The Glory Of God's Great Redemption

Exodus 6: God’s Covenant Promise to Redeem Israel

Please stand for the reading of God's Word. The Old Testament reading this morning is in the book of Exodus, chapter 6, verses 1 through 8, which is page 48 in your pre-bibles. But the Lord said to Moses, Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh.

For with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land. God spoke to Moses and said to him, I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them.

I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel, whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.

Say therefore to the people 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 slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.

I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.

1 Peter 1: Holy Living, Fear, and Redemption by the Blood of Christ

The New Testament reading is in 1 Peter, chapter 1, verses 13 through 21. Therefore, preparing your minds for action and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you in the revelation of Jesus Christ.

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, you shall be holy, for I am holy.

And if you call on him as father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the feudal ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

He was foreknown through the foundation of the world, but was made manifest at the last times for the sake of you, who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory so that your faith and hope are in God.

Please remain standing.

Prayer for Understanding God’s Word

Let's pray now and ask the Lord to open his word to us and to help us to understand something about what he has done on our behalf. Let's pray. God of heaven, now we come to you and we come to you, Lord, with open hands.

To receive from you this truth that you have from your word. Father, this word speaks your mind to us. It tells us of your words. It tells us of your works. And Lord, as we look at the great work of redemption today, we pray that you would impress this upon our hearts and move us, not just intellectually, but move us to love you more and to realize your love for us.

As we now precede our communion with you and with one another by your word, we pray, open it to us so that we might understand it. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. We enter our time of worship now where we listen, when we hear the voice of God speak to us in his word.

Redemption as Ransom and Substitution

And in that word, God tells us the story, his working in history to save a people. A very important part of that wonderful story is an element that we call redemption. In order for God to accomplish his purpose of saving a people for his glory, he needed to redeem them.

Redemption is a rather important part of that whole story. Without redemption, there would be no people of God. And that redemption occurred at the cross. Today, we want to take some time to understand and honor the death of the Lord Jesus as we come to this table.

And we want to worship today by considering what he accomplished by his death on the cross. And so I want us to think a little deeply about what he's accomplished on that instrument of death. First of all, understand what the word redemption means.

Let's think about that first. Understand what the word redemption means. One group of words for redemption that we find in the scriptures has the idea of ransom, a price paid for the release or freedom of someone, a price paid for the release or the freedom of someone.

So suppose you get a phone call, and on the other end, you hear a voice say, we have your daughter. And unless you produce $300 ,000 by tomorrow at five o 'clock, you'll never see him or her. $300 ,000, and she's yours, okay?

That $300 ,000 is a ransom, the price you have to pay to rescue or to produce your daughter's release, to secure her release, to buy her freedom, if you will. That's the price you have to pay to secure her freedom.

And also note that ransom is a substitute. It is given in the place of a life. If you don't pay the price, your daughter forfeits her life. It's a substitute. It's money for her life. The money takes the place of her life.

You see that, for example, in Exodus chapter 34. Exodus chapter 34, verses 19 and 20. And there you read, this is God speaking, all that opened the womb are mine. All your male livestock, the firstborn of cow and sheep, the firstborn of a donkey, you shall redeem with a lamb.

Or if you will not redeem it, you shall break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons, you shall redeem. And later on in the law, as you read further, the firstborn son was redeemed by paying a price at the tabernacle or at the temple.

But what I want you to see here is that that redemption, the sheep for the donkey, right? That was the ransom to be paid for that donkey's life. If you don't pay the ransom, the donkey loses his life, right?

So that's a substitute payment there. So to redeem then means paying a price to bring about the release or freedom of someone, okay? A ransom. Now there's, so Jesus in Mark chapter 10, verse 45 says, for even the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a what?

A ransom for many, a payment for freedom for many, okay? I came to serve. Here's how I'm going to serve. I'm going to pay the ransom for you. I'm going to pay the price that will free you, all right? Now another group of words for redemption also has the idea of purchasing or buying.

