Jesus our Great Redeemer (Our High Calling Part 2)

Thinking back to Our High Calling Part 1, you'll recall that we are exhorted in 1 Peter 1 to be holy as God is holy.  You'll recall that this is not a calling to be equal with God by any means, rather it is a pull towards the purpose of our salvation.  God has caused us to be begotten to a living hope through the death and subsequent resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Christ is our life and God's will is to conform us to his image (Romans 8:29); a work that he will bring about.  This is a redemptive calling.

Continuing on, we will look at 1 Peter 1:13-15; considering our great redeemer Jesus Christ, and how the truth of God's word can help us to fight sin, and the pull from the world, flesh, and the devil.

Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, 'be holy, for I am holy.'  And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear, 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.  He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. - 1 Peter 1:13-21

Do not conform to the passions of former ignorance.  This exhortation implies that we have been made new, by truth, and that from God (1 Peter 1:23).  As we behold the glory of Christ, we are transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18).  As John Calvin said, we should advance daily toward the end to which we are called.

The verse says "Not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance."  For those of us who have placed our faith in Jesus Christ, we have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus, forgiven of our sins, and reconciled to God, and now we focus on how Jesus has redeemed us.  Nevertheless, if we consider our old lives (Ephesians 2:12), they were characterized by the deceitfulness of sin; we were void of the truth about God, lacking understanding, and having no light.  We did what was evil in God's eyes, and approved of it (Romans 1:18-32).  We were completely in darkness and in the world without hope, a sad reality that many are still living.  But God in his mercy, through the blood of Christ, has brought us near (Ephesians 2:13).

Jesus, the Light of the World, proclaimed liberty to the captives, recovered the sight of the blind, and set at liberty those who were oppressed (Luke 4:18); those who dwelled in darkness have seen a great light (Matthew 4:16).  Jesus spoke truth and exposed the darkness, testifying that the deeds of the world were evil.  Without truth we would have remained in darkness, void of any saving knowledge, however, when Jesus came he taught truth that freed men and women from the oppressive teaching of the Pharisees.  That was not all though, Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice to God, and by his wounds, we have been healed (Hebrews 10:4-18, Hebrews 9:13-14, Isaiah 53:5).

This is extremely important to remember, not only because of our Lord Jesus, who is worthy of our praise and deserving of our thanks, but because the cost of our redemption sheds light on the awfulness of sin, the deceitfulness of sin, the danger of sin and it's consequence, and the power through which we can resist sin's pull.

Foremost, Jesus Christ, having to suffer, die, and be raised from the dead is not only salvation to those who believe but also the clearest testimony to the magnitude of sin, being the only sufficient sacrifice.  We were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold...but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.  Having no sin and being the radiance of the Glory of God, it was he, Jesus, who had to free us.  The highest King became the lowest of men, to deliver us from slavery through the fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15).  If the cost to save our souls was so great, consider how awful sin is.  Consider how holy God is who, without partiality judges according to each one's work, offered his only Son to pay sins penalty, making it clear that, notwithstanding his love and mercy, he will punish those who do not believe in Jesus (John 3:18).  If Silver or Gold were sufficient to redeem us, sin would be a small matter.  If good works were sufficient to redeem us, sin would be a small matter.  Because Jesus had to offer himself, the magnitude of sin can begin to be grasped.

Consider how perfect and pure Jesus is, who offered a sacrifice once for sins.  It was the LORD's will to do so, because he was the only one who could offer a sufficient sacrifice (Isaiah 53:10).  Consider how close you were to the gates of Hell, or may still be if you are not in Christ.  Every person in the world is desperate beyond measure for the blood of Christ.  The good news is that God is abundantly gracious and merciful.  God loves to redeem; it is not only his will, but his preference, and Jesus' sacrifice was sufficient for even the most vile sinner (Galatians 1:3-4, 1 Timothy 1:16, Hebrews 7:25, Ezekiel 33:11).

Having considered the magnitude of sin, the deceitfulness of sin can likewise begin to be grasped.  I pray that it is exposed.  How much we should abhor sin, and delight in God.  The flesh and its desires are in sharp contrast to the leading of the Spirit (Galatians 5:17).  As darkness cannot mix with light, neither are God's ways compatible with sin.

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.  He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.  All things that the Father has are Mine.  Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you. - John 16:13-15

You will recall Jesus promised that the comforter would come, and he would guide believers in all truth.  As Christians, we are indwelled with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth.  We must not conform to the former lusts and passions while we were ignorant and void of truth.  Now, we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2).

All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.  The grass withers, And it's flower falls away, But the word of the LORD endures forever. - 1 Peter 1:24-25 [Quoted from Isaiah 40:6-8]

If you consider the ways of the world, it is all about the pride of life.  People pride themselves on many things: income, cars, the house or neighborhood they live in, beauty, skin color, education, vocation, and more.  These however are nothing more than the glory of man, and as the Bible says, it will fade away and come to nothing.  Sin is very deceptive, and the pull from the world, flesh, and the devil is very strong.  The belief that these things are of value is a complete lie, and the author is a liar.  Jesus said in John 8, that the devil: "does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies."

The enemy has blinded many, keeping them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:4).  The pleasures of the world have no eternal value, however, the desire for them can be so strong that some will choose these temporal earthly gains over God (Matthew 19:16-22, Romans 1:21-23).  If we are to be lights in the world, we must not conform to our old lusts, which are contrary to who we are in Christ, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds.  Jesus gave himself for our sins to deliver us from this present evil age.  Brothers and sisters: Do not go back to your old ways, but as God is holy, be holy.  It is a blessed thing to be conformed to the image of Christ.  The battle against the flesh will never end for us on this side of heaven, however, the body of sin was done away with that we would no longer be enslaved to sin (Romans 6:6).  Now, we stand in Grace.  Walk by the Spirit and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16, Romans 8:13-14, ); we must live by the truth of God's word (John 17:17).

To close, as always, I would like to share a relevant quote from saints of old, but first an exhortation to those who may not be trusting in Jesus Christ.  I plead with you and pray that after reading this you will consider your guilt before God.  If you are not in Christ, you remain in this awful state and are still in darkness.  I plead with you to believe in Jesus Christ, seek him while he may be found, and do not stop until you have found peace for your soul.  Do not be deceived, no work that you do can save you.  You must believe in Jesus Christ, for through him alone can mercy be found.  His blood alone can cleanse you from the stain of sin.  I can testify that he is both a willing and able Savior, and he is powerfully able to save you no matter how great your sin is.  His crucifixion on the cross was a sufficient payment for sins, and he rose from the Dead.  In Christ you will find power over sin, in Christ, you can have a confident hope of pardon (Romans 5:1-2, Romans 5:10-11), in Christ alone you will be complete (Colossians 2:10), and in Christ, you will be able to rejoice with joy.

Matthew Henry had this to say on the redemption through Christ's blood:

Neither silver nor gold nor any of the corruptible things of this world, can redeem so much as one soul. They are often snares, temptations, and hindrances to man’s salvation, but they can by no means purchase or procure it; they are corruptible, and therefore cannot redeem an incorruptible and immortal soul. The blood of Jesus Christ is the only price of man’s redemption. The redemption of man is real, not metaphorical. We are bought with a price, and the price is equal to the purchase, for it is the precious blood of Christ; it is the blood of an innocent person, a lamb without blemish and without spot, whom the paschal lamb represented, and of an infinite person, being the Son of God, and therefore it is called the blood of God.