KNOWING THAT YOU WERE NOT REDEEMED: eidotes (RAPMPN) hoti ou phtartois argurio e chrusio elutrothete (2PAPI): (Ps 49:7,8; 1Co 6:20; 7:23 cf. "Passover" Ex 12:1-13 15:13 Ps 78:35 Acts 20:28 Ro 3:24 Gal 4:4-5 Eph 1:7 Col 1:14 Titus 2:14 Heb 9:11-17) (See Word Study on Redemption on this site. See also Torrey's excellent topical list of Scriptures on "Redemption") :

Knowing (1492) (eido) is the Greek word for self evident or intuitive knowing. This is not something we learned but truth that God has placed in our heart and mind. This truth about our redemption from the penalty and power of sin should be meditated upon for as we appreciate the transaction that has been accomplished for us we will be motivated to conduct ourselves in reverential fear as "holy ones" during our short stay on earth.

Vincent writes that...

The appeal is to an elementary Christian belief (Hort), the holiness and justice of God with the added thought of the high cost of redemption

Spurgeon...

Redeemed (3084) (lutroo) is derived from lutron (which is derived from luo = to loosen that which is bound, especially freeing those in prison). The noun lutron is the ransom price paid for loosing captives from their bonds and setting them at liberty. The verb lutroo refers to the releasing of someone held captive (e.g., a prisoner or a slave) on receipt of the ransom payment.

The Roman Empire had by some estimates as many 6 million slaves and the buying and selling of them was a major business. If a person wanted to free a loved one or friend who was enslaved, he would pay the redemption price, purchasing or redeeming that slave for himself and then granting him freedom, testifying to the deliverance by a written certificate.

See related in depth discussion on the other related NT words translated redeem or redemption: apolutrosis (click Greek Word Study or alternative); exagorazo

Lutroo is used 3 times in the NT (Lk. 24:21; Titus 2:14; 1 Pet. 1:18)

Luke records the words of Cleopas, one of the men on the road to Emmaus, to the risen Jesus (Whom God did not allow them to recognize and who had just accomplished redemption by His death and resurrection!)...

"But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened." (Luke 24:21)

Cleopas uses lutron to refer to the redemption of Israel from bondage to Rome for he did not understand that it was Jesus' death which would pay the price of redemption from bondage to sin. Cleopas, as well as many of the Jews, had been looking for Jesus to usher in an immediate earthly kingdom and thus when Jesus died, their hopes were dashed.

As A W Tozer said

The gospel is light but only the Spirit can give sight.

The other NT use of lutroo is found Paul's epistle to Titus 2:14 (note) where we read that "our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus" (see note Titus 2:13)..

gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. (see note Titus 2:14)

Here Paul uses lutroo to explain a dual effect of this redemption - On one side what we were redeemed from - every lawless deed (the enslavement to the power of sin all men have inherited from Adam) - and then what we were redeemed for - to be His own possession and to live a life that demonstrates not just who we are (those who have been redeemed) but whose we are (Christ's possession).

Redemption was an important truth throughout the entire the Old Testament Scriptures. It is not surprising then that in the Septuagint (LXX) lutroo is used 88 times (Ex. 6:6; 13:13, 15; 15:13; 34:20; Lev. 19:20; 25:25, 30, 33, 48-49, 54; 27:13, 15, 19-20, 27-29, 31, 33; Num. 18:15, 17; Deut. 7:8; 9:26; 13:5; 15:15; 21:8; 24:18; 2 Sam. 4:9; 7:23; 1 Ki. 1:29; 1 Chr. 17:21; Neh. 1:10; Est. 4:17; Ps. 7:2; 25:22; 26:11; 31:5; 32:7; 34:22; 44:26; 49:7, 15; 55:18; 59:1; 69:18; 71:23; 72:14; 74:2; 77:15; 78:42; 103:4; 106:10; 107:2; 119:134, 154; 130:8; 136:24; 144:10; Prov. 23:11; Isa. 35:9; 41:14; 43:1, 14; 44:22ff; 51:11; 52:3; 62:12; 63:9; Jer. 15:21; 31:11; 50:34; Lam. 3:58; 5:8; Dan. 4:27; 6:27; Hos. 7:13; 13:14; Mic. 4:10; 6:4; Zeph. 3:15; Zech. 10:8).

To the Jews reading Peter's epistle the mention of "redeemed" would bring to mind the picture of God's deliverance from Egyptian bondage. In fact the first use of lutroo in the OT is found in Exodus 6:6 where Moses records God's response to Israel's cries for deliverance from Egyptian slavery...

Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, 'I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens (forced heavy labor that Israel was subjected to in Egypt) of the Egyptians, and I will deliver (drawing out, pulling out, deliver or rescue, pluck, preserve, recover, snatch away, save, take out) you from their bondage. I will also redeem (Hebrew = goel/ga'al; LXX = lutroo) you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. (Exodus 6:6)

In a similar passage Moses records that...