Redemption always has to do with purchasing, buying, okay? But instead of buying someone's freedom, you buy his life and service. The redeemed are slaves because they're bought with a price. You see, believers are not bought by Christ to live a life of selfish ease.

Your freedom is not, Jesus didn't buy you by his death in order for you to be free to live any way you want to live and to live a life of selfish ease. Rather, since you've been bought by God at a terrible cost, you have become God's slaves to do his will.

So imagine that you're a slave, beaten and bruised, living a life of incredible misery under this cruel, heartless master. But one day your master loads you up in a cart, carts you across the county, and takes you to someone else, and he says, I sold you to that guy.

He's your master now, okay? This guy bought you, now you belong to him. But what you find instead of beatings and cruelty is a life of sweet slavery under this new master. And you gladly render to him your obedience.

That image fleshes out our understanding then of redemption. Redemption is not just a ransom paid for your freedom, it's a price paid for your life and service as well. And so in 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verses 19 and 20, if you want to go there, 1 Corinthians 6, 19 and 20, the apostle Paul is making an argument there about how we need to guard our sexuality, that we don't use it willy-nilly, and he concludes the argument by saying this, you are not your own, you were bought with a price.

Therefore, honor God with your body. So you see, the ransom was paid, right? So you've been bought, but you've been bought to serve God. Therefore, honor God with your body. Notice what he says, you are not your own, you were bought at a price.

The price, the price that Jesus, the redemption that Jesus accomplished was buying you to serve him. But again, it's a life of sweet slavery. So you're not only free because of what Jesus did, but he also bought you for the purpose of serving him.

So that's what redemption is, right? A substitute payment in order to free you, but to bring you into service to God. That is what redemption is, the idea of purchasing, buying, you belong, you are owned, okay?

Redemption from the Present Evil Age

Now, we need to understand what Jesus accomplished with this redemption. If he's the redemption price, what did it accomplish for us? And here, I wanna look at four instances where the Bible tells us what that purchase did, okay?

We wanna look at just four instances. There's many, many, many more we could look at, but let's just look at four. Here's the first found in Galatians chapter one. Galatians chapter one, beginning in verse three, grace to you and peace from God, our father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and father, to whom be the glory forever and ever, amen.

Now, the word is not used here, but the concept is here, the idea that Jesus Christ gave himself up in order to deliver you from this present evil age. So by the cross, Jesus gave us independence in a world demanding conformity.

Jesus bought, by his death on the cross, Jesus actually bought you, purchased you, and gave you independence in a world demanding conformity. Now look, two ages exist. I should say maybe independence in an age demanding conformity.

He's given us independence in an age that demands conformity. There are two ages that exist right now, do you know that? We were born in the age introduced by Adam, the age of sin and death, but then Jesus came and he inaugurated the age to come, right?

We are now living like straddling two ages, we are in both. We live in the age of sin and death, we're still in contact with it, but we belong to the age yet to come. It's intruded, it has now arrived, and so we are part of the age to come.

Jesus brought it and inaugurated it, so we live in two ages, if you will. And so right now, even though you've been transferred into this kingdom, you're still in contact with this one. Now since Adam, we've all lived in this present evil age, as Paul calls it, this present evil age, a world characterized and dominated by sin, demanding your conformity to its dictates.

Jesus came to rescue us from the ideas and the influences and the manner of life that characterized that old age. We now have the ability to think differently, to act differently, to love differently, because Jesus has freed us from the conforming power of the age that Adam introduced.

You see that? So for example, here's someone who was terribly abused as a child, and this present age says to her, right, bitterness is fine, you ought to be bitter, and you ought never to forgive, and if you can, get revenge.

But Jesus has freed that person so that now she can think differently, and she can think God was at work in all of that, and I can forgive, and I don't have to be bitter, and it doesn't have to form me.

I can live and act and love differently because I have been freed from the conforming power of this wicked evil age. He has delivered us, if you will, from the present evil age. I'm no longer a pawn, I'm no longer conformed to it, I can be different.

And so by the cross, Jesus gave us independence in an age demanding conformity. Turn over to Romans chapter three. Romans chapter three. Follow along as I read verses 21 through 24. Listen carefully to what God says here.

