“God Sets the Price & Pays the Cost” - Woodlawn Baptist - Sunday Worship - Rev. John Ray

Devotional

Day 1: From Slave Block to Son’s Embrace

The image of believers shackled on a slave block, dead in sin with no hope, contrasts sharply with God striding into that marketplace. He doesn’t haggle with the enemy but declares full ownership through Christ’s blood. Redemption isn’t a negotiation—it’s a sovereign rescue where God sets the price, pays it completely, and carries His children home as heirs. This freedom isn’t earned; it’s lavished on those once trapped in darkness. [38:24]

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us.”
(Ephesians 1:7-8, ESV)

Reflection: What chains from your “slave block” past do you still mentally drag behind you? How might embracing your identity as a fully redeemed heir shift your daily choices?

Day 2: Shredding the Death Report

Imagine clutching a terminal diagnosis, then a physician bursts in declaring you healed. The redeemed don’t slink away ashamed—they shred the old report and proclaim their rescue. Forgiveness isn’t a whispered secret but a lobby-shouting victory. Yet many believers live like debtors, not realizing Christ’s blood canceled every invoice. The proof isn’t in our perfection but in the empty shackles we leave behind. [46:16]

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit.”
(Psalm 103:2-4, ESV)

Reflection: When did you last “shred the report” by testifying to Christ’s redemption in your life? What shame keeps you silent about your healing?

Day 3: Rescued by the Divine SEAL Team

Sin held believers like hostages behind enemy lines—worthless to the captor except for torture. Christ’s rescue mission required no stealth; He stormed death’s stronghold openly. The cross wasn’t a covert op but a public execution turned liberation parade. Redeemed lives shouldn’t tip-toe like escaped prisoners but march as liberated soldiers bearing their Rescuer’s colors. [44:40]

“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
(Colossians 1:13-14, ESV)

Reflection: What “enemy territory” mindset still influences you? How does Christ’s open victory empower you to live unashamed?

Day 4: The Lavish Explosion of Grace

God’s grace isn’t a cautious trickle but a detonated dam—what the preacher called “an explosion that obliterates beggar cups.” We approach God holding coins of self-effort, only to find He’s flooded the room with oceans of mercy. His “too good to be true” deal cost Him everything, yet He keeps pouring without measuring. Our doubt doesn’t drain the deluge; our unworthiness can’t cap the geyser. [51:09]

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.”
(Ephesians 2:4-5, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you still try to “pay coins” instead of swimming in grace’s flood? What would unrestrained joy in this lavish gift look like today?

Day 5: The Kinsman Redeemer’s Eternal Transaction

Ruth’s story meets Calvary: Christ became our relative to buy us back. No distant deity, He entered our poverty to reclaim us. Every drop of His blood echoes the courtroom declaration, “Paid in full.” The receipt isn’t filed in heaven’s archives—it’s stamped across our lives. Living redeemed means trusting the transaction’s finality, not auditing grace’s accounts. [01:00:47]

“Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”
(1 Peter 1:18-19, ESV)

Reflection: What situations tempt you to doubt the “receipt” of Christ’s payment? How would living as Heaven’s heir change your approach to today’s challenges?

Sermon Summary

Ephesians 1:7-12 takes the church right into the blood-bought possession that belongs to the believer in Christ. Paul says, “In him, the believer has redemption through his blood,” and that word redemption is not cheap talk. Redemption means a slave has been bought off the block, a captive has been ransomed, a dead soul has been carried out of bondage by a Master who already set the price.

God does not bargain with the devil over the value of a soul. God walks into the marketplace of sin and says, “I set the price because I know the value.” The price is not a little silver piece, not a country, not the whole world, because the whole world cannot pay for one soul. The price is the blood of the Son of God, royal, perfect, eternal, and immeasurable.

Paul does not measure grace in proportion to sin, because that would cheapen the blood of Jesus Christ. The blood of Christ is valuable enough to answer for every sin as if every sinner had committed every possible sin, and the Father says, “Satisfied.” The believer was not a beggar asking for a nickel. The believer was a dead man, dead in trespasses and sins, with nothing to offer, and God saw the value of a child in Christ.

Redemption rescues, and forgiveness releases. Christ does not merely pull the believer off the block and leave the chains rattling. Christ sets the sinner free from guilt, shame, debt, and the old master who no longer has dominion. The believer who keeps living like a debtor is living beneath a finished redemption, because no more invoices are coming in the mail. It has been paid in full.

Paul also opens the mystery of God’s will, that Jew and Gentile alike are brought into one people, and that all things in heaven and on earth will be summed up in Christ. America may stand or fall, nations may rise or disappear, but every nation and every soul will come to Christ either as Savior or as Judge.

God lavishes grace, and that word does not mean the cup merely runs over. Grace explodes the cup. Christ is not just the agent delivering grace. Christ himself is the security, the power, the inheritance, and the kinsman redeemer who became flesh, died at Calvary, rose in power, and secured everything to the praise and glory of God.

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Key Takeaways

1. God sets the soul’s price [38:24] God does not ask hell what a soul is worth. God names the price himself, and the price reveals the value he has placed on his children in Christ. The blood of Jesus is not a discount payment for a damaged sinner, but the full and eternal declaration that God claims his own for himself. [38:24]
2. Grace is not measured by sin [40:10] The devil loves to make sin look bigger than the blood. Paul’s gospel tears that lie apart, because Christ’s blood is not weighed against a sinner’s worst moments as though heaven might run short. The value of Christ’s blood is infinite, so forgiveness rests on his worth, not on the sinner’s ability to feel forgiven enough. [40:10]
3. Forgiveness leaves the chains behind [45:31] Redemption rescues the captive, and forgiveness releases the captive from the old weight of guilt and shame. The believer does not have to walk off the slave block still dragging chains that Christ already broke. The old master may still shout commands, but his ownership has ended. [45:31]
4. Christ’s grip secures the inheritance [48:24] Salvation does not finally depend on the believer’s grip on Christ. Christ reaches down, takes hold, robes, carries, and keeps the one he has purchased. Eternal security rests in the strength of the Redeemer, not in the emotional steadiness of the redeemed. [48:24]
5. Every blessing returns to Christ [56:07] Every spiritual blessing starts in Christ, comes through Christ, and ends in praise to Christ. God does not lavish grace so the believer can become impressed with himself. God pours out riches so all glory terminates where it belongs, in the Son who bought the inheritance with his blood.

