Barnabas Letters, part 8

Hello Barnabas ladies! Hope everyone is having a lovely week!

"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."

Sound familiar to anyone? It's one of those songs that gets stuck in my head. :D Redeem is an interesting word. I searched at Biblegateway.com and redeem in its various forms is in the NIV version of the Bible 107 times, plus another 24 times for redemption. It's also a Bible word that gets a lot of day-to-day use.

 I can't be the only one who has saved up the little stamps from the grocery store and redeemed them for a free saucepan or other cookware. We also receive gift certificates and redeem them for whatever goodies we want to buy. Maybe we spend time clipping coupons and redeem them for discounts on our purchases. It's pretty clear that redeem is a word that relates to buying things. In fact, I found this definition for redeem:

 To purchase back; to regain possession of by payment of a stipulated price; to repurchase.
To pay the penalty of; to make amends for; to serve as an equivalent or offset for; to atone for; to compensate; as, to redeem an error.
(http://eastonsbibledictionary.com/r/redeem.htm)

That definition makes a lot of sense with my little examples. I use my collected stamps to purchase a saucepan from the grocery store, because they have determined that a specific number of stamps is equivalent to one saucepan, even though my stamps have no real value, they're just little scraps of paper.

But what about Biblical examples of the word redeem?

Galatians 3:12-14
The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians+3:12-14&version=NIV

Galatians 4:4-6
But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”
 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians+4:4-6&version=NIV

Both of these passages mention the old law, and how we've been redeemed from that law. The old law was full of regulations that Jews were held to. As shown throughout the Old Testament, they were never able to keep that law, so Jesus came to redeem them from it. Remember my saucepans? In the little booklet where you collect your stamps, there's always a retail price listed for the saucepan. It's usually something outlandish, like $50. You might even say that no one could pay $50 for such a small saucepan. We can trade our stamps for it, but we can't really purchase it outright.

So what does redemption get us?

Ephesians 1:7-8a
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us.

Colossians 1:13-14
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

We can't pay $50 for that saucepan, and we can never be perfectly obedient to the Old Testament law. But God has determined that Jesus is an equivalent price for the forgiveness of my sins--and not just mine, but everyone's. If that doesn't make you shake in your boots, I'm not sure what will!

So what do you think will happen if I just walk into the grocery store and demand my saucepan from the manager? Of course, he's going to tell me that I can either go ahead and pay the $50, or I can spend the time collecting my little stamps. God's salvation is available to all, but there is something we must do to obtain it.

Acts 2:37-39
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts%202:37-39&version=NIV

"Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed, redeemed, his child, and forever, I am!"

In Christ alone--
Elena