Redemption - Chambers, Oswald
Lecture : October 9, 1914
1. Redemption in realised revelation ( john 19:30)
We can never expound the redemption, but we must have strong unshaken faith in it so that we are not swept off our feet by actual things. That the devil and man are allowed to do as they like is a mere episode in the providence of god. Everything that has been touched by sin and the devil has been redeemed; we are to live in the world immovably banked in that faith. Unless we have faith in the redemption, all our activities are fussy impertinences which tell god he is doing nothing.
We destroy our souls serving jesus christ, instead of abiding in him. Jesus christ is not working out the redemption, it is complete; we are working it out, and beginning to realise it by obedience. Our practical life is to be moulded by our belief in the redemption, and our declared message will be in accordance with our belief. If we say we believe it is finished we must not blaspheme god by unbelief in any domain of our practical life. We must make a distinction in our minds between the revelation of redemption and conscious participation in it. When we are born again we consciously enter into participation of the redemption. We do not help god to redeem the world: we realise that god has redeemed it. Redemption is not dependent on our experience of it. The human race is redeemed; we have to be so faithful to god that through us may come the awakening of those who have not yet realised that they are redeemed.
2. Revelation and redemption in relation (2 corinthians 5:1821)
A sinner knows what the redemption has wrought in him, but it is only long afterwards that he begins to grasp the revelation of how that redemption was made particularly and in detail possible in him. It is one thing to be saved by gods grace, but another thing to have a clear revelation as to how god did it. Our lord jesus christ is the revelation complete; the bible is the revelation come down to the shores of our life in words. The grace of god can never alter; redemption can never alter; and the evidence that we are experiencing the grace of god in redemption is that it is manifestly working out in us in actual ways. When the words of the bible come home to us by the holy
Spirit, the supernatural essence of the redemption is in those words and they bring forth new life in us. If you have been saved from sin, say so; if you have been sanctified by gods grace, say so. Dont substitute some other refinement in its place. By using other words you are not testifying to god, but compromising with the atmosphere of those to whom you are talking. The religion of jesus christ is not a religion of ethical truth, but of redemption. The teachings of jesus have not made so much difference to the world as the teachings of socrates and plato, but to those who are born from above (rv mg) they make all the difference.
The thing that tells is not that the actual life is lived rightly, but that the motive underneath is right. The characteristic of the redemption when it works out subjectively in accordance with scripture is that act of devotion of Mary of beth any. It was not useful, nor was it her duty; it was an extravagant waste, but the motive of it was the spontaneous originality which sprang from a personal passionate devotion to Jesus christ. When a man has been profoundly moved in his spirit by the experience of redemption, then out of him flow rivers of living water. Stop the concern of whether you are of any use in the world. He that believeth on me, said jesus, out of him shall flow rivers of living water; whether we see it or not is a matter of indifference. Heed the source.
3. Redemption in objective form (luke 24:4447)
The disciples after the resurrection received into themselves an influx from the risen christ their eyes were opened, and they knew him (luke 24:31); and their minds were opened, that they might understand the scriptures (luke 24:45 rv ). The characteristic of being born again is that we know who jesus is. The secret of the christian is that he knows the absolute deity of the lord jesus christ. When we are saved by gods grace our minds are opened by the incoming of the holy spirit and we understand the scriptures. The test of regeneration is that the bible instantly becomes the book of books to us. The objective form of the redemption comes to us through the person of the lord Jesus christ, and works itself out in saving judgements.
The bedrock of Christianity is repentance. There is a certain type of badness that exhausts itself, and the nature is righted by ordinary hereditary reactions, and that is frequently mistaken for the regenerating work of god. If it is the work of the spirit of god, repentance is its basis. We can only test the experimental working of redemption by the fruits the new testament has taught us to expect. Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of [your] repentance (Luke 3:8).