Redeemed

Many people who have found themselves strapped for cash have taken something of value to a pawn shop, pawning the item with the intention of buying it back within a certain number of days. Before the end of a sixty-to-ninety-day contract, they can return to the pawn shop and redeem their property. This is done by paying the pawnbroker the amount of the loan plus a hefty premium. Then they can leave the shop with their property once again in their hands.

The Apostle Paul framed God’s plan of redemption within this pawn shop framework. In Romans 7:14 he wrote, “I am of the flesh, sold into bondage to sin.” Sold into sin, dead in our trespasses, children of wrath (Ephesians 2:1–3). But God, in His mercy, did something to buy us back. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the penalty incurred by our sin through His death upon the cross. The result? Redemption.

1 Corinthians 6:20 and 7:23 say, “You have been bought with a price.” 1 Peter 1:18–19 tells us the price of that redemption: “…you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”

Though once sold into the bondage of sin, those who have trusted in the redeeming work of Christ have now been set free. Like the person who has paid the pawnbroker and received his goods once again, becoming the rightful owner, we are reminded by the Apostle Paul, “You are not your own, for you have been bought with a price” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20).

Periodically, I hear a song that begins to bore a hole in my mind and heart, awakening me to a greater understanding and appreciation of some biblical truth. A recent example is a song by Keith and Kristyn Getty titled I Am Not My Own (available on YouTube, https://youtu.be/yxCb6l3jkis?si=ZWVNbN8cq1y-8qqk).

As the song declares, “I belong to the Lord, I am not my own,” and reminds us that we are “bought” and redeemed by Him. It points to the truth that our identity, worth, and purpose are rooted not in ourselves, but in our Creator and Redeemer.

If I am not my own, having been purchased by Christ, then my plans for my life must go through Him. Of this, Oswald Chambers wrote, “If we have received the Spirit of God, He will squeeze right through our lives as if to ask, ‘Now where do I come into this relationship, this vacation you have planned, or those new books that you want to read?’”

Jim Elliot was a missionary in South America who was speared to death by the very people he sought to reach with the gospel. Knowing the dangers he faced and convinced that this was God’s will for his life, he wrote these words in his journal shortly before his death: “It is time for me to live a life of reckless abandon for my Lord. For he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

My brothers and sisters in Christ, remember, you are not your own, you have been bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God with your body, your soul, your spirits, your actions and your words.