I am so excited about what I am going to be sharing with you today — the meaning of the word “redemption” and how it applies to you and me!

But before I get into today’s teaching, I want to tell you about my new book The Rapture, the Antichrist, and the Tribulation — An End-times Countdown and What Happens Next. This book has percolated inside my heart for many years, and I finally felt it was time to write it. I put a lot of work into this book because many people ask important questions about the end times and want to know when Jesus will return for the Church, and I want to help eliminate confusion and make things clear for people. But right now, you can pre-order it at a special 25-percent discount from the retail price of $29.00, or for $21.75 for a limited time. It is available by calling us at 1-800-742-5593 or by going online at renner.org. I encourage you to order several copies because I’m sure you’re going to want to share this one with someone else!

And when you reach out to us, let us know how to pray for you. Praying for you is one of our highest honors, and we pray for our partners and friends every day. But when we hear from you about your prayer needs, we can start praying more specifically. I believe Jesus will hear our prayers, and He will do exactly what needs to be done to see His will accomplished in your situation. Please pray for us, too, as we are carrying out our God-given assignment. We are so thankful to you for being such an integral part of what God is doing through RENNER Ministries. By being one of our partners, you are helping propagate the precious seed of the Gospel around the world!

*[If you started reading this from your email, begin reading here.]

As I searched my heart for what to write to you about this month, I was reminded of a song we used to sing in my church when I was young: “Redeemed, How I Love To Proclaim It!” by Fanny Crosby. I can still picture myself standing in the pew, surrounded by the congregation as we all exuberantly declared:

Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it
Redeemed by the blood of the lamb
Redeemed through His infinite mercy
His child, and forever, I am

Then we would jubilantly sing the chorus, “Redeemed, redeemed! Redeemed by the blood of the lamb. Redeemed, redeemed! His child, and forever, I am.”  

I sang that song with every fiber of my being; however, there were many layers to the principle of redemption that I had yet to uncover. But as I deeply studied the word “redemption,” I discovered that it has its roots in ancient slave markets. The parallels between slavery in the ancient world and slavery in the spiritual realm are striking, as you will see as we continue.

Slave Markets in the Ancient World

In antiquity, many large cities had sprawling slave markets — places of unfathomable misery and sorrow. Eager purchasers would meander through the crowded aisles, their eyes scanning for the slave they desired. In these markets, human beings were placed on elevated platforms called auction blocks where they could be viewed and eventually sold to the highest bidder.

Before the buying, selling, and trading commenced, buyers were permitted to “inspect the merchandise.” For example, if a slave was going to be used in menial work that required a great deal of physical abuse, potential buyers might spit on the slaves, strike them, or hurl insults to assess their threshold for endurance. If a slave could suppress his or her pride, clench his jaw, and maintain composure amidst such demeaning treatment, it was presumed that he could toil in arduous labor without causing issues for his new master. This examination process was similar to taking a vehicle for a spin before committing to buy it. Just as a car buyer wants assurance of the value in what he’s acquiring, those in the market for slaves sought to evaluate the “goods” before parting with their money.

Assessing the physical condition of a slave was crucial during auctions because it told the potential buyer whether that slave was a worthwhile investment. One important health indicator that slave owners knew to look for was the state of a slave’s teeth. Shiny, well-kept teeth often implied robust health and could significantly elevate a person’s monetary value. Conversely, if his or her teeth were decayed or rotten, it might lead to that slave being sold at a lower price. As a result, potential buyers would tilt back the head of a candidate, pry open his or her mouth, and scrutinize the teeth to judge their condition, which influenced the buyer’s bidding decisions.

Upon identifying a promising candidate, the buyer would agree to pay the required sum to acquire the individual and thereby transfer the purchased slave into the lawful possession of his or her new master. Depending on the slave’s physical condition and skills, the price of a slave could range from a mere 500 denarii to an extravagant 875,000 denarii. Male slaves possessing striking physiques, unique talents, and advanced education often commanded exorbitant prices. The Romans had a particular preference for male slaves due to their ability to undertake a wider array of physical tasks compared to their female counterparts.

By law, slaves were not permitted to own anything, not even the clothes they wore, and slave owners wielded absolute power over their slaves, with the freedom to mistreat, exploit, or even execute them at their discretion. Regarded as mere property rather than with the dignity of human life, these enslaved individuals could be returned to the market when no longer needed, where they would stand under the auctioneer’s gavel once again. Furthermore, their owners could choose to lend them to acquaintances or rent them out to others in need of labor.

Slavery was prevalent in nearly every aspect of society. Whether enslaved by birth or through a twist of fate, millions of people found themselves imprisoned in a life of slavery. In the bustling metropolis of Rome, a staggering one-third of the city’s one million inhabitants, roughly 300,000 to 350,000 people, were slaves. This served as a testament to the relentless conquests of Roman legions, whose victories flooded the slave markets with more humans to be bartered and traded as mere goods.

