A Daily Walk

John Randall: Today on A Daily Walk, moving from bondage to freedom in Christ. Folks, one day, as was said, we're going to stand before the Lord, and we are going to see him, and we're going to understand what we only know in part right now. What we see through a glass dimly, then face to face, we're going to see him, we're going to be like him, we're going to see him as he is, the Bible says.

And we're going to understand to a far greater degree what it meant for us to be redeemed. But let me just tell you today, if you're in the slave market of sin still, you're living there, the price has been paid. Just a matter of whether you will accept that or not. You can be free today.

Guest (Male): Welcome to A Daily Walk with Pastor John Randall. We're about to pick up what we left off in 1 Peter chapter 1. Whether it's in the car, on your way to work, or at church, don't you love singing that song from Big Daddy Weave, "Redeemed"? I just love the lyrics: "I am redeemed. You set me free. So I'll shake off these heavy chains, wipe away every stain, 'cause I'm not who I used to be."

The Christian has good reason to thank God, for we are redeemed. And today on A Daily Walk, Pastor John has us think about the price of our redemption. Though we can't fully comprehend it, as our understanding grows, we'll be inspired to live a redeemed life. Again, we're in 1 Peter chapter 1.

John Randall: When we talk about the subject of redemption, it would be inappropriate not to look back to the cross, the day the price was actually paid. The cross was the substitutionary death where Christ took our place, the innocent paying the price for the guilty. And on that night of his betrayal, following his final meal with his disciples in the upper room, Jesus and his followers went to the Garden of Gethsemane.

And while they were there they prayed, and Jesus prayed, and it says he prayed three times, "Father, if there's any other way let this cup pass from me." It's another way of saying if there's any other way that humanity could be saved and redeemed, let it pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will but yours be done. There was no other way, but there in the garden as sweat became like drops of blood, Jesus submitted to the will of the Father in order that he could redeem humanity that had been lost.

The Bible tells us that Judas then came into the garden, betrayed Jesus with a kiss. Immediately all of the disciples fled. And what followed was a series of illegal trials, first in the home of Annas, the former high priest, and then in the home of his son-in-law Caiaphas, who was the high priest. And Caiaphas questioned the Lord, brought false witnesses that did not align their testimonies.

And Jesus did not answer. He would not respond. As a lamb was led before her shearer, so he was silent. So he opened not his mouth. He did not defend himself. There's nothing to defend if you're innocent. He remained quiet until Caiaphas put him under oath and said, "If you are the Christ, I implore you by the living God, if you are the Christ, tell us."

Jesus said, "It is as you say and you will see the son of man coming on the clouds of glory in power." And when Caiaphas heard that, he tore his clothes and declared blasphemy. "What further testimony do we need?" And at that moment, they began to spit in his face, to pluck out his beard, to cover his eyes, and then to pummel him with the palms of their hands, saying, "Prophesy, who hit you? Who hit you?" And then Jesus that morning very early was taken to the home of Pilate, who was the governor.

And the religious leaders needed to convince Rome that Jesus was an insurrectionist. This guy was a threat to the Roman government. And so they began to accuse Jesus, and again, Jesus answered nothing. Pilate interviews him privately, he says nothing. Pilate says, "Don't you know I have the power to release you?"

Jesus said, "You would have no power unless it had been given to you." Pilate was very nervous in listening to Jesus. He gets a message from his wife: "Have nothing to do with this innocent man." They continue to accuse him. He then realizes he's from a particular area where it was Herod's jurisdiction. So he sends them to Herod and Herod parades him in front of his soldiers and mocks him. He says nothing to Herod at all, sent back to Pilate.

Continuing to accuse him. Pilate thinks maybe I'll appeal to their better nature, if they have one. So what are you going to do? Let's scourge him. So he calls for his scourging. Scourging, the whole purpose of the scourge was to get a prisoner to confess their crime. And so the prisoner would be stripped, his hands would be tied above his head to a post.

