Mr. Spurgeon told of a businessman,
I think he was a member of Spurgeon's church in London, if I remember
correctly. His son often wanted to go with
him when he would go into town, taking care of business. And
the father had to go into town one day and he decided the boy
was old enough to go along, so he took him with him. And something
came up. He had to go take care of some
urgent matters and expected to be just a few minutes. And he
told his boy, he said, son, you stand right here. Put him over
in a little cove right in downtown in London. Said, you stand right
here. Wait for me. Don't you move till
I come back. And he was gone a long time. And he forgot that
he had his son with him. and went home. And just as he got home he realized
he had left his son standing in the middle of downtown London
and it was dark. He was horrified. So quickly
he went right back to where he left his boy and was shocked
and delighted. He looked at him and he said,
He said, what are you doing here? He said, Daddy, you told me to
stand right here until you came back. That's exactly what God Almighty
did with me 37 years ago. He took me to Calvary,
appointed me to his darling son and said, you stay right here.
And that's where I intend to stay. I would not pretend to
be a preacher if I had any message to declare to you except Jesus
Christ and him crucified. I don't mean occasionally or
most of the time. I wouldn't stand in this place,
ever, or any other like it, anywhere in the world, under any circumstances,
to speak to any group of people, large or small, except to proclaim
redemption through His blood. Now that's my subject this morning.
You'll find my text in Ephesians chapter 1, verse 7. Redemption
through His blood. All other preaching is just beating
the air. Did you hear me? All other preaching is just beating
the air. Redemption through His blood
is the message of this book. There is no other. In verses
3 through 6, God the Holy Spirit, by the pen of His inspired Apostle
Paul, shows us the gracious works that God our Father, the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, performed for us in eternity,
by which He saved us in eternity. Now folks say, well, that's confusing. Well, just stay confused. That's the way it is. God Almighty
saved us from eternity by His works of grace which He finished
for us in eternity before we ever had any being. Here in verse
7, the Spirit of God begins to declare the works of God the
Son the works of God the Son which were accomplished in time.
Now in Hebrews 4.3, he tells us that the works were finished
from the foundation of the world. But here, he speaks of redemption
as a work performed and accomplished in time. That's not a contradiction. That which has been done by the
purpose and decree of God in eternity, is and must be executed
and accomplished by the power of God in time. And both the
Father's eternal work and the accomplishments of the Son in
time are according to the riches of His grace. Look at it now, Ephesians 1 verse
7. Paul has just told us we are
accepted in Christ, in whom We have redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace. Now there are certain things
that are clearly implied in the word redemption. This is one
of those big, big words in scripture. When we talk about redemption,
there are at least three different words translated redemption in
the scriptures. And all three of those words
are used to express various aspects of redemption. And redemption
includes even more than just what is expressed by those words.
Redemption is like salvation. When we use the word salvation
or saved, we tend to think about something at one point of time
in the past. And Redemption includes everything
involved in the deliverance of our souls from death and condemnation,
from sin and hell, into heavenly glory in the perfection of Jesus
Christ himself. So Redemption is a big, big word. And it certainly implies certain
things. The word Redemption implies a
prior ownership. That which is redeemed is that
which you once owned, and now by just and lawful payment, you
go back to redeem that which was yours already, but had been
lost or forfeited by one means or another. We don't have much
business with them in these places, though there are a few around,
but when I was a boy, I had to raise some money for various
things, and the way I would do it on occasion is go to a pawn
shop. Now when I was 18, 19 years old,
I'd go to the pawn shop, I'd hawk something, and they'd give
me a ticket. And at the appointed time, I'd
go back with my ticket and the money and a good bit more on
top of it. And I would redeem that which
was mine by a just and lawful payment. Now listen to me. We belong to God from eternity. He chose us, and called us, and
justified us, and glorified us, and accepted us, and forgave
us as His sons from eternity. But by the sin and fall of our
father Adam, and by our going forth from our mother's womb,
from birth speaking lies, we all forfeited all that was ours,
and we were lost and ruined by sin, by rebellion against God. And the Lord Jesus Christ, in
accordance with the purpose of God's grace, in accordance with
God's holy infinite justice, in the fullness of time, came
into this world and redeemed us. By the price of His precious
blood and by the power of His grace, He brought us and brought
us to Himself. Redemption presupposes a grave
situation. It presupposes captivity, bondage,
and slavery, even imprisonment. Were we not a fallen, captive,
enslaved race, there would be no need for redemption. But God's