There were primarily two different categories of slaves in the Roman world — those who belonged to the government and those who were the private possessions of individuals or families. Public slaves owned by the state were like the cogs of a mighty machine that constructed grand architectural marvels across the Roman empire. But private slaves were owned by private individuals or families, and they generally possessed more freedom than public slaves.

Today, when most people hear the word “slave,” an image comes to mind of individuals clad in tattered clothing and assigned to grueling tasks like bricklaying or laboring in fields. This stereotype holds true in many cases, yet it doesn’t paint the full picture. Surprisingly, a significant number of slaves boasted exceptional skills and had high levels of education. Those owned by wealthy masters often held esteemed roles such as household stewards, financial managers, or secretaries.

Astonishingly, there were slaves who were renowned philosophers, distinguished educators, respected store managers, and even sought-after physicians. Thus, slavery transcended the boundaries of low-skilled, uneducated labor and extended to gifted and well-dressed individuals who catered to the upper tiers of society. Some slaves were entrusted with the crucial role of tutoring the offspring of affluent families. Remarkably, very often slaves bore such a close resemblance to the general populace that the Roman Senate once considered requiring slaves to wear distinctive attire so that it was clear who was a slave and who was not.

What Is the Significance of These Facts?

As I said previously in my letter, the parallels between slavery in the ancient world and slavery in the spiritual realm are striking. In Romans 6:17 and 20, we are reminded that, prior to our journey with Christ, we were all bound as “servants of sin.”

The word “servants” is translated from the Greek word doulos, which is more accurately rendered as slave. This Greek word specifically depicts the most abject and degrading form of slavery. It describes an individual who is utterly consigned to a life of bondage and perpetual slavery for the rest of his or her life. In history, such slaves existed solely to execute the commands of their owner, and their primary duty was to endlessly satisfy their master’s every whim. This historical glimpse pictures one entrenched in the shackles of slavery with his own will entirely eclipsed by that of his master.

And by using the Greek word doulos, Paul illustrated the profound truth that prior to finding Christ, each of us was shackled in slavery to sin and the clutches of Satan. We might have fancied ourselves the masters of our own destinies — believing we held the reins of our lives — but in truth, as we saw in Ephesians 2:2, we were captives who were ensnared in sin’s unforgiving grip, and our destinies were stealthily manipulated by a sinister, invisible force bent on orchestrating our downfall.

It doesn’t matter whether you are a Wall Street executive, a renowned architect, a tenured college professor, or a billionaire businessperson — without the touch of God’s grace, your existence remains ensnared in the bonds of spiritual slavery. The truth is that every person, irrespective of prestige, status, or wealth, enters this world shackled by sin and caught in the snare of spiritual captivity because spiritual death rules him at his core. Whether that person is poor and uneducated, or he wears sharp suits, boasts impressive credentials, drives expensive cars, and lives in lavish homes — without yielding his life to Christ, his spirit remains unwashed by Jesus’ redeeming blood. Until that person surrenders to the lordship of Jesus and allows His blood to redeem him and make him new in Christ, he will remain a slave in Satan’s slave market.

Through Adam’s disobedience, spiritual death entered the spirits of Adam and Eve and all their descendants. As Romans 5:12 says, “…by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” With every passing generation following Adam, the chains of spiritual death tightened and led people of all nations, tribes, and ethnicities further into the depths of sin and depravity.

In Romans 7:14, Paul wrote about our predicament before embracing Christ. He used the word “sold,” which is borrowed from the lexicon of the slave market. It comes from the Greek word piprasko, a word that describes a transfer of ownership. Through this imagery, Paul stated that Adam’s initial disobedience effectively handed over the entirety of humanity to a new master and owner, Satan. Thus, humankind lived under Satan’s ironclad authority and were his possessions, which all occurred as a consequence of Adam’s transgression.

Like slaves in a slave market, we stood on the auction block helpless as Satan slapped our lives around — hitting us, kicking us, spitting in our faces, and abusing us in any way he desired. The master of our chains was relentless and unyielding in his quest to shatter our self-worth and ensnare us with a myriad of issues that would mar us emotionally. When he finished using one kind of bondage and death to torment us, he would put us back on the trading block to be auctioned off again and allow yet another form of bondage to enslave us and begin leaving its destructive marks on our lives.

Caught in this abusive cycle, we found ourselves shuffled from one chain to another in an unending loop of devastation and defeat. Day by day, whether we sensed it or remained oblivious to it, we were auctioned further into the clutches of sin — wholly and completely, from the core of our being to the tips of our toes. This is the very reason Paul referred to us as “the servants of sin” in Romans 6:17 and 20. Our pre-salvation slavery to the devil was so entrenched that our nature became filled with rebellion, and the gulf separating us from God widened to such an extent that Scripture describes us as having become “alienated and enemies” in our minds through wicked works (see Colossians 1:21).

