Doctrine of Deliverance : footnotes

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                Doctrine of Deliverance

Archbishop Bobby Land Jr., D.D., Ph.D., J.D.

1. The sum total of the word in it self is, "acts of delivering", free from spiritual and physical bondage, As been said by one philosopher, "By any mean necessary". What meaneth this? There must be a direct effort on the part of the deliver and the one in need of deliverance, to seek all means within the bounds of God, to achieve freedom in the soulish being. The living Christ have given us three gifts of deliverance.

In the Holy Eucharist we understand his sacrifice has delivered us from the powers of sin, and translated us into the Kingdom of his son. Among the Cardinal truths of our spiritual faith, none demands our prayerful and intelligent consideration as that of deliverance. Not only is it the chief among the doctrine of grace, it permeates them all. It is from the spring of deliverance that all rivers of grace flow, for deliverance is a more comprehensive term, being associated with regeneration, justification, adoption, sanctification, and resurrection.

2. Through our redeemed state, given to the first Adam, we are in a present tense, being delivered from sin, and all fallen state conditions. This is an act of God's grace being continually applied to us in and through the blood of the covenant, given to us through the new testament and the words of the prophets. Through the power of the Holy Ghost, breakthrough kingdom deliverance is obtainable in this present world. God has given us through Christ, the sacraments, and the holy eucharist, with the intercession of the Saints, the means to achieve latter day deliverance in every area of our lives.

3. Through the promise of eternal life, and a new world for God's elect and chosen, there is an expected future tense deliverance to come. I speak of the consummation of all things concerning the chosen ones. God shall destroy all of the believer's spiritual and physical enemies, who have, and presently rage war against the souls, minds, and bodies of God's elect. "As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he swore to our father Abraham, that he would grant unto us, that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our lives". Luke Ch. 1: 70-75

Thinking of the scripture as a whole, the two inescapable truths forcing themselves upon our attention are, man's departure from God and God's deliverance of man. Ruin and redemption can fittingly summarize the teachings of the scripture. In its broadest sense, deliverance covers the entire work of God in Christ, delivering man from the guilt, government, penalty, and presence of sin.

4.  Approaching, then, this soul subject of deliverance, let us endeavor by the Spirit to answer a few questions.

What is the True Significance of Deliverance?

It wll be found most profitable to gather together the different words used by the Holy Spirit to express the truth of our deliverance from sin's condemnation and captivity, through the finished work of the redeemer. Believing, as we do, in verbal inspirationof scripture, we know that its very words are worthy of our devout and careful study, seeing the spirit never used a word without a special reason for its selection. How true this is in respect to the various terms employed to describe our Savior's glorious redemption.

First Word: "to loose by a price"; "the price for freeing a captive"; "to release by a ransom"

It is used in this way in I Peter 1:18, "For as much as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation, received by tradition from you fathers", and in Luke 1:68; Titus 2:14; Hebrews 9:12 with the prefixed preposition from, it is found in Luke 2:28; Romans 7:24; Ephesians 1:7,14; 3:30; Colossians 1:16. The thought resident in this term is that of "release from bondage or captivity by the judgement of a ransom", the ransom being the precious blood of Christ. He is the one who, by his sacrifice, liberates the sinner from the control of sinful and foolish self, by a most costly price to himself. By "the expulsive power of a new affection". He substitutes his redeeming love as the governing principle, instead of the sinful selfishness hitherto degrading and disgracing the sinner. We were slaves to Satan, sold under sin, and utterly unable to ransom ourselves because of the absolute obedience due to God. No act of ours could satisfy for the lease offense. But Christ became our ransom (Matthew 20: 28; I Timothy 2:6

Note: original posting from the transcrips of P.A. Institution School of Ministry ; February 22, 2010