Reading: Isaiah 53
Everyone loves shopping, especially if one has a lot of money to spend. It's very exciting and great fun. After a shopping trip the one question that folk ask - or would like to ask - is: What was the price? What did you pay for it? Everything in this universe has a value. And if an owner of something wishes to transfer it to another, he may either sell, in which case a price is involved; or he may give it away, in which case there is no price involved. You've all no doubt heard it said that Salvation is a gift. It's FREE! And that's perfectly true. Salvation is offered to the human race free of charge!
It is a gift from God to us. It's free! But it is a terrible mistake to think that because salvation is free to us - it cost nothing. In actual fact our salvation cost a great deal to the One who bought it for us. The Bible says:
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1 Corinthians 6:20 |
"You were bought with a price." |
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1 Corinthians 7:23 |
You were bought with a price." |
The price Yahweh paid to buy us back from Satan is called the Price of Redemption. The word 'redemption' means to buy back, to recover - by payment - something which was yours in the first place. What was man's redemption price? What did Yahweh give to buy us back from Satan?
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John 3:16 |
"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. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." |
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Ephesians 1:7 |
"In Him we have redemption through His blood!" |
Note: Blood represents life. Yahweh sacrificed His life blood to win life for us. The Father's part of the sacrifice (the RAM caught in the thicket by it's horns) is a mystery we shall investigate and marvel at throughout eternity. I do believe that the Father's sacrifice in the plan of salvation is infinitely higher than He is prepared to tell us. His humility forbids Him: but I am certain that it was an enormous price: possibly beyond our ability to appreciate.
In exchange for man's salvation Emmanuel the Son gave up the following:
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Isaiah 53:3 |
"He was despised and rejected and forsaken by men," |
He became a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief.
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Isaiah 53:4 |
"Surely He hath born our griefs." |
Our sickness, weakness, pains and distress; the Saviour accepted all these.
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Isaiah 53:5-6 |
"He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our sins was upon him." |
Note: When at Calvary the sins of mankind were laid on the Saviour, he was reckoned as guilty as the Serpent itself. The Father could no more countenance Christ's guilt (which was placed on him) than He could Satan's; and thus the full measure of divine punishment was poured out on the Son just as surely as if he had committed those sins himself. Thus he gave up his innocence and 'became sin for us.'
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Isaiah 53:7 |
"He was oppressed, yet he was submissive and opened not his mouth. As a lamb that is led to the slaughter ... so he opened not his mouth." |
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Isaiah 53:8 |
"He was taken away, and as for his generation, who among them considered that he was cut off ..." |
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Isaiah 53:8 |
"... for the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due, - stricken to his death." |
Pause and consider what an amazing price Yahweh paid for your salvation! Those are the things (and much more) that Yeshua gave up to buy life for us. Oh the wonder of it all!
Everything has a value; either in monetary terms, or in an abstract equivalent (memories, love, friendship, faith and happiness). All of these have value. They are worth something. Values are perhaps best measured by the price one is prepared to pay for them. In other words, you can tell a thing's worth by its price. Judging by the price Yahweh paid for our salvation, and bear in mind that the Creator is not ignorant of an item's real worth, we can safely say that the human race is an extremely valuable purchase. Human beings are not cheap. Every person, no matter how poor or worthless he/she may appear, is of priceless worth. Bear in mind that we were created "in the image of God!" Therefore it is an error for believers to repeatedly refer to themselves as being "useless and worthless." It makes nonsense of the enormous price paid for our redemption. The fact is, Yahweh paid a very high price for man's salvation. We are His jewels - everyone of us - His most valuable possession. And because of this fact we are admonished as follows:
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Malachi 3:17 |
"And they shall be mine, saith Yahweh of Hosts, in that day when I shall gather up my special treasure (jewels) and I will spare them, as a man spareth His own son that serveth him." |
The true believer is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. To appreciate what this means study the physical temple of Solomon. (1 Kings 6) It was made of the very finest materials, built by the best builders in the realm and visited and blessed by the most glorious person in the universe. But it was simply a physical symbol of Yahweh's church. Yes, we believers are the real Temple of Yahweh. And because of this fact we are to glorify Him just as the physical Temple of Solomon was glorified. Remember these vital points:
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Acts 7:48 |
"The Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands." |
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1 Corinthians 6:20 |
"For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." |
This means we must wear the good, clean garments. Like every temple on the face of this earth, we must be properly turned out - else we will bring shame, not glory on the God whom we represent.
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Judges 8:18 |
"Everyone was dressed like a king." |
Eat the right amounts of the right food. See Leviticus chapter 11 where believers are advised as to the right and wrong meats to eat. Certain animals (pigs, dogs, cats, snakes, mice etc., are unclean and must not be eaten.)
Physical cleanliness is of great importance. It comes second only to godliness. "Be ye clean"
Godliness is next to cleanliness. This is, doubtless, the most important aspect of a believer's responsibilities.
Have you been shopping lately? What have you bought? What did you pay? And, here comes the next - inevitable - question: Is it worth it? Let me ask you an extremely personal question. Are you worth what Yahweh paid for you? It's a difficult question to answer; but it's one we should be constantly asking ourselves. Am I worth it?
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