The following is a very CONDENSED version of this Chapter. DO NOT quote from this and claim that it is from the book Atonement and Reconciliation. If you must quote from this summary, please reference it as, “Online condensed version of Atonement and Reconciliation.”
“With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” Micah 6:6-7
The words “ransom” and “redeem” are mercantile terms when used literally, but they are frequently used metaphorically to describe releasing or freeing from what or who is holding the person or object in bondage. To distinguish between literal and metaphoric uses of a word, the context must be considered. Many people assume that ransom and redemption are being used literally with regard to the death of Jesus because he literally died, but they result in absurdities if carefully thought through. Consider, “redeemed us from the curse” (Gal. 3:13), “redeem those under the law” (Gal. 4:5), “redeem us from all lawlessness” (Titus 2:14), and “redeemed from the empty way of life” (1 Peter 1:18). None of these statements involve a transfer of a payment from one party to another. They are all picturing a release. Jesus redeemed us, set us free from the addiction and bondage of sin, so we would be the servants of God and display God’s righteousness. For this reason, God is just and righteous in passing over our former sins (Romans 3:25).
Psalm 74:2 is a good example of “purchase” and “redeem” being used as metaphors: “Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old, which You have redeemed to be the tribe of Your inheritance; and this Mount Zion, where You have dwelt.” The psalmist is praying and requesting God to remember that Israel belongs to Him because it was He who set them free from their bondage. Moses himself is said to be the redeemer in Acts 7:35 “This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush.” Did Moses purchase the people of Israel from Egypt? No, Moses was their liberator as God’s agent. The Biblical use of “redeem” is frequently understood as to liberate, to free, not to pay. With this in mind, let’s consider verses commonly used regarding Jesus giving a ransom or redemption for us:
Another “redeemed” passage is 1 Peter 1:18-19. [Greek “elytrōthēte”] This passage reads:
1 Peter 1:18-19 “Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”
Notice in this passage that “ransom” is used metaphorically with freeing, releasing, from sin, “from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers.” Yes, we were ransomed by the precious blood of Christ, but as a consequence of this, we were set free from bondage to sin, not from bondage to God or the Devil.
Now, let’s look at other passages that are frequently mentioned:
Acts 20:28-31 “Keep watch over yourselves and the entire flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number, men will rise up and distort the truth to draw away disciples after them. Therefore be alert and remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.”
The context of Acts 20:28-31 relates to being a good shepherd in contrast to wolves who will lead the flock away, thus also “purchasing” or “getting” their own flock. A payment for sin is not even the topic under discussion! Paul’s point is that the church belongs to God, not to false shepherds, described as wolves. The problem with PSA using this passage for atonement is that they want to use the word “purchased” literally. However, this results in absurdities. What exactly was literally bought, and from whom? Is God in the business of literally buying and selling people? Who would have literally owned these people before God bought them?
1 Corinthians 7:23 “You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.”
Reading “bought” literally begs the question again, from whom? This shows that Paul is intending this to be understood in a figurative sense, as understanding it literally just does not work.
Revelation 5:9 “And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.””
Notice that it does not say, “you ransomed people from God.” So, Jesus did not pay a literal ransom to God for us. God did not receive a payment. We were metaphorically ransomed, freed from sin by Christ, to make us acceptable to God. Another passage that frequently comes up is Revelation 14:3-4, which uses the word “purchased” twice. But first, it is “purchased from the earth” and then as “purchased from among men.” Neither of these phrases make any sense when taken literally.
Additional Considerations
Many have concluded that Jesus literally paid God so that we can be forgiven. But this would be just as corrupt and unethical as a President or a Governor accepting a payment for a pardon. It is wrong to sell pardons for payment. It is also unscriptural:
Deuteronomy 10:17 “For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.”
Isaiah 5:23 “Woe to those…who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right!”
God told us when and how he forgives sin, and it is when we stop sinning by repenting – that is turning around – and taking the path of righteous living. We read:
2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin.”
Isaiah 55:7 “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
Conclusion
When dealing with the topic of atonement, a literal understanding of “redeem,” “ransom,” or “purchase” leads to logical absurdities. God wants a changed heart, a changed behavior, not a payment.
Atonement and Reconciliation 