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Volume. XXV, No. 35 The Lord Is G-R-E-A-T (Part 3)We will continue with our article on "The Lord is G-R-E-A-T".
Last week we discussed the letter "G". Today, we will discuss "R" and "E". G-od R-edeemer E-mancipator A-dvocate T-ransformer Great R-EDEEMER Titus 2:13-14 “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works”. A. What does the word “redeem” mean? To redeem means “to regain possession by payment of amount due”. Why did God need to redeem us? God redeemed us because of the disobedience and fall of Adam and Eve into sin. Through this disobedience man separated himself from God. Our fellowship with God was broken. Sin brought the sentence of curse and death upon the human race. Sin brought hardships, sorrow, disease and illness, decay, and difficulties upon man and the world. Man was condemned to eternal punishment. Man becomes intrinsically evil. The Lord Jesus had said “Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man” (Matt 15:11). Man is basically bad. It is not true that man is basically good. – as we have been told so often. If man had been basically good he would aim to do good at all times and he would have no trouble obeying instructions and commandments, and doing good works. As man is basically bad, and in possession of a rebellious nature, it is therefore much easier for him to entertain evil thoughts and do evil works. Good works are a burden for him. By himself he cannot come to God. B. To restore our fellowship with God, we need help. To restore our fellowship with God, no amount of good works, sacrifice, or money could purchase redemption; neither kings nor angels could atone for sin. By ourselves, we cannot do it. By our sinful nature we do not draw towards God. It is our nature to rebel. We need help. God has to do it for us. God has to be our Great Redeemer. He is our Saviour. C. The Perfect Son of God is our only help. Only the perfect Son of God could bring redemption to mankind by His death on the cross. “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Jesus Christ” (Eph 2:4-7). God loved us so much that he gave us a life line, to be redeemed in order that we have eternal life. He is out Great Redeemer! “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). God sent his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to be our Great Redeemer, to shed his blood and to die on the cross as our once-for-all perfect sacrifice, for the remission of our sins, that our fellowship with God be restored, and that we are destined for eternal life. We have now, available to us, the forgiveness of sins. Great E-MANCIPATOR John 8:36 “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” A. Moses was an emancipator. Moses led the children of Israel from Egypt’s bondage. He was thus an emancipator. The Israelites were under great suffering working as slaves for the Pharaoh of Egypt. God called and sent Moses to Egypt to bring His people out. “He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years” (Acts 7:36). Moses did not just walk in and lead his people out. The Pharaoh of Egypt gave him a very difficult time. In the end, through the mighty acts of plagues that the Lord God sent, the Israelites were allowed to leave Egypt by Pharaoh. Pharaoh and the heathen Egyptians saw and experienced the wonders of the Almighty God. They saw how the Great God triumphed over Egyptian gods. B. Abraham Lincoln was an emancipator. On 1 January 1863, President Abraham Lincoln of the United States issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring that all Negro slaves were free in the seceded states. He gave freedom to thousands of Negro slaves who were originally forcibly removed from Africa. These Negro slaves were captured, separated from their loved ones, and treated very cruelly by the slave traders. They were considered less than humans. Abraham Lincoln realised the injustice that was brought to this group of people. He wanted to correct this injustice. He set them free. He was an emancipator. C. Moses and Abraham Lincoln were examples of emancipators. There are many emancipators in the world. What is an emancipator? The word “emancipate” means to “set free or liberate (especially from legal, political, or moral restraint).” An Emancipator is one who sets free or liberates. D. Who is the greatest Emancipator of all time? He is our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Unfortunately, the world does not look favourably upon Him! His followers are even rejected and persecuted! Jesus Christ freed millions of people bound by the fetters of sin. He came to earth and humbled Himself to be born in the flesh through a virgin. When He came to the world, His own Chosen people rejected Him. He suffered humiliating punishment, and through the shedding of His precious blood and death on the cross, He set us free from the curse of sin. All who came to Him through repentance and faith are released from sin’s bondage. John 8:32 “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”. The truth has indeed set us free. We are no longer under the power of sin. We are free. Our Lord Jesus has set us free. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6). He is our great Emancipator! Elder Michael D Lee |
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