Well, this week has passed very quickly. We've come to our final morning study in this particular week of studies together. And as you can see, looking at the outline you have, I hope you have. Do any of you lack an outline? Just raise your hand and we'll get it to you. We're looking at another one of those great doctrines of salvation today. We're going to look briefly at the doctrine of redemption today. I admit that it's very frustrating to think in terms of doing anywhere near an adequate job of looking at this great doctrine in one session because there is so much in the scripture on the doctrine of redemption. And while I think of that, let me remind you that these doctrines that we've looked at this week are only a small part of the total list of doctrines of salvation. If you come off to Emmaus and by the way, people do that. We almost always will have One or more retired people are couples who realize a dream of a lifetime and come for a semester of studies at the college and take a full load of courses and just get right into the classroom day by day. Some of you might want to consider that. It might be a good thing to do with three and a half months of your time sometime. But you might want to study in our course in soteriology and dig into the doctrines of justification and repentance and sanctification and grace and mercy and love. There are many, many, many doctrines of salvation. It's sort of like that diamond. I don't have one here. It's like that diamond ring that some of you have on your finger. One diamond, but many facets. And they cut those facets and polish them so that they bring out the beauty of the stone. One stone, but all of the facets. And so it is with salvation. That wonderful package deal we say that we receive freely when we receive Christ. But there are many facets of God's wonderful salvation. And to really, really dig into these is a tremendous, tremendous delight. So we're touching a few and touching them lightly. I hope it hasn't been too tedious taking you into the classroom in these mornings together. Now we're going to begin reading today from First Peter and reading one of the many passages which speak of redemption. And I think that we will begin reading today in chapter one and verse fourteen. First Peter chapter one will begin reading in verse fourteen. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the holy one who called you, be holy yourselves also in all of your behavior, because it is written, You shall be holy for I am holy. And if you address as father, the one who impartially judges according to each man's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay upon earth, knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. For he was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared these last times for the sake of you, who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead, gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. Now let's pause again to pray. Father, again this morning, as we view yet another one of those glorious terms, truths that you've revealed in your word, We pray for the ministry of your spirit to our hearts. Give us understandings. Give us an increasing appreciation of the wonderful dimensions of the work of salvation accomplished by our Lord Jesus. And may our hearts be drawn out to him in worship and in trust. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Now we go back for a moment to Genesis chapter three and remind ourselves that when our four parents sinned in that fateful day, there were some great problems that ensued. As a result of that, we have an offended God, we have a sinful man, and we now have sin itself making its presence here. We looked at the doctrine of propitiation, the Godward aspect of the work of Christ. The work of Christ in which in his perfect sacrifice he caused God to be well disposed toward the sinner. We have looked at the manward aspect of the work of Christ. Reconciliation. To change the whole world in relationship to God. To use Dr. Schaefer's faith statement to render the whole world savable. What a tremendous thing. to change the world in relationship to himself. Through the death of Christ, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. And we saw the other aspect of reconciliation, the personal, the aspect of applied teaching, now you be reconciled to God. Now today, we're looking at that third great term, which really summarizes that dimension of the work of Christ. And that is the sinward direction. the redemption that is in Christ. Redemption is toward sin. Propitiation toward God, reconciliation toward man, redemption toward sin. Now in the Old Testament, if you read your Bibles all through, you will find many, many, many dimensions. In fact, I'm impressed as I read the Old Testament and try to discern, which I think is a good exercise for us, the extent to which the truth of God and the revelation of God in terms of his dealings with his ancient people, Israel, really was the structure, the fiber of their culture. When you study world cultures, when you meet people from a different culture and begin to realize what profound differences there are in various cultures on the face of the earth, You realize, for example, when the Syrians in the intertestamental period tried to bring the Jews under their heel, they realized that the practice of Judaism, the practice of the religion that was based on the Levitical teachings of the Scripture, was so inherently tied into and