elect were just like all others by nature, children of wrath. Sadly, folks, I get to be theologians. brilliant, learned, academics,
you know, when we study the Word of God and we get God in little
boxes and pigeonhole this and that and everything, we've got
everything all figured out and folks say, oh, there was never a time
when we were the objects of God's wrath. No, there never was. We
were redeemed from eternity, accepted from eternity, beheld
and embraced by God Almighty in His Son as one with His Son. from eternity, but we lived on
this earth with the wrath of God burning against our consciences. The wrath of God abides on him
who believes not, our Lord said. Some of you here are under the wrath of God, under
the sentence of God's wrath, so that your conscience torments
you day and night, and you know that if God takes your last breath
away right now, hell is your rightful portion. That's the way it is with all
the redeemed. until God comes by His grace,
sprinkles on their conscience the blood of Christ, giving you
faith in Christ, and declares your iniquity is taken away. Redemption is the complete deliverance
of chosen sinners from captivity. bondage and curse into the glorious
liberty of the sons of God by the purchase of Christ's precious
blood. And that's the theme of Holy
Scripture. It's beautifully illustrated
for us in the book of Exodus. In the Exodus of the children
of Israel. You remember in Exodus 12 and
13, things that God prescribed. He was going to bring Israel
out of the land of Egypt. And he does so first by saying,
you take a lamb and kill it. Shed the blood of the lamb. Slaughter the lamb. An innocent,
pure, spotless, undefiled lamb. A male of the first year. One
who is in the prime of life. And you slaughter that innocent
victim. But that's not redemption altogether. That's just one aspect of it.
That is blood redemption. And blood redemption is absolutely
necessary. Our sins must be put away. Justice
must be satisfied. And that Paschal Lamb was the
picture of Christ, our Passover, who is sacrificed for us. But
there's more to redemption than just the shedding of blood. The
Lord God told Moses, He said, you go now and you tell the children
of Israel, every man takes the blood of that lamb and he sprinkles
it over the doorpost and the lintel in his house and he goes
into the house and eats the sacrifice and I will pass through and I
will see the blood and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. Those all portrayed. Redemption
now sprinkled in heaven, obtained by the blood of Jesus Christ
when He died and rose again and took His seat at the majesty
of God in heaven. But that's not all there is to
redemption. The children of Israel are still
in Egypt. They're still in bondage. They're
still under the oppressive yoke of Satan and of sin, of Pharaoh
and the Egyptians. But the day comes when the Lord
God calls Israel to go out of Egypt with an outstretched arm
and his mighty hand. And they come to the waters of
the Red Sea with the Pharaoh and his armies pressing hard
after them, breathing down their necks. The children of Israel
begin to murmur and cry in unbelief. What are you doing, Moses? Why
have you brought us out here? Let's go back to Egypt. Would
God we had never left. And Moses says to the children
of Israel, stand still. Stand still. What stupid counsel
to give to folks who have such mighty foes pressing against
them. What unwise counsel to give to
folks who are terrified, condemned, who can taste death in their
breath. What silly counsel, stand still! That's the counsel of God to
you, on whom the wrath of God abides. Stand still. Watch God work. Stand still and see the salvation
of the Lord. As Moses stretches out his rod
and steps into the water. It didn't just part. God dried
up a path in the midst of the sea. So that millions of Israelites
walked through the Red Sea and didn't even get any mud on their
feet. And when they got to the other
side, Pharaoh and his army still pursuing hot after them. God swept them away. in his fury
by that same Red Sea. And Moses and the children of
Israel and Aaron and Miriam, looking on the dead carcasses
of Pharaoh and his horsemen, began to sing, Salvation is of
the Lord. Look yonder what God has done. That's called redemption by power. And that's also necessary. We must be redeemed by the blood
of Christ, and we must have the blood of Christ sprinkled on
our hearts, causing our consciences to be at peace with God, satisfied
with the sacrifice of God's darling Son, so that we are now delivered
by His blood. That's what faith in Christ is. It is deliverance by the power
of God's omnipotent grace sprinkling our hearts, putting the blood
right here that He put yonder upon the altar of God in heaven,
that blood which God has accepted. He sprinkles it on the conscience
and causes the conscience to see this is enough. Justice is
satisfied. In fact, in Luke chapter 9, You
remember where Moses and Elijah appear on the Mount of Transfiguration,
and they began to speak to our Lord Jesus about the decease
that he should accomplish at Jerusalem? Did you ever hear
tell of anybody accomplishing decease? The word translated decease,
Oscar, is the very word that is used in the Septuagint version
of the Old Testament to give a title to the second book of
Moses, Exodus. Moses and Elijah came to speak
to our Lord Jesus about the Exodus he was about to accomplish at
Jerusalem. That's what redemption is. It
is Exodus through his blood. Now, let's look at this The verse