And the Roman soldiers would have a cat-o'-nine-tails, the flagellum, as it's called. A whip with nine strands of leather, sharp implements attached to the end. And they would take that and they would let it go, and it would wrap around the torso of the defenseless prisoner. Most people died under the hand of the scourge. They didn't survive. 39 times Jesus was whipped.

Afterwards, he was brought to stand before the people alongside of him Barabbas, a murderer. Pilate thinking, he's going to do goodwill on the Passover, they would usually release one prisoner. So this guy's beaten beyond recognition of a man. "Do you want your Messiah or do you want a murderer?" And they said, "Give us the murderer. Barabbas."

"Well what should I do with Jesus?" "Crucify him. Crucify him." It got louder and louder. Pilate said, "What, you can't reason with the mob, what evil has he done?" They said, "Listen, if you let this man live, you're no friend of Caesar. We have no king but Caesar. You better do something Pilate." That's a threat.

And Pilate, so concerned with his political career, he gave over to the people. He called for a basin of water, he washed his hands and said, "I am innocent of the blood of this man," whereas the people said, "Let his blood be upon us and upon our children." And then Pilate sent him away to be crucified.

And Jesus was turned over to a group of soldiers that would lead him through the street. He would carry the patibulum, the crossbeam, on his shoulders. And a placard would be given to one soldier parading him in his own funeral march to the end, and it just said, "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." That was his crime.

As they made their way through the street, he couldn't make it. There was too much blood loss, too much pain. He just couldn't go on. So they compelled a man, Simon of Cyrene, to come in and help him to carry his cross. And they carried it out to the place of the skull, Golgotha, also known as Calvary.

And when they arrived, before they pierced his hands through and his feet with seven-to-twelve-inch spikes, they offered him wine mingled with myrrh. And the purpose of this was to be a narcotic, if you would. But Jesus refused it. He did not take it. And they drove the spikes, not through his hands but through his wrists and through his feet.

And then they would take that cross and they would drop it into a hole in the ground. Most times it was said historically that they crucified people at eye level, so you could see death right in front of you. And then they began to blaspheme him, curse him. "He saved others, himself he cannot save. Listen, if you're really the Christ, come on down from there and we'll believe."

Even the two thieves initially started out reviling him. One ends up getting saved right before his death, but they're reviling him. And while he's hanging on the cross, folks, listen, the whole purpose of crucifixion was death by suffocation. The only way you could get a breath is you had to press up on your feet and then sink back down.

And you would just die an agonizing death of suffocation. If they wanted you to die quicker, they would break your legs, therefore you can no longer push up for air. So as Jesus is expiring, hanging on the cross, he makes seven powerful statements from the cross. The last one, the most powerful of all, because you know what he said? He said, "Tetelestai." Paid in full. It is finished. The price of redemption, it's done. It's complete. And then he died.

The precious blood of Christ. A soldier came and took a spear and shoved it up through his side and pierced the sac of water and blood, and it flowed out. The blood of Christ, the precious blood of Christ. Folks, listen, when we talk about the blood of Christ, we're not simply talking about the fluid that came out of his body that secured our salvation.

It's what the sacrifice was in our place as we refer to the blood of Christ. It is finished. The blood of Jesus is called precious for several reasons. First, because it's the blood of Christ. Someone questioned the effectiveness of Christ's blood being able to atone for the sins of the world. They said, "There wasn't enough blood to cover the world's sins." And a wise preacher responded and said, "It wasn't the quantity of the blood, it was the quality. It was the precious blood of Jesus."

But it's also precious not simply because it's the blood of Jesus, but it's the blood of atonement. Atonement in the Old Testament meant covering for sin. Thus, they would have to constantly offer sacrifices repeatedly because they kept on sinning. But Jesus as our Lamb of God was sacrificed once for all. Atonement.

Someone described atonement as they broke the words down: "At-one-ment." We are now brought back into fellowship with God. Atonement. Paul said it this way in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 13. I love this passage. He said, "But now in Christ Jesus, you who were once afar off have been brought near by the blood of Christ."

