Redemption

We began a study of the book of Ephesians last Wednesday night at Southbrook Monroe. We are going to work our way through this book in about 12 weeks...the more time I spend in this book the more I realize - there is no way we will cover everything in this short time. Ephesians is so packed with great information. We could spend years on this one.

So we kicked it off last week. We'll continue tonight, by the way, 6:30pm.

I wanted to share this little piece with you from last week. Ephesians 1:7 says "In Him we have redemption through His blood..." Jesus redeemed us with his blood. You may have heard that phrase before. It sounds like a church thing to say. It sounds like something you would expect to hear in church. Actually it's very true - it's the very center of what we believe about Jesus Christ. But I don't think we always get it. I think we have become so used to the words, that we kind of brush over it. So let's think about what it truly means.

Jesus (who is in essence God) had to leave he glory of Heaven. He had to become human, he became his creation. He had to live on this earth a perfect, sinless life. He had to suffer a cruel and painful torture. He had to face the horror of being made sin for us. He had to face the torment of God's wrath, and ultimately he suffered death.

Still - this may sound a bit routine. This is the Easter message. So let's try to make it personal. Imagine what that would be like for you or for me:

Suppose you wanted to save someone from the penalty of their sin - let's say a murderer. Even though you are innocent, you set out to save someone who is guilty. In order to save them, you must enter into the prison system. You would have to face the shame of being kept on death row. Everyone would know you are a murderer (even though you're not). You would have to face the wrath of the legal system. And ultimately you would have to face death...not because you did anything wrong, but because you decided you wanted to save someone from their sin.

Now think about the person you died for. If they truly understand what you sacrificed for them, how do you think they would respond? Go out and kill again? No! Not if they truly get it. I think they would be much more likely to change their way of living, telling others about you, and what you did for them!

Now - you can only save one person, one time. What Jesus did was enough to save all humankind. Because he is infinite his saving power is infinite. So our message is infinite as well. Not only should we be sharing relentlessly what Jesus did for us, we should be telling people that he has the power to save them as well!

So - knowing what Jesus did for you, will it change the way you live your life?