PLN- Header

THE LAWS OF BIBLICAL PROSPERITY
Part Forty - The Role of Redemption
Volume XI Number 5 April 11, 2008

In this issue

Links to FREE Articles

Understanding Redemption

Redemption and Your Finances

Why Christians Experience the Curse

The Blessing of Abraham

Some Final Thoughts

Sinners' Prayer

Prayer Requests

Donations

Questions and Suggestions


 

Links to FREE Articles


Links to Special Financial Services















"Owe no man anything..."
-Romans 13:8














"...the borrower becomes the lender's slave."
-Proverbs 22:7















"...the righteous man shall live by faith."
-Romans 1:17















"...without faith it is impossible to please Him."
-Hebrews 11:6















"No one can serve two masters..."
-Matthew 6:24















"The Lord will make you abound in prosperity..."
-Deuteronomy 25:11















"...God loves a cheerful giver."
-2 Corinthians 9:7















"...the Lord... is giving you power to make wealth..."
-Deuteronomy 8:18

















Greetings in the name of Christ Jesus!

Biblical prosperity is the state of total well being where God is meeting all your needs: spirit, soul and body.

There are a number of different points of view in the Body of Christ about the subject of REDEMPTION. Some folks think it has something to do with being holy and righteous and others believe it's some other really spiritual condition, not clearly defined, that we have to work real hard to achieve. Once in awhile we hear it mentioned at church and it sounds like a nice word; but MOST of us don't really know what it means. There's a tendency to gloss over it when we hear it or see it written and so we just block it out for a future date when we have more time to think about it. In the meantime we're happy even though we don't know too much because it doesn't seem that important.

BUT, the word REDEMPTION or some form of it is mentioned in the Word of God more than 150 times. That's enough times that we should want to find out what it means especially since REDEMPTION is directly linked to our finances as we'll see in this article. If we know this then like everything else in the Word, we can use our knowledge and understanding to attract the Blessing and favor of God. The Bible says that God's people PERISH for a lack of knowledge, i.e. for a lack of revelation (Proverbs 29:18), and this is one of those areas of "perishability." Let your understanding be expanded today by the Holy Spirit as He ministers to us about REDEMPTION.


  • Understanding Redemption
  • Even though people have tried to make it complicated, the Word of God provides a relatively simple and straight-forward definition of the word REDEMPTION. If the actual Word of God contradicts our traditions, if the scriptures are different than what we've been taught, are we willing to accept what the Word actually says instead of insisting on our traditions? Following are two scriptures that define REDEMPTION for us very well:

    Ephesians 1:7 = "In Him (Jesus Christ) we have REDEMPTION through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace."

    Colossians 1:13-14 = "For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have REDEMPTION, the forgiveness of sins."

    According to Scripture then REDEMPTION is simply the forgiveness of sins. When Believers first receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, God forgives their sins and they receive the free gift of eternal life (Romans 6:23). They have been saved by God's grace (undeserved favor) through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). That forgiveness of sins is the act of REDEMPTION and it's a free gift. It comes by grace through faith and there's no work or righteous act we have to perform that makes it happen. The Bible says it's the goodness of God that brings us to repentance (Romans 2:4) and that He gives each of us a measure of faith so we can believe (Romans 12:3). The ONLY thing we have to do so that REDEMPTION can happen is make the decision to accept Jesus.

    The dictionary definition will help deepen our understanding. Why does the Bible use this particular word to represent the act of God's forgiveness? According to the dictionary, the word REDEEM means to regain possession of something through the payment of a specified amount. More precisely for the Christian it means to rescue or liberate something through the payment of a ransom. Friend, we need to understand precisely what was lost, how it was regained and what the price was.

    When the man and the woman sinned in the Garden of Eden, they immediately became separated from the presence of God. The Lord had clearly told them they would surely die on the same day if they ever ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). The Hebrew word translated "die" in this scripture means "separation." Physical death came to them later as a further consequence of sin. So on the same day their disobedience separated them from God and His Blessing (Genesis 1:28) and through sin they became connected to Satan and his Curse (Genesis 3:17). Instead of being friends of God, they became His enemies (Romans 5:10). Instead of being blessed with dominion over the entire earth, they became cursed by the wages of their sin (Romans 6:23) and they gave up their dominion to Satan. Instead of being a servant to God, they came into bondage to sin and death and the devil. Sin kidnapped them from the plan and purpose of God and set them on a corrupted course that mankind inherited from that time forward until Jesus came to REDEEM us.

