(1:7)
"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace."

"In Him we have redemption"
The hymn writer says, "Redeemed by the Blood of The Lamb" (Fanny Crosby, "Redeemed," Public Domain). The word redeemed is found in both the New Testament and the Old Testament, but its meaning in the New Testament is only used in relation to Jesus Christ (Galatians 5:1; Romans 3:24; Ephesians 1:7; Romans 8:23).

The Three Words For Redemption
There are three words in the New Testament that are translated with the meaning of redemption.

Paid For
The First word to be considered is the Greek word "agoridzo" (Revelation 5:9-10). This word carries the meaning of something being bought, for a price, which is freely paid, at the market place.

Purchased
The second word "exagoridzo" is a compound modified verb, made from our first word plus the prefix "ex," meaning "out of." Thus the second word should be thought of as something being bought out of the market place, for a price, never to be returned (cash only, no returns).

Freed
The third word is "lupto." This word is used with slaves who are freed with a price, being bought at the market place and given personal freedom instead of bondage. So when we are found to be In Christ, we are found to be Free, having been bought for a price, out of the market place of the world, the flesh, and the Devil. No longer to be under their power, but under the power and protection of Jesus Christ. A variant of this Greek word is "apolutrosis." It carries the meaning of being ransomed from being held for a price, by that price being paid in full.

No greater concept can be imagined than that of the full price "having already been paid."

You did not, in the past, live with out sin. You can not, now in the present, live without sin. You will not in this life, in the future, live without sin. God has not saved you, or will save you (if you do not know Christ at this time) in ignorance of your sin - but because of it. God takes your sin (past, present, and future) and deals with it completely, efficiently, and forever - at the cross of Jesus Christ. This "finished work" is then applied to you when you answer His call to receive His Son as your Savior.

If you have never taken Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and wish to do so, try this short prayer of reception and commitment:

"Father, I realize my need of the new birth in Christ. I do, here and now sincerely receive God's risen Son, The Lord Jesus Christ, as my Lord and Savior. I will trust Him to wash all my sin away. I will stand on His promise: "He that hath the Son hath life." When I have opportunity I will confess Him openly before others as my Savior" ( "The New Birth," Thanks to Paul Levin, Bible Tracts Inc., Normal Il.).
 

Redemption is the cause of salvation
Salvation refers to the state of one who has "been made whole."

The doctrine of Salvation is made up of at least the following 19 truths:
1.        Substitution - Hebrews 10:10
Christ is revealed to be the substitute in the payment of the price of our personal sin (once for all).

2.        Redemption - John 8:36
Christ has paid the full price, willingly, to remove the believer from the market place of sin, so that the believer is never to return to the slavery of sin.

3.        Propitiation (satisfaction) - Romans 3:22-26
Christ is where God finds satisfaction in the believer, and God finds satisfaction in Christ's finished work at The Cross. Christ Himself brings satisfaction to God's claims on sin. The seat of God's mercy is the place of satisfaction, and Jesus Christ sets upon that "seat of satisfaction" at the right hand of God the Father.

4.        Reconciliation - Romans 5:6-11
God has done everything necessary, through the efficient work of Jesus Christ at The Cross, to be reconciled to the world.

5.        Conviction - John 16:7-11
God has promised to move in the hearts of "all those who would come," providing the conviction of the need for belief in Jesus Christ.

6.        Calling - John 6:44
It is God who calls the individual. It is God who draws us close. If He did not call, no one would come.

7.        Election - Romans 8:31-39
It is God who elects so that He is the absolute author of salvation. No one may boast about their part in this process.

8.        Predestination - Ephesians 1:5
It is God who predestines the believer to be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to the adoption into the family of God.

9.        Sovereignty - 1 Timothy 6:14-16
There is only one God and He is "The Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ."

10.      Free will - Genesis 1:26-28
God does not force your hand in salvation, It is your decision to believe or not. It is you personally who must believe in order to be saved.

