Doctrine: Redemption

At the beginning of the year, Hollie Roberts encouraged us to “Trust God and Carry on.” Well, here we are…1/2 way through our study- and the thought of carrying on for another 1/2 of this study my feel overwhelming.

You want to trust God and sit down- not carry on..well- if that is you today- know that you are not alone...

But God has given us His word- it is living and active and as we speak it..God works in and through us…So, as a leadership- each week to start LM for the rest of the year we are going to recite Hab. 3:17-19. T

o remind us that no matter what the rest of this year holds, no matter what gives way around us, we can trust God and carry on!

We will finish out our study this year reading Habbakuk…this is our finish line for BSF this year.

So let’s remind and declare to ourselves every week not to run away or give up on His call but to surrender to His higher ways…to always be joyful in our Savior, so would you read with me:

“Though the fig tree does not bud

and there are no grapes on the vines

though the olive crop fails

and the fields produce no food,

though there are no sheep in the pen

and no cattle in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the Lord,

I will be joyful in God my Savior.

The Sovereign Lord is my strength.

He makes my feet like the feet of a deer

He enables me to tread on the heights.” (Hab. 3:17-19)

Text: Hosea Lesson 15 Hosea bought back adulterous Gomer from the slave market, illustrating God’s redemption of believers from slavery to sin and death with the costly price of His Son’s life.

Hosea 3; 14 The concept of redemption is borrowed from the world of commerce – the thought of buying back or regaining possession of something forfeited or lost. God orchestrated Hosea’s experience with his straying wife to vividly illustrate redemption and the reality that Jesus would purchase sinners with His own blood poured out on the cross. Born into sin, all people live in need of redemption. We are enslaved to our sinful desires, in line for God’s righteous judgment, and under the eternal sentence of death. Jesus paid for a believer’s debt of sin, allowing those who put their faith in His atoning sacrifice to escape from sin’s slavery. God’s redeemed children live in freedom to love, serve, and obey Christ. A believer can joyfully live as Christ’s dearly loved possession, redeemed at the cost of His own blood. When I do not believe I need redemption, I am wrongly self-satisfied and oblivious to the impact of personal sin in my life and for eternity. If Christ does not redeem me, I am left to pay my own debt of sin. When I believe that Jesus died to redeem me from a sin debt I could not repay, I no longer live as a slave to sin. I can obey the Lord by the power of God’s Spirit and experience joy and freedom in Christ. My love and gratitude for Jesus, my Redeemer, grows as I walk with God through this life and into eternity.

Possible Applications for Leaders: The following concepts can be developed into applications specific to your leaders: The wonder of salvation grows when we understand our desperate situation apart from Christ’s redemption. o We cannot overemphasize our hopelessness apart from Christ. o Have you become so accustomed to God’s grace that you are seldom amazed that Christ died to redeem you? o How are you strengthened to remember that Christ died for you – a sinner, enslaved to sin? Our redemption was costly. o The precious blood of Christ, a Lamb without blemish or defect, was shed for everyone who takes refuge in Him. o How does reflecting on the costliness of your redemption fill your heart with gratitude and worship for Christ? o The amazing love of God is best seen at the cross of Christ. What love! Redemption in Christ sets us free. Because He lives, we live also! o Do you live like one set free from sin’s slavery? Do you remain unnecessarily enslaved to a habit of sin? o In Christ, believers experience the freedom to please Him and are granted the power to think and live rightly. o When Jesus rose from the grave, He declared that sin’s slaves were set free for all eternity. o How will you rejoice in and experience that freedom today?