"O Lord, you took up my case; you redeemed my life."
Lamentations 3:58 NIV
Freedom is more than having no boundaries. Freedom is not equal to being able to do whatever comes to mind. Freedom is not the absence of oppression. Freedom is not exclusively a national thing.
Freedom is the release from the death penalty of sin. And it's accomplished only through redemption. Freedom is a spiritual thing more than anything else.
Have you ever been in a helpless situation? Maybe your car was stalled on the side of a lonely highway late in the evening. No cell service. No help. Then someone stops to help you. You can begin to understand redemption.
Redemption is necessary because all humanity is in a helpless situation. We are under a curse because of sin. We face an eternal penalty because of it. And there is nothing we can do about it. Oh, some will try. Maybe you've tried to resolve this problem on your own.
"If I can just do enough 'churchy' things maybe those will offset the bad." "I'm a good person; and I'm better than a lot of folks who go to church!" "I've never stolen or murdered or cheated." Keep going. Can you come up with some more reasons why you shouldn't be left to deal with your own sin?
God knows better than we know how bad sin is and how holy he is. And he says that sin must be dealt with effectively. His solution - the right one since he knows what he knows - is a sacrifice to make the sinner right with him. Hundreds of years ago, Anselm of Canterbury explained that God became man because only man needed the sacrifice but only God could be the perfect sacrifice sufficient for the need.
So God became man. Jesus was born. And Jesus died. He did this so we could be redeemed - set free from the clutches and penalty of sin. Have you trusted Jesus for your redemption? Pray that God will help you see your need for salvation and find it in Jesus Christ.
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