Peter’s first letter has been very encouraging and motivational so far, but in this passage, he brings up the centerpiece of it all, our redemption by the blood of Christ.

You can see this for yourself in 1 Peter 1:18-19.

The concept of redemption is found frequently through the pages of the New Testament, and the image of Christ’s death redeeming mankind from slavery to sin is used by more than one writer. In fact, Jesus himself portrayed his death in this fashion in Mark 10:45. That makes Peter’s usage here unsurprising.

The ancient culture to which he was writing would have understood the concept of purchasing the freedom of a slave. A slave was valued at the amount of money paid for him, and purchasing his freedom gave an estimation of how valuable he was.

In this manner, Christ also purchased our freedom. However, we were slaved to sin and death, and the price paid for our freedom was the sacrificial death of Jesus himself. And so Peter makes it clear that our redemption is greater than anything that can be purchased using silver or gold. Those things, after all, are perishable, and we have a living hope that is imperishable, as he has already stated.

Just what have we been redeemed from? The general answer, as magnificent as it is, is sin and death. But Peter is more specific here. We are redeemed from the empty way of life we once lived. This is an indication of the pagan background of his initial readers, but it also points to the purposelessness of a life without Christ.

And it is by the blood of Christ that we are given that purpose, that we are redeemed. Christ’s blood is certainly more valuable than gold or silver, or anything else. And Peter refers to it here in a way that his readers would know and understand.

The sacrificial nature of the blood of Christ is rooted in the Old Testament sacrificial system. A lamb would be slain, sacrificed for the sins of the people, and the blood would be instrumental in paying the price for those sins. As the writer of Hebrews stated, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22).

Peter compares Jesus with the sacrificial lamb, and the price such a sacrifice paid for our forgiveness. The blood of Christ accomplished that once and for all.

As a result of that, Peter tells his readers, including us, that we should walk away from the old way of life, that pointless existence, and live lives of holiness and reverent fear, because we have been redeemed by the blood of Christ.

That blood is the cost of our redemption, and we can easily begin to take that for granted. We can avoid this by remembering his sacrifice, and being intentional as we strive for holiness in our lives.

Question: How do you avoid taking your redemption for granted? What do you do to keep this in the forefront of your mind? You can leave a comment by clicking here.