RANSOM

Jesus once declared that he came to this earth to give up his life as a "ransom" for others (cf. Mt. 20:28; Mk. 10:45). The term for "ransom" is lutron. Lutron derives from luo, "to loose," and when the suffix is added, the meaning suggested is "the means of loosing." In the O.T., the word was used of the price paid for one's life (Ex. 21:30), or the redemption cost of a slave (Lev. 19:20). In the context of the N.T., Christ becomes the price paid to redeem sinful man. In sin, one is separated from God (Isa. 59:1-2), hence, dead (Eph. 2:1). The Lord's shed blood is a price that is able to remedy that condition by bestowing life (salvation). Also, by his personal choice to disobey God, man has "sold" himself into the bondage of sin (Jn. 8:34; Rom. 7:14); again, however, the Savior's death was the price of redemption (Eph. 1:6). In 1 Timothy 2:6, Paul affirms that Christ "gave himself a ransom [antilutron] for all." The addition of anti ("instead of") to lutron, gives even greater emphasis to the substitutionary nature of Jesus death. Two important points must be emphasized in conclusion: (a) The death of Jesus was voluntary -- he gave his life up for others. (b) Potentially, it was available for "all" (cf. "all men" and "all" -- 1 Tim. 2:1, 4, 6). The Calvinistic doctrine of "limited atonement," i.e., that Jesus died only for some (the elect) is not in harmony with the Scriptures.