In Thy lovingkindness Thou hast led the people whom Thou hast redeemed (Hebrew = goel/ga'al; LXX = lutroo); In Thy strength Thou hast guided them to Thy holy habitation." (Exodus 15:13)

In another instructive Septuagint use of lutroo, we read about the Kinsman-Redeemer in Leviticus that...

If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor he has to sell part of his property, then his nearest kinsman is to come and buy back (Hebrew = goel/ga'al = reclaim, to vindicate the rights; LXX = lutroo) what his relative has sold." (Leviticus 25:25) (Goel/ga'al is used 17 times in Leviticus)

Redemption was a technical term for money paid to buy back and set free prisoners of war or to emancipate slaves from their masters. Believers have been ransomed or bought back, like the redemption of a bondservant by a kinsman-redeemer (Lev 25:49). (Click Part 1 Part 2 for an overview of Kinsman-Redeemer and the relationship to Christ)

Before redemption we were held captive by Satan to do his will and were enslaved to our old sin nature inherited from Adam. In Christ we have been ransomed by His blood (1Cor 6:20; Rev 5:9), are no longer under the curse of the law (Gal 3:13; 4:5) and have been released from the bondage of sin into the freedom of grace.

Redemption is through the blood of Christ (see note Colossians 1:14) so the central truth of REDEMPTION is a costly payment, the infinitely priceless blood of the Son of God. 

be conformed to the former lusts (that governed us prior to salvation)...but like the Holy One Who called us" we are to be holy in all our behavior (see notes 1 Peter 1:13; 1:14; 1:15; 1:16) adding that...

if you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each man's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay upon earth knowing that you were not redeemed (lutroo) with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life (Christ saved us from a life of emptiness) inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ." (see notes 1 Peter 1:17; 1:18; 1:19)

not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption." (see note Hebrews 9:12) so that...

Nor silver nor gold hath obtained my redemption,
Nor riches of earth could have saved my poor soul;
The blood of the cross is my only foundation,
The death of my Savior now maketh me whole.

Refrain
I am redeemed, but not with silver,
I am bought, but not with gold;
Bought with a price, the blood of Jesus,
Precious price of love untold.

Nor silver nor gold hath obtained my redemption,
The guilt on my conscience too heavy had grown;
The blood of the cross is my only foundation,
The death of my Savior could only atone.

WITH PERISHABLE THINGS LIKE SILVER & GOLD: phtartois argurio e chrusio:

Perishable (5349) (phthartos from phtheiro = to destroy from phthino = waste) is that which is subject to corruption, rot, withering, decay or decomposition. The basic idea is that which is short lived, or that which has a brief life or significance.

In Romans 1:23 phthartos means mortal or degenerating man. In the passages (below) from Corinthians we see that which is perishable belongs to this life and to the unresurrected, whereas the imperishable is equated with a new life and immortality.

Phthartos  is used 6 times in the (Ro; 1Cor 3x; 1 Pet 2x) and is translated: corruptible, 1; perishable, 3; perishable things, 1; which is perishable, 1.  Phthartos is used in the Lxx in Isaiah 54:17.

Romans 1:23 (note) and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

1 Corinthians 9:25 And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.

1 Corinthians 15:53 For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.

1 Corinthians 15:54 But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "Death is swallowed up in victory.

1 Peter 1:18 knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers,

1 Peter 1:23 (note) for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God.

The words “silver” and “gold” are in a diminutive form, referring to little silver and gold coins. Both silver & gold were commonly used to purchase slaves. The price of a slave in the Roman Empire varied from 700,000 to 200 sesertii (a worker in Rome could earn about 3 sesertii per day)

FROM YOU FUTILE WAY OF LIFE: ek tes mataias umon anastrophes: (Ps39:6; 62:10;  1Co3:20 Je2:5; Acts14:15 cp Eph4:17 See Torrey's Topic of "Vanity" & Naves  Topic of "Vanity" for what God considers "futile") 

Futile (3152) (mataios from maten = groundless, invalid) means vain, empty, devoid of force, lacking in content, nonproductive, useless, dead, fruitless, aimless, of no real or lasting value. This adjective describes an ineffectual attempt to do something or an unsuccessful effort to attain something. Mataios emphasizes aimlessness or the leading to no object or end and thus is used to describe false gods or idols in contrast to the true God (see below).

Modern descriptions for "futile" might include "chasing the wind, shooting at stars, pursuing one’s shadow." How grateful the redeemed should be (Ps 107:2) that we have been ransomed from a futile existence by such a tremendous transaction...delivered from slavery to the world, flesh & devil by the blood of the Lamb.