11.      Grace - Ephesians 2:4-5
It is God who provides His riches to us. In the unbeliever it is God who provides grace to believe. In the believer it is God who provides grace to walk according to His calling.

12.       Repentance - 1 Thessalonians 1:9
It is God who calls us to turn to Him, and turn away from our Idols.

13.       Faith - Ephesians 2:8-9
It is God who provides faith, through the Word of God. Not the amount of faith, but the object of proper faith, Jesus Christ.

14.       Regeneration - Titus 3:3-7
It is God who applies the work of His Holy Spirit, when we become His heir, through personal salvation, based upon His son Jesus Christ, to make us a "new creation," able to walk with Him.

15.       Forgiveness - Romans 5:14-19
It is God who applies absolute forgiveness for the sins of the past, present and future, all based upon your simple belief in His Son, Jesus Christ.

16.       Justification - Romans 8:28-30
It is God who proclaims us to be justified and made ready to enter His heavenly kingdom, based upon the finished work of His Son, Jesus Christ.

17.       Sanctification - Hebrews 10:1-12
It is God who sets us apart, unto Himself. We become the possessors of His holiness regardless of our earthly state.

18.       Preservation - Romans 8:31-39
It is God who will see us through. We will persevere, not because of some work of our own, but because He has declared it and provided it to us. We have His full assurance as the result of His promise of preservation.

19.       Glorification - Romans 8:30
It is God who has declared us to be made fit to be in His presence, just as if we were already there in the Heavenlies with Him now.

Redemption is not atonement (a covering over of sin).
The Old Testament concept of atonement is derived from two words.

Kopher - Hebrew for: To Cover, and as a noun: Pitch (tree sap)
Kippur - Hebrew for: To throw away or to put off

Under the old Testament the one who had sinned was himself fully forgiven and released from the penalty of his sins, but the grounds for that forgiveness were only "typical" (forgiveness based upon an event that was to come in the future) and not "actual." The sprinkling of the blood of animals did not accomplish God's forgiveness of personal or national sins. The animal's blood was only a "type" of the blood of Jesus Christ that was yet to be shed. So the Old Testament refers to this kind of forgiveness as being a "covering," (atonement) rather than a true forgiveness.

God used the sacrifices of the Old Testament to typify the sacrificial work that His Son, Jesus Christ, was to actually accomplish at Calvary's Cross. Romans 3:25 states that the "piled up" collection of individual and national sins were only covered up (atonement) and finally dealt with in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Romans 3:25
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed."

No word for atonement appears in the New Testament (not even in Romans 5:11 where the English word "atonement" appears in some versions due to translation error. The proper English word there should be "reconciliation."

Improper translation:
(Romans 5:11) "And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement." KJV

Proper translation:
(Romans 5:11) "And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation." NASB

John F. Walvoord has written a very informative article for the "Bibliotheca Sacra" Journal concerning Reconciliation. It is a "must read" article (John F. Walvoord, "Person and Work of Christ-Part XII: Reconciliation" -- Bibliotheca Sacra, Vol 119 #476 -- Oct. 1962 -- 291). You may be able to find it at your local library or church library. If you are a serious Bible student you may wish to subscribe to this or other theological journals. A taste of one of these journals is available on the world wide web at: http://www.dts.edu/media/publications/bibliothecasacra/

Noah's Ark as a type of Christ and His reconciliation
The Hebrew word Kopher, however is a very interesting word. It has it's root in the Hebrew word for pitch (tree sap). Pitch was used as a "covering" for the wood of Noah's ark, and provides a wonderful foreshadowing of the work of Jesus Christ as typified in the recounting of the story of the ark.

