He redeemed us while we were still helpless, ungodly sinners, even His enemies.
This chapter continues the theme of being placed “into Christ”. In the last chapter we looked at justification which takes place at the point of saving faith—when we are baptized by the Holy Spirit. At that point we are forgiven of all our sin, personal and inherited from Adam, and declared righteous with the very righteousness of God. This chapter deals with the legal issues of how God can do this and continues our study of Romans 3:21-26, considered by many scholars to be one of the most important sections of the entire Bible. We pick up in verse 24.
Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.
Justification can never be an isolated event
Paul carefully links justification with redemption and propitiation. God always acts justly so justification can never be an isolated event. One cannot just say, “You are declared righteous”, period. The pronouncement of being declared righteous must rest on either one of two things: (1) it must be true that the person is righteous, or (2) there must be a legal way where justice is fully carried out in order to declare a person righteous when he is not. Redemption is one of the foundational pillars for justification.
Redemption
What does Redemption really mean? It is a metaphor from the practice of slavery.
…being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 3:24).
Quoting now from Leon Morris,
The actual usage of anoupwoews the Greek word from which we get Redemption, shows
“ransoming” rather than “deliverance” to be the essential meaning of the word.1
Redemption includes the idea of freedom or deliverance, but the concept of ransoming is much bigger than deliverance or being “freed” as some Bibles translate this term.2 There are at least six concepts that are carried by the idea of redemption. To illustrate these we will look at several Old Testament examples. Remember, Paul said that this righteousness of God was manifested apart from law, but was witnessed by the law and prophets.
1. Redemption is for people in bondage.
Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, “I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments” (Ex. 6:6).
Redemption is for people who are in the bondage of slavery. Let’s not leave this first concept too quickly. Perhaps you, the reader, may be in some kind of bondage. Is there some sin, abuse, evil habit that is eating away your soul? If so, you need a Redeemer and the good news is you qualify for redemption! Because redemption is for those who cannot free themselves. You need Christ. In Mark 2:17 we read,
Jesus said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
So the first concept included in redemption is that it is for slaves, sinners, people who are in bondage.
2. Redemption requires a price to be paid.
Following are a few verses from Old Testament laws that speak of redemption. Notice that a ransom price is required before redemption can take place.
If, however, an ox was previously in the habit of goring and its owner has been warned yet he does not confine it and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death. If a ransom is demanded of him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is demanded of him (Ex. 21:29, 30).
Here we see the second idea in redemption is that a ransom price has to be paid before redemption could take place. Look again at our text in Romans 3:24.
…being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.”
We read in Matthew 20:28,
Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.
Christ Jesus is the one who paid the ransom price so that He could declare us not guilty of all our sin, and He did it in a way that satisfied divine justice.
3. Redemption carries the idea of substitution.
Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel and the cattle of the Levites. And the Levites shall be Mine; I am the LORD. For the ransom of the 273 of the firstborn of the sons of Israel who are in excess beyond the Levites, you shall take five shekels apiece, per head (Num. 3:44–46).
Moses was to take the Levites “instead of” the first born. Substitution is a central theme of the gospel.
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21).
Here we find the third concept in redemption is the idea of substitution. This concept will be expanded in a later chapter.
4. Redemption expresses a change of masters.
Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians (Ex. 6:7).
Notice what God did with Israel. They were in slavery to the Egyptians, in essence they were owned by their slave masters. Much like the slaves in our country were owned by their southern cotton growers. What God did was to redeem Israel from Egyptian bondage, but he did not just send them out into the wilderness on their own. No, He purchased them for Himself. They were now owned by the Lord. Redemption gives us a new owner, a change of masters. Paul emphasized this truth as applied to believers in Romans 6.
But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness (Rom. 6:17, 18).
But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 6:22, 23).
So the fourth concept in Redemption is that we are now under a new owner, a change of masters has taken place.
5. Our Redeemer is a good Master and wants the best for us.
Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the LORD (Ex. 6:8).
Our new Master is not like the old slave master wanting to use us for his benefit, but our Redeemer is good and He wants the best for us. He has our interests in mind. He paid the price for our redemption and keeps providing for us, working all things together for good. Old Testament Israel was given the Promised Land, we are promised a better country.3 Jesus said in John 14:3,
If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
In Hebrews 12:28 we read,
Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe.
We do not serve our new Master to gain His approval. He redeemed us while we were still helpless, ungodly sinners, even His enemies.4 Now we serve Him out of joy, reverence, and awe because of what He has already done for us and what He has prepared for us in the future!
Near the end of the book of Revelation, we get a glimpse of what our Good Redeemer has in mind for us.
Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever (Rev. 22:1-5).
We see that the fifth concept in Redemption is that we have a good Redeemer, one who wants the best for us, one who has an unbelievably good inheritance waiting for us.
6. We have a “Kinsman Redeemer”.
The concept of a kinsman redeemer is found in the Levitical laws. Once again we see the prophetic nature of the law as Paul said in Romans 3:21, “being witnessed by the law and the Prophets”. A kinsman redeemer is a beautiful Old Testament picture of Christ.
Now if the means of a stranger or of a sojourner with you becomes sufficient, and a countryman of yours becomes so poor with regard to him as to sell himself to a stranger who is sojourning with you, or to the descendants of a stranger’s family, then he shall have redemption right after he has been sold. One of his brothers may redeem him, or his uncle, or his uncle’s son, may redeem him, or one of his blood relatives from his family may redeem him (Lev. 25:47-49).
There were four qualifications for a Kinsman Redeemer:
a. He must be a blood relative.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (Jn. 1:14).
Jesus took on real humanity demonstrated by the blood shed on the cross. Therefore He could serve as our Kinsman Redeemer, something an angel could not do.
b. He must Himself be free.
One slave could not redeem another slave. Here we see the importance of the sinless human nature of Christ.
…who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth (1 Pet. 2:22).
c. He must be able to pay the price.
Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ (1 Pet. 1:18, 19).
d. He must be willing to pay the price.
We get a glimpse into the passion of the cross as we contemplate Christ’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.” And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.” Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. Then He came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners” (Mt. 26:38-45).
Yes, our Kinsman Redeemer, knowing the price for our redemption, was willing to pay that price. So the sixth concept in redemption is that of a Kinsman Redeemer, a blood relative, who is free, who has the assets to pay the ransom price, and is willing to pay that price.
The redemption taught in the Bible is a beautiful thing. It is so much more than just “deliverance” or “being set free” as some of the modern translations render it. Let us read again Romans 3:24-26.
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; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Rom. 3:24–26).
Endnotes
- Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross, p. 41
- See the New Living Translation at Romans 3:24.
- Heb. 11:16.
- Rom. 5:6–12.
- 4. Redemption - April 9, 2026
- 3. Justification - April 2, 2026
- 2. Placed Into Christ - March 26, 2026