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[0:00] Well, I have a confession to make.

[0:17] A couple of Sunday nights ago I said this would be the last message out of Colossians 1, 14 to 20 and I lied. There's one more. I don't know what I was thinking.

[0:28] And sometimes that's just the case with me. I don't know what I'm thinking. So open your Bibles, would you, to Colossians chapter 1 and find verse 14.

[0:41] We're going to be focusing on verse 14. Now, next Sunday night, Lord willing, if he gives us next Sunday night, we shouldn't count on that.

[0:53] He may come, you know. The next Sunday night I plan to begin to preach through the book of Romans. So we'll start there next Sunday night. Now, before we look at the text itself, that is the text that we're going to be focusing on tonight.

[1:11] It's primarily verse 14, but I'm going to bring into play the verses that follow that all the way up through verse 20. Because our subject is redemption tonight.

[1:22] And we're going to look at the, at least read through the verses that describe our Redeemer in the way that Paul described him here in Colossians chapter 1.

[1:36] Before we get to that, I want to just kind of by way of review, because we did not meet last Sunday night. And so let's just kind of put it all together, kind of bring everything up to speed.

[1:47] The title of this series of messages from this beautiful prayer is From Wisdom to Worship. That's the title. So the prayer has been leading us from wisdom, subjects pertaining to wisdom and several things in between leading us up to worship.

[2:06] As we've been considering this wonderful prayer of the Apostle Paul's. And how through this prayer, this is what we've been considering.

[2:18] Through this prayer, this prayer of the Apostle Paul's. And through the important truths that we've been learning here in this prayer, we have learned at least four things.

[2:30] Well, we're learning them. Number one, just by way of review, a practical wisdom. Out of verse 9, where the prayer focuses on those who are the objects of the prayer, that they would be filled with the knowledge of his will, God's will.

[2:50] A practical wisdom. And then verse 10, a pleasing walk. This all coming back to you? A pleasing walk. Verse 10, walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing him.

[3:06] And then verse 11, a powerful witness. This is what Paul's praying for. A powerful witness that the Colossian believers, as we pray for one another, that you and I would have a powerful witness.

[3:19] And he put it in these words. And he put it in these words. Strengthened with all might for all patience and longsuffering. Within the context of patience and longsuffering.

[3:31] That we will be strong witnesses in the midst of this world where we suffer from time to time. And then, fourth and finally. And we've spent, well, this will be the third Sunday on the subject of worship.

[3:46] Or what I've called a passionate worship. So those four things. A practical wisdom. A pleasing walk. Powerful witness. A passionate worship. A passionate worship.

[3:57] Now, under that particular topic or point of prayer. We have been considering several truths there. That come to us at the close of Paul's prayer.

[4:10] That together form the basis for a passionate worship. These are worship worthy truths. That Paul is including in his prayer.

[4:24] And even beyond his prayer. Because he's moving beyond the prayer on into some very practical teachings about the Lord Jesus Christ. And so, considering these truths.

[4:36] These realities of the Christian faith. Believers ought to be compelled to worship. And what are these truths? Well, let me remind you of the two we've already looked at.

[4:47] You find in verse 12. The inheritance. Our inheritance is a worship worthy truth. Ought to lead us to a very passionate worship.

[4:59] Verse 12. Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.

[5:10] The saints in heaven. Alright? So, the inheritance. The inheritance. That is the basis or the impetus for a passionate worship. Number two. The deliverance. The inheritance.

[5:20] The deliverance. Verse 13. He has delivered us. Delivered us from what? From the power of darkness. And conveyed us or transferred us into the kingdom of the Son.

[5:33] His beloved Son. Or in the New King James. The Son of His love. Alright? So, the inheritance. The deliverance. And then, thirdly.

[5:44] And this is where our focus will be tonight. The redemption. Our redemption. Now, look at verse 14. In whom we have redemption through His blood.

[5:58] The forgiveness of sins. A marvelous passage. And then, he just moves right on in to describing the person of our Redeemer.

