Growing up in a poor home brought its share of challenges — and some unforgettable rewards. My parents did an incredible job raising a family that grew from two children to seven during my early years. We never had much, but we always had enough. Somehow there was always food on the table and, every now and then, even a small treat.
It wasn’t until middle school that I fully understood what “poor” meant. I don’t intend to recount every detail of those early years, only to set the stage for one of our best family memories — a moment that later helped me understand one of Scripture’s richest words.
Let me illustrate with some questions:
How much would you pay for a bottle of water?
If you buy a case of water from Sam’s, maybe fifty cents?
If you go to a local football game? Two dollars will quench your thirst.
If you stop at a convenience store on the road? Three or four dollars will be needed.
If you go to a professional football or baseball game? That same bottle of water will set you back eight dollars or more.
What is the difference? How much you are willing to pay to get a drink. You determine the worth of something by your willingness to pay for it.
Redemption says that you are worth a great price.
A Childhood Picture of Redemption
Like many families of that era, we collected green stamps. My parents saved every single one, carefully filling the books page by page. When a book was complete, it could be redeemed for something special. Sometimes the stamps purchased something needed for the home. But every once in a while, they bought something fun.
I vividly remember the day each of us was allowed to redeem our stamps for sleeping bags. It felt like Christmas. A simple book of stamps turned into something we treasured for years. That word — redeemed — meant taking something small and exchanging it for something of far greater value.
Later in life, I discovered that “redeemed” is also one of Scripture’s most powerful words.
The Rich Meaning of Redemption
The biblical concept of redemption is built from two related ideas: redeemed and ransomed. While distinct, they overlap to form one breathtaking truth.
To redeem carries the idea of delivery, buying back, or rescuing. It implies bondage — a condition we all understand spiritually, because humanity is bound to sin.
The Greek roots deepen the picture:
- Ek — “out of” or “from.”
- Agoriza — “to buy back from the marketplace.”
Redemption always includes the payment of a price.
This word was used to describe God’s work in bringing His people back from Babylonian captivity. They were trapped, suffering the consequences of their rebellion. Yet God bought them back.
The wisdom books echo this hope:
“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth.” — Job 19:25
“May the words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” — Psalm 19:14
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- Redemption is through the Blood — He Redeemed us, pouring out His love on us.
Eph 1:7-8 “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 with all wisdom and understanding.
- Redeemed from the curse of the law — He fulfilled what we could never achieve. We could not keep the law. We are free from trying to reach that level
Gal 4:4-7 “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. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.”
- Redeemed from the curse of the law — Because we cannot keep the law we could be condemned. That curse is broken.
Galatians 3:13 “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 tree."
- Redemption has a message for now and the life to come — He replaced futility with purpose.
Titus 2:13-14 “While we wait for the blessed hope — the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”
Left to ourselves, we would remain debtors to sin, eternally condemned. But Jesus — God’s spotless Son — was qualified to die in our place. He became a curse for us, and God accepted the ransom.
It Is Finished
On the cross, Jesus declared, “It is finished.” The payment was made in full. The price was completely paid.
Redemption is a gift — freely offered, fully purchased, eternally secure. The only question left is: Why would anyone refuse such a gift.
THREE TRUTHS THAT STICK-RESULTS
- He completely fulfilled the obligation to redeem you. Every sin you have committed is paid for in full.
- The gift of redemption must be either totally accepted or rejected. There is no middle ground.
- There are many ways you can choose to reject the gift.
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- Ignore it.
- Refuse it.
- Put it off.
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Have you accepted the gift of redemption?