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it. The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe, for there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

All right, here's the second thing I want you to see. By the cross, Jesus freed us from our guilt. Jesus has freed us from our guilt. All of us are guilty. We've been tried before the law of God and declared guilty.

God says, do this, do this, do this, don't do these things. And we all stand guilty before the law. We are all guilty. Now, when he talks about guilt here, we're not talking about a feeling, all right?

Automatically, you know, all of us are Freudian. You know that? Sigmund Freud, the great, the psychologist from a long bygone era, has just had an incredible influence on our culture and making us think that when you hear the word guilt, what do you automatically think of?

Feelings. We're not talking about feelings here. Can you be guilty of something and not feel a bit, not feel different? Yeah, right. Can you not be guilty of something and feel terrible? Yeah. But guilt is an objective fact.

Guilt means liability to punishment. No matter what you feel like, either you're guilty or you're not guilty. Either you stand condemned by the law or you stand acquitted before the law. But guilt is an objective fact.

And here, he's talking about the fact that all of us are guilty. He's just made that point in verses 10 through 20. Everyone stands guilty before God. There's no one righteous. All are guilty. But it says in verse 24 what?

And we are justified by his grace as a gift. God justifies us freely. Now, what does the word justify mean? The word justified means declared by the judge free of guilt, not guilty. You are not guilty.

You are righteous before the demands of the law, as if you had kept the law and there is no guilt. Justified. You're declared righteous. And notice it's done by grace as a gift. It's done freely. There is nothing that you have done for God to declare to you the law has no claim on you.

You are not guilty. Therefore, you are not liable to any punishment at all. That's what justification means, and he does it freely. There isn't anything you've done. You haven't obeyed. You have not obeyed.

In fact, he's made the point. You're. And so we get it. Verse 22. This righteousness comes from God to you by faith. That declaration that you're righteous comes by faith. But how can God, who is a perfect judge, who cannot overlook any sin, how can he declare sinners not liable to punishment?

How can he proclaim them not guilty because of the redemption? Verse 24. Note that we are justified freely by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. He can only do it through the redemption that came by Christ.

He was publicly displayed by God as an atonement for sin, the payment for sin. And in that payment, he redeemed us from our guilt. Not from those feelings now. He redeemed us from that objective reality.

You're liable to punishment. He redeemed us from our guilt. Therefore, because we have been redeemed from our guilt, purchased from our guilt, God can freely justify. He can declare righteous all those who have thus been purchased by God and released from their guilt.

And so we have been redeemed from the guilt of our sin. The ransom, the payment that was made, redeems us, buys us out of our guilt. Now look at 1 Peter chapter 1. 1 Peter chapter 1. We heard this already this morning.

Note this great redemption in 1 Peter chapter 1 verses 18 and 19. First, well, let's pick it up at the beginning of the sentence. Verse 17, and if you call on him as father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing I had to conduct myself with fear.

Why? Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

By the cross, Jesus redeemed you from an empty life, from a futile life. He redeemed you from that empty life. Do you ever notice that you're just like your parents? I know I'm never going to be like my dad, you said to yourself.

I'm never going to be like your mom, you said to yourself. And yet, you're just like them. Right? My aunts and uncles, I've been told by my aunts and uncles that I'm a lot like my dad. They say I walk like him, I laugh like him, and when I get mad, when I get angry, I get quiet like him.

You know? It's one of the things that stands out. My dad would get, when he got mad, he got quiet. Right? I used to hate it. Dad would be quiet. We'd know, uh-oh, something's wrong. Dad's really quiet.

And then my sister would say something like, is there something wrong? And of course, that would just uncork my dad. And then we knew there was really something wrong. But be that as it may, you knew my sister, you understand what I'm saying.

Now, I'm like my dad. Right? It seems like you turn out like your parents. Okay? Well, that's also true when it comes to how we live, except that we've inherited a sinful, empty life, a way of life, a way of living from our parents.

Just like those physical characteristics, that empty life, that futile way of living, that meaningless, futile way of living has been given to us. It's automatically ingrained in us. And the world looks around and says, if your father was abusive and distanced, chances are you will be the same.

