Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. Redemption is not an afterthought
with the Lord, nor is it a means to another end. It is not a partial
solution to a terrible problem which God is trying to solve.
It is not something man can in any way participate in. In fact,
the scriptures indicate that the redemption of sinners was
the very reason God created the world and ordained that Adam
should fall in the garden. He had prepared the provider
of Adam's covering long before Adam disobeyed Him and incurred
the curse of sin. God will bring glory to His name
through the redemption of His elect children. And it is for
this end that He created man and this world in which we dwell.
that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of
his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus, having
made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his
good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself, that in the dispensation
of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things
in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth,
even in him, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance,
being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will, that we should
be to the praise of his glory. It is impossible to preach the
gospel without preaching redemption. There is no gospel if there is
no redemption. Sadly, much of what is purported
to be the preaching of the gospel today is no gospel at all, since
the scriptural concept of redemption is ignored or misunderstood.
The word redeem means to buy back and to deliver. In order
to preach scriptural redemption, one must teach that redemption
involves the purchase of a former possession which was lost. Something
cannot be bought back if it was never possessed in the first
place. The scripture plainly indicates that Christ had an
elect bride given to him before the foundation of the world,
according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation
of the world. By the same token, it was necessary
that this possession be lost in order that it might be redeemed.
Though never appointed unto wrath, nonetheless God's elect children
fell under the curse of the law and were separated from Him by
their sin. Redemption involves a particular
object to be purchased. There can be no such thing as
a general redemption, because redemption involves the purchase
of a particular object. Under the law, a man could buy
back a house he sold in a walled city up to a year afterward,
or a sibling could buy back his brother out of slavery. These
were not general purchases, but were very specific ones. The
Lord Jesus Christ has bought his people with his own blood.
In verse 7 of Ephesians 1, Paul says we have redemption. The
we has reference to the chosen in verse 4. Redemption involves
a particular time for the purchase. We read in Leviticus about the
laws of redemption. There was a specific time frame
for this redemption to take place. The Lord Jesus Christ came into
the world at the specific time which was ordained for him to
come. But make no mistake about it, it was necessary that he
come at that time and perform the exact requirement in order
for redemption to occur. But now once in the end of the
world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of
himself. This is not an ongoing transaction. Redemption involves a definite
price. He has paid the exact price necessary for the redemption
of his people. The law demands the death of
a sinner. He has poured out his life's blood to purchase our
redemption. We have redemption through his
blood. Not all the blood of beasts on Jewish altars slain could
give the guilty conscience peace or wash away the stain. But Christ,
the heavenly lamb, takes all our sins away, a sacrifice of
nobler name and richer blood than they. Redemption involves
a completed transaction. Where there is no finished work,
there can be no redemption. The Lord has accomplished exactly
what he set out to do. By his own blood, he entered
in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption
for us. But this man, after he had offered
one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of
God. The glorious message of the gospel is that Jesus Christ
has taken our sins by imputation upon his back and paid our sin
debt, imputing his righteousness to us. Therein do we rejoice
in a finished salvation and await his glorious return. Blow ye
the trumpet blow, the gladly solemn sound. Let poor insolvents
know to earth's remotest bound. The year of jubilee has come.
Return ye ransomed sinners home. Do you rejoice in the complete
redemption which Christ has purchased? For a free CD containing 15 of
these radio broadcasts, send an email to for the poor at windstream.net.