I pray that before you leave
here tonight, God will seal these words to your heart. Redeemed
by blood and saved by grace, I am no more my own. My love,
my life, my all I give. Savior to you alone. Turn with me, if you will, to
the book of Isaiah chapter 44. Just hold your hands there while
I make some introductory remarks. There is no greater source of
consolation and encouragement for God's elect in times of temptation,
trouble, and trial while we live in this world than the assurance
of our redemption by the Lord Jesus Christ. Our God says, fear
not, for I have redeemed thee. Now what will he not do for you? I have redeemed thee. What will
he not give you? I have redeemed thee. What will
he not provide for you? Fear not, for I have redeemed
thee. There is no greater encouragement
to a gospel preacher than the assurance, the absolute assurance,
that every sinner redeemed by the blood of Christ shall be
saved by his grace. We preach the gospel to sinners. We proclaim the gospel without
fear, without compromise, without trickery, without deceit. We
don't have to stoop to the gimmicks and tricks that men use in religion
to deceive men's souls. It is not my purpose to try to
talk you into a profession of faith or to try to get you to
be religious. Rather, we proclaim the gospel
of God's free grace. Knowing that it is by this means
that God Almighty saves His elect, and save them He shall. Listen
to this. Turn back there if you will.
Just turn over a few pages to Isaiah 51 and look at it. Isaiah
51, verse 10. The prophet says, Art not thou
it which hath dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep,
that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransom
to pass over, not hath made in the depths of the sea, but hath
made the depths of the sea a way for the ransom to pass over.
Therefore, the redeemed of the Lord shall return to Zion." Every
one of them. Every one of them. Every sinner
purchased by the blood of Christ at Calvary shall return and come
with singing unto Zion, and everlasting joy shall be upon their head,
and they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and mourning
shall flee away. And there is no greater encouragement
for sinners to trust Christ than the assurance that redemption
is finished accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ, the sinner's
substitute. The Lord God says to sinners,
return to me for I have redeemed thee. He commands his prophets
His servants to proclaim redemption accomplished to needy sinners. He says, comfort ye, comfort
ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem. Cry unto her that her warfare
is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, for she hath received
of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. Now these days
folks like to argue and fuss about whether or not we ought
to offer the gospel to folks. We don't offer grace to sinners. It's not ours to offer. We proclaim
it. We don't offer Christ to sinners. We proclaim Christ. We don't
offer righteousness to sinners. We proclaim righteousness. We
don't offer redemption and salvation to sinners. We proclaim it. We're
not offering something upon condition of something in you, something
you do. We are proclaiming redemption
accomplished by Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and him alone.
And as God Almighty takes his word to the hearts of chosen
sinners, He causes sinners to believe this Christ and the redemption
he has accomplished is applied to their hearts. The Lord speaks
plainly and tells us to speak these words of comfort, these
words of assurance. she hath received of the Lord's
hand double for all her sins. This is what Christ has accomplished.
He has put away sin, and he has obtained righteousness. And every
sinner in the world who believes on the Son of God has that righteousness
and that redemption. The only hope for fallen, guilty,
declared sinners is redemption. Not just the doctrine of redemption,
not just the concept of redemption, but a redemption which includes
atonement for sin, satisfaction for justice, and effectual deliverance
from the guilt, the power, the dominion, and all the consequences
of sin. Anything else is not redemption.
