Redeemed From The Empty Way Of Living Handed Down To Us

1 Peter 1:18-19
¹⁸For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, ¹⁹but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

The two epistles of Peter were addressed to Christians living in various parts of Asia Minor, consisting mostly of converted Gentiles (people of non-Jewish origin). Their past life was characterized by ''living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry'' (1 Peter 4:3) . To these people, Peter declares that they have been ''redeemed from the empty way of life handed down'' to them from their forefathers.

This is a truth that people all over the world, regardless of culture or race, can relate to. As individuals, we may find ourselves trapped in certain patterns of lifestyle, some even in certain sin patterns, that seemed to have been handed down to us from our parents, sometimes even from earlier generations.

For example, say that the parents are heavy into use of drugs or alcohol. The children they raise may have this sin pattern passed down to them. In other cases, it could a religious form of worship that is handed down through the generations. As believers, we need to know that the blood of Christ has redeemed us from such sin and lifestyle patterns we may find ourselves in.

It is an awesome thing to see people walk out free from the vain manner of life that has been handed down to them, through the redeeming power of the blood of Jesus. It is indeed an awesome thing to see a person who was raised in a family with years of idol worship be set free to worship the true and living God.

It is indeed an awesome thing to see a person raised in a family history of adultery or sexual immorality walk free from this.

Delivered From This Present Evil Age

Galatians 1:3-4
³Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

1 John 5:1, 4
¹Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.
⁴for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

It was the desire of the Father that you and I be delivered from ''this present evil age''. Jesus made this possible through His redeeming work on the cross. We have been set free from the control of ''this present evil age''.

This age (Greek 'aion' meaning '' a period of time'') refers to this present period of time during which satan is operating as the ''god of this age'' (2 Corinthians 4:4). The word translated 'rescue' comes from the Greek word 'exaireo' which according to Vine's Dictionary means ''to take out for oneself''.

The Father had a special interest and great pleasure in taking us out of this present evil age for Himself. Since we are delivered from this present evil age we no longer need to be subject to the works and influence of the god o this age. Taking this a step further, the Scriptures declare that every believer overcomes the world.

The world (Greek 'kosmos') refers to the ''order'' or ''system'' we find around us. It refers to the system of evil and rebellion that pervades societies, cultures and nations, setting people and circumstances up against the purposes of God. A believer does not need to live in subjection to the system of evil and rebellion that influences and dominates the world around her/him.

The Scriptures teach us that we ''... may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.'' (2 Peter 1:4). A believer is free from the evil that dominates this present age, and can walk in victory over the system of evil and rebellion in the world. This is possible through Christ's redeeming work.

Redeemed From Satan's Works

Colossians 1:13
¹³For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,

John 14:30 (Amplified Bible)
³⁰I will not talk with you much more, for the prince (evil genius, ruler) of the world is coming. And he has no claim on Me. [He has nothing in common with Me; there is nothing in Me that belongs to him, and he has no power over Me.]

1 John 5:18
¹⁸We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him.

Luke 10:19
¹⁹I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.

We have been redeemed from satan's control over our lives. What Jesus said in John 14:30 can now be said of us who have been redeemed by Him. The prince of this world, satan, has no claim on us, he has nothing in common with us, there in nothing in us that belongs to him and he has no power over us.

We belong to God who has made us His own. Jesus, the One who was born of God keeps us safe and the devil cannot harm us. Not only have we been set free from satan's dominion, but we have been given authority over him and complete protection from him! What a glorious redemption!

Now when the devil attempts his wicked schemes against us, whether by trying to put some deadly disease, or destroy our family, or lead our children astray, or hinder our business, or cause financial hardships, or bring disaster, etc. we can arise up against him and victoriously resist his works. We do not have to suffer at his hands.

Redeemed from sin's power

Titus 2:13-14
¹³while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

Romans 6:14
¹⁴For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

Jesus came to ''redeem us from all wickedness'' or ''every lawless deed'' as rendered in another version. The Greek word for redeem is the word 'lutro', which as we stated in an earlier study refers to setting a captive free by the payment of a ransom.

So the truth presented here is that Jesus sets us fee from every sinful deed that may hold us captive. As individuals we may have been or may still be captives to various sinful habits. We don't have to present a list of these here. Each one of us can recognize them in our lives individually.

Now that we are in Jesus, we need to know that as part of the redemption that has been provided for us, we can be free from bondage to sinful deeds. The world may try to reason away certain sinful deeds as being ''genetic'', or what ever else.

But we've got to acknowledge sin as sin and recognize that in Christ we can be set free. We are to live as God's own people who are eager to walk in righteousness.

Brought Out To Be Brought In

Deuteronomy 4:20
But the LORD selected you and brought you out of Egypt's iron furnace to be a people for His inheritance, as you are today.

Deuteronomy 6:21-23
²¹ tell him: "We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. ²² Before our eyes the LORD sent miraculous signs and wonders—great and terrible—upon Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. ²³ But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land that he promised on oath to our forefathers.

