Great Doctrines of the Bible
Special English Version

Lesson 13
REDEMPTION
(Set free by the price Christ paid)

INTRODUCTION
This is a great teaching of the Bible. The meaning of this word is “set free by the payment of a price.” You and I can be free from the law of sin. We can be free from the power and the control of Satan. We can be free from the power of sin. We can be free from the curse of the law of Moses. This law no longer binds us. We become free by believing in the blood of Jesus Christ that he shed on the cross. The power of the Holy Spirit helps us to be free.
The reason for this lesson is to teach you the exact meaning of this doctrine of regeneration. When you know what the Bible says about the doctrine you will be able to enjoy this freedom.

IMPORTANCE OF THIS LESSON

• This doctrine is a very important part of the great salvation Christ has given us.
• The believer must understand this doctrine with his mind and it must be true in the way the believer lives.
• His freedom is his position in Christ. He must practice this position in the way he lives.
• This lesson is important because we must know what it means to be free, before we can understand what it means when we say, “God saved us.”

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THE LESSON

I. REDEMPTION IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

1. God showed Himself to Israel as their “GOEL”, which means “a member of the extended family who buys back something that belonged to the family before”.
   1. Exodus 6:6-7 (Read this verse carefully.)
      1. Note that God takes Israel to Himself as HIS family. In this way God acts as the member of the family who buys them back.
      2. Note two things here:
         1. God bought Israel back from slavery in Egypt. He did this by bringing judgments on Egypt.
         2. In this way God brought Israel back to Himself.
   2. Isaiah 59:20--the Redeemer (GOEL) will come out of Zion
      1. We will see that the “GOEL” is a beautiful picture of Christ.
      2. Leviticus 25:25,48--talks about buying people back. It had to do with what belonged to them by birth.
         How did this work? Under the law every seventh year was a year of rest. If an Israelite had borrowed money and he could not pay it back when the year of rest came, then a family member could pay it for him. This set him free from the debt. If an Israelite had sold his property and could not buy it back, a family member could buy it back for him in the year of rest. If an Israelite became so poor that he sold himself as a slave, his “GOEL” could pay the price for a slave in the year of rest and set him free again.
   3. Keep in mind four things about this act of buying back.
      1. It was always about a person or his land (Leviticus 25:25-27).
      2. A relative must be the one to buy back (Leviticus 25:47-49).
      3. The buyer must be able to pay the price (Ruth 4:4-6; Jeremiah 50:34).
      4. When the “GOEL” pays the full price the matter is complete (Leviticus 25:27).
2. The book of Ruth gives a beautiful example of this doctrine.
   1. Ruth was the widow of Mahlon. The property of her late husband belonged to her. Naomi had sold the property and was not able to buy it back. Ruth was also poor and could not buy it back.
   2. Boaz belonged to their extended family (Ruth 3:9).
   3. Ruth knew that according to the law, it was the responsibility of Boaz to buy back her property. As a “GOEL”, Boaz could marry Ruth and have children with her (Ruth 3:11).
   4. Boaz was able to pay the debt and he was willing to do it (Ruth 4:3-6)
   5. Boaz paid the price and Ruth became his wife (Ruth 4:10-13).
3. All of this was a picture of Christ as the One who bought us back.
   1. To make the picture come true, Christ had to become a part of our human family.
      1. Hebrews 2:14-15 – Christ becomes one of us so that he can set us free. He became our “GOEL”.
      2. Galatians 4:4-5 – a woman gave birth to him under the Jewish law. This happened so he could buy with His blood and make free all those who were held by the Jewish Law.
   2. To make this picture come true, Christ had to buy back people and whatever belonged to them by birth.
      1. Galatians 4:5 - God took us into His family as His children. The verses around verse 5 show us that Christ is the one who bought us. We are not under a teacher any more. We are now the full-grown sons of God. God will give us what now belongs to us by the new birth.
      2. Ephesians 1:11,14 – Christ gives to us that which belongs to us by the new birth (verse 11). He gives the believer the Holy Spirit as a promise that we will receive everything God has for us. We will certainly receive what is ours by the new birth.
   3. To make this picture come true, Christ had to be able and willing to buy us.
      1. John 10:17-18 – no man could take His life from Him.
         Jesus chose to die for us by His own free will.
      2. Matthew 20:28 – Christ came to give His life, to buy back many people.
      3. Hebrews 7:25 – Jesus is able, now and forever, to save everyone who comes to God through Him.
   4. To make this picture of a “GOEL” come true, Christ had to pay the price in full.
      1. Galatians 1:4 – He gave Himself for our sins to set us free from this present evil world.
      2. 2 Corinthians 5:21 – He became sin for us.
      3. 1 Peter 1:18-19 – You were bought and set free by the blood of Christ.
      4. Galatians 3:13 – Christ was condemned for us to buy us back and set us free from the curse of the law.
4. A short outline: The Old Testament teaching about “buying something back”
   1. God is Israel’s “GOEL”. He is their family member who buys them back and sets them free.
   2. The book of Ruth is an example of this. In this book Boaz buys Ruth back.
   3. The “GOEL” is a perfect picture of Christ. Christ bought us with His blood and set us free.
   4. The way we should look at the doctrine of Redemption:
      1. The “buying back was done through a person. God chose Moses as Israel’s deliverer (Exodus 3:10). God chose Christ as our Deliverer (Galatians 4:4-5; John 3:16-17).
      2. It was all done by God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son (Compare Exodus 3:7-8 with Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:17-19).
      3. The blood of Christ obtained it for us. (Compare Exodus 12:13 with Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:18-19.)
      4. It was done by the power of God. (Compare Exodus 13:14: 14:24-31 with Romans 8:2; Ephesians 1:18-19.)
         • The blood of Christ buys the believer and sets him free. It frees him from the guilt and punishment of sin (Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:18-19). This happens through the power of the Holy Spirit. He makes it come true in the life of the believer. The foundation for all of this is the work of Christ on the cross (Romans 8:2; Galatians 5:16).

