"In Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding." (Ephesians 1:7,8)

This definition of what it means to be a Christian makes Christianity different from every other religion. A Christian has experienced Christian redemption and knows what it is. Redemption is central to the meaning of Christianity.

What is divine redemption? Redemption denotes the means by which salvation is achieved, namely by the payment of a ransom - the shed blood of Christ. It is almost a technical term in the ancient world for the purchase or manumission of a slave. It refers to a process involving release by payment of a ransom price, often very costly. Redemption always involved the payment of a price. "No word in the Christian vocabulary deserved to be held more precious than Redeemer, for even more than Savior it reminds the child of God that his salvation has been purchased at a great and personal cost, for the Lord has given himself for our sins in order to deliver us from them." (Everett F. Harrison) So great is God's love for us, so rich is his grace, his unmerited favor, that he came and through his suffering in our place, paid the penalty for our sins. Paul describes a process of being set free by payment of a price, the blood of Christ. Jesus said, "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45) The imagery implies that we are held in a captivity to guilt and moral bondage to sin from which only the payment of a ransom can set us free.

There are challenges to the need for redemption today. C.S. Lewis writes, "Christ promises forgiveness of sins, but what is that to those who, since they do not know the Law of Nature, do not know that they have sinned? Who will take the medicine unless he knows he is in the grip of disease? Moral relativity is the enemy we have to overcome before we tackle atheism." (cited by Art Lindsley, True Truth, p.18) There are those who say that they have no need of a Redeemer. They say that they have no need for forgiveness of sins. They say they are not slaves of their sins. They question the concept of sin. They say that they are free in their spirit without Christ. They say they do not need God. Saying it does not make it so. The sin and suffering cause by so much evil in the entire world demonstrates the need for human redemption. There is an all-pervading presence of evil, immorality, and sin throughout the world. The heart of evil, which causes cruelty, corruption and untold suffering throughout the world, is human sin, a condition which affects all people and proves a tyrannical master enslaving human beings. It cannot be eliminated or controlled by self-will, or by politics, or by laws, or by earthly power. We cannot find peace and human wholeness on our own. All people need divine redemption. All people need forgiveness of sins even when they are blind to their own need.

The best and brightest often pursue success, aspire to self-improvement, and simply shake their heads over any suggestion that they are somehow enslaved, defiled and in need of redemption. Self-sufficient moderns will only allow 'I made a little mistake'. Sometimes they will not admit even that. Selfishness is sometimes so smoothly distributed over every aspect of their lives that they can continue for years without appreciating their radical need for redemption. Instead they look for self-acceptance and self-affirmation. Their concept of sin is simply failing to live up to their own ideals, for which they need to make restitution or do better next time. Forgiveness for them is unnecessary unless they need to forgive themselves. The taunt to Jesus on the Cross, "Save yourself." is the affirmation of faith to secular men and women. They seek to save themselves, without the need of divine redemption. Self-help, self-improvement, is the substitute for the grace of God.

Why do we need redemption? Muslims believe that God can forgive without the necessity of the Cross. They cannot conceive of God suffering in our place. What is the nature of this redemption which can transform a person like Will? How can it affect us? The New Testament tells us that when a person has repented of his sin and has opened his life to Christ and trusted in him as Savior and Lord he is freed from having to sin habitually. All of us live in prisons. We are imprisoned by our limitations, we are controlled by our obsessions, we are enslaved by our own urges, we are in bondage to our self-centeredness, we are subject to our passions and fears. We are all sentenced to life in the prison of our past, present and future. We cannot escape from ourselves and the burden of our choices. We carry with us our convictions, our memories, our regrets, our remorse, our failure to be what we want to become. We are controlled by our sinful natures when we live in our own strength. "I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it." (Romans 7:18-20) We need a Divine Redeemer who has paid the price to set us free. We need a forgiveness of sins that costs something. We need release from our compulsive behavior patterns. Redemption through Christ's blood breaks the chain of our sins. We need not continue to go on sinning. We have been redeemed, bought with a price - released from slavery to sin. God in his infinite wisdom, knowing the human condition, wants to lavish upon us the riches of his grace - redemption, through the Cross of Jesus, the forgiveness of sins. When we receive this gift we have a second chance at life.

END