Redemption for a Slave Like You #1

Scripture speaks of men as sinners describes them as slaves. They are in bondage and salvation is described as an act of redemption.

What does that mean hello, and welcome to the truth open with gone green founding pastor of truth Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio Pineville right today is Don continues teaching God's people. God's word will press ahead in the series called when you really would sin, he is part one of a message called redemption for a slave like you. This time around. Don looks at the one need every man woman and child that has ever been born forever will be born has in common to find out what that is with gone green. In today's lesson on the golf when the first century there were many slaves and we considered that in the past in our exposition of Ephesians slaves who were owned literally by another human being and there will was subject to their master and it was the practice of the time that a slave a literal slave in the employee if you could say it that way of another. A slave could be set free by the payment of a ransom price and the payment of that price was called redemption.

Once the price was paid, the slave could go free. His prior master had no claim on him anymore because the price of his slavery had been satisfied, and now that man, that slave was free to go. That was a real practice in the first century.

During the time at which the New Testament was written well when it comes to the spiritual nature of Christian salvation.

The Bible uses redemption as a picture as a metaphor of what Christ did for his people when he paid the price of their salvation at the cross and let me just give you a a biblical definition of redemption as we get started here. Redemption is the act of God in which he delivered us from our spiritual slavery based on the price that Christ paid with his blood. At the cross redemption is the act of God in which he delivered us from our spiritual slavery based on the price Christ paid with his blood. At the cross. Now I hope you see in that definition that immediately there is a humbling aspect to Christian salvation.

Not only do we not hide or or mitigate or minimize.

We proclaim loudly and embrace it. The truth of the matter is for us to say that we are Christians. And for that to be true of us to say that you're a Christian is to acknowledge that there was a former time in your life in which you were a spiritual slave in ways that we are going to see in just a moment different aspects of that slavery and so to say that I am a Christian, redeemed by the blood of Christ is to say that my former manner of life was marked by spiritual slavery and that I needed to be delivered from that and someone outside of myself paid the price for me to be released from my spiritual slavery. That is all wrapped up in redemption and that's why true Christians are fundamentally at their heart.

There is that there is a fundamental principle of humility at the heart of a true Christian who says who acknowledges who recognizes not only was I not a man of means or a man who could be proud. I was a slave in darkness, unable to pay my own price for release and I needed someone to come and release me because otherwise I would still be in that darkness.

If someone had paid the price for my freedom. I would still be a slave now I realize that in our American culture. The word slave is a is a greatly loaded term of politically and socially loaded term but here among the people of God here in the Bible. Here in the mindset of those who are the truly saved. We need to come to grips with this language of slavery and not push it away or hide it simply because it's it's a politically incorrect term to have to talk about. We set aside the culture around us.

We set aside the political connotations of the term here in America we say that's not what were talking about let's go to Scripture and let Scripture use its own terminology its own lexical words.

Let it use its terminology to describe us and to embrace it because this is the sweet word of God which we live in which is a gift from heaven to us. The man who resents and rejects the idea of being called a slave in his prior condition is a man who simply saying I'm not a Christian and I never was because the Bible is filled with this imagery to describe it now so that leaves us today. Then, with the message that I've titled redemption for a slave like you redemption for a slave like you and so were just going to kinda do a thematic study of redemption very quickly here in a way that will prepare our hearts for receiving the Lord's supper later on with a sense of understanding and with a sense of appreciation and I want to break this down. I think around four basic points that again will go through rather quickly. Let me just say I'm using the second person deliberately here talking to you. I don't want to talk about this in the abstract third person as if this is something that people out there need now. This is needed by us within this room. This is what you and I need this is the crux of of our eternal hope to understand these things and to respond to them rightly and understand the reality to to accept as a patient, accepting the diagnosis of a skilled physician to accept the diagnosis that Scripture gives of us in our human flesh in our redeemed condition in our unsaved manner of life to accept that. See, we must come to God, we must come to Christ on the terms that he declares on the terms that he imposes on the terms that Scripture sets forth for us and not think that we can go around those and to come through a different door. There is one door to true salvation.

That door is the Lord Jesus is the gospel of John tells us, and you must go through the door that he is appointed and the only door through which true salvation is found is through the humbling door of recognizing that redemption was aim for a slave like you tumbling but that's okay the truth that humbles is better than a lie that flatters and so let's look at this ever so briefly. First of all, let's consider the need for your redemption, the need for your redemption and I ask you whether you realize just how serious your prior slavery to sin was now just a little pause button here. I'm going to speak predominantly as speaking as two brothers and sisters in Christ, so that this aspect of slavery is we can rightly refer to it in a past tense sense yet. If you're not a Christian, although I'm using past tense grammar to describe these things.

