Day 8 (Wednesday) – 1 Peter 1:18-21, 2:24
Today’s Passage
Read the passage – 1 Peter 1:18-21, 2:24
The Bible uses various images of how we are saved. One of these is to be “ransomed.” This is achieved through Jesus shedding His blood. His sacrifice also means that we have healing. While we can be physically healed, there is also inner healing of our souls.
- What is something that you did in the past that was futile?
- What does Peter say about what Christ has done for this?
- What are the implications of Jesus bearing our sins?
Prayer
- Break down barriers of indifference and scepticism in our community.
- Thank God for what He has done for us by cleansing us from our wrongdoing and giving us the righteous status of Jesus.
- At times, when we look at the evil going on in our city, we may think of it as making the city unclean. Ask God to save people and to cleanse our city from unrighteousness.
Go Deeper
Peter reminds us of the blessings of salvation. Another reason we should fear displeasing God is that He paid the enormous price to buy us back from sin. The word “redeemed” was used when someone paid money to buy back a slave’s freedom. In Old Testament times, a person’s debts could result in being sold as a slave. The next of kin could redeem the slave, a transaction involving money or valuables. Yet all valuables are perishable—even silver and gold are susceptible to corruption.
However, silver and gold can do nothing to change anyone’s spiritual condition. No amount of money can buy our salvation. It had to be done God’s way—not with money, but with the **precious blood of Christ**, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. Christ “redeemed” us, meaning He paid the price to set sinners free from slavery to sin. Christ paid the debt we owed for violating the righteous demands of the law. Christ purchased our freedom, and it cost Him His own life.
Why blood? From the very beginning, God said, *“For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life”* (Leviticus 17:11, NIV). But the blood Peter mentioned here is the precious blood of Christ. Only the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross was an effective atonement for our sins.
Christ stands in our place, having paid the penalty of death for our sin, having completely satisfied God’s demands. The Old Testament saints sacrificed lambs without defect or blemish to atone for their sins, but New Testament believers have had their sins covered by the blood of the sinless Savior. We have been redeemed from sin in order to live for God (Romans 6:6–7; 1 Corinthians 6:20; Colossians 2:13–14; Hebrews 9:12). We could not escape from sin on our own; only the sacrifice of God’s Son on our behalf could buy us back and set us free.
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Bruce B. Barton, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, Jude, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Pub., 1995), 43–44.
Songs for Worship and Reflection
