JulieM

This statement should fill us with sorrow because we know that Christ had to suffer and die because of our sins. His blood was poured out on behalf of all men. The rejoicing comes because had he not done this, we would have never been redeemed and could have never been reconciled to God. Praise God for His love and mercy!

All mankind are enslaved by sin. We are actually born into this slavery because of the first act of disobedience by Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. However, we do have a kinsman redeemer that we may seek to pay the debt that we owe, our ransome. Satan is only our overseer. He can not and does not own us. The shedding of blood was required and Jesus, the Son of God, willingly paid that requirement and can now set us free if we seek Him and receive this gift . The payment for our sins was determined by God and spelled out in His law. And though we have sinned against God, God still loves us and provided the "ransome" through His Son, Jesus. The analogy seems to end end at this point, but I see a little more. If we break a law in our society today, we must also pay the fine or the penalty determined by the laws of our govt. The fine must be paid. When we pay the fine, the clerk who receives our money or the jailer who keeps us while we serve out our time, they are not the actually ones to whom we are paying the penalty. The penalty must be paid to satisfy the requirements of the law, not the jailor or the clerk who receives our payment. In a simular way, I think we must view our "ransome". If in a court of law, we cannot afford a defence attorney, the same govt. that prosecutes us will also provide us a defender. God is our Judge and yet He provided us a defender! I understand that this is not quite the same situation as in a slave/redeemer analogy, but perhaps it gives us a more current analogy of the situation that our enslavement to sin places us in and the ransome that God has provided.

Greetings! My name is Julie and I am the mother of two girls and one son. I have been married for 23 years and have been a Christian since I was 16. I am taking this study because I can not make the ladies Bible study at my church due to a conflict with the Good News Club ministry that I am involved in. I am also involved in the Awana ministry and teach in Children's church. I am excited about having the opportunity to do an Online study and am praying that I will be refreshed and "recharged"by studying about the Lamb of God.