The Redemption of Humankind

Redemption of humankind was the plan and initiative of God. Jesus is our High Priest who has redeemed us once and for all with His precious blood. The atonement of Christ replaces the sacrifice system of the Jewish tradition. The Jews were instructed to offer blood sacrifices to the Lord as an atonement for their sins (Leviticus 17:11).

1. The nature of the atonement
- Blood was required as atonement for sin because blood symbolizes life.
- The OT concept of animal blood was just a temporary atonement. Every time, you sin you need to sacrifice an animal and offer its blood as an atonement.
- Whereas, the blood of Jesus was an eternal atonement. It has paid the price of sin once and for all (Heb 10:10; 7:27).
- The blood of animal does not have a permanent effect but the blood of Christ has the permanent effect. That means the redemptive sacrifice of Christ is eternal in nature and we don’t need to do anything else to be saved from our sin. No more sacrifices are needed (no need of blood; or any other forms of sacrifices needed – balding of heads, fasting, paying of penance – self inflicted injuries/suffering for our sins.)
- All that is required of us to be saved is to repent and belief (John 3:16)

2. The purpose of our redemption
- God had His purpose and plans placed before us in everything. Likewise in His redemptive plan for humankind He has a special purpose. Vs. 14 – tells us the purpose of our redemption is to serve the Lord. Many of us receive this free gift of redemption / salvation and walk away with it. But, is that the purpose why the Lord saved us? Was it for me to enjoy with my family and loved ones. NO- it is simply more than that. We are saved with a purpose to serve God. How do we serve God.
i – by worshipping Him
ii – by serving one another – come and serve Him thru your Church ministries – we have many area on which we need volunteers. Drive van, teach church school, prayer ministry, visiting ministry, etc…. – we are saved so that we may serve Him.
- It is a call for all of us to serve God.

3. The reward of our redemption
- What do I get through this redemption? Vs. 15 – an eternal inheritance. I have the hope of eternity through the work of Christ. Since we have obtained "eternal redemption" (v. 12) through the death of our Mediator and the "eternal [Holy] Spirit" (v. 14), we can have hope in an "eternal inheritance." In contrast, believers under the Old Covenant enjoyed mainly temporary blessings. The New Testament revelation concerning the inheritance that believers can merit by faithful perseverance in the faith and good works is extensive. Some passages indicate that it involves participation in the wedding banquet at the beginning of the messianic kingdom (e.g., Matt. 25:1-13; et al.). Others present it as involving a specially honorable resurrection (Luke 20:35; Phil. 3:10-14). Still other passages speak of it as reigning with Christ (Matt. 19:27-28; Luke 19:17-19; 22:28-30; Rom.8:17-21) or as treasure in heaven (Matt. 6:19-21, 29; 19:21; Luke 12:32-
33; 1 Tim. 6:17-19). It also involves receiving praise and honor from Jesus
Christ and the Father (Matt. 6:1, 5, 16; 25:21; John 12:26; 1 Cor. 4:5; 1
Pet. 1:6-7; 2 Pet. 1:10-11). These honors are sometimes spoken of as
crowns (Phil. 4:1; 1 Cor. 9:24-27; 1 Thess. 2:19; 2 Tim. 4:6-8; James 1:12;
1 Pet. 5:1-4; Rev. 2:10; 4:9-10).

Conclusion:-
Our redemption was the initiative of God which was fulfilled and completed in Christ Jesus. All that we need to do is to believe in Christ and be saved.