fundamental to their culture. They concluded that if they were going to Hellenize the Jews, if they were going to get the Jews to live in the light of Greek culture rather than Hebrew culture, they were going to have to stop the practice of Judaism. In other words, to change their cultural perspective, they realized they were going to have to do away with their religion. And, of course, that led to all of the sufferings and the persecutions under Antiochus Epiphanes and all of the bloodshed that resulted in the Hasmoneans, the Maccabees rising up and all of that. But it's interesting how they realized that Hebrew culture and the Levitical religious life of the Hebrew people were inextricably tied together. And as you read the Old Testament and try to think through and get your mind in gear to what it must have been like living as a Hebrew in those days, as a devoted servant of God, you realize that one of the fundamental dimensions of their life that is almost missing in our life in our culture is the concept of redemption it was built into so many ways of their life for example Exodus chapter six is one of the many many references that tells us that when God led that nation out of Egypt under Moses leadership the Passover the opening of the Red Sea all of the great demonstration of God's power God says, I was redeeming you. That was viewed as redemption. You'll see it. Turn to Exodus chapter six for one of the references. And by the way, in this brief study, when I give you a reference like this, even on your outline, that's only one of many. In most cases, we could add more and more and more references to any of these points. But in Exodus chapter six, we see God saying in his promise verse six, Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, I am the Lord. I will bring you out from under the burdens of Egyptians. I will deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I will redeem you. And he was referring, of course, to deliverance from Egypt. That was viewed as a redemption. Not only that, we find other dimensions of their life. Exodus thirteen, thirteen, the instructions concerning redeeming every firstborn child. every couple that married they look forward to the arrival of their first child they knew that according to the Levitical instructions every first child born into every family had to be redeemed and it's an interesting pattern you see it turned there if you will just for a moment Exodus thirteen you will see a very precise and an interesting description of that process of redemption verse twelve you shall devote to the Lord the first offspring of every womb and the first offspring of every beast that you own, the males belonging to the Lord. But every first offspring of a donkey, you shall redeem with a lamb. If you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. And every firstborn of man among your sons, you shall redeem, and so on. The redemption of the firstborn. And it was built into their way of life. Even the cattle in their field. The first lamb that was born to a youth. The first calf that was born to a calf. the firstborn always had to be redeemed. It was a part of their way of life. You see the necessity of land being redeemed. And we won't take time to turn to the twenty-fifth chapter in Leviticus, where you see the kinsman redeemer pattern there. But if someone got themselves into financial trouble and had to sell a piece of land, it really became the responsibility of near relatives to come then and buy that, redeem that land back. because as we said the land had to stay in the family and only in extreme situations where people were for some absolutely disastrous kind of problem the land went to another owner it could only stay there until the year of Jubilee and then it returned back to the family because God had tied his people to the land and relatives were commanded to redeem back land that an impoverished relative had had to sell. And of course all of that is part of the background of the Book of Ruth. And I've given you a number of other references here. There were many, many, many ways in the life of the ancient Israelites in which redemption was their very way of life. They thought in these terms, the idea of buying back or buying out of. We used to use the expression, I don't know if people use it anymore, buying it out of haqq. ever hear that expression out of hawk probably one of the closest things we think of in our day is a concept of a pawn shop I even think of this the the proliferation of different kinds of gambling in our area has caused the proliferation of pawn shops and you know all of this wretched gambling business becomes a tax on the poor but the more gambling there is the more pawn shops appear in the community in fact I was talking for another reason through the owner of one of the pawn shops and while I was there talking with him a lady came in to pawn her wedding rings her diamond ring and her and her husband was had squandered things in gambling and there she was holding a little baby in her arms pawning her wedding ring for thirty dollars to pay her electric bill so they wouldn't shut off her electricity in the cold of the winter and I must admit I went out of there with a heavy heart I thought I stood out on the sidewalk and I thank God that he didn't take me into the pawn shop business because I don't think I could handle that. In fact, I waited there and waited there thinking the lady might come back down the street because I didn't know where