[6:10] The Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the key word here, of course, is the word redemption. Or at least the first key word. I guess the key word is the word redemption. Though there are some other important words in this verse.

[6:22] Like the word forgiveness. And we'll get to that in just a moment. But the key word is redemption. But the word redemption did not start out as a theological word.

[6:33] As we just consider this word redemption. It didn't start out to be a great doctrinal word. A theological word. And really, the truth is that all of the great words of the Christian faith.

[6:46] Have as their linguistic origin. Secular usages. Or common uses. The word redemption is no different.

[6:57] And these now great theological words. Took on theological meaning. When the Holy Spirit inspired the Bible writers. To use those words.

[7:08] To convey the truth of salvation. To convey doctrinal truth. But they started out very common words. And the word redemption is a prime example.

[7:19] The Holy Spirit borrowed that word, by the way, from the secular context of the slave market. Where the word redemption came from. And you can kind of picture that.

[7:32] You know, here's the slave standing there. In view of those who are about to bid on him or her. And, of course, then when the price is right.

[7:44] And the person wins the bid. Then that slave belongs to the one who paid the price. And if you'll just take that a step further. And see then that new slave owner.

[7:55] Takes that slave and says, Now I've paid the price for you. Now you're free. You're free. So, in effect, that slave owner was the redeemer.

[8:11] And so there's the word redemption. And so we ought to think of the word redemption, even in the doctrinal sense. Think of it in the context of the slave market.

[8:21] And so borrowing that common usage for the word redemption. God then, through the apostle Paul, presents a great theological truth.

[8:32] One that is worthy of our worship. And that's the whole point here, isn't it? A passionate worship. You see, in a spiritual sense, all mankind.

[8:44] In a spiritual sense, all mankind. Since Adam and Eve. Since Adam and Eve in the garden. And when they sinned. All mankind. You, me, all of us.

[8:55] Everyone walking on this earth right now. Have been, or were born into, the bondage of slavery. Slavery to what? Sin.

[9:07] Sin. And with that, death. Because death is the curse of sin. Everyone's born into that. Slavery to sin and death.

[9:18] We are all born slaves. We're not born free. We're not. Contrary to the popular movie some years ago. Of course, that was about a lion, I think, wasn't it?

[9:29] But we're not born free. Funny that I would bring that up. I remember my dad was all upset by the title of that movie when it came out years ago. Born free. He said, but we're not born free. And I said, yeah, I know, dad.

[9:41] But this is about a lion. Okay? Anyway. Anyway. Hope my dad doesn't listen to this on the internet. But we're born slaves.

[9:53] We, in effect, just using, again, the imagery of the slave market from which that context, from which that word redemption has come to us.

[10:05] Theologically. And so using that imagery, we all stand on the slave block, so to speak. The slave block of sin and death and, consequently, condemnation.

[10:18] And just like the literal slave, we might picture who's standing there, just like him, we need a redeemer. Or we needed, because some of us have found him, or he found us.

[10:34] We need a redeemer. And we need someone to pay the price for our freedom, because we can't pay it ourselves. And so with that in mind, let's look at what Paul says about this great theological truth, this worship-worthy truth, wrapped up, packaged in this great word, this great theological word, redemption.

[10:56] And we're going to consider it by considering the three aspects of it that I believe we can draw from this text. And, because I am a slave to alliteration, and you've not known, did not know that, I'm sure, there is the provision of redemption.

[11:15] If you're writing down notes, this will be helpful for you to remember. There's the provision of redemption. That's because that's what we need. We need it to be provided, and it's been provided, the provision of redemption.

[11:28] Secondly, the price. There is no redemption without a paid price, without a cost. A price paid. And then thirdly, the prize. The prize of redemption.

[11:41] What do we get as a result of this provision, or this redemption, rather? All right? So, the provision of redemption. The provision of redemption points us directly, immediately, and Paul does the same thing here in Colossians, points us immediately to a person.

[11:58] The provision of redemption is in a person, and the person, of course, is who? Well, you know, don't you? It's Jesus. It's Jesus.

