Redeemed

re·deem   /rɪˈdim/ Show Spelled[ri-deem]
–verb (used with object)

1.to buy or pay off; clear by payment: to redeem a mortgage.
2.to buy back, as after a tax sale or a mortgage foreclosure.
3.to recover (something pledged or mortgaged) by payment or other satisfaction: to redeem a pawned watch.
4.to exchange (bonds, trading stamps, etc.) for money or goods.
5.to convert (paper money) into specie.
6.to discharge or fulfill (a pledge, promise, etc.).
7.to make up for; make amends for; offset (some fault, shortcoming, etc.): His bravery redeemed his youthful idleness.
8.to obtain the release or restoration of, as from captivity, by paying a ransom.
9.Theology. to deliver from sin and its consequences by means of a sacrifice offered for the sinner.

As we come closer to Resurrection Sunday, I have been reflecting on the work on the cross and what that exactly means.

"For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit" 1 Peter 3:18

"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53: 5-6

If you remember back when God told the children of Israel to build an altar for the Lord and to make sacrifices for their sins, you'll see that this was an act of mercy. Using a sacrificial lamb or bull, the priests would be able to offer them to God to cleanse them of their wrong-doing. Only the priests would be able to go into the Holy of Holies to make this sacrifice, lest they die being fallen in the presence of a Holy God. When Jesus offered up Himself, once and for all, for the sins of the world, He made it possible for us to be able to enter the Holy of Holies, so to speak, and become righteous, through His sin-less and righteous life.

We belong to Jesus and when we sin, we take ourselves away from Him and His presence. But when He died for us, He redeemed us. He 'bought' us back by the shedding of His blood. We are held ransom by our sin, we are held captive, but the work on the cross by God Himself, releases us from our shackles. We are set free from the power of sin and death. Praise God He had/has a plan. He did all the work and we have been redeemed!