she'd gone and I was just going to give her thirty dollars and say, go in and get that ring back out of Hock and beg your electric bill. The idea of getting something out of Hock, the idea of buying something back that has been put in the hands of the pawn dealer because you needed the money. This is probably as close as we come to many dimensions of redemption that characterize the life of the ancient Hebrews. Redemption was a way of life for them. They thought in terms of buying back or buying out of in a very, very great number of ways. And of course, there are some Hebrew words. have given you the transliteration of the three major words here, Ga'al, which is the word that was used for the kinsman redeemer. And you will notice that this is the whole foundation for the book of Ruth. Do you remember when Naomi and her husband in a time of famine left Israel and went over into the country of Moab with their two sons? And while they were gone and the famine raged on, creditors took over their land. And then later on, after the death of Naomi's husband and two sons, and Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth came back to the land, it was in Hock. It was owned by creditors. Now what are they going to do? You recall the very beautiful picture of Boaz as the kinsman redeemer. The interesting thing is that that problem was so severe, that their indebtedness was so great that not only was the land in Hock, but Ruth herself. came back into a condition of slavery. And that was another thing that compounded the whole matter in ancient Israel. Because if you really couldn't pay what you owed, you yourself became a slave to your creditors. And so when Boaz redeemed, he not only redeemed the land from the creditors, but he redeemed Ruth from slavery. And then, of course, made her his wife. And thus you see a very beautiful demonstration of the Old Testament Ga'al, the kinsman redeemer. You see that Hebrew word Pada, which means to redeem, but this word emphasizes the payment of a price. And you see that in connection with the redemption of the firstborn. And then, of course, the Old Testament Kofar, which was the price itself. Now, the word pada was the process of making the payment. The term gopher was the price itself, the sum, the substance that was given in payment. Look, for example, at Exodus chapter twenty-one. You will see a use of that term there in Exodus chapter twenty-one and verse thirty. Or you read, if a ransom is demanded of him, and that has to do with The neighbor's ox who kills somebody or injures somebody. If a ransom is demanded of him, he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is demanded of him. So if you have a mean animal that gets out and injures or kills someone and the family of that person lays the demand on you, you've got to pay it, whatever they ask. No limits. Boy, you could set a pretty high price tag on that. So you'd better keep your meat animals under control, nor you might be in trouble. But the idea here is here is the price, the sum itself. Whatever they ask, you've got to pay it for that cruelty, that problem that was created by a meat animal. Now we go to the New Testament. And as you would expect in the New Testament, we have a wonderful... array of terminology for redemption. Not just one word. Now we have our English word to redeem or redemption that we use to translate all of these words. But again, if you can bear with me, let's think a little bit definitively about this series of words that the New Testament uses to unfold to us the full perspective of the doctrine of redemption. As I say, one of the things that's valuable in this kind of study for us is that it expands our appreciation of what christ did it gets us away from a just a simple concept to the beauty of the breadth of the teaching of the scripture in what christ did for us when he redeemed us when he paid that price at the sacrifice of himself now the series of words i've given you here transliterated we'll look at probably one or two passages which each of these the most basic concept of redemption is conveyed in the Greek word agorazo. And it's related to the Greek word agorá, which was the marketplace. Now, agorazo was the simple word to buy, to make a purchase. The most basic of all of these terms, and we know what that's like. We have made purchases of all kinds all through our life, at least from the time we got old enough to have a few coins in our hands. Whether it was buying a piece of candy as a child, or whether it's buying a house or whatever as an adult, we know the simple concept of making a purchase. Agarazo. First Corinthians chapter six. Quickly look it there. Get you to limber up your Bibles and look through the scriptures. We read in First Corinthians six twenty, you have been bought. You have been redeemed with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body. A simple statement about making a purchase. You have been purchased. You have been purchased. You have been bought with a price. A second word we look at when we think of the New Testament doctrine of redemption is the same word but with the prefix X. X agorazo. The prefix means out of. To buy out of. are to buy out of the hands of, to buy back. Ex-Agarazo. And you can see several references to that. Look at the Galatians three reference, if you will. That's a very significant reference in the New Testament. But you can look at it here in context of this particular word, to buy back. Exodus, sorry, Galatians