18 For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. 19 It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. 

1 Peter 1:18-19 (NLT) 中文 

Humble beginnings

As we live in reverent, holy fear of the Lord God, we are to remember how we got here. We (all of us) started out with a sinful nature and for most of our lives, lived out what naturally comes from a sinful nature. “For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.” (Titus 3:3) As Peter speaks to mostly first generation believers like me), he tells us this empty (meaning futile, vain or powerless) life was passed down from our ancestors – our parents, grandparents, etc. Though it may provide comfort, it is powerless to save us.

Highest Ransom

Not only was our life futile (in spiritual terms), it could never save us from eternal judgment of God. In fact, we were spiritual slaves to sin (Romans 6:20). How can a slave be freed? In those days, a ransom had to be paid that satisfied the slave owner. What value can be placed on an eternal soul that is bound for eternity away from God? Certainly not “a stack of greenbacks”; not even a pound of gold. God set the price. Blood of a spotless (sinless) sacrificial Lamb. “As the death of the Passover lamb liberated the Israelites from physical bondage in Egypt, so the death of Jesus Christ frees believers in Him from the spiritual bondage of sin (cf. Exod. 12:5).” (Constable commentary)

Of greater worth

And this salvation from our worthless life did not come cheaply. It was with an immeasurable cost – not with what we consider highly valuable. These things of the earth eventually decay and become useless. We need something of costly value, of eternal value. This God provided in Jesus Christ as He shed His blood on the cross.

RЯeflection

• Do you also have humble beginnings? Have you been transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of the Son (Coll 1:13)? Time to give thanks to your Redeemer who has paid the ransom for your soul.
• Are you still living in spiritual futility on this earth? Are you putting your trust in things of this world. Maybe you are counting on your own good works to get you out of the spiritual slavery you know you are in. This will never be enough. You need the precious blood of Christ alone. If you want to find out more, click here.