God bringing His people out of slavery from Egypt is a type of our redemption from spiritual bondage to the devil. God brought the people of Israel out of slavery, so that He could take them to be His own people, ''the people of His inheritance''.

He brought them out from there, so that He could bring them in to the land of promise. Our redemption therefore involves bringing out and a bringing in. God brought us out from being separated from Him and brought us in to being His own sons and daughters.

God brought us out from bondage to satan and brought us in to liberty in the Kingdom of His son. He brought us out from sin and brought us in to righteousness. He brought us out from condemnation and brought us in to justification. He brought us out from being sinner and brought us in to being His priests.

He brought us out from being slaves and brought us in to reign in life. He brought us out from sickness and brought us in to health. He brought us out from being oppressed and brought us in to God-given authority. He brought us out from failure and brought us in to success.

He brought us out from poverty and lack and brought us in to His abundant supply. He brought us out from despair and brought us in to an eternal hope. He brought us out from eternal death and brought us in to eternal life.

Living As ''The Redeemed Of The Lord''

Although conquered and defeated, the devil has been allowed to continue with his wicked schemes on the earth, a little longer. We know that this won't be forever. Yet, while we are here on the earth, we face an enemy daily, who desires to have us back as his captives.

Whether it is in the moral financial, the physical (body), relational (marriage, family, relationships), the ministry or the spiritual (our walk with the Lord) the devil attempts relentlessly to gain an entrance and capture territory in our lives. The challenge that we are faced with is to successfully resist attempts and walk in the benefits of the redemption Christ provided for us.

The redemption that we have in Christ brings benefits, some of which we can enjoy and experience in this life and those we will enjoy when we are changed into His likeness. While we are here on the earth, what must we do to live as people whom the Lord has redeemed and purchased for Himself?

How can our lives be filled with the rich blessings of the redemption that we have in Christ? As individuals and communities of believers spread around the world, we are to demonstrate the reality of our redemption. We are to live, individually and corporately, as the redeemed of the Lord.

Our Redemption

The Bible tells us that ''the whole world is under the control of the evil one'' (1 John 5:19). We are living in an environment that is under the influence of the powers of darkness - satan and his demonic hosts. The works of darkness are manifested all around us in its varied forms - sin, sickness, destruction, poverty, corruption, etc. The list can go on and on. Regardless of which part of the world we live, and regardless of what vocation we may have in life - minister, doctor, business person, home maker, school teacher, student, etc.

We come face to face with the works of the devil every day. The devil and his cohorts influence, control and dominate people and events in the world. In view of all this, the Bible presents a very powerful truth. The Bible teaches that every person who has been saved through faith in Christ has been set free from the control of the devil. It is possible for every believer to live victorious over the works of the devil. Any individual who is ''in Christ'' does not need to live in subjection to the evil one!!

On the one hand there is a large part of the Body of Christ that has not heard this truth. Many believers in many churches around the world have never been told that they can indeed live an overcoming life. They have not been taught that they no longer need to be dominated by the works of the devil. They have not been taught about what they need to do to live a life where they can resist and overcome the works of the devil.

And then there is another large portion of the Body of Christ who have heard these truths - they have heard the tapes, read the books, attended the seminars, and have ''received the revelation'' - and yet have not been able to consistently translate these truths into their daily experience. We believe that God wants His people to know the truth. He wants His people taught and educated in the truths presented in His Word. And we also believe that every truth presented in Scripture will have its effect on our daily lives. The truths presented in Scripture are not just to be preached, taught and written about. They are meant to becomes a part of our daily experience.

Origin Of Heavenly Peace

Luke Chapter 19 verses 41 and 42 indicate that the city of Jerusalem was happy and prosperous for sometime. But then God says that Jerusalem ought to have realized something, that is, it should have known things about heavenly peace while it is prosperous. We too have times of prosper in our lives. Just because we are in peace and prosperity doesn't mean that God is with us or our deeds are pleasing in God's eyes. It is the time given by the Lord to make us realize. Where does this Godly or heavenly peace originate?

From the blood of Christ: Colossians 1:20, 1 John 1:7

Only the blood of Christ cleanses our sins that are between us and the Lord. This is the starting point of heavenly peace. Jesus Christ is the cause or origin of our peace as written in Ephesians 2:13-17. His blood removes our sins, which are obstacles that stand between the Lord and us. Because of this, Jesus Christ preached heavenly peace as gospel. Those who listened and obeyed to the gospel are cleaned by His blood and hence become vessels to receive heavenly peace.

Explicit deeds: Acts 22:16

Being washed by the blood of Christ is a hidden thing. Nobody can physically explicitly visualize this. But there are certain things that need to be done explicitly in order to acquire the heavenly peace. They are (i) getting up, (ii) worshipping the Lord and (iii) obtaining baptism. This is because baptism is a covenant of the righteous soul with the Lord. Baptism is also a law given by the Lord and hence if we follow His laws there will be heavenly peace according to Isaiah 48:18.

