About three weeks ago, on my way home from church, I encountered a man named Abdullahi. I had just alighted from a church member’s car, who had kindly dropped me off closer to a bus stop heading toward my house. As I walked towards the bus stop, Abdullahi approached me, asking for help. My first instinct was to walk past—after all, it's something we encounter often around here. But something about his appearance struck me; he genuinely looked like he needed help. Even after I walked a few steps past him, I felt a heaviness in my spirit. So I turned back and handed him some money.

As I turned to walk away, I heard a whisper in my spirit, “The help he needs is more than money”. Instantly, Acts 3:6 came to mind, “Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk”.

So I turned back to him the second time, but this time, I began to speak to him about Jesus. By the end of that conversation, Abdullahi had received and surrendered his life to Jesus. Praise God!

As I continued my walk, I found myself reflecting deeply on the entire encounter with Abdullahi. I discovered that people in distress are usually most vulnerable (for lack of a better word) to the Gospel. But while this presents a powerful opportunity, we must approach it with great care and discernment. Not to present them with ‘a better life’ in a worldly or material sense. Rather, present the new life in Christ. It’s not about fixing the old life; it’s about receiving an entirely new one. As Scripture says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). So, I began to meditate on the true implication of this ‘New Life’—receiving, believing, and following Jesus. I’ll share on this as I prepare to conclude this series.

At the foundation of our redemption are the finished works of Jesus Christ—secured, complete, and accessible to all who are in Him. The apostle Paul wrote, “For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world” (Acts 4:3).

It’s already been established in previous doses that God's redemptive plan had long been settled, but its fulfilment would require more than the blood of bulls and goats for the remission of sin (Hebrews 9:12-13). Also, since sin and death entered the world through one man (Adam), redemption and life would likewise require the righteousness and sacrifice of one Man (Romans 5:12,17).

However, at that time, no man had the standing to be called blameless: “As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). Still, God, driven by His eternal desire to reconcile man to Himself, took on human flesh, incarnating as the Son of God. Just as Isaiah had prophesied, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). After His death, Jesus descended into the lower parts of the earth and took back the keys of dominion Adam lost (Revelation 1:18). In His resurrection, He became the firstborn from the dead, triumphing over sin, Satan and death. In doing so, He fulfilled what was written, “That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” – Hebrews 2:14.

Now risen, ascended, and exalted, He lives forever as our Great High Priest—interceding for the saints (Hebrews 7:25); He stands as the only Mediator between God and humanity (1 Timothy 2:5).

Therefore, the most important revelation of Jesus to every lost sheep is His exclusive divine power for the remission of sin and impartation of eternal life—the very God-life which is superior to sin, death, and Satan. As prophesied, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us” (Matthew 1:21-23).

When we begin to grasp the weight of sin and the reality of death, we’ll also begin to appreciate the true liberty found in Christ. At the core of our new identity in Him lies the forgiveness of sins and victory over its dominion. On the other hand, we are granted eternal life and restored to fellowship with God. Every other benefit of redemption flows from this foundation as we continue to grow in grace and the knowledge of the truth.

To be continued…