Saturday, July 24, 2010

Redemption

God is redemptive, and in fact, He is THE Redeemer. Everything about God centers on redemption, and in the end all eternal judgment will take place in spite of God’s desire for all to be redeemed. Even the law was not meant for judgment, but its core purpose was to point sinners to redemption and ultimately the Redeemer. This divine redemption comes with no strings attached and without any kind of works. This redemption is empowered by love, saturated with grace, and effective through faith alone. There is no other eternal redemption then that which comes through faith in Jesus Christ. None.
Why creation? That is a mystery known only within the Godhead, but we can be assured it had everything to do with redemption. And redemption is fully in the hands of the Redeemer and the redeemed are at His mercy. Even the faith with which we believe on our Wonderful Redeemer was a gift from God so boasting for our sakes is without merit and hollow self righteousness. All the glory and praise must be adorned upon the Person of the Redeemer who eternally deserves more praise than we could give Him.
When a sinner is redeemed through faith and becomes a child of the living God, that new creature must exhibit and shine the attributes of the Redeemer. We must live within the Redeemer and both share His gospel and live His person. Our very calling is redemption and we must never dilute or compromise that calling with the works of man or with moral hurdles. Eternal redemption has already been purchased and our message is to present that good news to those who are in need. Getting embroiled with politics and other distractions just dulls and even sometimes changes the message of redemption. What must a sinner do to receive eternal redemption? Believe, only believe.
What an offer from the Creator who had every right to withhold that redemption but because of His very nature not only offered it, but paid for it as well. Redemption, salvation, and deliverance are all related. Man volitionally rebelled against God, and even a redeemed man sometimes volitionally rebels against God. That not only reveals God’s loving commitment to His redeemed church, both individually and collectively, but it reveals the eternal love of God manifested through His Son the Lord Jesus. The cross was for us not God even though it still glorifies Him. There are a lot of things about God that remain a mystery, but there is no mystery about His commitment to redemption. He is not willing that any should perish but that all should be redeemed.

And what does the Redeemer ask of His redeemed?
He asks us to die and for Him to live in and through us.
That, my redeemed friends, is a labor of love.

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