I see it differently. The passage speaks about a nuanced form of capital punishment, which is based on God's declaration that the blood of man shall be required of those who kill another man. In the case of murder, there can be no ransom payment. Numbers 25:31 But this passage speaks about another form of homicide: negligent homicide, where the law prescribes the death penalty as an option, but also allows the ox owner to pay a ransom to the victim's family for the redemption of his life. Nowhere in the passage does it say that once the ransom is paid, the victim takes possession of the ox owner. The purpose of ransom is freedom.
You see (perceive) it dead wrong.
In Exodus 21:30, "his life", this is the ox owner's life, "his life" is redeemed by paying the ransom thus the ox owner recovers unencumbered ownership of "his life" for it is written "If a ransom is demanded of him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life" (Exodus 21:30).
For instance, consider Numbers 3:45-51, wherein we read that the Lord decided to take the Levites in exchange for all the first born sons of Israel. Apparently there were not enough Levites to account for all the first born sons. In fact, there were 273 more first born sons than Levites at the time. So the Lord commanded that the additional sons were to be "ransomed" for 5 shekels each. In this way, all of the first born sons were released (freed) from obligation to serve at the temple.
God owns "the 273 of the firstborn of the sons of Israel who are in excess beyond the Levites" (Numbers 3:46) because God says the firstborn are God's meaning the firstborn's lives are not owned by the firstborn (Exodus 13:2).
The ransom payment amount of "five shekels apiece" (Numbers 3:47) is the established redemption value for the firstborn to gain ownership of their lives.
Moses, "from the firstborn of the sons of Israel he took the money" (Numbers 3:50), so the 273 firstborn redeemed themselves.
Ownership of the firstborn's lives does not cease to exist, like in your "freed" thing, when the ransom is paid, but rather "ownership" of the firstborn's lives transfers from God to the firstborn.
A firstborn bought ownership of his life from God by paying the 5 shekel ransom.
Jesus was also "redeemed" after he was born. Refer to Luke 2:22-24
Nothing in the passage to indicate that the ransom is payment for a slave. If a parallel exists between Matthew 20:28 and Exodus 21:29-31, the point of intersection is the release of the prisoner, slated for execution.
Exodus 21:29-31 includes scriptural definition of "ransom" as payment for ownership - the ox owner's life is encumbered to ownership unto death for another person's goring death.
Exodus 21:29-31 includes scriptural definition of "redemption" as the ox owner's recovered unencumbered ownership of "his life" - the ox owner buys (bought/redeems) his life.
God had me present this passage for this purpose.
"Ransom" exists as a parallel between Matthew 20:28 and Exodus 21:29-31 as previously shown.
"Redemption" exists as a parallel between Matthew 20:28 and Exodus 21:29-31 as previously shown.
Yes, Christ "owns" his disciples in the same way that my wife "owns" me. The relationship isn't one of slave/slave owner; the relationship is one of husband/wife. Just as my wife is "my wife" because I owe my loyalty to her exclusively, Jesus considers his disciples to be his "own" in that they are loyal to him exclusively.
God pronounced to the woman "he will rule over you" (Genesis 3:16) of Adam, so a wife is owned by her husband.
The dowry is relevant to a husband owning and loving his wife (as this post in this thread shows).
The intimate ownership that Christ expresses in "I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me" (John 10:14) entirely eclipses your thoughts.
Christ's owns His disciples thus His disciples are "slaves of righteousness".
Of course, I never said otherwise.
But you conveyed that man free-will repents, and further down in your post you do it again.
But have you never read?
Romans 1:18-20
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
From this we see that salvation isn't so much a matter of knowledge, but a matter of the will.
"Will" is mentioned zero times in Romans 1:18-20, so your heart effectively adds will into Romans 1:18-20.
The Apostle Paul identifies every man starts out as a natural man with "the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual" (1 Corinthians 15:46).
The Apostle Paul explains that the commands of God are foolishness to man with a "natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised" (1 Corinthians 2:14)
The Apostle Paul declares that man's flesh opposes the Spirit of God with "the flesh desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. For these are opposed to one another" (Galatians 5:17).
The natural man, the first state of man, "suppress the truth in unrighteousness" for that is what the natural man does thus the natural man is without excuse for being under the wrath of God.
CadyandZoe, you suppress the truth in unrighteousness.
Mankind has all the evidence it needs to discover and accept the existence of the one true God. God has made himself evident to us. The fatal error of unbelief is the suppression of the truth. We are not being judged for the knowledge we don't know or the ideas we can't seem to believe. Rather, we are being judged for the truth that we DO believe but willfully and unjustly suppress. Belief is a matter of the will.
Then, later in Romans Paul brings all humankind under judgement repeating OT passages such as the following,
Romans 3:11-12
There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.
Hopefully you see that the process of salvation begins with a "heart transplant" of a sort, a transformation of the will, a repair of what is broken. We aren't saved because we suddenly came to knowledge or understood the gospel. Salvation doesn't involve convincing someone of the truth of the gospel. No. Salvation takes place when God take a man, dedicated to the suppression of the truth, transforms his will, and makes him into a man who loves, acknowledges and affirms the truth. In other words, God took a will in bondage, and set it free. This is why we say that those who affirm the gospel are making a free-will choice.
Now, please accept my arguments or don't accept them. But making accusations isn't helpful to others. Or do you now allow them the freedom to make up their own mind? Romans 14:5
When you wrote "...transforms his will...", then you state man controls man's "will" after being born of God, yet the Apostle Paul wrote that person's will and person's work is the work of God in Christ's disciples with "it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for [His] good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13).
You thoroughly oppose the Holy Spirit inspired writing of Paul.
See that you claim a person thinks differently after (repents) by a "free-will choice" (your words) caused autonomously by man, so you oppose apostolic teaching of "God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life" (Acts 11:18).
When you wrote "This is why we say that those who affirm the gospel are making a free-will choice" then you nullify the Word of God (Mark 7:13) such as shown in the next paragraph.
The Word of God says there is no level that a person can choose Lord Jesus because He says "you did not choose Me, but I chose you" (John 15:16) as well as "I chose you out of the world" (John 15:19, includes salvation) - Jesus, being God, did not provide any exception for choosing toward Jesus. Lord Jesus speaks to all believers in all time because He also said "I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word" (John 17:20)! All these words of Jesus are at the same supper! All glory is God's! With man, salvation is impossible (Matthew 19:25-26)! All glory in the salvation of man is God's (John 15:5, Isaiah 42:8, Psalm 3:8)!