My Ransom Was Paid
My ransom was paid. Not by my wife, nor my boss and not by my friends. But my ransom was paid. I’m free! I’m free, I’m really free. My ransom has been paid in full. I have been set free. It’s a wonderful feeling, like no other. Are you feeling hopeless tonight? Do you believe that there’s no way out? Are you heavy burdened tonight? Does it seem like there is no way of escape? Don’t despair. You too can be set free.
Yes, I’ve been set free. My ransom was paid. I was bound by the sin of selfishness. I was living for myself, for the pleasures of the flesh. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others (Philippians 2:3-4).
Bound By Satan
I was also bound by Satan. The devil had me spellbound with sin. He always lures you farther and farther in. Enough is never enough. You always want one more drink, one more high or one more immoral sexual encounter. Satan always whispers in your ear that no one will know. It’s ok. Don’t be so rigid. Give in. Live a little. The devil deceived Eve and he even tried to fool Jesus. Satan definitely is still deceiving people today. The devil will bind you quickly in your sin and he will do all in his power to keep you there.
The world also entices you to sin more and more. Take pornography for example. You start off saying it’s just a little peek. You aren’t hurting anyone. It doesn’t cross your mind that you are objectifying women. You find yourself looking more often. That leads to other things and next thing you know, your marriage is in trouble. Sin fascinates, then it assassinates. Sin thrills, then it kills. For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another (Titus 3:3).
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death (James 1:14-15). The pleasures of the flesh, the enticements from Satan and the world only lead to death. Physical death and eternal damnation – what the Bible calls the second death.
Your Ransom Can Be Paid
Oh, but you don’t have to continue going through life being bound by sin. You don’t have to continue racing down the broad road to destruction. Your ransom can be paid. You can be set free. Your sins can be forgiven. Your guilty conscience can be wiped clean. You can come alive for the first time. You can receive eternal life.
There is only one who can pay your ransom and that is Jesus Christ the Lord. He is the only Savior. Only Jesus saves, but oh how He saves. He is mighty to save. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time (1 Timothy 2:5-6).
A Greater And More Perfect Tabernacle
But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctified to the purifying of the flesh:
How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator lives (Hebrews 9:11-17).
The Precious Blood Of Jesus Redeemed Me
The precious blood of Jesus redeemed me, ransomed me. Jesus obtained an eternal redemption for myself and for all who repent and trust Him. My sins have been forgiven. My sins have been washed clean. I am a new creature in Christ. Not for anything good that I have done. Not by my own power. No, by Christ alone. By His sacrifice that He paid for guilty sinners who repent and believe in Him.
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works (Titus 2:11-14).
Saved By God’s Grace
Salvation is of the Lord. We are saved by God’s grace, through the redeeming work of Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God. When Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, you no longer are bound to ungodliness nor to worldly lusts. God takes away your heart of stone and gives you a heart of flesh. He gives you new desires and new thoughts, when you surrender your life to Jesus.
You want to spend your time singing hymns, praising God, praying, reading the Bible. You don’t make yourself a better person. Actually, when God reveals His Holiness to you and your sinfulness, you understand that you are not good. That you are a wretched sinner.
When you repent and trust Jesus, you recognize that you are someone who was spiritually dead, but now you are made alive in Christ Jesus. You have been ransomed, you are redeemed. When you are saved, you should be a different person, through the power of the Holy Spirit, when you are truly a child of God’s.
You Can Be Set Free Tonight
Be set free tonight. Don’t continue being bound by Satan, bound by selfishness, bound by the lure of worldly lusts. Come to Jesus Christ and be set free. Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever commits sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abides not in the house for ever: but the Son abides ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed (John 8:34-36).
You can be free at last, free at last. Don’t continue being a servant of sin. You don’t have to continue going through life saying that you “can’t beat your demon.” Although it is true, you can’t beat your demon on your own. But you can beat your demon, whatever your sin of choice is, if you repent and put your faith in Jesus Christ. Trust Jesus tonight. He is the Redeemer. He is the Savior. Jesus Christ is the Messiah.
Don’t continue fighting against God. Don’t continue going your own way. Your way leads to death and destruction. Don’t continue being a servant to sin. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Are You A Servant Of Sin Or A Servant Of Jesus
But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:16-23).
Serving sin leads to death, physical death and the second death, which is eternal punishment. The wages of sin is death. Oh, but the gift of God is eternal life. Everlasting life. The abundant life, which is found in Christ alone. He is the only one who can pay your ransom.
God Cannot Be Bribed
God does not accept silver or gold. The great God of Heaven and earth cannot be bribed. The only acceptable payment for sin is a perfect sacrifice. Jesus was that perfect sacrifice. He is the only redeemer of mankind.
Oh tonight, admit that you are a sinner. Confess your sins to God. Cry out for God to save you. Plead with God to break your bondage to sin. Repent from your sins and surrender your life to Jesus Christ the Lord. He is the only redeemer that can pay your ransom. Oh, my ransom was paid. It’s glorious to be free from sin. That doesn’t mean I’m sinless, I’m not. But when you are a child of God’s, you are no longer a servant to sin.
I’m a willing, grateful servant to Jesus Christ my Lord. I willingly bow my knee to King Jesus. I willingly serve the King of kings and the Lord of lords. I’ve been redeemed. I’ve been set free. My ransom has been paid. I’m free tonight and you can be ransomed you’re your chains can drop off, drop off tonight. Repent and believe the Gospel. Call upon the precious name of Jesus and be saved. Be saved tonight. Don’t put it off.
As Moses Lifted Up The Serpent In The Wilderness
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:14-16).
Believe in the Jesus Christ the Lord tonight. Believe in the Redeemer. Oh, believe in the One who paid my ransom. Your ransom can be paid too. You can be set free. Come to Jesus. Come to the Lord humbly. Repent and trust the Lord Jesus. Trust in the Lord with all your heart (Proverbs 3:5).
(This message was lifted up in downtown Springfield, MO on June 15, 2018)