here in Ephesians 1, 7, just word by word, and let me show
you something of the blessedness of that which is set before us
here. In whom? All redemption is in Christ and
by Christ. In whom we have redemption through
His blood. Christ is the author of it. He
was called and appointed to be our Redeemer in eternity in the
covenant of grace. He freely agreed to assume that
responsibility, and in the fullness of time, God sent forth his Son,
made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were
under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. Jesus Christ became our near
kinsman. He took on Himself our nature,
bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh. He became one of us that
He might have the right to redeem. Because the only one, according
to law, who has the right to redeem is one who is a near kinsman
who is able to redeem. And so with His own blood, He
entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption for us. Redemption is His. It is His
work, it resides in Him, and He gives it to whom He will,
according to the riches of His grace, according as He has by
His blood obtained redemption for those people. And by the
grace of God, Christ is made of God unto us, redemption. We can never really begin to
appreciate anything concerning the greatness of redemption,
though. until we begin to appreciate something of the greatness of
our Redeemer. He who redeemed us is Himself
God Almighty. Our Maker, our Creator, our God
is our Savior. Now that's the comfort of redemption. If he who is the God of glory
is my Redeemer, all is well all the time. This is what he says.
Thy maker is thine husband. The Lord of hosts is his name.
And thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of the whole
earth, shall he be called. Turn to Isaiah 43. Let me show
you. Isaiah 43. It's blessing when you are faced
with trouble to remember God's providence. It's delightful when
you're going through difficulty to remember that God rules the
universe. It's sweet and consoling whenever
you see unexplainable Trials and adversities and difficulties,
things that just don't make any sense to any rational person
outside faith in Christ, just can't possibly make any sense
to anyone. It's blessed at such times to
remember God on His throne. But God's providence and God's
sovereignty and God's dominion and God's promises are all meaningless
until you understand that God is your Redeemer. Now, listen
to this, Isaiah 43, Now thus saith the Lord that created thee,
O Jacob, he that formed thee, O Israel, fear not. How come? Why shouldn't I be afraid of
anything? Why should trouble be a matter
of indifference to me? Why should health or sickness
be of no concern to me? Why should life or death not
bother me either? For I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name,
thou art mine. Now this is what that means,
Jacob. This is what that means, Israel. This is what that means,
child of God. When thou passest through the
waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers they shall
not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the
fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee, for I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel,
thy Savior. I gave Egypt for thy ransom,
Ethiopia and Sheba for thee. So much for universal redemption.
That's just universal nonsense. That's just universal nonsense.
If men can draw comfort from being redeemed, if all men can,
then the redemption is meaningless and the comfort is meaningless
because it means nothing at all. But God says don't you be afraid.
Don't you be afraid of anything or anybody in heaven, earth,
or hell. I redeemed you. I redeemed you. I'm with you. Remember, I sacrificed
nations for you. Just for you. Killed whole nations
for you. Killed whole nations for you.
What a cruel thing for God to do. Which of you fathers wouldn't
do it for your sons? Which one? Which? Any father here? Anyone? Any? Not me. Not me. Not me. God said, I gave Egypt
for you, Ethiopia for you, Sheba for you, since thou wast precious
in my sight. Obviously they weren't. Thou
hast been honorable, and I have loved thee. Therefore, what I
have done in the past, I will do tomorrow. I will give men
for thee, and people for thy life. Fear not, for I am with
thee." Back here in Ephesians 1, look at the next word in our
text, verse 7. In whom? We. We. Who's he talking about? in whom
we have redemption through his blood. Everywhere in this book,
everywhere in this book, when the scripture speaks of the redemptive
work of Christ, everywhere it is prophesied, everywhere it
is illustrated, everywhere it is typified, everywhere it is
explained, no exceptions. Everywhere in this book, when
the scriptures speak of the redemptive work of Christ, Two things are
made manifest. It is rediction of a specific
people, and it is rediction effectually accomplished. Everywhere in this
book. Some years ago, there was a missionary
sitting in my house. Shelby and I invited him. He
was going around churches trying to pretend he sort of was leaning
toward maybe believing and preaching what folks call Calvinism. And
we'd been talking for a couple of days. This had been a long
time ago. And Shubble was over in the kitchen
fussing up some food and getting ready to have the late breakfast
they were leaving that morning. And we were sitting in the den
talking some more. And this fellow looked at me
and he said, he said, Brother Don, I would believe in limited
atonement if it weren't for just a few verses that give me trouble.
