• Isaiah 44:6 Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.
• Isaiah 44:24 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: “I am the Lord, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself,
• Isaiah 47:4 Our Redeemer—the Lord of hosts is his name— is the Holy One of Israel.
• Isaiah 48:17 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go.
• Isaiah 49:7 Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation, the servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia

Redeemer; Redemption:

re-dem’-er, re-demp’-shun (paraq, “to tear loose,” “to rescue,” padhah, ga’al; agorazo, referring to purchase, lutroumai, from lutron, “a ransom”):

Few of our beliefs are as complicated as redemption. The gospel, the good news, is simple because it needs to be received by people who need the help of the redeemer without having to understand His complexity in order to be saved.

As we get to know Him things get more and more complicated. We need help and He has given of Himself to accomplish that in the Comforter, the Holy Spirit.

• Romans 16:25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages
• Ephesians 1:9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ
• Ephesians 3:4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ,
• Ephesians 3:6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
• Ephesians 5:32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
• Colossians 1:27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
• Colossians 2:2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ,

“The lady doth protest too much.”

A line from the play Hamlet, by William Shakspeare, spoken by Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother. She is watching a play, and a character in it swears never to remarry if her husband dies. The play is making Hamlet’s mother uncomfortable, because she herself remarried almost immediately after the murder of her first husband.

The lesson here is about a measure of truth that can often be found in fiction. Yesterday I said that those bound firmly in sin will protest the loudest. We hear it every day because of the advent of social media. Now with the onset of the latest social helper, AI, the invention of intelligent answers, the real danger is allowing others to do the thinking for us.

Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

When we allow the internet, phones, apps, tweets, and everyone influence our thinking, we will find ourselves less likely to seek God’s help. I have reasoned with God and I have never won an argument. No one wants to be wrong all the time. Those clinging to sin because it controls every aspect of their thoughts and actions will never admit they are wrong.

No one repents until they know they are wrong. Reasoning with God will always expose sin for what it truly is, unholy. It is a comparison. God is holy and being in His presence will always make us feel small and insignificant. Those are human feelings associated with past behaviors.

“Once a woman has forgiven her man, she must not reheat his sins for breakfast.” –Marlene Dietrich

That is good advice, good secular advice, but is it based in godly wisdom?

Colossians 1:14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Forgiveness is tied directly to redemption.

International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia

Redeemer; Redemption:

re-dem’-er, re-demp’-shun (paraq, “to tear loose,” “to rescue,” padhah, ga’al; agorazo, referring to purchase, lutroumai, from lutron, “a ransom”):

We do not think of forgiveness as being set free ourselves, but we should. Unforgiveness has a hold on us that keeps us from loving one another. The secret to forgiveness is putting love first rather than retaliation. There is a little of Marlene’s wisdom in that. Just a little.