Redemption #2

Redemption Series Overview

In this powerful second installment of his ongoing series on redemption, Pastor explores the full biblical scope of what it means to be redeemed through Jesus Christ. Drawing from key passages including John 1:29, Ephesians 1:7, Romans 8:23, Hebrews 10:1-10, and Colossians 1:12-14, he unpacks the Greek word apolutrosis, meaning a ransom paid in full, and contrasts it with the Hebrew imagery of the enemy’s hand that suppresses versus God’s liberating hand that provides and restores. The sermon emphasizes that redemption is not a one-time event but a continual process, moving believers from faith to faith, strength to strength, and glory to glory. Using the account of Mary’s response to the angel Gabriel in Luke 1, Pastor illustrates how believers must move from self-consciousness to God-consciousness, saying yes to God’s word just as Mary declared, let it be to me according to your word. He confronts sin-consciousness, religious condemnation, and the lie of the saved sinner, calling the church to receive the fullness of redemption already purchased through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Redemption Series Outline

• 0:00:00 – Opening Prayer and Series Introduction: Pastor opens with prayer and introduces the second message in the Redemption series, reviewing the foundational concept of apolutrosis and the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as the only Redeemer.
• 0:08:00 – The Greek and Hebrew Roots of Redemption: A deep dive into the word apolutrosis, meaning away from what binds, and the Hebrew contrast between the enemy’s suppressing hand and God’s liberating yod hand that assists and provides.
• 0:18:00 – Redemption as a Continual Process: Pastor explains that redemption operates in past, present, and future tense. Believers have been redeemed, are being redeemed, and will be redeemed, progressing from faith to faith and glory to glory.
• 0:28:00 – The Holy Spirit as Down Payment of Full Redemption: Using the imagery of earnest money in a real estate transaction, Pastor teaches that the Holy Spirit is God’s guarantee of the fullness of redemption still to come, including the redemption of our physical bodies.
• 0:38:00 – Hebrews 10 and the End of Sin-Consciousness: An exposition of Hebrews 10:1-10 showing that the blood of bulls and goats could never remove sin-consciousness, but the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus Christ has made believers righteous and free from condemnation.
• 0:50:00 – Mary as a Model of Receiving Redemption: Drawing from Luke 1:26-38, Pastor uses Mary’s response to the angel as a picture of how believers receive God’s promises, moving from self-doubt to full surrender by saying let it be to me according to your word.
• 1:02:00 – From Self-Consciousness to God-Consciousness: Pastor addresses the destructive power of self-consciousness, showing from Colossians 1:12-14 that God has already qualified believers, delivered them from darkness, and translated them into the kingdom of His dear Son.
• 1:10:00 – Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So: A closing exhortation from Psalm 107:2 calling every believer to actively declare their redemption, reject condemnation, and walk daily in the abundance and joy that Christ has purchased for them.

Scripture References

John 1:29, Ephesians 1:7, Romans 8:23, Psalm 118:15-17, Galatians 3:13, 1 Peter 1:18-19, Deuteronomy 8:18, Hebrews 10:1-10, Luke 1:26-38, Psalm 107:2, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 1 Corinthians 15:45, Colossians 1:12-14, Romans 5:17

Key Takeaways

• Redemption through Jesus Christ is the only redemption that carries real transforming power, as no other god or religion offers a ransom paid in full for mankind.
• The word apolutrosis means a ransom in full that breaks every chain the enemy uses to hold believers back, including condemnation, inferiority, fear, and self-consciousness.
• Redemption is a continual process operating in past, present, and future tense, progressively bringing believers from faith to faith, strength to strength, and glory to glory.
• The Holy Spirit given to every believer is God’s down payment guaranteeing the complete fulfillment of redemption, including the eventual redemption of the physical body.
• Just as Mary said let it be to me according to your word, every believer must actively say yes to God’s redemptive plan rather than remaining trapped in self-consciousness or religious doubt.
• Sin-consciousness is a tool of the enemy designed to drive believers away from God, but the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus has made believers the righteousness of God, fully forgiven of past, present, and future sin.
• Believers are the only creation called and equipped to reveal the manifold wisdom and redemptive glory of God to the world, to fallen humanity, and even to angelic principalities.

Redemption Series Notes

What Apolutrosis Really Means

The Greek word apolutrosis, translated as redemption, is a compound word meaning away from what binds. It carries the force of a ransom paid in full, a complete liberation from every force holding a person back. Pastor connects this to the Hebrew contrast between the enemy’s hand, which suppresses and withholds, and God’s yod hand, which liberates, provides, and assists. This dual imagery helps believers understand that redemption is not merely a legal transaction but an active, ongoing deliverance from every form of darkness, lack, and condemnation into the fullness of God’s goodness.

Why Sin-Consciousness Opposes Redemption

Hebrews 10 makes clear that the repeated sacrifices of the Old Testament could never permanently remove sin-consciousness from the worshiper. They were shadows pointing to the one perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Pastor argues that preaching which keeps believers constantly focused on sin, failure, and unworthiness actually opposes what the cross accomplished. The blood of Jesus has removed sin once for all, and believers are called to be conscious of their righteousness in Christ, not of their shortcomings. This shift from sin-consciousness to God-consciousness is at the heart of living in redemption’s fullness.

Mary’s Yes as a Template for Believers

Luke 1:26-38 presents Mary’s encounter with the angel Gabriel as one of the most powerful illustrations of how redemption works in a human life. Mary began with a natural question rooted in self-awareness, how can this be since I have not known a man, but once the angel explained that the Holy Spirit would accomplish what was impossible in the natural, she surrendered fully. Her declaration, let it be to me according to your word, was the moment conception occurred. Pastor applies this directly to the believer’s life, teaching that God’s word conceived in a heart that says yes produces transformation no amount of personal effort can manufacture.

The Holy Spirit as Earnest Money of Glory

One of the sermon’s most memorable illustrations compares the gift of the Holy Spirit to an earnest money deposit on a billion-dollar property. God, in giving believers His own Spirit, has essentially handed over the greatest portion of the redemption package as a down payment, with the full completion still to come. This reframes how believers should view their current experience of health, peace, provision, and spiritual life. These blessings are not the whole of redemption but the earnest, the guarantee, that the fullness of what God has promised, including the redemption of the body, will absolutely be fulfilled.

Believers Called to Reveal God’s Glory

Pastor draws from Ephesians 3 and other passages to make a striking point: human beings are the only creatures in all of creation designed and redeemed to reveal God’s nature to the world and even to angelic powers. Angels cover their eyes before the throne, following God’s direction without fully knowing His character. Redeemed men and women, however, carry Christ within them and are meant to display His wisdom, goodness, and power through their daily lives. This is why a believer’s prosperity, joy, and wholeness are not selfish pursuits but instruments of divine revelation in a watching world.

Rejecting Condemnation, Receiving Qualification

Colossians 1:12 declares that the Father has already made believers qualified, or meet in the King James Version, to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. This qualification came not through personal excellence or religious performance but through the redemptive work of Christ. Pastor uses this passage to dismantle the false humility that keeps many believers in a cycle of condemnation and self-doubt. When a believer sins, that is an event, not an identity. The redeemed are called to rise, receive forgiveness, and walk forward in the righteousness of God, which is a gift received by grace through faith.

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