In addition to the sin problem, guilt, shame, turmoil, disease, illness, and sickness wreaked havoc on mankind. But Jesus descended into this world where every living person was bound in Satan’s grasp. Seeing us captive and shackled, guilt-ridden, tormented, and sick, Christ made the profound decision to pay whatever price necessary to reclaim us as His own. With a love that knew no bounds and a determination that soared beyond earthly understanding, He offered the ultimate sacrifice — His own blood — to secure our freedom and make us His own.

Jesus Came To Deliver Us From the Power of Darkness

In Colossians 1:13-14, Paul wrote about Jesus setting us free from Satan’s slave market when he said that God “…hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: in whom we have redemption through his blood, even forgiveness of sins.”

Among a host of important words in this passage, there is one word I would like to focus on: “delivered.” It comes from the Greek word rhuomai, which means to rescue, to save, or to pluck from peril. It pictures someone being whisked away from harm’s grasp and suggests an urgent deliverance that arrives precisely on time. This word choice reveals that Jesus embarked on a mission to free people from the clutches of the enemy and to rescue them from the devil’s iron grip just when all hope seemed lost!

In Colossians 1:13, Paul stated that God delivered us “from” the power of darkness. The word “from” is a translation of the Greek word ek, which signifies a departure or a way out, and it is where we derive the word exit. This illustrates that through the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, God plucked us from and gave us a way out of the grip of the “power of darkness.” The word “power” finds its origin in the Greek word exousia, which speaks of authority, dominion, and influence, and it means all of humanity was living under the authority, dominion, and influence of Satan and his kingdom. The word darkness” is translated from the Greek word skotos, and it depicts the pitch-black absence of any glimmer of light. In this verse, Paul used the word skotos to picture the utter darkness of Satan’s sinister realm.

But then in Colossians 1:13, Paul brilliantly declared that the very instant we turned our backs on sin and welcomed Christ as the Captain of our lives, He “…translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.” This word “translated” is derived from the Greek word methistemi, and it pictures a transition from one realm to another. Thus, the moment a person embraces Christ as Lord of his life, he is snatched from the clutches of darkness and transferred into the Kingdom of God. This marked your emancipation from the marketplace of sin and your induction into the family of God.

First John 3:14-15 states that when we were translated from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of God, we “passed from death unto life.” The word “passed” is an interpretation of a form of metabaino, a compound of meta and baino. Here, meta means after or beyond, while baino signifies a journey or walk. When combined, the new word metabaino pictures moving from one realm to another or a shift in position or environment. At the very moment of our salvation, we were extricated from death’s dominion, and we were literally moved over into life. This is John’s affirmation that we have been rescued from Satan’s grasp and transitioned into the Kingdom of God’s Son. In the new Kingdom, there is no darkness or death at all, and that means all the toxins of the dark realm were left behind and we moved into a Kingdom dominated only by the goodness of God. When we came to Christ, the powers of darkness were utterly and completely broken over our lives.

Hebrews 2:3 describes this liberation as “so great salvation.” The words “such a great” are a translation of the Greek word telikautes, which denotes that which is extraordinary, grand, majestic, magnificent, or truly remarkable. The term “salvation” originates from soterias, a variant of sodzo, a beloved New Testament term, which describes the rescue from sin and death, healing, freedom, and complete wholeness in every part of life. In the gospels, it is often translated “heal” or “deliver.” However, this single word encompasses deliverance, restoration, preservation, and mental soundness, and it affirms that physical healing and liberation from the grip of demonic forces are also an intrinsic part of salvation.

This explains why Hebrews 2:3 refers to our salvation as “so great salvation.” Through His redemptive work on the Cross, Christ transferred us from the dominion of darkness, legally nullifying all claims the devil held against us. Thus, the salvation we have received is indeed a “great salvation” or a “grand deliverance!” When the Bible says you are “redeemed,” it means Christ has paid the price for your complete liberation — and that is something we should shout about.

There is so much to discover about the subject of redemption that I will have to continue this teaching in next month’s letter. Jesus paid the ultimate price to redeem us and make the whole package of salvation available to us, so I’m eager to share with you more important truths about this topic and how it applies to our lives today. I know it will be a blessing to you.

Before I close, I want to again tell you how thankful Denise and I are for your partnership with our ministry. With you, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we are reaching millions of people and seeing so many saved and transformed. I am deeply grateful to you for being so willing to partner with us to bring this life-transforming power to people who are in need. We are truly partners in this Gospel work!

Remember that we are here to pray for you. Just call us at 1-800-742-5593 or write to us at prayer@renner.org, and we’ll be so thrilled to pray for you!

We truly do love you and thank God for you!

We are your brother and sister, friends, and partners in Jesus,

Rick and Denise Renner
along with Paul, Philip, and Joel Renner and our entire ministry team