I have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
-Jeremiah 31:3
The first reason that the Westminster Confession of Faith states that we can’t lose our faith is because of the unchangeable love of God. The proof text for this is Jeremiah 31:3 which proclaims the everlasting love of God that is based on nothing other than God’s faithfulness. The Jesus Storybook Bible defines God’s everlasting and unchangeable love with these words, “Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love.” It is because God is love that He is able to love fallen and sinful people like you and I. God’s love for us is most clearly seen at the cross where His Son’s blood was shed to purchase sinners for Himself so that we can be in relationship with Him. James Montgomery Boice said on Ephesians 1:7, “Having been purchased at the infinite cost of the blood of God’s own Son, there is no one who can possibly top the price and thus purchase us away from Him.”
An example of this love that God has for us is the metaphor of marriage that the Bible uses to illustrate God’s relationship with us. This love in all of its extremes and glory is seen in the story of Hosea. God commands Hosea to marry Gomer a woman he know would be unfaithful so that he could illustrate His love for a people that are spiritually unfaithful. We all play the role of Gomer because of our hearts that always wander to sin. God plays the role of Hosea who goes to the auction block and purchases us back from slavery for Himself. We have done nothing to deserve Him redeeming us from the power of sin and death through Christ blood. Despite the fact that we were dressed like a whore seeking to continue a life of spiritual adultery, God has bought with Christ blood and clothed us in His righteousness.
In the New Testament there are three words used to convey this idea of redemption. Two of the words, agorazo and exagorazo respectively mean “to buy in a marketplace” and “to buy out of the marketplace.” This second word in particular is of great encouragement to all believers because it shows the effective and permanent nature of redemption. God did not buy us out of slavery to send us back and He is faithful to keep and sustain us. The other word used for redemption is “luo” which means “to loose, set free or deliver.” This term denotes the idea that we have bought free from sin to never return, sin and death can never make any claims to us. If have been redeemed by the lamb then “I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39).”
Bought by the Blood 