Redemption, Ransom, Rescue (part one)

Paul writes to the church at Corinth: “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) 

In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus uses the word ‘ransom.’ We’ve watched enough crime shows to know about ransom notes kidnappers demand for the return of the person kidnapped: Here is what the Lord said: “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Paul uses the same root word in 1 Timothy 2:5-6 where he writes: For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all . . .” (Matthew 20:28)

Jesus ransomed us from the family of Satan, whose children we were before we were born again into God’s family. “You are of your father the devil,” Jesus said to the religious leaders harassing Him (John 8:44). And John identifies the children of Satan this way: “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God . . . .” (1 John 3:10) 

Jesus’s blood also ransomed us from captivity to the devil. Paul tells us: “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome . . . with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance . . . and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.  (2 Timothy 2:24-26) 

But the reach of Jesus’ ransom did not stop with changing our family from Satan’s to God’s. Nor did it stop at rescuing us from his captivity. Jesus blood ransom also delivered us from the domain of Satan’s darkness: Colossians 1:13-14  “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” 

Redemption. Ransom. Rescue. 

On Calvary’s cross Jesus’ substitutionary sacrifice ransomed us, He redeemed us from sin and the devil, and gave all who want it, eternal life. 

His redemption is the reason we are not our own. His ransom is why we don’t belong to ourselves any longer. We were bought with a most precious and costly price. We were purchased from the thief whose job description is to steal, kill, and destroy. 

And because we belong to God, we are now His bondservants. Yes, we are God’s slaves – slaves of a loving, merciful, and gracious MASTER. 

Now listen: Because we are God’s slaves, because we belong to Him, we therefore have no freedom to believe anything that the godless world tells us to believe. We have no right to follow the philosophies and values and standards promoted by educators, the media, politicians, and even some clergy in the church. 

We have no freedom to believe anything to be true and good without confirmation by the inerrant, timeless, and transcultural word of God. We have no right to hold views, for example, about any area of sexuality, unless Jesus taught it. Because we are slaves of God, we are not free to decide, "My Body, My Choice." We have no business adhering to our own opinions about marriage, or relationships, or finances, or what books to read, or church to attend, or movies to watch – even what candidates and policies we vote for – unless those things align with the word of God and the historic teaching of the Church. 

When I say the ‘historic’ teaching of the Church, I mean what the church has taught since the first century – and NOT how some modern theologians and clergy pervert and twist that historic teaching.

It is not enough for Christians to KNOW the truth. We must obey the truth. As Jesus said, “If you know these things, you are blessed if you DO them.” (John 13:17)

If we are to have an impact on our culture, then we must reflect Jesus in our lifestyles. People don’t care about your doctrinal views. They want to know if our faith has changed our life for the better. 

I heard a poem the other day that speaks to this point about walking the talk. I don’t know who originally wrote the poem titled, The Gospel According to You. It has gone through several iterations over the years. My favorite version is this: 

There’s a Gospel according to Matthew; 
To Mark, Luke, and John too. 
But there’s another gospel many are reading,
It’s the Gospel according to You.

Many won't read the words of the Bible; 
But I tell you what many will do, 
They are reading the book you are writing, 
It’s the Gospel according to you. 

You are writing a gospel, a chapter each day,
By the things that you do, and words that you say. 
They read what you write whether faithless or true; So – what is the gospel according to you? 

Our text for today tells us we have been bought with a price. But Paul continues with the next clause, “Therefore, glorify God in your body.”

But what does that mean – to glorify God in our body? 

We will look at that in part two of this message.