Biblical Redemption!

Redemption is a prominent theme throughout the Bible. God, in His love and mercy, is long-suffering, not willing that any should ultimately perish (2 Peter 3:9). He wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of His truth (1 Timothy 2:4).

Because sin results in death—physical and eternal death—and the promised redeemer had not yet been born, God in days of old revealed to Moses a religious system based on animal sacrifices and offerings.

Israel came into God’s presence through sacrifices the Levitical priesthood offered at the tabernacle and later the temple. However, these sacrifices could never provide redemption for sins to enable worshipers to receive forgiveness and the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 10:1-4). They could provide only a temporary ceremonial cleansing that represented the genuine cleansing to come through Christ’s sacrifice.

Lacking the heart and mind for true obedience, Israel as a whole neglected its promise to obey God and keep His commandments. Instead, the Israelites gradually placed far more importance on the sacrificial laws and their oral traditions. Obedience from the heart became far less important than physical sacrifice and ritual.

By the time of Jesus’ life on earth, the Israelites were placing more emphasis on their own oral tradition than on the law of God. Jesus asked the Pharisees, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? … In vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:3-9).

God gave the ancient Israelites His great, immutable spiritual law. But at the same time He gave them a temporary physical system for worshiping Him. The spiritual law revealed to people the basis for conducting their affairs with God and their fellow man (Matthew 22:35-40). The physical system of rituals served mostly to remind them of their sinful nature and the need to be clean and without spot or blemish when they came into God’s presence.

This physical dimension was temporary, however, until the promised Redeemer would come and pay the ultimate price for sin (Hebrews 9:9-12).

Jesus the Messiah is the promised Redeemer. He had to be born for humanity to be redeemed from sin.

As we noted earlier, Peter summarized what we must do to be redeemed: “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). Through Christ’s blood God forgives our sins, and by Christ we receive the promise of eternal inheritance (Hebrews 9:12-15).

Through Christ, God has restored that which was lost in Eden—access to the tree of life. Moreover, repentant people have become the temple of the living God.

“As God has said: I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people” (2 Corinthians 6:16). Yes, God has made it possible for all people to enter an intimate relationship with Him—which is why Jesus had to be born.