People talk about Jesus dying to provide, Jesus dying to make
it possible, Jesus dying so that if you decide to pretty please
let him do so, he can save you. Such preaching, such teaching
is blasphemy. It is not gospel preaching. The
Lord Jesus Christ died and put away sin by the sacrifice of
himself. He atoned somebody's sins, satisfied
the justice of God for somebody. And those for whom justice has
been satisfied, there is no condemnation, no possibility of condemnation,
because justice, once satisfied, can demand no more. The redemption
proclaimed in the gospel, that which is revealed in this book,
that which Christ accomplished at Calvary, is redemption that
actually delivers. It actually brings sinners from
the state of condemnation and death into a state of life and
grace. From the state of eternal ruin
to a state of eternal glory brings sinners to be delivered from
all the evil consequences of sin ultimately in resurrection
glory. Such redemption could not be
accomplished by anyone except the Son of God. and he alone
could do it. Indeed not only is he the only
one who could do it, he and he alone has done it. Listen to
what he says. I looked and there was none to
help. I wondered that there was none
to uphold. Therefore, mine own arm brought
salvation to me, and my fury it upheld me. With the right
arm of His omnipotent grace, He accomplished redemption. And
in His fury, His fury against sin, for the satisfaction of
His own justice, He was upheld to suffer all the wrath of God
in our room and in our stead. Now I want to talk to you tonight
about redemption. The title of my message is very
simple. Redeemed. 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. Look at Isaiah 44 verse 21. Remember these, O Jacob and Israel. Remember these idols and these
idolaters I've just described. These gods who cannot save and
these people who pray to a God who cannot save. Remember these. Jacob, you tricky, cunning, deceitful
wretch. and Israel, whom I've made to
be a prince. Jacob, that's what you are by
nature. Israel, that's what you are by
grace. Remember these. For thou art
my servant. I own you. You're mine. I possess you, lock, stock, and
barrel. You're mine. You're my property,
you're my child, you're my servant. I not only possess you, I own
you as mine. I have formed thee. He that formed thee in the belly. He said before I formed thee
in the belly to Jeremiah, I knew you and sanctified you a prophet.
I formed thee. I formed thee. Thou art my servant. Don't forget it now, you're mine.
O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me. I won't forget you. Even when
you forget me, I won't forget you. You're mine. You're mine.
I have blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgressions. And
as a cloud thy sins, return to me, for I have redeemed thee. O my soul, return now to Him
who is your God, for He has redeemed you. Return to me, cold heart
of mine, return. Empty soul of mine, return. languishing spirit of mine return,
for he has redeemed me." When we consider the matter of redemption,
we've come to the most important aspect of revealed truth. Nothing
in all the Bible compares to this matter of redemption. People
argue and fuss about verbal, plenary inspiration. The inspiration
of the Bible is meaningless if you deny redemption. People talk
about the deity of Christ and his virgin birth. All that's
meaningless if you deny redemption. People talk about speaking about
the second coming. Second coming is meaningless
if you deny redemption. Redemption is the very heart
of all revealed truth. Redemption is the very heart
of the gospel. Take away redemption and you
take away everything. Cowper expressed it well. Dear dying lamb, thy precious
blood shall never lose its power till all the ransomed church
of God be saved to sin no more. As since by faith I saw the stream,
thy flowing wound supply, redeeming love has been my theme and shall
be till I die. Now turn to Hebrews chapter 1
for a moment. We're going to look at several passages of scripture
tonight. Hebrews chapter 1, not chapter 10 rather, verse 1. The apostle writing by inspiration
says, the law having a shadow of good things to come. and not
the very image of the things, can never, with those sacrifices
which they offered year by year continually, make the comers
thereunto perfect. He says the law could never save
you. The law could never put away
sin. The law could never bring about
anything that would establish righteousness and satisfy the
justice of God. Now the Holy Spirit here tells
us that the law of God given in the Old Testament Scriptures
had and contained a shadow of good things to come. That is
to say, God in the Old Testament, under the types and shadows and
ceremonies of the law, gave numerous pictures and prophecies of what
Christ would accomplish by the sacrifice of himself. of that
which God would give to His people through His Son, the Lord Jesus.
Among those many things, those good things to come by Christ,
none is more delightful, more excellent, more blessed, more
satisfying than redemption. Now I want us to look in the
Scriptures tonight and look in the law. We're going to look
just at the Old Testament Scriptures and let me tell you about redemption
in pictures. pictures of redemption given
in the Old Testament. Now before we do, let me give
you something I've given you before. I apologize ahead of
time. I make it a standard rule never
to refer to Greek language or Greek words when I'm preaching.