We were so far off. We were way out there. No hope of ever crossing this divide. But through the blood of Jesus, we who were once afar off have been brought near. I love that old hymn by Charles Wesley. The lyrics are powerful. In one stanza he said, "He left his Father's throne above, so free, so infinite his grace. Emptied himself of all but love and bled for Adam's race."

The blood of Christ is precious because it's the blood of Jesus, it's the blood of atonement, but also it cleanses us from sin. That's what makes it precious. For in 1 John chapter 1 verse 7 it says, "The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us" from how much sin? "All." Aren't you glad it doesn't say some? All.

It was Charles Spurgeon that said, quote, "In a single moment, those who were black as hell become white as heaven through the application of the blood of sprinkling, for all sin disappears as soon as the blood falls on the conscience. That which the blood of bulls and of goats could not do, the blood of Jesus effectually accomplishes, cleansing us from all sin."

The blood of Jesus is precious as Peter calls it because it provides a way of access to the throne of God. In Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 19, the writer of Hebrews declared, "Therefore brethren, having boldness to enter the holiest, the holiest place, by the blood of Jesus."

Folks, one of the things that took place on the day that Jesus died, and there were several miraculous things that took place from things in the sky, the sun going dark, et cetera, graves being opened and people walking out. One of the things that happened that was significant is the veil in the temple was ripped from top to bottom when Jesus died.

The veil itself separated the holy place from the holiest of all places, and in the holiest of all places was the ark of the covenant which represented the throne of God. One man, one day a year, could go in there with the blood of a lamb and cover the sins of the nation and would have to wait until next year.

But when Jesus died, the Bible says that that veil was ripped from the very top to the bottom. Any person walking by could look in and see the holiest of all places. A pure sign that the way's been opened up. Any person now because of the blood of the Lamb has access to the holiest of all places, to the very throne room of God.

I wonder if you know what you have clearance for right now? I mean really. I can't get into the White House, I don't have clearance. You have clearance for God's house, the throne room of God. You have access. Go in. Go in. The Bible says let us come boldly to the throne of grace that we might receive mercy and find help in our time of need.

It's like open house. Come on in. Because of the blood you have access, I have access to the very presence of God, the holiest of all places. I can go there in prayer from wherever I'm at. Why? Because of the precious blood of Jesus that has redeemed me. That's why.

I don't know what sins you've committed. I don't know what you've done. The Lord does. But I do know the forgiveness of God. I do know the freedom that God provides. I do know the access that we now have because of the blood of Jesus. It is precious, friends. You talk about a motivation for living a holy life? Just think in your mind what someone else did so that you could. That should change the way that I live, knowing he died for me, he purchased me, it's his blood. It affects my conduct as Peter said here.

But remember, Jesus not only died for our sin. There's more to the story. It didn't end there, thankfully. Actually, in the very next verse, verse 20: "He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through him believe in God, who raised him from the dead, gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God."

Jesus didn't stay in the tomb in other words. He died, yes, he atoned for our sin, but how would we know if it actually worked? Only if he raised from the dead. I was in Texas this weekend sharing with a group of men at a men's conference, and the passages that I was given were from the letters to the churches in Revelation.

And in one of those letters, Jesus reveals himself to the church as the one who was dead and is alive forevermore. And I said to the men sitting there before me, "Listen men, I just want to let you know, you wasted a Saturday if Jesus isn't alive. You could have stayed home and worked on your truck. You didn't have to come here." They had a lot of trucks in Texas, I'm not kidding you. Everybody had a truck except us. And that's all right. But what I'm saying is there's a reason you're here. There's a reason why we gather. It's because he is alive.

So the sacrifice was acceptable. It would not have been acceptable, he would not have risen from the dead if it didn't work. But it worked. It worked. Therefore our sins are forgiven, we have been redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus who has been raised from the dead.

