What does Paul mean by “redemption”?

Explanation:

Paul says that we are justified through the ἀπολυτρώσεως (redemption) of Jesus Christ. To understand what Paul means, it is important to consider the meaning of the related verb λυτρόω (to ransom). This verb is often used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament in relation to God’s delivering Israel from slavery in Egypt. For example, in Deuteronomy 7:8 we read that the Lord brought with a mighty hand and redeemed Israel from slavery in Egypt. Likewise, in Deuteronomy 9:26 we read that God redeemed Israel from Egypt. Further, the same verb is used in conjunction with deliverance from Egypt in Deuteronomy 15:15, Deuteronomy 21:8, Deuteronomy 24:18, Psalm 25:22, Psalm 26:11, Isaiah 41:14, and others.⁴ Likely, Paul has the same sort of meaning in view when he uses the term redemption in Romans 3:24. That is, likely he has in mind that just as God delivered Israel from Egypt, Jesus Christ delivers believers from the bondage of sin.   

Counterargument:

There are two problems with this argument. First, Paul uses not the verb λυτρόω (to ransom) in Romans 3:24 but the noun ἀπολύτρωσις (redemption). Second, if we are going to understand what Paul means with the noun redemption by comparing with uses of the verb λυτρόω, we need to understand how the verb is used elsewhere in the New Testament. That is, it is important to grasp how the term λυτρόω was used around the time of the writing of Romans, before considering how it was used some generations earlier in the writing of the Greek translation of the Old Testament. And when we do so, we notice that New Testament authors use λυτρόω not in the general sense of deliverance but in relation to Jesus’s buying us with his blood. For example, Peter writes that we were ransomed through Jesus’ blood (1 Peter 1:18–19).

Response to counterargument:

While it is true that Peter uses the term to ransom in relation to Christ’s delivering by his blood, we also notice that the phrase is used elsewhere in the general sense of deliverance. For example, in Luke 24:21, the resurrected Jesus asks two men what has been happening in Israel, and they respond that they had hoped that Jesus, whom they do not recognize in that moment, would have redeemed Israel. Thus, given the strong connotation between the verb to ransom and deliverance in the Old Testament, along with this similar usage in the New Testament, we can see that redemption could be used in Romans 3:24 in the general sense of deliverance.

Explanation:

When Paul writes that we are justified through the redemption of Jesus Christ, he has in mind general deliverance. We can detect this because the term is used both within and outside the New Testament to refer to general deliverance. For example, the term is used in Romans 8:23 to denote redemption from our earthly bodies.⁵It is also used in Ephesians 4:30 to denote the day of redemption. So, New Testament authors use the term ἀπολύτρωσις in both Romans 8:23 and Ephesians 4:30 to denote general deliverance. Further, there are Greek authors who also use the term in the general sense of deliverance.⁶ Thus, we should take it that when Paul says we are justified through the redemption in Jesus Christ, he means we have been delivered by Jesus Christ.

Counterargument:

The term is used to denote deliverance not only in general but also in the particular sense of being bought with a price. We know this because it is used by some Greek authors to denote the notion of paying for slaves to be released. ⁷ In other words, in the ancient world slaves were bound and one could redeem those slaves by paying a ransom. The notion of redemption through the paying of a ransom is also used in Ephesians 1:7 with the term ἀπολύτρωσις (redemption). There we read that we have redemption through his blood, which suggests his blood was used to pay for our sins. Thus, the term is not only used to denote general deliverance, but can also refer to deliverance in the sense of paying a ransom.

Response to counterargument:

This argument rests not only on the fact that the term ἀπολύτρωσις (redemption) often refers to deliverance in general, but that for the only other time Paul uses the phrase in this letter, it certainly refers to deliverance in general. That is, while there may be ambiguity of Paul’s usage in Romans 3:24 in that it could refer to deliverance in general, or Christ’s purchasing us with his blood in particular, this ambiguity is resolved by Paul’s use of the term in Romans 8:23. For there Paul uses it to denote redemption from our bodies, which certainly has to do with general deliverance. Given that ἀπολύτρωσις is often used for general deliverance, along with the fact that Paul certainly uses it this way in Romans 8:23, he is likely using the term to denote general deliverance in Romans 3:24.