Now we've been talking for a few days and I was down up to here
with excuses. And I looked at him and I called
him by name and I said, you're a liar. I got everybody's attention,
Shelby's his wife and he is. You're a liar. That's just not
so. That's just not so. I said, Do
you reckon there are one or two verses of Scripture taken out
of their context that might give you a little difficulty in believing
the doctrines of Trinity? If they're not, I can give you
50 right now. Taken out of their context? I can show you a bunch
of them. But the whole teaching of Scripture is that we worship
one God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and these
three are one. That's the whole teaching of
Scripture. But the reality is, there is
not one indication in this book anywhere that Jesus Christ died
to redeem and save anybody who's not saved by His blood. And to
say that you have a little difficulty understanding that, while you
pretend to say this is the teaching of preponderance of scripture,
is to declare yourself a liar. That's just not so. That's just
not so. For the transgression of my people
was he stricken. I am the good shepherd. The good
shepherd giveth his life for goats and sheep. Ever read that
anywhere? Not in this book. The Good Shepherd
giveth his life for the sheep. This is the New Testament in
my blood which is shed for everybody for the remission of sins. Is
that what it says? No. Shed for many for the remission
of sins. Jesus Christ is he in whom we
have redemption through his blood. Well who are the we he's talking
about? You don't have to guess about that. They're the ones
who are blessed of God from eternity in verse 3. Those who are chosen
of God from eternity in verse 4. Those who were predestined
and adopted of God before the world began in verse 5. Those
who have redemption through his blood are those who are called
by his spirit and sealed in his grace in verses 13 and 14. They
are those who have experienced the power of God being brought
to life and life and salvation in Jesus Christ. Who are these
we? They are the most astonishing
people in the world. The least likely in the world.
Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. Do you know what
God did with the nation of Israel? The most upright, righteous,
moral, good people in the world. He left them in their good, upright,
Moral self-righteousness in darkness. To go to hell without mercy. Shutting them up in blindness. Cast them off! Cast them off! cause the sun and the moon and
the stars, all the light they had of spiritual things, to be
turned into darkness and to blow judgment against them. Just like
that. And it goes down to a little
place called Ephesus, with a bunch of pagan, vile, Gentile idolaters. Now, if you want to know what
your family tree is, Don't forget what your family tree is. Us
gendiles, we would make hogs look pretty. Pagans. Mythologists. Worshippers of the gods. And down in Ephesus he found
some folks who had been raised up worshipping in a prostitution
temple called the Temple of Dianus. Diana, where prostitution was
practiced in the name of God. And He chose a people, called
them by His grace, made them His saints and faithful, we. Who is it has redemption by His
blood? Folks who ought to have been
in hell a long time ago. except for his blood. And they
all acknowledge it. And Paul includes himself with
we. I was once among those Jews,
just like them, a blasphemer, a persecutor, injurious to the
cause of God. But I obtained mercy. We have
redemption through his blood. Now look at the next word. Have. Have. I love that word. Burl Hart. We have it in hand. We have, in Christ, we have redemption
through his blood. Accomplished at Calvary, but
here spoken of as something presently possessed. And redemption is
the present, everlasting, indestructible, incorruptible possession of every
sinner who trusts Jesus Christ. We have redemption through His
blood. What does that mean? Redemption
is freedom from sin. Being then made free from sin,
we became the servants of righteousness. He was manifested to take away
our sin. And in Him is no sin. Before God, in the sight of God,
we have no sin. We who are nothing but sin! Christ
has put away our sins. Redemption is freedom from the
law. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them that are in Christ Jesus. Redemption! is to be the possessor
of everlasting life. Life. I've given to them eternal
life. I am the way, the truth, and
the life. We possess redemption who have been delivered from
death by His blood. Now look at those two words.
His blood. In whom we have redemption. through His blood. What a price for my soul. The price justice demanded. The price, the only price my
conscience could ever Offer something else. Go ahead.
