Hebrews 9:12 – “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”
Redemption! What a word! While I am sure that my understanding of such a word is insufficient for exposition, I yet intend to speak of it briefly. The word “redemption” is amazing enough; and to place the word “eternal” before it makes it infinitely more amazing still. Attempts have been made to describe its wonder. Fanny Crosby, overwhelmed by the truth of having been redeemed, writes:
Redeemed – how I love to proclaim it!
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed through His infinite mercy –
His child, and forever, I am.
Redeemed, Redeemed,
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed, Redeemed,
His child, and forever, I am.
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed through His infinite mercy –
His child, and forever, I am.
Redeemed, Redeemed,
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed, Redeemed,
His child, and forever, I am.
The Wonder of Redemption
What makes the subject of redemption so breath-taking? What is it about this subject that leaves the observer in awe? The word “redeem” means, according to Noah Webster, “to purchase back; to ransom; to liberate or rescue from captivity or bondage.” Notice the first two words – “to purchase.”
I have a message that I preach entitled, “The Carpenter.” In this message, Christ is the carpenter. What is He building? He is building a church. However, He is not building just any church; but He is building a magnificent church; a church that, when He is finished, will be perfect, without blemish; a church that is completely holy.
Now, think with me momentarily. If you set out to build a building, and that building was to measure up to absolute perfection, what kind of building material would you purchase? No doubt, you would settle for none other than the best!
But it is not so with Christ. When He builds a church, He finds lost souls – building material that is twisted and good for nothing. He uses scraps. He finds material that the other carpenters have thrown out! The outcasts, the down and out, and the leftovers! The ones that no other carpenter will use. As for this type of material, most carpenters wouldn’t use it if you donated it to them! But listen – Christ bought it! Not only did He buy it, but He paid a dear price for it! He poured out His blood to purchase this good-for-nothing material that no other carpenter would use. This is redemption! What a thought, that Christ would purchase lost souls like you and me! But on the cross, that is exactly what He did!
Eternal Redemption was Obtained for Us
Notice the last words of our text – “having obtained eternal redemption for us.” It was obtained FOR US, because we could not obtain it for ourselves. Many are the ministers and churches who do not understand this. “Do this,” they say, “and you will obtain redemption.” “Change your ways,” they preach, “and you will obtain redemption.” “Quit sinning,” they insist, “and redemption will be yours.” Ministers like these place such a low price on our redemption! The price of “changing your ways” is too low – redemption costs much more than that! “Quitting your sinning” will not purchase your redemption – it is far more costly than that! Peter insists in I Peter 1:18-19 that we were not redeemed with corruptible things such as silver and gold – but with the precious blood of Christ!
Christ is the Redeemer! Good works cannot redeem. Cessation of sin is incapable of redemption. Reformation of one’s ways will come short of the price for the redemption of the soul. Only the precious blood of Christ can redeem – it is the only payment that the Father will accept.
For this reason I preach that Christ is the only Redeemer. Christ, because He shed His precious blood, is able to pay the price of redemption. This is why I preach that faith in Christ is the only way to be saved. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” That is my message for salvation. It is a great irony that those who preach another method of salvation – good works, cessation of sin, or something else – accuse me of preaching a “cheap gospel.” Their gospel is actually the cheap gospel. The reason I preach Christ is because your “cessation of sin” is not enough! The price for our salvation is higher than that! I preach Christ because your good works and self-reformation will cause you to “come short!” It is simply not enough! It will take far more than that to redeem your soul! The blood of Jesus was accepted by the Father, and anything short of it will not redeem. If you preach any other way to be redeemed, then you are the one preaching a “cheap gospel!”
The Implication of Redemption
What does redemption imply? When you say, “I have been redeemed,” what are you saying exactly? What does that mean to you?
It means that you have been purchased! You have been bought! It means that you are not your own!
I Corinthians 6:20 – “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
Women who are pro-abortion proudly proclaim, “It’s my body!” First of all, the body inside your body is not your body. The body in the womb is another human body with his or her own heart beat. That’s not your body! Furthermore, if you are a Christian, you cannot be pro-abortion for the simple reason that the body that your spirit dwells in is not YOUR body; it is HIS body – Christ bought it with His own blood. I belong to Him! I am His and He is mine.
In a sense, I am not free. I am a slave to Christ. I do not have the freedom to do as I please; I must do as He pleases, for I belong to Him! I have no right to decide where I will preach, where I will serve as pastor, or how long I will serve there. I belong to Him, and He must make those decisions. He redeemed me! He bought me! I am His servant.
“What about freedom?” you ask. “Did not Christ die to make us free?” Absolutely, for this is what Christ Himself declares in John 8:36 – “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” There is no contradiction with this verse and others that declare that we are servants of Christ – servants of righteousness. Romans 6:18 explains it all:
Romans 6:18 – “Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.”
There is no real freedom until you are the servant of Christ. If you are not His servant, bought by His blood, His possession, then you are in severe bondage of sin. Romans 6:20 tells us that while we are the servants of sin, we are free from righteousness. You may be free from righteousness, but that is not freedom; that is bondage! Christ paid the price to redeem you, to make you His own! Come to Him, for He gives the only existing freedom in this world.