Luke quoting Paul used the adjective mataios as a synonym for idolatry...

and saying, "Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you, and preach the gospel to you in order that you should turn from these vain things (mataios - in this context referring to idols) to a living God, WHO MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA, AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM. (Acts 14:15)

Not only did we once have a life of slavery, but it was also a life which was empty, aimless and of no real lasting value. Although unregenerate men and women may consider their lives “full” and “happy,” they are really empty and even Solomon who "had it all" lamented

"Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher, "Vanity of vanities ! All is vanity." (Ecclesiastes 1:2)

Jesus used the related word maten to describe the worship of God based upon the precepts of men  declaring...

'BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN. (Matthew 15:9)

Paul using the verb form mataioo to describe how those who had suppressed the truth about God

For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened (see note Romans 1:21)

Paul also used the related noun mataiotes to describe the existence of an unregenerate person's life exhorting the Ephesian believers...

This I say therefore, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility (mataiotes = Inability to reach a goal or achieve a purpose, having the quality of being empty, profitless) of their mind, (then Paul explains what the futility of one's mind looks like) 18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart (see note Ephesians 4:17; Ephesians 4:18).

With this enhanced understanding of a "futile way of life" can you see how we the redeemed should be powerfully motivated out of a sense of profound gratitude to conduct ourselves in fear during the time of our stay on earth? Jesus gave His all for me. How can I give Him less? (see illustration v19)

INHERITED FROM YOUR FOREFATHERS: patroparadotou: (1 Peter 4:3; Jer 9:14; 16:19; 44:17; Ezek 20:18; Am 2:4; Zech 1:4-6; Mt 15:2,3; Acts 7:51,52; 19:34,35; Gal 1:4)

Inherited from your forefathers (3970) (patroparadotos from pater = father, ancestor + paradidomi = deliver) literally means that which is delivered down from one's father or ancestors.

The KJV picks up the sense of this word

received by tradition from your fathers

Our first father Adam bestowed upon us the inheritance of a sin nature (see note Romans 5:12) that seeks to gratify self and which leads to an empty, worthless, futile life that is in turn is passed down to the next generation along with teaching, example, and environment. Every beautiful baby is tragically, indubitably born in sin, coming into being with a totally depraved nature and if the parents are unsaved, comes into a home where evil customs and practices are observed. What the child inherits, Peter calls a futile manner of life. From this futile manner of life the recipients of this letter were delivered.

><> ><> ><>

Redemption Graphically Illustrated (from Our Daily Bread)- A missionary in West Africa was trying to convey the meaning of the word redeem in the Bambara language. So he asked his African assistant to express it in his native tongue. "We say," the assistant replied, "that God took our heads out." "But how does that explain redemption?" the perplexed missionary asked. The man told him that many years ago some of his ancestors had been captured by slave-traders, chained together, and driven to the seacoast. Each of the prisoners had a heavy iron collar around his neck. As the slaves passed through a village, a chief might notice a friend of his among the captives and offer to pay the slave-traders in gold, ivory, silver, or brass. The prisoner would be redeemed by the payment. His head then would be taken out of his iron collar. What an unusual and graphic illustration of the word redeem! Let Him take your head out of the enslaving collar of sin and set you free.

Redeemed-how I love to proclaim it!
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed through His infinite mercy-
His child, and forever I am. -Crosby

Christ was lifted up on the cross
that we might be lifted out of our sin.

><> ><> ><>

The Rescuer - The price Jesus paid for our redemption was terrible indeed. When we think of the extreme suffering He endured to purchase our freedom from sin’s penalty, our hearts should overflow with love for Him.

Leslie B. Flynn told a story that illustrates this truth. An orphaned boy was living with his grandmother when their house caught fire. The grandmother, trying to get upstairs to rescue the boy, perished in the flames. The boy’s cries for help were finally answered by a man who climbed an iron drainpipe and came back down with the boy hanging tightly to his neck.

Several weeks later, a public hearing was held to determine who would receive custody of the child. A farmer, a teacher, and the town’s wealthiest citizen all gave the reasons they felt they should be chosen to give the boy a home. But as they talked, the lad’s eyes remained focused on the floor. Then a stranger walked to the front and slowly took his hands from his pockets, revealing severe scars on them. As the crowd gasped, the boy cried out in recognition. This was the man who had saved his life. His hands had been burned when he climbed the hot pipe. With a leap the boy threw his arms around the man’s neck and held on for dear life. The other men silently walked away, leaving the boy and his rescuer alone. Those marred hands had settled the issue.

Many voices are calling for our attention. Among them is the One whose nail-pierced hands remind us that He has rescued us from sin and its deadly consequences. To Him belongs our love and devotion. -D. C. Egner (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

><> ><> ><>

Greek: alla timio