The Apostle’s Creed is a great summary of what we hold true and sacred as Christians. Millions of Christians have been reciting it down through the ages to declare what they believe.
The Apostle’s Creed has been around in some form since the second century when it was known as the Old Roman Creed. It is a statement of faith that can be agreed to by Protestants, Catholics and the Orthodox churches. It is something that unites us all.
The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
I did the same thing as I did with the Lords Prayer, I laminated it and put it in my Bible. I read it every day to memorise it. I am really glad I did.
One prayer I think is important to learn is the Lord’s Prayer. This is the prayer Jesus taught His disciples after they asked Him how they should pray.
This prayer covers all our basic needs in life. It starts by honouring God, then asks for His will, provision, forgiveness and protection. It finishes with declaring that all power belongs to Him always.
The first one is a more modern version. The second is an older version that many people know. It is the one I learned as a child.
Modern version
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen.
Traditional version
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
I actually typed the prayer out and laminated it. I put it in my Bible as a bookmark and prayed it several times a day to learn it. Now I start every day with it.
In last weeks’ message in our Great Words of the Gospel series we looked at the topic of salvation. We looked briefly at Old Testament salvation and how God used the word Yeshua’ah to describe the salvation and deliverance He gave the Israelites. We also looked at the animal sacrifices that were required to temporary cover the peoples sin and guilt until Christ came.
We then looked at New Testament salvation and how that is wrapped up completely in the finished work of Christ. We saw the three aspects of salvation that there is a need, a provision in Christ and a response that we all need to make. We also looked at some verses of assurance and a simple salvation prayer.
In this week’s message I want to look at another of the great words of the gospel – redemption. This word hangs dependently on the finished work of Christ on the cross. It is a key word that is wrapped up in our faith and trust in Christ.
I want to start with a definition of redemption and then share four things that redemption offers us.
Let’s pray
Loving Heavenly Father,
Let Your people hear the good news of Your love, the good news of Your forgiveness and the good news of Your acceptance in my words today. Let me show them afresh Jesus and all He has done for them. Amen
What is Redemption?
Redemption is an important word in the Christian faith. Redemption is about the buying back or release of an object or person. In the Bible redemption refers to God’s ransoming of believers through the death of Jesus Christ upon the cross and to all the benefits that this brings. So Jesus paid the price on the cross to redeem us back to God.
1. We needed to be redeemed because we could save ourselves.
As we saw last week in my message about salvation we saw that in our natural state without Christ we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and that this sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2).
Some people and some religions think they can redeem themselves by good works. They think if their good deeds out way their bad deeds, then God will accept them. The Bible tells us that salvation is not by good works, so no-one can boast. It is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9).
This is where Christ comes in with His work on the cross. In Christ we have been freed. Through His death on the cross as a payment for our sin the price has been paid.
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.”
Ephesians 1:7 tells us that, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace”.
Mark 10:45 says, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
1 Timothy 2:5-6 tells us that, “There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time”.
Jesus gave His life as a ransom for many. It is by Christ’s shed blood that our sins are forgiven. We celebrate this each week in communion. His death opened the way to God. He is the one mediator between God and mankind. Our redemption is 100% totally and completely paid for by the death of Christ. As Jesus said in John 19:30 before He died – it is finished. Three words that ring out for all eternity.
2. We are freed from being slaves to sin
The Bible tells us that without Christ we were slaves to sin. John 8:34 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” So in our natural state apart from Christ we are slaves to sin and we need redeeming.
In the New Testament there are three main Greek words used to describe redemption. In keeping with the thought of being a slave to sin these words give us a picture of being bought and sold in a slave market.
The first word is Agorazo – this means to “purchase in the market”. This is like a slave bought and sold in the slave market. They are always a slave and can be re-sold at any time. They are kept and made to work for the owner and once they are finished with them they can be re-sold to someone else.
The second word is Exagorazo – this means to “purchase out of the market”. This is like someone buying a slave and taking them as their own property and never being sold again. They keep the slave to serve them as their own property. It is a long term deal for the life of the slave.
