W hat if God had simply swept our sin under the rug and ignored it? He would be unjust for leaving sin unjudged and not addressing its penalty. His justice demands payment for sins committed; anything short of that would have impugned His character. Our lives are the obvious payment for sin [Romans 6:23]. But God chose a different path, one in which He remained just, but also justified us. This option was very costly since it required the death of His Son as the atoning sacrifice. As a result, we are redeemed by the blood of our Lord Jesus. The Greek word for “redemption” in verse 24 is a compound word ( apo-lutosis ), the latter of which means ransom. In the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament), the word is used to denote the price for one’s life [Exodus 21:30]. In Isaiah 45:13, it is implied that there is a ransom to be paid to liberate a slave or captive. It is along these lines Paul is using this word presenting our Lord Jesus’ death as a ransom or payment that takes the place of that penalty for sins owed by all people to God. God, in our Lord Jesus, pays the price necessary to redeem His people from their slavery to sin. To whom was the ransom paid? It would be incorrect to presume that our Lord Jesus paid a ransom to the devil, in order to buy us back from Satan’s possession. The ransom or purchase price is not paid to Satan. It is paid to God, for it is to God that we are in debt.
LESSON
Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. – Mark 10:45
THOUGHT
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