In Genesis chapter six God commands Noah to build an ark, a very large ship which would provide safe passage (salvation) to Noah, his wife, several members of his family, and two of every living creature. The ark, of course, is a type of Christ, foreshadowing His wonderful work of salvation. God provides the place of salvation (the ark - Jesus Christ) and it is God who shuts the door. In the building of the ark, God commands Noah to cover the surface of the ark with Kopher or pitch. This precious word is the word used for "atonement," and "forgiveness." The ark stayed afloat and safe because of the rich and thick application of "forgiveness."

Later in the Bible, and throughout the Old Testament, Camphire is used as the source of "the sweet smelling aroma" of burnt incense. Made from hardened Kopher or pitch.

The baby Jesus is brought the gift of Frankincense, a wonderfully fragrant incense, made from hardened pitch of the Acacia tree, Kopher (The sweet smelling aroma of forgiveness). (Matthew 2:11)

Redemption Through His Blood
The body's blood has in all human history been recognized, though it involved mystery, as the container of life and the symbol of relationships.

Hebrews 9:22
"Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins."

Here, the book of Hebrews gives us insight into the principles that God has set into place concerning the blood's relationship to sin.

Chafer States:

"It is shed blood that is always required for deliverance and here it points to Christ in His crucifixion. The truth of God's requiring a blood sacrifice as the righteous ground for the remission of sin was established beyond all dispute in Old Testament times. The glorious message is, indeed, that efficacious blood has been shed and that men are invited to receive the value of it, that Christ's blood was shed as a sacrifice which God Himself provided to meet His demands against sin, and that this way of dealing with sin, from Abel's lamb to the day of Christ's death, is the only interpretation which fully and rightly construes all that the Bible presents on this it's central theme of salvation" (Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology, Vol. vii, eleventh printing 1973, p. 52).

It was through this very sacrifice, the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ, that makes the believer acceptable to God the Father. Redemption and Grace are both made possible through this very unique sacrifice.

"At least two major New Testament passages proclaim the cleansing power of Christ's blood. Hebrews 9:13-14 demonstrates a cleansing of the guilt by the divine witness in the heart that a perfect forgiveness has been accomplished. Hebrews 9:22-23 demonstrates that the Blood of Jesus Christ was a much better sacrifice than those of the Old Testament. The sacrifice which Christ has completed perfects forever them that in their salvation are set apart unto God (Hebrews 10:14)" (Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology, Vol. vii, eleventh printing 1973, p. 54).

Hebrews 9:13-14
"For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"

Hebrews 9:22-23
"And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these."

Also see:

Revelation 7:14
"And I said to him, 'My lord, you know.' And he said to me, 'These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.'"

and:

1 John 1:7
"but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin."

"The forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace."
The following four texts deal with forgiveness.

Colossians 2:13
"And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He (Jesus Christ) made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions."

Paul is addressing the Gentile believers of the Colossian congregation and reminding them that when, before they were "in Christ," they were steeped in their sin, they were without forgiveness, there was no relationship to the Nation of Israel, there was no substitutionary sacrifice on their behalf, they were just Gentiles (members of the nations without God).

Colossians 1:14
"In whom (Jesus Christ) we (the elect) have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

Just a couple pages ago we addressed three Greek words for redemption. Agoridzo: bought at the market place for a price. Exagoridzo: bought and taken from the market place, never to be returned, for any price. And Lupto: A slave bought and taken from the market place, for a price, and never to be returned as a slave, but now a freeman.

Paul goes on about forgiving others, just as we have been forgiven by Christ Jesus. He forgave you, how can you do less for others?

Colossians 3:13
"Bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord (God the Father, through Jesus Christ) forgave you, so also should you."

The conclusion of these verses is that ALL TRESPASSES (sins), past, present, and future, are proclaimed "justified before God forever." If you are In Christ Jesus, you are proclaimed "Forgiven of All Trespasses against God, forever." That forgiveness is based upon the efficient work of Jesus Christ on the Cross and in the power of His resurrection, and the individual's faith in Him.

The result of that forgiveness should be a forgiving heart.

Ephesians 4:32
"And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you."