Gk, "apolutrOseOs"]. We find it in a passage such as Romans 3:24, where the Apostle [Paul] writes, 'Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."
["ransom" = "apolutrOseOs" = deliverance that is procured by payment of a ransom]
In the original text the word translated 'redemption' differs from the other three words that we referred to. The word has in view the destiny [i.e., the deliverance] of the one who has been redeemed; it emphasizes the thoroughness and the completeness of the redemption. We have been redeemed through and through; we have been thoroughly redeemed by God. And the Apostle affirms in Romans 3:24 that we have been justified freely by His grace by the through-and-through redemption that is in Jesus Christ."
Note that this "through-and-through redemption" is accomplished freely, i.e., without any contribution whatsoever, by a moment of "faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe".
(v. 22) "We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
(v. 23) Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption ["apolutrOsin"] of our bodies."
(v. 20) "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,
(v. 21) Who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body."
(v. 51) "Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed--
(v. 52) in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
(v. 53) For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.
(v. 54) When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory.' "
[Pentecost, cont.]:
"The body as well as the soul has been redeemed from the curse and from slavery to sin. While we live in an unredeemed body now, God has promised that our redemption will be through and through, and our redemption includes the redemption of this body. It is the future prospect that belongs to the child of God."
"It is because of Him [God, (v. 27)] that you are in Christ Jesus, Who has become for us wisdom from God - that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption ["apolutrOsin"]."
[Pentecost, cont.]:
"In 1 Corinthians 1:30 the Apostle, speaking of Jesus Christ, says that Christ of God 'is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.' The Apostle is anticipating the completeness of our redemption when we shall be transformed into Christ's likeness - body, soul, and spirit made like unto Him."
(v. 13) "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,
(v. 14) Who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession - to the praise of His glory."
[Pentecost, cont.]:
"In Ephesians 1:14, the Apostle tells us that the Holy Spirit is the 'earnest of our inheritance until the redemption ["apolutrOsin"] of the purchased possession [or, with the view to the redemption of the purchased possession], unto the praise of His glory.'
In this last group of references [1 Cor 1:30 & Eph 1:13-14], the Apostle is emphasizing that which is future. Previously, the Apostles have emphasized that which is our past experience. There has been a purchase. This purchase was by the payment of a price, and the price was blood. This purchase has freed us from the slave market once and for all, and to it we can never be returned. But this purchase has put a glorious prospect before us, the prospect of the redemption of the body, the prospect of the redemption of the total person into the likeness of Jesus Christ, because God's work of redemption will not stop short of completion.
Notice that upon a moment of faith alone in Christ alone the individual is "marked in Him [Christ] with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit Who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession."
[Pentecost, op. cit., p. 78-79]:
"As we mount truth upon truth, we see the care which God, in His infinite wisdom, has taken that we, who were in the slave market to be auctioned off, should be purchased, not because we were of value to the Purchaser, but because the Purchaser delighted to purchase, that He might set us free. We extol the grace of God that has brought us freedom. We praise God, as the Apostle praised God, that there is liberty in Christ, and that we can stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free. But that liberty that belongs to the children of God always rests upon redemption. It rests upon the payment of a price in order that we might be set free by the Purchaser. As long as we were in the slave market of sin, as long as we were under bondage and slavery to Satan, God had no right to touch the one who belongs to another. God could not go arbitrarily into the household of Satan to set us free. God could not set us free until first of all we had become His property, until first of all He had redeemed us. But when He had redeemed us, then He could dispose of His own property and His own possessions as it pleased Him. In order that Jesus Christ might give us freedom, and that He might deliver us from the shackles of sin, He entered into an act of purchase; He paid the purchase price, His own blood, and He set free whom He had purchased to Himself, in order that they might be brought to the destiny of those who have become members of the household of faith. The Word of God, then, would give us warrant for exalting God because of the greatness of our redemption."