Scripture: Exodus 6:6-8; Galatians 3:13-14; Titus2:13-14; 1 Peter 1:17-20
As we continue in our Advent study of the nature of
God, we have considered first how our Creator God accepted the physical nature
of humanity through His Son Jesus Christ and what His Incarnation means for each
of us. Today, in our second Advent
message, we consider another aspect of God’s divine nature – that of
Redemption.
We, as a broken portion of creation, have lost out
on the LORD’s
offer of a personal relationship with Him, and without Jesus in our lives, the
relationship can never be healed. In 1786, John Wesley wrote "I am not
afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in
Europe or America. But I am afraid lest
they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion
without the power. And this undoubtedly
will be the case unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and
discipline with which they first set out."
What Wesley was saying is that without scripture – all
of scripture - to remind us of what Christian “doctrine, spirit and discipline”
consist of, we, as people of the world, will only “exist as a dead sect”,
with only the outward, and false appearance of religion. God and His power of redemption that has been
completed through Christ’s great act of sacrifice at Calvary, is our only hope
for a glorious eternity.
Today, we consider God’s redemptive nature that exists
in all who surrender their lives to Jesus Christ.
Read Exodus 6:6-8
The interesting thing about this passage is that it
outlines all that “redemption” means for our lives.
Point number 1 – we are enslaved to the ways of
earth, we are committed to them, and that is sin; we are burdened with the yoke
of the world, compared to the yoke of Jesus which is easy and lifts our burdens
(Matthew 11:28-30).
Point number 2 – the LORD redeems us with the
outstretched arm of welcome, and through His mighty acts of judgment that
separate the faithful from the wicked.
The act of redemption can only be from God – His way, His choice, His
creating, and all within His love.
Point number 3 – through the freedom that God grants
us; through his purchasing us with His blood; through His life that serves as
our example of hope; we become one with, and part of, His family.
Point number 4 – through His redemption, and through
His intimate knowledge of all who live and all who believe, we come to know God
in a personal and truly fulfilling way.
And point number 5 – the faithful will live with and
through Him for eternity. And nothing
can ever take that away.
Read Galatians 3:13-14
While our reading from Exodus proclaimed that we were
enslaved by the world, we now read that the religious legalism that we think
can save us will also bring with it the consequence of a deadly curse! It would seem that, on our own, we’re slaves
to sin if we follow the ways of the world and can never gain the LORD’s
love and promise. And even if we follow
the Law of Conformity as well as we can, it will never be enough, and we will
again be cursed throughout eternity!
We just can’t win!
Without Jesus, that is! We have
to understand that when He gave Himself over to the Law of the Pharisees, He
placed Himself in the way of the curse – our curse, if you will. We have heard may times that at Calvary, Jesus
took our sin upon Himself, and buried it in hell. But the truth is that he also took our curse
of legality upon Himself, and, as the perfection of both heaven and earth, Jesus
destroyed the burden that the Law had placed upon all who trust in Christ Jesus as
well as in all that He has done for our benefit!
But the interesting thing is that the redemption of Christ
wasn’t meant to only bless Israel, it was given to bless all, gentiles
included, who believe in Jesus as the true Gift of God. When we believe in the Son of God, our faith
enables the Holy Spirit to begin working on our behalf – within us and through
us – and life will become glorious!
Read Titus 2:13-14
As Paul writes this letter of encouragement and instruction
to his friend Titus, he makes the connection between the Christ who will be
returning for the judgment, and the Jesus who gave Himself for our redemption,
as well as for our preparation to experience the judgment as a glorious time
and not as condemnation. Paul also
writes that we are purified for God’s purpose, so that we will be “eager
to do good”!
Now here is the question – regarding those things
that we eagerly do in “goodness”, who’s definition is it that determines the sufficiency
of our goodness? There are lots of
definitions, you know! Primarily, we
have to decern between those things of earth that are claimed to be
good, and the things that scripture tells us are truly good in the sight
of God. And the two will seldom, if ever,
coincide. But if we are to do good in
God’s way, we have to leave the ways of earth behind, which is what comes when Christ
has “purified” us in faith, and saved us from the wickedness of earth.
And we need to pay close attention to the
differences if we intend to bring glory upon the God of our Salvation!
Read 1 Peter 1:17-20
Its interesting that Peter is so direct in
condemning the things that earth values – such as gold and silver – because today
there are so many other things that people cherish, like jobs, movie stars, sports
figures, personal possessions, and the list can go on and on. None of these things will ever gain us a
place in God’s realm – they only “enslave” us deeper in the world.
But the apostle tells us that true redemption only
come from the blood of Christ - perfect, divine, and the ultimate
goodness. God’s redeeming grace, and Christ’s
salvation, is given only to those who have been redeemed through faith in the Gift
of God at Calvary.
Faith in Christ, and trust in all that He has done for
us, allows His redemptive Spirit to begin working within us. And as His purity and goodness become the
focus for our lives, salvation for eternity will also become ours.
May His great works become your hope, this day, and
always.