II. REDEMPTION IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
The New Testament was written in the Greek language. The Greek language uses three words that teach the doctrine of “buying back and setting free”.

1. The first word is “agorazo”.
   1. This word comes from the word “agora” which means “the market place”. (Note Matthew 14:15 – Let them go to the market to buy food.)
   2. “Agorazo” really means to buy in the market place” This market was a place where people were bought as property. It was a “slave market place”.
   3. The Bible says that every person is a “slave of sin” (John 8:34; Romans 6:16; 7:14). The Bible looks at every person as one who is condemned to die (Romans 6:16-23; 5:12; Ezekiel 18:20).
   4. The Bible says, Jesus came down into the “slave market” of this world. He “bought” the believer (1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23; Revelation 5:9; Acts 20:28).
   5. Every person is “for sale”. Someone may buy him back.
   6. Christ wanted to pay the price. He was able to do it. Christ paid the price, which was His blood and death on the cross (Galatians 1:4). He gave Himself to die for our sins. He did this so we could be saved from this sinful world. Acts 20:28 says that Jesus bought the church with His own blood.
   7. “Agorazo” means to pay the price to buy something back out of the market place. This word not only talks about the paying the price, it also talks about the PRICE Christ paid for the believer.
2. The second word the Bible uses is “exagorzo”.
   1. “Exagorazo” means to buy some thing in the market place and to take it out of the market place.
   2. The word “ex” means “out of.” In the case of a slave, it means to buy him and to set him free.
      Illustrations:
      1. Galatians 3:13 – This verse says that Christ bought us out from the curse of the law. He took the punishment for us.
      2. Galatians 4:5 – It says that Christ bought every one who was in the prison of the Jewish law and set them free. He did this so that He could make us His sons and put us into His family.
      3. “Exagorazo” means to buy something out of the market so that nobody can sell it again. The sale is complete. Nobody can put the punishment of the law on the believer again. Nobody can buy the believer again. Christ bought him. He paid the price. Christ took him away from the place of punishment.
      4. The letters “ex” talk about paying the price, and taking the thing that is bought out of the market so nobody can sell it again.
3. The third word used in the New Testament is “lutroo”.
   1. This word means “to set free by paying a price” or it means “to set free when the price is paid”.
      Illustrations:
      1. Titus 2:14 –Christ bought us and set us free from all sin.
         Here we are set free from our sinful wills that always want to satisfy the self.
      2. 1 Peter 1:18 – You did not buy freedom by paying gold or silver. The way of life that your fathers gave you did not set you free. It was an empty life that was worth nothing. This way of life did not set you free from the punishment of sin. Here we see that the believer is bought out of the prison of an empty life-- a life of sinful beliefs.
   2. A word that has a meaning close to “lutroo” is “lutron.” This word means “to pay the price” or “to make loose”. This word is often used as the price that is paid for a human being when he is set free.
      Illustrations:
      1. 1 Timothy 2:6 –He gave His life for all men so they could go free. So the power of sin would not hold them down.
      2. Mark 10:45 and Matthew 20:28 – He came to give His life to set many people free.
   3. Christ gave HIMSELF as the PRICE to buy us back out and to set us free from:
      1. The curse of the law (Galatians 3:13).
      2. The control and power of sin and death (Romans 8:2).
      3. The power and control of Satan (Hebrews 2:14).
      4. From being slaves to the world (Galatians 1:4).
4. A short word on the doctrine of Redemption in the New Testament.
1. The Bible says that all people are under the control of a different power (Romans 7:14; John 8:34)
2. Christ came into the slave market of this world. All people are in this market as slaves. Anybody could pay the required price to buy a slave.
3. Christ paid that price (1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23).
4. Christ bought us “out of” the slave market. He will never allow anyone to sell the believer again. Christ paid the complete price. This is the end.
5. Christ paid the price to buy us back (Mark 10:45). He set us free from the law, from sin, from Satan, from our sinful will, and from the sins the people in this world do.
5. A word of advice.
   As you think about this lesson, be happy about the freedom God has given you. You can be happy even if you don’t understand all of it. Live your life like a free person. Remember you have to practice this doctrine in your life. They are not just empty words to fill your head. Let the unbelievers know that Christ bought you and set you free. Let them know this by the life of freedom that you can live.

Examination

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