three and verse thirteen, where Paul says Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law. Ex-Agarazo. He bought us out of the hands of, out of the control of, out of the clutches of the law. You see, it's one thing to simply say, I've made a purchase price. I have bought something. It's another thing to say, I've bought it and taken it out. Now, remember that in all of these references, in the New Testament, we need to think not so much in terms of buying of commodities like apples and oranges or bread or bricks, but buying slaves. And we have to work at that because in the goodness of God, we do not live in a slave culture. And we have to work hard, I think, as Westerners to think in terms of a pattern of slavery in a culture where people are bought and sold, just like property. where people are non-persons, they're chattel. And when you see the doctrine of redemption in the Scriptures, so much of it focuses on the slavery scene, as we shall see, because the fact of the matter is sin is viewed as slavery in the Scriptures. And so it's one thing to go in and pay the purchase price for a slave. It's another thing to take them out of the slave market, to buy... out of, ex agorazo. Now the third work we look at, the word lutrao, a totally different root and a distinct meaning. Because this word, while it's translated redemption, specifically means to set free by paying a price. Oh, that's yet another concept. It's one thing to go and make the purchase in the slave market. It's another thing to take that slave out of the slave market, having paid the price. And yet it is another thing to set them free. To free by paying the price. Titus chapter two. Another reference we will look at quickly there. Titus chapter two. We read the use of this word in verse fourteen. where the apostle sells who gave himself, speaking of Christ, for us, that he might redeem us. He might, having paid the ransom price, set us free. Redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself a people of his own possession. Okay? Lutrao. To pay the price in order to set free. See? And it sort of reminds us of the fact that in every slave culture there are always those we would probably call them philanthropists they were in Rome too they would go into a slave market and buy a slave and take them out and set them free they would use their wealth to set people free from that cursed business of slavery to loose and to set free and then of course there is the word Lutra on which is related to that But that again focuses on the price itself, not the process of setting free, but the price paid in order to set free. So we'll go on to this word apolutrosis, which again, apol means away from, x means out of, apol means away from, and you put that prefix on, and you have the picture of setting liberty, setting at liberty, getting the person away from their place of bondage. Romans chapter three look at that very specific term there in Romans chapter three and in verse twenty four being justified by as a gift by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus and there the word is to set at liberty away from the redemption that is in Christ Jesus not it was the price paid but he got us away from that old slave master Got us clear away. What a wonderful truth. The redemption that is in Christ. And then finally, there's one more term in the New Testament in various forms that is also translated redemption. And it focuses on yet another aspect of this glorious concept of redemption. And that is the word peripoiao, which focuses upon the idea of possession. Why do you go buy something? You want it. You go into the store, you buy some article of clothing, or you buy some beautiful little ceramic figurine or something, and now it's mine. I wanted it. I want to put it on a shelf and look at it. I like the looks of it, whatever. It's mine. I want possession of that, and so I will go and buy it. And I won't leave it in the store, because it's mine. Now I want it. Now put that in terms of slavery, possession. You go and buy, make the purchase, take them out of the slave market, take them home. Why? So that they'll be mine. Possession. And there are references in the New Testament to this. You see, for example, Acts twenty and twenty-eight. Look at that interesting passage. Acts twenty and verse twenty-eight. Well, we read Paul's message to the Ephesian elders. Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. To shepherd the church of God which he purchased with his own blood. I love that. It's one of those beautiful overriding statements about redemption. Where Paul says that the living God through Christ. You have the responsibility, he says, as under shepherds. Ah, yes. To fulfill this responsibility. Because what are you working with? you're working with the possession of God you're handling somebody else's property you're you're taking these aren't your sheep in the congregation elders these are people that are possessed by God so do handle it carefully fulfill that shepherding carefully because these people belong to God possession is the Now, I've given you here a sort of a diagram, and you might want to, just for the sake of your thinking, start down on the left side, the agora, the agorazo, which means to buy. Now, maybe it will help you just put a fence around that, or a box around that, because that's the slave market. See? That's where the person, that's where we were enslaved to sin. We'll come to that in a minute. And the word... Agarazo to