And if your mother was an alcoholic, you'll probably be the same. You are a prisoner of your past. That's what our world tells us, doesn't it? You're a prisoner of your past. If that's the way you grew up, you're destined to be the same way.

But because Jesus died, he frees us from the unbreakable grip of the past. He frees us from the futile way of life that we received. He can break the determining nature of the past. And you have a real basis for hope that you can live differently.

Why? Because Jesus died on the cross and redeemed you, bought you out of those empty, futile ways. You're no longer determinative. They no longer determine how you are because of the death of Jesus. He redeemed us from an empty life.

Redemption Secured, Not Merely Made Possible

Now, here's the fourth one and the last one, found in Revelation chapter five. Let's turn to Revelation five now. This is one of the pivotal chapters in the Bible when it comes to redemption. Revelation five, verse nine, and they sang, and they sang a new song saying, worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals for you were slain.

And by your blood, you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation have made them a kingdom and priests to our God. And they shall reign on the earth. By the cross, Jesus redeemed you for eternal joy and service.

He redeemed you for eternal joy and service. Now, if you remember in this chapter, there is this great of all creatures in heaven and earth and all these special creatures and so forth around the throne.

And a question comes, who is worthy to take this sealed scroll? The sealed scroll with the purposes of God. Who is worthy to take that sealed scroll? And the answer becomes evident. The only one who is worthy to take the scroll, verse nine, is this lamb who was slain.

The creatures and the elders proclaim that the lamb is worthy to take the slain. But note, it's not because as we see earlier in the chapter, it's not because he's the Lion of Judah. It's not because of his messianic credentials.

It's not because of all those things that he's worthy to take the scroll. No, he is worthy to take the scroll because of his death. As you read through the chapter, you see all about the power, the power of this person.

But the one who takes the scroll takes it not because of his power, but because of his death. Because by his death, he purchased a people for God. Notice, look at verse five. And one of the elders said to me, weep no more.

Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals. Now notice, he is worthy to take it because of his triumph. But verse nine tells us his triumph comes in the weakest point of his existence, in his death.

His triumph is his death. Why is that? Because in his death, he purchased a people for God. Jesus' death is a triumph because he purchased people for God. That's where the power was. Jesus, by dying, now note, and this is important, and here's where you want to listen carefully.

Jesus, by dying, did not make your salvation possible. He did not make it a possibility just so then he'd have to wait until you made a decision. No, no, he actually secured your salvation. He didn't make your salvation possible.

He guaranteed it by this death. Now, when you go to the store and you purchase your items, are they yours or not? Are they yours? When you put that stuff, and the Walmart lady or guy checks it all through, and you take your card and you run it through, or no, now you stick it in, you stick the chip in, after that's done, it's yours.

It doesn't belong to the store, and it didn't make it possible for you to take. It's yours. It belongs to you. It doesn't belong to the store. It belongs to you. Jesus actually bought you at the moment in history when he died.

He bought the people of God. Listen to me. You put your faith in Jesus when you did because he'd already purchased you back there. The reason why you believe in Jesus is because he bought you at the cross.

The very reason for your faith is because of what he accomplished at the cross. Now, those of you who've been with us for a long time, you know the great acrostic, TULIP, T-U-L-I-P, right? We say we're Calvinists because we hold to TULIP, total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, perseverance of the saints, TULIP.

The L, limited atonement, is what we're talking about here. Now, I don't like that term, limited atonement. It makes it sound like the atonement isn't very big. What we mean by that is particular atonement.

Jesus died for a particular people. When he died for them, he secured for them their salvation. He didn't make salvation possible. He actually secured it. There is no doubt that those who belong to Jesus are secure because he died for them.

He bought them. He purchased them. Now, also you will see here that that purchase is, in a sense, universal in scope. Jesus' purchase of people was not limited to a particular nation or race. Now, in the Old Testament, under the Old Covenant, God's redemptive work was limited to the people of Israel.

