The Need for Redemption

“No man can by any means redeem his brother, or give to God a ransom for him -- For the redemption of his soul is costly, and he should cease trying forever.” Psalm 49:7-8

When you refer to Jesus Christ as “Redeemer,” you are making a reference to your need before you knew Him. In the Bible, “redeemer” means “deliverer or someone who would buy back an individual (or land) who had perhaps sold himself into slavery to pay his own debts.”

You were, in a very real sense, a slave to sin and to the law. Until one acknowledges his own bankruptcy, there is no way he can go to Jesus Christ in faith and become a recipient of His redeeming power.

Only as you remember where you were before you knew Jesus Christ, can you sing of your Redeemer with a heart alive with gratitude. Trying to understand your previous debt to sin is something like trying to comprehend the federal deficit.

Imagine that your personal financial indebtedness equaled that of the U.S. government and someone writes a check clearing your obligation. How do you feel toward your deliverer? The only debt you now owe is one of love. Love to your Redeemer and to one another.

“...and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.” Eph. 5:2