But I've just got to point this out to you because this is pretty amazing and this kind of goes beyond our ability to fully comprehend. In verse 20: "He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world." Let me try to explain what that means. I don't really know fully, but before the world was ever put in motion, before God said let there be light, before anything was ever created, before all of that, Jesus, the plan was already in motion.

I don't understand that before God ever created anything, it was already in the mind of God, "Jesus is going to die for the sins of the world." Before all of it. It was foreordained. It was part of God's plan.

And the only thing that I can take from that aspect of God's character, of his sovereignty, which goes beyond my ability to comprehend, is this is what I take from it personally: God, you always had a plan. You were always in control. I might not understand how you were working all things together for good, I might not fully recognize why you did it that way, and I don't need to counsel you.

I don't know why you did but I'm glad you did. I'm glad that you had a plan for redemption for humanity from before you ever created us. There was always a plan. And not only that he would die, but that he would rise again from the dead. I was thinking about it last service.

The fact that a price has been paid. If you are going to purchase something, it means that what you're purchasing has value, doesn't it? I am going to purchase this. It has value to me. It's important to me. There's a price but it doesn't matter. It's valuable. I'll pay it.

Think about how valuable we are to the Lord that he would purchase us. And the only thing that was acceptable and that could be used to purchase us was to lay his own life down. Now I've purchased many things in my life and so have you. But I never laid down my life for a purchase.

"Sorry John, that's going to cost you your life." "No I don't want that jacket. I'm good." I don't need those shoes either. I'm fine. I don't need that car. I'm not going to die for it. But God in his infinite, everlasting love that goes beyond comprehension, looks at us as humanity and creation and says, "I love you so much and I value you that I'm willing to give everything."

And to me, if somebody loves you that much, how could I not live my life for him? This is what Peter is exhorting the believers who are struggling or going through difficult times. He valued you. He purchased you. The precious blood was used to secure your redemption. How could we not seek to live a holy life that pleases him?

Folks, one day, as was said, we're going to stand before the Lord and we are going to see him, and we're going to understand what we only know in part right now. What we see through a glass dimly then face to face, we're going to see him, we're going to be like him, we're going to see him as he is, the Bible says.

And we're going to understand to a far greater degree what it meant for us to be redeemed. But let me just tell you today, if you're in the slave market of sin still, you're living there, the price has been paid. Just a matter of whether you will accept that or not.

You can be free today. You say, "Man John, I've been bound to this thing for a long time and I don't know if"—you can be free. The blood of Jesus. The work of Christ. He can set you free. But you've got to turn to him. And if you do, it's the best decision you'll ever make. You'll never be the same.

Guest (Male): Pastor John Randall is leading us through the Bible right now on A Daily Walk. And I'd imagine some of you would like to hear this message from 1 Peter again. Maybe you joined us late. Go online to adailywalk.org and have a listen when it's most convenient. We're also on oneplace.com.

Another way to listen to Pastor John's teachings is through our mobile app. It's free. Do a search for Calvary South OC. We are super excited about this month's offer. It's a book from our friend in the ministry, Bill Stonebraker, titled Spiritual Warfare in Marriage. Having a good and godly marriage doesn't come easy, and we have an enemy that seeks to kill and destroy it.

In this helpful book, Pastor Bill shows us how to win the battle for a good marriage. We're making it available to our A Daily Walk listeners for the cost of $5. You can order online at adailywalk.org or call us at 877-242-0828. And anything given above that amount will be put to good use and help people all over the world grow in their daily walk as they listen to these daily studies, in some cases actually enter into a relationship with Christ.

Again, you can donate online safely and securely at adailywalk.org or call us at 877-242-0828. We say it often around here at A Daily Walk because it's true: we want to hear from you. It lets us know where the ministry is having an impact, and we also love praying for our listeners.

Write to Pastor John by email today at adailywalk@gmail.com. That's adailywalk@gmail.com. Well, our time together sure goes by quickly, doesn't it? We'll pick up what we left off in our through the Bible study next time. This has been A Daily Walk with Pastor John Randall, where you'll never have to walk alone.