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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[24:22] - Special Music and Memorial Reflection
[25:12] - Life, Blood, and Freedom
[28:38] - Reading Ephesians 1:7-12
[31:15] - A Possession That Cannot Be Stolen
[36:12] - The Slave Block of Sin
[40:10] - Grace Beyond the Measure of Sin
[43:15] - Dead in Adam, Raised in Christ
[45:31] - Redemption Rescues, Forgiveness Releases
[48:24] - His Grip Secures the Inheritance
[50:52] - Lavished Grace Explodes the Cup
[56:07] - Every Blessing Returns to Christ
[60:14] - The Kinsman Redeemer Pays the Ransom
[63:30] - Grace Alone, Blood Alone

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Ephesians 1:7-12 (ESV)
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

Observation Questions

What does Paul mean by "redemption through his blood" in verse 7, and how does the sermon describe the value of this price? [38:24]
According to verses 9-10, what is the "mystery of his will," and how does the sermon explain its significance for all people? [35:57]
The sermon compares believers to slaves being bought off a block. What imagery does it use to describe God’s action in redeeming us? [36:58]

Interpretation Questions

Why does God set the price for our redemption Himself rather than bargaining with the devil or accepting partial payment? [38:00]
How does the infinite value of Christ’s blood (verse 7) change the way we view the relationship between our sin and God’s forgiveness? [40:10]
What does it mean that "forgiveness releases" us from chains, even if we still feel guilt or shame? [45:31]

Application Questions

In what areas of your life do you still act like a "debtor" or slave to sin, even though Christ has already paid your ransom? How can you start living in freedom today? [52:28]
The sermon says, "Salvation does not depend on your grip on Christ, but His grip on you." How does this truth affect your confidence in times of doubt or failure? [48:24]
If every blessing ultimately returns to Christ’s glory (verse 12), how could you redirect your daily successes, gifts, or struggles to praise Him rather than yourself? [56:07]
The sermon warns against letting sin "look bigger than the blood." What practical step could you take this week to remind yourself of Christ’s infinite worth when temptation or shame arises? [40:35]
How might you explain to a friend who feels "too broken" for God that His grace isn’t measured by their sin but by Christ’s blood? [50:52]

Sermon Clips

82s

“``The minute the devil can get us to measure God's grace in proportion to our sin, we cheapen the blood of Jesus Christ. The blood of Jesus Christ is of such immeasurable, unthinkable value that God can walk into the marketplace where we're all slaves to sin and bondage and shackles with no hope. In chapter two, living in the desires of our lust of our flesh, the desires of our flesh, the desires of our mind as children of disobedience under the power of the prince of air. To keep put that in layman country boy terms, you're a child of the devil. He had you. He shackled you. You were born with a sinful nature with no hope. You were dead, void, dark. But he walks into the market and God says, I set the price for the value of the soul I buy. And it's already been decided that the only thing that will redeem is the blood of my son. Amen.”

88s

“It it your cup doesn't run over. It explodes. That that beggar cup, Lord, will you just forgive me of my lion? Lion? You're dead. You stinketh. You have no hope. Preach the gospel in the cemetery. Remember that point? At least say you did. You're wasting your time. It's by his grace he comes lavished by grace. He just pours it out. He just pours it out. Just every time you think, okay, the blessings are just too many. He just keeps pouring it on and pouring it on and pouring it on. How long will this last? Forever. It's like the commercial. You ain't seen nothing yet. You think your baby, your grandbaby, your husband, your wife, your job, you think the bible, nothing comes close yet. We're still in the flesh. The prince of the air is roaming about us seeking who he can devour. But those that are forgiven can stop living like debtors. No more invoices coming in the mail. It's been paid for in full.”

86s

“And not only is it secure, not only does he walk into the marketplace and set the price, which is his son's blood, he he reaches over and tenderly takes you from the grip. It's not your grip on him, by the way. It's his grip on you. It can't be broken, and he he he robes you. He picks you up. He carries you. Every step you'll ever take in your life, you'll be right there. I'm so proud of you. I love you so much. But my sin no. No. No. I paid for it. You're mine. You're safe. You're secure. What part of the inheritance will you give me? Give? The word is given. It's secure. It's already been purchased. What could possibly be paid to pay my sin debt and to redeem me and to offer me eternal security and riches above my man's mind and any kind of hope you could have, nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

68s

“And we see ourselves as crying out from the slave block. Save me. I'm a dirty rotten sinner. I'm not worthy. Just just save me. Give me a little something. Don't cheapen the blood of your savior. It's royal. It's perfect. It's eternal. You weren't a beggar asking for a nickel. You're a dead man. Nothing to offer. But in his eyes, he saw the value of a child. He saw Jesus Christ and he said, not only will I measure their sin and pay a portion of that and up to whatever degree, I'll pay more infinitely, eternally more than anyone could ever imagine or measure. That's what lavish means.”

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“God Sets the Price & Pays the Cost” - Woodlawn Baptist - Sunday Worship - Rev. John Ray - 06/28/26