Tag Archives: Redemption

Thirsty for Faith

Our faith grows and develops as we cling to Him awaiting the final redemption of our body.(Romans 8:23) Faith is both a gift of God and an act of our will. We are to personally exercise faith, but the decision to do so is helped along by His gift of hunger for more of Him. It reminds me of that popular soft drink slogan, “Obey your thirst”—God wants us to step out in the “obedience by faith” to receive what He has made us thirsty for.

The proof of our faith is found in our actions, because people behave only in a manner which conforms to what they really believe. When we take action (the assurance and conviction aspects of faith), it grows. And as our faith grows, hope becomes stronger, in turn fostering greater faith, snowballing to promote growth in both our maturity and effectual use by God.

Character Formation

A common byproduct of redemption is the supernatural healing of oppression or addiction. In one form or another, many of us have experienced such deliverance (as we often call it) from the ways of our old life. And deliverance is not limited to our new-birth experience alone; it can happen even long after we’re saved. So we shouldn’t ever stop seeking such miraculous intervention by God.

But what’s frustrating is the fact that we can’t pick and choose which of our weaknesses will be healed in this manner. That’s because God has a plan—a plan revolving around His purpose for us. It’s a plan that is not only a whole lot different but also far less comfortable than what we might choose if we had the chance.

What I’m referring to here is actually an entirely different kind of change in us; it’s what Paul is referring to when he says, “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”(Romans 12:2) To better understand what he means by this, we need to remember that the mind (and thus the renewal of our mind) doesn’t merely mean the physical mind, but rather the inner man—the immaterial part of our nature as it interacts with the physical mind.

What he’s describing here is a type of change that God employs far more commonly than the instantaneous kind. It’s a transformational change in our character, change which invariably is a more prolonged, arduous and painful solution to the problem of our weaknesses. Yet as annoying as this approach might seem, it is ultimately far more productive when the entire scope of God’s purpose is taken into account.

Seeds of Transformation

Isn’t God’s plan of redemption incredible? In Him we enjoy all the advantages of absolute security. As the old hymn says, He is our refuge and our strength. But even so, we must not let it stop there, for the Lord has called us to even greater purpose—wholehearted submission to His will.

Such intentional commitment to Him demands that our life be squarely aimed at two very important targets: to serve Him in whatever capacity He desires, and to embrace spiritual growth through personal transformation. Dedication toward the pursuit of these goals provides the catalyst for bearing “much fruit.” And because these objectives are intended to compliment each other, we can’t be truly effective in one without the other.

Yet personal transformation is the key to serving God with a whole heart, so we must ask a very important question: What does it mean to be transformed? Is this the change that takes place instantaneously when we’re saved? Yes, in one very real sense it is, since being born again results in a dynamic transformation of our life. How could being brought from death to life—from the domain of darkness to being firmly planted in Christ’s kingdom—be anything but utterly transformational? Still, there’s a whole lot more to it than that.

Holy Ones

As God’s children, is holy something we are or something we must try to become? First and foremost, holy is what we are in Christ. On this point the testimony of Scripture is clear: “By this we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”(Hebrews 10:10,14) One source puts it this way: “Sanctification is thus the state predetermined by God for believers, into which in grace He calls them, and in which they begin their Christian course and so pursue it. Hence they are called saints.” By referring to believers as saints (holy ones) in his many letters, Paul isn’t addressing an elite class of Christians; he means all those who belong to Christ.(1Corinthians 1:2)

It’s also important to recognize that in Scripture holiness is often used right alongside the terms redemption, righteousness and justification. Sharing the same context not only means that these concepts are related, but that they coexist as a reality here and now in the believer’s life.(1 Corinthians 1:30)

Likewise, the term blameless is often used in conjunction with holy to unambiguously declare the believer’s unique position in Christ. Being blameless means being regarded as faultless or without blemish—essentially the same as being made righteous. Paul forcefully brings this idea home in Colossians 1:22: “yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach.”

Being justified (acquitted of sin) by God’s grace, we are now held blameless, and as a result set apart (made holy, sanctified) as His special possession. And this isn’t merely a hypothetical status or position—as it is often thought of. This is truly who we are in Christ!

The Good News: Part 3

God the Father has rescued me from the domain of darkness and transferred me to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom I have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:13-14). I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me (Galatians 2:20).

My old self was crucified with Him so that my body of sin might be done away with, so that I would no longer be a slave to sin (Romans 6:6). I have died and I am freed from sin by being released from the law to which I was bound (Romans 7:4-6). Since Christ is in me, though my body is dead because of sin, yet my spirit is alive because of righteousness (Romans 8:10).

Excerpted from: Free from the Power of Sin: The Keys to Growing in God in Spite of Yourself

A Free Gift

My child, redemption is a free gift to all who believe. I am drawing all people to Myself. Your job is to love them and tell them about Me. The gospel, (Good News) is the reality of redemption in Me, the Lord Jesus Christ. Share this good news. Let this be a priority in your life. So many people are in bondage, but I came to set the captives free.