To Encourage You

1 Peter 1:18-19 “You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”

One of the most frequent means that terrorists in our day and age use to inflict terror on their adversaries is by way of kidnapping. Kidnappings are most frequent in places like Mexico, India, Nigeria, Pakistan and Venezuela, but it is much more widespread than in just these places. On October 17, 2021, there were 17 American missionaries kidnapped in Haiti by a gang known as “400 Mawozo.” Though a few of these missionaries have since been released, most of them remain in bondage at this very moment. I’m sure it must be a terrifying ordeal for those who are impacted. Talk about a sudden loss of freedom!  What they eat, where they go, what they do, and how long they stay imprisoned are all in the hands of people who could more than likely care little about them. How the time must drag on interminably for those in such bondage. On top of this, although those who have done the kidnapping usually promise release only if a ransom is paid, the families, government, company, or organization from which the ransom is being demanded are typically unable to pay such an exorbitant sum, or in the case of the government, unwilling to pay for fear that to do so will just encourage more and more kidnappings as a result. 

Interestingly, the Bible likens the salvation of sinners to that of a ransom that has been paid to free them. But free them from what? The passage above from 1 Peter 1 characterizes the condition for which the ransom has been paid as “the futile ways inherited from (our) forefathers.” He’s talking about what is naturally passed down from one generation to another. David put it this way: “In sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5). The Bible tells us that all of us are born in a condition of slavery to sin. It’s our master. Like those who are kidnapped by human terrorists and must do what they say, as sinners we “obey” sin, in a sense (Romans 6), and we serve, although often unwittingly, the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2). Colossians 1:13 describes it as an existence in “the domain of darkness.” Romans 6:16 describes it as a way of life that inevitably leads to death. It’s such a dead end. It’s such bondage to futility. 

Think of the current total lack of productivity of those kidnapped missionaries in Haiti right now. Yet bondage to sin is more futile than this. And it’s so deceptive, for so many that are in this bondage actually see themselves as free, that is, until they realize they can’t free themselves from things like alcoholism, drug addiction, and other addictions of many types. Or they wake up one day to the futility of the life they are living. It’s all described as “vanity” throughout the book of Ecclesiastes. Jesus explained it this way regarding those who would live such a life: “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul?” (Mark 8:35-37).  Of course, the answer is “Nothing.” Absolutely nothing is worth the loss of one’s soul, but many will forfeit this very thing in exchange for the pursuit of that which is comparatively worthless. 

So, what’s the remedy for those who would be free? Who can pay the ransom? Can the government? Can our family? Can we give money to the church and depend on that in some way? Are there other things we can do? Are there other places we can turn? Wonderfully, the answer is “Yes, there is a place we can turn,” but there is only one place, for there is only one person who had the wherewithal to pay the ransom. And so we look again to the verse above that tells us that for THIS ransom, no amount of money is good enough. There is only one thing that is sufficiently precious to pay the ransom for our sin. It’s the precious blood of the Lamb of God, Who came to earth for one purpose – and that was to die FOR us. He took our place. And you know what? There’s no fear that the payment of this ransom for one person will threaten the payment of a ransom for another. You see, this ransom is sufficient for the sin of the world – all of it, if we will just turn to the Lamb and believe. 

So, has your life been redeemed by the precious blood of the Lamb, or are you still living in a condition of the futile bondage to sin? It’s as the old hymn asks and then answers: “Would you be free from the burden of sin? There’s pow’r in the blood, pow’r in the blood; Would you o’er evil a victory win? There’s wonderful pow’r in the blood. There is pow’r, pow’r, wonder-working pow’r in the blood of the Lamb; There is pow’r, pow’r, wonder-working pow’r in the precious blood of the Lamb.”