gal 03v13 Christ Hath
Redeemed Us
"CHRIST HATH REDEEMED
US!"
Galatians 3:13
The redemptive work of the Lord
Jesus Christ is the central theme of Holy Scripture, the foundation of our
faith, and our only hope of eternal salvation. This is the good news of the
gospel - "Christ hath redeemed us!" In this day of terrible religious
confusion, it is essential that we clearly define the good news of redemption
in Christ. Here are four words which set forth and help to define that blessed
work of the Lord Jesus Christ by which our souls were redeemed and our eternal
glory secured.
SOVEREIGNTY - Our Lord's act of redemption was an
act of Divine sovereignty. "He laid down his life for us." There was
nothing in us which compelled him, or moved him to redeem us. He voluntarily
laid down his life for us because it was the free and sovereign pleasure of his
love to do so. The Lord Jesus Christ was in absolute sovereign control over all
things, even in his death. He displayed his sovereignty as God in the garden,
before Pilate, and upon the cross. Christ, the sovereign God, determined that
he would die, how he would die, where he would die, when he would die, who his
murderers would be, for whom he would die, and what the results of his death
would be.
SUCCESS - Because our Redeemer is the
eternal, sovereign Son of God, we are assured that his death and his redemptive
work for the atonement of sin is a success, and not a failure. The prophecy has
been fulfilled - "He shall not fail". In stating that the Lord Jesus
Christ is a successful Savior, I am simply proclaiming that which must be a
self-evident truth - Whatever the Lord Jesus Christ intended to accomplish at
SUBSTITUTION - The Lord Jesus Christ died as a
Substitute for a particular people. And those people for whom Christ stood as a
Substitute at
SATISFACTION - Our blessed Savior's one,
substitutionary sacrifice for our sins has completely and perfectly satisfied
the wrath and justice of God against us. His sacrifice was infinitely
meritorious, so that every sinner who believes on Christ is freely justified
and fully pardoned. God, looking on the merits of his Son, pardons every sinner
who looks on his Son in faith. Through the propitiatory sacrifice of the Lord
Jesus Christ, by which the law and justice of God are satisfied, God is both
just and the justifier of all who believe (Rom.
Complete atonement Thou hast
made,
And to the utmost farthing paid
Whate'er Thy people owed;
Nor can His wrath on me take
place,
If shelter'd in Thy
righteousness.