But it's important that you understand the words that are translated
redemption in Scripture. I've given them to you before.
If you haven't written them down, do it now. The word redemption
that we have in English comes from a Latin word which means
to buy a game. You take something to the pawn
shop and you hock it because you need some money. And you
go back to get it and you take the coupon, the money, and the
horrible interest you have to pay and you redeem it and take
it home. That's the basic meaning of the
word redemption. But in the New Testament, three
words are translated redeem. three very distinct words, all
three of them bearing meaning to our redemption. The first
word is agorazo. It basically means to buy. You
and I who believe have been bought to God from among men by the
blood of Christ. Bought from the earth from among
the fallen sons of Adam. And that's the subject of song
in Revelation 5 and in Revelation 14. We have been bought with
the price of Christ's precious blood. Paul says in 1 Corinthians
6, you're not your own. You're bought with a price. You've
been bought. That means he did something special
for you. He bought you. He bought you. Bought you as He bought no one
else. Bought you to be His own. The church of God has been purchased
with Christ's own blood. With the blood of God the Son. Purchased. So the first word,
agorazo, is the word that means to buy. It's the word that we
would use to describe buying a house. I own it. Now I can
do with it what I want to. It's mine. I bought it. You buy
the house, that doesn't mean you move it. You buy the house,
you don't necessarily move into it. You buy the house, you don't
necessarily take physical possession of it. You just bought it. It's
your property. Some folks buy houses and never
look at them. They buy them and rent them out
to somebody else. It's their property. They can take possession
of it or not take possession of it. It is their property.
Now, there is a sense in which Christ bought the whole world.
In 2 Peter 2, verse 1, there's a text that real worshipers will
often throw in your face when you talk to them about redemption.
They'll say, there, it says Christ even bought these false prophets.
They bring in damnable heresies denying the Lord who bought them.
The word that is used is this word, bought. The Lord Jesus
Christ as the God-man, our mediator. bought the whole world to obtain
the treasure hidden in the field. He bought the whole world as
a man, as the God-man, our mediator. It was already his as God Almighty. He created it. He owns it all.
But as a man, he bought the right to possess and use and dispose
of the entire world exactly as he will. That includes the false
prophets. As a man, he's given power over
all flesh because he bought the right to rule everybody. There's
another word used for Redeem. It's the word ek agoradzo. It's
really a compound word. It is the word, first word is
ek, it means out of. The second is this word agoradzo,
we had before. bought out of. So the word Hechagorazo
is used only, now listen, it is used only with reference to
the redemption of God's elect throughout the scriptures. Nowhere
is it used with reference to the world in general. Nowhere
is it used with reference to those who perish under the wrath
of God. It is used only with reference to God's elect. Echagorazzo
means bought out of. God's elect had been bought out
of the hands of God's offended justice by the blood of Jesus
Christ. I read a sermon this week, if
you could call it that. Some fellow had written about
redemption. I wanted to see what he had to
say. And he said that the Lord Jesus bought us out of the hands
of Satan. Satan had no right over us. He had usurped dominion.
God Almighty didn't owe him anything. Didn't owe him anything. We were
not bought out of the hands of Satan. We were delivered out
of his hands, but not bought out of his hands. The Lord Jesus,
by his blood, bought us out of the hands of God's offended justice. The reason Christ died is that
we were prisoners under the justice of God under the sentence of
death. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law. The
word redeemed. Christ hath brought us out from
under the curse of the law. It's again the word that we would
use if we had something at the pawn shop and we went to redeem
it. It's the word you would use if you went to the grocery store
and bought a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread. You go in there
and you purchase it, but you didn't leave the milk and bread
there. You buy a house, you leave it sitting on the property. You
own it. But you go to get milk and bread, you go in there and
you pay the money and you carry it home with you. And nobody objects because
you've got the receipt in your pocket. It's yours, and you bring
it out of the grocery store. That's the word ek agorazo. It has the idea of deliverance
by the payment of a price. As it is used in the scriptures,
this word always refers to the deliverance of God's elect from
the offended justice of God's holy law, the curse of the law,
by the price of Christ's precious blood at Calvary, which satisfied
the demands of the law. When the fullness of time was
come, God sent forth his son, made of a woman, made under the
law, to redeem, to buy out of the curse them that were under
the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. Now the
third word to choose is the word that commonly means to deliver,
or to loose, or to set free. It's the word lutro. It refers
to the deliverance of a slave or a prisoner out of bondage.
