To be redeemed by Christ means to be bought back from the bondage of sin by the price Christ paid for us.
Redemption is paying a price to recover something that was lost. Because God lost the human race when Adam fell, He redeemed us by sending Christ to pay the price with His blood. Scripture identifies this redemption as being through faith in Christ's blood, and Les Feldick teaches that redemption pictures buying a slave out of the slave market.
Romans 3:24 — Paul explicitly says redemption is in Christ Jesus and comes through God's grace.
Romans 3:25 — Paul links Christ as a propitiation through faith in His blood to the remission of sins, the heart of redemption.
The Bible presents redemption as something God accomplished in Christ Jesus. Paul writes, "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 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" (Romans 3:24-25). Here the emphasis is on God's grace, Christ Jesus, and His blood as the basis on which sins are remitted. The apostle Peter likewise tells believers, "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" (1 Peter 1:18-19). Scripture therefore identifies redemption not as a release without cost, but as a purchase made with the precious blood of Christ.
Les Feldick teaches that redemption means buying back something that was lost. When Adam sinned, God lost the human race, and ever since then God's purpose has been to buy mankind back to Himself. This is why, as Les says, the moment sin entered the world, God immediately instituted a plan of redemption. The price of redemption had to be paid, and Les emphasizes that Christ paid it. Paul's words about the blood of Christ and Peter's words about being redeemed with the precious blood of Christ show that redemption is not purchased with silver and gold, but with something far more costly. Les also connects this to the Roman slave market, where the Greek word agorazo was used for buying slaves, to show that redemption means being purchased out of the slave market of sin. Les illustrates the idea with a boy who built a little boat, lost it, and later found it in a hock shop. The boy had to buy back his own boat. In the same way, God made us, lost us in Adam, and then paid the necessary price to redeem us through His Son.
Les Feldick explains that when Adam sinned, God lost the human race. Since all are in Adam, Adam's fall meant God no longer had rightful control of mankind. Les says God's hands are tied because He gave human beings a free will, and He cannot force anybody out of the slave market. He immediately set up a plan of redemption so that people who want to be bought back can be redeemed.
Les teaches that redemption is always with a price. He points to Peter's words that we are not redeemed with silver and gold but with the precious blood of Christ. Paul shows that Christ is set forth as a propitiation through faith in His blood. Les adds that redemption is received when we believe what God says about the shed blood, His death, His burial, and His resurrection, and he reminds us that without the shedding of blood there is no remission.
Les uses the Roman slave market as a picture of redemption. The Greek word agorazo, used in Paul's writing, was a slave-market term meaning to buy a slave. Roman legions would bring captives back from their conquests and sell them in the slave market. Redemption therefore means being purchased out of that market, and Les says that is exactly what God does for the human race when He buys us back through Christ.
The Boy and His Model Boat
Les uses the story of a boy who made a model boat, lost it, and later bought it back to show that redemption is the act of reclaiming something that was once yours by paying a price.
Redeeming from the Hock Shop
Les explains that redemption is simply being bought with a price paid by someone else, just like redeeming an item from a pawn shop, and he applies this to God losing the human race in Adam.
The Greek Word Agorazo
Les introduces the Greek word agorazo from the Roman slave market to show that redemption pictures buying a slave out of the market.
God Lost Us in Adam
Les shows how Adam's sin caused God to lose the human race and why God must buy us back with a price.
The Slave Market of Satan
Les explains that God set up redemption as the way to buy the human race back from the slave market of Satan, but He cannot force anyone to come out.
Buying Back Lost Control
Les says redemption is buying back something over which you lost control, and he links it to Israel being bought back out of Egypt.
Roman Legions and Captives
Les describes how Roman legions brought captives to the slave market, forming the everyday illustration Paul used for redemption.
Redemption Through the Blood
Les connects redemption to Christ's blood and shows that redemption is received through faith in His shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection.
Romans 3:24: Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
The verse names redemption as the means by which God's grace justifies the sinner in Christ.
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;
The blood of Christ is the propitiatory basis through which redemption and remission of sins are realized.
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:
Peter contrasts perishable payment with the precious blood of Christ as the true price of redemption.
Yes. Les Feldick explains that redemption is the act of buying back something over which you have lost control, like a boy buying back a boat he made and lost, or a person redeeming an item from a pawn shop.
Les teaches that Scripture has two mandatory statements: without the shedding of blood there is no remission, and without faith it is impossible to please God. Redemption comes through faith in Christ's shed blood, His death, burial, and resurrection. Peter says we are redeemed with the precious blood of Christ.
No. Les teaches that because God gave people a free will, He cannot force anyone out of the slave market. God makes redemption possible, but a person has to believe what God says and want to be brought out.
Watch the Teaching: Romans 3: Why No One Can Be Saved by the Law