[12:08] And it's very clear in the text, because Paul says, in whom we have redemption. And he identifies the whom of redemption in the preceding verse.

[12:20] In verse 13. He is God's beloved son. And we know who he is. Even though he didn't use the name Jesus, it's Jesus. And so, in the following verses, Paul lists some incredible truths about this Redeemer.

[12:41] About this one who has provided our redemption. And I just want to read through it. Verse 15 and following. Just follow along in your Bibles there. And there's so much here. Well, we just don't have time to really unpack all of it.

[12:55] But just listen to this. Look at it in your Bibles. Because he describes this person. But he, this Jesus, is the image.

[13:07] The image. Literally the icon. In fact, that is the Greek word. Icon. We get our word icon. He is the exact representation of who?

[13:19] The invisible God. The firstborn over all creation. Now, that does not mean that Jesus Christ or the Christ had a beginning.

[13:32] Jesus Christ is eternal. Not talking about his birth here. It's talking about his preeminence. Talking about his priority in the creation. Literally, it's talking about him as creator.

[13:44] Because it goes on to say, For by him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth. Now, see, Paul's talking about our Redeemer.

[13:57] The one who bled and died upon that cross and paid the price for our redemption. The one who loved us and left heaven and came to this earth. And suffered and died. Sacrificed himself as the ultimate and only atonement for sin.

[14:15] He's the creator. He's the creator. He's the creator. For by him all things were created. All things. That are in heaven and that are on earth.

[14:28] And as a parallel thought, to say it in another way, visible and invisible. Whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through him or by him, literally.

[14:43] By him and for him. For him. That in itself is a tremendous thought. I love to sit outside.

[14:56] And especially now that we live in the woods. It's got woods. Albeit I've got webworms up there in those trees. But someone have a remedy for those things.

[15:11] Would you see me after the service tonight? Anyway, I sat out there and I listened to the birds. All kinds of different birds.

[15:23] And just love to sit there and listen to that. And the wind kind of blowing through the trees. Because it's always blowing here in Oklahoma. But I love it. And to be captured by the thought that that was all created by him and for him.

[15:42] And for him. And by virtue of my relationship with him. He has also granted me to enjoy those things. Because all things were given to me for my pleasure.

[15:54] For my pleasure. And so for him. And he is before all things. He's eternal. And in him all things consist.

[16:06] All things hold together. Without Jesus everything would just cease to exist.

[16:19] Now I'm not talking about some panentheism. Where Jesus or God is the force. That is holding all things together.

[16:31] He's that indefinable substance in every atom. That keeps all those things working. It's not that. It's by his sovereign power.

[16:42] That all things hold together. Without Jesus everything would just fly apart. And cease to exist. And he is the head of the body.

[16:54] The church. Who is the beginning. The first born from the dead. That in all things he may have the preeminence. And we could just go on.

[17:04] Well let me go on. For it pleased the father. That in him all. The fullness should dwell. Fullness of what? Fullness of God. And by him to reconcile.

[17:15] All things to himself. By him whether things on earth. Or things in heaven. Having made peace. Through the blood of his cross. You see. All of these great truths.

[17:28] About. The person of our redeemer. All of it is. Sandwiched in between. The two. The theological truth. It's on the front end.

[17:39] The back end. The theological truth of redemption. He ends that in verse 20. Made peace. Through the blood. Of his cross. So we're talking about.

[17:51] The provision. Of our redemption. And the provision. Points us to a person. The Lord Jesus Christ. Second. Not only the provision.

[18:05] But let's consider the price. The price. Of our redemption. And what a price. And I've already read. Those texts.

[18:16] That contain the price. Verse 14. Redemption. Through his blood. His blood. That's the price.

[18:28] He repeats that in verse 20. I read that just a moment ago. Made peace. Through the blood. Of his cross. See. This is consistent.

[18:39] With the entire message. The whole message. Of the Bible. Or the message. Of the entire Bible. Let's put it. Correctly there. I mean. All throughout the Bible. God has taught us. The price.