Peter tells us that we have been redeemed not with silver and
gold, the usual price of ransom, but with the precious blood of
Christ. Our Lord Jesus declares that he came into the world not
to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life
a ransom for many, to give his life a deliverance for many.
He never intended to give his life for the deliverance of everybody.
He came here to give his life a deliverance for many. Now try
to keep these three words in mind whenever you think about
redemption, or read it in the New Testament. Bought, bought
out of, delivered. That's what redemption is. Christ
bought us. where he is. He brought us out
from under the curse of God's holy law by the satisfying of
justice so that we are now free from condemnation. And he comes
by the power of his grace on the grounds of redemption price
paid and delivers us from the curse of sin, the bondage that
we had to Satan, and at last from all the consequences of
sin. The Lord Jesus Christ brought his people out from among the
fallen sons of Adam, out of the hands of God's offended justice,
and delivered us from all our sins by the shedding of his precious
blood. That's redemption. Now, turn
back to Psalm 106. Let me show you four or five
pictures of it in the Old Testament. There's nothing new here, but
I hope by God's grace it will be blessed to your soul. The redemption of Israel out
of Egypt stands throughout the scriptures, particularly in the
Psalms it is spoken of, as a blessed picture and type of our redemption
by Christ. Look at Psalm 106, verse 6. We
have sinned with our fathers. We have committed iniquity. We
have done wickedly. Our fathers were just like us.
Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt. They didn't
have any idea what God did. They remember not the multitude
of thy mercies that provoked God at the sea, even at the Red
Sea. Standing right there on the brink
of deliverance, standing right there at the Red Sea with Pharaoh's
armies breathing down their necks and the sea raging before them,
they provoked God. What did you bring us out here
for? We'd rather die back in Egypt. Nevertheless, isn't that a great
word? Nevertheless, he saved them for his namesake. Because he's honor bound to do
it. How can that be? He said he would do it. To me, that's a matter of honor.
If I tell you I'm going to do something, you can mark it down,
but I'm going to do it or die trying. That's a matter of honor. A man of honor gives his word,
and his word is as good as done. God Almighty from eternity said,
I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And his honor
is at stake. God said to the children of Israel,
when he told his servant Abraham that his sons were going to go
down to Egypt 400 years, he said, I'll bring them out. I'll bring
them out. They provoked him even at the sea. Nevertheless, he
saved them for his namesake, that he might make his power
to be known. He rebuked the Red Sea also,
and it was dried up. He led them through the depths
as through the wilderness, and he saved them from the hand of
him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
And the waters covered their enemies. There was not one of them left. Nothing left to threaten them.
Nothing left to terrorize them. Nothing left to bring them into
bondage. Nothing left for them to fear. The waters covered them. All their enemies. What did Christ
do with the handwriting of ordinances against us? What did He do with
our transgressions, our iniquities, and our sins? He nailed it to
the tree. They are all covered, not one
of them left. Then, believing his words, they
sang his praise. Now this deliverance is a remarkable
picture of redemption by Christ. Israel was brought into bondage
in Egypt by an act of sinful disobedience in accordance with
the purpose of God. Now understand this. Understand
it and understand it well. No, God Almighty is not in any
way chargeable with sin. What fool could imagine such
a thing? Is sin something that takes God by surprise? What fool
could imagine such a thing? God told the children of Israel
they're going down to Egypt. Going down there for 400 years
and then he's going to bring them out. That's what he said.