    In order for mankind to have ever been reconnected to God, to be reconciled and returned to fellowship with Him, at some point all those sins had to be paid for. Indeed, people tried for centuries to atone for their sins through the sacrifice of animals but the Bible says it was impossible for that to have pleased God (Hebrews 10:4). So Jesus the One who never sinned, became the sacrifice on our behalf. He took all our sins on Himself (Isaiah 53:6) and went to the Cross of Calvary where He shed His blood in payment of the ransom to regain possession of God's creation from the control of sin and the devil. The Bible says Jesus entered the holy place just one time in order to obtain eternal REDEMPTION for all Believers (Hebrews 9:12). By one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified (Hebrews 10:14). Since only one offering was required, all our sins have been forgiven past, present and future for all time. In fact, the Bible says God has FORGOTTEN them (Hebrews 8:12)!

    In sum REDEMPTION is the one-time forgiveness of sins that God made because Jesus paid the price at Calvary and by faith in Christ, Believers are once again restored to right standing with the Father. We have been ransomed from sin and the grave. We're no longer in bondage to sin and Satan and we've regained dominion over the things God had wanted us to oversee.

  • Redemption and Your Finances
  • Now when many of us consider REDEMPTION, there's a tendency to reverence it so highly we're reluctant to try to connect it to our finances. Surely this REDEMPTION thing is much too spiritual to be discussed in the same breath with something as lowly as our finances. But friend there's definitely a connection between the two and it's the Bible that makes that connection. We just need to understand it so we can steward our finances at a level that pleases God and helps bring about His purposes in the Kingdom.

    The Bible says we have been REDEEMED from the curse of the Law (Galatians 3:13). In other words, as a key part of our REDEMPTION, once we come to faith in Christ we're no longer under the authority of the Law (Galatians 2:25). We have been given a NEW covenant to live under with better promises than the old one (Hebrews 8:6), a covenant based on grace and faith and the Spirit instead of obedience and the Law and the Flesh. The Law is not of faith (Galatians 3:12); in fact, it's obsolete and ready to disappear (Hebrews 8:13).

    But before Jesus came to earth to carry out His physical ministry and establish the NEW covenant, the people of God had to live under the Law. Whenever they disobeyed that Law they were subject to the various consequences of the Curse (Deuteronomy 27:26), the same Curse first mentioned in Genesis 3:17. All of those consequences are clearly and vividly spelled out in Deuteronomy 28:15-68 and a number of them, in one form or another, are directly related to our FINANCES:

    (17) Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl (your provision).
    (18) Cursed shall be the produce of your ground, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock.
    (29) You will not prosper.
    (31) Your livestock will be slaughtered or taken from you.
    (33) People you do not know will consume your production.
    (38) The seed you plant will be greater than the seed you harvest.
    (39) Your production will be destroyed.
    (42) Your production will be destroyed.
    (44) You shall be a debtor to the alien (to the world).
    (44) You shall be the tail and not the head (i.e. you will be in bondage to the world).
    (48) You will be subject to inadequacy and lack.
    (51) Foreign authority (the world) will take over your production.
    (63) The Lord will prefer to see you destroyed instead of prospering.

    The purpose of the Law was (and still is) to point the way to Jesus by revealing and defining man's sinfulness so we would/will come under condemnation and realize our inability to overcome our sinfulness on our own. In other words, the Law was enacted to show us that we needed a Savior and that we should look to Him for our deliverance and salvation instead of continuing to try to rely on our own strength and works. And so, once Jesus came and paid for our sins at the Cross, the Law was no longer needed for those who turn to Him in faith (Galatians 3:24-25).

    When the Bible says we have been REDEEMED from the curse of the Law, it's saying that because of the forgiveness of our sins we have been rescued from the Curse. In other words, if we live by faith we're no longer subject to the consequences of the Curse. On the contrary we who believe have been blessed with the Blessing of Abraham (Galatians 3:14). THEREFORE, A CHRISTIAN IS NOT SUBJECT TO THE FINANCIAL CURSES FROM DEUTERONOMY 28 UNLESS HE/SHE CHOOSES TO LIVE UNDER THE LAW INSTEAD OF GRACE. By faith you have the right to speak to indebtedness, to lack, to insufficiency, to poverty, to inadequacy, to failure, to ruined projects and all other financial conditions under the Curse and command them in the name of Jesus to get away from you and never come back. If the Word is true, then this is your right as a Believer and our enemy the devil does not have the authority to prevail against the name of Jesus (Philippians 2:9).

