Redemption means to be bought back—to regain control of something that was lost—and in the Bible it is God buying back the human race lost in Adam through the blood of Christ.
Les Feldick teaches that when Adam sinned, God lost the human race, and because every person is born in Adam, everyone needs to be bought back into a relationship with God. The price God paid was the shed blood and death of Christ on the cross. A person is redeemed when he or she believes what God says about Christ's shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection.
Romans 3:24 — This verse states believers are justified freely by grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus—directly identifying redemption as part of salvation.
Romans 3:25 — This verse shows that redemption is through faith in Christ's blood, as God set Christ forth to be a propitiation.
The Bible describes redemption as being bought back with a price. Romans 3:24-25 says believers are "justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus," and that God set forth Christ "to be a propitiation through faith in his blood." 1 Peter 1:18-19 adds that believers were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ. Scripture also links redemption to two essentials: "without shedding of blood is no remission" (Hebrews 9:22) and "without faith it is impossible to please him" (Hebrews 11:6).
Les Feldick defines redemption as a buy-back concept. He says to be redeemed means you are buying back something you had lost control of. In the human race's case, God lost control of the human race when Adam sinned, so God set up a plan of redemption. He repeatedly uses the illustration of pawning an item at a hawk shop or mortgaging a home: you must pay to get it back. Les also points to the Roman slave market, where the Greek word agorazo was used for buying back a slave, and to the book of Exodus, where God redeemed Israel out of Egypt. Ultimately, Christ's blood is the price paid, and a person is redeemed when they believe in that shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection.
Les Feldick explains that human beings born of Adam are nothing more than body and soul, and that soul is an old sin nature. Because of Adam's sin, God lost control of the human race. Since everyone is in Adam, God had to buy the race back to Himself. As Les puts it, "When Adam sinned, God lost us. We're all in Adam." Therefore, something has to happen in order to get us back into a relationship with God.
Les teaches that God set forth Christ as a propitiation through faith in His blood, and that without the shedding of blood there is no remission and without faith it is impossible to please God. Redemption happens when we believe what God says about the shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Scripture says redemption is "through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24), and that God set forth Christ "to be a propitiation through faith in his blood" (Romans 3:25).
Les uses the Roman slave market, where the Greek word agorazo meant to buy a slave. He also calls the book of Exodus "the book of redemption" because God bought His covenant people out of the slave market of Egypt. Everyday illustrations include a hawk shop and a mortgage: when you mortgage a home that was paid for, you have to redeem it to get control back.
Definition of Redemption
Les introduces the Redeemer concept and says to be redeemed means to be bought back, which implies that something was lost.
Redemption in Romans 3
Les explains that redemption is being bought with a price paid by someone, and that the human race was lost when Adam fell.
Buying Back Lost Control
Les defines redemption as buying back that which you lost control of, and says God lost the human race when Adam sinned.
Faith in Christ's Shed Blood
Les explains that a person is redeemed when they believe what God says about the shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
Lost in Adam
Les says God lost us when Adam sinned and must buy us back with a price, with Satan not letting go easily.
Roman Slave Market
Les uses the Roman slave market and the Greek word agorazo to illustrate the concept of buying back a slave.
Redemption and Reconciliation
Les compares redemption to reconciliation: both involve regaining what was lost or separated.
Exodus: Book of Redemption
Les points to Exodus as the book of redemption because God bought His covenant people out of Egypt.
Romans 3:24: Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
This verse directly defines redemption as being in Christ Jesus and connected to justification by grace.
Romans 3:25: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
This verse explains that redemption is through faith in the blood of Christ, whom God set forth as a propitiation.
1 Peter 1:18-19: Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
This passage states the price of redemption was not silver or gold but the precious blood of Christ.
Hebrews 9:22: And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Les references this as a mandatory statement of Scripture: without the shedding of blood there is no remission.
Hebrews 11:6: But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Les pairs this with Hebrews 9:22 to show that faith and blood are both required in redemption.
To be redeemed means to be bought back. It implies that something was lost and the buyer regains control by paying a price.
Because when Adam sinned, God lost the human race. Everyone is in Adam and born with an old sin nature, so God must buy us back to restore a relationship with Him.
Redemption happens when a person believes what God says about Christ's shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection. Scripture also says it is through faith in Christ's blood.
Les calls Exodus the book of redemption because God bought His covenant people out of the slave market of Egypt, which pictures the redemption of the human race.
Watch the Teaching: Redemption Explained: From Law to Grace (Romans 3 & 6)