RedeemedSample

"Repent, believe, and be saved" God does not pitch out His blessings to those who are far off. Instead, His blessings are reserved for those who draw near. He wants us to understand His history and His glory and His ways. He wants us to know Him. He wants our lives to tell His story. And so here we are, faced with a decision to make. Will your life tell His story? Will your life sing the song of the redeemed? I’ve tried to lay out the theology of atonement in the simplest, most easy to understand way. Man caused the broken relationship with God—guilty (Isa. 53:6a; 59:12). The honor and justice of God’s character was offended by sin (Jer. 50:29). Man became enslaved to sin (John 8:34-36). Man could not undo it, or avoid the penalty of death, or be good enough to pay the debt (Rom. 3:23; 6:23; Gal. 2:16). God could have just walked away. Game over. But He did not (Deut. 7:9). God is holy and just. And yet, God is steadfast love (Ps. 107). God made a way for man to be restored (2 Cor. 5:19). The only way to restore was to satisfy the debt (Col. 2:14), defeat the certainty of death (2 Tim. 1:10), and break the shackles of sin (Ps. 107:14). No one could do that except God Himself (Acts 4:12). So He did (Rom. 8:3). God sent His only Son, Jesus, so that whoever believes in Him can be saved and redeemed (John 3:16,36). Being redeemed is being restored to relationship with God (Gal. 4:4-7). Did you catch that? A perfectly Holy God could have just walked away, mumbling, You freely chose what you got, so I’m outta here. But God did not walk away because He is also steadfast love. More importantly, today you need to know steadfast love sent His Son, so that you can be redeemed—so your life will be redeemed. God’s love for you is so personal that no one can believe for you, except you. No one gets to believe on a group pass. You are too precious to God. His steadfast love will not be watered down or doled out like stadium seats. He is personally inviting you back to relationship with Him. You are the only one who can respond for you. I love you so much and I’m praying for you, begging God to redeem.