  • Why Christians Experience the Curse
  • But, MOST Christians don't really understand that the New Covenant of faith and the Spirit has set them free from the Law. Why? The truth is most of us don't study the Word out for ourselves. It would be easy (and unfair) to blame incorrect teaching and doctrines from the past for our lack of understanding. But the real problem is that we human beings tend to be lazy where the Word of God is concerned and we willingly/blindly accept corrupted teaching that has been handed down for generations instead of searching for the Truth through our own study. Consequently, our knowledge and understanding is too shallow to produce victory in our finances.

    Friend, what the Bible actually says is that Jesus obtained eternal (for ALL time: past, present and future) REDEMPTION for ALL Believers by shedding His blood only ONE time at the Cross of Calvary (Hebrews 9:11-12). As a result, God is no longer angry with you (Isaiah 54:9); you are no longer His enemy. In fact, He has forgotten that you ever sinned in the past (Isaiah 43:25 and Hebrews 8:13) and your new sins have already been paid for so He doesn't take them into account (Romans 4:8 from Psalm 32:2). So, if financial aspects of the Curse manifest in the lives of Believers, they're not coming from God. He will not punish you for sins that have already been forgiven (Isaiah 54:9). Rather, God has initiated a Covenant of peace (Isaiah 54:10) through the ministry of Jesus Christ and that peace BY DEFINITION must include financial prosperity and abundance.

    No, manifestations of the Curse don't come from God; but following are a few places they DO come from:

    1. Our adversary the devil is the one who most frequently uses the Curse. When we sin under the New Covenant, we need to acknowledge that Jesus has already paid for it and then be grateful instead trying to please God with our suffering and self-chastisement. Sin DOES bring consequences but according to scriptures on the subject of REDEMPTION they don't come from God. What we need to do in the face of sin is take authority over the enemy and his consequences and kick them out of our lives in the name of Jesus. Resist the devil and he must flee from you (James 4:7). The sin that opened the door to the consequences has already been paid for so once you've repented (changed directions) those consequences are being sent against you illegally by the enemy. Repent for your sin and then stand up to him with praise to Christ for the shed blood that has set you free from the Curse of the Law.

    2. Another thing that can happen is that many Christians believe they have to act holy and righteous in order to attract the favor of God. And, they believe their sins can separate them from God's favor, blessing and presence until through holy acts they can restore the relationship. Or they think they have to suffer for their sins a little while to impress God. But friend those sins have already been paid for and God will not withhold anything from you nor will He be impressed with your self-imposed "suffering." No, if you try to start acting holy in your own strength to attract God's favor, then you dishonor the work of Christ at the Cross and YOU put YOURSELF back under the Law. And by doing so YOU open YOURSELF to the consequences of the Curse. Your own "holiness" can do nothing for you and your attempts at it only demonstrate a lack of faith for the REDEMPTION you've already received through the substitutionary holiness and righteousness of Jesus.

    3. Thirdly, you may have overlooked a requirement in the Word to speak out about your REDEMPTION. The Bible says "let the REDEEMED of the Lord SAY so, whom He has REDEEMED from the hand of the adversary" (Psalm 107:2). We're supposed to confess our REDEMPTION especially in the face of any attack by the enemy and in the midst of our trials. When times are difficult you need to say out loud that you're REDEEMED, delivered and protected from the ability of the enemy to legally disrupt your life. When you speak it out, your faith grows and victory comes from faith. Praise God right in front of the enemy and then kick him out of your way with the Word of God. And if you keep on confessing your REDEMPTION, the consequences that have caused your trial will have to depart soon enough. Just keep on confessing your REDEMPTION!

  • The Blessing of Abraham
  • Finally, we should not overlook today that through REDEMPTION the Blessing of Abraham has come to the Gentiles (Galatians 3:14). People who were born Jewish already have had access to the Blessing through the Old Covenant. But, with the once-and-for-all forgiveness of sins, with the restoration of fellowship with Father God and with the creation of a New Covenant, the Blessing of Abraham came to ALL Believers who by faith are willing to receive the finished work of Christ. Yes, anyone who receives Jesus as Lord and Savior also receives the Blessing of Abraham with the right to fully walk in it.

    Many Believers don't really understand what this means and tend to gloss over it and go on to other verses. But if the Scripture says we've received the Blessing of Abraham and that it comes through REDEMPTION, we need to understand it. Just what is the Blessing of Abraham? Scripture says if you're a Believer you've received it. What have you received and how does it affect your life? If we don't understand what we've received we can't fully use and enjoy it. If it's something wonderful, we need to know about it so we can be grateful and thankful to God for yet another free gift we haven't done anything to receive.

