Cross & CrownSample

Redemption & Forgiveness

Apart from the blood of Christ, no one can have a relationship with the heavenly Father. Because God is holy, our sin blocks any chance of connection with Him. But in love, He planned and initiated a course of reconciliation with fallen humanity. The blood of Jesus provides all that we need to draw near to the Father.

To “redeem” means “to buy something back.” Jesus Christ came to the cross for the primary purpose of purchasing us from a life of slavery to sin. Maybe you think you’re a pretty good person and don’t feel enslaved to sin. But no matter how moral a person may seem, every human being has a sin nature (Rom. 3:23).

To set us free, a price had to be paid. But to whom? Jesus didn’t pay off the devil; He paid the price that God required in order to satisfy His holy justice. According to Ezekiel 18:20, “The person who sins will die.” The cost of our redemption was the blood of the perfect Son of God—and He made this sacrifice in our place. Because the Father accepted Christ’s payment, we’ve been set free from bondage to sin and have received the power of the Holy Spirit, who enables us to live in the freedom of obedience to the Father.

Now when it comes to forgiveness of our sins, most people have the idea that the Lord will forgive them simply because they ask Him. What they may not understand is that the basis for His pardon is not their request, but Christ’s payment for their debt. The Lord cannot forgive wrong just because someone asks. His holiness will not allow Him to overlook sin; it must be punished. His justice will not allow Him to forgive trespasses without a payment.

Only with the substitutionary death of the perfect Son of God does the Father have a legitimate basis by which He can forgive whoever comes to Him in faith and repentance (Eph. 1:7). There is nothing we can do to earn His forgiveness. Our pardon is granted only when Christ’s blood is applied to our lives.