February 17, 2023: 1 Peter 1:18-19: We Were Redeemed by the Precious Blood of Christ
“…knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” - 1 Peter 1:18-19
What does it mean to “redeem?” Dictionary.com defines it as “to buy or pay off; clear by payment" or “to discharge or fulfill (a pledge, promise, etc.)” Jesus left heaven and came to this earth to teach to us the way of salvation. He was scourged and crucified, spilled His precious blood, died, rose again, and ascended to heaven so that we who believe in Him as our Redeemer, would be bought by Him, fully cleared of all of our sins, past, present, and future.
Silver and gold are highly desired in our world today, just as they were thousands of years ago. Silver was first used as money around 4,000 years ago, and gold around 3,000 years ago. Did Jesus redeem us with silver or gold? No. Why? Because they don’t last forever and they wear over time. After having been married about 25 years, the gold on my wedding ring had started to thin and I had to have it reinforced by a jeweler in order to prevent it from breaking in two. I also lost the diamond in my wedding ring about three years ago because one of the four prongs had become weak and I had not realized it, even though I had the prongs reinforced years prior to losing the diamond. Though silver and gold are of value, there is nothing more valuable or precious than the blood of Jesus Christ. It was His blood that redeemed us from our sins, for those who have purposely chosen to believe in Him as our Redeemer. The blood of no one else would be able to redeem us, for everyone else’s blood is tainted by sin. It took Jesus’ blood, the perfect and sinless Lamb of God, to purchase us and free us from all of our sins.
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth - in Him.” (Ephesians 1:7-10)
“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.” (Titus 2:11-15)
“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
In this first letter from Peter, he was writing to the Jewish Christians who were being persecuted for their faith in Jesus. He reminded them that their fathers and ancestors had corrupted God’s Law, which God had given to their ancestors through Moses. They had added their own rules and regulations to the Law, and Peter reminded them that they could not be redeemed by “their aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers” but only by the blood of Jesus Christ.
“But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the Living God? And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.” (Hebrews 9:11-15)
“And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.” (Hebrews 9:27-28)
Whether we are Jew or Gentile, salvation is free and available to all who believe on Jesus Christ as their Savior. Jesus paid the price to redeem us of all our sins with His precious blood. Knowing that He made such a sacrifice for us, shouldn’t we live our lives in a way that pleases Him instead of making Him ashamed of us? Yes, we will sin because we are still on this earth and not with Him, but we should have a longing in our hearts to sin less and less, and we should feel guilt when we do sin and ask for forgiveness. I think the worst role model to an unbeliever is someone who says they are a Christian, go to church on Sundays, and then live like the devil six days a week. Why would unbelievers want to be saved by God who clearly has had no impact on a person who lives like that? As Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:15, “but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.” When we do our best at doing this, I think unbelievers won’t look at us as hypocrites, living a “do as I say, not as I do” lifestyle. Let us remember and through the way in which we live our lives, give praise, honor, and glory to the One who saved us, the One to whom the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders will fall down before and sing a new song before the time of great tribulation upon the earth begins:
“You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.” (Revelation 5:8-10) ✝️