    You see, Abraham was blessed because by the strength of his faith (Hebrews 11:17-19) he obeyed God's voice when he was tested (Genesis 22:17-18). That Blessing is summarized in Romans 4:13 as this: it was promised that Abraham and his SEED would inherit the world. According to scripture that SEED is Jesus Christ (Galatians 4:16) and so those who belong to Christ have become Abraham's descendants and heirs to the Promise God made to him (Galatians 3:29). Indeed, we are joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17) and have received the entire world as our inheritance. And as a part of the Promise we're to be a blessing to the nations (Genesis 22:18) which is occurring NOW because Christ has already been given ALL power and authority (Matthew 28:18 and Ephesians 1:21).

    What that means for the Believer is that we're already authorized to begin taking possession of the wealth of the world by faith as our inheritance so we can use it to bless others. You see friend, the focus of the so-called "Faith Message" is not really about accumulating wealth to be consumed on our own wants; it's about using wealth to be a blessing to others. The measure of success in the Kingdom of God is not about how much money or possessions you have; it's about how much God can trust you to give away and bless others with. Your inheritance is to be a Blessing and in return God will bless you and your family in every way. Change your priorities to put the Kingdom of God first in your life and you'll see the blessings and favor of God pour into your life so the Promise of the Spirit can be fulfilled.

  • Some Final Thoughts
  • Did you ever think about the fact that Christianity is the only religion that offers forgiveness of sins as a free gift? All religions teach that sin separates people from God. But the other religions teach that the people have to do something to please God in order to obtain their forgiveness. Grace is unique to Christianity and so is eternal substitutionary REDEMPTION. The Believer in Christ has been REDEEMED from sin, from the Curse and from death and all we have to do is accept and believe Jesus by faith. He has done all the rest that needs to be done.

    Because of your REDEMPTION you have been set free from all the financial problems contained in the Curse but you have to receive your deliverance by faith just like you received your salvation. If you have been born again you have inherited financial victory and no matter what your circumstances look like, no matter what your check book says, you have the right to debt freedom and you have inherited the abundance of Christ (John 10:10) to replace the poverty and lack you suffered from under the Curse.

    Now let the REDEEMED say so and by your confession your inherited victory will come to be fully manifested in your life because of what Jesus did at the Cross. Resist the temptation to confess what your Flesh tells you that reality is and instead confess your agreement with the Word of God. Reality is not what you can only reason through the five physical senses. Reality is the Truth of God's Word and ONLY His Word.

    Thanks for reading PLN today. We hope this message has blessed you and opened your understanding to the subject of REDEMPTION. We'll be looking for you again in three weeks on May 2. God bless you.

  • Sinners' Prayer
  • If you have never invited Jesus to become the Lord of your life, you can do so today by saying the following simple prayer:

    Jesus I believe in you. I believe that you are the Son of God and that He raised you from the dead. I receive you as my Lord and Savior. Please forgive me for my sins and come into my life today.

    If you were sincere as you prayed, God has already come into your life and you are a new creation. Now ask the Lord to lead you to a good faith based bible teaching church where you can be developed to fulfill your potential in the Kingdom of God. If you're unable to find a church, give us a call and we'll help you find a good one.

  • Prayer Requests
  • Please e-mail your prayer requests to: [email protected]. We'll be honored to bring them before the Lord each Tuesday morning at 10:00 AM, Eastern Time.

  • Donations
  • If you have been blessed and edified by Prosperous Life Newsletter, please pray about making a Spirit-led love offering to support the work of the Ministry (Galatians 6:6-7). PLN is a non profit [501(c) (3)] gift to the Body of Christ so your financial gifts should be tax deductible (please consult your tax advisor). You may mail your check or money order to Cornerstone Consulting Ministries to 10621 N. Kendall Drive, Suite 113, Miami, Florida 33176 or click on the donation tab for other payment options. May God bless you with His abundant harvest in return for sowing your precious seed into this Ministry.

  • Questions and Suggestions
  • It would bless us to have an opportunity to answer your questions concerning any of the areas covered by the ministry of PLN. We would also be happy to consider your comments and suggestions. Please feel free to e-mail them to us or give us a call anytime during normal business hours at our toll free number 1-800-357-4223.

    Toll Free:
    1-800-357-4223