What Atonement Achieves

So far, these are the pieces that we have in place:

1. We are studying the major doctrines into which all the stories and teachings of the Bible can be fitted.
2. We began with the doctrine of the inspiration of the Bible and the doctrine of the divinity of Christ. Next we studied:
   
   • The doctrine of original goodness: God creates the world and man as good.
   • The doctrine of the fall: Man willfully disobeys God and sets into motion the deterioration of himself and of the creation.
   • The doctrine of reconciliation: God works throughout history in order to save and reconcile man back to Himself.

The bulk of our study has focused on this fifth major doctrine that has ten sub-doctrines which explain why, how and for what purpose God has reconciled man to Himself. We have looked at three of the sub-doctrines under reconciliation:

1. Election: The doctrine that teaches us that God chose or elected Christ to be the One through whom He would save and reconcile mankind.
2. Predestination: The doctrine that teaches that God knew in advance that His plan to reconcile man would work.
3. Atonement: The doctrine that explains that the "method" God would use to achieve reconciliation would be the death of one in exchange for the life of another.

In this chapter we will study the fourth sub-doctrine, the doctrine of redemption.

Redemption: Word Meaning

A simple way to define the idea of redemption is to say that it is what Christ achieves with His atonement. Atonement is the act and redemption is the result.

The word in the Greek translated into the English word redemption means, "to be freed, liberated, ransomed, acquitted or released." The basic ideas represented by this word are:

• To buy back something that has been forfeited because one has failed to pay a debt. (For example, the bank seizes your car because you have not made the payments. You redeem your car and get it back by paying up all the back debts, interest and penalties.)
• To liberate or set free those either ruled by a higher authority or held captive by a stronger force. (For example, when American soldiers liberated/redeemed the prisoners in German labor and death camps after WWII.)
• To remove from grave danger or dire circumstances. (For example, rescuers would redeem/free people trapped in the rubble at the World Trade Centre in New York.)
• To acquit someone of a crime. (For example, O.J. Simpson was redeemed from the charge of murder when the jury found him not guilty. The jury's action freed him.)

The basic concept of redemption is that it describes the setting free of someone or something. The redemption theme runs throughout the Bible.

Old Testament Example of Redemption

God rescued/freed/liberated/redeemed the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. The way that God redeemed, or set them free, was through the mighty deeds He did through Moses (Exodus 3:2-10). This freedom or redemption meant three things:

1. Actual freedom from physical slavery to the Egyptians.
2. A new identity for them as people of God (Exodus 3:7).
3. A new purpose in life which would be to "know God."

The idea of redemption is not just a New Testament concept. It appears throughout the Bible from the Garden of Eden to Christ. Every time God freed His people from danger, enslavement and sin He was reinforcing the idea that He was man's redeemer.

New Testament Example of Redemption

In the New Testament the idea of redemption is centered on God's work of freeing mankind, not from human slavery or physical threat, but rather from the enslavement of sin and the resulting penalty of death.

Whoever sins is a slave of sin. Once we begin we cannot stop sinning. We can limit it, keep it down, but we cannot eliminate sin from our lives

Everyone sins. There are no exceptions. Everyone is guilty and faces judgment and condemnation.

The final outcome of sin is eternal separation from God. God deals with our enslavement to sin and the punishment we face by setting us free. He sets us free, or redeems us, through the atonement of Christ.

We owe a moral debt to God because we disobey His laws. We cannot pay this moral debt because it requires something we do not have to offer: a sinless life. Jesus, therefore, pays our moral debt for us by offering His perfect life on the cross. This "atonement" pays our moral debt to God forever and permits Him to free us (redeem us) from the prison of guilt and condemnation.

We can express this idea in various ways: The atonement of Christ sets us free; it redeems us; it permits our redemption.

As in the case with the Israelites in the Old Testament, this new freedom/redemption means three very specific things for us.

