whatever said:
Helen,
Is it proper to say that unbelievers are redeemed?
I know this sounds like I am fudging, but I am not. It depends on what you are referring to when you say 'redeemed.' The word itself means to 'buy back,' which I think you know.
Look at Hosea 13:14 --
"I will ransom them from the power of the grave;
I will redeem them from death.
Where, O death, are your plagues?
Where, O grave, is your destruction?"
Look at Galatians 3:11-14 --
Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because 'The righteous will live by faith.' The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, 'The man who does these things will live by them.'
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.' He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
In the Hosea verse, death and grave lose their power completely, for Christ holds the keys (Revelation). This applies to all men, for all men come under Christ's judgment.
In the Galatians verse, it is shown that redemption from the curse of the law (the curse applies to all people) is only the first half of the process; for Paul writes that this was
"so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit." Without that faith we cannot receive the promise. So the redemption from death was for all men for all time, but that is not the whole story. We were bought back from death, yes -- all of us. As it says in Hebrews 9:12,
"He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption."
So in that redemption means to have bought back from death -- the wages of sin -- then yes, all men were redeemed. But, again, that is certainly not the whole story, or all men would go to heaven, and they certainly don't! Paul gives the second half of the story when he says, even more clearly in Ephesians 2:8-9,
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast."
Christ paved the way with atonement for all, buying us all back from the power of the grave. We certainly cannot travel that road to Him on our own, however, which I know you agree with. We have to open the way, however, through faith, and it is through our faith that God has chosen to allow His mercy to work in our lives. The mercy is His, the work is His, the provision is His -- but the working out of all that in the life of a person is THROUGH the person's faith. Not because of it, actually, but simply through it.
As it is written,
"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." (Hebrews 11:6)
If, however, when you use the term 'redeem' you are referring to redemption unto life with the Lord forever, then no, not all are redeemed in that sense. However, that is not how the Bible uses the word.
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edit: it's after ten here on the west coast now and that's time for bed. See ya'll in the morning and God bless.