RANSOMED!!

1 Peter 1:18-19 states, “For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.” This verse has become the central verse of the College Ministry where I serve.

We have named ourselves Ransomed based off the verses above, because we want to emphasize the price that was paid for us on the cross by Jesus Christ for our sins. Then we want to live out what that means in our lives for others to see and hopefully they will come to realize their need for a Savior.

I had to give my testimony at the two services at my church this past Sunday and it was an interesting experience, especially after just teaching on 1 Peter 1:18-19 on Friday night and telling everyone what we are about and are going to be about as we outreach to the campus near our church, Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). Do we ever truly take out regular time to think about what it means to be ransomed from our sins? That Jesus took upon Himself our sins so that we may enjoy eternity with Him in Heaven. The physical pain would have been nothing compared to taking on the spiritual pain of suffering for us; having God turn Himself from Christ the man as He took on our sins.

If we truly understand what was done on that cross and believe that Jesus is our Savior defeating the sting of death through the crucifixion and resurrection, then why don’t we live like it? Don’t we all have those areas where we know we should be acting and living differently? Instead of doing anything about it we rationalize that it is not as bad as what others do, or tell ourselves that he or she is doing it so it cannot be that bad. Maybe we are afraid to offend someone by walking away from the dirty joke, or walk out of the movie because of what others may think of us. Is it more important for us to worry about what others think or Christ? When you stand before Him in judgment of how you presented yourself here on earth as believers, how are you going to respond?

Christ paid the ultimate price and if you accept Him as Savior and Lord then you are His and not your own. We need to live like it and not worry about what the world thinks of us, but worry if we are making the One proud who paid the ransom and took the penalty of sin upon Himself because you nor I could do it for ourselves.

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;” (1 Peter 3:15). One way to demonstrate that we realize what happened when the price was paid is to tell others and be ready to defend your faith, and the only way we can do this is by studying His word and spending time in prayer and meditation.

I am going to end with a couple of verses, Romans 12:1-2, which tells us how to live. If we owe Him everything then we should be willing to do whatever He asks us to do in our lives. “I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”