buy simply means to go there and make the purchase, to pay the price. Then we come to the concept of ex-Agarazo to buy out of, because that's not only did Christ make the payment to purchase us from the bondage of sin, but he bought us out of that bondage, ex-Agarazo. And even more than that, he bought us and took us out of the slave market that he might release us, Lutrao, and that he might release us away from that old slave master, Apol, Lutrao. Why? That we might be his possession. And the picture is a beautiful one. When you see all of these New Testament terms unfolding before us, and you see the glorious bread of the doctrine of redemption the glorious bread now we'll come back to that in a minute but we need to see first of all the phases of redemption and you've thought through this but let me just remind you that some of the references to redemption point historically to the past what happened two thousand years ago when Christ died and shed his blood and paid the price And you see a reference like Galatians three. We looked at that a bit ago, but go back there again and see that interesting statement, the statement about the redemption in Christ. Get it here, boy, for some reason or other, it must be human. This little Bible, the pages are sticking together. Galatians three, thirteen, Christ redeemed us from the law. What's the context? Having become a curse for us who has written, cursed is everyone who hangs in the tree. He's pointing to Calvary. And looking back at Calvary and the historic event of the sacrificial death of Christ and the shedding of his precious blood, the payment of that redemption price, looking back to that event, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Lord. points to action that was complete at one point of time in the past. Redemption. Redemption from the penalty of sin. Now, we no longer face the demanding, accusing finger of the law. Christ has redeemed us. It was done two thousand years ago. Signed, sealed, and delivered. Two thousand years ago. And yet... we read in that passage we looked at a minute ago in Titus chapter two and turn there again to see the context in Titus chapter two the emphasis is not so much on the historic past event of Calvary where it was all accomplished and the price was paid but now look at how the word is used in Titus chapter two speaking of our Savior Christ Jesus verse thirteen who gave himself that he might redeem us Now what's the perspective here? Read on. From every lawless deed and purify for himself a people for his own possession. Oh, you see, this is something that's going on in the present. The work of God in this progressive sanctification, as Paul said to the Philippians, he who has begun a good work and you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. You see, something's going on in your life and mine, fellow believers, right now. And God, by his spirit and by his word, is at work freeing us from lawless deeds and purifying for himself a people this is going on now there is a present aspect of redemption that work of God in the life of the believer that continues through our lives and we've said this before you know this we're not finished products none of us are Even the apostle himself had to admit, looking forward to the rapture of the church, and we shall all be changed. Not you, we. Includes himself. We're not finished products here. That work of God in our lives to deliver us from lawless deeds and to purify for himself this people, the present aspect of redemption. And then, of course, the Romans reference, chapter eight in verse twenty three, is very clearly future. So go back there for a minute. Romans chapter eight, the word redemption appears here in verse twenty three, where Paul writes, and not only this, but also we ourselves having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves grown within ourselves, waiting eagerly for the adoption of sons, the redemption of our body. We're waiting for this. This is in the future, Paul says. What? The redemption of our body. What's he talking about? He's talking about that glorious promise of God that someday even these physical mortal bodies are going to be changed. Or if they've died and corrupted, the corruption will put on incorruption. He's pointing forward to the day of resurrection, the redemption. And we're waiting for that, he says. It's yet future. So there is a past aspect of redemption, totally fulfilled and accomplished at Calvary when Christ died and paid the price. There is a present aspect of redemption, the continuing work of God in the life of the believer, to free us from sin and to purge us and to purify us for himself. And then there is the future aspect of redemption, when it will all be consummated in the resurrection, even our bodies. Past, present, and future redemption. There's one more perspective we need here, and go back to Romans six while you're close there, because we need to, again, remind ourselves that when the Bible speaks of redemption, the primary focus is not so much upon buying, as I say, milk and eggs and bread, but the matter of slavery. In his statement to the Jews, John chapter eight, the Lord Jesus said, He who sins is the servant of sin. Now look at Romans chapter six and see here the extensive way in which the same concept is spelled out. Sin in the scripture is viewed as a form of slavery. Sin is a taskmaster. Sin in slaves. Our Lord said it. He who serves sin is the slave. Remember he was talking to the Jews? The