1. We are released from slavery
(verses 11; 14a)

Because we are forgiven and are under God's grace and possess the Holy Spirit, we no longer are slaves to sin. We are not perfect, but we are gaining many more victories over sin and are no longer worried about condemnation because we have been acquitted. Whether O.J. Simpson committed murder or not, the courts can no longer try and condemn him for this crime, he has been acquitted. We have the same experience; we can no longer be condemned for our sins because we have been redeemed/acquitted by the atoning cross of Christ.

2. We have a new identity (verse 14b)

We are no longer condemned sinners in God's eyes; we are a purified people, a people zealous to do God's will. Redemption transforms us into the people "of God."

3. We have a new purpose (verses 12-13)

Our purpose and direction is heavenward. Our purpose in life is to be ready for the return of Christ by living faithful lives and being busy in the Lord's service.

And so, redemption is the net result of Christ's atoning work on the cross.

Conditions of Our Freedom

This freedom or redemption Christ obtains for us has certain features also explained in the New Testament.

What are we free from?

Redemption frees us from specific things:

1. Freedom from the fear of death and the illusion that this world is all that there is, which seduces us to live only for the here and now.

2. Freedom from the condemnation that results from judgment. Those who are redeemed are not judged but are acquitted, and so are not subject to condemnation and punishment.

3. Freedom from eternal death. Those who are redeemed will be fitted with a new body that will live forever.

These are some of the things that we are freed or redeemed from through the atonement of Christ.

What are we not free from?

Redemption does not free us from every negative experience. For example, we are not freed from:

1. The physical effects of death that come upon everyone whether they are redeemed or not.

2. The general effect of sin in our lives, such as guilt, anguish, and regret. We are set free from the spiritual consequences of sin but not necessarily from the physical ones. The thief on the cross still died there. Paul the Apostle still felt anguish for his former persecution of the church.

3. Temptation and failure. The redeemed still stumble and fall into sin, but they have protection and a promise that their souls are safe despite this.

Redemption is a state that impacts our souls and guarantees our future with God even if our physical lives continue to experience the power and effect of sin.

When This Freedom Begins

There is a moment in time when our personal freedom takes effect. Just as the prisoner released from prison can tell you the date he was set free, the Bible describes the exact moment each soul experiences redemption.

The atonement of Christ was devised by God before time began, but it occurred as an historical event when Christ died on the cross. We can fix a day and time when the atonement took place: the cross. We can fix a day and time when God furnished proof that the atonement was valid, that it worked, that the sacrifice for sin was accepted: the resurrection.

In the same way, the Bible provides an exact moment when redemption happens for us: baptism.

The New Testament uses different words and images to express this, but it always makes the same point: man is free from sin and eternal death at the moment of baptism.

Refers to freedom as being "saved."

Refers to freedom as being "born again."

Describes redemption in terms of forgiveness and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Refers to this freedom as a cleansing from sin.

Describes this phenomenon as putting on Christ.

Says that redemption is an appeal and granting of a clear conscience.

The Bible uses many terms to describe this redemption, this freedom, this liberation, but uses the same moment and act to pinpoint when this redemption occurs: baptism.

When a person believes that Jesus is the Son of God and has died to atone for his sins; when a person acts on this belief by repenting of his sins and being buried in the water of baptism, at that very moment he or she has redemption. This happens only one time, and does not happen before or after, but only at baptism. You are never any more redeemed or free than on the day and the moment you are baptized.

What Are You Free to Do Now?

People freed from threats of death or prison usually go back to their old life or try to take new directions that will help them avoid being imprisoned again.

Peter explains the lifestyle of one who has experienced redemption and is now free as well as empowered to follow a godly lifestyle.

This is the activity and direction of a spiritual life freed from sin by Christ. What Peter explains here is the substance of the "born again" life and what it actually looks like to the outside observer. This is what people do who have been redeemed by Christ's atonement.

We are freed from the prison of sin and now live like free men and women, not free to do as we want, but free and empowered to do what God wants us to do. This is the only true freedom.

Summary

Redemption is the doctrine that explains what man receives as a result of Christ's atoning sacrifice on the cross. In a word: freedom.

Ten words or less that describe the first four sub-doctrines of reconciliation (election, predestination, atonement, redemption): "God foreknew that the atonement of Christ would redeem believers."