Take something else to God. Go ahead. Take in your religious
doings. Take in your religious creed.
Take in your religious experience. Take in your religious profession.
Take in your good works. Take in your righteousness. Take
everything! And try to find yourself some
comfort. You'll find out the bed's too short, you can't stretch
yourself on it. You've been trying for years,
some of you have, and you just can't stretch out and rest. You
find that the covering is too narrow and you can't wrap yourself
in it no matter how you turn. You can't get wrapped up and
get comfortable in anything else. But listen to me, listen to me.
I'm stretched out on a bed. that's just exactly broad enough
and wide enough and strong enough to be perfectly comfortable. And I'm wrapped in a covering
full enough to completely encase me so that I am fully at rest. And this is it. His blood. That's all. His blood. What's your hope for God? His
blood. What about your sin? His blood.
What about your good works? His blood. What about your failure? His blood. What about your unbelief? His blood. You mean the whole
of your hope is His blood? Yeah, His blood. His blood. And that's enough. When God Almighty
saw the sacrifice of His Son, He said that's enough. Justice
is satisfied. Sin is gone. Fury is no longer
in me. And looking on Jesus Christ crucified
on that cursed tree, everything inside me, called
conscience, says that's enough. That's enough. God Himself demands
no more and can accept no less. And that He's accepted. His is
the blood of one who is God. God who is man. His is the blood
of an everlasting covenant made on our behalf between Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit before the world began. His is blood as
described in this book as eternal blood, verily foreordained before
the foundation of the world, sprinkled in heaven and sprinkled
on our consciences. And it is this blood by which
the Holy Spirit bids us Draw near to God. Try to imagine yourself convincing
an Israelite back in the Old Testament. I'm talking about
an Israelite who had some reverence for God. Try to imagine yourself
convincing one to go into the Holy of Holies any day he wanted
to. You couldn't drag it in there.
No. That's where Abraham's boys died.
I remember. You couldn't drag him in there.
God killed those boys, wouldn't even let Abraham cry because
he killed them. No sir, I ain't going in there. God the Holy
Spirit tells sinners. Now there ain't much I qualify
for, but I qualify for that. He tells sinners. He tells sinners. You can read Hebrews chapter
10. to follow one man into that holy place with his blood in the full assurance of faith. You mean preacher? If I take his blood to God himself. I'm absolutely
assured of acceptance. That's what he says. His blood. But what if I don't
go the right way? If you take his blood, you can't
go the wrong way. His blood. His blood. Look at
the next slide. I wish you could find a way,
at least in your mind, if not literally to do so, to put a
little equal mark. In whom we have redemption through
his blood. Equals. Equals. This is what redemption
is. This is what it is. This is the
result of it. And yet, it is so much one with
redemption that you can't have one without the other, in whom
we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. Oh, what a word. With his blood,
by his one great sacrifice for sin, he put away sin. With his blood, he blotted out
our transgressions. With his blood, he cast our iniquities
into the depths of the sea. With His blood, He cast our sins
behind His back. With His blood, He removed our
transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west. And they are no more. So that
now, we have the forgiveness of sins. We have the forgiveness
of sins, now listen to me, in exactly the same sense that Christ
has been released from sin. Peter speaks of it like this,
for as much then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh,
arm yourselves likewise with the same mind, for he that hath
suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin he was made sin and he suffered
for sin and he was buried as an obnoxious guilty criminal deserving to die and three days
later he was justified in the spirit declared to be the son
of God with power and he sitting in heaven has ceased from sin
ceased from sin ceased from sin now let me tell you when God
Almighty will charge me with sin let me tell you when he will
do it when he charges his son with
sin again. And not till then. Not till then. No wonder David sang like he
did. Blessed is the man unto whom
the Lord imputeth not iniquity. Blessed is the man unto whom
God will not charge sin. He won't do it. He won't do it.
He won't do it. Christ put our sins away. Well,
brother Don, that's talking about past sins. When He put my sins
away, they were all future. He put away our sins. Past, present,
and future. iniquity, transgression, and
sin. That which is done outwardly,
that which is performed inwardly, that which I am, and that which
I perform, He put it all away. One day, for He gave His blood
for me. Now watch this. according to
the riches of His grace. Redemption. It's accomplished. And we have it who believe on
the Son of God according to the riches of His grace. Oh God make it yours. God make it yours. God make it
yours. For Christ's sake. Amen.