True Redemption

Redemption in Church Tradition

The art of communication is being understood, and words are a form of communication. However, there needs to be a common understanding of the meaning between the speaker and listener of the words used. In linguistics, when two words from different languages sound the same but have a different meaning, these words are called false friends. The religion of Christian tradition taught in modern churches is full of false friends but because those who are theologically trained don’t understand the ancient Hebrew culture of the Bible, no-one is any the wiser. Take for instance the word redemption. The redemption taught in many modern churches is the afterlife, life after death, escaping hell and going to heaven when people die. It is a “it will be great when you are dead” redemption.

Counterfeit Relationship

The Church religion of tradition is counterfeit relationship; many have been deceived by tradition and betrayed by the religion in which they trusted, because religious tradition cannot change people’s hearts. It says in Genesis 6:5-6 (KJV) “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart”. The fallen human heart has not changed and apart from the sovereign mercy and grace of God it cannot change. Jesus called God “Abba, Father”, this was an expression of relationship, not religion. It was this relationship that was lost at the Fall and that Jesus came to restore by dying everyone’s death so that He could bring people’s hearts full circle back into the paradise of God’s fatherhood, being inspired by unmerited grace to live in the power of His resurrection life.

Religion Changes Heads Not Hearts

The religion of Church tradition cannot change hearts and so it attempts to change heads. The religion of tradition claims to teach the way, the truth, and the life but the redemption of tradition is not the same as the redeeming truth of the glory of God’s sovereign grace that changes people’s hearts and sets them free. When people are still bound, often secretly, their hearts do not yet know the truth despite what they may have been taught by the religion of tradition to think. Tradition teaches that God is absolutely beside himself with rage. It teaches that things like right incantations, creeds, spells, rites, priests, articles, theologies, observances, sacrifices, ceremonies or beliefs about the Cross of Christ somehow change God and magically transform the ocean of God’s rage into a peaceful sea of tranquility, offering a license to excuse bad behaviour and opening the door to life after death. The truth is that God is full of grace and mercy, slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness. It is bad behaviour that makes God angry because God can see the dreadful effects of sin upon the hearts and minds of the people that He loves.

Relationship With God Lost

Within ancient Hebrew culture, redemption meant something brought back round full circle. Adam did not fall like lightning from heaven, redemption was not Adam dying and going back full circle to heaven. In the paradise of Eden, Adam and Eve became “as god” within their own lives by disobeying God and eating forbidden fruit. They exchanged the truth of God’s love for them with their own love for themselves. Their eyes were opened to the pride of self-determination, self-admiration and self-worship. They said within their hearts “I will decide for myself what is good or evil, I will decide for myself what is right or wrong”. They died to God by gasping out the breath of God’s life. They were no longer the Sons of God. Instead, they became self-worshipping fallen living dust, living natural puffed-up pride-poisoned lives and they eventually died. This was the foundation of the corporate son of Belial, the City of Babylon or world. The inhabitants of Babylon naturally follow the ways of this world and are subjects of the prince of the power of the air, the father of lies who is unknowingly at work in the breathings of their personality.

Relationship With God Redeemed

Redemption brings things round full circle by exchanging the lie of honouring and serving the creature back to honouring and serving the Creator, the Blessed One from whom all blessings flow, forever. In Galatians 3:1-3 (KJV) Paul says “O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” Within ancient Hebrew culture, the word of God was spoken by the breath or Holy Spirit of God. Like the sails of a ship, Hebraically, faith is establishing the breath of the living word of God within the breathings of one’s personality or heart. This redeems the heart. It changes people so that they call God “Abba, Father” and become the living personality of God’s ideal Son together with Jesus. That is why Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 1:10 “…ye did turn unto God from the idols, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from the heavens, whom He did raise out of the dead—Jesus, who is rescuing us from the anger that is coming”. Behaviour in life will become inheritance in resurrection. Those that have the sails of their hearts filled with the breath of God’s fatherhood are inspired by the election of grace into behaving like Jesus by living and walking in the light of God’s love. This qualifies them to be counted worthy to experience the First Resurrection when Jesus is revealed from the heavens at His second coming.

Be Truly Redeemed

If you would like to understand how to be set free from the shackles of false-friend redemption of religious tradition and instead be redeemed to bear the image of Jesus’ transfiguration by your personality being engulfed in an overflowing inflow of a tidal wave of the paradise of superabundant divine life that will last forever, click here.