Jews had a very prideful heritage. They never really buckled under any oppressor. They always were fighting. I think they originated guerrilla warfare. All through their history, the Jews, the Jews, boy, you couldn't keep them under your heel. They were plucky people. They could always, and they prided themselves in the fact. And when the Lord was talking, said he, if the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. He said, oh, wait a minute. We've never buckled under slavery to anybody. That was their response to his statement. If the Son shall make you free, you'll be free indeed. They talked about their national heritage. We've never knuckled under to anybody. What was our Lord's response? Wait a minute. I'm talking about a different sphere of life. I'm not talking about politics and national pride. He who serves, he who sins is the servant of sin. That's the slavery I'm talking about. And when I said this, if the Son makes you free, you'll be free indeed. I'm not talking about your national heritage. I'm talking about spiritual and ethical and moral issues. And sin is slavery. Oh. That was their response. Oh. But now Paul takes up that same theme here in Romans chapter six. And he says, for example, verse sixteen, do you not know that when you present yourselves as someone as slave for obedience, you are slave to the one whom you obey? Okay, that's the basic idea. If you're obeying someone, you're enslaved. You're enslaved. The interesting thing is in Romans chapter six is that again and again and again, Paul says to the believer, and Romans six is not a gospel passage, it's written to believers. He says, but the believer needs to face the option. Notice, read on in that same verse. To present yourselves as those, I'm sorry, verse sixteen. As slaves to the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death or of obedience resulting in righteousness, here's your option. See? Now who will you serve? Will you serve sin or will you serve righteousness? Go back down to verse eighteen. and having been freed from sin, you became the slaves of righteousness. There's your option, you see. And for the Christian, it is true. We have been redeemed. We have been set free from that old taskmaster. Christ paid the price. He delivered us. He took us out of the slave market. He brought us to Himself in the freedom of His own possession. And the whole appeal of Romans chapter six is, now believers, don't voluntarily submit yourself to that old slave master. Sin. Because you don't need to. Now the fact that Paul writes this indicates that it can happen. And believers can serve sin. But Paul's appeal in Romans six is, look, you have been redeemed. You have been bought out of the slavery of sin. you have been set free from that old horrible slave master of sin and now you're free to be the servants of God the slaves of God and his possession now don't go back and resubmit yourself to that old slavery sin you say would anybody do that oh you know as well as I how easy it is for us in our present state to sin. Not because we have to. It reminds me of the folly of ancient Israel. I think we've heard this the other day, but one of the most astounding statements in all of the Bible. You remember Akkadish Marnia when Israel coming out of the wilderness there at the edge of the land of promise sent spies into the land. They sent twelve spies and then they came back and There was a minority report and a majority report. Ten said, we can't do it. They're too big. They're too powerful. We've had it. We're doomed. The other two said, oh, no, no, it's a good land. And sure, the walls are high and the people are mighty. But God's given it to us. Let's go. But the people believed the majority report and they spent the whole night in mourning and anguish and weeping. And by the next morning, the scriptures say they had a plan. What was the plan? They were going to stone Caleb and Joshua and Moses, appoint new leadership, go back to Egypt and resubmit themselves to slavery. One of the most outlandish statements in all the scriptures. What a plan that came out of that night of mourning. Here's our plan. We're going to stone the God-appointed leadership, and we'll put new leadership ahead of us, go back to Egypt, and resubmit ourselves to slavery. Can you imagine? And I say, what? Foolish. What? Fully. And yet, fellow believer, every time you and I sin, we're doing the same foolish thing. We're serving an old slave master from whom we have been set free. And that's the appeal of Romans six. See it over here. Look at it in verse twenty. Look at that interesting statement. for when you were slaves of sin you were free from righteousness that's an interesting way to put it isn't it when you were slaves of sin you've been free from righteousness therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things which you're now ashamed for the outcome of those things is death but now verse twenty two having been freed from sin and enslaved to God you derive your benefits resulting in sanctification the outcome eternal life what a wonderful thing Christ has done for us see Two important things to note here in this passage. One is, we have only this option. You're either a slave to sin or you're a slave to God and to righteousness. Now, you see, in our society, we don't like to face such absolutes. We like to keep our options open. We like to hang loose. We like to think, well, I can choose and I can do my own thing here and have the best of both