The weakness of this view is that in Romans 3:25, Paul will point out that redemption in Jesus Christ comes by way of Christ’s blood. That redemption comes through Christ’s blood suggests payment of a ransom, which is more specific than general deliverance. That is, that redemption comes through Christ’s blood suggests that redemption has to do with Christ paying the price of our sins.

Explanation:

Paul writes that we are justified through the redemption of Jesus Christ. To understand what Paul means when he says we are redeemed through Jesus Christ, we must first understand the term ἀπολύτρωσις (redemption). The term means liberation through the payment of a price. So we have to ask ourselves, To whom is the payment made?¹⁰

In reality, there are only two possible options to whom the price is paid: to the devil or to God. Now, we should not accept that the price was paid to the devil, because the devil has no intrinsic authority.¹¹ So, we ought to conclude that the price was paid to God.

So, Paul is saying that we are justified by Jesus’ paying to God a ransom, so that we would be liberated.

Counterargument:

The problem with this argument is that we should not confine the meaning of ἀπολύτρωσις (redemption) to liberation through the payment of a price. That’s because, while the term can denote payment for the liberation of slaves, it can also mean payment in general.¹² Further, we notice the term ἀπολύτρωσις being used in the sense of payment in general in other New Testament passages. For example, in Luke 21:25–28 Jesus explains that the Son of Man will return with power, and when we see these things take place our ἀπολύτρωσις is drawing near. Now, this instance of ἀπολυτρωσις likely does not mean liberation through payment with a price. For, when biblical authors discuss being redeemed by Christ’s blood, they do so in the sense that through Christ’s sacrifice, believers are redeemed in the present. Thus, believers do not wait for Christ’s return to be redeemed by his blood, for that happens at the cross and when they put their faith in Christ. So, since Christ is discussing our redemption in the future, he likely has a general notion of redemption in mind. And since Jesus uses the term for something other than liberation through payment of a price, we cannot say that ἀπολύτρωσις only means liberation through the payment of a price.

Response to counterargument:

It may be that, like almost any other term, ἀπολύτρωσις (redemption) has multiple meanings and thus has to do not only with liberation bought at a price but also with liberation in general. Still, we know that the term was often used in the ancient world to denote liberation being bought at a price.¹³ For example, the term was often used to denote the ransoming of criminals, slaves, and prisoners of war. Thus, if we take it that Paul uses the term to denote its common usage, he is saying we are justified through a payment. Of course, a payment must be made to someone, and since it cannot be made to the devil, it must be made to the Father.

Explanation:

We can detect what Paul means when he says that we are justified through the redemption of Jesus Christ, based on Paul’s view of sin. In particular, Paul views sin as a power from which we need liberation.¹⁴ Paul makes clear that sin is a power from which we need liberation in Romans 3:9 when he writes that Jews and Greeks are under sin. That Jews and Greeks are under sin suggests that humans are subject to the power of sin, and it is from this power that we need liberation. Of course, liberation is secured through payment, and it is through Jesus Christ that we are liberated. Thus, Paul is saying that Jesus Christ pays for our liberation from sin, and that payment is made to the Father.¹⁵

Counterargument:

No one would question the notion that Paul explains that humans require liberation from the power of sin. Still, that humans require liberation does not imply that the liberation is acquired through the price paid to God the Father. Rather, Paul may be making the general statement that Christ delivers us from the bondage of sin. That is, deliverance from the bondage of something is not always accomplished by paying a price. Sometimes it is accomplished through conquering. For example, God delivered the Israelites from Egypt by conquering Pharaoh and his army.

Response to counterargument:

While it is true that deliverance from some power could be accomplished by something other than a payment, we know from other passages that Jesus delivers us from the power of sin through his blood, which implies a payment. For example, in Colossians 1:20 we read that Jesus reconciles all things to himself by his blood on the cross. Also, in 1 Peter 1:18–19 we read that we were ransomed by the blood of Christ. Further, in 1 Corinthians 6:20 Paul writes that we were bought with a price. Finally, Paul himself writes that God put Jesus forward as an atoning sacrifice by his blood (Romans 3:25). Thus, we can deduce that Jesus delivers from the bondage of sin in the sense of making a payment by his blood.

The weakness of this view is that it might require us to put a specific meaning on the text that is simply not present. That is, Paul may not be as nuanced as this view is asking us when he says that Christ redeemed us. Rather, he may simply have in mind the general fact that Christ delivers us, not the more specific theological notion that he delivers us by paying for our sin to the Father.