I am redeemed in Christ

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” Ephesians 1:7

When I believed in Christ, He “redeemed” or “purchased” me “through His blood.” This word for “redeemed” (apolutrōsis) is very important. At the time of the writing of the New Testament, it meant to go to the market place and buy a slave who is in trouble and then set the slave free. This is what Jesus did for us when He shed “His blood” on the cross.  He came to the market place where we have been slaves to sin.  And He paid the price or ransom for all our sins with “His blood” and set us free.

Before I placed my faith in Christ alone for salvation, I was enslaved to my sin. But the moment I believed in Jesus, I was taken off the slave market of sin so that I am now free to obey the Lord and not be enslaved to sin. The Holy Spirit, Who lives inside me, can empower me to say “no” to sin and “yes” to Christ (Romans 8:11-13). But if I do sin, the Holy Spirit will convict me so I can confess my sin to God and be restored to closeness with Him (I John 1:9).

Have you ever lost hope trying to overcome a sinful habit? You have tried and tried to break this habit, and you may be successful for a few weeks or months, but then you relapse? What God is telling us is that Christ has broken sin’s power in our lives by paying the full penalty for all our sins. Sin is no longer our master. Jesus Christ is now our Master and He wants to come alongside of us to enable us to get victory over sin.

One of the main reasons we may continue to sin in a particular area is because we believe the lie that says, “You cannot change because you are still a sinner who always sins.” But listen to the voice of truth. God says, “You can change through My Son, Jesus Christ, Who redeemed or purchased you off the slave market of sin so you are no longer enslaved to sin. You are now free to obey Me and live for Me.” Sin is no longer our master after we believe in Christ alone for salvation. Jesus is now our Master and He not only gives us the command to live holy lives, He also gives us the power to do so.

Let me illustrate the meaning of redemption. I read a story today about a father and son who worked for months to build a toy sailboat. Every night when he came home from work, the man and his boy would disappear into the garage for hours. When the boat was finished they stood back to admire the results. The wooden hull was painted bright red and it was trimmed with gleaming white sails. When it was finished the boy went to a nearby river for the boat’s trial run. The father had tied a string to its stern to keep it from sailing too far. The boat performed beautifully, but the string broke and the sailboat drifted out of sight. Attempts to find it were fruitless.

A few weeks later, as the boy was walking home from school he passed a store and was amazed to see his sailboat in the window. He ran inside to claim the boat, telling the owner he lost the boat. The store owner said, “You may have it back — for $50.” The boy was stunned at how much it would cost him to regain his boat, but since it was so precious to him he quickly set about earning the money to buy it back. Later he joyfully walked into the toy store and handed the owner $50 in exchange for his sailboat. It was the happiest day of his life. As he left the store he held the boat up to the sunlight. Its colors gleamed as though newly painted. “I made you, but I lost you,” he said. “Now I’ve bought you back.

God made you and me, but He lost us through our sin which separates us from Him. But God came to earth and bought us back by shedding His own blood on the cross. We now belong to the Lord Jesus and He is our Master. Let’s thank Him by living for Him!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for paying the full price for my sins with Your shed blood so I am now released from enslavement to sin. Because of my redemption in You, You are now my Master and I am Your slave. You not only give me the command not to sin, but You also can give me the power to obey it. Please use the Holy Spirit to apply this truth to my heart and mind so that obedience to Your Word becomes normal and natural to my Christian life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.