Redeemer

“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth” (Job 19:25).

In the Star-Spangled Banner, Americans sing about living in the “land of the free and home of the brave.” But do we always feel free? Aren’t there times when we feel as if “chains” were shackling us? There are the chains of responsibility at work and home, the pains we face or the financial strains that come our way. There are the chains of guilt that press us down as we look back at our past wrongdoings.

In the Bible Job tells us, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth” (Job 19:25). Easter celebrates the reality that our Redeemer lives. A redeemer is someone who delivers others out of trouble by paying a great price for their freedom. Jesus, the Son of God, came into this world to be our Redeemer. From what did he redeem us?

Sin puts us in opposition to God. He is holy—completely without sin—and requires us to be holy too if we are to live with him.  Indeed, what we know of ourselves and all those around us proves the truth that Bible states, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).  What’s the result? God’s word tells us: “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). That’s more than death that we associate with funerals and cemeteries. Our sinfulness puts us under the sentence of God to be separated from him forever in a very real, painful place called hell.

The wonderful news is that Jesus paid for our release; he bought our freedom from sin’s punishment. The price he paid to free us was his holy blood. He took our place under the sentence of death. He shed his blood and sacrificed his life to free us from the curse of sin and the condemnation of hell. Three days after he was placed in the grave, he rose from the dead on Easter to prove that his payment was complete and we are freed. “Because I live, you also will live,” Jesus assures us (John 14:19).

Rely on Jesus your Redeemer. By his blood he bought you for a life of glory with him now and forever. As your Redeemer he is always present to help as you deal with the “chains” of living in this world. You can trust him for he loves you.