[18:49] Of redemption. And it is always blood. The price of forgiveness. The price of atonement. The price. Of redemption. Is blood. Romans 9.22.

[19:02] I mean. Hebrews 9.22. Excuse me. Without the shedding of blood. There is no pardon. No forgiveness. No remission. Of sin. And we find that.

[19:13] Being taught. All the way. Through the Bible. With example. After example. With. With. Image. After image. Teaching. After teaching.

[19:23] The teaching. That without the shedding of blood. There is no remission of sin. And I have. Rehearsed this for you. On a couple of other occasions. We can go all the way back. To the Garden of Eden. And find there.

[19:35] Where. Adam and Eve. Had sinned. And something had to be done. About that sin. And God. Took the initiative. And he taught. The first lesson.

[19:46] On the cost of redemption. Because God himself. Shed the blood. Of an innocent animal. I believe it was a lamb. Though the Bible doesn't tell it. That's consistent.

[19:56] With the rest of scripture. Shed the blood. Of an innocent lamb. And used its skin. As a covering. For the nakedness. Of Adam and Eve. Their.

[20:07] Their guiltiness. Symbolically. But it was the shedding of blood. That was. That accounted for. That bought for them. Redemption. The forgiveness of sin.

[20:17] Without the shedding of blood. There is no. Forgiveness for sin. And we can. Go a little bit further. To Abraham. Remember. Abraham had been instructed. By God.

[20:27] To offer his son Isaac. As a sacrifice. Unto him. To actually kill him. And shed his blood. And God. Is not. Was not instituting. A human sacrifice.

[20:38] At all. But he was about. To teach Abraham. A lesson. Actually. He was testing Abraham. To see if he was faithful. And he was faithful. And God provided. A substitute. Instead of Isaac.

[20:50] Just like God. Provided a substitute. For me. Because Abraham. Said to Isaac. God will provide himself. A lamb. And he did. That day. And that. Lamb's blood.

[21:01] Was shed. That day. Day. On the top. Of Mount Moriah. As a substitute. For Isaac. Without the shedding. Of blood. There's no remission. Of sin. You see. It's all throughout. Scripture. Blood has always.

[21:13] Been the price. For freedom. And then. When God's people. Israel. The children of Israel. Find themselves. In bondage. In the grips of. Slavery. There in Egypt.

[21:24] And ultimately. Their redemption. Would be accomplished. How? Through the shedding. Of blood. As thousands. Of lambs.

[21:34] Were slain. And their blood. Was shed. And. God. Said. To them. To. His chosen people. He said. I.

[21:45] That is. The destroyer. Will be moving. Through the land. Through Egypt. And I will spare you. If you will apply. The blood of the lamb. To the doorposts.

[21:56] Of your homes. And he said. When I see the blood. I will pass over you. Without the shedding of blood. There is no remission of sin.

[22:07] No forgiveness for sin. No pardon for sin. Blood. The blood of a lamb. Has always been. The price. Of redemption. Taught all the way through. The Bible. And all the way through. The Old Testament.

[22:18] As we make our way. Through the sacrificial system. Of Israel. Of the Jews. Atonement for sin. Was always secured. By. The blood. Just as God had prescribed.

[22:28] There was no other way. The blood of a spotless lamb. But now of course. You know. That. All of those instances. In the Old Testament.

[22:39] Simply served as foreshadowings. Of the one. That would eventually come. And accomplish. Eternal. Redemption. Eternal.

[22:52] Redemption. And who was that? The spotless. Blameless. Sinless. Lamb. Of God. And you know. What Jesus. Why Jesus. Or what Jesus.

[23:03] Did. He shed his blood. There. At Calvary. And why did he do that? Because. That was the price.

[23:14] Of our redemption. That was the only price. Acceptable. To a holy God. A holy God. Who had said. And demonstrated.

[23:25] Over and over. And over again. Through history. All the way from. The creation of the world. All the way to now. Is demonstrated to us. Over and over again. Without the shedding of blood.

[23:36] There's no. Forgiveness for sin. What a price. See. Peter. Said. For as much. As you know. That you were not redeemed.