The final word is Lutroo – this means “to loosen” or to “set free by paying a price”. The slave is permanently purchased out of the market and set free from the market forever. This is what we have in Christ as believers and disciples.
This last word Lutroo gives us a clear picture of what we have in Christ. True freedom. We are no longer a slave to sin. We are forever released from the market of sin. The power of sin and death has been broken in our lives. We are set free and as John 8:36 says, “If the son has set you free, you will be free indeed”.
3. We are redeemed to live a new free life.
As we have seen we are redeemed by the work of Christ. There are four main things we have in our redemption.
a. Justified before God
Romans 3:24 tells us that we “are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus”.
To justify or the term justification means “just as if I had never sinned”. We now have right standing with God. When God looks at you and I He looks at us through the lens of Christ – perfect, sinless and holy. He doesn’t see our sin, He sees Jesus. Isaiah 1:18 reminds us that, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” For those in Christ, it is a present reality.
b. Set free from the law
Galatians 4:4-5 – But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons”.
The apostle Paul often used the idea of being slaves to the law because the people of the Old Testament lived under it and tried, and failed, to live up to it. Now as Christ followers we are free from the law and are adopted as God’s children. This verse says we have full right as God’s children. The same rights as Jesus as we are co-heirs.
c. Free from a pointless existence
1 Peter 1:18-19 says, “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect”.
Before I came to Christ I thought my life was full and exciting. After coming to Christ, and the blinkers were taken off, I realised that I was deceived and my life was way more empty than I could have imagined. I filled it with pointless things like jobs, cars, sport, fitness. Not that they are bad, but I filled my life with them and gave them more weight or focus that they needed. Now my life is filled with Christ. Filled to the point of overflowing and streams of living water flow out that contain the love of Christ. It is a much better life than I could ever imagined.
d. We have a great future hope
Revelation 21:3-4 says, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
As I touched on in Communion recently. The hope we have in Christ is not just contained to the here and now. We also have a future hope. We have a hope of spending eternity with the Lord. It will be a place where there is no sickness or disease, a place where there will no wars or fighting only perfect unity, it will be a place where everyone feels good about themselves, it will be a place where we will not struggle with sin; and best of all, it will be a place where we will see our Lord face to face.
4. God redeemed us because of His love and mercy
What motivated the Creator of all things to redeem and save us? Here is an excerpt from a recent KYB study we did…
“God’s motivation comes from the nature of God Himself. It is expressed in four words – love, mercy, grace and kindness.
Can we imagine a love so great that it could give new life to those who deserved God’s wrath? Or mercy so tender that it would reach down to help the helpless? Or grace so full and free that it would pay the price that sinners could not pay? Where else could we find kindness so rich and full that it would embrace those who were, by nature, ‘the enemy’?” (from KYB Ephesians study page 21).
God redeemed us because He loved us. He redeemed us because of His mercy. He redeemed us because of His grace. He redeemed us because of His kindness. It also gave Him good please to do it.
A story
Before I close I want to share a story I read a little while ago that helped me to understand redemption. It goes like this…
There was a story of the little boy who built a small sailboat. He built the boat from a kit and had it all fixed up, he tarred and painted it. Once it was ready he took it to the lake and pushed it in hoping it would sail. Sure enough a wisp of breeze filled the little sail and it billowed and went rippling along the waves.
Suddenly before the little boy knew it, the boat was out of his reach, even though he waded in fast and tried to grab it. As he watched it float away, he hoped maybe the breeze would shift and it would come sailing back to him. Instead he watched it go farther and farther until it was gone. He searched up and down the banks for hours, but he could not find it.
Eventually when he lost all hope, he went home crying, his mother asked, “What’s wrong, didn’t it work?” And he said, “It worked too well.”
Sometime later, the little boy was downtown and walked past a second hand store. There in the window he saw the boat. It was unmistakably his, so he went in and said to the proprietor, “That’s my boat.” He walked to the window, picked it up and started to leave with it. The owner of the shop said, “Wait a minute, Sonny. That’s my boat. I bought it from someone.” The boy said, “No, it’s my boat. I made it. See.” And he showed him the little scratches and the marks where he hammered and filed. The man said, “I’m sorry, Sonny. If you want it, you have to buy it.”