worlds. All this kind of... Not so, says the living God. You really only have one of two alternatives. Now, the world doesn't have that. You see, the unsaved person is enslaved to sin and that's their only option. But for the believer who has been set free from that old slave master and now is the possession of God to serve him, the believer has the option. But remember, friends, it's either or. And this passage gives us no middle road, no other option. Either you're serving sin or you're serving God and righteousness. It's either or. That's an important thought, isn't it? Notice the second thing, and that is that we move right on to verse twenty-three, which is probably the most misquoted and misused verse in the New Testament. For, he says, this is not addressed to unsaved people. Now you can go ahead and use it for the gospel because it's a valid application, but in its context, this is a statement to Christians. Because the whole chapter six is written to Christians. An appeal, since you've been set free, redeemed from slavery of sin, And now you're the slaves of God. Now don't resubmit yourself to that old slave master. For, why? The wages of sin is death. And Paul is reflecting here on that which characterizes slavery. And we're struggling with it right now in our own nation. And we don't understand it, but the mind of a slave is one of the ways that they endure the horror of their slavery. is by hoping and hoping and hoping and holding out that someday something's going to happen and they're going to get paid back for all of that thankless work that they did and the bondage the oppression of slavery one of the ways that human beings make it tolerable is to hold on to that hope that someday the worm will turn something will happen and they're really going to get paid back for all of that thankless work that they did and no pay work that they did as slaves. And Paul says now, yes, and if you serve that old slave master, someday you will get paid. What? Death. The wages of sin, someday it'll pay off. You serve that old master? Believe it or not, slaves, someday your hope will be realized. That old slave master will pay you off with death. Not too smart, is it, to go back and resubmit yourself to that kind of slave master when we have been set free from sin. But the gift, the free gift of God is eternal life. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. There is where your allegiance is, believer. You serve him in righteousness. Ah, because he pays off too. You see? He pays off too. Not with death that your old slave master would pay you off with, but with eternal life. Tremendous perspective. Tremendous perspective. Yes, to be in sin is to be in slavery. But the scriptures teach us that the substitutionary death of Christ in the shedding of his blood, Jesus Christ paid the price to purchase us, to purchase us out of the bondage, the slavery of sin, to set us free in his own possession as servants of righteousness in the living God. What a picture. And of course, we have this message, a message of redemption. We can look at a world enslaved in sin and tell them, yes, someday, believe it or not, there's going to be a payoff. And that slave master that you have served all of your life is going to pay you off with death. but bless God a price has been paid in whom we have redemption in whom in Christ Peter says you are not redeemed with so we're not talking about earthly things here even silver and gold even whoo that's pretty good stuff I guess no no not compared to the blood of Christ the blood of Christ as a lamb without spot, without blemish. The price has been paid. It's a reality. It is a fact. And by simple faith in Christ, we can enter into all of that glorious deliverance from sin and freedom in Christ to be the servants of the living God. Redeemed how I love to proclaim it. redeemed by the blood of the land. No longer enslaved to that old slave master's sin. So don't do the stupid thing and go back and serve sin, says Paul. You've been set free. You've been redeemed from that old bondage. And he took you out of the slave market. And he set you free in his own possession. And now we have that glorious privilege. of being the slaves of God. What a term. And what Paul says in Romans chapter six is not only don't do that stupid thing and go back and voluntarily serve that old slave master sin that you don't need to, but he also says with the same total abandon that you once served sin and you didn't have any option, so it was total abandon. Now with that same total abandon, serve God and righteousness. It's our privilege, folks. I feel sorry for Christians who say, well, I can't do this, and I can't drink, and I can't smoke, and I can't cuss, and I can't. Oh, come on, folks. What do you mean you can't, you can't, you can't? That's childish stuff to think that way. Bless God, you've been set free from sin. And to think of all you can do that the slave to sin cannot do. You can serve God acceptably. You can serve righteousness. And the world can't do that. I pity those people in the world who are slaves to sin. They don't know the freedom that's in Christ. Not freedom to do my own thing. No, no. Because Paul's already established in Romans chapter two. That's the darkest form of slavery. Slavery to self. The darkest form of slavery. The least identifiable form. But the darkest form. So don't serve self. No, no, no, no. That's not why he set us free. But to serve him. To serve righteousness. That's redemption.