Redemption
Redemption means to free someone from bondage. It often involves the paying of a ransom, a price that ensures redemption. The Israelites were redeemed from Egypt. We were redeemed from the power of sin and the curse of the Law (Gal. 3:13) through Jesus (Rom. 3:24; Col. 1:14). We were bought with a price (1 Cor. 6:20; 7:23).^[1]^
Redemption is defined by J. I. Packer as "Christ's actual substitutionary endurance of the penalty of sin in the place of certain specified sinners, through which God was reconciled to them, their liability to punishment was for ever destroyed, and a title to eternal life was secured for them. In consequence of this, they now have in God's sight a right to the gift of faith, as the means of entry to the enjoyment of their inheritance. Calvary, in other words, not merely made possible the salvation of those for whom Christ died; it ensured that they would be brought to faith and their salvation be made actual. The Cross saves."^[2]^
Notes
- ↑ CARM's Dictionary of Theology
- ↑ Packer, J. I., Preface to John Owen's "The Death of Death in the Death of Christ", Banner of Truth, page 7.