In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.
— Ephesians 1:7–8A —
Jonatan Recamán: Berea Seminary | Spain
Few things are more heartbreaking for a believer than seeing people fall for the fraud of false religion. This is the reality for disciples of Jesus in countries where many people profess Christianity as their religion. A good example of this is the celebration of Holy Week in Spain. For seven days, the devotion to false religion is on display in every street in every city. Sadly it’s one “holy” week and fifty-one unholy weeks. Through the substitutionary death of Jesus, He redeemed us from our trespasses. The problem is ignorance of the gospel. At the beginning of his letter to the Ephesians, Paul is displaying the results of the gospel, the spiritual blessings we have in Jesus. One of these blessings is redemption, which means that, by the grace of God, we are made free from the consequences of our sin against God. Instead of suffering the eternal punishment we deserve, Christ suffered it for us, and we receive His righteousness and an eternity with the Father that only Jesus deserves (2 Cor. 5:21). In Paul’s times, a slave couldn’t earn his own freedom; someone else had to pay a ransom. In the same way, we can’t earn our freedom from sin. False religion seeks its own redemption. In Spain, the ransom is Holy Week. But the gospel shows that God is the One seeking the redemption of sinners because He paid the ransom. Through the substitutionary death of Jesus, He redeemed us from our trespasses. So, the death of Jesus is not something to be remembered one week per year; it’s something to be proclaimed every day and celebrated weekly on the Lord’s Day. Jesus is not a moral reference; He is a mighty Redeemer. We need to preach Jesus. We need to expose the fraud of false religion and proclaim the freedom of redemption.
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