“Jesus Came To Redeem Man”

Galatians 4:1-6

1) Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;

2) But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.

3) Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:

4) But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

5) To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

6) And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

Preface

T

he majority of those professing salvation have no idea of why Jesus came. Today’s world is “hoping” that He came to help us to be better “human beings.” Unfortunately, this is not true. Jesus came to “liberate” us; save us from being human beings.

Main Thought

Though the Lord came to redeem us, we must know and accept that unless we are willing to be redeemed, we will remain in bondage. No one can actually make one free, for freedom is accepted of one’s own volition. Jesus’ job is to tell us, show us and warn us of what will happen if we refuse to accept the freedom offered to us—but His responsibility ends there.

We were done a great injustice when we were misled into believing that we had “choices” after salvation. Even if we were never actually told this, “actions speak louder than words” and what we failed to see others do (this is, obey God), frequently contributed to our notion of “choice.”

If we refuse to accept God’s way of doing things, there is no way that we can be helped by salvation. After all, Jesus was brought into “existence” that we human beings might be change from the natural to the spiritual. If we never achieve this, there is no need for the presence of Jesus in our lives.

Though the Lord has emphasized this to us many times, once we accept His Spirit, it is not our choice as to whether we will be changed. You see, accepting His Spirit means that one accepts salvation and salvation cannot be claimed unless there is an accompanying change.

One does not know to flee his “cage” once it has been opened unless he realizes that he has been bound. In like manner, one is never “delivered” unless he realizes that he needs deliverance. For this to happen, one must be able to appreciate his “deficiencies” and utter hopelessness as a human being. He cannot remain “willingly ignorant” nor can he simply ignore his depravity and attempt to “sweeten it up” through church attendance, church involvement or “self-improvement.” He must accept that God is and that He exists not solely to satisfy our every want and need, but rather, to make us fit to inhabit and serve the kingdom.

Lest Man ever get taken with himself, Jesus came “trumpeting” to him the fact that he (man) was a sinner. To allow him to recognize the “seriousness” of this state, He required of him an atonement every time he sinned. He was to “receive” the “point” that evidently, there existed in him some “deficiency” that made it impossible for him consistently to do the “right” thing.

Having to exist in defeat, shame and the resultant disgust was and is not God’s plan for His “crowning glory.” His plan was that Man might recognize his need for Him and in return, he would be blessed beyond measure. But first, Jesus had to convince men of sin—that is, of what it was, that they did it and that it was wrong. Now, since one is always “doing something,” it was this doing that was getting Man in trouble. This, of course, meant that he was going to have to cease what he was doing—which meant that he was going to have to change. After all, what does one “do” but what comes “naturally” to him?

So, what are we really saying that Jesus came to do? He came to tell Man that he was not saved. Is it not logical, then, that any messenger sent by the Lord, today, would be sent with the same message? That message does not come to those who are fulfilling the requirements, but Jesus’ mission was and remains that of “…seek(ing) and …sav(ing) that which was lost.”

If salvation were a matter of simply “fixing” what one does that is wrong, the Lord could have “gotten away with” a much less “dear” (expensive) sacrifice. Nothing less than a Son would do, for we had to be saved from our way of “thinking.” A “hard wiring” problem has a much more complicated cause and remedy than does that which comes from “software.”

As much as we are prone to complaining and crying about salvation, if “Jesus” (had not come) to redeem Man,” just where do you think we would be?