“Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father” (Galatians 1:4).
TEXT — Galatians 1:1-4
Message
In recent times, there has been a resurgence of the despicable trend of kidnapping for ransom in several countries around the world. This savagery has a long history. The greatest of such ransom was paid to the Spanish Conquistador (conqueror), Francisco Pizarro, and his band of invaders in 1532-3 for the release of captured Atahualpa, the last emperor of the Incas, at Cajamarca, Peru. The ransom consisted of filling a room with gold and two other rooms with silver up to the level of the Inca’s reach. The total collection of gold and silver demanded by Pizarro and his men was enormous, amounting to nearly half a billion dollars in today’s money.
More than 1,500 years before, the Lord Jesus Christ paid the ultimate ransom, not in gold or silver. Unlike the vile ransoms demanded by kidnappers and invaders, Christ gave Himself as ransom to redeem humanity from sin and its consequences. Apostle Paul pointed this out to the Galatian Christians from the outset of this epistle to douse the teaching of the Judaizers that was creeping into the church. Christ’s ransom was also meant to deliver us from the demands of the Mosaic economy that consisted of rituals and ordinances as well as the corruption and misery of the present world. By shedding His blood and dying on the cross, Christ paid it all for us in keeping with God’s will.
We no longer struggle to be free, knowing that it is futile. Every penitent sinner who places their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will receive pardon and power from God for a brand new life. He is translated from the power of darkness into the kingdom of His dear Son. No amount of religious zeal and self-righteousness can substitute for the ransom Christ paid for us. Therefore, anyone who desires to serve God but decides to avoid the route of repentance and faith in Christ remains condemned (Romans 3:23).
As the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ are mainly remembered worldwide this day, it is a perfect time to reflect on your stake in Him personally. Have you appropriated the benefit of His sacrificial and atoning death? Have you taken Him by faith as your Lord and Saviour?
Thought for the day
The blood of Jesus is powerful enough to save the vilest sinner.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
