The True Meaning of Redemption

By Bud Hancock

When a person receives Jesus as his Saviour and Lord, he or she will often refer to
himself as “saved”. Thus, being “saved” has become one of the basic tenets of becoming a
Christian, and it is absolutely true. It has become the basis upon which most Christians
express their hope of “going to heaven” after death. But is there a deeper meaning to that
amazing experience? After all, we are born into this world, and we live here all of our
physical lives. For some that means a period of time lasting upwards of 80-100 years.
Surely our lives on this planet should be more than the hope of living eternally in
heaven, and I am not denigrating the value of our eternal existence with God in heaven.
But should we not dig deeper to understand just what we are “saved/redeemed” from,
here in this life, and how the redemption experience can, and should make a difference
in how we live while we are here?

Let’s look at the dictionary definition of the words “redeem” and “redemption”. Per the
American Heritage Dictionary:

Redeem: a transitive* verb, meaning to recover ownership of by paying a specified sum.
(* transitive indicates a “shift” from one state, subject, place, etc. to another. This is
important to remember as we delve deeper into our redemption).
Redemption: noun; the act, process, or an instance of redeeming; the payment of an
obligation, deliverance upon payment of ransom; rescue.

So we can see that redemption involves being rescued from a state, likely a perilous one
to a state of safety. It also involves a person being shifted (transitioned) from one state
(lost) to another state (saved), and being “recovered” from a perilous position to one of
peace and security. The act of redemption always involves paying a price for the rescue,
the shift and the recovery. The benefactor of redemption is the one redeemed, rescued
and saved. The act is always initiated and completed by another entity, known as the
redeemer. After the redemption, the rescue, the saving, the person or object redeemed
becomes the property of the redeemer, just as an object bought back from a pawn shop
becomes then, the property of the person paying the specified price of redemption.
Now that we have the basics of redemption, let’s look closer at the details, those that
enhance the overall value of the redemption.

Paul stated, “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is
written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in
the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God,
it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: The man that doeth
them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made
a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing
of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the
promise of the Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:10-14).

So, based on the words of Paul to the Galatians, we are redeemed from the curse of the
law; but why would we need that redemption? Because one cannot live, successfully or
joyfully, in blessings and curses at the same time. The redemption from the curses
pronounced in the law make it possible for the blessing of Abraham to “come on us”. In
order to understand just how awesome these statements are, read the blessings
associated with obedience to the law; then read the curses associated with disobedience.
The blessings are found in Deuteronomy 28:2-14, and the curses are listed in
Deuteronomy 28:15-68. The act of redemption was meant to place us where we can have
and enjoy every blessing that God has for us and live as He originally planned for Adam
and Eve to live.

The words of blessing and cursing given to Moses by God indicate that no part of a man’s
life will be left unaffected, either in blessing or in cursing. To even consider having to
live for many years under such conditions as were pronounced in the list of curses in
Deuteronomy 28:15-68, would drive many to utter madness and insanity. But to be given
the ability to live under the blessings listed in Deut. 28:2-14 would bring the fulness of
joy. The Israelites to whom these blessings and curses were given the choice, faced a
decision to obey God and be blessed, or to disobey and be cursed.

Now just how is this information relevant when considering what it really means to “be
saved”?

Let’s go to Paul’s words in Romans 10:6-10,
But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who
shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend
into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word
is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we
preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine
heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be SAVED. For with the heart
man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Let’s look closer at the word translated “saved” in the 9th verse, and “salvation” in the 10th
verse. The word saved is the English translation of the Greek word “sozo” (Strong’s 4982,
pronounced “sode’-zo”). It has multiple meanings as used in the Bible, e.g., safe, deliver,
protect, heal, preserve, be or make whole.

The word “salvation” in verse 10 is the translation into English from the Greek word,
“soteria” (Strong’s 4990, pronounced “so-tay-ree’-ah”); it also has various meanings, e.g.,
rescue, safety, deliver, health, salvation, save and saving. So, using these definitions
from Strong’s as a guide, verses 9 and 10 could easily be read thus:

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart
that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be SAFE, SAVED, DELIVERED,
HEALED, PRESERVED AND MADE WHOLE. For with the heart man believeth unto
SALVATION, and with the mouth confession is made unto safety, deliverance, health
and saving.