Long time before Joseph was ever born. And Joseph's brethren,
the children of Israel, by an act of their malice and hatred
and envy, took Joseph and sold him into slavery. And thus Israel
was taken down to Egypt by an act of sin. But God's purpose
being fulfilled all the time. That's exactly what happened
with us in the sin and fall of our father Adam. Israel was redeemed
by the hand of a man raised up by God, Moses, the deliverer. This Moses whom God sent to be
a ruler and deliverer by the hand of the angel that appeared
to him in the bush. And the Lord Jesus Christ, who
was typified by Moses, that prophet like unto Moses, is he who has
come to redeem us. Now turn to Exodus chapter 12.
The price of redemption. There was a price involved. God
Almighty, now listen carefully to your pastor. I'm telling you
what this book teaches, and I'll take time to show you in detail
if you want to look at it together with me later. God Almighty could
not, and when I say God can't do something, I'm telling you
something I speak with absolute, deliberate reference. God can't
lie. See what the book says? Well,
God can do anything. He can't do anything contrary
to His nature. Anymore than you can. God can't lie. It's not possible. God can't
change. It's not possible. And God Almighty
could not deliver His people from sin and from the curse of
His holy law without a price. Blood must be shed. Without shedding
of blood is no remission. Justice must be satisfied. The
soul that sinneth, it must die. The only way on this earth Bob
Duff can go to glory is if God Almighty figures out a way both
to kill you and save you. Don't wait to happen. on the
way on this earth God can take us into his presence is if he
himself finds a way by which he can both punish us to the
absolute full satisfaction of justice and never punish us at
all. And he found a way through the
Lamb. The Lord Jesus Christ portrayed
here in Exodus chapter 12. This Passover lamb. The Lord
God speaks of that lamb being slain. And now he says in verse
13. And the blood shall be to you
for a token upon the houses where you are. Reckon why he said to
you for a token. He didn't need it. The blood
shall be to you for a token. Oh, when God the Holy Spirit
comes in saving grace, He sprinkles the heart with the blood of Christ
so that the blood now is for you for a token. A token of goodness
and mercy. A token of blessing and grace.
A token of life everlasting. And God says, when I see the
blood, when I see the blood. He saw the blood that night when
it passed through Egypt. Yeah? He saw the blood that night
when He came and spoke peace to my heart. He sure did. He
saw the blood when I saw it. He sure did. I looked on the
Christ crucified, His blood shed for me at Calvary, and my soul
said that's enough. God did too. But He saw the blood
a long time before that. He saw the blood from eternity
as He looked on the Lord Jesus Christ, His darling Son, as the
Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. He saw the blood
throughout the days of time when we lived in this world in rebellion
against Him. He saw the blood when we saw
it. And God forgive me, but there
are times when I just can't see it for anything. He still sees it. And there may
come a time When I've lost my mind and I can't remember my
own name, much less my Savior's name, He still sees it. And this is what it says, when
I see the blood, I will pass over you. What does that mean? The plague shall not be upon
you to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt. The power of Israel's deliverance
out of Egypt, the power of their redemption was the omnipotent
hand of God. They came to the Red Sea, Moses
brought them out, and here they are. Blood's been shed. The Lord God's already passed
by them. Judgment's not going to fall on them. It's not possible.
God said, when I see the blood, I'll pass over you. But here
they are, at the brink of the Red Sea, with Pharaoh and his
armies breathing down their necks. And they're terrorized, and they're
fearful, and they don't know what to do, so they murmur against
God. And God's servant Moses did something
strange. Oh, it did something strange.
He said, quit yacking, shut up, and quit doing. He said, stand ye still. See the salvation of the Lord.