What you need to understand as someone who is not in Christ is that I am describing your present condition.

This is what spiritual reality is for you if you are not in Christ. And so, because this is predominantly a Christian gathering.

I will speak is to Christians and use the past tense. But don't don't assume that if you are outside of Christ, the slavery is something that doesn't apply to you. Scripture is describing for you, your present existence. Whether you realize it or not.

So with that preliminary qualification. Let's consider the need for your redemption. Why does a man need to be redeemed. Why did you as a Christian need to be redeemed. First of all there's three aspects of this first .3 sub points for those of you that are taking notes. First of all, the reality is is that you were a slave to sin. You were a slave to sin slave in the sense that sin owned you and determine what you did. The idea of a man having a completely free will is a fabrication of a bad theologians and of people who don't want to acknowledge what Scripture says about their condition. You might be free to choose, but under the influence of sin. All you are free to choose us was how you were going to sin. You are free for righteousness because sin owned you like a slave really crucial for you to understand that you were a slave to sin. Now those who are without Christ may think that they are free, but it's a delusion it's a self-deception it's not true. It's not real. The reality according to God's word is is that they are in the grip of a spiritual power that is greater than themselves. Scripture says in John 834 everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.

Romans six. Verse 17 says you were slaves of sin in Titus three verse three. Speaking in the past tense because he's addressing Christians says we also wants were enslaved to various lusts you see in multiple places. Scripture describes those who are not in Christ as those who are in spiritual slavery and that there are in a slavery to sin there in slavery to unrighteousness. Do you understand why it is that men do not have the power to break their bad habits why it is that men don't just walk easily walk away from their drugs or their alcohol why it is that men just don't stop sinning those of been enslaved by literal physical loss to images in different matters of material that are too shameful dimension.

The reason that they can't just up and walk away from it and they keep returning like a dog to their vomit, is because they're going back to the master that owns them their slaves to sin. And that's why men can't just walk away from it. That's why those things continue to dominate their lives. You see, Scripture describes it as a fact that sin owns you when you're not a Christian you are in chains. If you're not a Christian. The odd thing I've said this in the past.

The odd thing about unsaved people when it comes to addressing their their slavery to sin is that they will protest how free they are there free from the demands of God and they can do whatever they want, so to speak, but they're not free to walk away from it. They're not free to suddenly become Christ loving people because sin owns them and and as they proclaim their what they think and perceive to be there spiritual freedom.

All they are doing is is rattling and lifting up the chains that bind them in kissing the chains that actually enslave them because Scripture says you were a slave to sin.

Everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin, and so we do. People no favors when we did redefine sin is a disease because when you have a disease you're not looking for a Redeemer.

Are you you're actually just finding an excuse for him just so sick we should think that way Scripture doesn't let us think that way. The reason that you needed a Redeemer Christian brother Christian sister. The reason you needed a Redeemer, one who could pay a price to free from slavery is because you were actually in spiritual slavery.

You were a slave to sin. Now there's another aspect of this need for redemption that Scripture points us to and it's this it's that you were a slave to the law, you are slave to the law. To the extent that men believe in God in our day and age, and I guess throughout all the ages, to the extent that unsaved men say that they believe in God. They have a twofold aspect to that first of all, they think that God's favor is earned by what they do 10. Simultaneously they think that they have been hung that that they're good enough and that therefore they are entitled to heaven, and the God owes them in response to their supposedly good behavior and they devote themselves to to rules and regulations to church traditions.

But what they find. If they would think and reflect on their situation and their condition is if they were perceptive if they were honest about it if they were mindful of the inner life that God requires because God does not look on the outer man. He looks on the heart. According to first Samuel 16 seven defined that there is a time where it flips and suddenly the rules own you and there is a slavish devotion and what I haven't kept the law. Now what do I do and so you try harder.