[23:46] With. Corruptible things. Like. Silver and gold. But rather. With the precious blood. Of Christ.

[23:57] As of a lamb. Without blemish. And without spot. So there's the. Provision of redemption. That's Jesus. God's beloved son. There. Is the price. Of redemption. His blood.

[24:10] Shed there. At the cross. Adrian Rogers. Used to tell a story. I've. Heard him use this story. A number of times. And then I read it again.

[24:20] In a book. The other day. The story about a little boy. Who. Was quite industrious. And he. Took a piece of wood. And built a little sailboat. For himself.

[24:33] Built the sailboat. And the mast. And put a little sail on it. And took it out to. A little lake. Near where he lived. And. Put it out there. And it was floating.

[24:43] And the wind was carrying it along. And eventually. It carried it. Way out into the lake. Beyond his reach. And he lost his little sailboat. That he had made. With his own hand. The boy was distraught.

[24:58] One day. Several days later. Walking. Downtown. In his little town. And he noticed there. A little shop. And in the window. Guess what he saw. His little sailboat.

[25:10] The one he had. Made himself. With his own hands. And there's the sailboat. And it has a little. Price tag on it. And so he goes into the shopkeeper. And says. That's my sailboat.

[25:22] The shopkeeper says. Well it may have been your sailboat. But it's mine now. And this is what the price is. So the little boy went out. And he worked. And he scrimped. And he saved. And he came up with the money. And he went into the store.

[25:33] And he laid down the money. And he bought the sailboat. And as he was walking out of the store. The shopkeeper could hear him say. You're mine. You are twice mine.

[25:43] I made you. And now I bought you again. And that's exactly. What. God has done. Through Jesus. For us. As creator.

[25:55] He made us. But then through sin. In a sense. He lost us. We were lost. And through the blood.

[26:07] Of his son Jesus. He bought us. Again. We are twice. His. Through creation. And second. Through.

[26:18] Redemption. The price of redemption. And then last. Of all. The prize. The prize of redemption. Paul says here. The forgiveness of sins.

[26:30] And I say. That's the prize. The forgiveness of sins. And in a sense. It's interesting. When you analyze the two words. Redemption and forgiveness. The.

[26:40] The two words. In a sense. At the very. Very core. Of their meaning. Contradict one another. Because. Redemption.

[26:50] Speaks of the justice of God. Forgiveness. Speaks of the mercy of God. God. And. So. You see. All.

[27:01] Sin. Your sin. All your sin. Is. An offense. Against the holy God. That's what sin is. And it's offense to him.

[27:12] It's. It is an affront to him. All God. Is. In his holy nature. Must. Move. Against. Any and all sin. And.

[27:22] And. And. You know. God's holiness. And. And his justice. Demands. Satisfaction. For our sin. It must be that way. And you see. In salvation. God.

[27:32] Then. Is not just simply. Forgetting about our sin. Do you know that? He's not just. Putting it aside. And forgetting about it. He's not just saying.

[27:43] Well. I love you so much. We'll just forget about that. That's not what redemption is. That's not. At all. It. No. No. God. Does not just simply. Forget about our sin.

[27:55] God. Demands. Justice. For our sin. And. Jesus Christ. Satisfies. That justice. And. He does it. Through his blood. We've already. Talked about that. But now. That's.

[28:06] Justice. Redemption. Is. The justice. Of God. But. That seems. To contradict. The word. Forgiveness. In the purest sense.

[28:18] Redemption. Speaks. Of God's justice. But forgiveness. Speaks. Of God's mercy. His mercy. How. Do they go together. James. In James. 2. 13.

[28:29] Says. Justice. Is without mercy. That is. Pure justice. Which is what God is. Because he's holy. And righteous. And pure.

[28:39] Justice. Pure justice. Leaves no room. For mercy. And so. How can Paul. Put these two concepts. Together. Well. This is. Where we find. The point of worship.

[28:50] When we begin. To understand it. Because we're sinners. Hopelessly lost. Right. Apart from Christ. We were. God is holy. Right.

