With Dale Ratzlaff
We pick up our study in Romans 3:21-26. This section is packed with good news that must not be hurried over:
21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Commentary:
In our last study we discovered that justification by faith is acquittal from all unrighteousness and sin. It also is God’s declaration that we are accounted righteous with the perfect righteousness of Christ. All of this is based on the Father’s grace and mercy, centered in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ which is accepted by faith alone. Let us look again at Romans 3:24.
Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.
Paul carefully links justification with redemption and propitiation. God always acts justly, so justification can never be an isolated event. One cannot just say, “You are declared righteous”, period. The pronouncement of being declared righteous must rest on either one of two things: (1) it must be true that the person is righteous, or (2) there must be a legal way where justice is fully carried out in order to declare a person righteous when he is not. Redemption is one of the foundational pillars for justification.
What does Redemption really mean? It is a metaphor from the practice of slavery.
Quoting now from Leon Morris,
The actual usage of ἀπολυτρώσεως the Greek word from which we get Redemption, shows “ransoming” rather than “deliverance” to be the essential meaning of the word.
Redemption includes the idea of freedom or deliverance, but the concept of ransoming is much bigger than deliverance or being “freed” as some Bibles translate this term. For example, the New Living Translation renders Romans 3:24 like this:
Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins (Rom. 3:24).
By translating “redemption” as “freed”, while not untrue, it nevertheless causes the reader to completely bypass the rich concept found in redemption. That is why I use the NASB. It’s wording may be rough at times, but it is quite accurate in rendering the right meaning of the Greek words and tenses.
There are a number of concepts that are carried by the idea of redemption. We will consider three in this lesson and then complete the study of redemption in the next. To illustrate what is included in the biblical teaching of redemption we will look at several Old Testament examples. Remember, Paul said that this righteousness of God was manifested apart from law, but was witnessed by the law and prophets. Therefore we should expect to see Old Testament examples of the righteousness of God.
Redemption is for people in bondage.
Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, “I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments” (Ex. 6:6).
Redemption is for people who are in the bondage of slavery. Let’s not leave this first concept too quickly. Perhaps you, the reader, may be in some kind of bondage. Is there some sin, abuse, evil habit that is eating away your soul? If so, you need a Redeemer, and the good news is you qualify for redemption because redemption is for those who cannot free themselves. You need Christ. In Mark 2:17 we read,
Jesus said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
So the first concept included in redemption is that it is for slaves, sinners, people who are in bondage.
Redemption requires a price to be paid.
Following are a few verses from Old Testament laws that speak of redemption. Notice that a ransom price is required before redemption can take place.
If, however, an ox was previously in the habit of goring and its owner has been warned yet he does not confine it and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death. If a ransom is demanded of him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is demanded of him (Ex. 21:29, 30).
Here we see the second idea in redemption is that a ransom price had to be paid before redemption could take place. Look again at our text in Romans 3:24.
…being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.”
We read in Matthew 20:28,
Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.
Christ Jesus is the one who paid the ransom price so that He could declare us not guilty of all our sin, and He did it in a way that satisfied divine justice.
Redemption carries the idea of substitution.
Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel and the cattle of the Levites. And the Levites shall be Mine; I am the LORD. For the ransom of the 273 of the firstborn of the sons of Israel who are in excess beyond the Levites, you shall take five shekels apiece, per head (Num. 3:44-46).
Moses was to take the Levites “instead of” the first born. Substitution is a central theme of the gospel.
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21).
Here we find the third concept in redemption is the idea of substitution. This concept will be expanded as we move through the book of Romans.
Application:
The more we study into the depth of the gospel, the more clearly we see the infinite justice and mercy of God. Like God’s sovereignty and human responsibility, we often want to emphasize one over the other when both are equally true. God is just in requiring a payment before redemption can take place. We see this clearly as we gaze at the uplifted Christ on the cross. At the same time we perceive the great love of the Father who loved the world—the sinful world—so much that He gave His only begotten Son that the world might be saved. Then, we must recognize that Christ was the willing sacrifice. As the song goes, “He could have called ten thousand angels, but He died alone for you and me.”
Too often “religion” teaches that we must make ourselves good enough to receive this love and forgiveness of God, but redemption clearly teaches that we qualify as slaves of sin, unable to free ourselves from our predicament. Praise God, redemption is for those of us who are or have been salves of sin. We qualify!
The concept of redemption reminds us of the substitution in God’s work of bringing together justice and mercy. We may bask in God’s mercy, but let us always remember the price paid for our redemption. Let us never forget “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for revealing the truth of the gospel to us who are salves of sin and cannot make ourselves righteous. Thank you that you paid the price for my redemption. May I always remember the ransom price that set me free.
1 Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross, p. 41
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