Who gave himself a ransom for all

Ezk.
{7:5} Thus saith the Lord GOD; An evil, an only evil, behold, is come.
{7:6} An end is come, the end is come: it watcheth for thee; behold, it is come.

1Tim.
{2:3} For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour
{2:4} Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
{2:5} For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
{2:6} Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

**

God would have ALL men be saved.
God would have ALL men come to the knowledge of truth.
One God.
One mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus.
Christ Jesus who gave himself -
a ransom for all-
to be testified in due time.


A ransom.

Jesus is a ransom for us.

ransom (ràn´sem) noun
1. a. The release of property or a person in return for payment of a demanded price. b. The price or payment demanded or paid for such release.
2. Theology. A redemption from sin and its consequences.

verb, transitive
ransomed, ransoming, ransoms
1. a. To obtain the release of by paying a certain price. b. To release after receiving such a payment.
2. Theology. To deliver from sin and its consequences.

Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary


If salvation could be bought how much would you pay for it? Seriously how much money would you spend to buy eternal life? What if there were a special on eternal life, buy it now in the next twenty-four hours and receive an extra eternal life for a loved one? What if it were a once a lifetime offer that if you passed it up you'd never get another chance to purchase eternal life? What if eternal life was some days offered for 1 penny and other days 1,000,000 dollars, only you never would know in advance when it would be offered for lower or higher? Would you risk missing out on eternal life by *not* buying it as soon as it was offered to you, knowing you could die the moment after and be lost forever?

That's a lot of what if's isn't it?

Salvation can't be bought by us though. It's one of those things you just can't buy no matter how rich you are. Salvation isn't exclusively for those with money, prestige, power, nor for just the middle class, or the poor. There isn't a single person who can buy salvation, not one, it's not for sale. I might say it's like the air you breathe but even that would be a falsehood because some people need extra air- oxygen from tanks to live and those people have to buy their air, so it's not like the air you breathe at all.

It's my believe that salvation is automatic for all children under the age of accountability. A bold statement? Perhaps, but it's my personal belief.

A babe newly born is no more a sinner than Jesus. Seriously, how can that baby be a sinner? You say the babe inherits it through its parents? That because Adam and Eve sinned that automatically everyone is born a sinner? I have to disagree and tell you what I think. I think we're born from parents who are sinners (obviously they're past the age of accountability and they sinned at some point in their life. You know that first- for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.) How can I say that babies haven't sinned if *all* have sinned? I believe babies inherit the tendencies to sinned and once their age of accountability comes around and they begin to know right from wrong and commit wrong knowingly- they've sinned. Their flesh is weak as all human flesh is because we are born from sinful parents all the way back to Adam and Eve.

Sin is the transgression of the law.

1 John {3:4} Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

Romans {3:31} Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

There has to be a law in order for there to be a sin, yes? Yes.

There has to be a breaking of the law for there to be a sinner, yes? Yes.

Salvation is guaranteed to babies who have not broken a single law.

You know what I think is one of the first laws to be broken by a child? I could be wrong, but I think it's the one about honoring your mother and father. A child starts to slip into the awareness of that authority in their lives and they learn that they need to obey that authority and yet they defy the authority of the parent- knowingly. Seriously. Think about it. What child doesn't grow up learning that they have to *listen* and *obey* what their parent says? A parent tells a child- 'Go get into your pajamas.' A child tells the parent, 'No. I'm not ready to.' Is that the sin? Not yet. The parent then says, 'Listen to me, I'm your mother/father and I said go get into your pajamas and when I say go get into your pajamas you do it. You have to listen to me, I know what's best for you.' The child then after hearing all that says, 'No. I don't want to.' Is it sin yet? We want to say NOOoooooo! We want to say the child is just being normal with normal defiance, the child is just stretching his wings so to speak, seeking independence a bit. We can come up with all sorts of excuses for what the child is doing, we could, I could. Is it a sin yet? Yes. It's knowing right from wrong and still doing it. Some might say no, it's not sin because the child doesn't realize he/she should obey their parents and why should they do so on the say so of the parent. This parent they're defying has been the same parent who has been in their life since birth, the same parent who has taught them so many things up to this point of defiance. This parent has shown love to the child, they've nurtured him/her, fed them, clothed them, soothed them when they were frightened. This parent has been an authority in their life all along. This parent isn't a stranger ordering the child around, but someone they love and trust. Why shouldn't they listen to the parent is a better question.

Anyway, I'm sure people have all sorts of thoughts on this particular subject but I fully believe that once we learn right from wrong and we choose to do wrong knowingly then we're accountable for that wrong.

Salvation can't be purchased for us sinners, not by us. We cannot buy salvation. We are effectively hostages to sin, yes, hostages and all we can do is accept the fact that another has to pay the ransom for our salvation. Sin will not release us willingly, sin will hold fast to us and keep us captive to it with a desperation we can't even imagine. We think only of *rich* people being kidnapped to ensure *rich* ransoms will be paid for them. But sin isn't a respecter of wealth, we are all a great treasure to Satan and he'll pull out all the stops to keep us from being ransomed, or rather, from accepting the ransom that is being offered to us. Before you think it odd that any kidnapped person would want to stay with their abductor, think again. There is case after case of people who are kidnapped who after time can't imagine not being with their abductor, they even sometimes fall in love with their abductors. Satan is like the most seductive of abductors. He knows everything to do to keep us *happy*, to fulfill our *needs*, he could be touted to be the best, most skilled abductor in all history. His victims include almost everyone. Not only is he skilled in keeping his kidnapped people content, he has the record for being the most prolific kidnapper in all history as well. The thing is, his skill lies in deception. He deceives people in such away they don't even know they've been kidnapped, how's that for skill?! If you don't feel kidnapped, if you don't believe you are kidnapped, then how can you ever want to be ransomed? See, it works great for him, perfect even.

Recognizing that this evil principality, this evil spiritual power does exist and does have the power to keep us captive to him is the first step towards Salvation from being kidnapped. Relying on God, relying on the gift of Salvation through the ransom of the blood of Christ, who died in our place to save us from our kidnapper is necessary. We have a Savior, we have a Redeemer, we have to cling to Him daily because Satan is an insidious kidnapper and just because he might lose you to salvation when you run to your Savior, doesn't mean he's going to stop trying to kidnap you. If anything, he might employ more devious tactics to try and steal you away back to him. He'll never stop trying, and if he can find a way to sneak in and get you, he will.

Truly we need spiritual armor just as the Bible tells us we do.

Ephesians
{6:11} Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
{6:12} For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
{6:13} Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
{6:14} Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
{6:15} And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
{6:16} Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
{6:17} And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
{6:18} Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints

God would have us all saved. That we all would know the truth.

1Tim.
{2:3} For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour
{2:4} Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
{2:5} For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
{2:6} Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

Jesus died for us all and wants to save each and everyone of us.

Salvation is free, we don’t have to pay for it, it was paid by the Son of God for us, we just have to claim it, we just have to choose to be saved.

Praise be to God, all glory and power, all honor to our God, to our Father, to the Son Jesus Christ, to the Holy Spirit now and forever.

Amen.