Prayer: Phil. 4:6,7

Even if we are cleansed by the blood of the Lord and follow His laws and get baptized, we still may lack heavenly peace. The reason for this is we are still in this world and not in heaven. Therefore we might be attacked by worldly sorrows that take away the heavenly peace in us. In this case, God tells us to just inform Him of all our sorrows and He will take care of everything so that we are filled with heavenly peace. We can inform things to Him through prayer and those who pray are free from worries and have heavenly peace (Matt. 6:25,27, I Peter 5:7).

Hold on to Him: Isaiah 26:3

Heavenly peace comes to those who strongly hold on to Jesus and Jesus alone. We should not try all possible things according to our own will and upon failure, come to Jesus in the end. According to Psalms 125:1 and Psalms 34:22, those who hold on to the Lord will not be charged by others since they do not choose the path of sin according to their own will. Choosing their own path often leads to a lot of trouble and hence loss of peace.

What Happens When We Don't Listen To God's Warnings?

Our Lord always warns His people before the times of trouble. But most of the times
we don't listen to His warnings, and even more we continue our journey as we planned. We forget to realize that if we don't listen to His warning then our journey, however perfectly planned, will be in trouble. In this post I will discuss what we learn from two incidents, one described in Acts 27:10-21 and another the example of Lot.

Other examples in this context include

(i) Joseph, a positive example, who changed his own plan upon being warned by the angels. According to Matt. 2:22, he was warned by the angels and he listened to the warning. If he had not done so, he would have lost baby Jesus.

(ii) Simpson, a negative example, who neglected God's warning. He didn't even know that the Lord is not with him.

(iii) Noah, a positive example, listened to God's warning about the rain and the flood
and immediately started to build the ark and planned his journey.

Now, let us see what happens when we don't listen to God's warnings:

Step 1: We don't listen to God's warning.

Step 2: Eventually your faith is shifted from the Lord and His words. This is because even though you receive a warning from the Lord, you are not inclined to obey to His words. you choose your own way, but your conscience may poke you often. In order to silence your inner good side, you convince yourself by shifting your faith from the Lord's words to some other person's words which seem to agree with what you are doing. In Acts 27:11, the general had more faith in the captain's words than in the Lord's words. Abram and Lot started their journey according to God's word. But eventually Lot's interest was shifted on to worldly blessings and prosperity. That's why he chose Sodom and convinced himself by saying that it looked like God's paradise!

Abram also is a negative example of this case. In Genesis 15:4 the Lord promises Abram about his generation. But just in the next chapter, when Sarah tells him to sleep with her maidservant Abram listens to her. He puts more faith in Sarah's words than on the Lord's words!

Step 3: False favourable situation arises. When we read the verses 12-14 of the passage in Acts Chap. 27 there was cool breeze that comforted them. They thought that their journey has been approved the Lord and everything turns to their favour. But this favourable situation didn't last for a long time. There came Euroclydon a tempestuous wind. Favourable situations are fake and won't last long for those who neglect God's warnings. As a similar example, Lot chose Sovar when God wanted him to run to the mountains. Even though Sovar appeared to be a favourable place for Lot, he feared to stay in that place after a while and went to the same mountains where Lord wanted him to go in the beginning.

Preserve What Is Given To You

This post is out of the notes of the Sunday (19 - 04 -2010) sermon.

I Timothy 6:20 - Preserve what is given to you. It is a command by the Lord. So what should we preserve?

II Tim. 4:7 - Faith is the treasure given to us by the Lord. Paul Struggled to preserve his faith. Jude v.3 Faith is given to God's people. They should struggle with guts to preserve it. Acts. 14:22 asks us to hold on to the faith - but this leads to lots of problems in your life - however this is the right path to the kingdom of God. In order to preserve the faith, you should have a strong heart. You also should have a good conscience (I Tim. 1.19). According to I peter 5:9 you can stand against satanic forms only if you firmly hold on to the faith. I Tim.6:10 Desire (for anything) is the root cause of losing faith.

Rev. 3:10 - Preserve God's word. John. 14:23 God, the trinity is with the one who follows God's word. This means that if you do not preserve God's word or if you are lethargic about it, God is never with you. According to John. 17:6 only those who preserve Gods words get heavenly or Godly vision; beware of those who always talk to you about visions. Rev. 3:8 Widely opened doors are available to only those who preserve God's words. John 8:51 - Eternal life is also given to those who preserve God's words.

Rev. 16:15 - Preserve your dress ( God has given us so many dresses like salvation, righteousness, praise, etc.). Rev. 3:17,18. Matt. 22:11 - Not only wearing or preserving a dress in important but wearing an appropriate dress is more important. Zec. 3:3 - Joshua stands before God's angel with unclean dress and there comes Satan - this is the worst condition given that Joshua is the high priest! Rev 3:4, Rev. 7:13,14,15. Those who wear the clean dress, washed with the blood of Jesus, stand before God's throne. Rev. 19:8 - Acquiring this clean, bright, fine dress (in the heaven) from the Lord depends on preserving our God-given dress in this world.