[29:03] Yes. He is. And God. Demands. Justice. For our sin. A price. Must be paid. For sin. It must be. Now. We need forgiveness.

[29:14] Because. The only way. We. We can pay the price. For our own sin. Is to pay. With our eternity. In hell. So.

[29:24] What's to be done? Well. Redemption. Is too costly. For us to pay. And so. Because God is holy. His justice. Must be satisfied. What's to be done?

[29:36] Well. God solved the problem. God. Paid the price. To himself. You ever thought about that? Did you know that?

[29:49] That in essence. In reality. God paid the price. For your redemption. And he paid it himself. To himself. God.

[30:00] Appeased. His own demand. For justice. And he was the only one. Who could. God was the only one. Unqualified. To satisfy. His own holiness.

[30:12] He. He. He did not have to do it. You and I. Did not deserve. For him to do it. And nothing in us. Compelled God. To do it. But if justice. Was going to be done.

[30:23] God was going to have to do it. And his sacrifice. Of his only son. Jesus. Christ. Was. An act.

[30:33] Of justice. And mercy. Both. See justice and mercy. Came together at the cross. Really.

[30:47] By paying the price. For our sins. To himself. He was. In a sense. He was.

[30:58] Free. Then. To do. What he could not do otherwise. Not in. Remain to be holy. Remain holy. He was free.

[31:09] To forgive us. All our sins. All. Of them. Romans. Chapter 3. In verse 21.

[31:20] Turn to it. Look at it. Starting with verse 21. We could really start anywhere in the chapter. But let me start in verse 21.

[31:31] Romans chapter 3. But now. The righteousness of God. Apart from the law. Is revealed.

[31:42] Being witnessed by the law. And the prophets. Even the righteousness of God. Through faith in Jesus Christ. To all. And on all. Who believe.

[31:53] For there is no difference. For all have sinned. And fall short of the glory of God. But now look at verse 24. Being justified. Freely. By his grace.

[32:05] Through the redemption. That is in Christ Jesus. That's what we're talking about here. Redemption. Being justified freely. Let me read that again. Verse 24.

[32:16] Being justified freely. By his grace. Through the redemption. That is in Christ Jesus. Whom God. Set forth. As a propitiation.

[32:27] By his blood. As the satisfaction. By his blood. The satisfaction. Of God's. Holy. Righteous demand. That's what propitiation. Basically means. God set forth.

[32:39] As a propitiation. By his blood. Through faith. To demonstrate. His righteousness. Because in his forbearance. God had passed over the sins.

[32:49] That were previously committed. It mean he just winked at the past sin. But. He withheld his judgment. To demonstrate.

[33:01] At the present time. His righteousness. That he might be just. And the justifier. Of the one who has faith in Jesus. And then the first phrase of 27.

[33:12] Where is boasting then? The just. Justifier. That's what we're talking about here. God. That is you and I. Because of our sinfulness. We need a redeemer.

[33:24] We need redemption. We need forgiveness. And God. Paid the price for our redemption. And he paid that price. Himself. To himself.

[33:35] And justice and mercy. Came together there. At the cross. You see. And all of our sins. Have been forgiven. That's why Paul. Could say with such confidence.

[33:46] In Romans chapter 8 verse 1. There is now no condemnation. To those who are in Christ Jesus. What. Is the prize.

[33:57] Of redemption then. Total. Absolute. Complete. Forgiveness. Forgiveness. So we have the provision of redemption.

[34:09] It's through Jesus. The son of God. Prize of redemption. His divine. Sinless. Blood shed at the cross. The prize of redemption. Freedom.

[34:20] Forgiveness. Freedom from sin. Forgiveness of all of our sin. Past. Present. And future. And future. Is that not a worship worthy. Truth.

[34:33] A truth. A theological. Doctrinal. Truth. Actually. A truth that is very real to us. And very personal to us. But it compels us.

[34:44] It ought to anyway. To offer up to the Lord. Our passionate. Worship. To offer up to the Lord.