You give yourself over to to giving more effort to trying to be more obedient to these laws and the run though the reality of a rules-based righteousness is it is a merciless master. All it can do is condemn you for your failures. It can never offer you forgiveness. In response, and so you try harder and for those who were serious minded about it like Martin Luther just finding that the more that they tried, the more they descended into darkness, and the condemnation of their own conscience. I'm not good enough. The rules or condemning me here yeah precisely the point precisely the point is that when you are trying to earn God's favor through legal obedience. That law owns you. You can't step outside of it, or you forfeited the favor and when you break the law. The laws there to chastise you to torment you. Look what you did look what you broke. It's never good enough. Is it those of you that come out of Catholic traditions you know it's never good enough as we have to keep going back again and again and again and again to a so-called priest to offer you so-called absolution, so-called moral rules to obey in order to get your forgiveness back. That's just an awful slave master and a pointy hat lashing you again and again. Well, that's why you need redemption you need to be brought out from under that harsh taskmaster to a master who actually loves you who can help you who can forgive you, you need to be brought out from under a master that binds your conscience and ties your mind to all kinds of rules that you can never fully satisfy you need to be delivered from that need to be redeemed from that you need to be saved from that in Romans chapter 7 verse six. The apostle Paul says that salvation releases us from a rules-based righteousness and he puts it this way in Romans chapter 7 verse six he says we have been released from the law, having died to that by which we were bound true salvation is a deliverance from that conscience binding manner of approaching two God Scripture talks about another aspect of the unbeliever slavery as well.

Slavery to sin. Slavery to the law speaks also about how you were once a slave to fear, you are slave to fear, and this is a fear of of the most punishing kind in that Scripture describes that those who are afraid of death are slaves to fear. In one sense in one sense it's a right and an understandable fear. What is going to happen to you when you die, what becomes of you. We don't have anyone apart from Scripture, we don't have anyone who can tell us reliably what lies on the other side and if if your conscience is smiting you and condemning you about your failure to keep the law about your slavery to sin and you have this this sense, this ill-defined sometimes looming sense that judgment awaits me.

On the other side of death.

There are significant grounds to be afraid what's going to happen to you when you die, what becomes of you what happens to your body, what happens to your soul.

Who are you going to meet on the other side. What is that going to be like when are you going to die. How are you going to die. All of these fundamental questions that are really in one sense it's like life is a great final that is leading everyone to that one singular point because it's appointed for man to die once and after this comes judgment. All of your activity in your games and your athletics and your vacations in your careers and all of it, just windowdressing. Beloved is just a distraction to the ultimate point. The were all headed to.

There's a reason why there's no one over the age of 125 living on earth, but they all of them beforehand died.

You know what 80 9000 years from now not be any one of us left either. Because death is inevitable and the man who thinks about that. Seriously, apart from Christ is is is eventually led to a sense of fear. What is going to happen to me and there's no comfort in there is there is no comfort in this for for someone a false teacher an atheist to come and say well there's no God in all that happens after death is that you cease to exist. Well, there's something in your heart to tell you that that's not true because God Scripture says God sets eternity in our hearts we know that we live on. And if you willfully embrace a lie that you don't as a means of avoiding the issue. That's not a very smart way to lift that's pretty foolish, but if you don't have an answer to that question.

What happens to you and death. It's like you've gone back a few centuries into French society and you just place your head on a guillotine waiting for the blade to fall down and chop your head off because what's going to happen. This is inevitable is just a matter when the rope is cut for the thing to come down well.

Scripture says and speaks about Christ in Hebrews chapter 2 verse 15 it says Christ came that he might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. You know, if you're not a Christian in your thinking seriously about death you grabs hold of you and he and you can't let go because there's no answer to it. No answer. No freedom from sin, no freedom from the law is no answer to this fear of death, and that was true of each one of us before Christ stepped in and love and mercy to save us. Scripture describes beloved that entire matrix at entire complex of existence as one of slavery. Second Peter chapter 2 verse 19 says, by what a man is overcome by this he is enslaved and so Scripture uses the language of slavery to describe the condition of the unsaved man and slavery was bondage.

Slavery was being owned by someone else and slavery was a condition that you did not have the power or ability to deliver yourself from when a master owns you. You cannot simply decide for a new one. The hearts of unsaved men are not free and neither are there wills slaves had no freedom or rights of their own. They do with their masters tell them beloved the unsaved man is in a bleak condition.

Sin law death being his master cannot stop sending. He is not good enough and death is a terror to that's done green wrapping up our study for today on the truth, pulpit and friend if you'd like to hear this message again, we invite you to visit the truth. Pulpit.com that's the truth.

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There is so much about life on this earth to make us anxious, fearful and discouraged.

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