It is interesting to note that the base for the word salvation (soteria), is from the Greek
word soter (Strong’s 4990, pronounced “so-tare’”), meaning a deliverer, i.e., God or His
Christ. Even more amazing is that the word soter itself is a derivative of the word sozo
mentioned several paragraphs back, the word meaning “saved” in Romans 10:9. These
definitions of the words used by the King James translators provide much information
and shed much light on the true meaning of redemption. What they are saying is that
you CANNOT separate true redemption, salvation, or being saved, from God and His Son.
Everything that God IS and everything that He and His Son HAVE DONE, is the basis for
being redeemed. So, in a few words, being redeemed means having access to all that God
has offered, in His mercy and His Grace, to all that will come to God and “believe that He
IS, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).
Being “saved” encompasses so much more than simply a belief that, after death, one who
is “saved” goes to heaven. Let’s look a little closer at that “much more”.
Saved, Healed, Delivered, Set Free, Made WholeSaved: What exactly are we saved from? Does the act of being saved apply only to our escaping eternity in hell? Or does it also apply to being saved from the dangers here on
Earth in this life? The Bible speaks of King David being saved from a lion and a bear that
were trying to destroy the flock of sheep he was keeping. Ordinarily, a mere human,
especially a youth as David was, would have some great difficulty killing a lion or a bear,
but it is obvious that God gave David the supernatural strength to kill them both, thus
saving him from certain death. He also was saved from King Saul who, in his jealous
wrath, tried to kill David on several occasions. But does that apply to us as mere
Christians? Could we, or should we, expect to receive God’s protection in such situations,
thus “saving” us from danger? Being saved means we are saved from anything that
might try to destroy us.

Healed: Healing is a touchy subject for many Christians who somehow believe that
supernatural, miraculous healing is no longer a gift that is available to us. When being
attacked by sickness and/or disease, with the human body wracked by pain and
suffering, it can be a huge battle to exercise the faith needed to receive healing. But we
are told in Isaiah 53:1-5 that because Jesus allowed Himself to be beaten and tortured far
beyond what any other human being has ever suffered, by those stripes He took we ARE
healed. And again in 1 Peter 2:24, we read, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own
body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose
stripes ye WERE healed.

Notice the past tense in the previous sentence; so if we WERE healed when Jesus was
beaten, why do we still become sick and suffer the agonies disease? Go back a few
paragraphs and read again the words of Paul in Romans 10:9-10 where he says that “the
word of FAITH must be in your hearty and in your mouth. Opening the mouth to allow
the word of faith to do battle against the word of fear, will cause one’s faith to win the
battle against sickness and disease. But, it requires diligence and patience o see the
results.

Delivered: We know from Scripture that Daniel was “delivered” from the lions after
being cast into their den by Darius the Mede. An angel of God was sent to close the jaws
of the lions because Daniel was found blameless before God. He was delivered from
certain death living in a state of redemption.

Set Free: The woman taken in adultery and who was condemned by the religious
Pharisees when they brought her to Jesus, even though her life was one of sin and
adultery, was set free of her adulterous nature when Jesus rebuked the Pharisees,
forgave the woman and told her to “go and sin no more”. No longer under the slavery to
sin, she became eligible to live in blessing.

Be or Made Whole: While the word “sozo” does indeed refer to being healed of
sickness or disease in many places in the Bible, it also has other very important
connotations. As well as referring to being saved, the word “whole” can refer to
“completeness”, as in having something that was missing or stolen restored by the thief.
Proverbs 6:30-31 says, “Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is
hungry; But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his
house”.

Jesus said, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that
they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (John 10:10). The thief,
Satan, is very adept at taking something that has never belonged to him. If he, or one of
his human minions, is guilty of the theft of your goods, and he is recognized as the guilty
one, He must be made to repay ALL that he has stolen from you, seven times over. This is
a part of the redemption that is seldom exercised, or even understood, by Christians.
Believers have a God-given right to demand the thief return all the goods stolen from
them. When that happens, the redemption of our “wholeness” has been realized.
Our redemption was indeed purchased with an unfathomable price: the public beating
and torture of the only blameless human being, the Son of God, and the only being,
because of His complete perfection and lack of any sin, who could qualify as a redeemer
of humanity. His shaming and humiliation, being publicly humiliated by hanging naked
on a cruel cross in the presence of a crowd of onlookers, followed by the shedding of His
perfect blood, satisfied the demand for a sacrifice that would redeem all humanity. Such
an awesome price, paid by a perfect man must have more meaning that what happens to
us after we die. Surely redemption while here in this flesh and blood body must be
considered of great value. We owe it to our saviour and Lord to recognize ALL that we
are redeemed FROM, the misery of life lived under a curse, as well as what we are
redeemed TO: Eternal life with our Father and His Son, the author and finisher of our
redemption.
Maranatha! And Blessings!

Bud Hancock

Born and raised in a small textile town in North Carolina, Bud’s family moved to Michigan in the hope of finding better employment with General Motors.  After graduating from high school, Bud began an apprenticeship with General Motors to become a Metal Modelmaker.  Retiring after a 30 year career, which included an eight year stint as a Metrologist (Science of high precision measurement), he and his wife moved back to North Carolina to be near his elderly parents.  Shortly thereafter, with both of his parents having passed, he began a new career in the bank security/ATM business, advancing from an entry level technician to one of two North Carolina customer service managers for his employer.  Retiring again after 13 years, he and his wife of 51 years relocated to Tennessee where Bud began writing articles emphasizing Biblical teaching and geopolitical issues.  At age 75, he and his wife relocated to South Carolina with their Miniature Schnauzer, Baxter.  Bud continues to study God’s word and write articles on Christian living and geopolitical issues from the Biblical end times  perspective.