The poor little guy didn’t have any money, but he worked hard and saved his pennies. Finally, one day he had enough money. He went in and bought the little boat. As he left the store holding the boat close to him, he was heard saying, “You’re my boat. You’re twice my boat. First you’re my boat ’cause I made you, and second you’re my boat ’cause I bought you!”
If you ever think that you aren’t worth much, just remember what God thinks of you. He thinks you’re His. Twice His. First you’re His because He made you. And second you’re His because He bought you on the cross. He paid a price to redeem you.
Closing summary
In today’s message we looked at the topic of Redemption. We saw that…
We are redeemed by Jesus death on the cross for us.
We are redeemed because we could save ourselves.
We are redeemed and freed from being slaves to sin.
We are redeemed to live a new free life.
We are redeemed because of God’s great love and mercy.
Amen.
Let us pray.
Loving Heavenly Father, I thank You that You loved us so much that Jesus came on died on the cross for our sin. I thank You that He paid the price to redeem us and bring us back to You. I pray today that You will sink this truth deep into our hearts and minds. That You love, that You redeemed us and that You have brought us back into right relationship with You – both now and for all eternity. I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen
In yesterday’s post I shared what forgiveness is not. Today I want to share what forgiveness is. It is about letting things go to God. Below is another excerpt from June Hunt’s book on forgiveness.
To forgive means to release your resentment toward your offender.
In the New Testament, the Greek verb aphiemi primarily means “to send away”—in other words, “to forgive, send away or release the penalty when someone wrongs you.” This implies that you need …
— To release your right to hear “I’m sorry”
— To release your right to be bitter
— To release your right to get even
“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.”
(Romans 12:17)
To forgive is to release your rights regarding the offense.
— To release your right to dwell on the offense
— To release your right to hold on to the offense
— To release your right to keep bringing up the offense
“He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.”
(Proverbs 17:9)
To forgive is to reflect the character of Christ. Just as God is willing to forgive us, we are called to forgive others.
— To forgive is to extend mercy.
— To forgive is to give a gift of grace.
— To forgive is to set the offender free.
Jesus taught his disciples to pray,
“Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”
Forgiveness is not an easy subject to talk about. Sometimes it is even harder to do. In my life I have had some pretty big things that people have done to me that I just had to forgive and let go of for my own health and well being.
While working through the need to forgive I came across a book in my pastoral care training by June Hunt called Biblical Counselling on Keys to Forgiveness. It really helped me to understand what forgiveness is and what it is not.
The list below really helped me to understand what forgiveness is not and it allowed me to release my hurt and pain to God for Him to deal with at the right time.
Forgiveness is not circumventing God’s justice.…
— It is allowing God to execute His justice in His time and in His way.
Forgiveness is not waiting for “time to heal all wounds.” …
— It is clear that time doesn’t heal wounds—some people will not allow healing.
Forgiveness is not letting the guilty “off the hook.” …
— It is moving the guilty from your hook to God’s hook.
Forgiveness is not the same as reconciliation.…
— It takes two for reconciliation, only one for forgiveness.
Forgiveness is not excusing unjust behavior.…
— It is acknowledging that unjust behavior is without excuse, while still forgiving.
Forgiveness is not explaining away the hurt.…
— It is working through the hurt.
Forgiveness is not based on what is fair.…
— It was not “fair” for Jesus to hang on the cross—but He did so that we could be forgiven.
Forgiveness is not being a weak martyr.…
— It is being strong enough to be Christlike.
Forgiveness is not stuffing your anger.…
— It is resolving your anger by releasing the offense to God.
Forgiveness is not a natural response.…
— It is a supernatural response, empowered by God.
Forgiveness is not denying the hurt.…
— It is feeling the hurt and releasing it.
Forgiveness is not being a doormat.…
— It is seeing that, if this were so, Jesus would have been the greatest doormat of all!
Forgiveness is not conditional.…
— It is unconditional, a mandate from God to everyone.
Forgiveness is not forgetting.…
— It is necessary to remember before you can forgive.
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