Oh sinner, stop working to please God. Stop trying to make up to
God. Stop trying to atone for your
sin. Stop trying to put away your guilt. Stop arguing with
God Almighty. Stand still and look! Look away
your trouble and your guilt. Look to Christ Jesus the Lord
and see the salvation of the Lord. Now, turn if you will to
Exodus chapter 30. That's the first picture. In
Israel being brought out of Egypt, we see redemption by blood. Blood
shed for redemption, shed for a particular people. You'll remember when the Lord sent Moses down
to tell the children of Israel what he was going to do, he said,
whisper it in the ears of my people. Don't even tell Pharaoh
anything about it. Don't even talk to the Egyptians
about it. I didn't come for them. I came for Israel. And it's blood
that effectually accomplished redemption. Here in Exodus chapter
30, we see another picture of redemption in the atonement money
that was paid by Israel every year. Exodus chapter 30 verse
11. And the Lord spake unto Moses,
saying, When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel
after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom
for his soul unto the Lord, when thou numberest them, that there
be no plague among them when thou numberest them. Now you
remember when David numbered the children of Israel? And God
sent judgment because he numbered the children of Israel? I hear
preachers sometimes, they say, oh, I asked a friend of mine
sometime back, I said, how many folks do y'all generally have
who's never counted? I'm afraid God judges. That's not what I'm talking
about. I looked over the congregation
this morning, again tonight. A lot of our folks who are normally
here go. They're not here. And I about always look to see
who's here. I just, something about always
do, try to pray for you, both when you're here and when you're
not. But when he talked about numbering Israel, what David
did was he numbered Israel without atonement money. That's the reason
the plague came. You see it? That there'd be no
plague among them when thou numberest them. Verse 13. This they shall
give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered,
half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary. A shekel is
20 giras. And half shekel shall be the
offering of the Lord. Everyone that passeth among them
that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give
an offering to the Lord. Now watch this. The rich shall
not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel.
when they give an offering unto the Lord to make atonement for
your souls. And thou shalt take the atonement
money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the
service of the tabernacle of the congregation, that it may
be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the Lord to
make atonement for your souls. Now this numbering of the children
of Israel and the atonement money paid was another picture of our
redemption by Christ by which the plague of God's wrath is
stayed and kept from us. None but Israelites were to be
ransomed by this atonement money. Was it for anybody else? None
but the Israel of God are ransomed by the blood of Christ. It was
for a specific number of people, those who were numbered in Israel
above 20 years old. They and they alone were ransomed.
The ransom price was exactly the same for all the people.
The rich didn't get more, the poor didn't give less. And so
it is with all sinners saved by God's grace. Our ransom price
is the precious blood of God's dear son. Sometimes people get
the idea that when a man or woman is converted
by God's grace and they've been particularly vile in their behavior,
somehow we have to kind of sit back and wait and see if they're
genuine. Have to wait back and see that
they've somehow got to do something to make up in our eyes. The ransom
price is the same. Doesn't matter whether you're
a sinner in the church house or a sinner in the brothel. Doesn't
matter. The sin must be atoned for by the infinite precious
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And those who were ransomed,
every blessed one of them were preserved from the plague. This
is what the book says. There shall no evil happen to
the just. Can't happen. Can't happen. Can't happen. Nothing. The psalmist put it this way.
There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come
nigh thy dwelling. Now wait a minute, Preacher.
You've had cancer, you've had pneumonia, you've got a cold
now. What do you mean no plague is going to come near you? It
ain't going to touch me. It ain't going to touch me. All
it's going to do is help me along the way to everlasting glory.
That's all. They ain't gonna touch me. There
shall no plague come nigh thy dwelling. My dwelling not here
is yours. I don't plan to live here forever. Do you? There shall
not come nigh thy dwelling. Now turn to Leviticus 25. Here's
another picture. The buying again of an Israelite
who by reason of his poverty had sold himself to someone else.
He could be bought by a mere kinsman, and that is another
good, blessed picture of redemption by Christ. Verse 47, And if a
soldier or stranger waxed rich by thee, and thy brother that
dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger
or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger's family.
After that he is sold, he may be redeemed again. One of his
brethren may redeem him, either his uncle or his uncle's son
may redeem him, or any that is nigh akin unto him of his family
may redeem him, or if he is able, he may redeem himself. We have sold ourselves into bondage. We did it in our father Adam.