He purchased. He redeemed. As we saw in Exodus 6, he redeemed this group of people, right? But now, that redemption reaches to every tribe and nation and tongue. Now, listen. Some may say, well, if you believe that Jesus only died for those that belong to him, then what about the gospel going out as missionaries?

It's the very heart of it. You know why? You can go to Azerbaijan, a Muslim country, and you can know that someone is going to respond to the gospel there. How do you know that? Because Jesus has purchased a people from every tongue, tribe, and nation.

That's why. It gives you the very confidence you need for the gospel. His people are out there. All we have to do is find them. How do you find them? You share the gospel. And those who believe, there they are.

You see? You see, Jesus purchased people from every tribe and every tongue and every nation. That's marvelous, isn't it? This is the power of Jesus' death. By actually buying, purchasing, ransoming, redeeming a people, he did it, right?

When you look at Jesus' death, let me ask you something. Is Jesus' death, is Jesus a failure? I mean, let's face it. Most people don't believe, right? I guess he must be a failure. No! Why not? Why not?

Because he purchased a people, and he will get every one of them and lose none of them. You see, Jesus is not a failure. Jesus accomplished. When he died on the cross, he accomplished, secured salvation because he redeemed, he ransomed a people for God.

That's why you can have confidence in him. Remember, in John chapter 6, what did Jesus say? All that the father gives me will come, and I will lose none of them. Notice this as well. Those whom Jesus redeemed have been made into a kingdom.

Verse 10, and you've made them a kingdom. You know, normally to become a citizen of this country, not normally, and if you want to become a citizen of this country and you've been born somewhere else, you have to take classes.

You need to learn the language. You need to pass a test. What has to happen for you to become part of the kingdom? Jesus has to purchase you. That's what. Jesus has to purchase you. And those whom Jesus redeemed have been made into a priesthood.

Now, in the Old Testament, you remember, in order to be a priest, you had to belong to the tribe of Levi, right? And you had to belong to a particular family in the tribe of Levi, and there could be no physical defects of any kind in order for you to be a priest.

What has to happen for you to become part of this glorious priesthood? Jesus has to shed his blood for you. That's what has to happen. Those whom Jesus have redeemed have been made into a choir, verses 12 and 13, right?

Notice what it says there. Worthy is the lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing and heard every creature in heaven on earth and under the earth and in the and in the sea and all that is in them saying to him who sits on the throne and to the lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever.

I love to sing. I love to sing, especially in worship. I hope you like to sing, too. You should. It's the way we're going to praise God forever. We ought to be doing it now. We love to sing to praise God.

Now, when I was in college, I wanted to become part of a group called the Choral Heirs. In order to become part of that group, I had to do what? I had to audition. And I remember going into that room, and I remember giving the piano player a piece of music, and I had to sing for Dr. Anderson.

And then he gave me a piece of music to see if I could sing, right? To see if I could read music. I was good enough to fool him on that one. But the point is, you had to prove yourself to get into the Choral Heirs.

What kind of audition do you have to do to get into this choir? There isn't any. There's none. The only requirement for you to get into this choir is the blood of Jesus. And all who've been redeemed by Him will be singing in that choir.

And so we come to this table, and this table proclaims to you again the death of Christ. But as you come to this table, no one, don't just think about the death of Jesus, the proclaiming the death of Jesus.

Think of it this way. You're proclaiming the power of the death of Jesus. He died a powerful death, a death that conquered, a death that bought and ransomed and redeemed a people for God, that secured for us, for them, this great salvation.

As you participate this morning, remember that Jesus redeemed a people. If you have entrusted yourself to Jesus, then you have been redeemed. Rejoice in the great redemption that Jesus has accomplished on your behalf.

Father, thank you for the death of Jesus, which is so powerful, a conquering death that conquers our fallen humanity, that conquers, that destroys all the strongholds of rebellion that we have against you, a death that knocks down all the walls of our fortresses, a death that conquers our hearts and makes them willing to trust this one who died.

God, help us today to rejoice in this powerful, marvelous death of our Savior. Thank you, in Jesus' name, amen.