QKAG: Issue # 140

PAST ISSUE # 140
Questions Kids Ask About God

Question: What is redemption?

Answer: Redemption is paying for someone's punishment or debt. For Christians, redemption is when Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty of our sins (Galatians 3:13). If Jesus did not die on the cross for our sins, we would have to be punished for our sins (Romans 6:23). Thankfully, God sent His Son, Jesus to take our place and pay the penalty of our sins (John 3:16-17). As such, we are no longer under the penalty of sin and death (Romans 8:2) The following story will help you understand the meaning of redemption.

One day, the son of a town judge was arrested for driving recklessly and put on trial for his crime. It so happened, the father was the court judge at his son's trial. Because the father was the judge, he had to uphold the law and find his son guilty. The punishment was a fine of $1000. Unfortunately, the son did not have the money to pay for the fine and had to be sent to jail. Before the son was to be jailed, his father took off his robe and wrote a cheque for $1000 to pay for his son's fine. As a result, the son was set free.

This story reminds us that we, like the judge's son, are all guilty of our sins and deserve to be punished (Romans 3:23). God is a holy and just God and He, like the judge, must uphold the law (Romans 6:23). Hence, God did not try to change the law (Hebrews 9:22). Instead, God gave us a way to escape punishment by sending His Son, Jesus to pay for the penalty of our sins. God wrote a "cheque" to pay for our "fines." That "cheque" is Jesus' blood on the cross (Hebrews 9:12). It was a very costly price that God had to pay to redeem us from the punishment of sin and death. Related topic in Issue # 15, 19, 62 & 99.

Key Bible verses:
Psalm 49:7-9, 130:7-8; Isaiah 53:10; Ephesians 1:7; Titus 2:14; Hebrews 9:15; Revelation 5:9

Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, I want to thank You for sending Jesus to redeem me from death. Please remind me to always be thankful and joyful that I am free from sin and death. Please help me to tell my relatives and friends about Your love and redemption. In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen.

Last words...
"The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45)

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