Somebody says, well, I don't like that. I don't want to be
held accountable for what Adam did. Would you like to be held
accountable for what you've done? That make it any easier for you?
We've sold ourselves into bondage all the days of our lives, and
we can't redeem ourselves. We have nothing with which to
pay. How are these polluted hands going to bring in righteousness?
How can I satisfy God's offended justice? We have no friend who
is able to redeem. None who has the right to redeem.
Even if the angels of God should befriend us, they could not redeem
us. But there is a near kinsman,
and blessed be God, He, the Lord Jesus Christ, our near kinsman
is able to redeem, and He's willing to redeem, and He has redeemed. Wherefore, he is able also to
save them to the uttermost that come to God by him, seeing he,
our kinsman, bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh, our high
priest made after the order of Melchizedek, that one who took
on himself our nature, seeing that he ever liveth to make intercession
for them. This is what's portrayed so beautifully
for us in the book of Ruth. Ruth went out to glean in the
fields, that poor woman. And she came back, she had barley
just heaped up. And her mother-in-law Naomi said,
where'd you get that? She said, I've been bleeding
in the field of a fellow named Boaz. And he, she said, oh bless
God. There's hope. Because he's a
near kinsman to you. If he will, he can redeem you.
She said, let me tell you what to do. When the, gather on the
threshing floor in the harvest time, you go in there, And after
Bo has laid his down at night, you lay yourself at his feet.
What? What? I wouldn't do such a thing. I wouldn't humble myself like
that. Lay myself at this man's feet to do with me whatever he
will? I can't do that. Ruth, the only
hope you've got of life is you go in there and hazard everything. Lay yourself at his feet, and
he will do what's right. And she slipped in there and
pulled up the covers and laid down. He looked down and saw
that Moabitess maiden at his feet, and she said, Spread thy
skirt over me, for thou art my mere kinsman. And Moabitess said,
I'll do it. And he gave her a gift and sent
her on home. And they always said to him, the sun won't go
down if he takes care of this business. He'll do it. Hear me
now. Go, lay yourself down at the
feet of the Son of God. Lay everything down at His feet.
Knowing that He can do with you whatever He will. And I promise
you, He will spread His skirt over you and declare you to be
the righteousness of God in Him. And He will accomplish the thing
on your behalf. Then in the book of Isaiah, turn
there if you will. Chapter 49, verse 8. We have another picture of redemption
in the deliverance of debtors from prison. The Old Testament, man's in debt.
He could be Imprisoned. Went on that way for generations
in many societies. Debtor's prison didn't make a
whole lot of sense, did it? If I can't pay you and you throw
me in prison, I sure ain't going to be able to pay you now. But
that's the way it was. I wonder why it was established.
I'm asking why God established such a law. I think I know the
reason. To teach us something about redemption.
Isaiah 49 verse 8. Thus saith the Lord, in an acceptable
time have I heard thee, and in the day of salvation have I helped
thee. And I will preserve thee and give thee for a covenant
of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the
desolate heritages, that thou may say to the prisoners, go
forth. To them that are in darkness, show yourselves. They shall feed
in the ways, and their pastures shall be in high places. They
shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor the
sun smite them, for he that hath mercy on them shall heal them. Even by the springs of water
shall he guide them. Look at chapter 63, 61. The Lord Jesus in Luke 4 said
this is what this passage is talking about, me. The Spirit
of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me to
preach good tidings to the meek. He has sent me to bind up the
brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty. Proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. To proclaim
the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our
God, to comfort all that mourn. to appoint to them that mourn
in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for
mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness,
that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting
of the Lord, that he may be glorified. Our sins are debts we have incurred. Debts we can never pay. We are
all therefore shut up as in prison. until we can pay the debt. Christ
paid the debt. And he came to our prison house
in the time of his love and proclaimed release. He said to the prisoner,
get on out of here. Your debt's canceled. Go forth! You're free. You don't owe a
thing.