Redemption is being set free.  That is what the word means.  Redemption is setting a slave free.  Free from what?  Free from slavery to sin, death, and the power of the devil.  It is being set free from slavery to our own sinful nature, slavery to Satan, and slavery to the influence of society.

 

Some people say that salvation is redemption and that salvation is being born again.  Some people use the words, salvation, saved, or redemption to mean being born again. The Bible often refers to salvation in future tense when speaking to Christians, though.  It seems that salvation, redemption, and holiness are progressive experiences.  As it is writtern, "As we all with open face beholding as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord."

 

First of all, Scripture and the Holy Ghost tell us that salvation and redemption come through the blood of Jesus.  There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.  And we know that whoever believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God is born again.  It helps if we understand what really happens when we are born again.   

When we are born again, it happens this way. The Father draws us, right? Jesus said that no one can come to Him unless the Father draws them. How does the Father draw us? He leads us to Christ by speaking to us. There are almost always external means such as the Bible, a preacher, or some other means, but the Father is speaking through those means. Faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by the utterance of God. God speaks to us and His faith comes. Faith is a supernatural belief and trust in what God says.  Faith is not make believe.  The Bible tells us that faith is the gift of God lest any man should boast. God's faith gives us access to His grace. Grace is the power of God for righteousness and transformation. Faith is the door to grace. The Bible tells us that it is grace that does God's works through us. When we confess with our mouth and believe in our hearts that Jesus is the Son of God, this confession and belief is the work of God through us, and it is grace doing the work. It is not our flesh doing that work; that's certain. As a result of this belief and trust and confession, Christ is born into our hearts, our inner minds. We are changed. We receive a new heart.  At that moment, our spirits are largely set free, but our minds are only partially set free.  The word, redemption, means, being set free. (some caveats about hearing God's Voice)

At any rate, Christ is born into our hearts, our inner minds, at that moment. We are born again. Our spirits are joined in unity with the Holy Spirit. However, we still find ourselves to have a sinful fleshly nature. What is salvation? Salvation is being saved from that sinful nature, from the influence of the ungodly culture, and from any influence of Satan himself. So, there is an ongoing process.

So, the process or act is always the same. God leads. He shows us a vision of who we are in Christ, what the Church is and is not, how we fit into the Church, and what we are to do about it right now. This is the vision of hope.  This vision is also progressive in that the further we go with God the more complete the vision becomes.  It's like He shows us our spiritual selves, the Christ in us, as if we are looking into a spiritual mirror.  When we receive His leading, His faith comes as a divine belief and trust in Him and what He has shown. Faith gives us access to grace and grace does the works of God through us. Our part is simply to yield to Him and let Him do His works through us. His works are love. As Paul said, Love fulfills the whole law. And in another place it is written that the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. This is what is meant by the word, righteousness.

When God does His works through us, a spiritual principle is put into motion. That spiritual principle is that you reap what you sow. Righteousness can only be sown by the Holy Ghost as mentioned in the previous paragraph. When you sow in righteousness, you are really sowing the right seeds into your heart, your mind. More correctly, the Holy Spirit is sowing the right seeds into your heart. Each time you yield to the Holy Spirit in this way, you are transfigured just a little bit in your mind. You become more like Jesus. Jesus is more fully formed in you. Your fleshly nature dies a little bit more. You are changed in your very nature.

While righteousness is God doing His works through you in the moment, holiness is something that you are becoming. Holiness is Christ formed in you. Holiness is progressive and walking into holiness is a process of progressive, permanent change.

Redemption means being free. We are set free and we are being set free. Our spirits are set free and our minds are partially set free.  Each time we yield to the Holy Spirit we are set free a little bit more.  What are we set free from? We are set free from the influence of the culture of the current age. We are set free from our own fleshly desires. We are set free from habits.  We are set free from anger and bitterness against others.  We are set free from hate.  We are set free from sexual sinfulness.  We are set free from envy.  We are redeemed, or set free, from fear. The redemption doesn't happen suddenly. It happens a little bit each time we yield to the Holy Spirit.

When our holiness and redemption are complete, that will be the manifestation of the sons of God spoken of in Romans.  So redemption goes beyond just being born again.  It's a shame if a person is born again and they never grow up.