Do You Need A Redeemer? - July 26

Read Romans 3:23-25a

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.”

Reflect

Do you understand why you need a redeemer? Have you received Christ as your redeemer by faith?

What I am about to say is definitely not popular. No one really wants to hear it. In fact, many people, including many who call themselves Christians, have completely thrown out this central Christian doctrine.

But I am going to tell you anyway because I believe it to be true, I care about the truth, and I care about you! I always tell my kids, “If we love someone, we tell them the truth. Even if it’s hard to say and even if it’s hard to hear.”

So, here it goes. You need a redeemer because you are a sinner. And so am I! In today’s verses, the apostle Paul made it clear that all of us have sinned and fall short of God’s holy standard. “None is righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10). That’s bad news.

Even worse news is that according to the law, we deserve the death sentence. Paul wrote in Romans 6:23 that “the wages of sin is death.” Our sin has separated us from God and put us at odds with Him. We may think that we could work hard enough to make things right in His eyes or make it up to Him but we can’t. If we put our faith in our good works, we are cursed (Galatians 3:10-11). We can’t perfectly keep God’s commandments and we can’t “make it up” once we’ve blown it. Without Christ, we are in bondage to sin and doomed to death. We are in eternal trouble, big time!

As we’ve been studying the book of Ruth, we’ve seen the concept of redemption over and over again. A redeemer is someone who is able to “buy back” or pay a ransom price for someone else. In Ruth and Naomi’s case, they were in trouble because they were destitute widows with no husbands left to protect or provide them. Additionally, Naomi’s late husband, Elimelech’s, family line was going to die out and his land wasn’t going to stay in the family inheritance.

Boaz is a kinsman-redeemer because he was family and he promised to “buy back” the land of Elimelech so that it would stay in the family. He also promised to marry Ruth, Elimelech’s daughter-in-law, providing financial security for the widows and providing the hope of a grandchild for Elimelech and Naomi to keep the line intact. Ruth and Naomi were set free from a life of poverty and the family name and estate were salvaged. Boaz stepped in with a plan to save the day! As we finish our study of Ruth, we’ll see how God blesses this commitment.

Now, we may not be physically destitute, but without Christ, we are spiritually bankrupt with no hope of digging ourselves out of trouble on our own. We need the Redeemer to pay our ransom and buy us back.

Here’s the good news! In Christ, “we have redemption and the forgiveness of sins” (Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:14). How did He accomplish this for us? Peter told us: “you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from our forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Peter 1:18-19).

Today’s verses confirm that we are redeemed, not with money, but with the blood of Christ. And receiving this redemption is a free gift of God that we accept in faith! We can’t work to earn it but we can repent of our sins and accept Christ’s work on the cross on our behalf. Like Boaz offered to pay the price that Naomi and Ruth could not pay, Jesus paid the price that we could not pay! If you haven’t accepted Christ as your Redeemer, what are you waiting for? He’s waiting to set you free! Stick with us as we continue our study of Ruth and see what I mean.

Respond

Lord, thank You for showing me what true love really is. It isn’t a fickle feelings kind of love but a loyal love. Help me to demonstrate Your hesed to the people that You have placed in my life. I want to faithfully love like You. Amen.

Reveal

Lord, thank You for being my Redeemer. I know that in You, my sins are forgiven and I am set free from the power of sin and death! Praise You, Lord! Amen.