FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP
RENEWING
THE MIND – XVIII
THE WILL
OF IAUE - 1
REDEMPTION
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this
world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove
what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of IAUE.
Today, we begin to
look at another important subject upon which our minds need to be renewed. Our purpose in the study of Renewing the Mind
is to reshape our thinking upon the issues that are the most foundational to
our ability to be spiritually minded; and thus come to comprehend the will of
IAUE. If we think wrongly upon the
basics, we cannot build a house that will stand against the winds of adversity (see Matthew 7:24-27).
First, I want to
define the term “Redemption.” You may
not be old enough to remember this; but there was a time when people, generally
housewives, would religiously collect trading stamps that were given with every
purchase they made in retail stores (S&H stamps, Gold Bond stamps, etc.). They would place the stamps in “stamp books” that were designed for that
purpose. The eventual purpose of this
was to accumulate the requisite number of completed books then trade them for
some needed object like a toaster, plate ware, silverware, etc. There was a facility in which all of these
objects were held, called a redemption center.
They remained there until they were ransomed. They were “redeemed” when the correct
purchase price was paid for them.
The word “redeemed”
most commonly used throughout the Old Testament is “padah,”
which means to ransom, or redeem by paying a price. The word used in the New Testament is “exagorazo,” which means to pay the price to ransom
from the power or authority of another; and “lytroo,”
which means to release/liberate upon payment of ransom. Both the Old Testament and New Testament
words convey the same concept. We have
been kidnapped from our intended state of existence and held ransom, unable to
free ourselves. A ransom had to be made
to free us.
Matthew 1:21 And she
shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Yahushua: for he
shall save his people from their sins.
This verse in
Matthew is from the dream given to Joseph by the angel of IAUE assuring him of
Mary’s virtue and letting him know that she is the “virgin” of Isaiah 7:14, who
would conceive and bear a son; or, in other words, she is pregnant with the
Messiah. The angel told him that the reason he was to call the child, Yahushua
was because “he shall save his people from their sins.”
Galatians 4: 4 But when the fulness of the
time was come, Elohim sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the
adoption of sons.
Ephesians 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of
children by Yahushua Messiah to himself, according to the good pleasure of his
will,
6 To the praise of the glory of
his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
7 In whom we have redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Colossians 1:14 In whom we
have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Christians often
sing in their Sunday morning “worship” services, “Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed
by the blood of the lamb; redeemed, redeemed, his child and forever I am.” They sing this jubilantly, thinking that
Messiah has paid the price to give them an eternity in Heaven when they
die. This is not at all what being
redeemed means. Being redeemed means
that a price has been paid to free you from your current state of affairs; ransomed
from a slavery which you were utterly powerless to control.
What was that
slavery? It was slavery to sin. Remember, sin is not the bad things you have
done (or are doing); it is missing the mark of obedience to the will of
IAUE. Sin isn’t just killing someone, or
committing adultery; it is also wearing the green shirt when IAUE told you to
wear the blue shirt. It is studying your
bible for an hour when IAUE told you to go do your shopping. Wearing a green
shirt or studying the Scriptures are not “bad things” unless they are not the
will of IAUE, then it becomes sin. We
will never understand what it is to be redeemed until we can grasp the true
meaning of sin. Sin is rebellion against
the will of IAUE, whether intentional or done in ignorance. IAUE’s will is
everything. It is the very purpose of
our existence. Man was created to know and to do His will. It is imperative that man recognize this; and
that he understands that there is either obedience to the will of IAUE, or
there is enslavement to sin.
Thanks to Adam’s
disobedience in the Garden of Eden, man is born into slavery. The seed of man passes from generation to
generation a nature that is alienated from the original righteous condition of
Adam; leaving man a servant of sin…a servant of disobedience to the will of
IAUE.
There are only two
ways of rescuing man from this condition.
The first is to change man’s nature from disobedient to righteous. That is not possible; because once
righteousness has been forfeited, it can never be restored. It is like a person once having had a sexual
relationship can no longer be a virgin.
Virginity cannot be restored. The
person has lost the condition that made him/her a virgin.
The second is to pay
the penalty for man’s sin, thus taking away his sin. A man may commit a crime and go to jail. Once enduring the term of his sentence, he is
freed from jail; but his identity is still that he is a criminal. Only when his sentence is transferred to
another can he ever be free of his identity as a criminal. Messiah took our sins upon himself and paid
our penalty for our sin. He became identified
with our iniquity and disobedience to IAUE.
John 1:29 The next day John seeth Yahushua
coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of IAUE, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Yahushua did much
more than just bring forgiveness of sins to man. He removed sin from man. The Scripture says that IAUE is no longer taking
account of man’s disobedience because of the payment made by His son; and has
given to Yahushua’s disciples the ministry of reconciliation. They are to
announce to mankind that they are free to come back to IAUE and be restored to
a condition that is capable of doing His will.
Have you ever seen a
dog that was restrained in his movements by a gate or a fence, and when the
gate or fence was eventually removed, the dog still would not go past the point
where he was formerly restrained from going?
The gate or fence is still in the dog’s mind. His restraint is still part of his identity. It is like Paul and Silas in the Philippian
jail in Acts 16. After IAUE shook the
jail and opened all the doors and released all the chains from every prisoner,
no one left. No one escaped. They were all still in their jail cells. Their only restraint was their own choice not
to leave their incarceration. This is
the condition of man, today. His sins
have been forgiven. Nothing he has done
or is currently doing is being reckoned unto him as something requiring a
penalty to be paid (2 Corinthians 5:19). The jail door is open and the chains have
been released. The authority to hold
him there has been broken. The price for all his disobediences has already been remitted. That is
what it means to be redeemed. The problem is, man either does not know it, or
does not believe it.
Even though he may
learn that Yahushua took his sins upon himself and shed his blood to pay the
penalty/price for his sins, his mind still enjoys sin. Disobedience to IAUE’s will means doing his
own will…doing what he wants to do. His
choices are not determined by someone else, and he likes that. He is unaware that disobedience simply brings
him under the control of a different master.
Freedom from sin
does not equate to true liberty. This is
where the renewing of the mind becomes important. True liberty can only be found within the
will of IAUE. Most Christians never
learn this fact. They have not come to understand that doing their own will
keeps them in the jail cell. They give
lip service to making Yahushua their Master; but it is only lip service. Their
hearts are far from obedience to the will of another.
So, we have been redeemed
by the blood of the lamb, by the sacrifice of Yahushua. The price was paid in full to free us from
the redemption center where we have been waiting helplessly for someone to free
us from that dark environment. We must
walk out of our holding cells and embrace the freedom that has been purchased
on our behalf. Redemption is a
fact. It has been accomplished; but we
must act upon it with faith, believing it has been accomplished. If that faith does not bring us unto
obedience to the will of IAUE, it will leave us no more free than the dog that
still imagines the gate or fence that is no longer there.
The will of IAUE is
everything to man.
Kingdom
heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the
performance of the will of IAUE.
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